Kaiju No.8: Devour and Evolve

After being flung away by the monster's desperate counterattack, Drake Myers landed amidst the rubble, groaning from the impact.

Meanwhile, the Nakanoshima Squad quickly regrouped, their expressions tense.

"This monster... It has a survival ability?" someone muttered.

The entire sequence had been captured by drones and was being livestreamed to the Defense Force headquarters. Vice-Captain Hoshina stood before the monitor, watching the footage with clenched fists.

A sly grin crept onto his face. So, the kid's not invincible after all.

Mina Ashiro, busy elsewhere, had entrusted Drake's case entirely to Hoshina. She trusted her team completely—they were comrades forged in the crucible of battle, their bonds unshakable.

For Hoshina, Drake's injury was an opportunity. If the newcomer was hospitalized, the Defense Force could perform a full examination. And if Drake transformed into a kaiju in the face of mortal peril, Hoshina would have grounds to issue a kill order.

Back on the battlefield.

The unicorn monster's roar reverberated through the air, stunning many Defense Force members into a daze. It was an overwhelming sound attack that left even seasoned fighters reeling.

Kikoru Shinomiya, however, snapped out of it first. She raised her assault rifle and unleashed a hail of bullets at the beast while dashing toward where Drake had fallen.

But someone else reached him first.

"Ha! Not so cocky now, are you?" Kikoru sneered, her tone mocking but her actions betraying concern.

She began digging through the rubble, searching frantically. She'd seen Drake crash here after the monster's retaliation. Despite her words, her hands moved swiftly, her focus unshaken.

"Thanks for the help, but I think you're looking in the wrong spot."

The cold voice startled Kikoru. She turned and looked up, only to see the face she least wanted to see—Drake Myers, battered but alive.

His clothes were in tatters, his forehead bleeding, and his right arm hung limply, clearly broken. The most alarming sight, however, was the steel rod piercing his chest, blood seeping out around it.

"Shouldn't you be heading to a hospital?" Kikoru's anger softened into worry.

Drake wiped the blood from his lips, his eyes sharp and determined. "A hospital? No. Right now, I just want to kill it."

His voice was resolute, brooking no argument. "Got any high-tech gadgets I can borrow?"

Caught off guard, Kikoru hesitated before pulling a small green vial from her pocket. "This is a new experimental serum—it accelerates healing."

Drake didn't wait for further explanation. He snatched the vial, broke the seal, and downed its contents in one go.

Heat and pain surged through his body. He gritted his teeth as the serum worked its way through him, his broken arm twitching as muscle fibers began knitting themselves together.

"This stuff... It's good. Thanks." His voice was strained as he endured the side effects—intense pain and a burning sensation spreading through his veins.

Every step felt like his body was on the verge of falling apart, but he pushed forward.

"Wait!" Kikoru shouted. "That serum wasn't meant to be drunk!"

Her warning fell on deaf ears as Drake broke into a run, his speed increasing with each step.

The monster, after unleashing its survival skill, began retreating under the squad's relentless firepower. It moved erratically, dodging and weaving to avoid further damage.

The Third Defense Unit fighters intensified their assault, their weapons roaring as they focused on suppressing the beast.

Drake, now fully mobile, sprinted toward the frontline, snatching a glowing longsword from a stunned soldier as he passed.

"What the—?" the soldier stammered, watching in disbelief as Drake wielded the weapon with ease.

The sword began to emit a brilliant white light.

"Liberation power: 99%!" a voice exclaimed over the comms.

In the Third Defense Unit's command center, an operator jumped to her feet. "Warning! The weapon Murashita Nagao's longsword, Bunetsu, has reached 99% liberation power!"

The operator, a strict woman in a white lab coat and glasses, rubbed her eyes and double-checked the readings.

"This... This has to be a malfunction. Murashita doesn't have the strength to achieve that level of output!"

"No," another voice cut in. "Right now, the one holding that weapon is Drake Myers."

The revelation sent shockwaves through the command center.

"Is he really human?" someone murmured.

Drake didn't care about the chaos his actions had caused. With the glowing sword in hand, he charged at the retreating monster, his mind focused on one thing: eliminating the threat.

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