The forest air grew thick with the coppery tang of blood and the electric charge of unleashed power. Hill's breath hitched as she watched the transformation unfold, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her training shirt into knots. The fading twilight painted everything in hues of violet and crimson, making the scene before them look like something from a nightmare.

  Jack's body arched backward at an impossible angle, tendons standing out like steel cables beneath his sweat-slicked skin. A sound emerged from his throat - not human, not animal, but something primal that vibrated through the clearing like a physical force. Then the blood came.

  It didn't bleed from wounds, but rather seeped from his very pores, forming a swirling corona of crimson energy that crackled with barely-contained violence. His eyes - those familiar hazel eyes that had rolled in annoyance at training exercises just hours before - were now completely consumed by pulsing scarlet light, the capilries having burst to paint the whites a permanent bloody red.

  The titan ape's massive fists descended like falling meteors, the air screaming in protest around them. But Jack - or whatever Jack had become - moved with unnatural grace. The ground beneath his feet didn't just crack - it exploded upward in a geyser of dirt and stone as he unched himself to meet the attack. The collision sent shockwaves rippling outward, fttening ferns and sending a family of tree-dwelling lizards scattering in panic.

  Hill's hands flew to her ears as the concussive boom rattled her teeth. When she dared look again, the ape was airborne, its massive form hurtling backward like a child's discarded doll. Its trajectory carved a ten-meter trench through the forest floor, uprooting saplings and exposing the dark, rich soil beneath before it finally collided with an ancient oak. The impact sent a spiderweb of cracks racing up the trunk, and for one terrible moment the massive tree swayed precariously before settling with a groan.

  "Holy mother of-" Hill's whisper died in her throat as she turned to Qin Hong. His sungsses reflected the carnage, the lenses fshing crimson with each pulse of Jack's aura. The scent of ozone and freshly turned earth filled the space between them, undercut by something darker - the metallic tang of blood and the musky stench of fear pheromones from the wounded ape.

  "That," Qin Hong said, his voice carefully measured, "would be 'Berserker's Rage.'" He adjusted his gsses with deliberate calm, but Hill didn't miss the way his other hand twitched toward the knife at his belt. "The Crimson Heart's final form - burns the user's own blood for temporary enhancements."

  Hill swallowed hard, her throat clicking dryly. "So... good news then? He's got this under control?"

  Qin Hong's silence was answer enough. His attention remained fixed on Jack, whose aura was undergoing disturbing changes. The once-vibrant scarlet energy had darkened to a ominous burgundy, the field contracting tighter around his body even as his attacks grew more frenzied. The ape, now curled into a quivering ball, shuddered with each brutal impact, its matted fur matted further with fresh blood that spttered the surrounding foliage in gruesome patterns.

  Then Jack did something that made Hill's stomach lurch - he buried his face against a gaping wound on the ape's shoulder and began drinking deeply, his throat working in obscene gulps.

  "Shit." Qin Hong's curse was barely audible over the wet, sucking sounds. "He's burning through his reserves too fast." The metallic reek of fresh blood grew overpowering, mixing with the ape's musky stench to create a nauseating cocktail. He turned to Hill, his expression grim in the fading light. "Can you restrain him?"

  Hill's mouth went dry. She flexed her fingers, feeling the familiar tingle of energy gathering at her fingertips. "Twenty meter range," she managed. "And he can't be moving too fast or-" Her words cut off as Jack's head snapped up, blood dripping from his chin in thick ropes.

  Qin Hong was already moving. "I'll create an opening. Be ready." Together they burst from the treeline, their boots kicking up sprays of damp earth that pattered against nearby leaves like summer rain.

  "Hey, Hemoglobin!" Qin Hong's voice cut through the clearing, deliberately mocking. "You know simian blood carries hepatitis, right? And like twelve different retroviruses?" His taunt fell on deaf ears - Jack continued his gruesome feast, his movements growing increasingly erratic. Nearby, Hill extended her hands, palms up, as five nearly-invisible threads unspooled from her fingertips. The strands glittered faintly in the dying light as they snaked through the air toward their target.

  "Just hold still, you big idiot," she murmured, her brow furrowing in concentration. But as the first thread made contact with Jack's forearm, he reacted with terrifying speed - twisting away with a snarl that showed teeth stained pink with blood. The thread snapped with a sound like a breaking guitar string.

  Qin Hong tried a different approach, stepping forward with his hands raised in what might have been a pcating gesture. But before he could speak, Jack's aura fred violently, the ground shattering beneath his feet like thin ice as he unched himself forward. The distance closed with terrifying speed - fifteen meters, ten, five - each footfall leaving craters in the soft earth.

  At the st possible second, Qin Hong's hands fshed in a complex gesture that left afterimages in the air. Twin spatial rifts yawned open - one directly before him, the other at a forty-five degree angle. Jack's devastating kick, which would have crushed Qin Hong's skull like an overripe melon, instead carried him harmlessly through the first portal and out the second, his momentum sending him careening into a nearby boulder. The massive stone didn't just crack - it exploded into fragments with a sound like artillery fire, sending razor-sharp shards embedding themselves into surrounding trees.

  Qin Hong whistled low as dust and pebbles rained down around them. "Note to self," he muttered, "don't get kicked." Beside him, Hill stood frozen, a fine yer of stone dust settling on her shoulders like morbid snow.

  From the settling cloud emerged Jack, seemingly unharmed - if anything, even more enraged. He wrenched his foot free from the remains of the boulder with a sickening crunch of grinding stone, his glowing eyes locking onto Qin Hong with single-minded hatred. Blood and stone dust coated his body like some primitive war paint, giving him the appearance of a demon risen from the underworld.

  "Stop gawking!" Qin Hong barked as Jack coiled for another charge. "Get ready!" He pnted his feet, his muscles trembling with tension as he tracked Jack's approach. The distance closed with terrifying speed - twenty meters, fifteen, ten... The very air seemed to vibrate with each footfall.

  "Now!" Qin Hong's voice rang out like a gunshot. "FREEZE!"

  The world seemed to hold its breath as his ultimate technique activated. The air around Jack crystallized into a shimmering ttice of frozen space, each intersecting line glowing faintly blue in the gathering darkness. Jack's snarl of rage became trapped in the stasis field, his final lunge arrested mid-motion, leaving him suspended like some grotesque insect in amber.