Retreat

Earlier, when Nero had fought, even in their shrivelled state he could still identify that his assailants were human. Now, though, he could at most say they were humanoid in shape.

The skinny, frail humans who had attacked him had suddenly bulked up, gaining a tremendous amount of what Nero could only assume was muscle. They had also grown taller, the smallest of them being at least 2.2 metres (7 feet 2 inches).

Their hairless skin was a mixture of grey and silver, with a metallic sheen, and with bones sticking out of them despite the copious amounts of muscle that they had suddenly gained. But the most dire thing about them was that each of them seemed to have gained extra limbs and body parts from somewhere. Hands grew out of their backs, fingers grew out of their knees, mouths appeared in the randomest places.