Chapter 14

The sonic assault faded as Ethan's body adapted, the ancient knowledge showing him how to shift his internal resonance to counter the waves. Through his enhanced vision, he saw Richards' expression change from confidence to concern. The military commander hadn't expected their weapon to be neutralized so quickly.

But something else was happening. The medallion's warmth intensified, and Ethan felt the hidden runes beneath his skin responding to the sonic frequencies. The ancient memories provided understanding - these frequencies weren't just meant to incapacitate. They were trying to force a specific resonance, to prepare him for the ritual.

"Rhea," he called out, his voice carrying despite the lingering effects of the sonic attack. "The sound waves - they're not just weapons. They're part of the ritual."

She nodded grimly, her transformed sidearm tracking multiple targets. "They're trying to attune your blood to the ceremonial frequency. The same thing they did to the children."

The thought of those children, being prepared like sacrificial lambs, made the wolf's rage surge again. But this time, Ethan channeled that fury with precision. The silver flecks in his eyes brightened as he drew on both ancient power and military discipline.

His transformed body moved with predatory grace - eight feet of muscle and dark fur, yet carrying none of the expected clumsiness of such size. His digitigrade legs provided explosive power for each movement, while his broader chest and reinforced spine allowed for impossible combinations of speed and strength. In the dim tunnel light, his silver-flecked amber eyes tracked every target with deadly precision.

The runes beneath his dark fur pulsed with a subtle silver glow, creating shifting patterns that seemed to enhance his natural movements. His elongated muzzle and pointed ears twitched constantly, tracking every sound and scent in the chaotic battlefield despite the sonic assault.

His first strike caught the nearest blood hunter completely off guard. The ancient combat forms flowed through his transformed body with liquid grace, each movement precisely calculated to disrupt the hunters' coordinated patterns. Their ancient blades, designed to counter traditional werewolf attacks, found only empty air.

Unlike the savage, uncontrolled movements of typical werewolves, Ethan's attacks combined bestial power with military efficiency. His elongated arms gave him devastating reach, while his reinforced claws left trails of silver light with each strike. The wolf's natural instincts merged perfectly with his combat training - each dodge flowing smoothly into a counter-attack, each leap precisely calculated despite his massive frame.

The hunter stumbled, silver blade whistling harmlessly past Ethan's ear. In that split second of imbalance, Ethan's claws raked across the vampire's chest guard, ancient runes meeting enchanted armor in a shower of sparks. The hunter's eyes widened in shock as his supposedly impenetrable protection cracked under the precise strike.

"Fall back!" one of the hunters called out. "He's using the old forms!"

But Ethan wasn't just using the ancient techniques. He combined them with modern combat tactics, creating unpredictable patterns that neither the vampires nor the military teams could anticipate. His claws left trails of silver light as they moved, the hidden runes in his skin pulsing with each strike.

A military team tried to flank him, their energy weapons humming with power. Ethan dropped low, using a modified CQC technique he'd learned in Special Forces - but now enhanced by his transformed body's strength and speed. His shoulder slammed into the lead soldier's legs while his claws swept upward, shearing through the barrel of the man's weapon. The following strikes were a blur of precision: disarm, disable, move on. No killing blows, but each hit calculated to take an opponent out of the fight.

Two blood hunters attacked in perfect sync, their silver blades moving in mirror patterns designed to trap him. Ethan flowed between their strikes, using their own momentum against them. His claws found the weak points where neck met shoulder, where enchanted armor plates joined together. The strikes tore through the reinforced metal and into the cold flesh beneath, severing the vital connection between heart and brain that kept vampires animated. The hunters' bodies crumbled to ash, Their weapons fell to the ground

More military personnel moved to engage, but Ethan's attacks against them remained precisely controlled - disabling weapons, severing tactical gear, striking pressure points. These were just soldiers following orders. The blood hunters, though... they were a different matter entirely. Centuries-old killers who had chosen this path.

Through the chaos, his enhanced senses detected movement in the maintenance shaft - more teams trying to flank their position. But the ancient memories showed him something else. The tunnels here weren't just maintenance passages. They were part of something older, something built long before the city existed.

"The water treatment plant," he growled, pieces clicking into place. "It wasn't built here by accident. The whole facility was constructed around something ancient."

"Very perceptive," Lilith's voice echoed through the tunnels, somehow cutting through the sonic assault. "The old temples still have power, even buried under centuries of human construction. Perfect for our purposes."

Another wave of sonic energy pulsed through the tunnels, but this time Ethan was ready. He moved with the waves rather than against them, using their momentum to enhance his own attacks. The medallion's protective energy spread through his body, turning the very weapon meant to subdue him into a source of power.

"Impossible," Richards muttered, his confidence clearly shaken. "The frequencies should be-"

"Should be what?" Rhea cut in, her silver fire cutting through the darkness. "Breaking him? The old blood isn't something you can control with machines, Colonel. It remembers. It adapts."

The military teams adjusted their energy barriers, trying to create a new containment pattern. But Ethan could see the flaw in their formation - they were still thinking in terms of modern tactical doctrine, not understanding the ancient principles at work.

His next series of attacks exploited that weakness. He moved through their barriers like water through cracks, each strike precisely targeted to disrupt their coordination. The blood hunters tried to compensate, their ancient techniques clashing with the military's modern tactics, creating gaps in their defense.

But time was running out. Through his enhanced senses, Ethan could feel the ritual's power building. The harmonic resonance was growing stronger, and somewhere above, children's blood was being prepared for the ceremony.

"We need to move," he called to Rhea. "The third phase - how long?"

"Minutes at most," she replied, her transformed weapon leaving another hunter unconscious. "Once it begins, the power will draw every vampire in the city. We'll be overwhelmed."

Ethan's mind raced, combining military strategy with ancient knowledge. The tunnels, the temple, the ritual's requirements - it all formed a pattern. And in that pattern, he saw their chance.

"They built their facility on the old temple," he growled, "but they don't understand what they're dealing with. The blood moon ritual wasn't just about power - it was about control."

The runes beneath his skin pulsed stronger, responding to his realization. The ancient memories were showing him something - a way to turn the ritual's own power against itself. But it would be dangerous, requiring perfect timing and coordination.

"I have an idea," he said, his silver-flecked eyes meeting Rhea's gaze. "But you're not going to like it."

[To be continued...]