Chapter 95: The Strongest Modified Human

"Ruler of the seas?!" Deep within the distant forest, the strange creature Ingram's sharp ears picked up Bege's boastful declaration from the day before. A cold smirk touched its bizarre lips.

Weevil slept soundly through the night and woke the next morning. His injuries had healed considerably; he was already jumping around energetically. Bege and his crew could only marvel once again at his monstrous constitution and recovery rate.

Over the next few days, a routine developed. Fia, accompanied by Gabo and Limu, visited Bege's campsite daily. Their primary motivation, of course, was the seemingly endless supply of cola and the delicious food Bege's cooks prepared. Bege, finding the trio amusing and perhaps useful, was generous, allowing Fia and her companions to eat and drink their fill. Because of this generosity, Fia gradually lost her fear of Bege, sometimes even playing tag or other games around his lounge chair. Gabo and Limu, however, remained cautious, clearly intimidated by the pirate crew whose strength they now knew rivaled even Ingram's.

Suddenly, a deafening roar, louder than any clap of thunder, erupted from the center of Bipoth Island. Tangible sonic waves rippled visibly through the sky. An instant later, a tremendous, earth-shaking explosion followed, causing the entire island to vibrate violently.

Bege immediately shot into the air using Geppo, scanning the island's interior.

The central region of the island had completely collapsed. An immense cloud of dust and smoke billowed upwards, obscuring the view. Then, a shockwave comparable to a hurricane blasted outwards from the center, instantly blowing the dust cloud away.

The island's central mountain range lay shattered, revealing glimpses of broken steel structures buried within the rock. Huge swathes of the surrounding forest were toppling like dominoes.

Bege's eyes narrowed, piercing through the chaos. Amidst the falling timber and swirling dust, he could just make out two blurry figures colliding at blinding speed. The widespread destruction – the collapsing forest, the cracked earth – was clearly a result of the terrifying force unleashed with each of their impacts.

"Who is fighting?!" Bege muttered grimly, his expression serious.

Down below, Gabo began to tremble violently, his face pale with extreme terror. "Fia," he stammered, his voice shaking, "that roar… it's Kira! Kira must have lost control and escaped again!"

"Fia! When Kira loses control, the whole island becomes his hunting ground! It's too dangerous here!" Limu urged frantically, equally terrified, tremblingly pulling at Fia's small hand. "We have to get back quickly!"

Fia herself began to shake, panic flashing in her eyes. "Brother Bege!" she yelled up at him, her voice tight with fear. "We have to hide, quickly!"

"Fia, what exactly is going on?" Moria asked as Bege landed lightly beside the trembling girl.

"It's Kira!" Fia explained frantically. "He's Dad's strongest Modified Human, Kira! He's lost control! When Kira loses control, no one can stop him! He'll kill every living thing on the island!" Fia vividly recalled witnessing one of Kira's previous rampages – a horrifying massacre where he slaughtered every living creature, the blood flowing so thick it ran into the sea, attracting Sea Kings which Kira then also tore apart. The hellish imagery remained burned into her memory.

"Strongest Modified Human?!" Bege repeated, processing the information.

"Yes! Just like Ingram! They're both the strongest modified warriors!" Fia said urgently. Limu tugged her arm again, whispering sharply, "We can't talk about these things!" Fia gasped, remembering, and quickly clamped her hands over her mouth.

"Anyway, the island is extremely dangerous right now!" Gabo interjected fearfully. "An out-of-control Kira is terrifying! Even Ingram can't beat him! We have to hide in the underwater safe house!" Desperate now, Gabo and Limu each grabbed one of Fia's arms and started dragging her away towards the forest.

They hadn't run more than a few steps before they scrambled back even faster, huddling behind Bege, trembling uncontrollably.

"Kira… Kira's coming this way!"

BOOM! An object flew out of the forest, tumbling end over end through the air, carving a deep trench over a hundred meters long in the ground before skidding to a halt just short of the sea.

As the dust settled, the object was revealed to be Ingram. Pinned beneath him, face down in the dirt, was another, even larger figure – standing easily seven meters tall.

This new figure, Kira, was even more monstrous and terrifying in appearance than Ingram. Five thick, curved ram's horns curled down from its forehead, hugging its scalp. Its vaguely humanoid face was flanked on either side by thick plates of horn-like keratin, forming grotesque mask-like structures. Above its primary, blood-red eyes, its forehead was disturbingly covered in dozens of smaller, constantly swiveling compound eyes, creating a deeply unsettling effect.

Its body was a nightmarish amalgamation: the powerful torso of a giant ape, hands morphed into lethally sharp tiger claws, and its lower body consisted of the slender, powerful legs of a cheetah. Almost no human features remained visible.

"Kira!" Fia, Gabo, and Limu whispered the name in unison, paralyzed by terror.

"This thing is a literal beast," Bege observed grimly, assessing the monstrous figure. "Its eyes are filled with nothing but slaughter." He could sense an overwhelming, primal killing intent radiating from every single one of Kira's swiveling compound eyes.

"Ingram! Don't lose to Kira!" Fia suddenly mustered her courage and yelled out encouragement.

Ingram roared, grabbing Kira's tiger claws that were pinning him down and managing to kick the larger monster off him.

"Fia! Get back to the safe house, now!" Ingram shouted urgently. But in the next instant, Kira lunged again with blinding speed, kicking Ingram hard, sending him flying backward as tiger claws ripped more bloody wounds across his body.

The two monstrous figures clashed again, their battle resembling a fight between prehistoric behemoths. Rocks shattered, the ground trembled, and trees splintered around them. It quickly became clear that Ingram was completely overwhelmed, constantly forced onto the defensive, absorbing blow after brutal blow from the berserk Kira.

Just then, a squad of figures emerged from the forest – more Modified Humans, each displaying a mixture of human and animalistic traits.

"Fia's over there! And Kira too!" shouted the apparent leader of the squad. "Team One, support Ingram, hold Kira back! Team Two, rescue Fia and retreat immediately!"

The Guard Squad split instantly. Ten combat-specialized individuals rushed towards the chaotic battle to aid Ingram, while a smaller group, presumably focused on speed, dashed towards Fia's position.

"It's the Guard Squad! Fia, they're here to rescue us!" Gabo cheered hopefully.

Team One reached the battlefield. Kira's bloodshot eyes became even more frenzied, filled with countless swirling blood vessels, and a savage, bloodthirsty grin spread across his grotesque face.

He vanished. CRACK! The sound echoed like a thunderclap. One of the guards – a man with the head of a tiger – suddenly had his entire head explode like a smashed watermelon, spraying brains and gore everywhere. An instant later, his body ruptured violently, showering the immediate area in blood and viscera, shattering the rocky ground beneath with the sheer force of the internal explosion caused by Kira's blow.

One punch had utterly obliterated a Modified Human warrior. The scene was horrifyingly brutal.

Gabo quickly clamped his hands over Fia's eyes, shielding the little girl from the gruesome sight.

"Get back! Don't get close to Kira!" Ingram roared, charging forward desperately, but he was too late. With terrifying speed and efficiency, Kira dispatched the remaining nine guards with brutal punches and kicks. Each blow caused his victims to explode, filling the air with a gruesome rain of blood and shredded flesh.

Team Two, ignoring the massacre, bypassed the fight and rapidly closed in on Fia. But suddenly, Kira flashed backward, moving directly through the rescue squad's formation. As he passed, their bodies simply disintegrated mid-run, collapsing into piles of bloody chunks. All of them were killed instantly.

Kira greedily licked the fresh blood from his tiger claws, his savage aura growing even wilder and more uncontrolled. His blood-red primary eyes and dozens of compound eyes swiveled, fixing directly onto Bege's group nearby. With barely a pause, he charged towards them.

Ingram intercepted him again, moving even faster this time, desperately putting himself between Kira and Bege's group. The two monsters clashed once more.

"Help me protect Fia!" Ingram roared to Bege during a brief opening in the chaotic exchange.

Bege immediately shouted orders to his crewmates, who gathered quickly around him. One by one, he rapidly pulled them into the safety of his internal castle-body.