Earlier, while chaos tore through the town, Nyx had been watching.

Enjoying every second of it.

Eyes glued to the display from dozens of hovering drones, he watched with a childlike fascination as the mutants fought the giant monstrosity that had once been Phantom V.

They'd coordinated surprisingly well - blades, explosives, speed, and blood, all striking in rhythm. He tilted his head, eyebrows raised, as the mutants moved with a level of synergy most field teams took years to master.

It was enthralling.

Each had their own strengths and roles, and Kai was far from being the centre of their team.

Yet even in the background, he still stood out to Nyx.

The way he wielded his blood - its versatility, the instinctual creativity behind it - it was beautiful. Not polished or refined like a trained ability user, but raw, wild, and alive.

It only made Nyx more obsessed.

He leaned back in his chair, tapping a gloved finger against his cheek. "Fascinating…"

Even so, the moment the hulking monster suddenly froze, a sour note crept into his amusement.

"Hmph. Seems as though my Special Capsule isn't perfect just yet," he murmured, eyes narrowing.

The monster hadn't lasted as long as he'd hoped, its body crumbling as their battle reached its peak. But the final act had made up for it.

Watching them scramble to escape the ticking time bomb that it became? That was delightful.

Especially Kai - bloody, staggering, trying to escape on foot while the explosion chased him like death incarnate. Nyx chuckled.

"Like a cockroach," he said fondly. "No matter how hard you try, you just can't kill him."

By the time the town was reduced to ash, Nyx had already begun cataloguing the results - running calculations, updating files, refining formulas in his head. There was so much to analyse, so much to improve.

He let the remaining survivors gather, knowing they would all eventually gravitate toward the centre, toward him.

And once the moment felt right, he activated the speaker system hidden in his swarm of drones, his smooth, taunting voice echoing across the ruins...

-

"Well done, Subject 357. You've survived again. I must say you're quite impressive." Nyx continued, his words cut through the silence like a knife.

The few remaining townsfolk couldn't understand what was being said, but the faces of the others went pale. A mix of emotions burned in their eyes, but none of them could do a thing to the man who was across the world from them.

Meanwhile, Nyx's tone remained light, playful, almost like a host wrapping up a reality show.

"But this round's MVP is… the Blind Swordsman!"

Takeshi's eyes narrowed under his blindfold, lips twitching in the faintest grimace.

"And another special thank you to Mr Hawkes," Nyx continued, "for his contribution to the advancement of my Monsterfication Serum research."

Kai couldn't help but feel frustrated. 'He must be giving me clues about my life with my surname. I'm sure it's my actual surname. It just feels right. But this fucker's intentions are never good.'

Nyx's ulterior motives unnerved him, but he decided not to dwell on it and took it for what it was, a lead to eventually follow.

As for the others, they remained frozen in a state of agitation and feeling helpless.

Nyx's announcements had echoed from the hovering drones - small, disc-shaped machines suspended high in the air, well out of reach. Smooth, metallic, and almost graceful, they hovered like vultures, watching.

Mocking.

And even if they could destroy them, which felt impossible in their current condition, it wouldn't matter.

Nyx had already achieved what he had set out to.

The drones began to disperse, gliding away with eerie synchronisation. Some vanished into the clouds, carrying high-definition footage of the entire event. Others descended quietly to the corpses of fallen monsters, collecting biological samples with needle-tipped arms and sample pods.

Focusing on the splattered remains of the giant monster that was the result of Nyx's special capsule and gathering more of Kai's blood, the drones paid no mind to the grief-stricken survivors below.

Because this wasn't a battleground for Nyx.

It was a lab.

And the experiment… had been a resounding success.

-

"Things couldn't have gone better. I can now perfect my serums and research further."

Nyx spoke aloud to no one, his voice giddy, eyes gleaming with anticipation as data streamed across his monitors.

He now had dozens of samples - each one a snapshot of how his monsterfication serum affected different individuals. It was a treasure trove of information. The kind that could take his research from theoretical to something world-changing.

But what fascinated him most wasn't just the transformations.

It was why some became more powerful monsters than others.

He leaned closer to the screen, watching side-by-side footage of two victims: one who'd twisted into a hulking monster with brute force and nothing else, and another who'd mutated into a sleek, almost elegant creature with enhanced abilities that rivalled mid-tier mutants.

The variables were endless - age, genetics, emotional state, previous injuries - but the most promising subjects were mutants.

Mutants were far more resistant to his serum, their bodies already harmonising with the Z gene in complex, unique ways. Trying to forcibly monsterfy them with a basic formula almost always failed. Or worse, ended in explosive rejection.

But the Special Capsule? That changed everything.

A hard-to-make, volatile solution requiring HyperCells - a compound so unstable it could barely be contained. Yet it worked. HyperCells infused such a potent surge of Z gene activity into the host that even mutants couldn't resist the Monsterfication.

The only downside? The HyperCells were a nightmare to stabilise. Too unpredictable. Too explosive - literally.

'But of course they are,' he thought, lips curling into a grin. 'They were made using a sample from Hyperion himself.'

The world's strongest mutant.

The one mutant arrogant enough to donate a sample to the Association without a second thought. He believed no one would ever come close to reaching his level.

And he might've been right… if Nyx wasn't involved.

Nyx's obsession, his genius, had brought him closer to cracking the code behind the Z gene than anyone alive. And now, thanks to his recent experiments, particularly with Subject 357, he was right on the edge of something revolutionary.

Because Kai's blood?

It was a natural stabiliser.

Somehow, his blood harmonised with the Z gene's rapid multiplication, acting as a buffer against the HyperCells' violent reaction. It didn't neutralise them. No, that would ruin the effect; it guided them.

Directed them and controlled the chaos.

A perfect catalyst.

With HyperCells and Kai's blood, Nyx could forcibly evolve people, even if they were already mutants, into a higher lifeform.

What was the need for war and hunger when one could fly through the air like Hyperion, or recover rapidly from wounds like Kai?

He pictured a new world of evolved beings, and to get there, sacrifices had to be made. If he had to destroy everything to rebuild it, then so be it. In the end, humanity would be better off, and he'd be worshipped as the pioneer in evolution.

With that in mind, he stared at a vial of blood on the table beside him - deep crimson, sealed in reinforced glass. His fingers brushed it tenderly, almost affectionately.

"My research can now enter an entirely different level."

Even Nyx, the mad scientist, visionary, and sadist, was struggling to imagine the full extent of what he could now create.

"And unlucky Phantom V," he whispered with a chuckle. "You played your part well... hahaha!"

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