Chapter 409: Again

They stood across from each other for a moment, neither brother making the first move.

Then Mark suddenly disappeared.

Ethan’s eyes widened.

’Fast.’

Mark crossed the distance between them almost instantly, his body becoming a blur as he closed the gap. His fist came straight toward Ethan’s face, moving with enough force to make the air whistle around it.

Ethan twisted his body aside.

The punch missed by less than an inch, but the air beside Ethan’s head exploded from the force of the passing fist.

’What the fuck?’

Ethan barely had time to process what had happened before Mark spun and swung his other arm.

He raised his forearm just in time.

THUD!

The impact sent him skidding backwards across the ground. His boots dug into the floor as he fought to slow himself down, leaving shallow marks across the training surface.

Ethan stared at Mark.

Mark hadn’t even transformed fully.

’That strength...’

A grin spread across Ethan’s face despite himself.

"Not bad."

Mark smiled.

"I told you."

He charged again.

This time, Ethan met him.

Their fists collided in the centre of the training area, and the impact reverberated through the room. Ethan felt the force travel from his hand into his wrist and shoulder, making his entire arm ache.

Mark was strong.

Ridiculously strong.

Ethan twisted his body and drove his knee toward Mark’s stomach, but Mark reacted quickly and blocked it with his arm.

Before Ethan could pull away, Mark grabbed his leg.

Ethan’s eyes widened.

Mark swung.

Ethan was thrown sideways, his body spinning through the air. He twisted at the last moment and landed on his feet, but Mark was already there.

A punch came toward his chest.

Ethan barely avoided it.

Mark’s fist slammed into the ground instead.

CRACK!

The floor fractured beneath the impact.

Ethan stared at the damage for a moment before looking back at Mark.

"Okay."

He rolled his shoulder.

"You’re definitely stronger."

Kaela smirked from the side of the training room.

"I told you."

Ethan ignored her.

That was when things started to take a turn.

Just as their clash was getting started, Mark suddenly grabbed his own arm. His expression changed almost instantly. The confidence disappeared from his face, replaced by a flash of pain that made his entire body tense.

"Ah..."

Ethan’s smile disappeared.

"Mark?"

Mark staggered backwards, his breathing becoming heavier as his fingers twitched uncontrollably. The muscles in his arms tightened beneath his skin, and Ethan could see something moving beneath the surface as if his body was changing from the inside out.

Ethan immediately recognised the signs.

"Let’s just stop."

Mark shook his head.

"No."

"Mark..."

"I’ve got it!"

His voice was strained as another wave of pain passed through him, forcing his shoulders to tense.

"I’ve got it."

Ethan watched carefully without moving.

Every instinct told him to step forward and help, but what exactly could he do?

So Ethan waited.

Mark’s skin began to change, his body altering uncontrollably.

A strange metallic sheen spread across his arm, starting at his wrist before crawling upward toward his shoulder. The muscles beneath it expanded as his body unconsciously reinforced itself, becoming denser and heavier.

Mark gritted his teeth.

Then, just as quickly as it had started, the transformation stopped.

’He stopped it.’

The metallic coating remained across his arm.

Mark stared at it, his eyes widening as he slowly flexed his hand. The metallic surface moved with his fingers as naturally as ordinary skin.

"Did you see that?"

Ethan nodded.

Mark looked toward him.

"It wasn’t like that Gate."

His brow furrowed as he tried to understand what he had just experienced.

"Back then, it just happened. My body reacted before I could even think about it. In that form, all I wanted was to kill and survive. This time, I felt the change happening, and managed to suppress it."

Ethan’s eyes narrowed.

’It’s some kind of mixture of emotional, mental, and physical responses.’

Pain, danger, and adrenaline triggered it. Fear and aggression seemed to influence it, all of them pushing Mark’s body toward whatever adaptation it believed was necessary.

’But what if he can control it?’

He had somewhat succeeded before Canada, but they kept going in circles, and their hesitation only made things worse.

’Mark needs to turn his body’s emergency response into an active ability.’

"Try again," Ethan said.

Mark looked at him.

Ethan pointed toward his metallic arm.

"But this time, focus on the adaptation. Don’t let your body choose everything for you. Think about what you need and try to make it happen consciously."

Elara frowned.

"Ethan."

He glanced toward her.

"What?"

"You’re telling him to experiment with an unstable transformation while he’s fighting you."

"Yeah."

"That sounds like a terrible idea."

Ethan shrugged.

"Don’t worry."

He smiled.

"What’s the worst that could happen?"

Elara stared at him.

"Ethan."

He ignored her and closed his eyes.

’Partial Assimilation: Wolfy.’

The familiar sensation immediately spread through his body.

His bones shifted, and his muscles tightened as his posture changed. Ethan’s body lowered until he was hunched forward, his centre of gravity dropping dramatically. Dark hair spread across his arms and shoulders while his fingers lengthened into powerful claws.

His jaw pushed forward slightly, his teeth sharpening as his eyes narrowed into a beast’s predatory gaze. He was still unmistakably Ethan, but the man standing before them was no longer entirely human either.

He looked like a werewolf stripped down to its most practical form, a man wearing the body and instincts of a Fenrir.

Ethan rolled his shoulders.

The world suddenly felt slower.

He could hear Mark’s breathing and practically smell the man’s nervousness. He could also hear Elara shifting her weight several metres away, and the faint scrape of Kaela’s boot against the floor.

’Perfect.’

The transformation speed, explosive physical power, balance, and the ability to fight Mark directly without burning him to a crisp or zapping him unconscious.

Ethan lowered himself further and flexed his fingers.

"Alright."

Mark stared at him.

"That from still creeps me out."

Ethan glanced down at his claws.

"Thanks."

Kaela grinned.

"I like it."

Elara sighed.

"Of course you do."

Ethan ignored them, keeping his eyes locked on Mark.

For a moment, the two brothers exchanged a silent understanding.

They both knew what this was.

A chance to understand the monsters they were becoming and for Mark to tame his own body before it was too late.

The large man smiled.

"Again?"

Ethan’s grin widened.

"Again."

Mark charged.

This time, Ethan was ready.

His body moved before Mark had even crossed half the distance.

Ethan exploded forward, and the floor cracked beneath his feet as their fists collided in the centre of the training area.

THUD!

The impact echoed through the room.

Neither brother gave an inch.

Mark’s metallic arm trembled against Ethan’s strength before a dark-green aura began leaking from his body.

It was faint at first, almost like smoke clinging to his skin.

Ethan noticed immediately.

’There it is.’

Mark shifted his weight and redirected Ethan’s force rather than trying to overpower him. Ethan stumbled sideways, but he recovered almost instantly and attacked again.

This time, he went for Mark’s ribs.

The metallic coating spread across Mark’s side just before Ethan’s claws struck.

CLANG!

Ethan’s claws scraped across the metal.

His eyes widened.

’He did it.’

Mark had deliberately reinforced the exact area Ethan attacked.

The large man grinned.

"I can control it."

"Looks like it."

The fight immediately became faster, both wanting to test just how much he could control...