Chapter 288: Max, or Crab?

Chills ran down the spines of the tribeswomen as Max's crimson eyes swept across the village. Even the bravest warriors instinctively retreated, tightening their grips around their weapons as though an ancient predator had suddenly marked them as its prey.

The old shaman felt her dying heart pound against her chest. Unlike the others, she understood what was happening. Max and the Silver Crab were fighting for control of the same body, their opposing wills stirring a rage that threatened to erupt at any moment, like molten fury rising from the depths of a volcano.

"I'll fight him and hold him off for as long as I can. The rest of you, retreat from the village! Don't stop until you're far enough away. Either I kill him, or he kills me, but I won't allow any of our people to die here!"

Antiope stepped forward, her expression hardening as green magic spread across her limbs, gradually taking the shape of a spectral tigress whose enormous jaws opened in a silent snarl. Its translucent armor enveloped her shoulders and arms before extending down her legs, while a long, powerful tail swayed behind her.

Despite her confident declaration, Antiope could feel the tremendous pressure bearing down upon her, making every step toward Max more difficult than the last. Her instincts urged her to retreat, warning her that the man standing before them was nothing like the helpless prisoner they had kept captive for weeks.

Nevertheless, she planted her feet firmly against the fractured ground and raised one clawed hand toward him, positioning herself between Max and the women gathering behind her.

"You're not fighting him alone."

Before Antiope could turn to object, Myrina had already taken her place at her sister's side. Brilliant blue magic surged from her body, forming the powerful figure of a spectral puma whose sharp claws dug into the earth as its armor wrapped around her limbs.

"Myrina, you should be helping the others escape!" Antiope snapped, glancing at her sister.

"What do you expect me to do? Be selfish and abandon my own family?" Myrina met Antiope's eyes with such intensity that the latter found herself lowering her gaze ever so slightly. "And leave you here to die alone?" she continued, turning her attention back toward Max. "You can argue with me all you want after we survive this. But until then, I'm fighting beside you."

Antiope opened her mouth, but the words never came. She knew that stubborn expression far too well, and despite everything that had happened between them, there was no mistaking her sister's resolve.

The two women turned toward Max, their spectral beasts settling into fighting stances as green and blue energy rippled across the ground.

"You girls are brave, just like your mother, but this fight will not be as easy as you think..." The old shaman's weakened voice reached them from behind. "The rage within that man alone carries more power than either of you can imagine. Do not underestimate him."

Her withered body remained slumped against the ground, too weak to move after sacrificing nearly everything to perform the forbidden ritual. Beside her knelt her young apprentice, tears streaming down her cheeks as she held the old woman's trembling hands, struggling to accept that the person who had raised and taught her was slowly slipping away.

"Please, lead our people to safety. This is your duty now," the shaman whispered, gently patting her apprentice's hand. Her bony fingers had grown cold, and the weakness of her touch offered little hope for her survival.

"I..." The girl opened her mouth, but her voice broke before she could finish. She tightened her grip, unwilling to let go.

"Please... my dear."

The tenderness in those few words finally reached her. She lowered her head, fighting back another wave of tears before reluctantly releasing the shaman's hand.

"Okay..." she whispered, wiping her cheeks with the back of her sleeve as she forced herself to stand.

Nearby, Antiope and Myrina kept their attention fixed upon Max, watching for the slightest indication that he might attack while his body continued struggling under the influence of the ancient god.

"Everybody, follow me!" the apprentice shouted above the rumbling earth. "Leave everything behind! We have to get away from here!"

Her command stirred the villagers into motion. The surviving tribeswomen hurried after her, supporting the wounded and carrying those too weak to walk on their own as they made their way toward the far side of the settlement.

There, the ancient beast-hide gliders had been kept for generations, their enormous wooden frames and tightly stretched hides carefully preserved for emergencies that most of the tribe had never expected to experience.

What had once seemed like an unnecessary relic of their ancestors had become their only means of escaping the enormous creature carrying their village into the sky.

But just as the evacuation began, Max suddenly stopped moving.

The violent struggle that had been twisting his body came to an abrupt halt, leaving him standing motionless amid the destruction. His eyes had changed as well, their crimson depths bearing an unfamiliar expression that belonged neither entirely to him nor to the Silver Crab, as though the two consciousnesses had become entangled in their desperate attempts to seize control.

Then, his body began to transform.

Dark scales emerged across his skin, spreading from his back toward his shoulders and limbs as his muscles swelled beneath the growing armor. His bones shifted, gradually revealing the familiar features of his dragon hybrid form, while a surge of primal strength rippled outward with enough force to stir the dust and scattered debris around him.

Antiope and Myrina immediately braced themselves, their spectral beasts crouching low as the sudden increase in pressure swept over them. The sisters exchanged a brief, uneasy glance, tightening their stances as they realized that the man they had prepared to fight was becoming considerably more dangerous than either had anticipated.

"A dragon? How is that possible...?" the old shaman muttered under her breath, her eyes widening in disbelief as she stared at Max's transforming body.