The air in the ruined warehouse crackled with raw power. Rune stood at the epicenter, a monster forged from betrayal and hatred, facing three of the most dangerous individuals in the city. Seraphina, with her chilling control over blood, Thanos, a mountain of brute force, and Valerius, whose eyes held the cold void of spatial manipulation. Rune's crimson gaze swept over them, a cruel smile forming on his transformed face. This wasn't just a fight; it was a reckoning.
Thanos was the first to move, his massive frame barreling towards Rune with a roar that shook the concrete. His fists, each the size of a human head, glowed with raw kinetic energy. But Rune didn't meet him head-on. As Thanos closed the distance, Rune's body shimmered. Bone spikes erupted from his back, not as weapons, but as grotesque anchors, digging into the warehouse floor. His legs coiled, muscles bulging, and with a monstrous surge of power, he launched himself over Thanos, a blur of mutated flesh.
"Behind you, brute!" Valerius's voice was a cold whisper, but it was too late.
Rune landed silently, a shadow behind Thanos. Before the behemoth could turn, Rune's arm elongated, muscles stretching and bone hardening. His clawed hand clamped onto Thanos's thick neck, not to crush, but to manipulate. Thanos roared, trying to break free, but his own muscles began to twitch uncontrollably, turning against him. His movements became erratic, his powerful limbs flailing wildly, a puppet on Rune's strings.
"Such a simple mind, Thanos," Rune rasped, his voice a distorted growl. "Your body betrays you, just as you betrayed me."
Seraphina shrieked, a high-pitched sound of fury. Her hands shot out, veins on her forearms bulging as crimson energy pulsed from her fingertips. "Die, you abomination! Explode!"
Rune felt a searing pain, as if his blood was boiling from within. Pressure built in his veins, threatening to rupture them. This was Seraphina's Blood Vessel Control. But Rune was no ordinary being anymore. His mutated body screamed in protest, but it was also adapting. With a guttural grunt, Rune forced his own blood vessels to constrict, to harden, to resist the external force. It was excruciating, a battle within his own circulatory system, but he wouldn't break.
"Foolish," Rune snarled, still gripping Thanos. "Your pathetic parlor trick won't work on me!"
Valerius, however, was a different threat. He didn't rush. His sword, humming with dark energy, flickered, and suddenly he vanished, only to reappear a few feet to Rune's left. The air around Valerius shimmered, distorting the light. He struck, his sword aiming for Rune's exposed side.
Rune instinctively shifted, a bone plate rising from his ribs to deflect the blow. The dark blade scraped against the living armor, sparks flying, but it held. Valerius's eyes narrowed, surprised by the resilience.
"Give me the rat," Rune hissed, ignoring Valerius for a moment. With a final, sickening crunch, Rune twisted Thanos's neck, the larger man going limp. He then absorbed Thanos's dying essence, a wave of vital energy surging through him. Rune felt stronger, his regenerating wounds closing even faster.
"Thanos!" Seraphina screamed, her face contorted in disbelief and rage. She unleashed a torrent of crimson energy, trying to overwhelm Rune.
But Rune was already moving. He launched himself towards Valerius, who, seeing Thanos fall, realized the true horror of Rune's power. Valerius vanished again, reappearing further back, creating a distorted ripple in space between them.
"You've grown strong, Rune," Valerius's voice echoed from the warped space. "But you can't fight all of us and escape the Guild Master's wrath!"
Rune didn't reply. His eyes, now burning with even fiercer intensity, fixed on Seraphina. She was panicking, her composure cracking. He lunged, a terrifying blur of bone and muscle. She might control blood, but he was flesh.
The real hunt for her had just begun.