Chapter 418: Serum

Dr Elias stood calmly in the centre of the room, his hands clasped behind his back as though he were waiting for a guest rather than standing inside his own ruined laboratory.

The room looked nothing like it had when Kaela first entered. Broken equipment littered the floor, overturned workstations blocked several paths, and shattered glass covered the tiles. Smoke drifted from damaged security systems, while one of the automated turrets hung uselessly from the ceiling by a bundle of wires.

Kaela barely noticed.

She stopped a few metres away and glanced around.

“So, where’s your monster storage?”

Her eyes moved across the laboratory.

“I’m sure you’ve got some living monsters around here.”

Elias smiled.

“I do.”

Kaela sighed.

“But you’re not just going to hand them over, are you?”

Elias shook his head.

“No.”

Kaela rolled her eyes.

“Of course not.”

“You’ll have to beat me first.”

Kaela stared at him before laughing.

“You’re not even a Titled.”

Elias’s smile widened.

“But I am-“

Kaela disappeared.

Elias didn’t even finish the sentence before she was standing directly in front of him. She raised one finger and flicked him on the forehead.

CRASH!

Elias flew across the room and smashed through a desk, sending metal fragments and equipment scattering across the floor.

Kaela blinked.

“Oh.”

She scratched the back of her head.

“I guess I didn’t hold back as much as I thought.”

She expected him to be unconscious.

Instead, Elias slowly pushed himself upright.

Kaela’s smile faded.

“You’re still standing?”

Elias coughed and retrieved his glasses from the wreckage. One lens was cracked, but he calmly adjusted the frame.

There was no anger or fear in his expression.

If anything, he looked fascinated.

“Interesting.”

Kaela raised an eyebrow.

“What’s interesting?”

“Your physical strength.”

Elias looked directly at her.

“Even after everything I’ve observed, experiencing it directly is different.”

Kaela stared.

“You’re seriously analysing me right now?”

“Of course.”

Elias reached inside his coat and pulled out a syringe.

Inside was a thick, dark-green substance.

The liquid slowly shifted beneath the glass, almost as though it were alive.

Kaela’s eyes narrowed.

“What the hell is that?”

Elias looked at the syringe with genuine excitement.

“A little something I made using the sample from your monstrous friend.”

Kaela’s expression hardened.

“Mark.”

“Exactly.”

Elias turned the syringe in his hand.

“I’ve been working on this ever since I obtained the sample. The greatest problem with Monsterification is instability. The human body isn’t designed to contain that level of what I like to call corrupted mana.”

He smiled.

“But Mark changed the equation.”

Kaela folded her arms.

“You’re saying you figured out how to stabilise it?”

“I didn’t figure it out.”

Elias’s smile widened.

“I improved it.”

Kaela could have stopped him.

She could have knocked the syringe from his hand before he ever injected himself.

But she didn’t.

‘What’s the fun in that?’

She wanted to see what he had created, and it seemed as though Elias had gambled that she would do so. He pressed the syringe against his thigh and drove the needle into his flesh.

The dark-green serum disappeared into his body.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then his fingers twitched.

His entire body jerked violently, and his back arched as several sickening cracks echoed through the laboratory.

Kaela’s eyes widened.

Elias’s muscles expanded. His shoulders broadened, his arms thickened, and dark veins spread beneath his skin from the injection site. His spine twisted. His fingers lengthened, and his nails sharpened into claws.

His lab coat began tearing apart as his body continued to grow.

The transformation wasn’t uniform.

One arm became thicker and more muscular, while the other became slimmer and longer, its fingers extending into vicious claws. Dark-green markings spread across his chest and neck, while hardened patches of skin formed over his shoulders, ribs, and thighs.

Kaela tilted her head.

‘He’s even creepier now.’

But despite her casual comment, she was observing what was happening keenly.

Mark’s body adapted instinctively to survive, but Elias’s transformation was different. It was deliberate, designed, and each part seemed built for a specific purpose.

His left arm appeared focused on raw strength, while his right was built for speed and precision.

Elias dropped to one knee, his fingers digging into the floor.

CRACK!

The metal buckled beneath his hand.

Then he slowly stood.

His jaw lengthened slightly, revealing sharper teeth, while his skin hardened further.

But what was most frightening was that his eyes remained intelligent.

The monster hadn’t replaced Elias.

He was still completely conscious and was smiling.

“I’ve done it.”

His voice was deeper now, but unmistakably his.

“I’ve actually done it.”

He looked down at his transformed hands.

“Stable Monsterification.”

He laughed softly.

“I’ve stabilised the process.”

Kaela watched him carefully.

Elias raised his head.

“I am the first.”

His smile became almost reverent.

“The first evolved human.”

Kaela sighed internally.

‘Here we go.’

Elias spread his arms.

“This body isn’t simply stronger. It is adaptable. I can alter my physical structure and manipulate different parts of my body independently.”

His green veins pulsed.

“And I can control the transformation.”

Kaela raised an eyebrow.

“So you’re basically a walking science experiment.”

“A successful one.”

Elias suddenly lunged.

Kaela barely raised her arm before his fist slammed into it.

BOOM!

She was pushed several metres backwards.

Kaela steadied herself and looked at her arms that were already healing.

“Okay. You’re stronger than I expected.”

Elias attacked again.

His left arm expanded as he swung, but Kaela ducked beneath it.

The fist smashed into the wall behind her.

CRACK!

Kaela countered with a punch to his ribs.

Elias twisted, but the strike still sent him stumbling.

His body immediately changed.

The muscles around his ribs hardened, and the damage began disappearing.

Kaela narrowed her eyes.

‘So he can reinforce himself after taking damage.’

Elias smiled.

“You’re beginning to understand.”

“Not really.”

Kaela stepped forward.

“But I’m getting bored.”

The fight continued.

Elias wasn’t as skilled as Kaela, but his intelligence made him dangerous. He watched every movement, calculated every attack, and consciously altered his body whenever he discovered a weakness.

When Kaela targeted his ribs, the muscles hardened. When she attacked his legs, their structure changed. And when she tried to overwhelm him with speed, his thinner arm extended into a longer, more flexible weapon.

It wasn’t Mark’s adaptation.

Mark’s body reacted instinctively to survive.

Elias consciously directed his own.

That made him dangerous.

‘The smarter they are, the crazier they are, apparently.’

Kaela grabbed Elias’s wrist and twisted.

His shoulder dislocated.

She slammed him into the floor.

BOOM!

Elias rolled away, his shoulder snapping back into place.

He laughed.

“Perfect!”

Kaela stared at him.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Everything!”

Elias rose again, his eyes burning with excitement.

“And that’s exactly why this works!”

He clenched his fists.

“I don’t have that specimen’s limitations!”

His transformed body flexed.

“I can already take on A Ranks!”

Kaela remained unimpressed.

Elias continued.

“And this is only the beginning. I’ll refine the serum, improve the transformation, and create specialised forms for different environments.”

His smile widened.

“Nothing is impossible anymore.”

He spread his claws.

“I can evolve humanity.”

Kaela rolled her eyes.

Elias raised his voice further, truly believing what he was saying.

“I can make the Gates fear us!”

His laughter echoed through the laboratory.

“This is the start of a new age!”

He continued talking about evolution, humanity’s future, and creating an entire race capable of surpassing Titled and monsters alike.

Eventually, his attention returned to Kaela.

“Once I’ve defeated you, I’ll use your body as another specimen.”

Kaela’s expression went blank.

Elias continued excitedly.

“Your regeneration, physical structure, reaction speed, and predictive abilities are extraordinary. Imagine what I could learn from you.”

Kaela stared at him.

She had been listening at first, but now she was simply tired of it.

‘Mark and Ethan are still waiting…’

She needed living monsters, and this had dragged on long enough.

Kaela rolled her shoulders.

The playful smile disappeared.

For the first time since entering the facility, she stopped treating the fight like a game.

Her eyes sharpened, and her body lowered.

Elias’s smile slowly faded.

He could sense the difference.

“So…”

Kaela looked directly at him.

“You’ve had your fun.”

She took one step forward.

The floor cracked beneath her feet.

“Now it’s my turn.”

Elias’s monstrous grin returned.

“Excellent.”

Kaela disappeared.