Chapter 395: Turbo Twins

Jayden's hands tensed. His mind raced. Did Fred tell her something? No, Fred valued his own life too much to betray him like that. This was her own deduction.

"Your claws," Jenny continued, pointing a gloved finger at his hands. "They aren't mechanical attachments. They're real. Your muscle density has also increased, changed right before you attacked. And your face... even behind that mask, I can tell the skeletal structure underneath isn't human right now. That's why you aren't speaking to me, isn't it? Your vocal cords and throat have been completely modified to accommodate a non-human biology."

She tilted her head, her pink ponytail shifting over her shoulder. "So, let's put the puzzle together. You possess an organic claw. You seamlessly wield a massive cocktail of distinct abilities—speed, intangibility, fire, telekinesis, and strength. And just days ago, you went out of your way to save a beast."

Jenny snapped her fingers, the sound sharp as a gunshot. "You're a Beastman, aren't you?" She said, chuckling darkly.

The seven surviving agents behind her gasped, their eyes widening in sheer disbelief. "Commander, that's impossible. There are no Beastmen left on Earth. The last settlement was annihilated seven years ago."

"True," Jenny said, her eyes locked dead onto Jayden's mask, completely ignoring her men. "The records say they were wiped out. But what if there was a survivor? What if an Oneiri managed to slip off the island before the purge?"

She stepped forward, her gaze still locked on Jayden. "You lived among us for seven years, hiding in the shadows, growing stronger, adapting, until you finally decided to launch this bloody crusade. That's what this whole 'Hunter' persona is, right? Revenge. Vengeance for what was done to your species."

She took a slow, heavy breath, her expression turning deadly serious. "Which means your true target isn't the Syndicate at all. It's us." she said motioning to her agents. "Your goal is to destroy the EVA—the very organization that authorized the execution of your people."

Jayden stood entirely motionless in the dark. A profound, chilling sensation washed over him. The sheer accuracy of her observation skills was utterly terrifying. She was wrong about his real nature, but she was right about his origin and his goals. And the way she had woven his physical changes, his abilities, and his rescue of the Winter wolf into a perfectly logical narrative was brilliant. If given another few weeks, a woman with this level of analytical intellect would uncover his identity easily. Fred hadn't been exaggerating—Jenny wasn't to be taken lightly.

Jayden let out a low, guttural growl, his modified throat forcing the words out in a terrifying, rasping hiss. "The EVA... will pay for what they did."

Jenny's smirk returned, sharp and triumphant. "I knew it. Oh, Fred owes me big time." she thought.

Jayden took a threatening step forward, his claws glinting under the floodlights. "This is just the beginning of your collapse, Commander."

"No," Jenny countered smoothly, her smile fading into an expression of absolute certainty. "... it's the end. For you."

As soon as she said those words, two blinding streaks of sapphire-blue light erupted from the eastern tree line and headed straight toward him. And before Jayden's reflexes could even register the incoming assault—

BOOM.

Two physical forces struck Jayden simultaneously in the center of his chest with the weight of a supersonic freight train. The sheer velocity was so extreme that he was launched backward like a broken doll. He flew across the entire length of the courtyard in a blurry streak, smashing directly through the exterior concrete wall of the facility without slowing down. He tore through a secondary interior corridor, smashed through a third structural partition, and finally blasted into the central reactor room, slamming violently against a massive, rusted steel turbine casing. The impact cracked his back against the iron structure, knocking the wind completely out of his lungs before he collapsed heavily onto the debris-covered floor.

Back outside in the clearing, the two streaks of blue light skidded to a halt exactly where Jayden had been standing a second ago.

The blue energy dissipated, revealing two figures. A man and a woman both in their mid-twenties. They had matching spiky blue hair and wore highly advanced, form-fitting nanotech suits equipped with specialized kinetic visors. In the center of the man's chest plate sat a glowing, circular arc-reactor core that hummed with immense energy.

These were the Turbo Twins. Two of the EVA's S-Rank Pioneers. They were known as the fastest individuals on the planet.

Jenny walked over to them, crossing her arms as she scoffed. "What took you two so long?" She asked sternly.

The male twin, Theo, let out a dramatic sigh, adjusting his gauntlet. "Blame my sister. She was the one dragging her feet."

Thea turned on him instantly, her hands on her hips. "Are you insane, Theo?! You were the one who insisted we make a detour to the Eiffel Tower just so you take a picture."

"Enough!" Jenny barked, her patience completely gone. "Stop acting like undisciplined children and go get him before he recovers and escapes."

"Right, right," Theo muttered.

In a fraction of a millisecond, the twins transformed back into twin bolts of sapphire lightning, blurring through the shattered holes of the concrete wall to hunt Jayden down.

Left alone in the courtyard, Jenny's stern composure finally fractured. She looked down at the gruesome landscape of her dead agents, her breath catching sharply in her throat. Her fists shook violently at her sides. She felt a toxic cocktail of paralyzing grief, terror, and blinding rage tearing her apart from the inside, but she forced her jaw to lock. She was a Commander on an active battlefield; she could not afford to fall apart. She pushed the raw emotion deep down, maintaining a cold, rigid exterior.

Suddenly, a weak, wet cough echoed from a pile of rubble near the destroyed transport. It came from one of the agents on the ground. They were still alive.