Chapter 33 - The Sphinataur!

(After parting with Lucas)

Sally and Anthony were running through the woods towards their main objective. The one they had come to investigate. "Head North for another two hundred meters and you must be there", said Brad. "Yes, Boss", they said as they followed the directions given to them. Anthony chuckled. Brad on the other end chuckled as well. "If anything turns out dangerous, I want you to turn tail and run. We can always investigate it later", said Brad.

Sally and Anthony acknowledged his orders. They arrived at the place and what awaited them wasn't a peaceful forest. Instead, the place was ravaged and torn apart. "Could there have been a Blackguard here?", muttered Anthony as he began to inspect everything. Sally, on the other hand, began to inspect the dead beasts that were lying around.

"These beasts have been torn apart. Ravaged like a hungry beast. Blackguards don't eat this way", she said. Anthony came to the same conclusion. They were both looking around when they heard the roar of a beast near them. "Come on quick, we have to hide", said Anthony as he pulled Sally away.

They both hid behind a tree, waiting for whatever made that sound. "Look", pointed Anthony. Sally looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a beast that was walking towards the carcasses that were spread around. "That's not a Beastman. It's an abomination", said Anthony. Sally nodded her head.

The Beast that was standing had the body of a human, the head of a lion, and the lower body was that of a horse. It was towering at the height of nine feet. "But how? What are these?", he thought. The beast began to eat the remaining flesh on the carcasses. Sally and Anthony began to tiptoe their way out.

"There is no way I'm fighting that thing", he thought. He pulled Sally's hand and together, they began to flee the scene. "What is that?", asked Anthony in the earpiece. Brad who was on the other line saw what they were seeing. "I think that should be some kind of experiment. Someone is conducting experiments on how to create Beastmen. I just hope they don't succeed. If they do, it will be the end of us", said Brad whilst scratching his chin.

They were fleeing from the scene and the Beast that was feasting didn't mind them. It kept on feasting, and they began to run once they were out of range. After some time, they felt the ground shake. "An earthquake?", asked Sally. She turned and saw Anthony frowning. "Whatever happens, don't turn back", said Anthony as he pushed Sally in front of him.

Sally didn't understand why he said that. As soon as he pushed her away, the beast that they saw came running towards them. "Anthony!", she screamed as she saw the beast head butt Anthony and pushing him away from her view. Trees were crashing down and Anthony began to transform. "First Form Transformation", he muttered as his hands and feet began to transform into Beast parts.

Sally hid behind a tree. "If he is in extreme danger, I will dive in", she thought as she peeked over to look at the fight. "Get out of there, now!", came Brad's voice on the other end. "No", she said firmly. Brad let out a deep breath. "Then let me scan for any weaknesses", he said as he began to type something on the keyboard in front of him.

Sally was looking at the fight. The beast tore a limb from one of the carcasses and began to use it as a club. "Die, you abomination", said Anthony as he slashed his hands towards the limb, tearing it off. "I... Not Abomination", spoke the beast. There was smoke coming out of its nostrils.

Anthony jumped back the moment he heard the voice. "You can speak?", he said. Sally was taken aback by the development. The beast began to bang its hands on its chest. "I.. Name... Sphinataur", it said. Anthony was trying to reason out whatever it was saying. "Alright, Sphinataur. Can you turn back into a human?", he asked. Sphinataur tilted its head in confusion.

"Human? I... Not human. I... Sphinataur!", it roared. It began to bang its chest again. "It seems like it's a failed experiment. But we can extract a lot of information from it. Make sure to capture it alive", said Brad. Anthony and Sally both nodded their heads. Sally began to transform into her transformation. "First Form Transformation", she muttered.

After the transformation, Sally jumped out of her spot to give the Sphinataur a surprise attack. But the Sphinataur raised its hind legs and kicked Sally straight to her jaw. "Crack!", came a sound as Sally was sent sprawling to the ground. "My jaw", she thought as she began to massage her temples. She then plucked out her needle-like fur and began to perform some acupressure to relieve the pain.

"This is going to be harder than I thought", she muttered as she healed her jaw. Anthony was furious and was about to jump in anger when he heard soft music play through his earpiece. "Calm now? We need you to focus, not destroy everything that is in your path", said Brad.

Anthony nodded his head and began to focus on the task at hand. He dashed towards the Sphinataur and hit its head. It fell to the ground, and Anthony began to choke its neck. "Think, Sphinataur. You are human. You can turn into one", he whispered in its ears. The Sphinataur's eyes began to turn red.

"It's enraged. Once its energy depletes, we will be able to capture it alive", he thought. But then, the human body began to turn into that of an ape. It first turned its hands and slammed its elbow against Anthony's head. His vision began to go blurry, and he let go. Using its arms, it thrust itself up and stood tall again. Sally swooped in and picked him up, ready to run away.

After a few minutes, Anthony began to whisper. "He is confused. He isn't in the right state of mind", he whispered to her. "What are you going to do? Talk some sense into that, I don't know what to call it, pea brain?", she screamed. Anthony slowly left her grasp and stood once again. He closed his eyes as his vision was still blurry. "To make me use my second transformation, you must be one tough cookie", he thought as his nose and his body began to transform.

After he transformed into the second form, his healing powers took over and began to heal him quickly. He was still standing like a human, but his body had almost completely transformed into a wolf. Sally looked at him and nodded her head. After the dizziness had faded, he began to grow his claws.

It grew longer until it reached a length of four inches. Anthony then jumped forward and kicked up some dust in the process. Sally coughed. "At least let me know before you do it", she said as she was coughing. The Sphinataur rammed its shoulders into Anthony, pushing him back. Anthony dug his claws deep into its flesh, and blood began to flow out.

"The blood, it's red?", he thought. "It's definitely an experiment. I don't know what kind of twisted experiment this is, but if it is a failed one, then expect the successful ones to be much stronger", said Brad as he was watching everything.

"Sphinataur... Strong. You... weak", it said as it was huffing through its nostrils. If Anthony was angry before, now he was mad. He jumped high and cupped both of his hands into a fist. He then slammed it onto its head, knocking it down. "You think you're strong? You have a long way to go", he scoffed. Its front legs began to change. "What in the world?", he thought as he watched.

The front legs transformed into that of a lion's. "Anthony, I want you to run. This is something only I can handle", said Brad as he got out of his seat. "No. If I can't improve myself, what is the use of me being an Alpha?", he said. "Now isn't the time for your pride, Anthony. RUN!", said Brad. Anthony didn't heed his words and began to block each attack that was thrown towards him.

Sally was hiding, waiting for the perfect moment. "Sally, when the time comes, I want you to knock him out, and run away from there, I am on my way", said Brad. Sally just nodded her head but didn't reply. "I can win this", thought Anthony as he increased his speed and strength to match the Sphinataur.

He blocked every punch that was made by it. "Kitty style?", he thought as he began to watch every move closely. "Someone's trained it. Kitty style is a lost art", he thought. It slashed across his chest, drawing blood. "You're not the only one who knows Kitty Style", he said as he began to do the same moves as the Sphinataur.

After a few blows, Anthony began to be overwhelmed. "Unless I go to my third, I can't use my magic efficiently", he thought. He thought but then just threw it out of his head. "Screw this. I'll have to go all-in", he thought. He didn't transform, but he used Ice to freeze both of its hind legs, restricting its movements.

Then, he covered his claws with Ice and began to slash them at it. "Wolf Style: First Form. Claw Thrust", he muttered as he thrust his hand into its chest. It roared out loud and thrust its paw into Anthony's stomach. "That was a fun fight", he thought as he looked down at the paw, sinking into his guts. Sally's eyes began to tear as she let out a roar.

The Sphinataur was about to attack Sally, but it couldn't take its hand out of Anthony's stomach. "Not on... my watch", said Anthony as he coughed out blood. His vision was fading. "Only one way to live. I have to go to the final stage", he thought as his body began to transform. Suddenly there was a roar from the Sphinataur. "ROAAAAAR!"

"You fought well. I guess it is time to pay back my debt to you. Rest well, Mr. Anthony", he heard a voice and fell deep into darkness, stopping his transformation.. "I leave it to you, Lucas Heart", he said as he closed his eyes.