Shifter - Infinite Transformation-Chapter 44: Enraged

My body didn’t react any faster than before. My mind still worked as fast as it did when I transformed into the strongest Hnoll the last time. But something had changed.

My movements were sharper, the scenery in front of me more detailed, and the steel sword felt better in my clawed hand. Still, the sensation was not perfect. I overextended when Clove pulled to the side and suffered a cut to my thigh.

Clove accelerated. His hits were as fierce as before, but the force behind them was much greater than a moment earlier. Even then, I nearly cut his arm and evaded most strikes. That held true until he pushed further.

Clove leaned forward, his daggers flashing before my eyes at dangerously close range. That was when I shifted into the Blue Slime. The slime’s liquid body splashed across the tree stump. Clove flinched but didn’t falter. He hadn’t expected the Blue Slime to transform into an Arok Serpent.

I was already in position when I shifted and burst into action like a spring just released. My body lunged into the air right in front of Clove’s face rather than toward his neck or lower body, because I didn’t plan to defeat him through paralyzation.

Instead, I shifted once more, turning into the Airborne Archaeopteryx form. Taking on one of my newer forms was nowhere near as smooth as the others, but it worked well enough. Clove recoiled, his daggers raised defensively, when I unleashed Sonic Boom.

The soundwave impacted almost immediately. Clove screamed and gasped. Then he regained his composure and struck out, but his blow never reached me. It phased through me instead.

Shifted into the Lesser Wisp, Clove could no longer hit me with physical attacks. After all, I no longer had a physical body. His eyes narrowed, and something other than anger joined his fury. I felt it.

The Lesser Wisp was an odd creature. Being a wisp felt strange; I sensed the emotions and positions of everyone around me rather than seeing them. As for what I saw, I couldn’t quite tell. It was as if specks of something existed all around me, myself included. But my specks were different from those around me. The same was true for Clove and everyone watching the spar.

Everyone was a mass of specks, different yet similar in ways that eluded me. I wanted to grasp them. Instead, I reached for the specks framing a head–Clove’s head–and clung to them.

He tried to claw me, or at least tried to, but his specks phased through me. The young fae scratched himself instead. I felt it happen.

In the meantime, I consumed the specks within Clove’s face. My Lesser Wisp form even went as far as consuming some of the specks within the claw that phased through me.

It drained Clove, if it was anything like what the Lesser Wisp had done to me when we fought, but it didn’t last long. I couldn’t maintain the form for very long.

Forced to shift back into my main form, it felt as though I were overflowing with energy. Without wasting even a fraction of a second, I used Shift to turn back into the Archaeopteryx and unleashed Sonic Boom twice in quick succession. Then, without even looking Clove’s way, Shift pulled me back into my human form.

Taking a deep breath, I picked up my steel sword and glanced over at the young fae, his face contorted in utter fury. Blood dripped from his nose, but it was the bead of sweat that made me rejoice.

Tired and bleeding. I chuckled to myself, more than just a little proud of my achievement.

Alas, Clove was not proud of me. He was angry, and he showed it. The young fae no longer held back and turned into a blur. Lifting my sword more on instinct than anything else, I barely blocked the first blow. My hand screamed in pain as his dagger collided with my blade. The second time it happened, I could have sworn I heard a crack. It rang in my ears, yet there was no pain.

When Clove struck the sword a third time, I understood that he did so intentionally, and succeeded. Too weak to hold onto the weapon, I watched it fling through the air. In the next moment, the young fae was upon me. His arms were a blur, but the pain racing through my chest, abdomen, and arms told me all I needed to know.

I couldn’t even use Shift. The thought rang through my mind as my body rippled. I transformed into a Hnoll, but the damage was already done. Blood spurted from no fewer than a dozen wounds as I collapsed to the ground, my body failing me.

Last but not least, Clove towered above me, his presence one of certain death. But before he could kill me, a familiar figure appeared beside me.

Fern emerged onto the stump, her back facing me.

She stared at Clove, who snarled at my mate before slashing at her as well. What happened next confused me more than anything. More figures appeared around us. Simultaneously, Fern blocked Clove’s strikes and punched him in the face.

He squealed, stumbled over his own feet, and fell back onto his butt.

His head snapped up, a guttural growl escaping his lips, only to shrink down and whimper the moment he met Fern’s eyes. The crimson glow around his eyes receded as he took a deep breath.

"Back in control?" Fern asked coldly.

Clove grunted, looking away, unable to meet her gaze.

"You pushed him over the edge." Fern turned to me, lips curling upward. If she was concerned about my well-being, she didn’t show it. Not that she had much reason to worry, with the dryads already healing me.

"I know," I replied, earning a raised eyebrow.

"You did that intentionally?"

"Of course. I was hoping he’d be easier to read if I did." I chuckled, only for the motion to send pain racing through my chest.

"Stupid," Fern said matter-of-factly.

"That I know–now. Next time I won’t make the same mistake." It really was that simple.

"You did well." The smile on her lips was beautiful. That alone was worth the pain.

I really did do well. Much better than I had hoped for when Clove requested a battle. Sure, there was much to improve and even more to learn, but it was a good first fight against a fae at the second Tier, even if he had underestimated me at first.

The next time we fought, I wouldn’t have such an easy time harming him, and I was happy about that. Just thinking about sparring with Clove again made my heart stir.

I jumped to my feet as soon as the worst of my wounds were tended to and turned to Clove.

"Ready for round two?"

"What?" He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Round two. Or are you tired already?"

"You wish!" Clove snarled, the faintest hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

A minute later, round two began. A round that ended in a crushing defeat and marked the beginning of a friendship. Or...something along those lines.