CHAPTER 76

Ethan let out a low, guttural laugh, the sound chillingly inhuman coming from his new wolf-like form. "What makes you think you can completely transform me with just this cheap little skill of yours?"

The Tiger Deacon sneered, his confidence absolute. "What? Hahahaha! Because our Beastification Potion is a genetic potion, you ignorant child. It rewrites you at the most fundamental level. You've already been completely transformed. Right now, you are thoroughly a monster, a werewolf! You can never go back!"

"Oh," Ethan said, his voice strangely calm.

The Deacon's sneer faltered. "What 'oh'!?"

"Nothing much," Ethan replied, tilting his head. "I was just thinking, in these three agonizing days, thanks to your 'care,' and also because of you, I seem to have obtained a powerful new form. I'm just trying to decide… how, exactly, should I thrash you with it?"

"Kid, you have no idea what you've been given," the Deacon said, his voice taking on a persuasive, almost sermon-like tone. "You'll get to experience the benefits of true power. Obediently come with us. After the experiment is complete, there will be endless glory and wealth waiting for you."

"Oh," Ethan said again, a dangerous smile playing on his lupine muzzle.

"You're still smiling!" the Deacon snapped, his patience finally breaking. "Don't forget, I am a Rank Four psionicist! Within one major rank, the gap from Level Three to Level Four is a significant watershed. Then, on the entire psionic path, the gap from Rank Three to Rank Four is a huge watershed. I, alone, can crush the two Rank Three agents you brought with you! But I'm in a good mood now. As long as you obediently come with me, nothing will happen to any of you!"

Ethan didn't speak. He just pressed the Omnitrix symbol on his abdomen. In a flash of green light, the massive, monstrous werewolf form dissolved, and in its place stood the original, human Ethan Atherton.

The Tiger Deacon's eyes widened in utter, complete disbelief, pointing a trembling, clawed finger at him. "You... you... how is this possible?"

Ethan stretched his human neck. "Hehe, you mean this super-powerful genetic potion of yours isn't working? Could it be that the time is up? I just suddenly changed back. Weird, huh?"

The Tiger Deacon's mind reeled. "Hmph, stop bluffing," he growled, trying to regain his composure. "I can see it now. The reason you changed back is because of your core psionic ability, isn't it? I really didn't expect it. I originally thought you were just an ordinary beastification psionicist, at most with a few more forms than average, but I didn't expect you to actually be able to modify your own genes at will! If that's the case, you simply must join our Evolution Cult! I believe you, with an ability like yours, once you come to our organization, you will definitely be a person above all others, standing at the very pinnacle!"

His tone had become shaky, breathless with excitement. This was truly unbelievable. Their ultimate ideology in the Evolution Cult was to completely transform a person into a monster, right? And this person in front of him, he was actually able to change back after being forcefully transformed by a genetic-level agent. This meant that his psionic ability was definitively, inextricably, related to genes. A person like this, a living key to their ultimate goal, must be brought back to the Evolution Cult! The Tiger Deacon had already decided to make his move, but Ethan spoke up again.

"Hey," Ethan said, a cold, calculating look in his eyes. "You said I should join you. Let me ask you something. If I destroy a major stronghold of the Evolution Cult, kill a large number of their apostles, and defeat a Rank Four master with my Rank Two body… with merits like that, even Pinnacle University would be rushing to have me, right?"

The Tiger Deacon's face darkened. "Young man, don't talk so big. I am sincerely inviting you. As long as you are willing to come with me, I can give you everything you could ever want."

Ethan's smile was without humor. "Then can you give me your life?"

"Kid, you'd better learn your place! Don't mistake my offer for weakness! I'll give you one more chance. Come with me, don't..."

"Hehe, sorry," Ethan interrupted, "I don't drink." Before the Deacon could finish speaking, Ethan had already activated his Omnitrix. "So, for villains like you, everyone has the right to execute them on sight. And on a personal level," his voice dropped to a low, venomous growl, "it's because of you that I endured three days of unimaginable pain. That pain… it was like ten thousand arrows piercing my heart, every second of every day. Right now, I just want to kill you, and that Mad Doctor. Just you wait. First, I'll collect some interest from you!" He turned his head to look at Marcus and Seraphina. "Don't say I don't think about my friends. Later, these few remaining Rank One pipsqueaks are for you two to kill as you please, to add to your own list of achievements! Agent Croft, Agent Sterling, protect them both!"

Marcus was about to say that they were also only Rank One, but Ethan had already pressed the face of the watch.

"It's Hero Time!"

Suddenly, a flash of brilliant green light, far more intense than any before, shone from him. Ethan's shadow on the cavern wall began to grow, and grow, and grow taller. His head was already at the ceiling of the massive cavern. However, this did not stop his growth. His body continued to stretch, straight up towards the solid rock roof of the mountain itself. The once incomparably sturdy roof was now like a piece of paper, cracking and groaning before being easily torn apart by him!

With a deafening crash of falling rocks, the entire hidden cave began to tremble violently, and thick dust flew everywhere. Finally, Ethan's body, from bottom to top, completely pierced through the entire mountain. His head poked out from the top of the cliff face, a true giant rising from the very earth. Then, Ethan forcefully moved his huge body, and the entire mountain range rumbled with a loud, tectonic noise. Huge mountain rocks were crushed into dust by his immense, unbelievable power.

"WAY!!! BIG!!!"

His new, booming voice was like a tiger roaring in the forest, a sound that shook the heavens. A large number of monsters in the surrounding wilderness scattered in all directions in terror, and the sound traveled for an unknown distance. The distant military patrol teams heard this sound and hurriedly rushed over. Mayor Thorne and General Valerius, still dealing with the remnants of the beast tide, naturally heard it too.

"What in the blazes was that?" Valerius roared.

"Let's go see!" Everett replied, his face grim, and the two of them flew in that direction.

And back at the Evolution Cult's stronghold, a giant with a height of more than thirty meters, a sharp, red fin-like corner on its head, two sharp, knife-like protrusions on its arms, and four glowing green eyes had appeared.

When the rocks were falling just now, luckily Ethan had given them a warning. Agent Croft and Agent Sterling had reacted quickly, creating shields to protect Marcus and Seraphina. As for the Evolution Cult side, they weren't so lucky. The two enemy Rank Three masters were just staring in dazed horror, not managing to save anyone else. A large number of the remaining Rank One cultists were instantly crushed to death by the falling rocks. And those two Rank Two psionicists, the sound-wave user and the beast-tamer, had lost their mobility early on in their fights. How could they have recovered by now? They, too, were crushed to death by the falling rocks without a sound.

Everyone, friend and foe alike, looked up at him with utter shock and a sluggish, dumbfounded terror, not daring to believe that the boy who was just like them a moment ago could now turn into such an unbelievable behemoth!

Ethan, as Way Big, looked down at his current, colossal body, then at the ant-like Tiger Deacon below. He raised a foot that was the size of a small house and stomped down on him. The Tiger Deacon, snapping out of his shock, hurriedly raised a powerful psionic shield to block.

BAM!

This one stomp made the very earth shake and the mountains sway. The Tiger Deacon's powerful psionic shield, formed by a Rank Four master, even developed visible, spiderwebbing cracks under the immense force. One can only imagine how heavy this one stomp was.

Ethan saw that his psionic shield hadn't broken. He bent down, and his two colossal fists, each the size of a car, drilled down like massive jackhammers, crazily smashing at the Deacon's shield. Each punch was extremely heavy, emitting a deafening "THUD! THUD! THUD!" sound. It had to be said, the Deacon was worthy of being a Rank Four master. Even in the face of Way Big's immense, overwhelming power, he was not instantly defeated.

"Don't you go too far! Hmph~~"

With a tiger's roar, there was no more Tiger Deacon. Oh, to be precise, he had transformed into a massive, muscle-bound tiger-man. That's right, he had not only been modified by tiger-type monster parts, but his own core psionic ability was beastification into a tiger. Facing Ethan's towering physique, even though he knew his opponent was only Rank Two, he didn't dare to be careless. He roared, "Gigantification!" This was the powerful psionic skill he had awakened after breaking through to Rank Four, allowing him to increase his own size and strength dramatically.