"This..." Ignatius observed the transformation with genuine interest, "looks more like a true tamer’s fusion."
The mercenary extended his newly formed wings on his arms, each feather glowing with contained power. The transformation was elegant, almost beautiful in its symmetry.
"Isn’t it?" he smiled, his features now more avian like the director’s but maintaining a harmonic balance with his human form.
"Although..." his smile widened, "one of the things my body learned after so many abyssal ’experiments’ is how to extract... more."
Ignatius barely had time to react.
The mercenary’s golden claws passed grazing his face as he threw himself backward. The Director used his own phoenix claws, blocking the second attack by millimeters, golden feathers clashing against golden feathers.
The mercenary feathers began to glow with more intensity. He arched his back as his transformation continued, pushing beyond natural limits. The air itself seemed to distort around him as his body reshaped itself.
His arms, locked in a contest of strength with the director, lengthened and broadened, the transformation defying human anatomy.
"Impressive, isn’t it?" The mercenary pressed forward, gaining ground in strength against the director. "When you truly accept becoming one with your beast, when you let the transformation reach its end..."
His claws lengthened further, digging into the director’s skin, his face deforming slightly as a golden beak emerged, reshaping his features into something between human and raptor.
"This is an abomination!" Ignatius manifested more power in his feathers which burst into flames. "You’re perverting the sacred bond between tamer and beast!"
"Perverting it?" The mercenary pushed, his strength now far superior to before. "We’re improving it!"
"Don’t think," Ignatius counterattacked by wrapping his hands in flames, "that just because you look more like a beast means it’s better."
Their claws fought wind magic against fire magic, creating shockwaves that made nearby trees tremble. Each clash sent sparks of golden energy cascading through the air.
"A true bond is about balance, about maintaining your humanity while channeling your beast’s power."
The mercenary laughed while fighting the blaze. "Humanity? What good is humanity when you can be something superior?"
Several meters away, the supervisor fought against the abyssal scorpion. The beast was slower without its tamer, but its venom made each exchange mortally dangerous, forcing the supervisor to maintain constant vigilance.
"Look at what we’ve achieved," the mercenary nodded toward his golden wings that were beginning to separate from his arms while continuing to press his attack. "Two beasts, complete transformation, and soon..." his wind power began to gain ground and managed to graze Ignatius’s shoulder, "we’ll have tamers capable of fusing with three."
Ignatius retreated further, feeling the cut on his shoulder. It was superficial, but the fact that it had connected was worrying. "All I see is someone who has forgotten what it means to be a tamer."
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