Reawakening: Primordial Dragon with Limitless Mana-Chapter 23: Apex

"Agh..." Hades stumbled into his room, his body drenched in sweat.

Every step felt like dragging chains. His breath came in ragged bursts, chest heaving unnaturally. He barely reached the bed, gripping the frame like a lifeline.

His vision flickered—blurring and clearing with every heartbeat.

He couldn’t think. Couldn’t focus. All he could feel now... were urges.

His skin burned. Blood roared in his ears. His heart thudded like a beast trying to escape his chest.

Looking down, he realised he was hot in every sense.

’What the hell is happening to me?’

[Never slaughtered. Never tasted raw blood. Never mated. What did you expect? You’re born from instinct, and you’ve ignored it.]

Hades let out a low growl, fingers digging into the wood.

"I’m no beast... then why the hell am I feeling like this?"

He could barely control himself. Muscles shaking. Breath short. The need to tear, to devour, to take—it was rising fast. Too fast.

The bedframe groaned—then cracked under his grip.

[You’ve only just awakened your draconic side. That’s why you can still stand. But once your mana core is unlocked... these urges will drown you.]

"Fucking hell! Just tell me how to get rid of it!" he roared, eyes bloodshot, voice wild.

He snapped the headboard in two with one violent jerk.

The hunger inside him wasn’t just physical anymore. It was deeper. Craving destruction... craving something else.

There was a pause—long, like the voice was sighing before answering.

[What you’re feeling is called Primo Vex. Your mana normally keeps it caged. But now that it’s drained—]

"Skip the damn lecture! Cure. Now."

[You have two choices—hunt and drink the blood of something wild... or mate, and release everything in her.]

As the word mate echoed in his mind, Rinne’s face suddenly flashed before his eyes.

His breath hitched. His jaw clenched. Disgusted with himself, he shook his head and turned away.

Without another word, he leapt out the window.

He needed to hunt.

Now.

....

The rule of the jungle: the strong hunt, the weak run.

Just like now—

A massive grizzly was hunched over the carcass of a young deer it had hunted down.

The beast tore into the flesh without mercy, ripping muscle from bone, chewing mouthfuls of steaming, raw meat. The deer had been separated from its group—an easy target. Nature never hesitated to punish the careless.

The forest surrounding the academy had always been home to dangerous beasts. To keep the students safe, the academy staff routinely hunted and controlled the numbers.

But some predators were clever.

They hid.

They waited.

They knew when to stay low, especially when they sensed something far worse than them entering the wild.

And just now—

The grizzly felt it.

"Argh..."

A low, guttural sound echoed from behind the trees. The bear froze.

It wasn’t the noise that disturbed it—it was the feeling.

The same feeling it had when seasoned hunters prowled nearby.

That cold, creeping sense crawling up its spine.

The instinct that screamed—

You’re being hunted.

The grizzly slowly turned to its left.

And froze.

There, half-sunken in the shadows between the trees, stood a figure.

Chest rising and falling with erratic breathing.

Pupils slitted like a serpent.

Saliva was dripping from the corner of his mouth.

It was a human.

But not really.

The same human who once looked at beasts like it with disgust.

Now stood there—looking no different from the monsters he once loathed.

No... he looked worse.

Because his hunger wasn’t for survival. It was pure.

Untamed.

Predatory.

The bear stood tall, rising to its full height with a deep, earth-shaking growl.

But Hades didn’t flinch.

He walked forward—slow, uneven steps. His head lowered, body trembling not from fear but from the sheer effort of holding himself back.

His eyes were locked on the beast.

Unblinking. Unforgiving.

The grizzly roared and lunged.

A wall of muscle and rage charged at him, claws slashing out to rip his flesh apart—

But it never got the chance.

CRACK!

With a blur of motion, Hades surged forward and punched the bear straight in the jaw. The sound was like stone shattering. The grizzly’s head snapped sideways, blood and teeth spraying through the air.

It stumbled, dazed—

But Hades didn’t stop.

He grabbed the beast by the fur of its neck, twisted, and slammed it into the ground with a thunderous crash.

The earth shook. Leaves flew.

The bear thrashed, trying to rise—

CRACK!

Another blow—this time to the ribs.

Bones broke.

It roared in agony, but the sound was short-lived. Hades leapt on top of it, pinning it with both knees as his claws—yes, claws—extended from his fingers.

With a roar of his own, he raked across the bear’s throat, tearing through flesh and muscle like wet parchment. ƒrēenovelkiss.com

Blood gushed.

The beast struggled beneath him, but it was over.

Hades bent down... and sank his teeth into the open wound.

Hot, steaming blood spilled into his mouth, and he drank—greedily.

He tore a chunk of raw flesh and swallowed it whole, not even chewing.

His body shuddered.

The energy... the life-force... it rushed through him. Filling every vein. Every nerve. His heart pounded like a war drum in his chest as if roaring back to the jungle:

I am alive. I am the apex.

He kept eating—ripping, tearing, swallowing chunks of meat soaked in warmth.

The ground beneath him was painted in blood.

The bear’s eyes faded to emptiness, but Hades kept going—driven by instinct, rage, and something far more ancient than either.

By the time he finally rose, blood dripping from his lips and down his neck, the grizzly was nothing more than a shredded carcass beneath him.

His eyes slowly returned to normal. His breath calmed.

Looking down at himself...he sighed, "What have I become?"

[Is this like post-nut clarity? Accept it, Hades. You are what you feared and loathed once. Accept it soon so you don’t lose control next time.]

The redhead groaned. Life is tough.

°°°°°°°

A/N:- He won’t regularly lose control. Thanks for reading.

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