Chapter 20

At an abandoned building site, Hudson wore a safety helmet and trailed behind Owen. Owen led him inside the building that hadn't yet been entirely demolished. "Mr. Jennings, are you sure this is okay?" Hudson glanced at the decaying building's structure and asked hesitantly. "Relax. This place is scheduled for demolition anyway. You'll be doing them a favor if you end up wrecking it." Owen lit a cigarette and sat down on a nearby staircase. "Since your situation is unique and you're not an Awakener, I can't train you using their methods. That said, if you continue to use your power recklessly, someone will come after you sooner or later. By then, even I can't defend you." Hudson understood that as much as Owen was helping him, the older man was doing it for Winona. If anything happened to Hudson, Winona would die. Hence, for her sake, Owen would do whatever he could to help Hudson. "Try to break this rock. But remember, don't turn into a beast. Do it in your current state." Owen pointed to the giant boulder that was twice his height. Hudson turned to look at the large rock, clenched his fist, and hit it with great force. The granite cracked instantly. However, neither Owen nor Hudson showed any signs of excitement. At this moment, Hudson's hand, along with half of his body, was now in skeletal form. To avoid exuding more beastly energy, Hudson quickly relaxed his power. But suddenly, his heartbeat accelerated, hammering hard in his chest. A tremendous and uncontrollable burst of energy rushed through his body. Owen noticed the shift as well. The skeletal form seemed to have a mind of its own and forcibly attached itself to Hudson's body. Still, Owen remained unfazed. He lit another cigarette and watched the transformation with interest. "Fascinating. This kid's power seems tied to his state of mind." In the blink of an eye, Hudson's entire body was enveloped by the skeleton form. His body grew to about three meters tall, and he exuded a menacing presence that warned others to stay away. Bonewarden crouched low, its hands and head hanging limply, resembling a beast in deep slumber. "Hudson?" Owen sensed that something was amiss after receiving no response. He got up and slowly approached the giant. He noticed its chest rising and falling slightly, like a creature ready to pounce. "Well, I see that the beast has fully taken over." Owen pulled out his revolver without hesitation. "Hudson, if you don't snap out of it in ten seconds, I will shoot." Bonewarden remained unresponsive. "Don't make me regret this!" Owen walked up to the skeletal giant. "Are you even… Oh." He paused, realizing something strange. The rhythmic rising and falling of the skeletal giant's body wasn't a prelude to an attack. Owen slapped the giant's forehead, and it immediately straightened up and took a deep breath. "Woah! Did I fall asleep?" Bonewarden exclaimed in a booming voice. "You fall asleep while transformed?" Owen smacked the giant on the shoulder this time. Hudson scratched his head awkwardly and replied, "The power's too overwhelming. Suppressing it tired me out, and I guess I nodded off." Despite the ridiculous reason, Owen was impressed that Hudson could suppress such a powerful force. Bonewarden was an Abyssal-Class Beast and a threat to anyone below the highest ranks of Awakeners. If Owen hadn't taken precautions at the construction site, the Big Four might have already come swarming. Yet Hudson managed to suppress the energy on his own. This could only mean the beast's energy came from him. "Mr. Jennings, I found something." "What is it?" Owen asked while scratching his head. Bonewarden's tail stretched from its spine, gently wrapped around a large boulder, and brought it in front of Owen. "I can control the tail." "Well, that's interesting." Owen stepped forward to study Hudson's tail, but he noticed that its structure looked different from the rest of the skeletal form, almost as if it had been grafted onto the body. "Was this tail natural?" he asked. Hudson lightly tossed the boulder into the air with his tail, then pierced it precisely, shattering it into pieces. "No, the tail appeared after I consumed that beast's core." Hearing this, Owen's expression subtly shifted. "What's the matter, Mr. Jennings?" Hudson asked. "Nothing." Owen had heard of beasts absorbing other beasts' cores to enhance their power. During the second beast wave, a certain black beast emerged from the rift and destroyed the armies of Awakeners. Every defensive line crumbled before it. If it weren't for the few powerful Awakened ones of the Awakened Guild driving it back into the rift, it would probably have been the end of humanity. That beast wave came at a terrible cost. Two from the sixth-rank and ten of the fifth-rank Awakeners died during that battle. That nameless beast that had caused this devastation was given the most fearsome title in history, Doombringer. Its defining threat was that it gained strength by killing its kind. Owen put his gun back into its holster and patted Hudson on the shoulder. "Since you have control of your tail, focus on familiarizing yourself with that sense of control. Then, extend that control to your limbs and, eventually, your entire body. Don't rush it, Hudson. We still have time for now." Hudson nodded and followed Owen's advice as he tried to guide the overwhelming power within him toward his hand. But it wasn't easy. The power came in sudden bursts and was extremely oppressive. Even though he could suppress the anger that accompanied his skeletal form, truly harnessing the power was different. Under Owen's guidance, Hudson spent most of his time training at the construction site outside of classes. Whenever Winona asked about his whereabouts, he would explain that he was working part-time with Owen to earn extra money. "He can't even care for himself, yet he's helping you earn extra cash?" Whenever Hudson relayed her suspicions to Owen, he simply laughed it off. "Wina doesn't know what she's talking about. She has no idea how much it costs to raise a daughter. It's easy for her to talk when she's not the one paying the bills." After about a week of training, Hudson could maintain his human form while extending his tailbone into a tail. His tail operated entirely according to his will. Owen couldn't help but wonder if Hudson's power would grow if he consumed more beast cores. As he was staring at Hudson, he suddenly had a thought. If there was a beast capable of infinite power standing on the human's side, it could change the course of history. "Hudson," Owen called out. "Yes, Mr. Jennings?" Hudson looked up, pausing his efforts in confining the skeletal form to just his right hand. "Humanity has endured three beast waves. Do you know how many times we won?" Owen asked coldly. "I've never heard Winona mention that." Hudson shook his head. "We've never truly won against them." Owen's words left him stunned. Hudson asked, "Are the cities where the waves occurred still standing?" Owen shook his head and replied, "Over the decades, those three cities have become uninhabitable. The higher-ups worked hard to cover it up, and humanity has retreated again and again. And now, Liveria is next. So, Hudson, I have a question to ask you." Owen looked up and stared straight into Hudson's eyes. "If you're really a beast, would you fight against the beasts alongside humanity?"