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"Alright kids, youāre up," Drake said. "Amethyst, Triton, theyāre pretty strong, so theyāre perfect for you."
"Huh, so youāre leaving it to us?" Amethyst wondered. "Whatever, sure!"
"Iām going to crush them!" Triton smiled.
Both quickly flew into the skies, turning into dragons and facing the three Mutant Espers, whose eyes widened when they saw the two giants flying toward them.
"Those must be the monsters of this world! Dammit! Are we simply prey for his children to play with?!"
"They seem strong!"
"Hmph, the barrier is slowly weakening when we hit it. Simply take care of them, and Iāll destroy it!"
The leader of the four mutants roared as the other two rushed toward Amethyst and Triton, clashing against them while he began attacking the barrier constantly and rapidly.
At the same time, on the bridge, the one mutant Drake had slapped recovered quickly, its head twisting back to normal as it glared at him angrily.
"Grrrr...! Damn it! How dare you do that to me?!"
The insectoid roared angrily, only to suddenly find himself surrounded by three people.
People he recognized very well, as they were the ones he had been looking for alongside his fellow Mutant Espers.
"Aaah, there you are! So youāve been hiding here, huh?! This whole time you escaped to this other world!"
The Mutant Esper roared angrily as the surrounding mutants and zombies heard his call, hundreds of them rushing to protect him.
"While the other three distract them, Iāll make sure to kill you right now!"
"Hmph, damn bug, Iām going to crush your damn head!" Chris Bluefield roared.
"Drake was quite merciful with you, but we wonāt be so nice," Lucia said, flames of three different colors emerging around her aura.
"He probably... left you to us... Uroboros is hungry..." Jake said, noticing his armās eyes glowing brightly.
"Donāt make me laugh, youāre all just pathetic shit!" the insectoid mutant roared. "Evolve!"
With a single shockwave of his power, the zombies surrounding him absorbed his powers, turning into insectoid mutants themselves. A giant hive formed around him.
"Damn bastard, he really earned the āHiveā nickname!" Chris Bluefield groaned. The giant bug mutants rushed at him, attacking from every angle, trying to bite him or slash his body.
His shirt was easily torn off, but his body remained incredibly tough. His near-invisible aura surged from his body and soul, wrapping around his hands as he punched the monsters with a barrage of destructive blows, releasing explosive shockwaves.
BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!
The insectoid zombies exploded into pieces by the dozens as Chris reached Hive, attacking him with an explosive uppercut to the chin, sending the bug flying upward.
Then, he leaped into the skies with his newfound superstrength, slamming the bug down with both hands like a hammer.
C R A A A S H!
"Nnnggh?!"
However, to his surprise, Hive resisted the blow with his many arms. With a furious roar, his psychic aura erupted, shaped like countless crimson bugs, wrapping around Chris.
B B Z Z Z T T T T!
He trapped Chris Bluefield in midair as the monstrous bug-like Esper laughed. His sharp scythes rushed toward Chris, unleashing a deadly barrage of slashing attacks.
"DIE!"
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
"Uuaaaggh!"
Chris screamed in pain as his hard body was finally damaged, slashing wounds appearing across his chest as his blood splattered downward.
"Iāll crush your heart!"
The insectoid laughed, one of his hands turning into a giant bony spear, rushing toward his foeās chest and aiming to pierce it.
"Burn!"
B O O O M M M !!!
"Gyaaaaaahhhhh!"
However, in a second, everything changed as a giant fireball exploded on Hive, blowing him away, burning his insect wings, and making him fall while slowly being incinerated.
"L-Lucia!"
Chris quickly freed himself from the psychic power, falling and barely managing to land on his feet before rolling down, sighing in relief.
"You saved my life, thank you."
"Wonāt you stop being so reckless all the time, Chris?! You almost died!"
Lucia reprimanded him, but Chris nodded and thanked her, standing up. His body slowly regenerated on its own thanks to his nanomachines, which received a substantial boost from Kateās divine blessing.
"Yeah, youāre right. Letās quickly end this together. Weāve got the power now!"
"Yeah, Jake is distracting him and the insects. Letās go!"
Chris and Lucia rushed into battle, punching and burning their way through the insectoid zombies that Hive had created, while the still-burning mutant Esper fought Jake, who had caught him off guard, impaling his back before being punched away.
"You damn lab experiment! You think you can do whatever you want?! Iāll show you what we do to traitors like you! Instead of helping humans, you should join us! Why wonāt you do something so simple?!"
Hive charged toward Jake, attacking with a series of slashing blows using his sharp scythes, covering Jakeās body with deadly wounds. His hard bony armor wasnāt enough, shattering into pieces several times.
"Because I am a human... I am not a monster..."
"HAH?!"
The monstrous Hive was left perplexed by Jakeās comment as he aimed to punch his face, only for Jake to evade easily and respond with a deadly piercing attack with one of the bony spears within his arms, leaving a hole through Hiveās chest.
C R A A A S H!
"Aaaagh!"
Hive groaned in pain, but his psychic energy quickly merged into a gigantic wasp, crushing Jake with immense force and constantly trying to bite off his head, his bony armor barely protecting him.
"D-Damn it! Ugh...!"
Hive tried to regenerate his zombies, devouring them with his own body as he slowly started to repair his large wounds.
However.
"Ugh?!"
Chris Bluefield appeared out of nowhere, headbutting him with such force that his head cracked, sending him crashing onto the floor.
At the same time, Lucia appeared from above, amassing all three of her fires and releasing a deadly, burning tornado downward.
"W-Wha...!?"
B O O O M M M !!!
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