Seeing the gigantic Swarm Mother looming behind him, Tom broke into a broad grin, eight shiny teeth prominently displayed.
He promptly grabbed the Swarm Mother's enormous mandibles, pulling them apart and planting an exaggerated kiss right on its face—so forcefully, in fact, that the tough, armored jaws actually stretched out comically.
Even the Swarm Mother seemed momentarily stunned by Tom's bizarre maneuver.
But in the very next instant—
Tom whipped out a baseball bat from behind his back and slammed it mercilessly into the Swarm Mother's head!
BANG—!
Space itself seemed to shake violently from the impact, the thunderous sound echoing through the cosmos. The Swarm Mother's enormous body instantly stiffened, wings frozen mid-motion, before toppling backward as though rigor mortis had set in. A new horn emerged right in the center of its forehead—a swollen, flesh-colored bump from the impact.
Its massive form began tumbling downwards.
Countless True Stings immediately abandoned their advance on Jarilo-VI, rushing beneath their queen to break her fall.
But the Swarm Mother wasn't just fighting Tom alone. Yevenko, locked in combat with three Giant Stings, saw his opportunity and didn't hesitate for a second.
He swept his crimson wings forward and lunged at incredible speed.
The enormous sword sliced through space with a vicious roar, blood-energy writhing and coiling around it. Yevenko's dark-red muscles surged like monstrous serpents as he smashed it violently into the Mother Bug's skull!
BOOM—!
A skull-crushing blow!
Dark-green blood exploded into a fine mist, drifting through the void. The demonic sword flashed, greedily absorbing the drifting blood mist. Yevenko's eyes turned even more savagely crimson, the violence within him surging higher.
Then, with even greater force, he swung again!
---
Meanwhile, aboard the Astral Express, Himeko was projecting a live feed for everyone back in Belobog.
Watching Yevenko and Tom coordinate to inflict severe damage upon the Swarm Mother, March 7th's eyes sparkled brightly with excitement as she exclaimed,
"We're winning! Yevenko and Tom really have the upper hand!"
Stelle's eyes narrowed slightly, her expression turning skeptical as she responded dryly,
"March, don't jinx it before we've actually won."
Dan Heng silently observed the virtual projection and shook his head softly.
"The Swarm Mother excels not only in proliferation but also in regeneration. A wound like that would be fatal for us, but for the Swarm Mother, it's only a temporary setback."
"But yes—the advantage is real."
Himeko, appearing via virtual projection, nodded thoughtfully. Her amber eyes reflected genuine admiration as she murmured softly,
"Tom's impossible powers…to think they could work on an entity nearly at an Emanator's level… This truly means something extraordinary."
"It seems we'll have to keep this a secret from Herta a bit longer, or she might lose her mind."
After all, while the Astral Express and Herta's Space Station were allied, Yevenko and Tom were fully part of their crew now.
Back at the Space Station, Herta hadn't witnessed Tom's entire battle against the Doomsday Beast. If she had, she'd probably still be pestering them even now.
Of course, there were others on Jarilo-VI, and the IPC was partnered with the Genius Society—news like this wouldn't stay secret for long. They'd have to conceal it as best as they could for now.
Besides, Himeko herself still didn't know the true limits of Tom's power. If Herta tried to forcibly study Tom, who knew which side would end up suffering more…
Imagining the usually arrogant, prideful Genius Society getting humiliated like that, Himeko suddenly felt it might actually be amusing not to hide this at all.
Bronya wasn't present; she was busy coordinating Belobog's defenses against the remaining swarm. Thanks to Yevenko, the number of attacking bugs had dramatically decreased, allowing the Express crew to gather here and watch the ongoing battle.
As March 7th heard Dan Heng and Himeko's remarks, a dazzling smile spread across her face.
"We've got this! Absolutely got—huh?!"
"What is that?!"
Even without hearing March's cry, everyone already noticed the ominous change in the battle.
A blazing breath of red and gold energy erupted violently from the seemingly dead planet, directly toward Yevenko!
---
In the void.
The Swarm Mother had recovered from its stunned state, aggressively regenerating its damaged body while commanding countless True Stings to explode against Yevenko. Combined with the Giant Stings' relentless assaults, Yevenko was being heavily pressured.
But thanks to the earlier advantage, Yevenko still maintained the upper hand.
Ignoring all attacks, Yevenko continued relentlessly smashing his sword down on the Swarm Mother, each blow more ferocious than the last, tearing open chunks of dark-green flesh and greedily absorbing its blood.
By now, half of the blood coursing through his body had been drained directly from the Swarm Mother.
The rhythm of his attacks was relentless, like a fierce and endless storm. Ultimately, the Swarm Mother wasn't built for direct combat—it relied purely on sheer numbers and regeneration to overwhelm enemies.
Yevenko sensed clearly that if he maintained this relentless pace, he could grind the Swarm Mother to death.
Meanwhile, Tom diligently swung his flyswatter, dispatching smaller bugs and significantly reducing the self-destructive assaults aimed at Yevenko.
After Tom casually slapped one Giant Sting to death earlier, the others had wisely started avoiding him altogether.
But none of that mattered—as long as the Swarm Mother fell, everything else would end with it.
Yet, just at that moment—
A massive breath of fiery red and gold blasted forth from the supposedly lifeless planet, racing toward Yevenko!
Yevenko's blood-red pupils contracted sharply, and he quickly prepared to dodge. However, two Giant Stings immediately surged from either side, trapping him in place.
Tom swung his flyswatter, instantly smashing one of them.
But the fiery blast reached Yevenko first!
BOOM—!
An enormous explosion enveloped Yevenko, shoving his gigantic body back violently before he managed to halt mid-space, bracing himself against the relentless energy.
As the scorching glow faded, a massive hole burned through Yevenko's chest and abdomen, smoldering painfully. Flesh slowly regenerated around the wound, but at an agonizingly slow pace.
If he couldn't heal quickly, the fight ahead would become far more difficult.
Seeing Yevenko injured, Tom instantly leaped down from his shoulder, whipping out a broom and dustpan from nowhere and frantically sweeping the area.
He swiftly gathered up a pile of scorched black debris, quickly reassembling the scattered bits.
Once finished, Yevenko recognized the fragments—it was his own blood and flesh, charred by the blast.
Tom brought the hastily reassembled mass to Yevenko's wound, carefully fitting the pieces together like a puzzle. Then, pulling out some tape, Tom licked it casually and slapped it haphazardly onto Yevenko's injury.
Instantly, the cracks in the flesh vanished entirely, perfectly restored as if nothing had happened.