"Graaaah!"
'Woo, blood!'
I slammed a Lycan with a bag-shield bash, sending it flying. Using the Molded right arm, I gripped my knife and, leveraging the shield's weight, cleaved a Lycan's head in two. The grenade launcher scattered a cluster of Lycans into pieces.
"Goddamn it!"
'Heads popping like watermelons!'
I blasted a Lycan's head off at point-blank with the shotgun. Shoved the handgun into another's mouth, shredding its brainstem. Sniped a fleeing Lycan's head with the rifle. Snatched an axe from one swinging down and hacked its neck clean off. Took a torch from another behind me, set it ablaze, and kicked it into others, burning them all. Even after all that, Lycans kept coming.
"Still going?"
'I'm telling you, if you don't wanna die, stay away!'
"Guooooh!"
"You're family too!"
'No way I want a family like that!'
I punched a leaping Lycan with my Molded fist, slamming it into the ceiling for a knockout. Grabbing its neck, I hurled it at a mob of approaching Lycans, bowling them over like pins.
'Super! Exciting! ...Not! You're going too far, Ethan!'
"What's wrong, Evelyn? Weren't you hyped up?"
'Rose would hate seeing her papa all bloodied like this!'
"What... did you say...?"
I turned around. Dead Lycans littered the ground. My clothes? Drenched in blood. Yeah, I can't let Rose see me like this. If she cried, I'd break down too.
"Duke sell clothes, you think?"
'He's a merchant, so probably... But that's not the issue here, right!?"
"Then we'll blast through this fortress, get to Heisenberg, and grab some clothes from Duke on the way."
'Eh... I bet even Madao's creeped out watching this.'
No way. That guy's way crazier.
'You're pretty damn crazy right now too, Ethan.'
"Don't get it."
'No good—this guy's gone nuts since he started using my powers...'
Seems I cleared most of them out. Entering the deepest room, I found stairs to the basement. Descending to find Rose's flask, I heard a familiar howl.
'That's... the big one?'
"Come to think of it, I've fought beasts but not that guy yet. ...Looks like we keep going."
'Eh, no way!'
The only path was a narrow crevice, scraping my body against rock no matter how I twisted. Evelyn griped about the tight squeeze as I slid sideways.
'Ah, it's a hollow outside! If we break the wall—Gah!? There's tons of them!?'
"Figures..."
Lycans were on the other side of the wall, judging by Evelyn's panic. Wish she'd get used to being invisible and intangible. Peering through the gap, I saw them tearing into hanging meat or climbing vines—like a zoo ecosystem. Finally squeezing through, I reunited with a teary-eyed Evelyn. Calming her, we pressed on, emerging into a cavernous plaza with stone pillars. Jumping down, a roar echoed. It's him.
"This is bad."
'Ethan, don't fight that thing head-on! You'll die, really die!'
"What? Oh, yeah. I'm not that dumb."
The giant from the village's first Lycan attack leaped down, swinging a massive hammer. I dodged in a panic. One direct hit from that, and I'm done for!
"Ugaaaaah!"
'No good, let's run! But we can't, so jumping down was stupid, stupid!'
"Shut it, Evelyn! Take this!"
I unloaded dual handguns at its face, but it didn't flinch. Worse, it roared and summoned two more Lycans. I blocked one's attack with the bag-shield, riddled another with bullets, but the giant climbed a ledge, raised its hammer, and dove down...!?
"Guaaaah!?"
'Ethan!?'
The shockwave from its strike, engulfing the two Lycans, sent me flying into the rock wall. That hurt... bad. Struggling to my feet, the giant effortlessly lifted a stone pillar with both hands. No way...!?
"Goddamn it!"
I dove aside as the pillar smashed where I'd stood, kicking up a dust cloud. Damn, I lost sight of it. Footsteps... close!?
'Ethan, what are you looking at!? Behind you!'
"Behind!?"
It had leaped to a ledge and dove again!? Turning, its hammer swung like a golf club, slamming my gut. Agonizing pain and nausea hit as I was launched to the ceiling, crashing down face-first. The impact collapsed the ceiling's rock, burying the giant—but that's only a delay.
"Gah..."
'Oh no! Ethan's gonna die, really die this time! What do I do, what do I do!?'
"Calm down... I'm not dead yet..."
But this is bad. Lifting my shirt, I poured first aid on the brutal bruise, but one dose wasn't enough. Opening the bag, I doused myself with all I had. Then something strange happened—black mold poured from my abdomen.
"What?"
'Eh? Could it be... the first aid overload activated the mold in you...? One shot, all or nothing!'
"What are you—?"
With a determined look, Evelyn dove into me. Black mold surged from my arms and legs, merging with the mold from my abdomen. It engulfed my body, covering my face, and I stood automatically. It felt like floating, yet my vision—despite being covered—was crystal clear. Raising my right hand, it was black, Molded, but powerfully muscled. It swallowed the bag too, huh?
'Mimicking Venom by trial and error! I call it Molded Giganto! Ethan, you can't see it, but it's modeled after mutated Jack! Don't worry, it's still humanoid!'
"You... how far can you go? Alright, saved my ass. Evelyn, ready?"
'I won't let you fight alone! I'll fight too! ...Oh, but I've got a line I wanna say.'
My mouth(?) moved on its own, speaking in Evelyn's voice. A line for this state, huh? I can guess it. In our style, then. As the giant lifted the rubble, frowning at our bizarre form and roaring, we declared:
"'We are family / We are family!'"
"Guooooh!"
Charging with full force, my raised right arm clashed with its hammer. Pushing back with all my strength, the giant tossed the hammer aside and came at me bare-handed. Like I'd lose!
'We're bigger than you!'
"Ugaaah!?"
Evelyn stretched my left arm for an uppercut, enlarged my right fist like a hammer, and slammed its head. Grabbing its neck with my left, I pummeled it with my right. Total street-fighter moves.
"You can't talk about my fighting style."
'No choice! I don't know how to fight!'
Gripping the giant's dropped hammer, I swung with all my might, shattering its jaw. It snatched the hammer back, smashing my head, but the mold—hard enough to break steel—took no damage, repelling it and throwing the giant off balance.
"Now!"
'Wooooryaaaaa!'
Grabbing its face with my left, I morphed my right into a Blade Molded and stabbed its head. The giant calcified, crumbling to pieces.
"Take that!"
'Our victory!'
...By the way, this'll revert, right? Evelyn, why're you quiet?
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