I hefted the shotgun slung across my back, locking it into place. Chris and his Hound Wolf squad fell back, their assault rifles blazing. Heisenberg charged, his mechanical body a whirlwind of steel, while the Soldats raised their drills and Sturm barreled forward. But Miranda, cloaked in her chimeric form, swept aside their attacks with a dragon's arm. She spun, her scythe-like tail sending Sturm flying, and her spider legs pierced two Soldats, shattering them in a burst of sparks and flame.
"Miranda!" I roared.
"Starting with you, Heisenberg!" she hissed.
Heisenberg lunged, his body a blur as he slammed a buzzsaw into her. But Miranda caught it effortlessly with her dragon arms, hoisting him up. From the grotesque fish-like maw in her torso, a torrent of corrosive liquid spewed forth, melting his steel frame. Heisenberg collapsed, his mechanical body reduced to scrap. He crawled out, human once more, gasping for breath.
"Gah… Moreau's damn bile? Shit!" he spat.
"Heisenberg!" I shouted.
"Stay back!" he barked.
I stepped in front of him, shielding his crumpled form, and fired my shotgun. Miranda's wings snapped shut, deflecting the blast. Hound Wolf's gunfire from behind met the same fate, bullets ricocheting off her. Her spider legs lashed out, forcing me to leap back. Her defense was impenetrable, her attacks relentless. Trouble didn't begin to cover it.
"Robo, it's time for that!" Chris called.
"Got it, boss!" Robo replied.
Chris's team began prepping something behind me. Panzer charged valiantly but was crushed by Miranda's wings, reduced to rubble. The rest of Hound Wolf, Chris included, unleashed a hail of gunfire—except Robo, who was busy with something else. Miranda didn't flinch, her spider legs stretching toward us. My shotgun blast was swatted aside, and her tail's scythe tore a deep gash across my right arm. If she could be wounded, that was my chance!
"Eveline, one more time!" I shouted.
"Getting hurt to transform is such a pain!" Eveline's voice echoed in my mind.
"We are family!" we declared in unison.
I doused the wound with healing fluid, amplifying the mold. The shotgun melded into the fungal growth spilling from my arm as I transformed into a Molded Gigant. I grappled with Miranda's dragon arms, our clash a raw contest of strength. But like Heisenberg before me, I was doused in her corrosive bile, the surface of my torso taking heavy damage. I dropped to one knee.
"Guh…!" I groaned.
"The end!" Miranda snarled.
Her scythe-tail arced upward, aiming to pierce my skull. I snapped my head up, catching it in my jaws. She stabbed her spider legs into my corroded torso, but Eveline wove the mold to bind them, locking her in place. I thrust my right palm forward. We'd taken a beating, but she wasn't escaping now.
"No barrier at this range!" I growled.
"Ngh!" Miranda grunted.
Shotgun pellets erupted from my palm, riddling her chest and head with holes. Yet, impossibly, she regenerated, her scythe-tail rising again. I caught it with both hands, enduring the shock as it lashed like a wave. I held firm.
"Grr…!" I snarled.
"This is nuts! I shot her head, and she's still alive?" Eveline cried.
"Then let's try an airstrike!" I shouted.
A blinding flash staggered Miranda. Breaking free, I saw Chris had thrown a flash grenade, now holding a penlight-like device aimed at her, its red beam piercing the dark.
"Ready, Robo? Lock the coordinates and fire!" Chris ordered.
"Bingo! Nailed it!" Robo cheered.
A massive explosion followed, shattering Miranda's wings and sending her stumbling back.
"Now! Eat this!" I yelled.
"Guahhh!" Miranda screamed.
Heisenberg, back on his feet, yanked a wooden crate from near the gate with his powers and hurled it at her. It detonated—a landmine—ripping away chunks of Miranda's form. She staggered, reverting to a humanoid shape, teetering on the brink.
"You're family too!" I roared.
I lunged, landing a straight punch that sent her flying. But then I noticed—where was Rose's bag?
"Heisenberg, Chris. Something's off," I said.
"What? We've got the upper hand!" Heisenberg protested. "We keep hammering her and—"
"She's like a toy puppet reacting to us! There's no resistance!" Eveline interrupted.
"What?" Chris muttered.
Miranda, sprawled on her back, rose with an eerie grin. "Tch. You've finally noticed. That's why you're a failure, Eveline."
"What the hell, Miranda?" I demanded.
Raising her hands, she began gathering fungal roots, her body twisting into a new monstrous form. "This is merely a puppet I control remotely. I'm not foolish enough to think I could defeat you all head-on. I planned to play dead, perfectly disguised, but being discovered changes nothing!"
She'd mimicked Mia with such precision I hadn't noticed. She'd even fooled Chris's elite squad by posing as a corpse. I'd forgotten—her ability to mimic anything meant she could create decoys too.
"I've already taken Rose and left to prepare Eva's resurrection. With the chalice and Rose, it's possible. The four lords' lives were needed for a full revival, but Heisenberg, your friends keep getting in my way! The lives of the villagers will suffice instead. I'll greet the dawn with a revived Eva and vanish. So play with my immortal puppet for now. Heh… hahaha!"
Her laughter echoed as she attacked, now in a new form: a colossal dragon like Dimitrescu's, with vast wings, a gaping maw like Moreau's sprouting elongated arms and fingers, and a scythe-tipped tail. A form shift? The false Miranda took flight, hands raised to gather dark energy into a massive fireball.
"What the—?" I gasped.
"That's not fair!" Eveline shrieked.
"She can do that?" Heisenberg bellowed.
"Everyone, fall back!" Chris ordered.
The fireball burst, raining fire across the battlefield. Three Soldats caught in the blaze exploded, the sheer power chilling us to the bone. The false Miranda dove, her razor-sharp fingers slashing, followed by the maw's fangs, then her claws, and finally the scythe-tail—a brutal four-hit combo that shredded us. My Molded Gigant form collapsed, undone, and Eveline, ejected, was battered.
"Gah…!" I coughed.
"It's like my whole body's been minced…" Eveline groaned.
"Sturm! Do it!" Heisenberg shouted.
"Fire! Fire! Keep firing!" Chris commanded.
Sturm's flamethrower and Hound Wolf's gunfire roared, but the dragon's massive form shrugged off the assault. The false Miranda soared again, ignoring the bullets, and dove straight for me. This is bad… Then I spotted Heisenberg's hammer.
"Heisenberg! The hammer!" I yelled.
"Huh?" he grunted.
"Now! …Eveline!"
"I know what you're planning!" she replied.
"I trust you, partner!" I roared.
Eveline extended my molded right arm. Heisenberg magnetized the hammer, launching it at high speed. I caught it with both hands and swung as the false Miranda's fingers slashed at me.
"Take this!" I shouted.
"Guahhh!" she screamed.
I slammed the hammer into her lower jaw. The false Miranda, protruding from her own monstrous maw, bit herself in half. That had to be her core, right?
"One more for good measure!" I yelled.
"Concentrated fire!" Chris ordered.
Heisenberg hurled a storm of screws, pipes, and jagged scrap, impaling the false Miranda's upper body and lifting it into the air. Hound Wolf's barrage followed, shredding her. Sturm minced what remained as it fell, and the dragon's body petrified, crumbling to dust.
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