Having defeated the false Miranda, we raced to the ritual site, chasing the real Miranda who'd fled with Rose's bag. Our team: me and Eveline, melded once more into the Molded Gigant; Heisenberg, gripping his hammer; Sturm and a dozen Soldats; and Chris with his six-man Hound Wolf squad. But the ritual site was gone—ground and all. Glancing toward the village, we saw something grotesque taking shape.
"What the hell is that?" I muttered.
"She's always gotta go big, huh?" Eveline remarked.
"Bigger than Dimitrescu's castle? What kind of joke is this, damn it!" Heisenberg growled.
"BSAA's here too…" Chris noted.
It was a colossal tree of fungal roots, hoisting the ritual site into the sky near the church, transforming it into an impregnable fortress. At its core, a fetus-like mass of mold pulsed. Heisenberg and Chris said it was the fungal root's heart—Miranda's true stronghold. BSAA helicopters swooped in, only to be swatted down by tentacle-like roots, crashing in fiery ruin. The sheer power was undeniable.
"Look! Something's there!" Eveline's voice rang out.
Weapons raised, we braced ourselves as we reached the village. Three monstrous figures loomed. The closest resembled the giant we'd fought at the stronghold—a hardened, petrified hide like an oni's mask, its tumor-ridden back sprouting writhing, nematode-like tentacles. Flanking it were two giants in tattered skinny jeans, bare-chested, each clutching a battle-axe. One was caked in dirt, the other scarred with burns and lumps. They stared but didn't move.
"No way, we're fighting more of those giants?" Heisenberg scoffed.
"And they're clearly stronger than the last one!" Eveline snapped.
"Ethan, these aren't like the Uriaș you fought," Heisenberg explained. "The middle one's Uriaș Străjer, the fungal root's gatekeeper. The two beside it are Uriaș Drac—some kind of berserk experiments. I don't know much, but they're bad news."
"Looks like Miranda's got them guarding the fungal root," Chris analyzed. "Which means the Lycans are wiped out. These three are her last line of defense."
So, Miranda was cornered. Good.
"Hey, Chris," Heisenberg said. "I've got a request."
"What's that, Heisenberg? Got a secret plan?" Chris asked.
"Hell yeah, the best plan. Destroy my factory. If we're blowing this village to hell anyway, it doesn't matter."
"What are you—?" Chris started.
"I'm invincible with enough metal," Heisenberg declared. "Miranda's power pisses me off, but it's the strongest there is. I just need more steel."
Chris closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded.
"…Amber Eyes, Night Howl, assist Heisenberg. The bombs we didn't have time to disarm should still be there. The rest of us take out those monsters!" Chris ordered.
"Understood!" the squad barked in unison.
"Let's go, Sturm! Soldats! You're my masterpieces! Don't let Miranda's lab rats beat you! Crush 'em!" Heisenberg roared.
"RAAAGH!" the Soldats and Sturm bellowed, their drills and engines screaming.
Heisenberg and two Hound Wolf members peeled off toward the factory. The rest of us steeled ourselves. Sturm led the Soldat legion in a charge, crashing into the dirt-caked Uriaș Drac.
"We're taking the middle one!" I shouted.
"It's the toughest, but whatever!" Eveline groaned.
The Soldats parried the Drac's battle-axe with their propellers, driving drills into its hide. They'd be fine. Eveline and I powered the Molded Gigant toward Uriaș Străjer. I blocked its axe with my left arm, firing the palm shotgun to keep its tentacles at bay, then tackled it to the ground.
"We'll handle the other Uriaș Drac!" Chris called.
"Understood, boss!" his team replied.
Chris's squad opened fire on the battle-scarred Drac. It leaped, dodging bullets mid-air, but their coordinated assault seemed under control.
"Guns and drills aren't working, so we're stuck with this guy!" I growled.
"The shotgun's doing nothing! Nobody told me that!" Eveline complained.
I stomped its axe, neutralizing it, and pummeled its face. Punch after punch after punch. I grabbed its tentacles, ripping them free. But Uriaș Străjer countered with a headbutt from its rock-hard skull, staggering us. It seized my chest, hammering headbutt after headbutt. The mold covering my head shattered, exposing my skull. Eveline redirected mold to shield it, but each blow broke it again. A vicious cycle.
"Damn it… what power!" I gasped.
"Hey! Stop breaking it as fast as I fix it, jerk!" Eveline yelled.
"Eveline, divert the excess to the right arm! Head too!" I ordered.
"But—"
"One hit, I can take it! No, I will take it! We're landing a massive blow!"
Enduring the headbutts, I made my case. Eveline hesitated, then nodded. The Molded Gigant shrank as mold concentrated in the right arm. Uriaș Străjer grabbed my shoulders, rearing its skull back. I swung my right arm in sync.
"'You're family too!?'" Eveline cried. "Ethan!?"
The impact of its skull rattled my head. Gritting my teeth, I ignored Eveline's scream, holding fast with sheer will. With all my strength, I swung my right arm.
"…You're family, damn it!" I roared.
"GUAAAH!" it howled.
The massive molded fist smashed its face, hurling Uriaș Străjer into the fungal tree's wall. As it petrified and crumbled, my vision blurred, and I blacked out.
"Alpha! Ethan Winters is down!" a Hound Wolf shouted.
"I've got him!" Chris barked.
Confirming my clash with Uriaș Străjer ended in a mutual knockout, Chris charged, firing his assault rifle. He parried the battle-scarred Drac's axe with his rifle, taking the brunt of the blow. He slashed its abdomen repeatedly with a karambit knife, then landed an uppercut, staggering it.
"Hmph!" Chris grunted.
A straight punch, once strong enough to move boulders, exploded into the Drac. It flew back, rolling across the ground, where Hound Wolf's barrage turned it to petrified dust.
"The Soldats…" Chris muttered, turning.
He saw the dirt-caked Drac impaled and hoisted by a Soldat's drill, its head minced by Sturm. Chris looked away.
"They've got it handled. Stick to the plan—set the bombs. Tundra, tend to Ethan. Robo, Canine, cover me. The real Miranda's likely underground," Chris ordered.
He moved toward the hole where the church once stood, but fungal roots lashed out, swatting him back.
"Damn it, I can't get close! We need Heisenberg…" Chris growled.
"Sorry to keep you waiting!" a voice boomed.
A colossal figure emerged, driven by massive tank treads—a titanic construct of scrap metal, shaped like a monstrous caterpillar. Two crane-like arms jutted from its body, its head a roaring turbine. The Soldats and Sturm roared and revved in salute.
"Hey, Miranda!" Heisenberg bellowed. "Your damn fungal root's about to get smashed to bits with my entire fortune!"
The giant Heisenberg charged, treads crushing houses as it grappled with two massive fungal tentacles. Chris, joined by Amber Eyes and Night Howl, seized the moment to dive underground. Meanwhile, Tundra dragged me to cover, tending my wounds. In a dark, snow-swept void, I came face-to-face with two Evelines.