"Don't screw with me!"
The scream tore through the air, raw and primal. Three years of pent-up rage toward Ethan, suppressed by the mold's assimilation, erupted in a torrent of fury and resentment. Unforgivable. Unacceptable. Never. The mold's tendrils swallowed the village's houses and debris, transforming into a colossal giant—a grotesque embodiment of the village itself. Ethan slashed through the writhing tentacles with the blades on his arms, carving a path forward. Chris, bracing himself, caught a massive fist surging like a tidal wave, his hands thrust out to meet it. The giant's rock-hard punches rained down, only to be shattered by Chris's relentless strength, leaving it stunned. Wave after wave of tentacles crashed toward them, but they were deflected with ease.
"As monstrously strong as ever, huh, Chris?"
"And you're still way too superhuman, Ethan!"
Ethan and Chris exchanged grins, their camaraderie almost playful despite the chaos. Mia and Rose, guarded by the Hound Wolf squad firing their guns, could only gape at the two men's reckless rampage. It was laughable—except it wasn't. Don't mess with me. Don't you dare.
"Ethan's a monster! Just like me—a monster! So why… why do you all accept him?!"
The giant's form surged forward, a tidal wave of mold intent on crushing them. Ethan formed a shield of mold and slammed it forward in a brutal bash, while Chris's fist met the onslaught with a bone-shattering punch, halting it in its tracks. Are you even human?! Ethan wasn't, but how could this—the pinnacle of my power—be matched?!
"I wanted to fight alongside Piers like this again… B.O.W. or not, as long as there's a human soul, that's what makes you human."
"Nice words. Even though I was born from puke?"
"Looks gross, sure, but I don't care! Better than you staying gone!"
"Thanks for believing in me!"
Ethan's right arm morphed into a shield, holding back the onslaught, while Chris aimed his assault rifle at the giant's makeshift face. The eyes, formed of jagged window glass, shattered—but the fragments didn't scatter. Instead, they were swallowed by a torrent of mold and spat out like a shotgun blast. Ethan instinctively leaped forward, shielding the others with his mold barrier. That kind of attack won't work!
"Its attacks backfire. Where's the weak point… the fetal core of the mold, maybe? Where is it?"
"If we could just touch Eveline's core… but how?"
"Destroying the outer shell might do it… Robo, is it ready?!"
"Got it prepped just in case, boss!"
They were plotting something, but not on my watch. Tendrils of mold erupted from the ground, targeting Mia and Rose at the rear. I'll take Rose. I'll kill Mia! If I targeted them, Ethan would—
"Mia! Rose!"
"Ethan?!"
Exactly. He'd rush to save them, leaving him and Chris isolated. Easy prey. The mold ensnared Mia, assimilating her, while the Hound Wolf squad was scattered. Rose, I'd protect. I'd take her, kill the rest, and—wait. Why was I so obsessed with Rose…?
"Give Mia back, Eveline!"
Ethan charged through the fallen Hound Wolf members, reaching the mold wall that had swallowed Mia. He tore her free with brute force. Fine, I'll assimilate you instead! No one could withstand that living hell twice and keep their sanity!
"No way I'm giving her back, you idiot!"
"Ethan!"
"Mia, at least you…!"
A massive upper body formed atop the mold's tidal wave, its enormous right hand lashing out. It shoved Mia aside and slammed into Ethan. He conjured a black dome of mold to shield himself, but it was crushed, assimilating him whole. Mia didn't matter anymore—she could be devoured anytime. The real problem was the other nuisance.
"This time, Ethan's dead, Chris!"
"Don't bet on him going down that easily."
Chris gripped a penlight-like device, its red beam aimed at the giant's torso. A glance revealed fewer Hound Wolf members than expected. One was missing… apart from the rest?
"Ready, Robo? Hit the coordinates!"
"Bingo! Nailed it!"
"GAAAH!"
A devastating explosion rocked the giant's chest, half-destroying it and exposing the fetal mold core within. Amid the wreckage, a bomb—neutralized by the mold's corrosion—lay embedded. So that was their plan. Idiots!
"What, planning to die with me? Take the whole village and your team with you?!"
"…"
"Too bad for you, that bomb's useless! No matter how much you shoot, it won't—"
"That's not my goal. Ethan, now!"
"Huh?"
I stared at my right hand—the one Chris had signaled to. Suddenly, a blade pierced through the hardened mold of its back. No way!
"How… how can you withstand that?!"
"No matter how many times you swallow me, I won't die leaving Mia and Rose behind!"
It was Ethan, clutching Rose, clinging to the arm with limbs like a Quick Molded, scrambling upward. His target was… no! The explosion had slowed my regeneration! I'd skewer him with mold blades—
"Borrowing Jack's words… you're family too!"
"What…?"
That single word made me hesitate, and Ethan reached the mold core. His unyielding will flooded in. Inside the mold, I was fading…! Had he called me family to throw me off guard? Rage surged within me. I won't let you erase me!
"No! No! No! You don't get to call me family now!"
In the mold's mental realm—a desolate snowfield—I faced Ethan, now in my adult form. We clashed, fists flying. Size didn't matter here; willpower did. Letting his words sway me would mean defeat!
"Mia was your babysitter, right? That makes you my family! Kids need parents to scold them! So… let Eveline go, Mold!"
"STOP IT!"
A scream—not mine—echoed from the mold-formed "me." A floating sensation hit me. I was… a ghost again, drifting beside Ethan, who held Rose… outside the mold.
"Huh?"
"Yo, Eveline. Back to your senses?"
"Huh? What?"
"Give her BACK!"
Ethan landed, feet and right hand braced against the ground, cradling Rose with his left as he spoke to me. Before us, Chris and the revived Hound Wolf squad fired at the mold's giant upper body, formed of debris and rot. Wait. If I was here, why was that still moving?
"When you absorbed me, I figured it out. Something was stoking your fears, guiding you to assimilate the Four Lords and Miranda to grow stronger. Probably the mold's own will."
"The mold's… will?"
"You planned to keep the Four Lords alive to defeat Miranda. But you absorbed them, scared I'd kill you. Didn't that feel off?"
"I… did wonder why. I thought it was just fear of you…"
"It used that fear to turn you into something else—not Eveline. Someone else figured it out first. Someone who cared about you more than anyone. Heisenberg."
"Karl… I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"
"Chris, this way!"
Ethan led Chris and the Hound Wolf squad away from the village center, past the Chalice Plaza, the ceremonial grounds, and across the bridge to Heisenberg's factory. What was he…?
"EVEEELIIINE!"
The mold surged like a tsunami—a monster in its own right. How could anyone stop that?!
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! If I hadn't neutralized the bomb…!"
"No worries. Heisenberg didn't just entrust me with you."
Ethan raised his hand. Scrap metal from the factory's yard floated, converging. It was like… Heisenberg's power.
"Borrowing the strength of a man who loved freedom!"
The metal formed a monstrous machine—part caterpillar, part bike, with arms.
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