The moment the corpse finished absorbing the others, it threw its head back and screamed. A long, ugly, grief-filled scream. The kind that felt like it carried every bit of pain from the bodies it had just taken in. People clamped their hands over their ears. Even the RDS researchers looked shaken.
Benjin glanced at them, one hand still over his ear.
"Well? What is this thing? Don't just stand there making faces like you know nothing."
Silcha slowly lowered her hands. Her voice came out unsteady.
"We're confused too, Prince. We've never seen anything like this."
In front of them, the mass started changing.
The liquid remains crawled up the main body, layering over it, reshaping it. What used to be one skinless corpse began swelling fast. Bones cracked as they formed and stretched. Flesh piled on thicker and heavier. For a moment it just looked like a giant, shapeless lump of meat rising toward the sky.
Then it started taking form.
A shockwave burst out from it — strong enough to knock the nearby trees flat. The ground shook hard.
Benjin and Shivali both felt the energy spike at the same time. Their eyes widened a little.
Everyone else just stared. In a short time the thing had grown so huge it blocked out the sun completely.
Around 220 feet tall.
The pressure hit right after.
The air got heavier. Breathing felt harder. The ground kept trembling under its weight, cracks spreading through the dirt. Small rocks and debris rattled on their own.
In the distance, birds exploded out of the trees in big flocks and flew away. Deeper in the forest, animals could be heard running.
Shivali's eyes widened slightly. For a second the calm on her face slipped.
A memory came back clearly.
A dim room. Captain Abarai standing in front of her, voice low and steady:
"No matter what you see there… if it appears, understand that the experiment was successful."
The memory faded.
Shivali looked up at the giant creature. A small, complicated smile pulled at her lips.
*(So this is what success looks like… Captain.)*
Then her face settled back into that usual controlled calm, like nothing had happened.
The creature had a wide whale-like mouth. Four thick legs held up its bulk. Human faces covered its whole body — mouths opening and closing silently, like people were still trapped inside the skin. The body itself looked like it was made of layered human skin. A long shark-like tail dragged behind it.
Aerstrone couldn't move.
The second the thing finished forming, something heavy pressed on his chest. He couldn't get a full breath. The air felt thick against his skin. His heart was slamming so hard he could hear it in his ears. Cold sweat ran down his neck.
"What… what the hell is that?"
Benjin looked over at Shivali, but even she didn't have an answer.
"Prince Benjin… we don't know what this is. It's beyond anything we expected."
Benjin's face hardened. He stepped forward.
"Looks like I'll have to deal with it myself."
Aerstrone moved before he thought. He grabbed his uncle's arm with both hands, gripping hard enough that his knuckles went white.
"No—Uncle!"
His voice cracked.
"Don't go near it! It's wrong… everything about it feels wrong! If you get closer, something bad is going to happen!"
Benjin looked at the fear in his nephew's eyes, then calmly pulled his arm free.
"Aerstrone. We don't get to be afraid of something like this."
Aerstrone's hands slowly loosened. He knew his uncle was strong. The fear in his chest still wouldn't go away.
A casual voice cut through the tension.
"Ohh… so this is what was making all that noise? It's huge. That screaming was starting to mess up my sleep. I was having a really good nap in the carriage too."
Another voice followed, clearly excited.
"You're right, Mira. Looks pretty dangerous… but taking it down should be fun."
Everyone turned.
Zaya and Mira walked forward from behind the group. Their white coats shifted in the dusty wind as they passed the stunned researchers and stopped a few steps in front of Benjin and Shivali.
Zaya looked at the giant creature, then at Benjin.
"Leave this to us, Prince. We'll handle it."
Mira scratched her nose and gave a thumbs-up, grinning.
"Yeah. We'll clean it up."
Benjin studied them for a second, then glanced at Shivali.
"Can those two really handle something this size alone? Should I step in?"
Shivali gave a small smile.
"They look unreliable, I know. But when the fighting actually starts… they're the ones who move first. Squid 8 — The Failure."
Benjin raised an eyebrow a little.
"Failure? Strange name."
"It fits the reason they got that title," Shivali said.
Before Benjin could ask more, the creature roared again. The ground shook harder. Distant animals fled even faster.
Zaya and Mira stepped forward together. Their coats swayed as they glanced at each other and smiled.
Zaya unbuttoned her coat and pulled a brush from her waist, spinning it once. Mira raised her hand. A golden-yellow staff with snake-like markings appeared in her grip. A lantern sat at the top, blue flame burning steadily inside.
The creature started moving. Each step sent deep vibrations through the ground. Its roar got louder as it came closer.
"Auhhhhhhggg—!"
Zaya lifted the brush and pointed it forward.
"Seal."
A magic circle formed in the air. The creature slammed into an invisible barrier and stopped. The ground cracked under the pressure, but the seal held.
Mira grinned wider.
"My turn."
Zaya looked back over her shoulder.
"Everyone close your eyes. If you look straight at what's coming, you might not open them again."
Several workers immediately shut their eyes.
Benjin kept looking forward.
"I don't need to close my eyes."
Zaya gave a small smile.
"Wasn't talking about you, Prince."
She ran the brush over her palm. Several pairs of dark lenses appeared. She tossed them toward Benjin, Aerstrone, Shivali, and the researchers.
"Put these on. Unless you want your eyes burned."
Mira waved them off when Zaya held a pair out to her.
"I don't need them. My magic won't affect me."
Zaya leaned in and muttered,
"Just put them on. We'll look cooler."
Mira clicked her tongue but took them anyway.
Once everyone had the lenses on, the two of them faced the struggling creature again. The seal was still holding, though the ground kept cracking under the strain.
Mira raised her staff high. The blue flame inside the lantern burned brighter.
She closed her eyes for a second, then opened them. With one clean motion she drove the end of the staff into the earth.
"This is where your struggle ends."
A large orange magic circle spread under the creature. Lines connected into a glowing star pattern, pulsing with heat and pressure. The ground shook hard, like it was about to split.
Mira's voice cut through the noise, calm and clear.
"Hydrogen Bomb."
In the next instant a light so intense erupted in front of them that it felt like the sun itself had dropped onto the battlefield.