Inside the Great One's body.
The space was dim, filled with multicolored organs that pulsed rhythmically. Countless crimson veins twisted and crisscrossed in every direction, weaving into a massive web that stretched across the ceiling above them.
Not far ahead lay a glowing pool of energy, radiating a brilliant white light like a divine mirror reflected in Lucian's eyes.
That was Earth's energy—being endlessly siphoned away by the Great One.
Lucian raised his wrist, pressed the Omnitrix, switched forms, and slammed his hand down.
Ben immediately followed suit, striking his watch with force.
Thud!
Twin flashes of emerald light burst forth, nearly blinding Erik.
"Humungousaur!"
Ben transformed, roaring with exhilaration.
With brown-yellow skin and a towering, muscular frame, the Humungousaur's thick tail whipped around, snapping through the Great One's tendons and sending violent tremors throughout the creature's body.
"Roar!!" Humungousaur clenched his fists and charged forward, his powerful legs stomping into the writhing mass of organs ahead.
He unleashed a barrage of punches, every strike pulverizing the Great One's inner tissues. The creature's pained howls echoed through the chamber as its body convulsed violently, the tremors spreading like a cataclysmic quake. The ground shook so hard it was difficult to stay upright.
Erik shot webbing from his tail and anchored himself to a tendon, narrowly avoiding being crushed by the raging organs.
"Ugh… once I get back to Aranhascimmia, I'm eating a whole mountain of bananas to make up for this," he muttered, clinging tightly to the elastic tissue.
"Roar!"
A feral tiger's roar tore through the chaos.
Erik turned toward the sound, his eyes widening in disbelief.
It was… a completely naked Appoplexian!
Rath moved with blinding agility, a streak of orange light tearing through the Great One's organs. Wherever he passed, everything exploded into shreds—organs, veins, nothing survived.
The black claws on his forearms slashed wildly, cutting through tendon as thick as steel cables as easily as slicing tofu.
Foam flecked from his mouth as he shouted at the Great One between blows.
"Listen up, you cosmic, energy-sucking stinkbug! Just 'cause you're big doesn't mean you're tough! Rath's inside you now, and with one move, I'll tear you apart!"
His fury burned hotter with every word, his voice thundering like a cannon.
"You disgusting bug! If you'd just kneel and knock that head of yours on the ground a few times, maybe Rath would show mercy and send you off in peace!"
"Wait—damn it!" Rath's expression twisted in outrage. "I forgot! You don't even have a head, do you?! How are you supposed to bow to Rath?!"
Infuriated even further by his own realization, Rath leapt down to the Great One's lower body.
"Alright, stinkbug! Prepare yourself for Rath's judgment!"
He clenched his fists, extending his razor-sharp claws, and slashed wildly across the interior walls. Streams of green fluid gushed out as the Great One screamed in agony, its entire body convulsing.
"Man, that Appoplexian's incredible… though he's, uh, still not wearing clothes," Erik muttered softly from above, careful not to be heard.
Meanwhile, Humungousaur reached out his massive hand, gripping a cluster of tendons. With one forceful pull, he ripped them apart like noodles.
"Oh yeah! Who's the baddest now?!" he roared in triumph, laughing heartily as pride filled his chest.
Under the combined assault of both aliens, the Great One could no longer endure.
The energy it had stolen from Earth began surging back, the white pool beneath them glowing brighter as power flowed through its tentacles and returned to the planet below.
The Great One—the once-feared apex predator of the cosmos, the destroyer of worlds—was now reduced to pitiful screams under Humungousaur and Rath's relentless onslaught, teetering at death's edge.
Just two more minutes, and it would have devoured all of Earth's energy, consuming the planet entirely until it vanished into the cosmos like a speck of dust in time.
But now, beaten to the brink, it was being forced to vomit that same energy back into the decaying world it had sought to consume.
"Roar!!"
Covered in green slime, Rath sprang forward, his legs coiling and releasing like springs. His claws gleamed like blades as they ripped through every organ in his path.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Massive organs burst apart under his ferocious strikes, scattering chunks of flesh and spraying blood across the air, filling it with the stench of decay.
"Damn you, stinking bug! Get lost, you filthy pest!"
Rath roared, driving his sharp claws straight through the Great One's heart. The brutal strike tore it apart, bursting in midair like a shower of crimson fireworks above them.
"Awesome!" Humungousaur raised a thumbs-up. "When it comes to raw destruction, my Cuz wins hands down."
"The Great One… the Great One is dying!"
Excitement flared in Erik's eyes.
With its heart destroyed, the Great One's body convulsed uncontrollably. Its remaining organs burst one after another, spewing foul green blood. The veins stretched and snapped, releasing an ear-piercing screech that echoed through its collapsing form.
The massive insect body swelled like a balloon, expanding faster and faster until it burst through its hardened shell. With a deafening crack, it toppled into the decaying swamp below.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion followed as the Great One's body erupted, spraying waves of thick, blue-green insect fluid that rose like a tsunami and blanketed the sky.
Fragments of its shell scattered and rained down, covering the land in a grim storm of organic debris.
After a long silence, a single sharp claw broke through the layer of slime.
"Disgusting bug," Rath muttered, dragging himself free from the viscous muck and shaking off the grime.
At the same time, Humungousaur emerged from below, holding Erik tightly in his grip as he pulled him to safety.
Beep!
The Omnitrix on Humungousaur's chest began to blink, then flashed red. In a burst of light, he reverted to Ben.
Rath took a deep breath, thumping a fist against his chest before slapping his own Omnitrix, returning to his human form.
Lucian turned toward Erik. "You never did tell me why you turned on your allies earlier. What was that about? A sudden attack of conscience?"
He still remembered being caught by Red Spikesnake—moments away from execution—until Erik had insisted on taking him outside the Great One's body for the deed, only to strike against Red Spikesnake instead. The move had saved him, but Lucian hadn't understood why.
"I did it for revenge," Erik said, his eyes dark with hatred…
...
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