Alex and Iris exchanged a firm, silent nod—an unspoken signal to initiate their plan. It was reckless, absurd, and yet… brilliantly unique. Iris didn't allow herself even a heartbeat of hesitation.
One of her butterflies flickered—
and in that exact instant, Iris vanished.
It wasn't disappearance; it was transference. She appeared high in the air, directly beside the colossal Greater Wasp—ten meters long, its wings vibrating with thunder as it rained down destructive lightning across the battlefield.
In that same second, a second butterfly shifted into something entirely different:
a shimmering emerald eye, serpentine and ominously alive.
The eye unleashed a thin, invisible ray of energy toward the Wasp King.
It struck like a silent shock.
The giant creature convulsed in midair as if seized by a violent surge of electricity—or rather, as if shackled by a brutal, irresistible hypnotic command.
Seeing the effect take hold, Iris withdrew immediately, blinking out of sight and reappearing atop a nearby building.
But the eye remained behind—hovering beside the Wasp King's head, pulsing ominously.
What followed was horrifying.
The Wasp King lost its mind.
It forgot the battlefield… forgot its targets… forgot everything.
Mana surged around its body in a blinding blue vortex.
Then—
the creature turned all of its storming wrath toward a single enemy:
Garrak, the Goblin Commander.
Garrak had no time to react.
He was locked in savage combat with the massive Crystal-Armored Beast, struggling to pierce its thick plates and unnatural regeneration.
The lightning struck him with apocalyptic force.
The blast ripped Garrak off the ground, hurling him dozens of meters across the field. Everything in the path of the strike was obliterated—
his own goblin soldiers, giant thunder-wasps loyal to the Wasp King, even tank-like beasts caught in the arc of destruction.
It was indiscriminate. Brutal.
But perfectly focused.
So this is chaos… Alex muttered inwardly as he watched the battlefield tremble.
That was his cue.
Alex suppressed every trace of mana he could, relying on his armored octopus' natural camouflage to blend seamlessly with the ruined terrain. His invisible tendrils latched onto the remaining trees and shattered structures, launching him forward at breakneck speed toward the building containing the Core Metal.
He shot like a phantom through the raging battlefield.
The Wasp King's hysterical fury turned the sky into a storm of blind destruction. Dozens of its own thunder-wasps were vaporized in the chaos.
As he flew, Alex couldn't help thinking:
Iris… she's terrifying. She controlled that monstrous creature without being anywhere near danger. That eye—absolute hypnosis. Her abilities are dangerous. I have to be careful around her.
But this was not the moment for contemplation.
He had already crossed hundreds of meters in seconds, avoiding most enemies. A few stray explosive shocks grazed him, but his armored octopus absorbed them effortlessly.
Alex reached the target building.
He burst into it through the brightest point of light.
There it was.
In the center of the chamber floated a metallic sphere, crystal-like and radiant.
Its luminous aura filled the room.
Alex froze.
Not from fear, but from something far deeper.
His true name, the essence of his being, stirred within him.
The Core Metal called to him—pulled at him with a gravity stronger than thought.
Then—
A thunderous roar ripped through the building, shattering the fragile moment.
Alex shut his eyes for a second, trying to suppress the overwhelming pull.
Focus… I can't give in.
This thing… its presence feels like a drug for the soul.
He forced himself upward, racing to the roof just as Iris instructed.
His tendrils smashed through the ceiling, carving a massive opening.
He landed atop the building—and there she was.
Iris stood poised on the rooftop, her butterflies swirling rapidly around her. Composed. Controlled. Ready.
"Let's go!" Alex shouted as he approached.
"Come closer," Iris said, stepping toward him. "I need to touch you to teleport."
"Right!" Alex grabbed her arm without hesitation.
They were now racing against time.
But in the same instant, a group of Developed Goblins stormed onto the roof, screaming and raising their weapons.
"We're late!" Alex yelled. "Hurry!"
And that was when Iris's third butterfly transformed at last.
Not into a weapon.
Not into an eye.
But into a brilliant purple barrier, enveloping both her and Alex in a shining shield.
"Hold on!" Iris screamed as she threw herself off the rooftop with him.
Alex unleashed his tendrils in a violent burst, blocking the storm of attacks closing in on them.
Above them, the Wasp King unleashed a titanic bolt of lightning straight toward the building—
And in that split heartbeat, the world twisted.
The rooftop… the monsters… the battlefield…
All vanished.
Alex and Iris reappeared deep in the forest, surrounded only by towering trees.
They had escaped in the final possible second.
Behind them, the battlefield descended into pure madness.
Garrak—gravely wounded and furious—howled with hatred.
"You filthy humans! I'll skin every last one of you!" he roared.
But he had no time for pursuit. The war had reignited, and the Wasp King had regained just enough awareness to ignite the battlefield with even greater rage.
Meanwhile, back in the forest—
Alex and Iris crashed onto the ground.
Even the few seconds of exposure to those combined monster attacks had nearly shattered Alex's armored octopus. The pain was overwhelming—like a hammer smashing into his soul.
But they were alive.
Barely.
And they had the Core.