Like a sharpened lance, the vines shot forward with lethal intent, aiming to impale anyone within reach. Their speed was overwhelming. Several of Mira's clones were struck point blank, and the sheer force of the impact caused them to dissipate instantly.
Hideo's legs flared green as he leapt away, narrowly evading the assault. He moved swiftly, hopping from vine to vine and across the writhing mass of Thorn, closing in on its neck. With one final jump, he raised his claws, aiming to sever its head from its body.
"Adios, muchacho!" he shouted, grinning as he lunged forward.
Before he could land the strike, the arms behind Thorn's neck sprang to life. One seized his leg midair and hurled him aside as if he weighed nothing. He was slammed into the cavern wall, the impact carving a massive crater and leaving him stuck against the surface.
"That went well," Hideo groaned, irritation lacing his voice as he forced himself upright. His eyes snapped forward as something rushed toward him. "Oh, shit."
He kicked off the wall and dropped to the ground, immediately carving a path through the incoming vines, doing what he did best: cutting everything in his way.
Meanwhile, Mira twisted her body midair, suspended briefly by a strand of her hair. With a fluid motion, she flipped and narrowly dodged the first wave of attacks. She landed lightly on both feet, glanced back, then broke into a run, circling the area as her eyes scanned for any sign of weakness.
"There has to be something," she muttered under her breath.
She rolled across the ground, spun, and shifted direction in one smooth motion, constantly adjusting her movement to stay ahead of the assault.
Aside from the noticeably faster attacks compared to their earlier encounter above, Thorn's patterns remained largely identical. The only difference was the arm that had grabbed Hideo, capable of launching targets with terrifying force.
Mira narrowed her eyes, her gaze fixed on the glowing red spots scattered across its body.
Like a hive mind, her clones received the command through their shared connection. The orders settled into place instantly, and without hesitation, multiple footsteps surged forward in unison as they carried them out.
Some moved to distract Thorn, drawing its attention with reckless aggression. Others slipped through the mess and managed to climb onto its main body. Raising their heels, they drove them down with force, striking at the red spots again and again.
Many were intercepted almost immediately, cut down before they could do any real damage. But one managed to break through. With a final, crushing stomp, a red node burst open.
A thick, reddish, sticky fluid spilled out, clinging to everything it touched. Mira's clone paused, not expecting what came next.
Inside the ruptured spot, something moved.
It was alive.
The shape was unmistakable, resembling an oversized spider egg, its surface a disturbing blend of black and green. It pulsed faintly, as if breathing. Cracks began to spread across its shell at an alarming speed.
The clone leaned in for a closer look, but it was a mistake on her part, because the egg split open and whatever was inside lunged out instantly. It slammed into the clone's face, clinging to it like a parasitic creature, wrapping itself tight in a suffocating embrace.
The moment it sank its fangs into one of her eyes, venom flooded the clone's body. She screamed in agony, her form destabilizing before bursting into smoke and vanishing completely.
Feeling the feedback through their connection, Mira clicked her tongue.
"First a plant, now a damn spider," she muttered, dragging a nearby clone in front of her as a shield. "Who brought Australia into Mato?"
========
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The arachnid skittered along Thorn's body, blending into the writhing mass. Watching what happened, a chill ran down Hideo's spine. A long-forgotten phobia clawed its way back to the surface.
"Of all things, why a spider?!" he shouted in his mind.
Hideo had already tried multiple times to behead the damn thing, but every attempt had failed. At this point, he was not even sure if cutting it down would work or if it would just regenerate again, like when he sliced the main body. Still, there was only one way to find out.
"Isad-I mean Ankh!" he called out, looking up as he cupped his hands around his mouth. "Give me a Cheetah and Mantis!"
"Roger~" Isadora replied with a playful salute.
Hearing his call, she summoned two Core Medals into her hand.
"Catch," Isadora said, tossing them toward him with perfect accuracy.
Hideo raised his hand and caught them cleanly, swapping them in within a blink.
[𝕃𝕚𝕠𝕟]
[𝕂𝕒𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕣𝕚]
[ℂ𝕙𝕖𝕖𝕥𝕒𝕙]
His form shifted instantly. Yellow light surged through his legs as power coiled and released. In the next moment, he burst forward, his speed skyrocketing as he weaved through every incoming attack with precise, fluid movements. Without slowing down, Hideo closed in once more, ready to try again.
Even if the vines failed to catch him, the hands were already there, waiting.
They twisted unnaturally, joints cracking and reshaping mid-motion, defying any normal anatomy. That was why he had struggled earlier; they did not just move, they adapted. But now, after watching them long enough, Hideo had begun to understand.
He had cracked the pattern.
When he activated the Lion Medal's light before, the vines reacted, drawn toward it almost instinctively. At first, he thought it was a coincidence. But after testing it again on the arms, the reaction confirmed it. They noticed the light, yet quickly dismissed it, as if it was not their primary target.
Still, it was enough.
More importantly, Mira was holding the line flawlessly, keeping the vines busy and intercepting every advance with relentless precision.
"Time to shine, literally," Hideo muttered, a grin tugging at his lips.
The light flared.
Brighter.
Hotter.
Blinding.
He pushed it to its absolute limit.
The reaction was immediate.
The grotesque arms began to tremble violently. Instead of evading him like before, they faltered, drawn in and mesmerized by the radiance. When he raised his blade, they did not dodge. They approached.
Just as he expected.
Behind them, the vines stirred, sensing the light. They began to surge forward, only to be halted. An entire swarm of Mira's clones intercepted them, grappling, restraining, and forcing the writhing mass into a stalemate.
That single moment was all Hideo needed.
He moved like a flash of steel cutting through the air with a clean, decisive arc.
The massive hand wrapped around the creature's neck was torn apart instantly, shredded into pieces before it could even react.
A sharp hiss cut through.
The spider perched atop the mask snapped to life, its body tensing before it leapt toward him, spitting a glob of venom midair.
"No thanks, bro." Hideo twisted midair, flipping effortlessly as the attack missed him by mere inches. As he landed, his eyes locked onto the now-exposed creature.
Wide open.
A grin spread across his face.
In one fluid motion, he cut the spider cleanly in half.
It did not even have time to react.
Now nothing stood between him and his objective.
"Let's end this!"
With a roar, Hideo launched forward, unleashing a relentless barrage of strikes. His blade carved through flesh and vine alike, each slash faster than the last, each one driven with enough force to tear the monstrous entity apart.
He did not stop.
For that brief window, he poured everything into it, every ounce of strength, every bit of momentum, turning the creature's neck and the masked core into a storm of steel.
Then a final, piercing shriek echoed through the cavern. Without missing a beat, Hideo kicked off the ground, performing an almost unnecessary, over-the-top flip. His body spun rapidly, faster and sharper with each rotation.
Like a living blade, he descended in a spiraling assault, shredding through the creature's head with brutal precision until nothing remained but a mangled ruin. Behind him, Mira was still locked in a struggle with one of the violent vines, but the moment the creature collapsed, everything stopped.
"…Is it over?" Mira asked, her voice laced with doubt as she nudged one of the now unresponsive vines with her foot.
"I sure hope so," Hideo replied, letting out a tired sigh. "I still can't believe that actually worked."
Mira pushed herself fully upright, brushing off the dirt as her gaze settled on Thorn's headless body. For a moment, she said nothing. Something about it felt… wrong. The unease clung to her chest, refusing to fade.
Because despite its state, the sound was still there.
A steady, faint beating.
She clicked her tongue, clearly irritated. "I hate how, despite how it looks, it smells so good." She spat to the side before walking over to Hideo, giving his shoulder a firm tap. "Still, good job neutralizing the threat."
Hideo let out a small chuckle. "Couldn't have done it without you, Chief."
========
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The cavern fell into an uneasy quiet, the kind that felt less like peace and more like the calm before something worse.
From above, Isadora watched the supposedly lifeless remains.
A low whistle escaped her lips.
"Yeah, that's not dead."
Isadora didn't move, didn't react outwardly. She simply leaned forward against the rock, resting her chin on her hand. She could still feel it. A strong, persistent vitality, pulsing deep within the plant's flesh, hidden beneath the ruin they had just carved through.
========
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A wet, tearing sound shattered the silence. It slithered into Mira and Hideo's hearing, sharp and unmistakable. Both of them stiffened instantly, their bodies reacting before their minds could fully catch up.
It wasn't over.
Not even close.
Thorn's corpse twitched.
Every red node embedded across its mangled body swelled and ruptured in rapid succession, popping one after another in a grotesque chain reaction. Thick, viscous fluid spilled out, coating the already ruined flesh in a glistening, blood-tinged sheen. The air filled with a stench, heavy and sweet in all the worst ways.
Inside the ruptured growths, something moved.
Cracks spread.
Then split open.
The spider eggs nested within the abomination began to hatch one by one, then all at once.
A deafening chorus of hisses erupted, overlapping and rising into a nightmarish symphony as dozens of spiders clawed their way out of their shells. Their tiny bodies glistened with the same foul fluid, legs twitching as they fully emerged into the open.
"Knew something like this would happen," Mira muttered, her expression darkening into a frown. Clones flickered into existence around her without hesitation, each one snapping into position as she lowered her stance. "My gut instincts really don't know how to be wrong most of the time."
"Why can't this bastard just behave?" Hideo growled, tightening his grip as he squared himself for another round.
The tension between them rose, thick and immediate.
But the spiders ignored them. Not a single one spared them a glance.
Instead, the swarm started feasting upon Thorn's remains, skittering over the corpse in a frenzy. Mandibles tore into flesh, ripping and devouring with mindless hunger. The sound alone was revolting. Wet chewing, tearing, feeding.
It was disgusting.
For a brief moment, the two hesitated.
Just as they were about to make a move, something changed.
Mid-feast, the spiders began to twitch.
Then, in eerie unison, their backs split open.
A thin seam tore apart across each of their bodies, peeling back like something trying to break free from within.
And then
A sound so sharp and piercing came out.
A high-frequency screech that detonated through the cavern.
It slammed into Mira and Hideo like a physical force.
"Ghh-!"
Both of them recoiled instantly, their hands flying to their ears as the sound drilled into their skulls. It wasn't just loud. It hurt. It vibrated through bone, through nerves, through thought itself.
Mira dropped to one knee, her teeth clenched as both hands pressed hard against her ears, trying and failing to block it out.
"Son of a-!" she cursed inwardly, her vision shaking as the sound refused to stop.
Beside her, Hideo staggered, his stance breaking under the assault. Even standing upright felt like a struggle as the piercing frequency continued relentlessly.
Already, the swarm had devoured a significant portion of the corpse. Chunks of flesh disappeared rapidly under their relentless feeding, exposing what lay beneath.
At the center of it all was something else.
A tall, humanoid figure made entirely of wood sat within the hollowed remains, its form unnaturally smooth yet rigid, like something carved and also grown. It was curled inward, knees drawn close to its chest, one elongated arm wrapped tightly around them in a fetal position.
It did not move.
It simply existed.
As if it had always been there.
Almost at the exact same moment it was revealed, the piercing sound stopped.
Silence fell just as abruptly as the noise had begun. Mira and Hideo froze for a second longer before the tension finally released from their bodies.
"Hah…" Hideo exhaled sharply, lowering his hands from his ears.
Mira followed suit, letting out a slow, relieved breath as she steadied herself and pushed back to her feet. The absence of that horrible frequency felt surreal, like the world had suddenly been muted.
Neither of them spoke at first.
Their eyes were locked onto the figure.
"…What is that?" Hideo muttered under his breath.
Mira tilted her head slightly, her brows knitting together. She didn't have a quick answer, nor a sarcastic remark ready.
She glanced at Hideo.
He glanced back.
Even without seeing his full expression, she could read it clearly from the tension in his posture alone. It was filled with pure, unfiltered confusion. Slowly, her gaze returned to the wooden humanoid.
From that moment onward, the spiders shifted their motive and began climbing onto the wooden body, biting into it as they injected their venom.
Only to start dying one by one. Their bodies dropped lifelessly to the ground, as if each death were fueling the unmoving, frozen figure.
"What are you all waiting for? Move your asses and get to work!" Mira snapped, immediately noticing what was happening. That same bad feeling crept back into her chest, stronger than before, as she urgently commanded her clones to act.
Nodding in unison, the clones rushed forward and leapt toward the figure.
But their attempt was cut short.
Roots burst from the body in a wide area, stabbing straight through them midair. The attack was sudden and precise, leaving no room for escape.
Not long after, as the last spider fell, the wooden figure finally showed signs of life.
It moved.
Slowly, it uncurled, its arm loosening from around its knees. It rose with a stiff, creaking motion, one hand briefly holding its knee as it pushed itself upright. Standing tall, it looked around as if it had just woken up, unaware of everything that had happened moments ago.
A tall, humanoid figure formed entirely from wood stood with a slightly hunched posture. Its body was composed of layered bark plates resembling natural armor, with a rough, splintered texture running across its chest and torso. Its limbs were long and slender, made of twisted branches that tapered into sharp, claw-like fingers.
Its shoulders and arms sprouted small offshoots with thin twigs and budding branches, giving it an uneven, overgrown appearance. The legs were similarly structured, narrow but sturdy, ending in root-like feet that spread slightly for balance.
The head was elongated, carved into a mask-like shape that narrowed into a pointed, beak-like front. Two glowing green eyes sat deep within the wooden face, standing out against the dull brown of its body. There was no visible mouth or nose.
The entire figure carried a jagged, asymmetrical build, with cracks, grooves, and natural imperfections running throughout its wooden form. Looking down at Mira and Hideo, it leaned forward, stretching its back slightly, before suddenly jumping from where it stood and landing right in front of them.
"New challenger, eh?" Mira quipped, rolling her shoulder in a slow circle. "I don't know what just happened, but prepare yourself for a good old thrashing."
The creature only stared at her, curious rather than threatened, as if her words meant nothing at all.
Puffing her cheeks, Mira took a steadying breath and clenched her fists. Its guard was wide open, completely unprepared. She planted her foot, coiled her body for momentum, and seized the moment, launching forward like a missile.
Her punch flew without hesitation, a heavy right cross aimed at its midsection. When it connected, the air compressed from the sheer force.
Mira's expression hardened as she looked up at its face. It had taken her full-powered blow as if it were nothing, simply staring back at her.
"Hard one, are you?" she muttered. "Let's see how long you can last."
With a sharp shout, she drove her left fist forward, then her right, then again, building speed with each strike. Heat gathered in her arms as she hammered the same spot repeatedly. The wooden figure staggered slightly under the barrage, yet remained standing, unmoved in any meaningful way.
And in the end, that was the truth of it.
Standing there, Mira realized she was doing jackshit to it.