Sky was engulfed in excruciating pain, his senses overwhelmed by the battlefield's din and the ants' terrifying gnawing. His consciousness began to blur, a constant ringing in his ears muddying his perception.
In the thick of battle, he swung his chainsaw sword instinctively, cutting down the mutant giant ants in a daze.
A stark realization hit him: "I'm really going to die this time."
Raimondo's familiar scream pierced the chaotic noise, commanding Sky's attention. It wasn't a psychic connection; it was the sheer intensity of Raimondo's agony.
Summoning his waning strength, Sky looked towards Raimondo, who was in unspeakable pain. His large body rolled on the ground, clawing at himself in desperation. His screams, reaching a human limit, seemed to threaten the very integrity of his vocal cords.
The Swarm Master, observing from his mutant beetle, took notice of Raimondo, the unremarkable human. A confused frown creased his brow.
Mutants, once awakened, could sense each other's presence. The Swarm Master sensed an awakening power emanating from Raimondo, growing more potent by the moment.
In his hesitation, a more foreboding and powerful aura surfaced, unsettling even the seasoned awakener.
Sky felt a peculiar calm around him. The mutant ants nearby had ceased their movements, frozen in time.
Then, he sensed a chilling yet powerful presence behind him. It was like a meteor suddenly lighting up the night sky, illuminating life's darkest moments.
Slowly turning, Sky saw Arachne, expressionless, her eyes empty. An invisible breeze swirled around her, her long hair dancing in the air. Seemingly lifted by this breeze, Arachne began to float, suspended mid-air.
Her gaze shifted towards the Swarm Lord, her eyes ablaze with a spectral silver-white light. This ethereal glow, concentrated at her eyes, burned fiercely like twin stars of silver fire.
In that crucial moment, the lord of the Insect Swarm was enveloped in a chilling terror, a wave of malevolence emanating from the girl's slender figure, striking at him with its palpable intensity.
Around Arachne, mutant giant ants within a dozen meters abruptly pivoted, rushing towards the Insect Swarm Master. As they surged forward, other ants scattered in their wake, reminiscent of creatures fleeing from a formidable predator.
The Insect Swarm Master emitted a piercing shriek, his face twisting in agony, veins prominently bulging, his eyes a maelstrom of bloodshot rage. With immense telekinetic prowess, he directed the remnants of his loyal ant forces to engage in fierce combat with their insurgent kin.
Amidst the tumultuous battlefield, the Insect Swarm Master's eyes burned with dense killing intent, fixated on Arachne. "Rein in your arrogance, young one," he hissed, regaining his composure and summoning more mutant ants to the fray.
Beneath him, the mutant beetle realigned, its formidable 5-meter lance targeting Arachne.
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The beetle crouched subtly, then burst forth with astounding speed. In a mere instant, it confronted Arachne, its massive lance impaling her slight form, nailing her to the wall behind.
Her once formidable aura abruptly dissipated, her face contorted in pain, blood seeping from her mouth.
Sky, consumed by fury, lunged forward, his chainsaw sword furiously striking the beetle's shell, yet the impenetrable carapace defied his every effort.
Observing the girl, teetering on the edge of death, the Insect Swarm Master allowed himself a brief moment of relief.
Yet, he had briefly neglected Raimondo, now undergoing a dramatic transformation. Emitting one final, earth-shattering howl, his muscles started to pulsate rhythmically.
His skin began to harden, shifting from human tones to a deep grey, meticulously layered with dense, fine scales. Some scales further mutated, forming a carapace as hard as insects' over his primary body parts.
His body swelled with burgeoning power, limbs thickening, muscle lines vivid and potent. He doubled in size, a figure of sheer strength.
Raimondo's head transformed as well, his eyes enlarging into a distinctly insect-like, multi-faceted structure, shining with a predatory sharpness. A sharp, spear-like protuberance, a meter in length, slowly emerged from his scalp.
His mouth morphed into a reinforced weapon, revealing formidable insect-like mandibles, razor-sharp and powerful, mirroring the fierce jaws of mutant giant ants.
As the transformation progressed, his back muscles writhed, evolving into wing-like appendages sheathed in a sturdy shell, exuding an aura of indestructibility.
Protrusions on the back of his neck elongated into a two-meter biological lance.
In a final act of metamorphosis, his wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees, and other joints sprouted uneven, razor-sharp bone spurs, breaking through skin and flesh, completing his transformation into a formidable hybrid warrior.
Raimondo stood up, initially looking around in a state of confusion, then examining his mutated body. Soon, his attention was drawn to the sight of Sky, who was hacking away in a frenzy. Raimondo's eyes cleared from confusion, and with an enraged roar, he appeared beneath the colossal frame of the mutated beetle. Crouching, he delivered a powerful thrust, driving the 2-meter-long pike protruding from his neck deep into the beetle's body.
The beetle, wracked with intense pain, instinctively staggered backwards. As it retreated, the 5-meter-long pike slid from Arachne's body, leaving her to crash heavily to the ground. Sky rushed to her, holding her gently in his arms. A terrible wound gaped in the center of her chest, revealing shattered organs – a fatal wound beyond saving.
Arachne, feeling Sky's embrace and unable to speak, managed a faint smile, attempting to raise her hand to touch Sky's face, but her frail arm fell helplessly. She closed her eyes for the last time, life slipping away. Sky was overwhelmed with dizziness, struggling to grapple with the reality before him.
Meanwhile, Raimondo had entered a state of unbridled fury. With instinctive pike thrusts, sharp bone spur slices, and forceful charges, his actions were wild and unrestrained. The beetle, relentlessly battered by his assault, was forced into retreat, its shell shattered, leaking fluids.
Though Raimondo's mutated form was not as strong as the massive beetle, he completely dominated in speed, agility, and offensive power. His joints, adorned with lethal bone spurs, sliced effortlessly through the beetle's thick shell, continuously inflicting damage.
In a state of chaos, the insect overlord struggled to maintain control, directing the beetle against Raimondo while commanding the ant swarm to besiege and bite him. However, these mutated ants were mere irritants to Raimondo, whose strength turned the battle into a lopsided slaughter.
Seizing an opportunity, Raimondo plunged his 2-meter pike once more into the beetle's abdomen. Grasping its scale-like abdominal armor, he lifted the several-ton creature and flipped it over with a violent motion, crashing it to the ground on its back.
The insect overlord, in a last-ditch effort, hastily left the beetle's back just before it hit the ground, stumbling to regain his composure. No longer poised, he looked on in terror at the transformed youth. Raimondo, with eyes resembling those of an insect, stared intently at the overlord, causing him to unconsciously step back.
As the overlord contemplated his escape under the cover of the ant swarm, Raimondo suddenly clutched his head and fell to his knees, engulfed in agony.