Liora inserted the green bubble into Emma's back."Well then, it looks like we're ready," she announced to the group.
They had taken some time to rest while Liora healed their wounds and recovered her ether. Everyone had spent a great deal during the fight.
With their bodies and energy restored, the group left the cave and resumed their path.
Their footsteps echoed against the stone, firmer and more confident, though the tension from the battle still lingered in the air. After advancing through two more turns, the ant they were following stopped in front of a corridor entrance.
They followed it through the corridor until the chamber opened before them.
It was an immense, circular space, with a domed ceiling that allowed unrestricted movement and caused the echo of their steps to roll softly through the chamber.
The sheer scale of the place was sufficient.
Four entrances opened into the chamber, and Liora deduced that there were four possible routes leading to it. Any of them could have been used, though only one showed signs of recent activity.
At the center, a small stone pillar served as a pedestal. Resting atop it was an egg the size of a ball, gleaming and protected. Beside the egg, an ant the size of a truck moved with precision. Its metallic gray color, posture, and dominant aura made it clear: it was the queen.
Around the egg, several ants of varying sizes patrolled the chamber, though Liora had expected to find more.
Liora surveyed the chamber and noted something important: its vast size eliminated any physical constraints. In that space, the group could fully use their monstrous forms without the risk of colliding with one another or the walls.
Liora smiled at the realization.
"Rylan," she called to her brother, "do the honors, please."
Rylan stepped forward without hesitation. His saber appeared in his hands, gleaming with contained energy.
With a precise, decisive motion, he drove it straight into the head of the ant that had led them here, ending its suffering.
Liora inclined her head toward the dead ant.
"Thank you for bringing us here. Forgive us for our cruel strategy," she said, a hint of irony in her voice.
She straightened and turned to her group, renewed energy in her gaze.
"Well, guys," she announced, "get ready to win the event," she said with a proud smile.
Just before transforming.
—————-
Marcus did not go straight through the corridor. His intuition told him it was better to focus on recovery.
He settled onto the damp cave floor, surrounded by the bodies of ants that were beginning to rot, releasing an acrid stench that invaded his breathing.
He sat in a lotus position, crossing his legs carefully so as not to injure his ankles, closed his eyes to concentrate better, and rested his hands on his knees, relaxing his fingers.
It was a method Kara had taught him, designed to recover ether more efficiently than simply waiting.
The technique seemed absurd in its simplicity: remain still, breathe in a precise pattern, focus the mind on the flow within one's own body.
Marcus did not fully understand how that immobility and breath control accelerated the regeneration of his ether; the logic behind the process escaped even his advanced understanding of energy.
However, with each inhalation and exhalation, he felt his ether core—located on the right side of his chest—recovering ether at a faster rate.
And that was what mattered.
After some time, Marcus noticed that his ether core had reached approximately 90%.
He deemed it sufficient and moved down the corridor with measured steps, feeling the cold stone beneath his feet and hearing the echo of each distant impact.
The air vibrated with the rhythm of battle—blows and crunches reverberating through the rock like a silent drum announcing the presence of monsters and other students.
At the end of the corridor, he stopped, pressing himself against the wall. The chamber that opened before him took his breath away. It was monumental. It could contain three football stadiums, he thought, and even then every corner, every abyss of the dome seemed to stretch endlessly.
Light poured in clearly from several openings in the ceiling, illuminating the center of the chamber and casting sharp shadows along the walls.
The source of the noise became clear to his right, at the northern entrance. Liora, Emma, Jhon, and Rylan were there, all in their monstrous forms, moving with almost choreographed precision.
I knew they would make it — Marcus thought not knowing if he felt pride or annoyance.
The calm with which they brought down enormous ants contrasted with the brutality of their attacks—a lethal choreography of strength and control.
And there was the queen, imposing and colossal, observing from nearby. Her antennae moved with deliberate slowness, measuring every opportunity, evaluating every movement of the students.
Marcus understood immediately: if the queen remained close to his companions, her attention was focused on them.
That left the egg exposed, vulnerable, without any immediate protection beyond distance and the instincts of the other combatants.
The clarity of the opportunity struck him without delay.
Without thinking further Marcus grabbed the two claws hanging from his shoulder and brought them to his mouth and ran.
His steps thundered through the chamber, slamming into the ground as he accelerated at a pace that would have been impossible for a human in his past life.
The speed was intense. He could feel the air compress around him, every muscle activating with precision, sending calculated impulses to each leg and arm.
Marcus couldn't help but be amazed by the capabilities of a Transformer.
Halfway there, taking advantage of the chamber's open space, Marcus activated his transformation.
His body erupted in vapor and grew to 3.50 meters, gray plates covering his muscles, red fibers taut like steel cables beneath the surface.
The added mass did not slow him down. On the contrary, his speed increased. His momentum became a brutal charge, capable of covering the distance to the egg in mere seconds, each stride hammering the ground.
As he ran, ants of various sizes surged into his path.
Marcus did not attack them. He dodged them with ease and agility. The priority was the egg, not the fight.
From the northern entrance, Liora noticed Marcus and shouted, alarmed.
"Jhon, stop him!"
Jhon, in his monstrous form, raised his weapon and aimed at Marcus.
A shot echoed through the chamber. Marcus heard it in time. He threw himself to the ground, feeling the bullet's pulse pass just above his head.
The danger was real. With Jhon present, getting to the egg was no longer easy.
Immediately, Marcus sprinted toward a nearby rock large enough to provide cover.
Just as Jhon pulled the trigger again, Marcus slid in a lateral leap and reached the rock, arriving at the exact spot just in time.
The bullet struck the rock, blasting fragments onto the ground.
Rylan stopped fighting the ants and changed targets without hesitation. Seizing an opening, he leapt over the moving bodies and circled the queen ant, avoiding her zone of control.
His steps thundered as he ran straight toward the egg.
Now that Marcus was in the game as well, there was no longer any margin for delay.
Marcus remained crouched behind the rock, body tense, mind working at full speed. Between him and the egg there wasn't much distance, but there was a problem: Jhon, right behind his ass, rifle ready.
From the outside, Jhon might seem like a carefree guy, even unserious, someone who didn't take anything too seriously. But Marcus knew that image was deceptive.
Jhon had talent. And not just any kind.
He recalled one of the exam days when they had gone hunting together. During that outing, Marcus had limited himself to observing.
But on one occasion, out of curiosity, Marcus measured the exact reload time of Jhon's rifle: five seconds.
Under normal conditions, it didn't seem like much.
But in the middle of battle, it was an eternity.
The problem was the shot.
The rifle's impact was no joke. Marcus knew that well. Even with his plates active, a direct hit would punch straight through him. There was no margin for error, no room to trust in durability.
Marcus looked back toward the egg.
The distance wasn't great. If he ran at maximum speed, he could reach it in under ten seconds. The calculation was simple. The consequence as well.
However, that meant exposing himself, inevitably, to one of Jhon's shots.
Marcus's mind worked at full speed to discard that scenario.
He considered charging head-on and trying to dodge the shot.
Marcus even considered taking it in a "non-vital" area, sacrificing flesh to gain distance. The idea didn't last long.
He clearly remembered the assault on Victoria's group: Jhon had shot Duke, and the bullet hadn't simply punched a hole. The impact had nearly destroyed the forearm entirely, as if it had been torn from the body.
There was no safe place to take that shot.
There was no way it wouldn't be lethal.
There had to be a better way.
Marcus thought coldly, almost forcing the desire, pushing his mind to find an exit. In a matter of seconds, he reached a simple, direct conclusion.
If he can't see me, he can't hit me.
The idea wasn't elegant, but it was functional. Jhon needed a clear line of sight to shoot. Without a direct line, the rifle lost its greatest advantage. Marcus began searching his surroundings for something that could break that line of sight long enough.
He looked at the rock he was hiding behind. He could shatter it, generate dust and debris… but dust would only delay a shot, not prevent it.
Then he looked at his plates.
If he tore off a plate large enough, he could create mobile cover. Not perfect, but sufficient.
The plan took shape quickly: tear off a plate the size of a car, revert to his human form to reduce silhouette and unnecessary mass, and advance using that plate as an improvised shield. Not to withstand the shot, but to prevent Jhon from being able to aim.
It wasn't safe.
But it was possible.
And at that moment, it was all he had.
Until he heard the dry crack of something breaking high above the chamber.
Marcus immediately looked up.
First came the cracks.
A sharp, almost imperceptible sound ran across the ceiling of the chamber. Small fissures opened in the stone, irregular lines creeping forward as if the weight of the mountain had suddenly decided to move. Tiny fragments began to fall, a steady drizzle of dust and gravel.
The cracks didn't stop.
They spread, crossed one another, widening with every groan. The stone began to give way, to deform, and the sound changed. It was no longer an isolated snap, but a deep, sustained moan that echoed throughout the chamber.
Then the ceiling collapsed.
Entire blocks tore free at once, massive rocks cascading down, ripped from their place by a force impossible to ignore. The impact shook the ground, raising a thick cloud of dust that obscured vision for an instant.
And in the middle of that collapse, descending alongside the rocks, a figure appeared.
Duke's monstrous form fell with them, plunging through the void without attempting to slow, wrapped in debris that shattered against his body on impact.
The stones smashed into the ground, and at the center of the chaos, Duke landed with a devastating impact. The chamber vibrated. When the dust began to settle, Duke was already there, kneeling, solid, as if the mountain itself had spat him out.
"Aaaah—" Duke groaned, his voice rough and monstrous. "What a pain in the back…"
He shook himself off, dust and small stones raining around him as he landed, the echo of the collapse still rumbling in the cavern. Slowly taking in the scene in front of him, he bellowed, "Well, well, well… what do we have here, folks?"
A wry grin twisted the face of his monstrous form. "Missed me, huh? I have to say, it's pretty rude you didn't invite me to the party."
He paused, brushing rubble from his shoulders. "If it weren't for that shot earlier, I wouldn't have even noticed you were all right beneath me. And when I did… I started smashing the ground, and suddenly—here I am!"
Dust swirled around his massive frame, catching the light and scattering in halos around him. He raised his arms slightly, letting the tiny clouds drift off as he surveyed the group.
"Can you believe it? Because I can barely believe it myself!"