CHAPTER 158:
The air itself felt suffocating. The very presence of the Broodmother made reality feel… wrong. It was not just massive—it was unnatural. The creature stood beyond comprehension, its golden eyes burning like miniature suns, each one filled with a predatory intelligence that sent an instinctive chill through Kaito's spine.
Its body, an abomination of shifting carapace and writhing legs, pulsed with a sickly glow. The twisted remains of the forest groaned beneath its monstrous weight, its presence warping the very space around it.
And its children? They surrounded them in the thousands.
Meiyo hovered in midair, her golden-blue eyes burning with power. The wind roared around her, tearing through the lower swarm like a celestial storm. She had been fighting non-stop, pushing herself beyond her limits. But even she could feel it. The battle with the Hydra, the Golem, and now this—her body was breaking.
Still, she couldn't stop. Wouldn't stop. Not when her friends were still in danger.
The Broodmother's head tilted slightly, observing her with eerie curiosity. Then, with a single motion, one of its massive limbs lunged.
Meiyo barely had time to react.
She vanished in a blur, twisting mid-air as the attack slammed into the space where she had been an instant before. The force behind it sent an explosion of debris and shattered trees into the air. The ground itself cracked beneath the sheer pressure.
Meiyo gritted her teeth, pushing past the pain. Her Sky Hawk's power burned inside her veins, keeping her afloat, keeping her moving. She couldn't stop. She just had to keep attacking.
She slashed.
A crescent blade of wind shot through the air, sharp enough to slice through mountains. It struck the Broodmother's leg—
And did nothing.
The attack hit, the wind dispersed, and the monstrous carapace remained untouched.
Meiyo's breath caught in her throat.
Then, before she could react, pain exploded through her entire body.
Her chest seized. Her muscles spasmed. Her vision blurred as white-hot agony pulsed through her veins.
Her body rejected the Sky Hawk's power.
No
She screamed.
The golden-blue light in her eyes flickered, her wings of wind shattered, and her body plummeted.
"MEIYO!" Everyone screamed.
Hakashi moved first, despite his injuries, pushing himself forward on pure adrenaline. Akari was right behind him, her face twisted in horror. But Kaito
Kaito's instincts kicked in.
The Broodmother moved.
Faster than anything its size should be able to.
Kaito reacted before he even had time to think. His body blurred forward, magic circles forming beneath his feet as his blood magic flared to life. A crimson arc of power erupted from his palm, intercepting the Broodmother's attack just before it could strike Meiyo.
The impact sent Kaito skidding backward, his boots digging trenches into the dirt. His arms burned from the force, but he didn't care. He barely noticed.
Meiyo hit the ground hard, coughing violently, her entire body trembling. The pain was unbearable, but she forced herself to move. She tried to stand—tried to fight.
But her body wouldn't respond.
The unknown power she the Sky Hawk's power was not responding.
She was powerless right now.
And so was her team cause she was the only 12th diemsnional fighter if what that Hydra said was true.
And Kaito knew it.
His jaw clenched as he stepped forward.
The others were frozen.
Hakashi was still injured.
Rika was focused on Kouki, trying to find a way to bring him back.
Duck had just spent nearly all his energy fighting the Kraken.
Akari was holding onto Meiyo, shaking, trying to help her.
That left one option.
Kaito stepped in front of them, his crimson eyes locking onto the Broodmother.
"It's up to me, huh?" He muttered under his breath, rolling his shoulders.
The Broodmother stared at him.
Then, it laughed.
A deep, chittering sound that vibrated through the air.
It wasn't just a monster. It understood.
It knew.
Kaito's breath slowed. His heartbeat thundered in his ears.
This wasn't like the Hydra.
This wasn't like the Golem.
This was something else.
And it was playing with them.
He barely had time to react before it attacked.
A leg—thicker than a tree, faster than lightning—came crashing down.
Kaito twisted, dodging just in time. The impact shattered the ground where he had been standing, sending shockwaves through the battlefield. The sheer force alone sent him reeling, barely able to keep his balance.
But he didn't stop.
He countered.
A massive blood magic circle formed beneath his feet, twisting into jagged red runes. Spikes of crystallized blood erupted from the ground, aiming straight for the Broodmother's body—
Only for them to shatter on impact.
The Broodmother didn't even flinch.
Instead, it moved.
Faster than before.
It was toying with him.
A claw came from his blind spot. He barely dodged in time, rolling to the side as the monstrous appendage carved a deep trench into the earth. Another attack followed. Then another. Then another.
Kaito was on the defensive.
And the Broodmother was enjoying it.
His movements became erratic, desperate. He needed an opening any opening. But there was none.
Damn it.
For the first time, he understood what Meiyo and Kouki felt against the Hydra.
This wasn't a fight.
This was an execution.
His blood magic wasn't strong enough. His body wasn't fast enough. His attacks weren't enough.
And the Broodmother knew it.
Its golden eyes glowed with amusement.
Then, it spoke.
"A funny little human thinking it can make hurt me.," it rasped, its voice dripping with mockery. "It will be fun to make you watch as your friends die. After all you killed my children so which mother would not respond in kind?"
Kaito's eyes widened.
Before he could react—
A pulse of pure poison erupted from the Broodmother's body, sweeping across the battlefield in an unstoppable wave.
Kaito braced himself.
But the poison wasn't aimed at him.
It was aimed at them.
Hakashi.
Duck.
Rika.
Meiyo.
But most importantly.
Akari.
Kaito's blood ran cold.
Akari barely had time to scream as the poison engulfed her.