Luna and Jamal stared in horror at the monstrosity before them. It towered over them, a grotesque parody of a house with unnaturally long, spindly legs and skeletal arms made of warped wood and jagged metal. The "front door" of the house cracked open, revealing a gaping maw lined with hundreds of razor-sharp teeth and a grotesquely long, writhing tongue.
The creature let out a distorted, bone-rattling laugh that pierced the air like shards of glass. Both Luna and Jamal covered their ears in desperation, but the noise was unbearable.
"Jesus, this thing is loud!" Jamal shouted, his voice barely audible over the cacophony.
Luna cried out in agony, tears welling in her eyes from the sharp, relentless sound. Stumbling, she instinctively coated her ears with a heavy layer of mana, only to find it useless against the creature's overwhelming presence.
Jamal, gritting his teeth, shouted to her, "Coating your ears won't help! This thing's mana is stronger than both of us combined—it'll overpower your resistance!"
Luna paused, her frustration evident. Taking a deep breath, she unraveled the mana coating from her ears. The unbearable sound instantly stopped for her as she severed her ability to hear, temporarily deafening herself. She sighed in relief, her body relaxing for a brief moment.
Without hesitation, she unraveled one of her arms and flung it backward, grabbing hold of a nearby pole jutting from the ceiling. Using it to launch herself upward, she surveyed the creature below.
"It's still screaming… but it's not attacking us directly. Why? Wait!" Luna's eyes widened as the building around them began to shake violently. "It's trying to collapse this place!"
Acting quickly, Luna unraveled her other arm and shot it beneath the creature, shouting, "Rubber ground!" The ground under the monster shimmered, softening and transforming into an elastic, bouncy surface. The mimic immediately began to sink into the pliable terrain, its legs flailing as it struggled to free itself.
Luna, panting heavily, clutched her knees. "That took a lot out of me!" she shouted, her exhaustion evident.
With the creature no longer screeching, Jamal finally uncovered his ears and let out a long, relieved sigh. "Finally, I can hear again!" He grinned and snapped his fingers, conjuring a sleek saxophone out of thin air.
Luna blinked in disbelief. "What…? Is he pulling out an instrument right now!?"
She quickly re-raveled her ears, curious despite herself, and heard the smooth, jazzy notes of Jamal's saxophone. As he played, his body began to glow faintly. To her astonishment, the thrashing creature started to calm, its movements slowing as though hypnotized by the music.
Without wasting a moment, Luna began charging a Light Force attack. A brilliant orb of energy formed in her hand, growing larger and brighter with each passing second.
Then, to her further amazement, Jamal conjured a clone of himself—this one wielding an electric guitar. The clone began to strum a powerful tune, and Luna felt a sudden surge of energy. Her attack, already formidable, grew even stronger, its radiant light illuminating the entire room.
Jamal's music filled the space, bolstering both of them, and Luna focused all her power into the attack. With a determined cry, she hurled the massive Light Force orb directly into the creature's gaping mouth.
The explosion was deafening. A massive hole tore through the mimic, its grotesque body shuddering violently before going limp.
The two of them let out a sigh of relief, staring at the defeated monster. Luna began to descend to the ground, but her movement froze as she noticed the creature twitching and convulsing.
"Wait... it's still moving!" she shouted.
Suddenly, the massive mimic split into multiple smaller versions of itself. Jamal's jaw nearly dropped as the smaller mimics scrambled to their feet and began swarming them.
"Are you kidding me!?" he yelled.
Before they could react, Luna quickly unraveled her other arm, grabbed Jamal, and yanked him toward her just as a horde of the creatures surged toward their position.
"Thanks for the save!" Jamal shouted, catching his breath.
The smaller mimics took on the appearance of furniture and household appliances—chairs, lamps, and even a blender. Luna and Jamal barely had a moment to assess the chaos before some of the mimics began merging.
Three ceiling fans, a vacuum, and the blender fused together, forming a massive, grotesque amalgamation. The newly formed creature opened its blender lid, revealing jagged, spinning blades inside, and began generating a powerful suction, trying to pull Luna and Jamal into its gaping maw.
Luna tightened the knot on her unraveled arm, anchoring herself in place.
Jamal, gritting his teeth, pointed a finger gun at the blender monster and fired several fire bolts, but they barely scratched its metallic surface.
"Damn it, this thing's tough!" he muttered, frustrated.
Thinking quickly, he snapped his fingers, igniting the creature's legs. The monster jerked and danced spasmodically, its move-ments erratic. Then, with another snap, Jamal caused a small explosion inside the blender. The detonation sent shards flying, and the creature fell apart with a metallic groan.
Before they could celebrate, the remaining mimics swarmed the remains, consuming the debris and growing larger.
"Not on my watch!" Luna shouted.
She flung her arm around the group of mimics devouring the remains, pulling them into the still-burning fire. The creatures shrieked as the flames consumed them.
Jamal nodded approvingly and snapped his fingers again, intensifying the fire. The blaze engulfed the mimics, burning them to ash.
Meanwhile, one of the smaller chair mimics lunged at Luna. She quickly stomped down, shattering it into splinters. Using the momentum, she unraveled her arm again, launching it toward a pipe across the room. Grappling to it, she swung herself in a wide arc, slamming into several more mimics and splitting them in half.
As Luna latched onto another pipe to continue her aerial assault, Jamal leaped down into the fray. With a snap of his fingers, he conjured a baseball bat shaped like a saxophone. Grinning, he swung it with precision, smashing the remaining mimics into pieces.
The duo, working in tandem, systematically dismantled the mimic swarm, their teamwork and quick thinking leaving nothing but scorched debris behind.
A green light engulfed the room with a soft ding, and the wall began to part, revealing an exit.
Luna smiled, relieved, while Jamal let out a heavy sigh. They walked side by side toward the exit.
"You did great out there," Luna said, glancing at him.
Jamal smirked. "Yeah, I know I did great, but you weren't half bad yourself!" His confidence was palpable.
As they entered the next room, they noticed there were only ten participants left, including themselves. The atmosphere was tense, an uneasy feeling settling over the group.
Luna scanned the room cautiously. One of the participants gave her a side-eye glare, and her smile quickly faded. Jamal, trying his best to ignore the tension, stood quietly.
Suddenly, one of the participants pointed at Jamal. "Listen here, we don't like your kind!"
Jamal's face twisted into an expression of annoyance. "The fuck is that supposed to mean?" he shot back, his tone sharp.
Before Luna could intervene, another participant turned to her. "Oh, what are you gonna say? Why don't you keep your mouth shut like you've done your whole life?"
Luna's expression faltered, her voice dropping to a mutter. "S-shut up..."
The participant sneered. "Oh, are you gonna cry? Cry like you always do?"
Her patience waning, Luna's voice rose. "I said, be quiet!"
The situation escalated further when a large man approached Jamal, shoving him roughly. "How about you crawl back to whatever shithole you came from!"
Jamal glared at the man, gripping his conjured baseball bat. "That's right, you—"
The man's sentence was cut short as Jamal swung the bat across his face, sending him stumbling. Chaos erupted instantly, with the remaining participants swarming Luna and Jamal.
Before Luna could retaliate, Alter suddenly appeared, her voice sharp and commanding. "Oi, dumbass, calm down! This is a trickster's doing. Coat your eyes with all the mana you've got—right now!"
Gritting her teeth, Luna did as instructed, coating her eyes in mana. Immediately, her vision shifted, revealing the truth: Jamal was swinging wildly at nothing. Then she noticed a small, impish creature dancing and laughing in the room.
"What the hell is that?" she asked.
Alter rolled her eyes. "It's a trickster. Nasty little imps that manipulate your perception to make you attack your allies—or worse. They tire their prey out before moving in for the kill. Now, listen up. Slowly remove the mana from your eyes and turn the ground beneath it to rubber!"
Taking a deep breath, Luna followed Alter's instructions. As she removed the mana from her eyes, the distorted illusions of people reappeared, but she focused on the trickster's location. Slamming her hand onto the ground, she turned the area beneath the imp into soft rubber.
The trickster lost its balance and tumbled to the floor, breaking its concentration. The illusions dissolved, and Jamal froze mid-swing when the nonexistent attacker disappeared.
"What the..." Jamal muttered, scanning the room until his eyes landed on the squirming imp.
With an annoyed grunt, he walked over and began bashing the creature with his bat. The imp let out a screech before falling silent.
Once again, a familiar green light filled the room, accompanied by a soft ding. The wall parted to reveal an elevator. Without hesitation, Luna and Jamal stepped inside.
As the elevator ascended to an unknown destination, they exited to find six participants waiting in the next room, the tension thicker than ever.
As they looked around, Emmerich stepped out with a smile on his face.
"Congratulations! Are you all ready for the final part?" he exclaimed.