It took Kenzo several seconds to regain any real sense of his own body. The impact had left him dazed, sprawled across the webbed floor with the breath knocked from his lungs. Every inhale burned, and every attempt to move sent a dull wave of pain through his shoulder and down his arm. He clenched his teeth, refusing to groan, refusing above all to remain still. Lying there, one truth became painfully clear: if he did not get back up immediately, he was going to die.
Before moving, his eyes caught sight of the other side of the chamber for a fraction of a second. It was enough to see Ophelia and Naty fighting Sir James. The violence of their clash was unlike anything Kenzo had ever witnessed between humans. James moved with broad, distorted, almost inhuman motions, while Ophelia and Naty fought with desperate precision, striking, retreating, dodging, maintaining a balance that looked ready to collapse at any moment. Kenzo saw a section of webbing tear apart, followed by a shockwave that cracked the floor, then forced himself to look away. He could not afford to think about them. Not now. If his attention slipped for even a second, the Unstable spider would crush him without effort.
He rolled aside just as one of its legs slammed down where he had been lying. The webbing burst beneath the impact, scattering razor-sharp fragments in every direction. Kenzo activated [Serpent] again, his body responding almost mechanically, as though it had understood before his mind that staying on the ground meant death. He forced himself upright, White Fang trembling faintly in his hand, not from fear, but from the accumulated strain tearing through his muscles.
Then he saw Lucian.
Something had changed.
The blond boy was no longer hanging back. His face was pale and still marked by fear, but his eyes were different now. Steady. Focused. For the first time since the battle began, Lucian was attacking. Not wildly, not in panic, but with an almost cold sense of logic. He kept dodging, again and again, yet every evasion had a purpose. Every movement brought him closer to a specific point on the spider's body. He was targeting the same areas repeatedly: joints already damaged by Madame, fractures in the carapace, sections where the creature's inner webbing showed beneath its black shell.
Kenzo understood.
Lucian was finally using his power properly.
He was no longer striking wherever he could. He was striking where he knew it mattered.
Madame, meanwhile, continued enduring the impossible. She stood against the Unstable spider like a living fortress, absorbing most of its attacks. Any one of those blows could have killed an Awakened instantly, yet she was still holding on.
Until it happened.
A golden-tipped leg tore through the air and smashed into Madame's side with brutal force. A horrible crack rang out as one of her legs was ripped clean from her body and sent flying several meters through torn silk and scattered debris. Madame released a shrill cry, not of pain, but of rage. She tried to retaliate, but the Unstable spider gave her no time. A second leg was severed, then a third, then a fourth, torn away in such rapid succession that Kenzo could barely follow the attacks.
Madame staggered backward, her massive body sagging slightly. Her breathing became ragged and wheezing, as though each breath demanded an enormous effort. A knot formed in Kenzo's throat.
She was still standing.
But she was losing.
He had no time to dwell on it.
The Unstable spider turned toward him and Lucian.
The force generated by its attacks had become a weapon in itself. Even when Kenzo barely dodged, the pressure of the displaced air tore at the skin of his arms, sliced across his face, and cut into his already damaged armor. He felt blood running down his side, then along his thigh. Lucian was no better off. His movements remained effective, but every dodge became shorter, tighter, more dangerous. His breathing was ragged, his body covered in shallow cuts that were beginning to add up.
Kenzo tried to coordinate an attack.
— « Lucian! »
He launched himself sideways and struck an already weakened joint. Lucian understood immediately. His blade drove into the exact same spot with near-perfect precision.
The Unstable spider staggered back a step and released another metallic shriek.
This time, the wound was real.
Deep.
Black fluid poured freely from the opening and spread across the webbed floor.
But the price came immediately.
One of the spider's legs caught Kenzo in the middle of his movement. He managed only a partial dodge. The impact sent him crashing violently to the ground as his armor split with an ominous crack. Pain exploded through his ribs, sharp enough to steal his breath. Lucian tried to intervene, but a barrage of strikes forced him back before he could get close enough to help.
They were still holding.
But barely.
Madame struggled to breathe, every movement slower and heavier than the last. Kenzo could barely rise without using White Fang for support. Lucian was trembling again, but this time he refused to retreat.
And yet the Unstable spider was suffering too.
Its shell was fractured in several places. Its movements had lost some of their fluidity. Even its breathing had become irregular.
It was wounded.
It was not invincible.
A monstrous crash suddenly erupted from the other side of the chamber.
Kenzo turned despite himself.
He saw Naty hurled into a wall of webbing. Her body struck with brutal force before sliding to the ground, motionless. Her armor was shattered in several places, and her breathing was barely visible.
Kenzo's chest tightened.
They were out of time.
There was no room left for mistakes.
He drew in a deep breath despite the pain tearing through his ribs, then shouted to Lucian, his voice carrying across the entire chamber.
— « One last charge! »
It was not an order.
It was a desperate gamble.
And either they won now—
or they died here.