Ivan and Tarec were descending from the wall with their respective reinforcement groups when the spectacle unfolded before their eyes.
"What the hell is that?" Tarec muttered, halting his descent.
The scene was surreal. A transformed version of Lucien, with features unsettlingly reminiscent of the artromus, executed a lethal dance against two of the creatures.
His frog, now an enormous beast pulsing with supernatural light, jumped in impossible patterns around one of the monsters, generating countless cuts while a toxic mist consumed it.
"Are those... wings?" Ivan squinted, observing the crystalline appendages sprouting from Lucien's armor.
Before they could ask more questions.
In a movement that seemed to defy physics itself, Lucien pivoted on his axis, his sword tracing a perfect arc that cleanly separated one artromus's head from its body.
The reinforcements, who had come prepared for a desperate battle, found themselves instead witnessing its conclusion. The power they had just witnessed made their preparations seem almost insignificant.
Lucien's final attack was a demonstration of power his normal form could never have achieved. His summon channeled more than 50 mana points in one devastating instant, while he himself forced forty points through his sword, an unthinkable feat outside the transformation.
But the price of forcing his body so far was immediate.
His mana veins, pushed beyond their limits, protested with sharp pain that reverberated throughout his body.
The backlash from the desperate attack hit just as the transformation began to fade.
Lucien fell to one knee as the changes reversed.
The crystalline wings disintegrated into particles of light, the intricate tattoos vanished from his skin, and the crystalline layer over his eyes dissipated like mist under the sun. The borrowed form of the artromus abandoned him, leaving him exhausted but victorious.
The system armor began its healing work immediately. Though only ten mana points remained, a minuscule amount compared to what he had wielded moments before, it was enough to avoid the weakening effects of total magical energy absence.
He stood with controlled effort, his mind already focused on the next task.
The wounded soldiers needed immediate transport to the city, another enemy could arrive at any moment.
"Ivan, Tarec," he called after recognizing the commanders who had just arrived with reinforcements. "We need to organize the evacuation of the wounded."
While discussing the logistics of returning to the city, the transformed artromus's body began to dissolve, leaving behind a strangely transparent core that Ivan collected and brought to him.
Lucien observed it with scientific interest, it was different from any core they had seen before.
"Why isn't the other one dissolving?" Tarec's question interrupted his thoughts.
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Lucien turned just in time to see the second artromus's body beginning to glow with an unsettling light.
"RETREAT!" Lucien's cry resonated with urgency. "EVERYONE OUT OF HERE! NOW!"
Crack
The sound of crystals breaking one after another resonated in the air, confirming the hidden cores had been destroyed.
The frog lost its transformation in an explosion of uncontrolled energy.
The magic accumulated in Lucien's sword detonated, the impact's force sending him flying several meters back.
His body hit the ground hard as magical burns pierced his armor across his entire body.
The effect of 960 points of magical damage began consuming his body at an alarming rate. His 1,100 resistance points, already depleted by the superhuman effort of the previous battle, barely managed to keep him alive.
The pain was indescribable.
Every muscle he had forced beyond its limits during combat now protested under the magical assault.
The system armor glowed intensely, struggling to keep the damage at bay.
Finally, the armor's last 50 resistance points managed to stabilize him, pulling him back from the edge of the abyss.
"Von Lucien!" Ivan ran toward him while Tarec organized the soldiers for the retreat that Lucien had now canceled with quick actions. "Can you move?"
"I'm fine," Lucien responded through gritted teeth, though his body suggested otherwise. "The cores..."
"We've got them," Tarec approached, holding the strange transparent crystals that remained. "Never seen cores like these before."
The soldiers moved with practiced efficiency, carrying the wounded and organizing for withdrawal. There was no time to waste, the deposit group still needed urgent support.
"Ren should be getting more metamorphosis potions as I requested," Lucien tried to stand, but his legs shook from the effort. "Once the wounded are safe, we need..."
His intervention had prevented a tragedy here, but the main battle still continued at the deposit.
"You're not going anywhere in that state," Ivan interrupted firmly. "We'll handle the deposit once we have the potions."
Lucien wanted to protest, but he knew they were right.
He could barely stay conscious, much less fight.
"Move quickly then," he finally ordered, allowing two soldiers to help him up. "Time is crucial."
As they prepared to return to the city with impulses, the trembling stopped.
After the battle, Lucien had separated considerably from the initial location when frustrating the artromus' attempts to escape.
Some wounded had been pushed by the growing wall, and now, an enormous blue line 50 meters high opened before them.
What was once part of the wall began turning transparent, and like a giant door, behind what appeared to be a rectangular mana barrier, an enormous entrance to the city appeared before them.