[KATXU'S POV]
The cavern fell silent.
The remaining spiders froze in place, their glowing eyes flickering like dying embers.
The Queen lay motionless, her massive body still.
Something felt off.
I stepped forward cautiously, my breathing heavy.
"Is it… over?" someone muttered behind me.
Then—
A sharp crack split the air.
The Queen's exoskeleton twitched.
Then, it shattered.
A wave of dark energy exploded outward, forcing us to stumble back.
The spiders that had frozen moments ago?
They dissolved, their essence surging toward the Queen's broken body, merging into her.
Then, from the ruins of her former shell—
She emerged.
Her humanoid form stepped forward, shedding the last remnants of her spider body.
She still had eight spider-like appendages on her back, her glowing red eyes unmoving, but now she stood tall, human-like—deadly.
Her obsidian-like armor shimmered, and she tilted her head slightly, as if testing her new form.
Then, for the first time,
She smiled.
And she spoke.
"Finally… a body fit for the hunt."
A chill ran down my spine.
The Queen Spider was never a mindless beast.
She had been waiting for this.
She let us bring her to the brink of death… to evolve.
The air became suffocating, thick with an unnatural force.
The Queen's humanoid form stood tall, her eight spider-like appendages twitching, adjusting to their new state.
Her obsidian armor gleamed, reflecting the dim light from the cavern's stones.
Then—
She stepped forward.
The sheer force of her movement shattered the ground beneath her, sending cracks ripping across the battlefield.
And then she vanished.
Before I could react—
She was already behind me.
I pivoted, barely dodging as her clawed fingers slashed through the air, cutting the space where my throat had been.
Too fast.
Her leg shot out, aiming for my ribs—
I crossed my arms, blocking, but the force sent me skidding backward, my boots dragging against the cracked stone floor.
She was testing me.
Good.
I tightened my fists. She wants a fight? Fine.
While I fought the Queen, the fairy-eared dwarf was holding the front lines.
The spiders that remained, still loyal to their Queen, were endless.
While most of the examinees had collapsed in exhaustion, he was still standing, fighting alone.
His massive stone pillar swung with brutal force, crushing spider after spider.
"Titan Swing!"
He spun, obliterating an entire group in one strike.
"Pillar Drop!"
He leaped into the air, bringing the stone pillar down like a hammer, splitting the ground and sending shockwaves through the cavern.
For forty minutes straight, he had been fighting alone, refusing to fall.
But his movements slowed.
His swings, once unstoppable, became heavy, sluggish.
His body was covered in cuts, bruises, and claw marks.
His breathing was ragged, yet he refused to back down.
And then—
The Queen's leg slammed into him.
He blocked with the pillar, but the force sent him flying across the battlefield, his weapon slipping from his grasp as he crashed into a boulder.
He tried to get up—but his body wouldn't move.
For the first time, he had hit his limit.
His eyes darted toward his fallen weapon, just out of reach.
And the Queen saw it.
She smiled.
She stepped forward, her obsidian heels clicking against the stone, her smirk widening as she closed the distance.
This wasn't a fight for her anymore.
It was a hunt.
"Grimm."
Ren's voice cut through the battlefield, soft, quiet—yet absolute.
The teddy bear moved.
Grimm, who had been standing guard over Danryu's unconscious body, suddenly turned away, his massive body pivoting toward the fallen fairy-eared dwarf.
Then—
He rushed forward.
A blur of unnatural speed, his large arms extended outward, blocking the Queen's path just as she reached for the dwarf.
The Queen halted, her gaze flickering toward Ren for the first time.
"Oh?"
Her curiosity shifted, her expression unreadable.
I was still staring at Ren.
He hadn't moved.
His hollow eyes were locked onto the battlefield, but it was clear—he was controlling Grimm.
The Queen lunged, but this time, she wasn't targeting the dwarf.
She was aiming for me.
I reacted instantly, shifting my stance just as she closed the gap, her clawed fingers slicing through the air toward my throat.
I ducked, spinning on my heel—just as her second strike came from below.
"Phantom Step!"
I twisted my body mid-motion, redirecting my weight, narrowly escaping her attack.
Then I countered.
A brutal palm strike to her ribs, followed by a spinning back kick to her shoulder.
She staggered, but only slightly.
Her appendages snapped forward like whips, aiming for my legs—
I leapt over them, twisting mid-air—
And that's when I saw it.
The pillar.
Still lying near the dwarf, untouched.
I didn't think.
I landed, kicked off the ground—
And I grabbed it.
The moment my hands wrapped around the pillar's surface, the battlefield froze.
For a split second, I felt every pair of eyes on me.
Not just the Queen.
The remaining examinees, the fairy-eared dwarf, Ren, even Grimm—
They all stared.
I saw it in their expressions.
The shock.
The confusion.
The disbelief.
But I didn't have time to process it.
I swung.
The pillar slammed into the Queen's side, the force sending shockwaves through the cavern.
She was fast—but even she couldn't dodge something this heavy and powerful.
Her body crashed into the stone wall, cracks spiderwebbing across the surface as she let out a sharp breath.
But before she could recover—
Ren moved his fingers.
Grimm vanished from his spot.
In less than a second, the giant teddy bear appeared above the Queen, his massive fists glowing with an unknown force.
He struck.
The impact was devastating.
The entire cavern shook, the force of the attack sending shockwaves across the battlefield.
And yet—
The Queen laughed.
As the dust settled, her body flickered.
For a brief moment, her humanoid form shimmered, her figure becoming distorted, as though she were warping between different realities.
Then, suddenly—
She was no longer in front of us.
She had switched places.
With Grimm.
Ren's eyes widened.
Grimm, who had been mid-attack, was now where she had stood.
And the Queen?
She was now right in front of Ren.
Before I could react—
She reached for him.
Ren didn't flinch.
The Queen's clawed fingers wrapped around his throat, lifting him slightly off the ground.
For a second, my entire body locked up.
Then—
Grimm moved.
Not from instinct.
Not from desperation.
But because Ren willed it.
"Now."
Ren's voice was barely a whisper, but Grimm reacted instantly.
The massive teddy bear launched forward, but instead of attacking, his arms shot out—toward me.
Before I could process what was happening, Danryu's vines wrapped around Grimm's wrist.
The same Whip Vines that I was still holding onto.
My chest tightened as I realized what Ren was doing.
This wasn't just Grimm fighting the Queen.
This was both of us.
Together.
I tightened my grip on the pillar, feeling a strange, unfamiliar surge of power course through my arms.
"Pull."
Ren's voice echoed in my head, and without thinking, I did exactly that.
I yanked the vines, sending Grimm hurtling forward with terrifying speed—his massive form now a living projectile.
The Queen's eyes widened.
She tried to move—
Too late.
Grimm's fist collided with her, the force warping the air around us as the impact tore through the cavern.
The ground ruptured beneath us, cracks splintering outward from the sheer weight of the attack.
The Queen let out a guttural shriek, her body slamming into the far wall.
Dust exploded into the air, blinding everything.
But I was already moving.
I felt the weight of the pillar, the rush of momentum still carrying me forward.
Grimm had opened the way—
Now, I had to end it.
I let go of the vines, adjusting my grip on the pillar as I leapt forward—
A final, full-force swing.
I could feel everything in me channeling into this one strike.
Every technique my Grand Master taught me.
Every battle I had ever fought.
Every instinct, every movement—
Everything.
The pillar struck.
The impact was unlike anything I had ever felt.
A deafening BOOM erupted through the cavern.
And then—
Silence.
The Queen's body hung in the air for a second, unmoving.
Then—
She collapsed.
Her humanoid form shattered, her obsidian armor cracking apart like fragile glass.
Her appendages twitched once—
Then went still.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
No one moved.
The cavern was eerily quiet, except for the sound of my own ragged breathing.
I could still feel the weight of the pillar in my hands, my muscles burning from the sheer force of the final strike.
Grimm stood motionless beside me, his massive arms lowered, his glowing eyes unreadable.
Ren?
Still silent.
I turned my gaze toward the Queen's fallen body.
Then, finally—
She stopped breathing.
I wanted to rest, to drop my aching body to the ground, but—
We didn't have time.
The cavern was still shifting.
The exit could close at any moment.
I moved quickly, reaching for Ren first. His small frame was unnaturally light, but as I pulled him up, Grimm shifted, his massive form shrinking instantly, returning to his small teddy bear state.
Without hesitation, I hugged Grimm against Ren's chest, securing them both in my arms.
Danryu was still unconscious.
With no other choice, I lifted him too, my body screaming under the weight of exhaustion, injuries, and the adrenaline still fading.
But I kept moving.
Behind me, the remaining examinees who survived followed, their steps hurried but silent.
I noticed someone else had grabbed the fairy-eared dwarf, carrying him despite their own injuries.
We didn't speak.
We didn't look back.
Then—
A light hit us.
The faintest glow ahead, cutting through the cavern's darkness.
The exit.
We had made it.