Endilix followed Zeus’ in this reckless footsteps despite his grave injuries, making him falter in his hammer strike. Fortunately, the attack went through with the help of his allies. First was Portia, who leaped in and performed Zeus-approved snap kicks where Endilix's hammer had hit to further weaken the spot. Then came Alice, which employed its inhuman features to break through the Queen’s chitin, exposing her soft flesh. The three's combined attack bought time for the back-line to coordinate attacks that they hoped would help the armored titan finish the creature in one fell swoop.
Vivian began by ripping the rocks from the cavern’s ceiling with her Geomancy and let gravity do the rest, as Emil coated the the falling rocks in flame. The combined magic attack lit up the dim cavern, once again revealing the bizarre cluster of sharp crystals residing on the ceiling. As the flaming meteors fell toward the Ant Queen’s weakened left side, anyone who was in melee range would have been able to feel the searing heat as the rocks ripped through the cool air until they hit the Queen. The meteors exploded on impact, letting the molten rocks pour into the Ant Queen's exposed gap, eliciting a terrible shriek from her as she trashed about wildly, attempting to shake off the heat that was ravaging her from the inside.
When it was Ivan’s turn to control her wild movements with his disruption spell, he found his beginner's skill not quite as effective as his last attempt. At the same time the Ant Queen dropped her guard, Madison went out of her comfort zone and took advantage of the situation her allies had set up for her and to cast a drain spell, which was rather effective.
With his sight already set on the Queen’s cracked eye, Aalam found himself firing a volley of five arrows with the intention of finishing the job. Through his reckless positioning and combined attack with his beast, Aalam would find himself hitting the insect’s massive eyes once more, shattering the crystallized organ into thousands of pieces.
Meanwhile, Zeus engaged the Queen’s right side, pummeling the hard chitin into a pulp with a barrage of powerful lightning-charged punches. The man’s attacks were relentless, though anyone with enough battle sense could tell that he was a lot slower than before, a hint that his weathered body cannot keep up with his zeal. He was old and extended battles such as this one was tough on him. Yet, he maintained his heroic image as he pushed himself even harder than before. What kind of hero crumbles in the face of danger? What kind of hero cannot push themselves past their limit? Even if his body cannot keep up with his ideal, he was Zeus, he had no limit.
As the Queen began thrashing around from the players' combined attack, Zeus took advantage of the Queen shifting her defense to the other side and leaped into the air once more with his lightning punch. He then pulled his dominant leg upward, readying a stomp move that went right through her wings and punctured her chest. The impact shattered her large ligament that held two of the legs together. His strike was so potent that he ended up inside the cavity he had made in the Queen's chest, though he quickly had to get out as the Queen’s venom glands were dispensing poison. Landing back onto the ground, Zeus stood tall, though ragged in breaths. He was quickly running out of fuel.
Sustaining heavy damage from both the players and Zeus, the Ant Queen shrieked louder than all of the other times as her shell began to glow red.
Ultra Enraged Ant Queen
❰ 623 / 9000 HP ❱
Crystal Molt: Immune to all damage for 1 cycle
Renewed Form: Heal 500 HP
Despite the time Lucia has spent in Terrasphere, this was likely her first time seeing an Ultra Reckless status, which have never been seen before by any player. Before those who had intruded upon her lair and sought to destroy her, the Ant Queen entered a grotesque transformation. Within seconds, the same crystal that hung from the ceiling burst out of the insect’s exoskeleton as she molted. Once the bits and pieces of her own shell fell to the ground, her new form became visible. The Ant Queen was now fully covered in a reflective red-purplish crystallized coating. On her back was a cluster of glowing green crystals. A glowing lime green liquid dripped from her crystallized pincers, which had become a set of six once more.
When her transformation was complete, she retaliated.
Turning toward those who attacked her in melee range, the Crystallized Queen opened up her pincers and attempted to crush both Endilix and Portia. She would have succeeded in snapping both of them in half had it not been for Alice who sacrificed herself by stopping the pincers from closing for a few seconds, allowing them to make their escape. Endilix found himself 123 HP short of surviving the attack, however. Then, the Crystallized Queen turned to those who kept their distance at range and pressed her chest closer to the ground before she fired off the toxic green crystallized spikes from her back, raining down the sharp projectiles onto them, if the spikes touched any of them, they would have experienced excruciating pain as the venom wrecked havoc on their internal systems.
Damage
Damage Result
- Players dealt 1143 damage to the Queen.
- Zeus dealt 1968 damage (984*2 from crit) to the Queen.
- A total of 3101 damage was dealt to the Ant Queen, putting her at 123 HP (0.013%).
- The Queen is now in Ultra Enraged mode. She molted, healed 500 HP, and became fully crystallized.
- The Ultra Enraged Mode has given her the status Crystal Molt: Immune to all damages for 1 cycle.
- Renewed Form: The Queen healed 500 HP and became fully crystallized.
Energy
The Queen attacks
As Zeus witnessed rest of the group fall one by one from the Queen’s attacks and Endilix's death without being able to do anything, the armored giant trembled with great anger. The ray of lightning that crackled from his eye socket turned red as a reddish aura began to flow upward from his body like smoke. Hunching over, Zeus let out an inhuman roar as he channeled every ounce of rage circulating in his body into his fists.
![[IMG]](http://spherical.link/terrarp/data/avatars/m/0/371.jpg?1505542847)
Enraged Zeus
❰ 1205 / 8000 HP ❱
Dashing into the Crystallized Queen’s touch range, he dodged her deadly pincers and regrown crystal legs and tail. In his enraged berserking state, Zeus empowered his fists with red lightning that crackled dangerously up and down his arms. Ignoring the Queen’s invulnerable state, the armored berserker destroyed two of the Queen’s legs and tore one of her crystal wings into pieces with his fists. When a set of the pincers caught him, Zeus grabbed onto both of the steadily closing pincers, tucking it beneath his arms and snapped them clean off.
When an opportunity presented itself, Zeus mounted the Queen’s back and began pummeling away at a particular spot, drawing every ounce of energy he had left into his fists, chipping away at the armor that protected her heart. If he can just go through that spot, he would be able to get to the core that has kept the monster alive all this time.
Unlike other standalone limbs, however, the crystallized coating on the ant’s back stayed invulnerable even to his lightning. After a relentlessly punching away at it, Zeus lightning went out. Even without his legendary lightning, he continued punching away with his dominant fist, using nothing but raw strength. The final time he struck the Queen, he put so much physical force behind the impact that he shattered his gauntlet, breaking what many regarded as the unbreakable Champion Armor. Just as the gauntlet began to disintegrate from his fist up to his elbow, Zeus continued punching the Queen until the bones in his fist misaligned and his blood dyed it red.
As he continued to send his tattered bare fist down on the Crystallized Ant Queen, she began to flap her remaining wings and took off into the air, ramming her back against the crystal hanging down from the cave’s ceiling. The impact put one of the crystals through Zeus’s midsection, breaking his already broken armor...
Lucia’s prayers went unanswered as horror and hopelessness unfolded before her. However, the harder she prayed, the lower her HP dropped.
The moment her health reached zero, Lucia, the rest of the party, and Zeus found themselves standing inside a white space that was completely devoid of any material other than the 9 people within the vicinity of one another. Every one of them appeared in their tattered state. Zeus had lost half of his Champion Armor, leaving his face half-covered. Endilix was sprawled out on the ground, seemingly able to move as though he was completely undamaged.
Before them stood a young-looking woman with snow white hair and an emotionless face, a face Lucia had seen once before, but have never been able to forget. Zeus was the first to speak.
Aah, so you have come for me, Synra, the GUARDIAN of the UNDERWORLD. Have I LOST the battle and they…
He pointed at the group.
… forfeited their LIVES?
Synra looked up at Zeus and shook her head.
If not to DELIVER us to the afterlife, then why?
Synra pointed at Lucia, who drew Zeus’ stare.
She TRADED her LIFE for us to have an audience with YOU?
Synra nodded.
OH NON!!!
Zeus turned his head toward Lucia and spoke in a voice louder than usual.
Are you OUTTA your bloody MIND?!!! We are talking to the GODDESS of the UNDERWORLD, herself!!!
Zeus quickly turned his attention back to Synra, when she tugged at his armored arm. Looking down at the girl, he noticed that she was pointing to her right eye.
You want to EXCHANGE my remaining eye for your power? Hmm…
Zeus cupped his chin and let the thought stir inside his head briefly.
Do you think you can take these FISTS then? I want to hold on to my GOOD eye so I can watch these children grow up into FINE people.
I am OLD and can no longer protect anyone with these FISTS, it is time I LAY DOWN my arms for good, but I hope to get one more VICTORY before I go, would that be ACCEPTABLE?
Zeus put both of his hands into Synra’s dainty pair. However, she shook her head as she grabbed onto his dominant arm and nuzzled it against her cheek, allowing him to feel her cold, porcelain skin. When she took a couple of steps backward, she plucked Zeus forearm from his elbow joint, leaving his blood dripping onto the floor in big glop. Zeus did not react as it appears that pain was not a concept within this godly realm.
Within the blink of the eye, everyone was back to their original position. However, Endilix found himself alive once more, despite clearly being dead a few minutes ago. Lucia too found herself in a similar state.
The next time Zeus opened his eye, he found himself still mounted atop the Crystallized Queen, who had landed on the ground again. When his sensations fully returned, he could feel intense pain from the missing arm, as well as the gape at his midsection. Just as he was looking down at his missing arm, he could make out a faint outline of Synra, who was hanging onto what was left of his arm. Knowing that he had paid the price for her borrowed power, Zeus drew his arm back as he always had, when a phantom limb manifested in place of his missing limb.
Deitic Smash!!!
As he drove his arm down at the Crystallized insect, a purplish smoke began to dissipate from the godly fist, generating so much magical force that at the moment of impact, the entire lair was engulfed by blinding light, followed by a powerful blast of then, and then a charge of violet lightning crackling on the ground, radiating outward and zapping everything in its path. The Queen's crystal armor began to crack before shattering into a million pieces that shimmered as they fell to the ground. All traces of Synra vanished afterward as though they were never there.
The Queen let out horrified shrieks from pain and anger as she was exposed once more. This time, her Crystal Molt no longer in effect. However, she was still in her grotesque form, ready to wipe out the rest of the group.
Zeus looked toward the group and formed a large smile before speaking louder than he ever had.
FIGHT, LIVE, AND BE REMEMBERED, FOR THE MEMORIES OF HEROES NEVER DIE!!!
Zeus then fell to the ground as his armor de-materialized. There was a massive thud that resounded loudly throughout the lair. His status appeared to be unreadable as the Ant Queen charged toward the group. Even though she no longer had her crystal armor, she still have the growing green crystals on her back, a half-crystallized tail with a massive sting at the end, and four usable pincers.
Zeus
❰ ??? / 8000 HP ❱
