Utopian System

"We did it!" someone shouted.

For a moment, morale surged among the soldiers.

But the victory was fleeting.

The other artromus were already moving to exact their furious revenge, and no one had the energy for another miracle like this.

Zentros's fury exploded like a nova. Pure elemental energy radiated from his body in devastating waves, the impact's force creating a pressure zone that violently separated artromus and humans.

Enid, still recovering from her final attack's effort, was thrown like a rag doll. Her momentary victory turned to ashes by the explosion of pure power.

The metal restrictions still containing the fallen artromus's body shattered under the pressure.

Zentros moved like lightning, collecting his companion's decapitated body while another artromus recovered the head.

"Don't let them!" Elio shouted, recognizing the danger.

Several warriors tried to intercept Zentros, but the artromus leader repelled them with another wave of power.

His multifaceted eyes examined his subordinate's decapitated body, the greatest disrespect these parasites could show.

'I allowed this to go too far. I gave them time to organize, to find weaknesses in our divine defense... I will transform.'

His companions moved to surround him, trying to dissuade him.

'My leader,' one stepped forward. 'The true metamorphosis...'

'Silence!' Zentros's voice resonated with absolute authority. 'As leader, the responsibility for this failure is mine.'

'But the transformation...' another tried to argue. 'There's no going back. You'll be trapped in that aberrant form forever.'

'And what alternative do you suggest?' Zentros looked at them. 'Allow these parasites to believe they can challenge us like this? Let us end up worse than we are now?'

Power began accumulating around him, different this time. Not the explosive energy from before, but something deeper, more primitive.

'As leader, I must take responsibility,' his voice grew deeper as the change began. 'I will eliminate these parasites here and now, regardless of the personal cost.'

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The other artromus instinctively backed away.

They knew what true metamorphosis meant, the permanent loss of the refined form they valued so highly, the transformation into something closer to the beasts they hunted.

'My lord,' a final attempt at dissuasion. 'The Queen...'

'Will understand,' Zentros was already beginning to glow. 'Some sacrifices are necessary to ensure our survival.'

♢♢♢♢

The light emanating from Zentros alerted Elio to the imminent danger.

"ATTACK!" His cry resonated through the chamber. "WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!"

The group responded instantly, launching one last desperate offensive. Elemental attacks, summons, and weapons converged on the artromus leader.

But it was too late.

Zentros, even mid-transformation, moved like a living shield before his companions. The combined attacks barely managed to strip another 1,000 points of resistance while the metamorphosis process continued inexorably.

His form began to change.

His chitinous exoskeleton melted and reformed, expanding in ways that shouldn't be possible.

Where there were once purely insectoid features, now emerged an unnatural fusion of human and artromus characteristics. It was as if someone had attempted to create a human using insect parts, or vice versa.

The multifaceted eyes remained, but now they were inserted in a face that had vaguely human proportions. His divine armor seemed to have merged with the new form, creating patterns that recalled both chitin plates and human muscles.

"What... what is that?" someone whispered, horror evident in their voice.

The process ended with a final surge of energy. Zentros rose in his new form, more monstrous, more powerful than before.

The transformation was complete, and with it, any hope of victory vanished.

Elio, sensing something was terribly wrong, looked through the crystal in his book.

Zentros Viltris (Goddess Cursed Metamorphosis)

Level 100 (10)

Skills:

True Element Magic (Wind, Fire, Water and Ground)

Mana: 100/100 Explore hidden tales at empire

Resistance: 155,150/200,000

Stamina: 92/100

Attack: 400

Magic Damage: 400

Strength: 100

Defense: 200

Magic Defense: 200

Speed: 100

Perception / Agility: 2 (A)

The statistics he saw made his blood freeze.

But that wasn't the worst part.

Behind Zentros, protected by his glowing figure, two artromus held their fallen companion's body and head.

With a precise movement, they repositioned the head in place.

Horror grew in Elio's chest as he watched flesh and bone begin to regenerate, reconnecting what they had taken so long to separate.

'Three cores,' the realization hit Elio like a physical blow. 'Each must have three cores. Cutting off the head isn't enough.'

The understanding of what this meant crashed over him like an avalanche. Not only had they failed to permanently eliminate one of their enemies, but their actions had provoked one of them to resort to a transformation that would make him exponentially more dangerous.

The victory that had cost them so much had become something worse than defeat.

♢♢♢♢

The massacre began almost instantly.

The artromus, with their companion recovered and their leader transformed, launched themselves at the exhausted humans like predators upon wounded prey.

Elio saw a soldier stumble, his last mana reserves depleted. "Watch out!" he shouted, rushing toward him.

He didn't make it in time.

Zentros appeared like a specter between them, his transformed form moving at twice his previous speed. Elio barely managed to block the blow aimed at his own head, his muscles trembling from the superhuman effort.

'Too fast,' he thought while forcing every ounce of his concentration into staying alive. Although slower than the wind artromus at its maximum, now that Elio couldn't use mana for impulses, the speed of 100 was a serious problem.

Each of Zentros's attacks was a blur of movement that only his perception pushed to the limit allowed him to follow.

Lila supported him, Gorgita launching itself at the transformed monster.

Their combined attacks, which had previously managed to significantly damage an artromus, now barely scratched Zentros's new form.

"Forty points!" Elio shouted to Lila. "Our damage has been reduced to just forty points!"

Screams began to fill the chamber.

A soldier fell, cut in half by transformed claws. Another was crushed against the wall with enough force that not even the system armor could save him. A third tried to flee only to be decapitated mid-flight.

"Stay together!" Taron's voice resonated over the chaos. "In formation!"

The survivors tried to regroup, forming a defensive circle. Zara and Brok used their last drops of mana to create a combined barrier. Aria and Valeria positioned themselves at strategic points, trying to cover the blind spots.

It wasn't enough.

Two artromus attacked simultaneously from opposite directions. The barrier collapsed. Three more soldiers fell before anyone could blink.

Ten... eleven... twelve fallen in a matter of seconds.

Elio continued his lethal dance with Zentros, each movement more desperate than the last. The four-elemental sword, which had been his greatest advantage before, now barely served to keep him alive.

The survivors grouped in an ever-shrinking circle, back to back. But it was like trying to stop an avalanche with their hands. Without mana, without energy, they could only watch as their numbers inexorably decreased.

'This is the end,' the realization hit Elio as he blocked another impossibly fast attack from Zentros. There was no way out, no backup plan.

Only the certainty that if he couldn't stop them, one by one, they would fall before this transformed monster.