The cavern erupted into absolute chaos.

"Hold the line!" Seraph's voice broke through the loud screams of the new Chimeras. "Titus, go to the front! Jax, choose what to hit! Benita, keep them up!!"

The team's talk about right and wrong meant nothing now, with the sudden violence. They quickly moved into their fighting positions. Titus slammed his shield down, creating a wall of golden energy that was a bright spot in the green darkness. Jax dropped to one knee behind him, his rifle already firing many armor-piercing bullets.

The swarm of freshly hatched drones surged forward. They had many twitching legs and clicking claws. They were small, fast, and relentless.

The Broodmother stayed at the back of the cavern, like a frightening queen on its throne. It didn't attack directly. Instead, it used its dragon-like limbs as a protective wall, keeping its main body safe while a low, mental hum spread from it, washing over the team.

It wasn't a painful attack. It was worse: a wave of confusing mental noise, mixed with the faint echo of the Broodmother's own sadness and anger.

Jax swore as his perfect shots missed, his own eyes playing tricks on him. The soldiers next to him flinched, their movements becoming slow and clumsy, like they were fighting through a thick fog.

"Jonah, we need that drone!" Seraph yelled.

Jonah nodded, already on it. He sent the Resonance Drone, Echo, soaring into the cavern. It started its harmful, high-frequency sound.

The effect was instant. The first group of drones stumbled, crying out in pain as their mixed bodies couldn't handle the strain.

But the Broodmother adapted.

Its many eyes focused on Echo. From one of the still-unhatched pods above it, a new kind of Chimera was birthed. This one was different. It had large, fleshy, fan-like membranes around its head. It let out a low croak and the membranes pulsed, absorbing the sonic waves like a sponge. The shrieking of the other drones subsided. It had created a living countermeasure in seconds.

The Broodmother's intelligence was terrifying. It was like a twisted version of Jonah's own creativity, but wild, driven by instinct, and completely without mercy.

It turned its attention to Titus. He was an immovable wall, his shield deflecting the drones' suicidal charges. In response, The Broodmother created another special drone. A small, fast drone, like an ugly beetle, came quickly from the shadows. It pulled its head back and spat a ball of glowing, hot fluid.

The acid hit Titus's shield with a hiss. It didn't break the shield, but it began to eat away at the energy matrix, causing it to flicker and dim.

"My shield is failing!" Titus roared, struggling to pour more mana into the failing barrier. "The acid is eating through the matrix!"

The ASTF team was getting outplayed. They were stuck, their fighting plans failing against the Broodmother's intelligent strategies. Benita was already swamped, her healing magic working extra hard to mend not only body wounds but also the mind-damage from the Broodmother's constant psychic pressure.

Vanessa stood beside Jonah, her hands quickly making complex magic designs in the air, trying to form a defense. But the Broodmother's pure power was like a giant wave smashing a small sandcastle.

CRACK!

One of the soldier's explosive bullets missed its target, smashing into the cave wall near Seraph. The rock splintered, and a large section broke away, revealing something out of place.

Inside the dark rock was a smooth, fake wall. It had glowing, geometric shapes on it. This was the clear mark of Bureau technology. It was the same spy tech Jonah and Vanessa had been trying to avoid.

Seraph's face turned cold with anger. The Bureau wasn't just watching. They had hidden, working tech like traps and monitors inside the fight zone. They knew they were putting her team in danger.

It was like putting rats in a lab for their twisted experiment.

She didn't have time to process the treason. She didn't have time to rage. The battle was turning against them, fast.

Jonah saw it all. He saw the sound-dampening drone. He saw the shield-eater. He saw the anger on Seraph's face and the hidden runes in the wall. They were losing.

Their specialized tools were being countered, their defenses were crumbling, and their minds were under constant assault.

He realized there was only one option left. They couldn't win a game of chess against a player who could create new pieces on the fly. It was time to flip the board.

He dismissed Echo, as its purpose was no longer needed. He closed his eyes, reached into the deepest, angriest part of his Beast Space, and unleashed his sledgehammer.

With a roar that was louder than all the screaming Chimeras put together, Maul suddenly appeared in a burst of power.

ROARRRR!!!

Its appearance caused a huge disaster. It was a creature of uncontrolled physical power, and its sudden arrival made the entire battlefield chaotic. The drones, who had been attacking Titus, now focused on this larger, newer danger.

"Jonah, what are you doing?!" Titus yelled, struggling to hold his ground. "We can't control that thing in a swarm like this!"

But Jonah remained calm. He looked at Maul, at the glowing, magic collar Vanessa had crafted around its neck. He then looked at the huge number of monsters. He also watched the smart queen, who was cleverly defeating his team with careful plans.

This wasn't a time for careful moves. No time for smart tricks. Only crushing strength could end this standstill.

He focused his will, his voice ringing out in the cavern and in Maul's mind.

"Activate Runic Stone-Form!"

The blue runes on Maul's collar glowed. The light spread over its body. Its stony skin became dark and hard like steel. It was no longer just a beast; it was a creature of pure destruction.

He gave his last command, one clear goal that broke through all the noise and confusion.

"Ignore the drones. Target the mother. Only the mother."

Maul understood. It let out a deafening roar of pure rage and charged.

It became an unstoppable mass of stone and anger. The smaller drones covered it, but their acid spit did not hurt its metal skin. Their sharp claws scraped, but they could not cut its tough, magic-hardened skin. The claws broke with sharp pings.

Attacks did not hurt Maul. It kept going fast. It was a living battering ram, making a direct path of destruction in the middle of the swarm.

Its red eyes were locked on its target.

The Broodmother.