Down With The Gods

While riding on the back of the millipede, Wyn remains conscious. He removes his shirt, using it to protect his nose and eyes from the toxic fumes. He engulfs his fist in rock and uses it to clog one of the holes emitting the fumes. Calling out to Yu for water to wash his eyes, he quickly realizes that Yu has already passed out. Desperate for another piece of cloth to improve his protection, Wyn awkwardly attempts to remove Yu’s shirt with his feet, as both of his hands are occupied. He only manages to pull Yu’s shirt halfway off before giving up and trying a new approach. Carefully, he places his shoes on Yu’s face, hoping that if Yu doesn't wake up from this, the shoes might at least block some of the poisonous fumes for Yu. However, Wyn underestimates Yu’s ability to sleep deeply; even when the tip of Wyn’s shoe touches Yu’s tongue, he remains unresponsive.

The poisonous fumes, emanating from the circular holes along the sides and back of the millipede's body, have knocked most of the flyers and other nearby creatures to the ground. The millipede crawls from one creature to another, feasting on them. With no more threats nearby, the millipede stops emitting fumes. Despite having centipede-like forcipules, it’s a slow eater. Its current prey, a hawkian, lies immobile, though its open eyes tell a story of immense pain. After consuming for a considerable time, the millipede reproduces by excreting another full-grown segment from its surprisingly flexible butthole, instead of excreting waste.

Anish, who was previously unable to reach Wyn and Yu due to the fumes, now has a clear shot to gust both of them off the millipede’s back. While airborne, he calls Mira and asks her to stay where she is. Despite Mira’s warnings about the spooderfaces, Anish insists on making his way to her. With Wyn recovering and Yu still unconscious, Anish brings the boys to regroup with the girls.

“Yu!!!” Christine exclaims.

“Are you guys alright?” Mira asks.

“Shuddup with the questions. Let’s go kill that fucker!” Grand Mildred is losing patience.

“Anish! Your leg!” Mira says.

“My beautiful thigh is fine, as long as you’re safe,” Anish replies.

“You make me wanna puke more, big guy,” Wyn quips.

“Just puke on Yu’s face, in case he wakes up,” Mira adds.

The team, minus Yu but joined by Grandma Mildred, discusses how to approach the creature. Being the only one who witnessed it reproduce, Anish suggests that detaching its front section from the rest might be the key to victory.

“But will it die though? It’s like the head is stuck in the one in front’s ass, right? Should be hard to detach,” Wyn asks.

“From what I saw, the new head merged into the front section through the butt,” Anish explains.

“I usually saw real millipedes dried up and dead on hot surfaces. Can we cook it?” Mira suggests.

“We can try that, I guess,” Wyn agrees.

“Can we attack from beneath? It might be exposed down there,” Yu suggests.

“How do we get through the millions of legs, though? I doubt our ground attacks are strong enough to do much. Oh hey, Yu! Welcome back!” Wyn says.

The long deliberation frustrates Grandma Mildred. She’s been giving the team dirty looks, and just before she’s about to speak up, Wyn has an idea.

“A normal millipede’s exoskeleton isn’t that strong, even though it’s made for defense. The earie earlier already gave us an opening. We can keep chipping away at its back!”

“Good! Get a move on already, ya dimwits!” Grandma Mildred snaps.

“Want us to stuff Christine’s snow into your foul mouth to cool it down?” Wyn retorts.

“Leave me out of this, like, seriously,” Christine says.

Anish flies everyone back to the millipede’s location. The creature is still slowly feeding on others. Some creatures have begun to flee now that the poison is wearing off, but the unfortunate ones remain pinned in place by the millipede’s sharp legs. Quietly, the team hovers above the millipede’s cracked back. Inside the wound, they see the creature’s mushy green flesh.

“That’s definitely different from a normal millipede,” Wyn observes.

Worried about the poisonous fumes, the team and Grandma Mildred charge up for what they hope will be a one-hit kill. On the count of three, they all unleash hell into the cracked area. The creature reacts by lifting and lunging its head and back sections at them. At their current distance, Anish has more than enough time to dodge away. Meanwhile, Grandma Mildred, eager for some action, separates from the rest and begins attacking the millipede on her own.

The surprise split distracts the millipede’s head section, which turns to go after Grandma Mildred. However, the back section ceases movement. Then, in an odd turn of events, the wounded section is crushed violently by the segments before and after it. Though the millipede is now shorter, it’s no longer wounded.

“Brutal!” Yu says.

“How many sections does this thing have?” Wyn asks.

“Let’s kill the head. Maybe that’ll work,” Anish suggests.

Anish volunteers to distract the rear section on his own, allowing the rest of the team to focus on the head. With Anish occupied, air mobility is compromised, so Wyn takes on a support role, providing his teammates with mini cyclones to scale up and down. He ensures the cyclones don’t spread too far in case the poisonous fumes return.

Grandma Mildred, highly skilled at flying backward while attacking, occasionally uses the trees to move faster with her chained kunais. Her attacks seem to annoy the creature at best, so she heads back toward Wyn and team. Sensing the odds are unfavorable, Wyn instructs Yu and Mira to ready their weapons as he and Christine charge up. When Wyn notices Grandma Mildred isn’t stopping, he unleashes a snowy cyclone at her. Without a single complaint, Grandma Mildred flies upward, allowing Wyn’s cyclone to crash into the millipede. The attack is instantly followed by another cyclone carrying an array of weapons. Mira’s whip explodes on impact, while Yu’s blade stabs into the area above the creature’s mouth. Despite the damage, the millipede emits fumes and continues to lunge forward. However, Wyn’s mini cyclones have already moved the team onto the creature’s back.

Prepared, Wyn swiftly plugs the emitting hole with a rocky fist, reducing the fumes. Christine assists by sealing smaller openings with snow. Meanwhile, Anish stays high above, out of the creature’s reach. The millipede uses its rear legs to dislodge Yu’s blade, causing the wound to ooze green liquid. The creature reacts to the pain, lifting its head in discomfort. Grandma Mildred seizes the moment, descending to jab the wound with her electric kunais. The millipede retaliates, slapping Grandma Mildred toward its mouth with its rear section. However, thanks to the electricity from the kunais, the creature struggles to chomp her before she escapes.

Once again, the millipede uses its rear legs to remove the lodged weapons from its head. To protect itself, the creature falls sideways, emits fumes, retracts all its legs – releasing the pinned creatures – and begins to coil up. Any creatures caught in the coil are crushed. Before the millipede falls, Wyn shoots the team high into the air with a cyclone. Anish, with Grandma Mildred’s reluctant help, creates a large bed of fully-charged wind blowing upward to catch the falling teammates.

The team keeps watch from above. As time passes, the millipede uncoils and releases its side legs to push itself off the ground. Another set of side legs emerges, giving the millipede a different appearance. The side holes that once emitted fumes have been replaced by legs, while the legs underneath its body are gone, leaving behind a multitude of small holes.

“Hell nah!” Grandma Mildred shouts.

“Hell nah!” Yu echoes.

“Don’t you dare mock me, boy!”

“Is this like a second phase?” Wyn asks.

The creature’s side legs have now transformed, resembling those of a centipede, allowing it to move swiftly and climb trees. The rapid movements are accompanied by a skittering sound that fills the air.

“I…I can’t take this anymore,” Mira says, her voice trembling.

“Shut ya yapping, tramp. I seen worse. Just smash the head,” Grandma Mildred says.

“If I had soap, you’d be eating it right now,” Wyn retorts.

Determined to defeat the now centipede-like creature, the team resumes their attack, with everyone on the ground except for Anish and Grandma Mildred. The centipede focuses on Wyn, lifting its head before attempting to chomp down on him. Wyn, chakrams in hand, launches inward toward its belly. However, the centipede’s form is significantly lower in height than its previous millipede form, causing Wyn’s blades to get stuck in the lower part of its front section. Despite this, Wyn is satisfied with the results as his blades are lodged securely.

To prevent the centipede from crushing Wyn, Yu and Mira target the legs with ground attacks, while Anish and Grandma Mildred attempt to flip the creature over. Although it only loses balance momentarily, Wyn manages to escape from underneath.

“You was supposed to hit the head, ya dummy!” Grandma Mildred scolds.

“It chomped down too quickly. Why didn’t you attack when it lifted its head?” Wyn retorts.

“Children! Stop!!!” Mira interjects, trying to keep them focused.

Distracted by their argument, the rear section slaps Grandma Mildred to the ground. The head then turns its attention to Yu, who now stands in front of Wyn and Mira. With little time to react, Yu braces for impact, holding his blade steady in front of him. The centipede’s forcipules pierce through Yu’s arm, but his blade drives deep into its mouth. As the force of the clash pushes them back, Wyn summons a horizontal cyclone to resist the creature’s strength. Seeing Yu in pain, Anish thrusts his javelin into the centipede’s eye. The creature reacts by swinging its head, sending Yu, Wyn, and Mira flying back into the area where Anish was previously.

“I hope they won’t be caught in a web!” Anish says, concerned.

“Web? Are there, like, spooderfaces there too?” Christine asks as she rushes toward Anish.

Anish quickly grabs Christine, dodging a slam from the rear section. The two find themselves trapped, with nowhere to flee but up. The centipede begins to encircle and stack itself section by section, trapping them. Its mouth releases poisonous fumes as it closes in. Anish realizes that using his wind to ascend is pulling the poisonous fumes up toward them, making it harder and more dangerous to continue. Deciding it's safer, he lets them both fall back to the ground.

“I can open a portal right now! Do you want to escape?” Anish asks urgently.

“Like, do we even have another option? Open it! Open it!” Christine exclaims, panic setting in.