Zombie Domination

"Brace yourselves!" Belle shouted, snapping her rifle up.

The swarm shrieked as one, dragonflies descending in a violent torrent of wings and fangs. Gunfire, steel, and claws met them head-on, but the sheer numbers drove the defenders back inch by inch.

"The cannon will fire in five… four… three… two… one."

Then—FWOOM!

A thunderous blast tore across the sky as Sebas triggered the cannon. The energy beam lanced upward, smashing into the Sky Whale's shimmering barrier. The shield rippled, fractured, then cracked open under the sheer force. Cheers nearly rose in their throats, until reality hit.

"The bugs—!" Cindy screamed.

The swarm wasn't scattering. They were converging. Straight toward the weapon.

Panic erupted in the comms.

"If they reach the cannon, it's over!"

"Take them down, now!"

Rea leapt onto the nearest cluster, slashing wildly as ichor sprayed. "Damn it, there are too many!"

Just as the first wave reached the cannon's massive chassis, the air shimmered. A translucent film of liquid surged across its surface, solidifying into a glistening barrier. The dragonflies slammed into it, thunk, thunk, thunk, and bounced off, screeching in fury.

Rea froze, stunned, before exhaling in sheer relief. "Oh thank god…" He spun back into the swarm, blades flashing.

Cindy, still firing, yelled over the chaos, "What the hell is that? That barrier—!"

Sebas adjusted his glasses, voice calm even as alarms blared.

"When we built the weapon, we planned for scenarios like this. It's protected by Fey's liquid, permanently embedded into the system's armor."

The defenders shared a moment of renewed confidence.

"Then we've got no excuse," Rea snarled, cutting down another cluster. "Let's finish these damn bugs before they try something else!"

High above the battlefield, Julian's eyes narrowed as the energy cannon finally fired. The beam tore through the heavens, crashing against the Sky Whale's barrier. With a shuddering crack, the shield shattered into fragments of dying light.

"Finally…" Joe's grin split wide, his body trembling with heat. Flames burst across his skin as he spread his arms, his voice wild with excitement.

"I'm sick of just punching a shield, watch this!"

His aura ignited, swirling into a blazing inferno that coiled around him like a beast. [Infernal Overdrive] roared to life, and Joe shot forward, a human meteor wrapped in blue-white flame. His fist smashed into the Sky Whale's armored hide, fire searing deep into its flesh. The monster bellowed in agony, its massive frame quaking.

Julian didn't waste a second. Lightning crackled across his body as his shadow stretched unnaturally, crawling over the beast's form like living chains. "You won't fight back this time," he muttered coldly.

His hands thrust forward. [Shadow Reaver] erupted, a storm of jagged shadow blades rising from the beast's own silhouette, slashing upward in unison with his lightning strikes. He carved deep gashes into the whale's body, sparks and shadows dancing violently together.

"Don't leave me out of this…" Leo's voice cut through, sharp and sinister. His body twisted, chitin spreading over his skin as his form warped into a humanoid mantis, blades glinting under the moonlight. The transformation completed with a hiss, Exoskeletal Predator.

With a leap, Leo descended like a guillotine, scythe-like arms cleaving into the whale's back. The beast screamed, its massive body thrashing in pain, blood spraying into the night sky.

For the first time, the Sky Whale faltered. Its roar wasn't one of dominance, it was of rage. Its colossal body convulsed, the air vibrating as it shrieked like a storm given voice.

The Sky Whale's roar split the sky, not just sound but raw force that rattled bone and shook the very clouds. Its colossal frame heaved, and with a violent twist of its body, the beast lashed out.

From its wounds, streams of crimson light flared, condensing into jagged lances of energy. With a sweep of its massive fins, the whale launched them outward like a storm of harpoons. The air screamed as the projectiles tore across the battlefield, each one powerful enough to pulverize entire squadrons.

"Scatter—!" Julian shouted, lightning bursting around him as he blurred to the side, but the sheer scale of the attack made escape nearly impossible.

Joe raised his fists, fire flaring into a shield just in time to block a lance that nearly tore through him. The impact sent him hurtling back, flames sputtering under the pressure.

"Damn it, that thing's still got fight!"

Then, with a sudden inhale, the Sky Whale's maw opened wide. The very atmosphere warped as it drew in air, clouds spiraling into its throat like water down a drain. A low, thunderous vibration built within its chest.

Julian's eyes widened. "Brace yourselves!"

The beast exhaled.

A tidal wave of sound and compressed wind exploded from its mouth, a devastating shockwave that rippled across the sky. The blast ripped apart shadow, flame, and lightning alike, hurling the Zero Division across the battlefield like ragdolls. Leo's mantis-blades screeched against the gale, sparks flying as his body was nearly flung into the abyss below.

For the first time, the hunters looked like prey.

The blast ripped them apart like dry leaves in a storm.

Julian smashed through a column of cloud, lightning sputtering uncontrollably across his arms. He coughed blood, his vision blurring for a second before he forced himself upright.

'If I slow down now, we're dead.'

Joe slammed into the current harder, his flames cracked under the sheer force of the gale. His arms trembled, skin seared as if the whale's breath itself was trying to peel him alive.

"Shit—! I can't… hold it much longer!" he roared, his fire shield fracturing like glass.

Leo fared no better. His mantis-form claws screeched against the wind, sparks trailing as he fought just to keep his body from being hurled into the abyss. His mandibles clicked furiously, instinct snarling through his veins, but even that primal strength felt caged by the pressure.

"This… thing…" he growled, his voice vibrating with strain, "…is trying to crush us like insects."

The whale wasn't done. Its wounded flesh writhed, glowing veins pulsing, and from those fissures new shards of light burst outward, scattered beams that seared through the air like hunting spears. One grazed Joe's shoulder, ripping a scream out of him as blood sprayed. Another nearly impaled Julian, the searing heat kissing his cheek as he twisted aside at the last instant.

For the first time since the battle began, silence threaded between their strained breaths, silence heavy with the realization that the Sky Whale was no dying beast. It was still the predator, and they were the ones dancing on the edge of its mercy.

Joe's eyes widened as he watched Leo tear into the storm with savage elegance, that twisted grin cutting through the chaos. Something inside him snapped, not in fear, but in exhilaration.

"Heh… if you're that fired up," Joe growled, flames coiling around his fists, "then I sure as hell won't let a damn whale look down on me!"

The burns and gashes across his body knit together in a rush of heat, regeneration surging with the pulse of his fury. His fire blazed back to life, hotter and wilder than before, igniting the sky in a molten glow. With a roar, he hurled himself forward, fists wreathed in searing flame, hammering into the beast's massive form.

Julian, who had been holding back, saving energy, calculating, stopped mid-thought. His jaw clenched, then he laughed under his breath. 'What's the point of saving anything, if this is where it ends?'

Crimson lightning surged along his arms, shadows writhing at his back like a living storm. The ground beneath him cracked as he launched himself upward, joining Leo and Joe in their relentless assault.

He struck fast and merciless, blades of shadow cutting deep while arcs of lightning seared through flesh. His voice echoed cold through the chaos.

"Let's end this."

The whale's agonized bellow rippled through the skies, shaking the very clouds apart. Blood-red mist poured from its wounds, but its massive form still pressed on, refusing to fall.

Joe's flames roared higher, wrapping around him like a war-god descending from the inferno. He didn't even bother to shout orders, his fury spoke louder than words. He lunged again, punching open a burning path straight through the beast's armored hide.

"Keep it open!" Julian's voice cut sharp as thunder. He spun into motion, shadows snapping out like chains to hold the wound wide, while bolts of lightning stabbed in, carving deeper and deeper into the whale's flesh.

Leo shot past them, wings shredding the storm with every beat. His humanoid insect form twisted with frightening speed, mandibles clicking as he let out a mocking laugh.

"You two play rough, huh? Guess I'll make it messy."

He dove into the gap Joe and Julian had ripped open, his bladed limbs tearing the whale's inner flesh apart, spraying gore into the air like rain.

The whale writhed in desperation, the skies trembling with its agony. Yet for the first time, it looked less like an untouchable god of the skies, and more like prey.