The green light from the Omnitrix dimmed, replaced by a sharp, glassy shimmer.
Riven's body reformed into Diamondhead—his emerald crystal armor snapping into place like natural plating. Shards flexed along his limbs, each movement humming with power. He didn't wait.
The evolved creature—the one that stood like a man, fused with insect and elemental mutations—lunged first.
Fast.
Faster than anything he'd seen in this dungeon so far.
Its limbs extended into bladed arcs, slicing the air as it twisted toward him like a black whirlwind.
But Diamondhead was ready.
His forearm crystallized into a wide shield just as the creature's claws raked across it. Sparks flew, screeches echoed, but the shield held. Riven grunted and twisted, countering with a wide sweep of his opposite arm—launching a volley of crystal spikes that burst from his shoulder like missiles.
The creature dodged—barely. One spike grazed its thigh, sending it tumbling sideways into a hive pillar.
Before it could recover, the Hive Queen shrieked—and the chamber itself shifted.
Walls rippled, and the ground began to sprout thorned stalks of hardened resin. Mana sacs pulsed and burst, flooding the air with fog. Above them, the hive's dome cracked open, revealing the Queen's full form: monstrous wings spread wide, acid dripping from her mandibles, her armor now glowing with deep violet runes.
Diamondhead pivoted, crystal feet grinding across the unstable ground.
"She really doesn't want me alive," Riven muttered.
The humanoid creature roared, already recovered, dashing forward again. It slammed into him with renewed force, and they crashed against a nearby hive wall. Diamondhead cracked the surface with his back—but he didn't fall.
Instead, he rammed both fists into the creature's chest, sending a shockwave through the chamber. The evolved being coughed, its torso shattering in several places—but black tendrils began regrowing immediately.
"Regeneration," Riven snarled. "Great."
The Queen swooped down from above, mandibles wide. Acid sprayed from her fangs in twin jets.
Riven formed a crystal dome around himself just in time—the acid sizzled against its surface, burning holes through the upper layer, but failing to pierce the core.
The moment it cleared, he burst from within with a rising spike of crystal, catching the Queen across her underbelly. She shrieked, wings flailing as she lifted back into the air.
But the evolved creature wasn't idle.
It used the chaos to summon spears of blackened resin from the floor, launching them like javelins.
Riven ducked under one, sidestepped another—and caught the third.
"Nice try," he growled, redirecting it and throwing it back with crystal-enhanced strength. The javelin impaled the creature's shoulder, pinning it to a pillar momentarily.
But only momentarily.
With a shriek, it tore itself free and charged again.
The Queen dropped onto a ledge, her wings crackling with raw mana. Purple lightning surged from her antennae, streaking toward Diamondhead.
He reacted fast, raising both arms and summoning a crystal mirror shield—a full-body plate that refracted the lightning, splitting it into multiple rays that blasted apart sections of the hive roof.
The whole chamber trembled.
Chunks of hardened resin and cocoon sacs fell from above. Heat still lingered in the air from the earlier fires. Cracks formed under Riven's feet—but he stood firm.
He narrowed his eyes.
"I need to split them."
The Queen shrieked again, the frequency higher this time—like a command.
Suddenly, more of the four-legged amphibious beasts surged from hidden tunnels. Three. Four. Maybe more.
All rushing toward him.
Riven grit his teeth. "This just keeps getting worse."
He slammed both fists into the ground, sending a ring of jagged crystal blades outward in a full circle. The first wave of beasts was impaled instantly. Others stumbled, letting out sick screeches as shards tore through their limbs.
But the evolved humanoid was already behind him.
Its claw slammed into his side, sending Riven flying across the chamber. He crashed into a hive wall, the crystal armor cracking slightly. Pain shot through his ribs.
He rose.
Slowly.
"You want me to lose control," he muttered, voice low. "But you're not ready for what happens when I do."
From the center of his chest, the Omnitrix pulsed again.
Not a warning.
A reminder.
Still charged.
Still burning.
But Riven held back.
He wasn't ready to switch. Not yet. Diamondhead had more to give.
With a roar, he threw his arms outward—and multiple crystal clones erupted from the floor, mirroring his shape. They surged toward the Queen and her guards.
The hive chamber became chaos.
Explosions of acid and mana. Shards of crystal flying in all directions. Clones buying him time.
And Riven, cutting through enemies like a walking storm of blades and force.
Still, the Queen endured.
Still, the evolved creature advanced.
And as the clones fell one by one, and as the firelight from earlier faded into ash, Riven stood in the center of it all.
Cracked.
Exhausted.
But unbroken.
Then the Queen shrieked—not in rage, but in desperation.
She flew backward, toward the rear of the hive, and slammed her claws into a sealed organic pod embedded in the wall.
Riven blinked. "No…"
The pod split apart, revealing a glowing core—unstable, swirling with corrupted mana.
The Queen clutched it—and in one vicious movement, jammed it into the humanoid creature's chest.
The energy discharge lit the chamber like a detonation.
The creature screamed.
Its back arched. Armor cracked. Bones shifted and reformed. Another arm burst from its spine. Runes glowed violently across its frame.
Riven staggered from the wave of pressure.
The hybrid beast had evolved again.
Even stronger.
Even faster.
The Queen watched, weakened but triumphant.
Riven rose, fists clenched.
"This ends now."
End of Chapter.
Thank you for reading.