Epic of Caterpillar

With the siblings combined attacks, Amiphossia restrained and weakened Hercules, while Ryo went all out, unleashing his strongest technique, Myriad Meteor Kick, which concentrated all his power into a single, powerful descending kick!

BOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!

The mere impact of such an attack generated an explosive shockwave that spread around the surroundings, all the undead within the vicinity were instantly annihilated… Amiphossia and Ryo were exhausted, as the two immediately fell to the floor, gasping for air.

Hercules body was torn to pieces, yet the black crystal was still tightly wrapped around hardened metallic bones, and a powerful soul was covering it… Hercules soul.

"W-Wait, don't tell me?!" Amiphossia muttered.

"This bastard's…?!" Ryo asked.

FLUOOSH!

The power of Hercules soul immediately spread across his corpse, immediately beginning to wrap it back up together, although even more monstrous now… He was incapable of taking a humanoid shape anymore, only barely looking humanoid, but now merging with many other Undead.

"Hahah… That was good… Yet it seems that I have yet to completely die." Hercules laughed. "It appears that someone like me is destined to an even greater future…"

His chimeric and phantasmal body stood up once more, glaring down at Kireina's children. Their strength was incredible, but after having spent mostly all their MP and Divine Power, they were left with little options.

"I can at least recognize you as powerful foes… I'll remember you, for sure, as I'll devour your souls and bodies, and unify them into my body…" He laughed. "And then, after you two, that brat will-"

"STOOOP!" Brunhild suddenly appeared behind Hercules, firing countless fireballs made of Holy Flames.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!

"Huh?!" Hercules groaned, as his body started to crumble and burn again, only to regenerate quickly after. "You impertinent little bitch…"

"I am the one you want, don't you?!" Brunhild asked, smiling provocatively. "C-Come at me then!"

"Hmph… You're not as pathetic as I imagined!" Laughed Hercules, moving in midair like a specter and reaching Brunhild in a second!

CRAAASH!

His weapon fused with his body, as his two claws grew into gigantic black colored metallic claws, grasping Brunhild in midair while easily tanking all her magic attacks, which were already weakened after she had spent most of her own energies…

"Even now these spells are loaded with Dao Energy, they're strong!" Laughed Hercules. "But not enough to destroy my new self, my new, strongest, and improved self! Much like your mother, Brunhild… I'll kill you with my own hands."

He grabbed Brunhild by the neck, raising her into the air.

"Unnggh…! Aaggh…! Y-You bastard…!" Brunhild began to struggle to breathe, as tears started flowing down her eyes.

"BRUNHILD!!!" Ryo cried, trying to move towards her, but suddenly noticing as countless masses of undead emerging from underground were beginning to wrap around his body, pushing him down…

"D-Dammit!" Amiphossia after powering up beyond her capabilities had also grown too weakened, the same fate was occurring to her.

Everyone else in the battlefield were fighting with everything they had to survive yet a second, even more dangerous Undead invasion… And Kireina seemed nowhere to be seen.

It seemed as if all hope had been lost once more.

Hercules smiled as he glanced at Brunhild struggle to breathe.

There was something delightful about that for him, to see the daughter of the one he once loved and killed with his own hands because she didn't choose him die by his own hands again.

It was so… poetic to his wicked heart.

"This is what you deserve for having been born." He laughed. "This is what you deserve for your mother not having chosen me as her husband instead of your pitiful father… This is what you deserve, you pathetic, pitiful bitch…"

"Ugh… Unngh…" Brunhild's consciousness started to slowly fade away, as she lost her energy, vitality, and wasn't able to breathe properly.

"Mom… dad…" She cried, her tears coursing through her body.

The tattoos that had been deactivated, slowly started to react…

As her mind fell into an endless darkness, her consciousness slowly opened its eyes.

"Huh? W-Where am I?" Brunhild glanced around her surroundings.

The only thing she saw was an endless grassland. The skies were blue and covered in beautiful white clouds. There was a gentle breeze, and countless of colorful flowers growing in large groups all across the grasslands.

At the distance, she noticed white mountains and forests filled with life and nature. She seemed slightly confused, but then she noticed the presence of… others.

Enormous, tall beings in the slight shape of Giants walking across these lands, glancing around their surroundings. Their gigantic hands shaping and creating more land and beauty.

"W-Who… who are these people? So big… bigger than any giant could ever be…" Brunhild thought. "Yet their presences, their very appearances are so similar to… us giants."

"The world seems to be flourishing." Said one of the figures.

"Indeed, we've been able to maintain this sole Fragment of the Origin World, that our King lend to us well enough." Sighed another.

"It has been eons since the separation, yet the darkness that seeks to separate and destroy everything continues seeking the Fragments… I heard more of them had been destroyed and absorbed." Sighed a third.

"Is the unification our Great Father promised us, merely a fable now?" Sighed the first Titan.

"I sense something." A fourth said.

Suddenly, all eyes were into Brunhild.

"H-Huh? H-Hi…" Brunhild said timidly.

"An apparition of the future."

"A vision?"

"Who is she?"

"Oh, I can tell…"

The Titans nodded, as they smiled, slowly descending their gigantic palms towards Brunhild.

"I can tell by your expression that you must be confused, dear."

"We were as well, until we understood your true purpose."

"In the future, this world will be in peril, is it not?"

Brunhild nodded.

"A-Ah, yes… Are you? Are you the Gods?" Asked Brunhild.

"I suppose that is how you call us."

"We are merely Travelers from a distant, archaic Past."

"A past when all Creation was unified…"

"More or less, it seems that in the future you come, these grasslands are deserts, and this Fragment of the Origin World is decaying…"

"Indeed…" Brunhild sighed. "I… And I'll die soon as well… I… Was everything just for nothing? Will this world perish? Will my home… everything?"

The Ancient Gods glanced at one another, and then gently gazed at Brunhild.

"You are our new hope."

"Like a vision of the future, you've shown us that even in the future we had no hope for, there's still a small light within the endless darkness."

"As our descendant most compatible with our Cosmic Cores, we shall give you the privilege of accessing the Records of our Strength achieved within the Root."

"The Root?" Wondered Brunhild. "I… I don't know if I am really qualified for this!"

"You are more than qualified now." The Ancient Gods said, their palms emanating brilliant, rainbow lights that reached the depths of her soul.

"After seeing the future that awaits us, you're perhaps the last hope, please, help Grand Terra, one of the Fragments of the Origin World that we've protected for so long, from falling into the wrong hands…" They said in unison. "Do what your mother was incapable of achieving and become… a vessel to our spirit."

"Spirit…" Brunhild said, filling herself with more courage as they named her mother. "I'll do it… Okay! I'll avenge you as well!"

"Heh, such a gentle heart…" They giggled, as Brunhild's mind quickly went back to her body…

FLAAASH!

"Hahh, it seems you're no longer breathing…" Laughed Hercules. "Well, we wouldn't want to just let you die so peacefully, right?"

A wicked smile surged on his face, as his giant black metallic claws were about to pierce through her chest.

"I'll delight myself with your warm blood to celebrate my new, stronger form as you die, Brunhild! DIEEEE!!!"

CLAAAASH!

When everyone thought the wicked Hercules' black metallic claws would had pierced through Brunhild's chest, the opposite happened.

Brunhild's hands pierced trough his skull, shattering it into pieces!

Crack… crack… CRAASH!

"W-What…? No… How?!"

FLAAAAASH!

And from within Brunhild's body, a powerful, rainbow light emerged and emanated thoroughly, with the divine power of the Ancient Gods, long dead in this desolate future.

Her tattoos glowed with rainbow light, as her pale gray skin suddenly changed color, becoming a metallic silver, much like how the Ancient Gods truly looked like.

Brunhild's size grew several times over, as she easily dwarfed even Hercules…

And her eyes glowed with Rainbow light, like two stars gazing down into the surface of the world.

"T-This is impossible…!" Hercules body started crawling away, even without a skull, as Brunhild's gigantic foot started falling down towards him.

"This is for my mother, my father, and everyone you've hurt, Hercules."

CRAAAAAAAASSSHHH!!!