The cavernous chamber hummed with a terrifying energy, a prelude to the storm. The **Alpha** towered in the vault doorway, a shifting, grotesque mass of sinew and bone, its crimson eyes burning with malevolent intelligence. Its sheer presence was suffocating, and Ethan's **AnomalySense** was overwhelmed, vibrating violently, no longer a subtle hum but a deafening shriek in his mind.
Anya immediately opened fire, her rifle spitting tracers at the Alpha. Jax's crossbow bolts followed, precise and heavy. But the Alpha, with an unnerving grace for its size, simply shifted its form, allowing most of the projectiles to harmlessly graze its hardened hide or pass through gaps in its ever-changing mass. It let out a low, pleased chuckle, a sound that scraped against the soul.
**\[Warning! Prime Specimen (Alpha) detected! Imminent Threat! Threat Level: CATASTROPHIC! All Chimera mutations in range are empowered and directed!]**
"It's directing them!" Anya yelled, her voice strained. "They're circling!"
The **Stalker**, a terrifying blur of blades and bone, launched itself at Anya from the left, while the **Blight**, dripping corrosive fluids, began lumbering towards Jax, leaving a trail of smoking, acrid mist. The Runners and Lurkers, previously content to watch, now moved in unison, beginning a slow, methodical encirclement, cutting off any clear escape route.
Ethan knew they couldn't fight everything at once. His ribs screamed, but the System's warnings and the sheer threat of the Alpha overrode the pain. He made a snap decision.
"Jax, keep the Blight busy! Anya, focus fire on the Stalker! I'm going for the Alpha!" Ethan yelled, his voice raw but determined.
"Are you insane, Ethan?!" Anya shouted back, barely dodging a swipe from the Stalker. "You can't take that thing alone!"
"Just buy me time!" he insisted, pushing off the ground.
With a burst of his **Agility** (now 9, even with the injury penalty), Ethan sprinted directly towards the Alpha. His hatchet was clutched in one hand, his pistol in the other. He knew he couldn't win a direct fight. He had to exploit its weakness, if it had one. His mind raced, recalling the data Anya had downloaded. *Recursive mutation... original subject... progenitor...*
The Alpha's red eyes fixed on him, an almost bored curiosity in their depths. It extended a massive, elongated arm, its hand twisting into a grotesque claw, and swiped. Ethan ducked, the wind of its passage rustling his hair. He fired his pistol, aiming for one of its red eyes. The bullet ricocheted off a hardened plate of bone that suddenly formed around the eye, a clear sign of the Alpha's adaptive defenses.
"It anticipates!" Ethan grunted, rolling to avoid another sweep. This thing was not just strong; it was intelligent, perhaps even psychic.
Meanwhile, Anya was engaged in a deadly dance with the Stalker. Its speed was incredible, a constant whirlwind of slashing blades, forcing her to constantly evade and fire short, controlled bursts. Jax was grimly holding his ground against the Blight, dodging its slow but wide acid sprays, his crossbow bolts finding purchase in its soft, pustuled flesh, making it roar in pain but not fall.
Ethan's **AnomalySense**, despite the overwhelming noise, suddenly focused. Not on the Alpha's current form, but on something within it. A deeper hum, a specific resonance. The data Anya had read mentioned the Alpha was the *original* subject. What if its weakness was tied to its original, un-mutated core?
He lunged forward, feigning a direct attack. The Alpha responded, its massive claw sweeping down. As it committed to the strike, Ethan dove *under* its arm, ignoring the searing pain in his ribs. He was dangerously close now, almost beneath its towering form. He could feel the pervasive aura of its power, like a physical weight pressing down on him.
He looked for it. A core. A heart. Something.
Then he saw it. Embedded deep within its chest, shrouded by constantly shifting tissue but discernible to his enhanced vision, was a pulsating, sickly green sac. It was surrounded by a strange, crystalline structure. It was unnaturally still, almost separate from the Alpha's chaotic form.
**\[Weak Point Detected: Prime Core (Bio-Luminescence) - The Alpha's original, un-mutated core. Highly vulnerable.]**
**\[Objective Updated: Destroy the Prime Core.]**
"The core!" Ethan screamed, his voice hoarse. "It's got a core! In its chest, green and glowing!"
He didn't wait. Ignoring the impossible odds, ignoring the pain, fueled by the System and sheer desperation, Ethan jammed the barrel of his pistol against the shifting flesh around the glowing green sac. He emptied the entire clip, each shot impacting with sickening squelches. Then, with a desperate roar, he plunged his hatchet directly into the same spot, driving it in with every ounce of his **Strength** (now 9).
The Alpha screamed. It wasn't a roar of rage, but a high-pitched, inhuman shriek of pure agony. Its massive body convulsed violently, limbs flailing wildly, accidentally striking and pulverizing a few of its own Runners. The pervasive hum of Ethan's **AnomalySense** suddenly began to crackle, then flicker, like a dying signal.
**\[Prime Specimen (Alpha) critically damaged! Chimera network destabilizing!]**
"It's working!" Anya shouted, seeing the effect. The Stalker, momentarily disoriented by the Alpha's shriek, hesitated. Jax seized the opportunity, pumping several more bolts into the Blight, which was also beginning to slow, its acid trails fading.
Ethan pulled his hatchet free, the green sac ruptured, glowing fluid seeping from the wound. The Alpha was shuddering, its mutations reversing rapidly, its form shrinking, collapsing in on itself. But it wasn't dead. Its red eyes, now dimming, fixed on Ethan with an expression of pure, unfathomable hatred. It raised a last, colossal, mutated claw.
Ethan was out of bullets, his hatchet still wet with its core. He had to finish it. He had to end this.