The Worm Queen's eyeless head swung in a frantic, swaying motion, her sensitive bristles picking up the rhythmic pulse of the extraction hose. She let out a wet, chattering hiss, her gargantuan form lunging with a terrifying, liquid speed meant to crush the machinery stealing her lifeblood.
"She's going for the line! Protect the harvest!" Ethan roared.
Before the beast could close its maw on the reinforced tubing, Ethan vanished in a blur of violet motion. He didn't use a technique; he relied on the raw, explosive power of his ascended physical vessel. He slammed into the Queen's flank like a falling meteor.
**BOOM.**
The impact sent a shockwave through the cavern. To Ethan's own shock, the massive creature—which he could barely budge during their last encounter—was sent reeling, her heavy, segmented body crashing into the jagged limestone walls.
