That shriek wasn’t a real sound, but a psychic storm.

Baston and Bruno felt as if their heads had been struck by a sledgehammer. They both let out pained grunts and collapsed to the ground.

"My head... it feels like it’s splitting open..." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Baston clutched his head, his eyes bloodshot. The ethereal bliss from moments ago was gone, replaced by a splitting headache and nausea.

Bruno had it even worse, sprawled on the ground and dry-heaving.

The shriek had a significant effect on Allen too, but his Logical Barrier blocked the majority of the psychic assault. His body was still under the full control of his primary thread.

Amidst the chaos, he sharply detected a critical signal.

The Joyous Thorn’s seductive aura had completely collapsed after that shriek!

’An opportunity!’

"Baston, can you still move? Get your shield!"

Allen’s voice was frighteningly calm, as if the psychic storm had been nothing more than a gentle breeze to him.

"Bruno, Frost Bomb! Get ready to throw it at the three small ones! Lina, can you still lock onto it?"

The string of commands spurred the two men, just freed from the illusion, to act instinctively.

Baston roared, snatching up his Tower Shield again as his rock-like muscles tensed once more.

Bruno fumbled for an ice-blue Alchemy Grenade, holding it in his trembling hands.

Lina’s face was as pale as a sheet. The psychic backlash had drained almost all her strength.

She steadied herself against the cavern wall, her eyes still locked on the unearthly plant.

"It... it’s angry,"

Lina’s voice was weak.

"Very, very angry. It feels... insulted."

’Insulted?’

Baston and Bruno couldn’t understand what had just happened, but before their eyes, the form of the Joyous Thorn was undergoing a drastic change.

Its crystalline main stem, which had been gently flowing with colorful light, now turned an ominous dark red.

All the thorns wrapped around the Earthworm Queen suddenly tightened, digging deep into the gaps of its carapace.

ROAR—!

The deeply parasitized Earthworm Queen let out a world-shaking roar as its once-vacant eyes were instantly filled with blood-red light.

It was no longer a docile host, but a behemoth of war whose fury had been completely ignited!

Its heavy body bucked violently, shaking the entire cavern.

It locked onto Baston, the closest one to it, and charged with an aura that threatened to crush everything in its path!

"Hold it back, Baston!"

Without needing Allen’s reminder, Baston had already slammed his Tower Shield into the ground. With his feet planted like mountain roots, he let out a battle cry.

[Unflinching Stance]!

BOOM—!!!

A violent force that could shatter anything slammed viciously into the Tower Shield!

The massive boom was deafening, and even the cavern itself trembled!

The ground beneath Baston’s feet cracked inch by inch. The irresistible force pushed him back several meters, plowing two deep furrows in the earth.

But he held on. The massive Tower Shield, like an insurmountable mountain, firmly blocked the Queen’s charge.

At the same time, the three other Crystal Shell Burrowing Insects acting as guards also moved. They let out sharp hisses and began to flank the party from three directions.

"Throw it, now! Bruno!" Allen shouted.

Gritting his teeth, Bruno put all his strength into throwing the Frost Bomb I.

The grenade sailed through the air and landed in the middle of the three burrowing insects.

POP!

An ice-blue frost exploded outward, instantly creating a frozen zone more than five meters in diameter.

The three burrowing insects’ movements became visibly sluggish and stiff, and a layer of white frost condensed on their carapaces.

In a flash, the battle was stabilized.

Allen’s main consciousness exited its analytical mode. His dual-core brain was now running in parallel.

His main consciousness monitored the entire battlefield, analyzing every detail and movement on both sides.

Meanwhile, his primary thread drove his Witchcraft to attack.

[Craftsman’s Hand]!

An invisible hand of force appeared at Allen’s side and ripped a millstone-sized boulder from the cavern wall.

With a mighty heave, the hand hurled the rock.

CRASH!

The impact sent stone fragments flying, and the tremendous sound and vibration knocked the Earthworm Queen back a step, successfully drawing the Joyous Thorn’s attention.

In that momentary opening.

Three instantly-cast [Magic Missiles] shot out. They didn’t target the Joyous Thorn’s main body but instead curved around the Queen’s massive form, striking from three cunning angles to precisely bombard the deep-purple thorns connecting the Queen to the magical plant!

A flash of light, and the thorns trembled violently, but they didn’t break.

"Lina!" Allen shouted again. "Find its control node for me!"

Lina immediately understood what Allen meant.

Fighting through her mental exhaustion, she focused all her remaining perception on the Joyous Thorn.

In her emotional spectrum, the magical plant’s "rage" was erupting like a volcano. But in the center of that crimson ocean of fury, there was a region that presented an extremely stable, dark-gold color that signified "control" and "greed."

There, several thorns converged, piercing deep into the back of the Earthworm Queen’s neck!

"Behind the carapace on its neck!"

Lina screamed, pointing out the direction. "Where those three thorns meet! Besides control, it’s also draining the Queen’s life force!"

’Found it!’

A sharp glint flashed in Allen’s eyes.

He pulled out a "Lightning I" paralysis grenade and, without looking, tossed it in Baston’s direction.

"Baston, crush it!"

The grenade landed at Baston’s feet. The good-natured giant didn’t hesitate for a second, raising his stone-covered foot and stomping down hard!

BZZZT—!

A blinding arc of electricity erupted, and countless silver serpents of current instantly engulfed both the Earthworm Queen and Baston.

The Queen let out a pained hiss. The force of its charge faltered, and its entire body fell into a momentary paralysis!

But Baston was also immobilized!

This was the opening!

Allen’s main consciousness had already completed the spell.

The invisible [Craftsman’s Hand] didn’t throw another rock. Instead, it rapidly contracted and reshaped itself in mid-air.

Its five fingers of force elongated, becoming like five steel awls, poised to strike.

"Go!"

The hand of force shot forward, passing through the arcs of electricity and dust, bypassing the Queen’s hard carapace, and fiercely stabbed into the nexus of thorns Lina had pointed out!

Another bloodcurdling scream rang out, this one seeming to emanate from the spiritual plane.

The main body of the Joyous Thorn convulsed violently, its tentacle-like thorns twisting together in agony.

At that moment, all the vines connecting to the Queen lost their strength, limply hanging down like overcooked noodles.

The control was finally severed.

However, the crisis was not over.

Freed from its parasite, the Earthworm Queen did not return to a state of calm.

In its blood-red eyes, the light of the Joyous Thorn’s control faded, replaced by something far purer, more primitive, more chaotic... madness!

The pain and resentment from being parasitized and having its life force drained for so long erupted in that instant.

Slowly, with a scalp-numbing stiffness, it turned its massive head.

Its eyes, burning with endless fury, locked onto the person closest to it... Baston, who was still holding it back with his Tower Shield.

Freed from control, it had become even more dangerous.