The Tales of the Legendary Mimic : Momo

Chapter 2: BATTLING THE MUTANT MANTIS

The mantis hurled forward with savage intent, its six legs churning the cracked marble beneath it. 

Max barely dived under a shattered pillar, using its jagged edge as cover while the insect’s blade-sharp 

forearms slashed through stone overhead. A thunderous crack split the pillar in two

As if that wasn't enough, a boulder came crashing between them, almost crushing Max. He didn't see it coming....

like literally he really didn't... it collapsed in a 

plume of dust. just after the weird sound that goes....

Zzzzzzshhh!!!

“Lazer eyes?Seriously? You gotta be kidding me!!” Max muttered, dripping sarcasm despite his pounding 

heart. 

He rolled clear as the creature whipped around, claws arcing to impale him. Its crimson eyes 

gleamed with the cruel curiosity of a top predator—though Max wondered if this malformed horror 

truly ruled the ruins of the early apocalypse, or reveled in terror

Or maybe a new royal amidst mutants?

“Congratulations on your honor,” Max gulped, voice hollow. The mantis paused, antennae 

twitching; it seemed almost… amused.

A high-pitched screech split the air. No laser beam this time—his tormentor preferred the visceral. 

The thrill of close combat.

Max’s ribs screamed in protest, battered by debris he’d hidden under his arm. If only he could hold off the metal bat, stashed two rooms away, but the corridors would be crawling with mancers, one can't lorne current state.

He was probably trapped. like he was, except the factthat his state was probably worse.

He was already wounded lethaly even if he's spared, he would eventually die of bleeding.

He had a very easy choice to make: fight back!!! 

he counldnt clash with it face on; he could only count on intelligence,e but first he needed a distraction before he could plan any.

His eyes locked on the teddy tied to his belt. This toy had become a part of his uniform clothing style for five years now, the last tether to a life before this nightmare.

He had no choice, he quickly dipped the toy in his wound by his waist, soaking the toy well enough not to notice the purple shimmer  it gave

"Hey, do you want meat?!! Have got lil bear meat waiting for yaa go get it!"With a heavy throw

that drew the giant mantis’s curiosity, making it cock its head before running  after the plush toy, claws twitching in bloodlust

 Max seized the chance. Clutching a shard of marble boulder lum, the edge honed like a blade—he charged. The mantis skittered after the teddy, prodding it like a curious child before attempting to bite it in half. Max hurled the jagged fragment with all his strength. It struck the creature’s jointed thigh with a sickening crunch. 

The mantis shrieked, flinging the teddy into the air and toppling headlong into a crater. Max lurched 

forward—but pain slammed into his chest like a hammer. He coughed blood onto cracked tile as 

darkness tugged at his vision. Memories cascaded through his mind: laughter in better days, the 

promise of safety that now felt like a cruel joke. 

A second screech rang out as the mantis pulled itself half-up, its armored carapace marred by the 

impact against the marble floor. Though built for speed and precision rather than brute force, it had 

shattered the tile with its desperate counterstrike. Dust and debris spun in the dim light, and the 

mantis’s eyes glowed red with static fury.

Max managed a shaky, self-deprecating grin. He should have run when he could. 

He braced for the final blast. The air crackled. Then— 

A sick groan of metal above him, like steel sinews snapping. A colossal chandelier, hanging by one 

frayed cable, plummeted. 

It slammed onto the mantis with deafening force, shattering its carapace and splattering its black 

blood across the hall. The creature twitched in its death throes as the chandelier’s crystals tinkled 

against broken marble. 

Silence followed—except for a faint, raspy snore. 

Max’s blood pooled around him, and the discarded teddy lay drenched in mantis ichor. Suddenly, the 

toy quivered, twirled, then hovered. A whirlpool of red liquid and shattered carapace rose, swirling into 

the teddy’s stitched frame. In an instant, a pair of blood-stained gauntlets, echoing the mantis’s own 

claws, imprinted themselves on its plush paws.

When the vortex vanished, the teddy—no longer soft and innocent—rested against Max’s battered chest. Its single button eye gleamed; the other was crudely stitched with black thread. Its zippered mouth hung open, missing a jagged piece of itslips. 

Max exhaled a ragged sigh. His chest burned, his vision swam—and somehow, he still clung to life. 

And the new gauntlet’s claws twitched hungrily at his side. 

Magnus soon reached the broken wall, but couldn't find the culprit. He wasn't eager tho, though. He just hoped Max was fine, but then how come the whole place was torn apart? 

Yet no anomaly, could it be ammo?

“Strange things are very surprising things ...” Magnus thought to himself as he finally found his half 

dead son, but the weirdness only seemed to have just begun.