Back in the swamp clearing...

Adir narrowed his eyes and stepped forward—only to feel the ground shift beneath him. His foot sank suddenly into the wet, clinging mud.

Adir: (alarmed) "What—?"

He tried to lunge forward, but the muck held fast. Panicking, he staggered backward, barely pulling his legs free from the mire.

Scorpion Aniuman: (mocking, with a grin)
"Try, kiddo. Come closer. You want to kill me, don’t you?"

He took a menacing step forward, his armored legs hissing against the mud, his massive stinger twitching eagerly behind him.

Scorpion Aniuman: (smiling coldly)
"Go on then, little serpent. Show me your bite."

Adir: (in confusion and rage)
"I will kill you. Just wait and watch!"

Snarling, Adir summoned the serpent within. His right arm twisted, reshaping into a muscular snake tail. With practiced precision, he flung it around a thick tree branch and launched himself toward the Aniuman like a slingshot.

But the Aniuman was ready.

With a hiss, he slammed a hand into the mud—and from the dark earth, a dozen smaller scorpions burst forth. They skittered up Adir’s extended limb with unnatural speed, their pincers clacking, their stingers gleaming.

Adir: (shouting) "NO—!"

The scorpions bit down. White-hot pain surged through him. Adir screamed as his grip broke, sending him crashing into the swampy pit below. The mud welcomed him with a cold embrace.

Scorpion Aniuman: (smirking)
"Catch me, snake boy. You’ve slithered right into my nest."

Adir’s arms thrashed, but the thick sludge held firm. He tried to shift into his snake form, to slide free—but every movement dragged him deeper.

His chest heaved.

The earth swallowed him.

His shoulders—gone.

His chest—gone.

Now only his head remained above the swamp line.

Adir: (gasping) "No... not like this... not now..."

Scorpion Aniuman: (with a cruel laugh)
"You thought you were a hunter. Turns out... you’re just prey."

On the mountain cliff...

The wind howled as Garu crouched on the narrow ledge, talons digging into the stone. He spotted shards of dark exoskeleton scattered across the rocks—broken pieces of scorpion shell.

Garu: (narrowing eyes)
"There you are, you ugly bastard..."

He dropped down silently, wings folding. But as he rounded the boulder—

Something moved. Something big.

A shadow rose.

Towering.

Broad.

Armored in slabs of gray, cracked stone.

A Rhino Aniuman stepped forward, steam snorting from his nostrils.

Rhino Aniuman: (deep, rumbling voice)
"I’ve been waiting for you... eagle boy."

Garu tensed, recognizing the face.

Rhino Aniuman: (growling)
"You betrayed the Lord who created you."

Garu: (stiffly)
"So... Murunda knows I’m alive."

FLASHBACK — inside Murunda’s lair

Test tubes shattered. Sparks flew from ruined consoles. Vats hissed and boiled as Murunda, cloaked in black, stormed through the lab in a frenzy.

Before him stood three Aniumen: Rhino, Scorpion, and a shadowy female figure—only her glowing golden eyes visible in the dark.

Murunda: (roaring)
"Two of my Aniumen—lost! Defeated by children!"

He slammed a hand into the glass, shattering it further.

Murunda:
"And Garu... my masterpiece... my winged creation... betrays me!"

He turned sharply, pointing to the three.

Murunda:
"Rhino. Scorpion. Go. Hunt them down. Bring me their heads if you must—but kill them all."

The shadowed woman behind them said nothing. But her eyes burned brighter.

BACK TO THE CLIFF

Garu: (spreading his wings)
"You want a fight? You got one."

Rhino Aniuman: (charging his horn)
"Let’s see if your wings can save you... from me."

And with a thunderous roar, the rhino charged.

The wind screamed across the jagged rocks as Rhino Aniuman charged with a ground-shaking roar, stone hooves cracking the earth beneath.

Garu flared his wings wide and leapt into the air, beating them powerfully.

Garu: (shouting) "Let’s see how you like this!"

He flapped his wings with force, summoning a slicing vortex of air that rushed toward the charging beast. Dust and shards flew with razor-sharp wind blades—

—but the Rhino only lowered his gleaming, spiral horn, plowing straight through the storm. The winds parted around him like water around stone.

Rhino Aniuman: (grinning) "Feathers and breezes? You insult me!"

Garu: (frustrated) "Then let’s get serious!"

He launched into a flurry of aerial maneuvers, darting and spinning midair as wind blasts rained down in a relentless barrage. He struck from every angle—trying to blind, trip, stagger—

—but the Rhino stood solid as a mountain.

Rhino Aniuman raised an arm to block a diving strike. Wind cracked around them.

Rhino Aniuman: "You're fast, bird-boy. But you're scratching at granite."

Garu narrowed his eyes. In a flash of white and bronze light, he transformed midair into his full eagle form, wings stretching wide, talons like knives.

He dove, a blur of fury, claws glowing with golden energy as he aimed for the creature’s eyes.

Garu: (roaring) "Then I’ll aim where it hurts!"

He slashed across the Rhino's face—only to skid harmlessly off the stone-plated hide. The Rhino didn’t even flinch. Garu flapped back, confused and panting.

Rhino Aniuman: (mocking) "You can’t leave a scratch on me. Let me show you what a real attack looks like."

He suddenly began to spin—a blur of rock and momentum.

Garu: (eyes widening) "Oh no—"

The Rhino launched like a living cannonball, spinning horn-first into the sky.

Garu tried to dodge, wings flaring—

—but the beast was too fast. The horn grazed his wing, shredding feathers and flesh. Garu cried out and tumbled down, crashing into the rocky terrain below.

Garu: (groaning, clutching his wing) "Damn it... too fast..."

Rhino Aniuman landed with a thunderous stomp, cracking the ground beneath him.

Rhino Aniuman: (grinning with bloodlust)
"Finally, you come to the ground... my sweet eagle boy."

He began a slow, deliberate walk forward, horn gleaming under the moonlight.

Rhino Aniuman: "Today is your last flight. And your friends? They’ll fall next."