The air itself seemed to collapse the moment the fairy finished speaking.
There was no warning.
No countdown.
No dramatic pause.
The Guardian Chimera and Ancient Dragon Almarduke attacked immediately.
The chimera moved first.
Its monstrous body rose above the battlefield as every one of its heads lifted simultaneously. Fire gathered within one maw while lightning crackled around another. Wind spiraled around a third as poison seeped from a fourth. The remaining heads radiated blinding light, oppressive darkness, and crushing earth energy.
Every element.
Every angle.
Every possible route of escape.
Covered.
"Ryota!"
Rio's warning rang across the battlefield, but it came too late.
The chimera unleashed its attack.
The breath weapon was unlike anything they had faced before. It wasn't a single blast. It was a layered catastrophe.
Flames surged forward first, creating a wall of destruction that swallowed everything ahead of it. Lightning followed immediately behind, splitting the air with deafening explosions. Countless blades of compressed wind carved through the battlefield while poisonous mist spread through every opening.
Then came the beams of light and darkness, twisting around one another like twin serpents before crashing downward. At the same time, jagged stone spikes erupted from beneath the ground.
The attack covered every direction.
There was nowhere to run.
Rio reacted instantly.
She moved with flawless precision, stepping aside from the first wave before pivoting and sliding through a narrow opening in the storm.
Ryota followed her lead as best he could.
He ducked beneath a bolt of lightning, smashed aside a fragment of stone, and twisted away from a burst of flame.
But even that wasn't enough.
Nobody could avoid everything.
The second layer reached them.
The explosion that followed consumed the battlefield.
Heat.
Force.
Pain.
Everything struck at once.
Rio and Ryota were thrown across the shattered terrain like ragdolls.
Their bodies slammed into broken stone as their HP plummeted.
Rio's health dropped from nineteen percent to seven.
Ryota's fell from fourteen percent to seven.
Before either of them could recover, Almarduke moved.
The Ancient Dragon opened its enormous jaws and released a roar.
The sound wasn't merely noise.
It was force.
The battlefield itself responded.
Cracks spread across the ground.
The already damaged terrain split apart as massive pillars of stone erupted violently from below.
The attack showed no discrimination.
Everything in its path was skewered.
One of the stone pillars tore through the female knight's abdomen.
Her body froze.
For the first time since the battle began, the corruption covering her armor flickered.
Dark energy cracked and peeled away.
The madness vanished from her eyes.
Humanity returned.
A weak breath escaped her lips.
"Ah..."
Then she collapsed.
The other two knights weren't so fortunate.
Stone pillars pierced them as well, but the corruption surrounding their bodies remained intact. They ripped themselves free without hesitation, ignoring wounds that would have killed ordinary players.
Above the battlefield, the fairy watched in complete silence.
Her expression never changed.
"Eliminate all survivors."
Her voice remained gentle.
Yet somehow colder than any threat.
The chimera obeyed immediately.
Its heads rose once more as energy gathered around them.
This time the attack charged faster.
The power was noticeably greater.
Rio forced herself upright.
Her entire body trembled.
She had only seven percent HP remaining and almost no mana left.
"Tch..."
Nearby, Ryota staggered to his feet.
"We're really doing this, huh..."
There was no answer.
There wasn't time.
The chimera fired again.
A second layered breath attack swept across the battlefield.
Larger.
Stronger.
Deadlier.
The attack consumed everything before it.
Rio.
Ryota.
The two corrupted knights.
All of them disappeared inside the storm.
Light and darkness collided.
Flames raged.
The ground shattered.
For a brief moment, the world vanished beneath pure destruction.
Then silence came.
Not the silence of victory.
The silence of devastation.
The elemental storm gradually faded.
The overwhelming light disappeared.
Dust settled over the ruined battlefield.
At the center of the destruction, two figures remained standing.
Barely.
Rio and Ryota.
Their clothes were torn.
Their bodies were scorched.
Their breathing was uneven.
Both health bars blinked dangerously.
One percent.
One more attack would have ended them.
Ryota stared at his status screen and let out a weak laugh.
"...Still alive."
Rio didn't answer immediately.
Her eyes swept across the battlefield.
Searching.
Analyzing.
The Guardian Chimera was gone.
Ancient Dragon Almarduke was gone.
Even the fairy had disappeared.
After several seconds, Rio finally spoke.
"They left."
Ryota blinked.
"Left?"
She nodded.
"They achieved something."
Her gaze narrowed.
"Or they're about to."
A metallic scraping sound echoed through the chamber.
Both of them turned.
The two corrupted knights still stood.
Their weapons were shattered.
Pieces of armor littered the ground around them.
Yet they remained alive.
And strangely...
They no longer seemed hostile.
Rio studied them carefully.
"They took your companion."
Neither knight responded.
The spear wielder simply tightened his grip.
The dual-blade knight stared silently at the spot where the female knight had fallen.
An uncomfortable silence settled over the battlefield.
Rio stepped forward.
"It looks like that fairy waited until everyone exhausted themselves."
Her expression darkened.
"Then she took the opportunity to leave."
Ryota rubbed the back of his neck.
"So... we got played?"
"Yes."
The answer came immediately.
Rio then looked toward the two knights.
"Both of your weapons are destroyed."
Her gaze shifted toward Ryota.
"We're barely standing ourselves."
She paused.
"We could kill each other right now."
Ryota blinked.
"Wait, that's still on the table?"
Rio ignored him completely.
"Or..."
She looked toward the tunnel where the fairy had vanished.
"We go after them."
The proposal hung in the air.
The spear knight slowly turned his head.
He looked at Rio.
Then at Ryota.
Finally, he looked toward the path ahead.
Several long moments passed.
Then he nodded.
Once.
Decision made.
A faint smile appeared on Rio's face.
"Good."
She immediately opened her inventory.
Potions appeared in her hands.
Health potions.
Mana potions.
Everything she still possessed.
Without hesitation, she divided them equally between herself and Ryota.
"Drink."
Neither of them wasted time.
The restorative effects spread through their bodies almost instantly.
Their HP rose from one percent to thirty-four percent.
Mana partially recovered as well.
Not enough for a prolonged battle.
But enough to continue.
Ryota stretched his shoulders.
"That's a lot better."
Rio rolled her arm experimentally.
The pain remained.
The damage remained.
But she could fight again.
Then her attention shifted.
The knights had begun moving.
Not toward the tunnel.
Toward the remains of the techno-centaur.
"What are they doing?" Ryota asked.
The spear knight reached the shattered machine first.
He placed a hand against its glowing core.
Dark energy pulsed outward.
The centaur's remains began dissolving.
Not disappearing.
Being absorbed.
Ryota's eyes widened.
"No way..."
The dual-blade knight followed.
Fragments of metal, machinery, and condensed energy flowed into both knights.
Their armor transformed.
Cracks sealed shut.
Power surged through their bodies.
New weapons formed from the absorbed energy.
The spear knight's weapon reappeared as a sleek construct of mechanical power and dark energy.
The dual-blade knight's swords became larger, sharper, and far more dangerous.
Rio watched the process carefully.
"Adaptive enemies."
She spoke quietly.
"They evolve through combat."
Ryota stared.
"So they just leveled up?"
"Something like that."
The transformation soon ended.
The knights stood once more.
Stronger than before.
Yet neither raised a weapon against them.
Instead, both turned toward the same path the fairy had taken.
Rio stepped forward.
"We move now."
Ryota nodded immediately.
"Yeah."
There was no reason to hesitate.
The fairy had orchestrated everything.
The dragon and chimera had vanished for a reason.
Whatever waited ahead had forced even those monsters to retreat.
And for the first time since entering the World Key, Rio and Ryota would not be facing it alone.
The two corrupted knights weren't friends.
They weren't allies.
But for now, they shared a common enemy.
And that would have to be enough.
Together, the four figures disappeared into the darkness beyond the ruined battlefield, pursuing the fairy and whatever secret awaited at the heart of the World Key.