The air didn't move.
It collapsed.
The moment the fairy's words faded—
The two monsters attacked.
No signal.
No countdown.
No mercy.
The Guardian Chimera moved first.
All its heads rose at once—
Fire.
Lightning.
Wind.
Poison.
Light.
Shadow.
Earth.
Every element—
Every direction—
Every possible escape—
Covered.
"…RYOTA—!"
Too late.
The chimera unleashed it.
A multi-layered breath attack.
Not a single stream—
But overlapping waves of destruction.
Fire devoured the front.
Lightning shattered the air.
Wind blades carved everything in their path.
Poison mist followed—
Then beams of light and darkness intertwined—
While jagged earth spikes surged beneath it all.
A perfect storm.
Rio moved.
Fast.
Precise.
She stepped—
Pivoted—
Slid—
Dodging the first wave.
Ryota followed.
Barely.
He ducked under a lightning arc—
Blocked a fragment of rock—
Twisted away from a flame burst—
But it wasn't enough.
No one could dodge all of it.
The second layer hit.
BOOM—
The explosion swallowed them.
Heat.
Impact.
Force.
Everything collided at once.
Their bodies were thrown—
Crashing across the broken ground.
HP bars dropped instantly.
Rio: 19% → 7%
Ryota: 14% → 7%
Silence.
Then—
A roar.
The Ancient Dragon Almarduke opened its mouth.
And roared.
Not just sound—
But force.
The ground beneath them—
Shattered.
CRACK—
CRACK—
CRACK—
The battlefield split apart.
Then—
Spikes.
Massive stone pillars erupted from below—
Violent.
Unavoidable.
They pierced everything.
The corrupted knights—
Didn't escape.
The female knight—
Impaled through the stomach.
"…!"
Her body froze.
Then—
Something changed.
The black corruption—
Flickered.
Cracked.
And faded.
Her eyes—
Cleared.
For the first time—
There was humanity.
"…Ah…"
A weak breath escaped her lips.
Then—
She collapsed.
The other two knights—
Pierced as well—
But not the same.
The corruption held.
Strong.
Unbroken.
They tore themselves free.
Unfazed.
Still enemies.
Still threats.
Still moving.
Above—
The fairy watched.
Unblinking.
"…Eliminate all survivors."
Her voice—
Gentle.
Cold.
Final.
The chimera obeyed.
Its heads rose again.
Energy gathered.
Faster this time.
More violent.
Rio pushed herself up.
Her body trembled.
HP at 7%.
Mana—
Nearly gone.
"…Tch…"
Ryota staggered to his feet.
"…We're… really doing this, huh…"
No answer.
There was no time.
The chimera fired again.
Another layered breath attack.
Wider.
Stronger.
Deadlier.
It consumed everything in front of it.
Rio—
Ryota—
The corrupted knights—
All swallowed.
Light.
Darkness.
Flame.
Destruction.
The world disappeared inside it.
And for a moment—
There was nothing.
No sound.
No movement.
No hope.
Just annihilation.
And somewhere—
Within that overwhelming storm—
Two figures still stood.
Barely.
Broken.
But not gone.
Because the battle—
Wasn't over yet.
The battlefield went quiet.
Not the silence of victory—
But the silence left behind by something far worse.
The storm faded.
The light dimmed.
The destruction… settled.
At the center of the ruined chamber—
Two figures remained standing.
Barely.
Rio.
Ryota.
Their bodies were scorched.
Clothes torn.
Breathing uneven.
HP bars—
Blinking.
1%.
Not enough to survive another hit.
Not enough to fight.
Not enough—
For anything.
"…Still alive…"
Ryota let out a weak laugh.
It wasn't relief.
It was disbelief.
Rio didn't respond immediately.
Her eyes moved.
Scanning.
Calculating.
The monsters—
Gone.
The Ancient Dragon Almarduke—
Vanished.
The Guardian Chimera—
Gone.
And the fairy—
Gone.
"…They left."
Her voice was quiet.
Sharp.
Ryota blinked.
"…Left?"
Rio nodded slowly.
"…They achieved something."
A pause.
"…Or they're about to."
A faint sound echoed behind them.
Metal.
Dragging.
Both of them turned.
The two corrupted knights remained.
Still standing.
Still alive.
But—
Different.
Their weapons—
Shattered.
Broken pieces scattered across the ground.
Their armor—
Cracked.
Damaged.
And their stance—
No longer aggressive.
Rio exhaled slowly.
"…They took your companion."
The spear knight didn't respond.
But his grip—
Tightened.
The dual-blade knight—
Stared at the empty space where the female knight once stood.
Silence.
Then—
Rio stepped forward.
Just slightly.
"…Looks like that fairy waited."
A pause.
"…For all of us to exhaust ourselves."
Her eyes narrowed.
"…Then took the opportunity."
Ryota glanced at her.
"…So we got played?"
"…Yes."
Flat.
Immediate.
She turned toward the two knights.
"…Both of your weapons are destroyed."
A beat.
"…Me and Ryota are at low HP."
Another.
"…We can kill each other right now."
The air tensed.
Ryota blinked.
"…Wait, that's still an option?"
Rio ignored him.
"…Or—"
Her voice shifted.
Slightly.
"…We go after them."
Silence.
"…And stop whatever she's planning."
The words lingered.
Heavy.
The spear knight looked at her.
Then at Ryota.
Then—
At the direction the fairy had gone.
A long pause.
Then—
He nodded.
Once.
Decision made.
Rio's lips curved slightly.
"…Good."
She opened her inventory.
Her hand moved quickly—
Pulling out potions.
Health.
Mana.
Everything she had left.
She split them.
Without hesitation.
Half—
To Ryota.
"…Drink."
He didn't argue.
Didn't question.
They consumed them.
A faint glow surrounded their bodies.
HP rose.
1% → 34%
Mana—
Partially restored.
Not full.
But enough.
Enough to fight.
Ryota exhaled.
"…That's better."
Rio rolled her shoulder slightly.
Testing movement.
Still sore.
Still damaged.
But functional.
Then—
She noticed.
The knights—
Were moving.
Not toward them.
Toward something else.
The fallen body—
Of the techno centaur.
"…What are they doing?"
Ryota muttered.
The spear knight reached it first.
He placed his hand—
On the broken core.
And then—
Dark energy pulsed.
The centaur's remains—
Began to dissolve.
Not disappearing—
But being absorbed.
Pulled—
Into the knight.
"…No way…"
Ryota whispered.
The dual-blade knight followed.
Doing the same.
Fragments of the centaur—
Metal.
Energy.
Power—
Flowed into them.
Their armor shifted.
Cracks sealed.
Energy surged through their bodies.
New weapons—
Formed.
A spear—
Forged from condensed mechanical energy.
Twin blades—
Sharper.
Heavier.
Deadlier.
Rio watched silently.
"…Adaptive enemies."
She muttered.
"…They evolve through combat."
Ryota blinked.
"…So they just… leveled up?"
"…Something like that."
The energy settled.
The knights stood once more.
Stronger.
But this time—
They didn't raise their weapons.
They turned.
Toward the same direction.
The path the fairy had taken.
Rio stepped forward.
"…We move now."
Ryota nodded.
"…Yeah."
No hesitation.
No doubt.
Because whatever was ahead—
Was worse.
Much worse.
And this time—
They wouldn't be fighting alone.
Not allies.
Not friends.
But something close enough—
To survive what was coming next.