The dungeon had ceased to resemble anything that could be called a battlefield.
Entire sections of the chamber had collapsed. Massive chunks of stone floated weightlessly in the air, trapped within distorted gravity fields created by the overwhelming powers unleashed throughout the battle. Cracks spread across every wall, glowing with residual energy as though the dungeon itself was bleeding light.
At the center of the devastation, Auram and Liblee clashed.
Their battle shook the entire structure.
Auram's restored armor radiated brilliant golden light. Every piece that he had accumulated through countless battles now functioned as a complete whole. The power of Indratos, the Ancient Dragon that had fused with him, flowed through every movement.
Liblee met him head-on.
Corruption and divine power intertwined within her body. The seven elemental gemstones embedded within her dark wings pulsed with immense energy, granting her control over powers far beyond what she had possessed moments earlier.
Steel collided with crimson energy.
The impact exploded outward.
A deafening shockwave tore through the chamber as Auram's blade carved a golden arc across the battlefield. Liblee answered with a wave of crimson power, and the collision detonated violently in midair.
Stone shattered.
Entire sections of the dungeon crumbled.
Yet neither fighter stopped.
Auram pressed the offensive relentlessly.
Every strike flowed naturally into the next. His movements were precise and refined, forged through countless battles and strengthened by the power now coursing through him.
For the first time since her transformation, Liblee was forced onto the defensive.
Auram's blade slipped through an opening and sliced across her side.
The wound wasn't deep.
But it was real.
Liblee's smile faded for a fraction of a second.
"You've grown."
There was irritation beneath her calm tone now.
Auram said nothing.
He immediately attacked again.
His next strike came even faster.
Liblee raised an arm to block, but the force behind the blow pushed her backward. The stone beneath her feet exploded as she slid across the ruined battlefield.
For the first time since she had taken control of Lib's body, she was being forced back.
Her eyes narrowed.
Then she vanished.
A crimson distortion flickered through the air.
The next moment she appeared directly above Auram.
"Still not enough."
A sphere of condensed energy formed in her palm.
She drove it downward.
Auram crossed his blade just in time.
The resulting explosion slammed him into the ground with enough force to create another crater. Dust and debris erupted upward, swallowing everything from view.
For a brief moment, silence returned to that section of the battlefield.
Elsewhere within the ruined chamber, Rio struggled forward.
Every step felt heavier than the last.
Her body was covered in injuries.
Her HP remained locked at a single point.
The edges of her vision blurred, but she refused to stop moving.
Ahead of her lay Ryota.
Motionless.
Buried beneath rubble.
"Idiot..."
The word escaped her quietly.
There was annoyance in her voice, but beneath it lay something softer.
She finally reached him and knelt beside him, nearly collapsing from the effort alone.
Looking at his status window, she frowned.
His health was continuing to fall.
One hundred twenty.
One hundred fifteen.
One hundred five.
The numbers steadily dropped.
Of course he was still taking damage somehow.
Without hesitation, Rio opened her inventory.
Her trembling hand reached for the final item she possessed.
The last emergency resource she had saved.
A high-grade recovery potion.
She stared at it for a moment.
Then sighed.
"Don't waste this."
The crystal vial shattered into particles of light.
The healing energy flowed directly into Ryota's body.
His HP stabilized immediately.
Then it began climbing.
One percent.
Five percent.
Seven percent.
Rio released a small breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
A rare feeling of relief surfaced within her.
"You owe me."
She leaned back against a piece of broken stone, her body refusing to move any farther.
Above them, the battle shifted once again.
Liblee floated high overhead.
Her gaze remained fixed on Auram as he rose from the crater.
The irritation in her expression deepened.
"You're becoming far too annoying."
Her voice carried a dangerous finality.
Then she raised her hand.
The battlefield changed.
The corpse of the Guardian Chimera trembled.
Its massive body began splitting apart.
The fused monstrosity separated into the seven creatures that had originally formed it.
The phoenix.
The cerberus.
The gryphon.
The unicorn.
The golem.
And the remaining elemental beasts.
Though dead, their bodies still contained immense power.
Liblee extended her fingers.
The corpses dissolved into streams of light.
Their essence condensed into seven gemstones.
Each gemstone shone with a different color.
Fire.
Lightning.
Wind.
Poison.
Light.
Shadow.
Earth.
The energy radiating from them was pure and overwhelming.
Liblee smiled.
"I'll be taking these."
The gemstones floated upward.
They began orbiting around her body.
Then one by one, they embedded themselves into the framework of her black wings.
A loud crack echoed throughout the dungeon.
The moment the final gemstone connected, reality itself seemed to recoil.
Energy exploded outward.
The dungeon screamed.
Walls fractured further.
The ground sank beneath the pressure.
Space itself appeared unstable.
Her wings expanded dramatically.
Black feathers now shimmered with constantly shifting elemental colors.
The power surrounding her multiplied several times over.
Rio's eyes widened.
"She's absorbing them..."
Not merely their strength.
Their abilities.
Their elemental authorities.
Their very existence.
Liblee flexed her fingers and laughed softly.
"Now this..."
She closed her eyes briefly, savoring the sensation.
"...this feels right."
Her gaze returned to Auram.
Despite everything, he still stood ready to fight.
Still refusing to surrender.
Still staring directly at her.
Liblee smiled.
"Let's try that again."
She disappeared.
The instant she reappeared in front of him, her fist crashed into his guard.
The impact launched Auram backward.
He tore through layers of stone before managing to stop himself.
Liblee pursued immediately.
She gave him no opportunity to recover.
Another strike followed.
Auram blocked.
His stance cracked.
"Too slow."
A second blow landed.
Then a third.
Each stronger than the last.
Auram coughed blood as he was driven farther backward.
For the first time since regaining his full power, he was losing ground.
Rio watched from below.
Her grip tightened around the Crimson Bloodmoon.
"This isn't good."
Beside her, something moved.
A finger twitched.
Small.
Almost imperceptible.
Ryota.
His hand shifted slightly against the rubble.
His HP continued climbing.
Quietly.
Slowly.
Unnoticed by the enemy.
Above them, Liblee remained focused entirely on Auram.
She raised one hand toward the sky.
All seven gemstones pulsed simultaneously.
The energies of every element converged into a single mass of overwhelming power.
Fire.
Lightning.
Wind.
Poison.
Light.
Shadow.
Earth.
Combined into one devastating attack.
A finishing blow.
A declaration of absolute victory.
"You were never meant to win."
Auram steadied himself.
His breathing was heavy.
His armor was damaged.
His body exhausted.
But his eyes never wavered.
Never surrendered.
And far below, hidden beneath the rubble and ignored by everyone on the battlefield, Ryota slowly opened his eyes.
The battle was far from over.