Veyren was thrown aside, crashing across the stone floor. He looked badly hurt—but through our link, all I felt from him was concern for me… and hope that he'd done enough.
He had.
Because now, I was ready.
The Variant loomed over him, fist raised, ready to finish him. As it charged, I intercepted—my blade slicing its hand clean off. The severed arm spiraled away, and the Variant stumbled back. It recoiled, retreating in a single sharp bound. Its fallen hand dissolved into golden sand and flowed back to its wrist, reforming instantly.
Then it charged.
Its fist cut toward my face; I sidestepped cleanly, feeling the air distort from the force of the strike. I slammed my fist—and the hilt of my sword—into its side. The impact staggered it, giving me room to cleave it in half with a rising slash.
It collapsed.
A cloud of dust erupted—
And it reformed.
Destroying the shell wouldn't work. I needed the core.
I held still, waiting for its old tactic—the straight-line punch to my face. It didn't disappoint. The Variant hurled itself forward. I shifted aside, ready to counterpunch—
But it twisted its leg unnaturally, swinging at me from a new angle. I triggered Dash, flickering out of reach just as the blow grazed past.
When I regained distance, I froze.
Its form was changing.
Where its limbs had once been plain, blocky masses of compacted sand, now joints were forming—knuckles, elbows, shoulders. Its legs shaped into the proportions of a trained athlete. Its feet developed toes. The thing was becoming human, like a perfectly proportioned anatomical model carved from golden glass.
And then it grew a sword—
Shaped exactly like mine.
The moment the blade finished forming, it lunged.
It descended on me from above. I raised my weapon and blocked, easily deflecting its momentum. I countered with a slash, but it didn't flinch—only thrust its own blade toward my ribs. I twisted aside and retaliated. It parried.
And so the exchange began.
Strike. Parry. Clash. Step.
Again.
Again.
With every movement, it improved—faster, cleaner, more precise. Until finally—
Its blade cut me.
Pain detonated across my side. My vision flickered. I lost focus for barely a heartbeat—
And in that moment, its sword was already descending to finish the job.
But something shifted inside me.
My body moved without hesitation or wasted motion—fluid, predatory. I slipped under its blade, rose inside its guard, and severed its arm with one quick strike, following with a slash across its back.
I blinked, startled.
My body felt lighter. My mind sharpened. Then the messages appeared:
[Predator's Rampage] is active
[1:40]
My HP must have fallen below 30%. I glanced at it—27.
If I hadn't been using Essence Drain throughout the fight, I would have already been dead.
But the Variant wasn't going to fall unless I hit the core. Even now, its body was still in pristine condition as every cut was patched almost instantly.
[Alpha's Instinct] allowed me to sense the blood of living targets… but something told me it could do more. I focused on the Variant—
And felt it.
The core, moving within its chest. Circulating mana through its entire body.
The Variant finished repairing its form and approached again. As our blades clashed, Alpha's Instinct screamed the truth at me—the core was pushing extra mana into its left arm and sword, amplifying its strength. It was overpowering me blow for blow.
I didn't have time. My skills were running out.
[1:20] — Blood Surge
[0:40] — Predator's Rampage
I broke away. It pursued relentlessly, but my heightened instincts let me evade every attempt. I waited—waited—for the exact moment it over-extended.
Then I slipped into its space.
My blade flashed.
Both hands severed.
Before the sand could reassemble, I fired [Astral Shard] ×10, dumping my entire nether pool into the cast. My head throbbed as the shards streaked past me, slamming into its back and detonating.
A violent shockwave burst outward, pushing me back.
The dust cleared—
The core was exposed, hovering in the air.
The sand around it struggled to reform but couldn't—magic had disrupted it for a few precious seconds.
I could smash it.
Instead—I grabbed it.
It burned my hand instantly, releasing raw mana. I clenched my teeth and held on.
[Essence Drain]
Mana surged into me. My HP ticked upward even while the core scorched my skin. I drained it, faster and faster, feeding on the dwindling energy until the marble-sized core lost all heat.
And then—I sensed its mana dip too low to sustain itself.
I stopped draining.
And activated:
[Umbral Domination]