The chamber roared to life.
Flames spiraled across the cavern walls as the corrupted phoenix screeched overhead, its wings scattering embers like a storm of dying stars. Heat pressed down from every direction, suffocating—relentless.
And at the center of it all—
Rio stood alone.
Outnumbered.
Outscaled.
Outmatched.
"…Good."
Her grip tightened around the Crimson Bloodmoon.
A faint crimson glow bled across the blade.
"…This is better."
The first to move—
Was the cerberus.
Three heads roared in unison as its molten body began to churn. Lava cracked across its surface, glowing brighter—
Hotter—
Until—
It spun.
A massive, burning cyclone of molten flesh and flame tore across the battlefield toward her, devouring everything in its path.
The ground melted beneath it.
The air screamed.
Rio didn't move.
Not yet.
Her eyes tracked it.
Measured.
Calculated.
Then—
"…Moonlight Melody."
Her blade moved.
A single, fluid motion.
The crimson light condensed—
Then released.
A crescent wave of blood-colored energy tore forward—
Elegant.
Deadly.
Inevitable.
—SHHHHK
The two forces collided.
For a moment—
They resisted.
Then—
The cerberus was overwhelmed.
The crimson wave cut through the molten spin—
Struck its core—
And—
BOOM
The massive beast was launched backward, crashing into the far wall in an eruption of molten debris.
No pause.
No break.
The moment the attack landed—
They were already there.
The knights.
Three shadows—
Materializing.
Right in front of her.
The spear came first.
Fast.
Precise.
Lethal.
CLANG
Steel met steel.
Rio's saber caught it mid-thrust.
The force slid her back half a step—
But she held.
Eyes locked with the corrupted knight.
"…Fast."
She twisted—
Redirecting the spear—
But—
A second presence.
Behind her.
The twin-blade knight.
He struck.
Two blades.
Two angles.
Perfect coordination.
Rio turned—
Barely.
CLANG—CLANG
Both attacks met her blade.
Blocked.
But not comfortably.
The pressure mounted.
Front and back.
Relentless.
"…Tch."
Her footing adjusted.
Minimal movement.
Maximum efficiency.
The spear thrust again—
She parried.
The twin blades followed—
She deflected.
A rhythm formed.
A deadly dance.
One mistake—
Death.
And then—
The ground moved.
A deep rumble echoed beneath them.
The golem.
Its massive arms rose—
Then slammed downward.
BOOOOOOM
The earth shattered.
Spikes erupted upward—
Dozens—
Jagged stone spears tearing through the battlefield.
Toward Rio.
Toward the knights.
Indiscriminate.
All of them moved.
Instantly.
Rio leapt.
Twisted mid-air—
Three spikes surged toward her—
She didn't dodge.
She cut.
SHHK—SHHK—SHHK
Three clean slashes.
The spikes split apart—
Fragments suspended mid-air—
And in that same motion—
She kicked.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Each fragment launched—
Like bullets.
Toward the golem.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM
Impact.
Left shoulder.
Torso.
The massive body staggered—
Then—
The final spike.
Straight through—
Its eye.
CRACK
The golem froze.
Then collapsed.
The ground trembled as it fell.
But Rio didn't look.
Didn't stop.
Because—
Something was behind her.
Light gathered.
A presence.
The unicorn.
It moved silently—
Appearing in her blind spot—
Its horn glowing.
Then—
It fired.
A concentrated beam of radiant energy—
At point-blank range.
Rio moved.
Not away—
But through.
Her blade rose—
Timing perfect.
CLANG
The beam struck her saber—
And bent.
Redirected.
Sent backward.
Toward—
The cerberus.
Which had just risen.
BOOOOM
The beam struck its side—
Exploding across its body—
One head—
Gone.
Severed clean.
Molten blood sprayed across the battlefield.
Rio stepped forward.
No hesitation.
Her musket raised.
Target locked.
The unicorn.
"…Stay still."
She pulled the trigger.
BANG
Chronos Eye activated.
Time distorted.
The bullet slowed—
Yet accelerated—
A paradox in motion.
The unicorn tried to move—
Too late.
Impact.
The shot landed.
Its body jerked—
Momentum broken.
A flicker.
A shift in presence.
Danger.
Rio's head tilted slightly.
The female knight.
A staff raised—
Spell already released.
From her blind side.
A perfect angle.
A perfect kill.
"…Predictable."
Rio turned—
Not fully—
Just enough.
Her blade moved.
CLANG
The projectile met steel—
Then—
Reversed.
Redirected—
Sent back.
Toward—
The unicorn.
Still recovering.
The spell struck.
And then—
Flames erupted.
The creature was engulfed—
Its radiant body now burning with corrupted fire.
Silence.
For a fraction of a second.
Then—
Rio smiled.
A small—
Cold—
Smile.
"…Now."
Her grip tightened.
Her stance lowered.
"…The real fight begins."
The knights moved first.
All three.
At once.
Perfect synchronization.
The spear lunged—
The twin blades followed—
The staff began casting again—
And above—
The phoenix screamed.
This time—
Its body erupted.
Flames intensified—
Darker.
Violent.
Unstable.
It descended—
A blazing comet of destruction.
Everything—
All at once.
Overwhelming.
Unrelenting.
Impossible.
Rio stepped forward.
Into it.
Not away.
Never away.
Crimson light surged from her blade.
Her eyes sharpened.
Time itself—
Bent.
"…Come."
And the battlefield—
Exploded again.
The battlefield no longer resembled a trial.
It was a warzone.
The air trembled with heat.
Ash drifted like snow, glowing faintly as it fell across shattered stone and burning ground. The walls of the chamber pulsed with residual energy from countless clashes—scorched black in some places, cracked open in others, as if the dungeon itself struggled to contain what was happening inside it.
And at the center—
Rio stood.
Breathing.
Steady.
Measured.
But not untouched.
A thin trail of blood slid down her cheek, mixing with soot. Her HP hovered at forty percent, the faint red glow at the edge of her vision reminding her—
One mistake now meant death.
"…Good."
Her lips curled slightly.
"…Now it feels real."
The spear knight moved again.
Even without hands—
It wasn't done.
Black energy surged from its severed wrists, forming phantom grips that reattached to its weapon. The spear lifted once more, its stance unchanged—unyielding, relentless.
"…Persistent."
Rio adjusted her footing.
The twin-blade knight reappeared at its side.
Silent.
Waiting.
Perfect synchronization.
Then—
They attacked.
The spear thrust came first.
Faster than before.
Sharper.
The phantom grip allowed unnatural reach—its weapon bending slightly mid-thrust, altering its trajectory.
Rio reacted instantly.
CLANG
She deflected it—
But the force slid through her guard just enough to graze her shoulder.
A shallow cut.
HP ticked down.
"…Tch."
Before she could reset—
The twin blades came.
A cross slash.
Then a vertical strike.
Then another from below.
A barrage.
No pause.
No rhythm.
Pure pressure.
Rio's blade danced.
CLANG—CLANG—CLANG—CLANG
Each strike met steel.
Each motion calculated.
Minimal.
Efficient.
But even she—
Couldn't ignore it anymore.
"…They're adapting."
Above—
The phoenix struggled.
Pinned.
Burning.
But not defeated.
Its wings twitched violently against the spikes impaling it. Flames surged outward in bursts, melting the stone around it, loosening its restraints inch by inch.
A low, distorted screech echoed through the chamber.
It wasn't done either.
Rio stepped back.
Just one step.
Then—
Forward.
Her blade angled low.
Eyes sharp.
"…Let's thin this out."
The female knight lifted her staff again.
Mana gathered—
Dark.
Dense.
Unstable.
Rio saw it.
Predicted it.
And moved before it completed.
She dashed.
Closing the gap instantly.
The twin-blade knight intercepted.
Steel clashed—
But Rio didn't commit.
She pivoted—
Redirected—
And slipped past them.
Straight toward—
The caster.
The staff released its spell.
Too late.
Rio's blade flashed.
SLASH
The staff—
Split in half.
The female knight staggered—
For the first time.
Rio followed—
A second strike—
But—
The spear came again.
From the side.
Forced retreat.
She jumped back.
Landing lightly.
Eyes scanning.
Recalculating.
The battlefield shifted again.
The unicorn—
Still alive.
Still burning.
Still watching.
Its body trembled as corrupted flames consumed it, yet something inside it refused to fall.
Its horn—
Gone.
But power still gathered.
A faint glow formed at its forehead—
Unstable.
Wild.
"…Still fighting?"
Rio exhaled.
"…Then I'll finish all of you at once."
She moved.
Again.
Faster.
More aggressive.
No more testing.
No more restraint.
The spear knight lunged—
She sidestepped.
The twin blades followed—
She parried—
Then countered.
SLASH
A deep cut across the twin-blade knight's chest.
It staggered.
Opening created.
Rio didn't hesitate.
She kicked off the ground—
Closing the distance to the unicorn.
It reacted.
Too slow.
Her blade rose—
Then fell.
SHHHK
A diagonal cut tore across its body.
The flames around it flared wildly—
Destabilizing.
Its form flickered—
Breaking.
And then—
Everything stopped.
Just for a second.
A shadow.
Above.
Expanding.
Growing.
Falling.
"…No way."
Rio's eyes lifted.
And saw—
The ceiling collapsing.
Stone shattered.
Chunks of rock plummeted downward like meteors.
Light from above flooded the chamber—
Blinding.
Violent.
And within that light—
Shapes.
Massive.
Terrifying.
A dragon burst through first.
Scales gleaming.
Wings broken—
But still moving.
It crashed into the ground—
Rolling—
Roaring.
Then—
Another.
And another.
Seven in total.
Each representing destruction in a different form.
Fire.
Lightning.
Ice.
Earth.
Wind.
Light.
Shadow.
All falling.
All alive.
And behind them—
The centaur.
Its massive frame tore through the ceiling, blade still in hand, its mechanical legs stabilizing mid-air before slamming into the ground with enough force to shake the entire chamber.
BOOOOOOM
The impact sent a shockwave outward.
Rio braced herself.
Sliding slightly—
But not falling.
And then—
Him.
Ryota.
Falling straight through the chaos.
Spinning slightly.
But—
Grinning.
He landed.
Hard.
Rolling once—
Then pushing himself up like it was nothing.
Dust rose around him.
Debris scattered.
And then—
He looked up.
Their eyes met.
Across the battlefield.
Across chaos.
Across impossible odds.
"…You again."
Rio exhaled slowly.
Not annoyed.
Not surprised.
Just—
Accepting.
Ryota scratched his head.
"…Uh…"
He glanced around.
At the dragons.
At the centaur.
At the phoenix pinned to the wall.
At the corrupted knights.
At Rio.
"…So… is this yours?"
Rio closed her eyes.
Just for a second.
Then opened them again.
Sharp.
Focused.
Alive.
"…No."
A pause.
Her blade rose.
Crimson light flaring once more.
"…But now it is."
The battlefield didn't just grow worse.
It evolved.
Two players.
Against everything.
And this time—
Neither of them was alone.