–Chapter 76–

Being targeted constantly was already bad enough.

Having his own body betray him at the same time was even worse.

Dean’s legs went numb. Not just because of the shadow tendrils wrapped around them, dragging him through the darkness like prey.

The exhaustion had finally caught up.

His physical strength was dropping fast. Too fast.

His chest rose heavily with each breath while his stomach twisted and growled violently. It felt like he had not eaten in an entire day.

The Flux Zone’s battle of attrition was working.

And Dean hated that.

But he refused to fold now. Not after everything they had survived to get this far.

The Wind Sprite reacted first.

A sharp current of compressed wind burst forward and sliced clean through the tendrils restraining him.

The instant he felt the pressure loosen, Dean moved.

Boom!

Stored energy surged through the Rebound Core Armor and exploded through his legs. Instead of simply recovering his footing, Dean slammed both palms against the ground and flipped backward in a burst of momentum.

"Leona! Now!" he shouted.

The Saint of Zhrea answered immediately.

Her crimson eyes gleamed with frightening intensity as another fireball formed in her hand.

This one was different.

Not orange.

Red.

Blood-red flames spiraled violently around the sphere, radiating heat so intense that the nearby shadows evaporated on contact. The tendrils rushing toward Dean disintegrated instantly.

The cavern split into two worlds.

Light dominated the center where Dean and Leona stood, while the outer edges remained swallowed by darkness.

Dean landed hard on one knee and immediately clutched his stomach, breathing heavily. Sweat rolled down the side of his face.

Leona touched down beside him.

The fireball in her hand had shrunk slightly, but the remaining heat still pressed against Dean’s armor hard enough to sting through the plates.

She was furious.

Dean only needed one glance at her expression to know it.

Then the Void Serpent hissed from somewhere deep within the darkness.

Leona moved instantly.

Her head snapped toward the sound and the fireball shot forward like a cannon round.

BOOM!

The blast tore through the shadows and illuminated the serpent mid-motion. Its pale eyes widened as it tried to evade.

Too late.

The explosion swallowed it whole. And the cavern shook violently.

Fire spread across the creature’s body while the surrounding darkness collapsed under the force of the attack.

The serpent crashed against the far wall, twitching violently. Its flesh dried up almost immediately while its tongue hung loose from its mouth.

Dean exhaled sharply.

"It’s dead..."

No.

His eyes widened.

The serpent’s shadow was gone.

Before the explosion fully consumed the body, the creature’s shadow had detached itself and escaped into a crack in the wall.

Leona shot after it immediately before stopping halfway.

Dust and rubble rained from above.

The ceiling groaned dangerously.

One more attack on that level might bring the entire cavern down on top of them.

Slowly, she turned back.

Dean was already sitting on the floor, exhausted beyond reason.

For the first time since entering the Flux Zone, his eyes looked dull.

They needed rest.

***

’How long has it been now...?’

Dean leaned against the wall and stared upward.

’Twenty-four hours? Maybe more?’

At this point, he could no longer understand the time dilation inside the Flux Zone.

He looked toward Leona.

She remained alert despite everything. Her eyes still scanned the darkness carefully for movement.

Dean frowned.

"How are you not tired?"

Leona looked over.

"How what?"

"We’ve been fighting for almost a full day in here."

His voice sounded rough now. Cracked from exhaustion.

Leona calmly ripped away the torn lower half of her dress, shortening it above her knees to make movement easier.

"I’m a Herald," she replied simply. "And this isn’t my first Blue Zone."

Dean’s exhaustion vanished for exactly one second.

His eyes drifted toward her legs automatically.

They wer long and pale. Completely spotless despite everything they had fought through.

Leona coughed lightly.

"Your eyes should be up here."

Dean looked up with a tired grin just as she tossed him something.

It was a ration bar. Military grade.

"Where did you even—"

"This is standard issue," she said. "We explore beyond the walls all the time, so—"

Bite!

Dean was already eating before she finished speaking. Right now, food mattered more than dignity.

System notifications lingered at the edge of his vision, but only one truly mattered.

[Evolution in Progress]

[Familiar: Ash - Unavailable]

[Time Remaining: 1 Hour]

Dean had stopped trying to understand the time distortion inside the Flux Zone.

The deeper they went, the worse it became.

It was definitely deliberate. Like the Zone itself was trying to wear them down before the final stretch.

"So where do we go next?" Dean asked between bites.

"Close your mouth when you chew."

Dean ignored her completely.

Leona sighed before answering.

"The core." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Dean straightened slightly.

"You know where it is?"

"I have a theory."

She pointed toward the direction where the Void Serpent escaped.

"It fought too carefully."

Dean frowned.

"What does that mean?"

"It wasn’t trying to kill us immediately," Leona explained. "It was trying to stall us. Distract us. Lead us away."

She slowly turned and pointed toward the opposite side of the cavern.

"If it escaped that way..."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Then the core should be here."

Dean blinked...

Because the place she pointed toward was just a wall. A massive reinforced wall with no visible openings.

Nothing about it looked suspicious. Nothing about it made sense.

Still... He trusted her instincts.

Dean pushed himself back to his feet and walked toward the wall slowly.

Surprisingly, the ration bar had already reduced some of the exhaustion clawing at his body.

He knocked once against the stone surface.

Thud!

At the same time, another notification appeared in front of him.

[Evolution in Progress]

[Time Remaining: 45 Minutes]

Dean smiled faintly. He would get his cheat back really soon.

Then he looked back at Leona.

"How exactly are we supposed to get through this?"

Leona’s lips curled upward. A devious smile on her face.

That smile alone told Dean the answer would definitely become somebody else’s problem.

"Oh... shit."

-End of Chapter-