--Chapter 77--

Leona raised her transformed hand. Thick black claws extended from her fingers while crimson veins pulsed beneath the scaled skin all the way down to her forearm.

The edges of her claws glowed red, carrying enough heat to Dean and anything in the room uncomfortable.

Then she clenched her fist and punched forward.

The reinforced wall exploded inward with a loud crash as her fist tore straight through it.

For a brief second, silence followed.

Then the cracks came.

Red fractures spread across the surface of the wall in violent spiderweb patterns, racing from one edge to another until every inch of the structure was covered.

The entire wall trembled before finally collapsing.

Chunks of stone and crystal blasted across the tunnel as the impact shook the surrounding cavern.

Dust filled the air while pieces of rubble rained toward them.

Dean raised an arm, swatting away the debris that flew toward his face before lowering it slowly.

Leona flexed her transformed fingers once before looking ahead calmly.

"I can sense it," she said.

Without waiting, she stepped through the destroyed opening.

Dean followed behind her and immediately slowed to a stop.

The chamber beyond was massive.

It stretched so far upward it resembled the interior of a cathedral more than a cave.

Towering crystal formations lined the walls and ceiling while blue light pulsed from deep within them, illuminating the entire chamber in an dazzling glow.

The deeper they looked, the brighter the crystals became.

At the very center of the work of art stood a large crystal core.

The structure rose from the ground majestically, easily the size of a small building, with thick veins of flux energy spreading outward from its base across the chamber floor. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Wrapped around the base of the core was the Void Serpent.

Or at least what remained of it...

Its body looked badly damaged from Leona’s previous attack. Burn marks covered portions of its shadowy scales while parts of its form was mangled beyond recognition.

But despite its injuries, the creature still guarded the core fiercely.

It hissed continuously at their presence, white eyes glowing with hate.

Still, the serpent wasn’t what held Dean’s attention the most.

That honor belonged to the figure standing beside the crystal core.

Dean’s expression slowly hardened.

The creature stood nearly fifteen feet tall and looked entirely carved from crystal. Thick crystal guards covered its shoulders and wrists while an enormous sword made from translucent blue crystal remained buried in the ground before it.

The monster had been motionless until now.

Then the air shifted. And its eyes suddenly opened.

Two piercing blue disks locked directly onto Dean and Leona.

Ding!

[Threat Detected]

[Species: Diamond Colossus]

[Rank: High-Ascended → Low-Sovereign]

[Threat Level: Run!]

Dean felt his chest tighten immediately, but his resolve didn’t waver.

Not for a second. A Herald stood beside him.

As long as Leona was here, survival was still possible.

The chamber trembled as the Diamond Colossus wrapped its massive fingers around the hilt of the crystal sword and slowly pulled it free from the ground.

The sound alone sent vibrations through the chamber.

A second later, a gigantic crystal shield rose from the floor beside it. The creature grabbed it effortlessly before it started moving toward them.

Each step cracked the crystal beneath its feet.

Dean immediately channeled the Rebound Core Armor around his body as black plates formed over him with glowing orange veins pulsing underneath.

Beside him, Leona remained perfectly still.

Her bloody red eyes weren’t focused on the Colossus alone. Part of her attention remained on the Void Serpent coiled around the core.

Then another notification suddenly appeared before Dean’s vision.

Ding!

[Evolution Complete]

[Familiar: Ash - Available]

A wide grin spread across Dean’s face instantly.

Finally...

Without hesitation, he closed his eyes and summoned Ash.

The slime appeared on his shoulder immediately, but its appearance had changed.

The rainbow-like colors flowing across its body looked far more vivid now, almost refined. Instead of rippling randomly, its surface flowed smoothly with concentrated energy.

"Welcome back, buddy," Dean muttered.

Ash bounced happily before opening its body slightly.

From within the slime, the hilt of a blade slowly emerged.

Dean reached out instinctively and grabbed it.

The moment his fingers wrapped around the hilt, he felt the difference.

Rend had changed too.

The blade was now shorter and sleeker while the metal pulsed faintly with flux energy. Thin glowing patterns ran along the steel and the edge itself looked unnaturally sharp, almost capable of cutting through space itself.

Ding!

[Rend - Evolved Sage Blade]

[Rank: High-Ascended]

[Ability: Severance - Cuts through any barrier (Physical/Magical/Spatial)]

[Ability: Devouring Edge - Absorbs Flux Cores to enhance blade]

[Warning: Unstable. Requires mastery.]

[Warning: High Verge Consumption.]

Dean stared at the notification in shock.

Rend had jumped two full ranks after evolving alongside Ash.

Leona glanced at the blade briefly before looking forward again.

"This is it," she said calmly. "Stay behind me and don’t die."

The Diamond Colossus suddenly accelerated.

Its enormous frame crossed the chamber far faster than something that size had any right to move.

Its crystal sword swung downward in a devastating arc.

Before Dean could react, Leona appeared in front of him.

Her transformed arm punched forward directly into the attack.

Boom!

The collision exploded outward violently, sending shockwaves across the chamber and shattering nearby crystal formations.

The impact alone forced the Colossus back a step.

Leona’s feet slid across the ground as heat flared around her arm.

"I’ll draw it away," she said sharply. "Go for the core."

Dean nodded immediately.

The Diamond Colossus moved again.

This time its sword thrust forward toward Leona with terrifying speed.

She twisted aside midair and hurled two massive fireballs directly into its chest.

The explosions swallowed the creature completely in blazing orange flames.

But when the flames cleared, the crystal body remained intact. And not just that, the crystal absorbed the heat.

The glowing patterns inside its body brightened.

Leona’s eyes narrowed.

"Shit."

The Colossus swung its shield horizontally.

Leona barely avoided the attack as the edge clipped her arm and tore through part of her dress, drawing blood.

The creature instantly shifted its attention toward Dean.

Dean tightened his grip around Rend as Hermit’s Eyes activated fully.

Cross-shaped patterns appeared within his pupils while the world around him slowed.

He studied the Colossus carefully. The movements of its shoulders.The flow of flux energy. The structure of its body. And then he saw it.

A concentrated point of light hidden deep inside its chest.

A core.

The Colossus lunged toward him immediately afterward.

Dean sidestepped at the last possible moment, but exhaustion slowed him enough that the blade still grazed his shoulder, slicing and forcing him back with a skidding motion.

Ignoring the pain completely, Dean swung Rend. After a quick dash forward.

The evolved blade hummed harshly the instant it connected with the Colossus’ arm.

Then it cut straight through.

There was no resistance whatsoever.

The crystal limb separated cleanly from the shoulder before crashing onto the ground and shattering into countless glowing fragments.

For the first time since the battle began, the Diamond Colossus stopped moving entirely.

Dean stared at Rend with widened eyes.

"Okay..." he muttered slowly. "That’s actually insane."