The crystal hand crashed onto the floor, scattering shards across the chamber, and for the first time since the battle began, the Diamond Colossus retreated.

It leaped backward with surprising speed before freezing in place several meters away.

The creature lowered its gaze to the arm Dean had severed, and the blue disks in its eyes narrowed faintly before shifting back toward Dean.

In that moment, Dean’s chest rose heavily, not because he was afraid, but because he still could not fully believe what Rend had just done.

The system had not exaggerated. Severance was real. The blade truly could cut through any defense.

The Diamond Colossus suddenly released a furious roar that shook the chamber from end to end.

The sound vibrated through the crystal walls and sent dust falling from the ceiling while the creature slammed its massive translucent sword into the ground.

A second later, it crouched. Its remaining hand pressed against the crystal floor, and the entire chamber trembled as crystal shards began growing upward from the ground itself.

The fragments twisted together and rapidly formed a brand-new arm where the old one had been severed.

The regenerated arm looked even worse than the first. Long crystal claws extended from its fingers while sharp edges formed around the forearm like blades.

But while the creature regenerated, Leona had already moved.

She appeared above the Colossus in a blur, her transformed arm wrapped in a burning red shroud.

Then she drove her fist downward toward the creature’s skull with enough force to crush it easily.

The Colossus reacted instantly by raising its enormous shield. The impact exploded across the chamber.

A violent shockwave spread from the collision, but instead of simply absorbing the attack, the shield reflected part of the force back toward Leona herself.

The rebound travelled through her arm and forced her backward through the air.

Leona flipped once before steadying herself midair. Small cracks had formed across the scales covering her claws, but she had avoided serious damage by retreating quickly enough.

"Interesting..." she muttered while flexing her fingers.

At this point, everything about the Colossus was dangerous.

It could regenerate. It could absorb attacks. It could reflect force back at its enemies, and now it had fully recovered from losing an arm only moments earlier.

The creature wrapped its newly formed claws around the hilt of its sword and stared at both Dean and Leona before settling its attention entirely on Dean.

Then it charged...

Each step crushed the crystal floor beneath its weight while cracks spread outward from its feet.

"Shit..." Dean cursed under his breath as he forced his exhausted body backward.

The system had not lied about this thing’s rank. Every second of this fight revealed a new problem they had to face.

But unlike Dean, Leona showed no hesitation at all.

Her outstretched hand pulsed with red veins before a massive fireball appeared above her palm.

The heat pouring from it was so intense that the nearby crystal floor began melting. She launched it straight at the Colossus.

Dean immediately realized what she was planning.

The Colossus stopped its charge and raised its shield to block the incoming attack, clearly intending to absorb or reflect the flames again.

But right before the fireball collided with the shield, Leona snapped her fingers.

Snap!

The fireball split in two. One half slammed directly into the shield while the second curved around the side and exploded against the Colossus’s face.

The blast forced the giant backward as flames spread across its head and shoulders.

Leona had not been trying to win with that attack. She was buying time.

"It’s core!" Dean shouted as he reached her side. "There’s one inside its chest."

Leona narrowed her eyes while slightly favoring her injured arm.

Then she looked at Dean and slowly cracked her neck.

"The plan hasn’t changed," she said calmly. "You use that blade and destroy the core crystal."

Dean nodded immediately. There was no reason to argue now.

Ash rested on his shoulder quietly while observing the Colossus with unusual focus. The slime did not look curious.

If anything, it looked familiar with the creature, as though it was trying to remember something it had seen before.

Dean tightened his grip on Rend and focused on the massive crystal at the center of the chamber.

Whatever he and Leona intended to do, the Colossus clearly understood enough to interfere.

The flames covering its face were already fading as the creature raised its sword and swung toward Dean.

A massive arc of crystal energy tore through the chamber fast enough to split the floor apart.

Leona intercepted it instantly.

Another fireball collided with the slash midway, and the resulting explosion shook the cavern hard enough to send more debris crashing from above.

Without wasting another second, Leona rushed forward and met the Colossus head-on.

The torn section of her dress exposed the dragon scales running down her transformed arm while the horn protruding slightly from her forehead glowed red.

The Colossus pivoted and swung its sword toward Dean again, but Leona reacted first.

Her fist slammed into the side of the blade with enough force to crack the crystal weapon from end to end.

"Your fight is with me," she said coldly.

The Colossus roared in frustration and swung its shield toward her torso.

Leona avoided it cleanly by lifting herself into the air and spinning over the attack before driving her palm straight into the creature’s chest.

The impact landed directly where its core should have been.

Cracks spread across the Colossus’s chest as the giant stumbled backward.

Dean saw the opening immediately. This was his moment.

While the creature focused entirely on Leona, Dean sprinted toward the core crystal at the center of the chamber.

The Void Serpent reacted the moment he approached.

Despite its injuries, the serpent remained coiled tightly around the base of the crystal and hissed furiously at him. It still intended to protect the core until its last breath.

Dean did not slow down. He was definitely planning to help it take its last breath.

Even with exhaustion tearing through his body, he raised Rend and slashed downward with the precision granted by Hermit’s Eyes.

The blade cut through the serpent instantly.

Its physical body split apart first, but even its shadow form was cut cleanly by the evolved weapon.

The serpent’s eyes widened briefly before the life faded from them completely.

Its body collapsed.

Ding!

[You have defeated the Void Serpent]

[Reward: 5000 EXP]

A large blue flux core dropped onto the ground as the serpent dissolved.

Dean barely looked at it before turning his attention toward the massive crystal itself.

He was about to activate Severance when movement flashed at the corner of his eye.

The Colossus had thrown its sword.

The enormous crystal weapon spun through the air like a shuriken aimed directly at Dean’s chest.

Dean tried to dodge, but exhaustion slowed him down by just enough. It looked like dodging was hopeless.

Ash moved instead...

The slime leaped from Dean’s shoulder and expanded in midair until its body stretched between Dean and the incoming blade.

The sword struck Ash’s surface. Then something impossible happened.

The weapon bent away at an angle like it had slammed into a mirror instead of gelatine.

Instead of hitting Dean, the spinning sword flew off course and crashed into the wall behind him.

Dean stared at Ash in disbelief.

"Ash?" He said in relief. "Ohh I’ve missed you."

The slime bounced proudly while its surface glowed with flowing rainbow colors.

Ding!

[Familiar: Ash]

[New Ability Copied: Refraction Field]

[Effect: Reflect physical and energy attacks at angles]

Dean’s eyes widened. Ash had copied the Colossus’s reflective ability.

The slime returned to his shoulder proudly while the Diamond Colossus roared loud enough to shake the chamber again.

This time, crystal weapons formed around its body in dozens. Spears hovered beside heavy axes while swords rotated around the giant like orbiting guards.

Then it launched all of them at once.

Dean raised Rend immediately.

Every weapon that reached him shattered apart the moment the blade touched it. Spears split in half while swords and axes shattered into fragments under Severance.

But there were too many attacks coming at once. One sword slipped past Dean’s defense and shot toward his chest.

Ash expanded again and reflected the blade away before it could hit him.

At the same time, Leona burned through the remaining weapons with successive explosions that filled the chamber with fire.

The Colossus abandoned ranged attacks entirely and charged forward with both fists raised.

It swung at Leona first. She dodged and countered with flames, but the creature pushed through them without stopping.

Then it attacked Dean. He ducked beneath the incoming strike and slashed upward with Rend.

The blade carved deep into the Colossus’s leg.

The creature staggered as cracks spread through the damaged limb. Forcing it bad with a deep grunt.

That imbalance was all Dean needed. He turned instantly and drove Rend straight into the core crystal.

The blade sank deep into the massive structure with little to no resistance.

Then Devouring Edge ability activated.

The crystal pulsed while enormous amounts of flux energy flowed from it directly into Rend.

Blue light surged through the blade before spreading into Dean and Ash through their resonance.

Dean felt his exhaustion reduced as his verge replenished. Cracks spread rapidly across the core crystal.

Then it shattered.

The entire chamber began collapsing immediately.

The Colossus let out a desperate roar and abandoned Leona who was trying to hold it back, before charging straight toward Dean.

Its guardian instinct had taken over. But Leona was not going to be denied her prey.

She appeared above the creature with both hands burning bright red.

Then she released the largest fireball she had created since entering the Flux Zone.

The explosion swallowed the Colossus completely and blasted it forward.

The giant stumbled directly toward Dean as it planned but this time...

Dean planted his feet and raised Rend. The Colossus’s own momentum carried its chest straight onto the blade.

Rend pierced through its core. And Devouring Edge activated again.

The blue light inside the giant flickered for a moment before dissolving into the sword itself.

Then the Diamond Colossus shattered apart as its body lost to Rend.