The battlefield had turned into chaos carved into stone.

The two Steelplated Beetles moved like living siege engines, their massive armored bodies grinding across the summit and smashing the terrain beneath them. Every step cracked stone. Every swing of their forelimbs tore through rock as if it were sand.

Tami was the first to react to the incoming strike.

A fragment of shattered stone, launched by one of the beetles, came whistling through the air.

Tami raised both gauntlets and blocked it.

The impact slammed into him hard enough to slide his feet back across the ground. Dust exploded around his boots, but he held firm.

At the same moment, smaller fragments followed.

Some struck his shoulder.

Others struck his cheek.

A sharp line of pain opened across his face as one shard cut through skin. Blood began to run down his jaw.

Nearby, Maya moved to avoid another incoming spray of debris, but she was not fast enough to escape all of it.

A fragment sliced across her arm.

A thin line of blood appeared immediately against the grey leather of her sleeve.

She did not falter, only tightened her grip on her sword.

Yuto and Shiny moved in sync against the first beetle.

Yuto took the front.

He sprinted forward, forcing the creature’s attention directly onto him. The beetle turned its massive head, reacting to his movement.

"Over here!"

The creature responded instantly, charging him with heavy, crushing steps.

Shiny used the opening.

He moved along the side of the beast, circling low and fast.

Yuto dodged the first swing of a forelimb, sliding beneath it, then slashed upward along the joint.

Metal screeched.

Shiny followed up from the side with a heavy strike, his blade slamming into the beetle’s exposed flank.

The armor dented further.

Cracks began to form in the plated surface.

Another coordinated strike followed.

Yuto attacked the front again, forcing the creature to commit its attention.

Shiny hit from the side.

Then again.

And again.

The beetle shrieked in frustration, its movements growing more erratic as small fractures spread across its armor.

Then it changed tactics.

The creature suddenly spun its entire body.

A sweeping armored limb came around with brutal speed.

Shiny did not have time to fully react.

The limb struck him across the torso.

The impact lifted him off his feet and threw him backward through the air.

He crashed into a large boulder with a sickening impact.

For a moment he did not move.

Then he slid down the rock, blood staining his clothing as he struggled to breathe.

"Shiny!"

Yuto’s focus snapped.

For the first time, his movements became reckless.

He charged the beetle head-on.

No strategy.

No coordination.

Just aggression.

His swords flashed rapidly.

One strike.

Then another.

Then another.

The beetle tried to turn toward him, but Yuto stayed in its blind angle, hitting the already damaged sections repeatedly.

Finally, one blade broke through a weakened plate.

A sharp crack echoed as the armor split.

The beetle shrieked in pain.

It reacted instantly. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Its body slammed into Yuto.

The impact sent him flying across the battlefield.

He hit the ground hard, rolling through dirt and stone before coming to a stop.

Cuts and bruises immediately formed across his arms and back.

Across the field, Maya’s group attempted to regain control of the situation.

Her eagle dove from above.

Its talons struck one of the beetle’s eyes.

The creature reared back violently.

At the same time, the black panther leapt onto its leg, digging claws into the joints and forcing it downward.

Maya seized the opening.

She rushed forward and drove her sword into a gap in the armor.

The blade went in deeper than before.

The beetle released a painful shriek that shook the air.

But it was not enough.

With a violent motion, the creature tore itself free.

It swung blindly.

The attack caught Maya.

She was thrown sideways, sliding across the ground until she came to a stop several meters away.

Blood ran down her side.

Tami saw it.

He moved without hesitation.

Rushing forward, he unleashed a series of rapid punches against the damaged section of the beetle’s armor.

One.

Two.

Three.

Each impact landed with growing force.

The beetle turned toward him.

A forelimb shot out and wrapped around him.

Before he could react, it slammed him into the ground.

Once.

Twice.

The impact cracked the stone beneath him.

The black panther immediately intervened, leaping at the limb and forcing the creature to release its grip.

Tami collapsed forward, coughing, but still conscious.

Both battles continued simultaneously.

Yuto struggled back to his feet.

Shiny pushed himself up from the boulder, blood still running from his injuries.

Maya rose slowly, one arm pressed against her side.

The summons remained active, but their movements were slower now, less precise, signs of exhaustion beginning to show.

The beetles, however, showed almost no change.

Their armor remained intact in most places.

Their aggression did not diminish.

Their endurance seemed endless.

As the fight continued, Maya’s gaze shifted briefly between the two enemies.

She saw the damage they had managed to inflict.

Cracks in armor.

Dents.

Exposed joints.

But she also saw the truth.

It was not enough.

Their stamina was draining faster than the beetles’ defenses were breaking.

Her expression tightened.

"Disengage!"

Yuto hesitated immediately.

"What?"

"Now!"

He tried to push forward again, but another charge from the beetle forced him back before he could act.

The impact drove the decision into him physically as much as verbally.

He landed hard and stayed down for a moment, then slowly exhaled.

"...Tch."

He realized she was right.

Reluctantly, the group began retreating.

The summons shifted immediately, moving to intercept and slow the beetles’ pursuit.

The eagle dove repeatedly to distract.

The panther struck and retreated in quick bursts.

The beetles, however, responded instantly, following with relentless pressure.

The group ran through uneven terrain, weaving between broken rock formations and jagged slopes.

The beetles pursued without hesitation.

The distance between them never grew large enough to feel safe.

Several times, the creatures nearly closed the gap entirely, forcing sudden evasive movements.

Maya led the retreat, guiding them through unstable ground and narrow passages between stone ridges.

The others followed, injured but moving.

Eventually, the terrain began to shift.

The ground ahead changed subtly, the stone becoming darker and more fractured, the air feeling slightly different.

The group crossed into the area at full speed.

At first, the beetles followed without hesitation.

Then, abruptly, both creatures slowed.

Their movement became uncertain.

They stopped completely at the edge of the zone.

For several seconds they remained still.

Then, as if reacting to something unseen, they turned.

Without further pursuit, both Steelplated Beetles retreated back into the wasteland they came from.