The instant the colossal vine beast’s arm burst through Yuto’s chest, Shinny moved.

A cry of pure panic tore from his throat.

"MASTER!"

The cheerful swordsman disappeared in a blur of motion. Steel flashed through the air, and a deep gash split open the beast’s arm. The creature released a thunderous roar as pain forced it to withdraw its limb.

Before Yuto could collapse, Shinny was already there.

Strong arms caught him and carried him away from the center of the battlefield. Every jolt sent agony rippling through Yuto’s body. His vision blurred as he clenched his jaw, refusing to scream.

When Shinny finally lowered him beside a large boulder near the edge of the basin, Yuto struggled to keep himself conscious.

Maya glanced in his direction.

For the first time since the battle had begun, her calm expression cracked. A flicker of concern appeared in her eyes before she turned back toward the towering monster.

"Shinny!" she called.

The swordsman hesitated, looking between her and Yuto.

"Come help me!"

His grip tightened around his sword. Every instinct clearly told him to remain where he was.

Yuto forced air into his damaged lungs and managed a single word.

"Go."

"Master..."

"The best way to protect me," Yuto said through clenched teeth, "is to make sure that thing dies."

For a moment Shinny remained frozen. Then he nodded and shot back into the battle.

Left alone, Yuto leaned against the rock and focused on breathing.

Each inhale felt like a knife twisting between his ribs. Every movement sent fresh waves of pain through his battered body. There was nothing he could do except watch.

The battle raged with even greater intensity than before.

Shinny fought like a man possessed. He darted around the vine beast with terrifying speed, his sword carving deep wounds across its massive frame whenever an opening appeared.

Maya was no less frightening.

The earth beneath her feet surged and shifted, launching her forward with explosive force. Stone erupted at her command, creating platforms, barriers, and sudden bursts of momentum. Her blade flashed relentlessly as she attacked from every angle, never giving the creature a moment to recover.

Watching them was almost unsettling.

For a brief moment, Yuto genuinely couldn’t decide which looked more monstrous.

The colossal vine beast.

Shinny.

Or Maya.

Then something caught his eye.

Despite its size and ferocity, the creature was behaving strangely.

Whenever Maya or Shinny aimed for its head, the beast reacted with unusual desperation. Again and again it twisted away from incoming strikes. It willingly exposed its limbs, torso, and vines to injury, sacrificing entire sections of its body just to keep attacks away from the center of its face.

Yuto frowned.

The answer struck him almost immediately.

Its weak spot.

That had to be it.

A rush of adrenaline surged through him, pushing the pain into the background. It was still there, burning through every nerve in his body, but it became distant enough to ignore.

Slowly, he pushed himself upright.

The world tilted.

Dark spots danced across his vision.

His legs threatened to buckle beneath him.

Still, he forced himself forward.

One step.

Then another.

A fallen sword lay half-buried in the dirt nearby. He picked it up and began making his way toward the battle.

The beast noticed him almost instantly.

Its massive head snapped in his direction.

Then one enormous arm shot toward him.

It was too fast.

Before Yuto could react, gigantic fingers closed around his body and squeezed.

Pain exploded through his ribs.

His lungs struggled to draw breath. A sharp cracking sound echoed from somewhere inside his chest.

The beast began lifting him toward its face.

Then a silver streak flashed upward.

Shinny.

His sword drove deep into the creature’s arm.

The vine beast shrieked in agony, and its grip loosened.

Yuto fell.

The moment he was free, he planted a foot against the creature’s hand and pushed off with everything he had left.

Instead of falling away, he launched himself forward.

Straight toward its face.

Wind roared in his ears as the distance vanished.

The beast’s eye widened.

Too late.

Gathering every remaining ounce of strength, every fragment of willpower still left inside him, Yuto thrust his sword forward.

The blade slammed into the center of the creature’s nose and drove deep.

The colossal vine beast unleashed a deafening roar that shook the entire basin.

The ground trembled.

Not a simple shake.

A deep, violent shudder rolled through the basin, surging beneath the earth like the heartbeat of something dying.

The surrounding cliffs rattled in response.

Loose stones broke free from the rocky walls, bouncing and tumbling into the hollow below. Cracks splintered through ancient stone. Dust burst from the cliff faces in thick gray clouds, filling the air with grit and debris.

For a brief moment, everything seemed to hold its breath.

Then the enormous body began to fall.

Slowly at first.

The colossal Vinebeast swayed backward, its vast mass shifting with the terrible inevitability of a collapsing mountain. Thousands of tangled vines dragged across the ground with a sound like forests being uprooted. Entire sections of earth tore apart beneath its weight.

Then gravity finally claimed it.

The creature crashed backward.

The impact was apocalyptic.

The basin exploded beneath the force.

A deafening roar shook the air as countless tons of flesh, vines, and hardened growth slammed into the earth. Shockwaves ripped across the battlefield, flattening vegetation and hurling stone in every direction.

Yuto never had a chance to brace.

The force caught him instantly.

Before he could react, he was airborne.

The world spun violently around him.

Sky.

Stone.

Dust.

Light.

Everything blurred together.

Then—

Impact.

His body slammed into a massive boulder with a sickening crack.

Agony detonated through him.

White-hot pain flooded every nerve at once, so intense it barely felt real.

Something gave way inside his chest.

Then something else.

More ribs.

He knew it immediately.

The sharp, nauseating sensation spread through his torso as shattered bone shifted beneath muscle and skin.

Air vanished from his lungs.

His body crumpled against the stone before collapsing onto the ground below.

For several seconds, he couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t move.

Couldn’t think.

The battlefield became a distant haze of noise and vibration.

His vision blurred almost immediately.

Shapes lost definition.

Colors smeared together.

Darkness began creeping inward from the edges of his sight, slowly swallowing the world piece by piece.

And just before everything disappeared—

He heard it.

More beautiful than any song.

A single message ringing through his fading consciousness.

[Colossal Vinebeast Slain]

And for the first time since the battle began—

Yuto smiled.

Then everything went black.