The two elves, having fully completed their transformation, unleashed a deafening roar along with an explosive wave of demonic aura, hurling it with crushing force toward Yagami and Masaru.
But the two of them…
Amid the dust and pounding energy, still stood exactly where they were.
Not a trace of fear.
With demonic, arrogant, and lethal smiles on their faces.
Masaru, with a crooked smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth, pulled his sword back.
With his other hand, he assumed an attack stance and roared:
"Dark Blade!"
At the exact same moment, Yagami stood silently, hand resting calmly on the hilt of his sword.
Quiet. Dignified…
But utterly deadly.
Masaru's sword whipped forward at lightning speed. A pitch-black blade, like a blazing phantom, detached from it and hurtled toward the two elves.
Tswya, whose eyes had turned redder than ever, trembled.
He gritted his teeth.
Muscles tensed.
And with a terrifying roar he bellowed:
"Crushing Claw!"
He raised his claw and struck Masaru's blade with full power.
BOOOOOOM!!!
A colossal explosion shook the very fabric of the labyrinth.
Stones split. Walls cracked.
The dark aura collided with fiery light and scattered outward like a storm.
At that very moment…
In another corner of the labyrinth, Elizabeth — who had only just escaped Satan — sat huddled, breathing hard.
Sweat still poured from her forehead.
When suddenly the ground began to tremble violently.
Elizabeth looked around in panic and whispered:
"Wh—what the hell is happening? What kind of earthquake is this?!"
The shaking continued.
What was happening in the central corridor was only the prelude to a battle that even the magic-reinforced walls could no longer withstand…
Masaru raised an eyebrow, looked ahead in disbelief and said:
"What… happened? That monster… just talked?!"
Tswya slammed his foot heavily into the ground. A guttural growl escaped his throat as he roared:
"I am not a monster! This is my final form… I am a Fire Elf of the Wolfkin race! And you… in front of me… are nothing!"
Masaru swung his sword lazily onto his shoulder with a mocking grin:
"Ohhh, I see… And the other one wants to introduce himself too? Maybe when you're dead I'll write it on your tombstones! Hahaha!"
Rage burned across the faces of Hikaru and Tswya.
Both roared in unison:
"You filthy bastard!"
Yagami smirked at Masaru and said:
"Looks like they got a little angry."
Masaru scratched his chin:
"Yeah… guess they didn't like what I said."
The two elves, now resembling monstrous wolves with glowing eyes and razor-sharp fangs, charged forward on all fours with earth-shaking roars and the sound of claws scraping stone.
Masaru swallowed his laughter.
His eyes flashed. He reversed his grip on the sword and raised his right leg.
Yagami simply watched with a confident, amused smile.
Masaru whispered with a demonic grin:
"Earth Crusher…"
And then—
GRRRRRRRRAAAAAKKK!!!
With Masaru's deadly stomp, the ground split once again — right from the fissure Yagami had already created earlier.
This time, another massive crack burst forth from beneath Masaru's foot and raced like thunder straight toward the two wolf-like monsters!
Tswya leaped left, Hikaru right — but the fissure kept coming.
The sound of splitting stone rang like the hammer of death through the walls…
The crack reached… all the way to the massive Dābora Gate.
Hikaru and Tswya stood frozen, eyes wide, staring in horror at the terrifying fracture.
The crack even stretched upward…
The ceiling began to tremble.
Pieces of stone rained down…
A terrifying silence — heavier than any sound — swallowed the space.
The real battle… was only just beginning…
Hikaru and Tswya stared in dread at the enormous Dābora Gate.
Before their eyes, fine but deep cracks had begun to appear across its surface.
Hikaru's voice trembled:
"The… the gate is cracking… This is impossible…"
Inside the chamber
Absolute darkness devoured everything.
Only one shadow was visible: a figure seated upon a throne of terror — a throne with two curved, ram-like horns, and a face shaped like a goat.
On that dreadful throne sat none other than Dābora.
Beside him rested a sword bathed in faint light;
a sword with a long silver hilt, twin guards extending outward, and a pitch-black, deadly blade.
Dābora sat calmly, hands clasped, head bowed.
Suddenly, he raised his head.
His blood-red, glowing eyes blazed in the darkness, staring forward with fury.
As if he were waiting for only one signal…
The signal to annihilate the entire world.
Suddenly—
The cracking stopped.
Dust still floated in the air when Masaru casually tossed his sword over his shoulder and said:
"I thought it would cause more damage than that… Kinda disappointing."
Tswya glared at him with pure hatred. The muscles in his face twitched violently.
Masaru met Tswya's gaze with that same arrogant, piercing look and said in a heavy tone:
"What? You want to get split in half too?"
The pressure of rage exploded across Tswya's face. He roared, muscles bulging, claws of fire extending from his hands, and charged with full force.
"Don't underestimate me! Crushing Claw!"
The ground quaked beneath his feet. Sparks flew from his claws.
But in front of him, Masaru stood completely still, without the slightest reaction — as if waiting for the exact moment of impact.
Seeing Masaru not even blink, Tswya grew even more furious and increased his speed.
In an instant — only the sound of violent collision and…
SHRRRRRAAAKKK!!
Everything froze.
Eyes locked in shock.
Tswya's arm, severed from the shoulder, fell to the ground. Blood sprayed violently.
Masaru stood in the exact same position, his sword now reeking of death. He smiled and said:
"Now you understand the difference between our powers."
Tswya stumbled backward in terror…
Yagami gave a mysterious smile and said:
"Your power has grown… gorilla."
Masaru grinned back, glanced at Yagami and replied in a playful yet proud tone:
"Not more than yours, you hornless, tailless monster."
Yagami stared at him for a few moments, then suddenly burst out laughing:
"You're really something, kid… I'm starting to like you. But… let's finish these two off quickly first."
With bright, serious eyes, he extended his hand toward Masaru in a fist-bump gesture:
"You in, partner?"
Masaru laughed, slammed his hand into Yagami's and said:
"Hell yeah… partner!"
Suddenly Yagami's eyes widened.
Tswya was attacking Masaru from behind with his remaining hand!
Yagami drew his sword with a sharp SHIIIIIINK, yanked Masaru toward him in a flash, spun —
and in one fluid motion, severed Tswya's other arm at the shoulder too!
Tswya staggered back in utter shock, no scream, no pain — and collapsed beside Hikaru…
But in the blink of an eye, his arms regenerated as if nothing had happened.
Masaru laughed in satisfaction and slapped Yagami's shoulder:
"Thanks, partner. You saved my ass."
Yagami replied calmly and seriously:
"Did you see that? They have high-level automatic regeneration magic."
Masaru muttered under his breath, cool as ever:
"If they've got regeneration magic… this just got a little harder."
At that moment, the two wolf-like monsters charged again with a terrifying roar.
Yagami fell silent for a few seconds, mind racing at incredible speed. The distance between them was closing fast.
But right before the attack landed, Yagami smiled — as if a sudden idea had sparked in his mind.
He whispered:
"What if we do this…"
And roared:
"Dark Blade: Diamond Slash!"
Suddenly, hundreds of deadly black blades erupted from Yagami's sword like a storm.
The blades howled as they rushed toward the two monsters.
Hikaru and Tswya blocked several with their sharp claws, but they couldn't withstand the sheer volume…
Their bodies were torn to shreds beneath the merciless onslaught!
Masaru laughed loudly:
"Looks like it worked!"
In the heavy silence that followed the attack, Yagami slowly sheathed his sword — SHIIIIIIINK
With a calm, confident tone he said:
"Yeah… I think it's over."
But…
Suddenly a green light, like a silent storm, enveloped the shredded remains of the two.
Their bodies lifted off the ground, floating in mid-air…
And began to regenerate — but this time differently… far more terrifying…
Their auras grew even stronger, pressing down on the air like an iron weight.
Masaru and Yagami's eyes widened.
A new battle was coming…
Masaru said coolly:
"What the hell? They keep getting stronger."
They had regenerated once again.
Their eyes glowed crimson, breaths steaming like volcanoes awakening within them.
Foam dripped from their mouths, and only one phrase repeated in their minds:
"Kill… kill… kill…"
Masaru gave a short laugh and started to draw his sword — but
in an instant, Tswya appeared right in front of his face at an impossible speed.
So fast that neither Masaru nor Yagami could even track him.
Tswya's claws slammed into Masaru's face with devastating force.
Masaru's body crashed into the labyrinth wall with bone-shattering impact.
Blood sprayed from his mouth along with a pained
"Aaaarrrghhh!"
Yagami instantly drew his sword to strike Tswya — but Hikaru delivered a crushing kick straight to his back, slamming him against the wall just like Masaru.
The two monsters, who moments ago couldn't even stand against Yagami and Masaru…
now held a clear, overwhelming advantage…
(To be continued…)