The Wyvern descended like a collapsing mountain.
Its wings carved through the frozen air, each beat sending violent shockwaves across the battlefield. Blue fire streamed from the cracks along its chest, illuminating the storm of frost around it like ghostly lightning.
And its target was clear.
Jin.
The massive claws came down first.
The air screamed as they tore toward the ground.
Jin didn't move immediately.
His eyes remained locked on the creature's movement — calculating the angle, the speed, the trajectory. The monster's shadow swallowed him entirely.
Then—
Void Step.
The ground where he had stood shattered under the Wyvern's claws.
But Jin was already gone.
He reappeared midair near the creature's neck, spatial distortion rippling faintly around him like heat waves.
Stage I — Spatial Fracture.
The space along the Wyvern's neck warped subtly, weakening the mana reinforcement along its scales.
Jin's blade flashed.
CLANG!
Sparks erupted as his strike carved across the creature's armored hide.
Not deep enough.
The Wyvern reacted instantly.
Its massive wing snapped backward, the edge of the membrane striking like a blade.
Jin barely raised his sword in time.
BOOM.
The impact launched him across the battlefield.
He landed hard, sliding across frozen stone before digging his blade into the ground to stabilize.
A sharp breath escaped his lungs.
That thing hits like a truck.
The Team RespondsShin was already moving.
Gravity compressed around his body as he launched forward like a cannonball, his sword glowing with layered mana pressure.
The Wyvern's head turned.
Its jaws snapped toward him.
Shin stepped inside the attack instead of retreating.
His blade thrust forward.
"Gravity Breaker!"
The strike detonated against the Wyvern's jaw with crushing force.
The monster staggered.
Kaiser roared and charged next, wind and earth spiraling around his fists like a raging storm.
"Titan Tempest!"
His punch slammed into the creature's ribs.
CRACK.
Several scales shattered.
Serena didn't waste the opening.
Flames ignited around her blade as she spun forward, releasing a compressed wave of fire that exploded across the exposed scales.
The Wyvern roared.
But it still didn't fall.
Instead—
Its wings spread wider.
The sky darkened.
Blue flames surged violently from its chest as its body began absorbing the mana of the dungeon itself.
Ren's grin disappeared.
"…That's not good."
Ophelia's voice was quiet but tense.
"It's drawing energy from the core."
Seraphina's AuthoritySeraphina stepped forward.
Her silver hair lifted gently in the rising storm of mana.
Her domain expanded further.
Ice flooded the battlefield like an unstoppable tide.
The temperature plummeted violently.
Frost climbed the Wyvern's wings, slowing its movements.
Seraphina's voice cut through the chaos.
"Frozen Sovereignty."
The ground beneath the monster erupted into towering ice pillars that locked around its legs like a prison.
For the first time since the battle began…
The Wyvern stopped moving.
Shin saw the opportunity.
"Now!"
Jin ReturnsJin exhaled slowly.
Pain still lingered in his ribs from the earlier impact, but his body adapted quickly. The SSS-ranked constitution pushed mana through his muscles, repairing minor damage faster than normal hunters could manage.
His eyes focused on the Wyvern's chest.
The core.
It pulsed brighter now.
But the armor protecting it remained thick.
He stepped forward.
Stage II — Void Step.
The world blurred.
Jin appeared directly in front of the Wyvern's chest.
The monster's glowing eyes widened.
Stage III — Dimensional Collapse.
Space compressed violently around the creature's torso.
The pressure forced the armored scales inward, destabilizing the mana circulating through them.
For one instant—
The core became visible.
Blue fire burned inside like a beating heart.
"ALICIA!" Shin shouted.
The spearwoman moved instantly.
Alicia leapt from the shattered pillar she had been standing on, her radiant spear glowing like a falling star.
"Divine Spearfall!"
Her weapon pierced straight toward the exposed core.
CLANG.
The spear struck—
But the core shield held.
A violent shockwave erupted.
Alicia was thrown backward through the air.
Jin caught her mid-fall with another Void Step, landing beside Seraphina.
"Still breathing?" he asked lightly.
Alicia grimaced.
"…Barely."
Seraphina's gaze flicked between them before returning to the Wyvern.
"The core shield strengthened."
The Wyvern's RageThe monster screamed.
Ice pillars shattered as the Wyvern forced its wings open, breaking free from Seraphina's restraints.
Blue fire exploded outward.
The shockwave threw everyone back several meters.
Jin slid across the ground again.
Shin dug his blade into the ice to stop himself.
Kaiser crashed into a pillar.
Ren barely stabilized in midair with a lightning burst.
The Wyvern lifted into the sky.
Its chest glowed brighter than ever.
Ophelia whispered in horror.
"It's entering berserk mode."
The dungeon sky began to swirl violently.
Mana spiraled around the Wyvern like a storm.
The creature inhaled deeply.
Blue fire condensed inside its throat, gathering into a massive sphere of freezing energy.
Ren's voice was suddenly serious.
"That blast will wipe the entire courtyard."
Shin looked around the team.
Everyone was exhausted.
Mana reserves were dropping fast.
And the Wyvern was stronger than before.
Then—
Jin stepped forward again.
Seraphina looked at him sharply.
"You're injured."
He shrugged.
"I've had worse days."
The sphere of freezing energy in the Wyvern's mouth continued growing.
The air around it crackled.
Jin lifted his blade.
Void energy rippled faintly along its edge.
Still not Stage IV.
But close.
Very close.
The monster opened its jaws.
The attack was coming.
Jin whispered quietly—
"Let's see whose space breaks first."
And the sky above the dungeon erupted with blue fire.