The ground beneath Arthur cracked faintly as the force pressed against him, but he didn’t move. His eyes stayed locked on the guardian.

"...You’re done."

His fingers shifted.. just a small motion.

The spears stopped.

Then they turned.

All at once.

Ryn let out a low breath.

"There it is."

The guardian’s grin faltered, just a little.

"...What?"

Arthur didn’t give it time to think.

The spears shot back.

Faster.

Sharper.

Now driven by something else.

Wind wrapped around them, tightening their path and pushing them harder than before.

The guardian reacted late, jumping back and twisting out of the center line just in time to avoid the first wave.

But not all of it.

One spear tore across its side.

Another clipped its shoulder.

It staggered.

"...You..!"

Arthur was already moving.

He didn’t stop after the deflection and didn’t stand there to watch. He pushed forward, closing the distance.

The guardian tried to steady itself, raising its hand again, but its movement was off... slower, and unstable.

Arthur saw it.

"...You can’t control it anymore."

The mana around the guardian flared again, but it wasn’t clean. It cracked and spilled, unstable under the pressure.

Arthur stepped in.

Fast and close.

His dagger came up, wind gathering along its edge again, tighter than before as his intent settled.. clear, focused, without hesitation.

The guardian tried to move.

But it was too late.

Arthur struck.

The blade cut deep.. not just through flesh, but through everything the guardian was trying to hold together. The impact drove it back, breaking its stance completely.

Arthur didn’t stop.

The spears from earlier weren’t wasted.. they were still under his control.

The guardian had been distracted by Arthur’s presence, and Arthur used that moment, pulling them back into play with his Vector Sovereignty. By the time the guardian realized..

It was already too late.

Arthur stepped out of range.

And the spears hit.

Not one.

Not two.

All of them.

The force folded the guardian’s body in on itself before throwing it back. The sound that followed wasn’t clean.. it was wet, heavy, wrong.

For a second, everything went quiet.

Then it screamed.

A raw, broken sound that dragged through the dungeon and settled deep in the chest of everyone watching.

The damage was hard to look at.

The spears had gone through clean.. chest, side, shoulder, even lower through the abdomen. One sat buried deep in the center of its chest, where its heart should have been. Blood poured out in thick streams, soaking its body and dripping unevenly to the ground.

Its torso looked torn open in places, like something had forced its way through and left nothing intact. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Nox turned her head slightly, tightening her hold on the cub.

"...That should kill it."

Torren didn’t answer.

Because they all knew.

It wouldn’t.

The guardian twitched.

Then again.

Its hand moved slowly, shaking as it reached for the spear lodged in its chest.

Arthur didn’t blink.

"...Still moving."

The guardian let out a low, broken laugh that turned into a cough. Blood spilled from its mouth as its fingers wrapped around the shaft of the spear.

Then it pulled.

Slow.

Painful.

The moment it came out, the wound opened wider, something inside shifting wrong before..

It started closing.

Not naturally.

Not cleanly.

Arthur saw it clearly, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Sovereign’s Perception..."

The mana was moving, but not the way it should. It gathered around the wounds, thick and unstable, forcing the flesh together. It didn’t heal, it sealed, like it didn’t care what went where as long as it closed.

The wound in its chest pulsed.

Each beat pushed blood out, only for the mana to force it back in, stitching over it again.

Again.

And again.

Until it held.

From a distance, it looked like recovery.

Up close.. It looked wrong.

Ryn let out a quiet breath.

"...That’s disgusting."

"It’s not healing," Arthur said calmly. "It’s forcing itself to stay alive."

The guardian’s body straightened slowly.

The holes were gone.

But something about it had changed.

Its posture.

Its face.

Even the way it stood.

Less human.

More... unstable.

It rolled its shoulder once, then again, like it was testing the body. Blood still dripped from places that hadn’t fully closed before the mana forced them shut.

Then it smiled widely.

Arthur exhaled slowly.

"...Yeah. This won’t end fast."

He could feel it.

There was more tainted mana in this one than the last.

Much more.

Which meant it would take more time and more pressure.

But there was also more chances for things to go wrong.

Behind him, Ryn stepped closer.

"Plan?"

Arthur didn’t look back.

"No waiting."

That was all he said.

And he meant it.

He stepped forward.

At the same time the guardian moved.

No warning.

It rushed straight at him with insane speed.

Arthur didn’t step back.

If anything, he leaned into it slightly, a faint smirk pulling at his lips.

"...Good."

The distance closed fast, and the moment the guardian entered range, the ground reacted.

Spikes shot up.. sharp and sudden, meant to trap rather than kill.

Arthur moved.

Quick steps.

Clean.

His feet barely stayed in one place long enough for the spikes to catch him.

Left.

Shift.

Turn.

Each movement small, but enough.

The spikes missed.

But they weren’t meant to hit.

Arthur saw it.

"...Setting me up."

Right on cue, the guardian’s hand shifted, forming an earth blade instantly before swinging it toward Arthur’s side at close range.

Fast.

Too fast for most.

But Arthur had already read it.

His body moved before the strike fully formed.

His intent had already settled.

His skin reacted first.. a faint ripple passing through him as the layer of mana sharpened, sensing the threat before impact.

Then the wind followed.

Light and precise as it refined his movement.

Arthur twisted just enough.

The blade passed so close it brushed his clothes..

But never touched his skin.

From the outside, it looked like a near hit.

Too close.

Dangerous.

But Arthur didn’t feel pressured.

Not even a little.

"...Too slow."