After almost three minutes — the limit of Lisa's Sacred Sanctuary — the class had fully regained their strength.
The best part was that the sphinx, though given time to recover as well, seemed exhausted.
Much of its golden armor had broken away, exposing its natural skin beneath. Even though it had the chance to heal, it wasted most of the sanctuary's duration trying to breach the protective cage instead of resting.
The sharp sound of glass shattering filled the air.
The barrier finally broke.
The sphinx lunged forward immediately, its large paws swiping with deadly speed. Chris threw up shield after shield, holding the front line as the mages and Owen resumed their relentless assault.
Ren, fully recovered, raced toward the creature's spiked tail — now resembling a massive, chained mace.
With ten precise strikes, he managed to sever it from the beast's body.
It was the hardest thing he had ever done — but it was worth it.
