Caelen leaned back against the wall of the cave, his breath ragged and limbs trembling from the last battle. He slid down until he was sitting in the corner, eyes on the floor, trying to regain some strength. The stone beneath him was cold, but oddly calming. For a brief moment, the silence returned, and he let his body rest.
Then he felt it.
A pulse of pressure swept through the room—a killing intent so sharp it made his skin prickle. The very air grew heavy. He looked up toward the entrance to the chamber and saw it.
A tiger, easily twice the size of the ones before, stepped into the dim light. Its fur was pitch black, broken by symmetrical white streaks along its flanks. Metal armor plates covered parts of its body—not just strapped on, but fused into its flesh. Its tail was longer than normal, armored along its length, and the left side of its face was completely covered in a dark metal shell shaped like its own features, leaving only its blood-red eye exposed on that side.
It locked eyes with Caelen, and the moment stretched.
Then it charged.
Its speed was insane. It moved like a shadow struck by lightning—one moment in place, the next already halfway to him. Caelen's body reacted on instinct. He boosted himself off the ground with a burst of strength, barely avoiding the initial lunge. With no time to think, he grabbed the corpse of one of the dead tigers nearby and hurled it at the charging beast to disrupt its attack pattern.
But the monster was too agile.
It leapt clean over the body without slowing down, claws flashing as it descended toward him. Caelen rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding its fangs. As it landed, he brought his blade down in a desperate slash. The weapon connected, biting into the tiger's side, but not deep enough—it had managed to twist its body mid-air, softening the impact.
The beast growled in pain, but it didn't retreat. Instead, it roared and rushed at him again, closing the gap in seconds. Caelen raised his arm in a cross block, but the tiger's claws raked across his forearm, leaving a deep scratch that burned like fire. He winced but held his ground. There was no space to retreat.
The tiger came again, relentless.
Caelen tried to swing toward its incoming paw, aiming to deflect the strike, but the tiger anticipated it. As its claw met his blade, its other front leg lashed out with less strength but deadly precision. The claw tore through his shirt and raked across his side, carving a deep, bleeding gash. He cried out in pain and reflexively kicked the tiger in the chest—not enough to knock it back, but it bought him a second to think.
The tiger swiped again, same move, but this time Caelen was ready. He shifted his footing, angled his blade down, and thrust with everything he had.
The sword pierced through the tiger's paw.
A pained howl echoed through the cave, the monster staggering back, but it didn't retreat. Instead, it slammed its other paw into him like a hammer, sending him flying across the chamber. He crashed into the wall with a sickening thud, his vision flashing white. His cheek stung with cold fire—numb at first, then pain flooding in. His mind screamed at him to move, to not stop, or he would die.
His heart raced. That blow hadn't just hurt—it had terrified him. The kind of fear that crept into your soul and whispered, You're not going to make it.
But Caelen wasn't ready to die. Not yet.
Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself to his feet and bolted toward the pile of corpses from his earlier fight. The boss was already mid-pounce. Its jaws opened wide, ready to crush him.
At the last moment, he ducked behind one of the tiger bodies.
The boss's teeth sank into the dead beast instead, jaws locking as it tore through the carcass. Caelen used the moment. He burst out from under the corpse, screaming as he slashed at its exposed flank again and again, raining blows down with wild abandon.
The blade bit into flesh. Blood sprayed. The tiger roared in fury, but Caelen didn't stop.
Slash. Slash. Slash.
It was working. He was hurting it. But even as he kept swinging, something changed.
He felt it before he saw it.
The tiger's body tensed. Sparks began to dance across its fur—crackling blue and white bolts wrapping around its form. Its growls shifted pitch. Then lightning exploded across its body, and in an instant, it was gone.
Caelen's eyes widened.
It reappeared ten meters away, eyes glowing with electric fury, arcs of energy snapping from its armored limbs. Its speed had just doubled.
"Shit… it has a skill," Caelen breathed, clutching his blade tighter. "A lightning-type…"
His own injuries were there, and his strength was below what it had been when he was a demon, and now this thing—this monster—was on another level, which is a problem.
The fight had only just begun.
[Observation Chamber]
Back in the room with the girls, Emma's eyes widened as she saw what Caelen was facing now. The black tiger with lightning running through its body was clearly too much. She turned to Evelyn quickly and shouted, "Get me in there! Now!"
Evelyn sighed when she heard that. She had already been watching carefully and could tell Caelen had hit his limit. "I know," she said quietly. "I've been watching too. He won't go further like this."
Emma didn't hesitate. "Then send me in—"
"No," Evelyn cut in. "The teleportation spell will get him out. If he's about to die, it'll pull him out automatically. You saw the warning last time."
Emma glared. "Then why didn't it activate earlier when he was on the ground with that tiger?! He could've died!"
Evelyn frowned, annoyed now. "I don't know. But trust me. It'll work. If it doesn't... then we'll pull both of them out by force and talk it out in a room or something. This setup isn't going to work if he keeps fighting like this with no backup."
Emma looked back at the screen. Caelen was barely holding on. The tiger was fast, and it looked like it was toying with him now. Emma gritted her teeth. "I can't just sit here."
Then she remembered the link skill — the bond Caelen created between them earlier. She didn't even know if it worked yet. But she closed her eyes and focused. "Caelen… Caelen, can you hear me? Say something…"
For a few seconds, nothing. Then it clicked. Like a pressure being released. She heard a faint echo of her own voice in his mind.
Caelen, struggling to breathe as the tiger swiped at him, suddenly froze mid-step when he heard Emma's voice. It was clear, loud, and real.
His eyes widened. "The link… It has that skill."
He didn't waste a second. He opened his system and activated one of the link's functions — [Shared Energy]. The connection glowed faintly in the air around him, and he felt it immediately: a wave of warmth and power flooding into his chest. It was Emma's energy — no, their connection—empowering him.
He didn't hesitate. "Demon Form."
The black lightning danced along his limbs. His hair went and changed along with his body again, his aura twisted, and the cave's temperature dropped from his presence alone.
The tiger paused. It felt the shift, too. Its eyes locked onto him, no longer playful, now cautious.
Caelen smiled. That same confidence from earlier was back. "You had your fun," he said. The tiger charged at him again, aiming straight for the kill. Caelen didn't move. He waited until it leaped, jaws open, then caught its mouth mid-air with both hands and stopped it.
"You look cool for a tiger," Caelen muttered as he gripped tighter, lightning dancing in his arms. "But if you didn't try to kill me a few seconds ago, I might've tried taming you." He spun his body and hurled the beast into the wall. The impact cracked the stone, and the tiger howled in pain.
Back in his head, Emma's voice came through again, stronger this time. "What are you doing? I feel it… There's something. This feeling—it's pulling me toward you. It feels… soothing and warm…"
Caelen chuckled. "I guess you can say it's love. That's what it feels like. It proves you're mine, Emma."
Emma blushed deeply red, hearing his voice so confidently say that. It was embarrassing, but her heart raced. She bit her lip. "You're insane…"
As the tiger leapt again, Caelen grabbed it by the neck mid-air and slammed it back down, then pulled out his sword and started coating it with lightning.
Emma's voice returned. "Wait, you're using Demon Form. What if you run out of energy? I can't keep giving you more forever…"
"I thought about summoning you," Caelen said as he watched the tiger rise again. "But… I want to finish this on my own. Just this once."
Emma was silent for a moment. "You wanted to summon me…? Then do it! I want to fight with you!"
"No." Caelen gripped his sword tightly. "Let me finish this. I've come this far."
The tiger roared and surged forward, lightning exploding off its body now. It had activated its own skill. But Caelen stood firm.
As the beast closed the gap, his sword shimmered, and just before it struck, he sidestepped and brought the blade down in a full-powered arc.
The lightning-infused slash ripped through the tiger's skull cleanly.
The beast collapsed. Dead.
Caelen stood there, panting slightly. "Told you I could do it."
Emma didn't reply. She stared at the screen in shock. But she knows how strong he is with that demon form.
Still, she saw the next floor's data on the screen and knew they would be stronger. "The monsters ahead… they're going to be stronger."
Caelen paused, looking down at his sword, then sighed. "Fine. I get it." He opened the system and activated the [Summon Partner] skill linked to Emma.
In the room, Evelyn suddenly looked up. She felt a shift.
"Wait… What just happened?"
Emma vanished in a blink, sucked into a teleportation spell.
Evelyn stood quickly. "Where did she go?!"
Silver, who had been quietly watching the screen, pointed slowly. "There."
The image of the screen showed Emma now next to Caelen, holding him in a tight hug.
Evelyn stared. "How did he do that? That summon shouldn't even work inside the dungeon this deep… Is he hiding skills from us?"
She narrowed her eyes at the screen, whispering, "Just how much more are you hiding, Caelen?"