Gunja's body remained embedded in the wall, torn in half. Blood flowed in thick rivers, staining the ancient dungeon stones a dark crimson — a brutal reminder that death asks no permission.
The silence that followed was absolute. Heavy. Suffocating. Yet paradoxically, it screamed.
Luminous particles detached from the corpse, drifting like ashes from a shattered soul, slowly dissolving into the air — the end of a life narrated through irony and silence.
Jack stood motionless. His shield was still raised, but his fingers trembled. Cold sweat ran down his blood-smeared face, and the sound of his own breathing was the only thing keeping him conscious. His eyes — a mix of pain, fear, and disbelief — stared into the void before him.
And then, the void answered.
A dry, heavy sound split the air: Crack… crack… Like bones being realigned by invisible hands. The sound multiplied, repeating like a distorted echo.
The ground trembled. The walls groaned. The air grew heavy, dense, hot like a battlefield furnace. The torches' flames recoiled, turning blue, trembling as if they feared what was about to be reborn.
At the center of the room, a shadow took shape. A body began to rise, slowly, as if the earth itself were expelling it.
Thegg — the Barbarian General.
His gray skin reformed, stitched together by burning red lines. Muscles pulsed, alive, covered in ancient scars and tribal runes that vibrated with a deep crimson glow. Each bone crack was a muffled thunder. Each breath, a primal roar.
When he finally stood, the ground seemed to bow under the weight of his existence. The entire dungeon creaked, as if the structure itself felt fear.
A hot, heavy breath swept through the air, saturated with the stench of scorched iron and raw flesh. Célia dropped her staff, her hands trembling and slick with sweat. Sensi raised a protective field, but its light flickered like a candle about to die. Dimitri breathed heavily, eyes locked on the giant. And Haru, nearly swallowed by the darkness, murmured with a trembling voice: — "The air… it's too heavy… this… this isn't natural."
Jack clenched his teeth. Rage battled fear within him. — "Damn it… how are we supposed to beat that thing?!"
Thegg slowly raised his head. His eyes — now a soulless glacial blue — ignited, radiating spectral energy. Then, he roared.
The roar was not a sound. It was force. An ancient wave of power that tore through air, ground, and bone, shattering spells, cracking stone, and making the world tremble. The torches exploded into blue flames. Dust and embers rained from the ceiling. Even light itself seemed to flee from him.
Some covered their ears, screaming. Others simply fell to their knees.
But Kuto took a step forward.
Fear was there — but it was swallowed by an inner flame. His heart pounded like a war drum. His blood boiled. And an inner voice echoed:
> "Fight."
He smiled — a wild, instinctive, feral smile. — "So this is it… a real monster."
Thegg turned his gaze toward Célia. Time seemed to stop. She froze, tears streaming down her face. — "N… no… please…"
The barbarian raised one of his axes and hurled it. The air split like sharpened thunder.
Jack reacted before thought could form. The shield came up — the impact detonated in a wall of sound and force. The shockwave hurled him backward like a ragdoll, splitting the shield in half. Célia fell, protected — but Jack bled from his eyes and mouth.
— "ATTACK! DON'T LET HIM GET NEAR HER!" — Jack roared, spitting blood.
Selina raised both hands, forming arrows of blue energy. She fired in rapid succession — dozens of them. The air hissed as light tore through it. Thegg moved like a predator. He dodged, rolled, spun. Each step cracked the ground. Each evasion was a verdict. Behind him, explosions devastated the walls, leaving trails of smoke.
Haru emerged from the shadows behind the colossus. Two black blades flashed. He slashed the giant's tendon — but the sound wasn't flesh tearing. It was metal striking metal. — "Impossible… it's hard as iron…" — he thought, eyes wide.
Thegg spun with monstrous force. His arm struck Haru like a battering ram. Haru flew, rolling several times before forcing himself upright. The impact left a crater where the floor had been.
The colossus advanced again toward Célia. Each step was an earthquake. His next leap was colossal — his shadow swallowed the entire chamber. His fist descended like the weight of the world itself.
— "DIVERSION PORTAL!" — Sônia shouted. A golden circle flared on the ground, engulfing Jack and Célia. They vanished an instant before the fist struck. The impact annihilated half the room — shattered columns, cracks racing up to the ceiling, energy rippling outward.
Thegg rose amid the destruction. The runes on his arms burned in living patterns, and the surrounding blue flames bent toward him, feeding him.
Kuto charged.
Twin swords materialized in his hands. One red like living fire, the other blue like lightning. His aura erupted — orange and white, a spiraling blaze.
— "I WON'T LET YOU TOUCH ANYONE!"
Kuto vanished in a flash. He reappeared atop the giant's shoulder. The swords crossed — the impact thundered through the dungeon. The ground cracked in widening circles. Dust and energy hovered before exploding into flame.
Thegg staggered back for the first time. His eyes burned with pure hatred. He spun, both axes carving twin arcs. Kuto dodged, rotating, striking in an X-shaped slash. Sparks. Shock. Energy. No deep wound — but the battle's tempo escalated.
Kuto's body shifted rhythm, as if each movement followed a combat symphony:
Elemental Stance: Wind bursts propelled him, fire coiled around his blades, every strike snapping the air.
Warrior Stance: Precise blocks. Head-on impacts. Absolute control of the battlefield's center.
Rogue Stance: Lethal speed. Unpredictable motion. Attacks from blind spots.
Kuto appeared behind the giant, slashing diagonally. The red blade burned. The strike opened a glowing fissure in Thegg's hardened skin. Black blood spilled, evaporating in the air.
The barbarian roared — the sound shaking the air like a storm. The axes began to spin — circles of red energy, like portals of destruction. Each strike devastated the surroundings, hurling stone, dust, and compressed force. Kuto slid, spun, leapt, evading by inches. One sword embedded itself in the colossus's right tendon — the blood burned like boiling oil. Thegg dropped to one knee. But his eyes ignited with frenzy.
Triple Combination: Kuto, Jack, and Haru
Jack, shield shattered, charged again. Haru resurfaced from the shadows, twin blades vibrating with dark energy.
The trio moved as one — pure instinct: Kuto created openings with elemental assaults. Jack intercepted lethal blows, drawing attention. Haru struck from blind angles, cutting where defenses faltered.
Thegg roared, increasing his speed. Shockwaves compressed the air, wind slicing like blades. The ceiling began to collapse. The battlefield devolved into chaos — fire, dust, and light.
With a colossal leap, Thegg spun — axes in full rotation. The impact hurled the three away. But they rose. Bleeding. Exhausted.
— "If we're going to die… then we die fighting!" — Kuto shouted, flames trailing beneath his feet.
Combined Assault
Selina above — a condensed sphere of arcane energy. Sônia — black flames gathering like an inverted sun. Sensi — spiritual swords floating, spinning like constellations. Romeu, Dimitri, and Célia — amplification runes blazing in perfect synchrony.
— "SCATTER! NOW!"
The explosion that followed felt unworldly. Fire, light, wind, and darkness collapsed into a single cataclysm. The combined force struck Thegg with divine violence. A blinding flash. A thunderclap that erased sound itself. Then — silence.
The ground smoked. The dungeon trembled as fragments of the ceiling fell slowly.
Romeu dropped to his knees, laughing nervously: — "Hah… we won…? Did we really win…?"
Jack, bloodied, shield in ruins, stared into the fading mist. His gaze didn't blink. — "This… is far from over."
From within the smoke, a crimson glow began to pulse. The runes on Thegg's body reignited — brighter, hungrier. The smoke dispersed — and the Barbarian General rose once more, larger, more alive, and more monstrous than before.