The storm of ice finally cleared.
Shattered frost drifted slowly through the air like broken stars, the battlefield beneath buried under layers of frozen stone and cracked pillars.
At the center of it all, the Wyvern hovered.
Its enormous wings beat slowly against the violet sky of the dungeon, each movement sending ripples of cold air across the ruins. The creature's chest pulsed with that eerie blue fire, the glow leaking through cracks between its armored scales like molten ice trapped beneath stone.
Its eyes locked onto the hunters below.
Hungry.
Furious.
Alive.
Then it moved.
The Wyvern surged forward with terrifying speed, wings folding partially as its massive body dove toward the battlefield like a falling meteor.
"Scatter!"
Shin's voice cut through the air instantly.
The team exploded outward.
The Wyvern slammed into the courtyard.
BOOM.
The impact shattered the frozen ground and launched a violent shockwave across the ruins. Ice pillars exploded into fragments, snow and debris blasting outward in a storm of white.
Kaiser braced first.
Wind and earth spiraled around his body as he planted both feet into the cracked stone, arms crossing before his chest as the shockwave crashed into him.
The ground beneath him split.
But he held.
Ren vanished in a flash of lightning, reappearing above the battlefield as electricity crackled along his blade.
Serena's flames ignited in a controlled arc as she slid backward, fire forming a defensive ring that melted incoming ice shards.
Alicia landed lightly atop a broken pillar, spear glowing with radiant energy as she scanned the battlefield.
Ophelia's illusions shimmered across the courtyard — phantom silhouettes of the team appearing in multiple locations to confuse the creature's targeting.
And at the center of it all…
Seraphina stood unmoving.
Her Ice Domain expanded.
Cold authority flooded the battlefield.
Frost surged across the ground in elegant spirals, spreading outward beneath the Wyvern's claws like a creeping tide of winter.
For the first time since emerging, the monster slowed.
Seraphina lifted her hand slightly.
The air froze.
"You're loud," she said calmly.
Ice pillars erupted from the ground.
Dozens of them.
They slammed upward around the Wyvern's legs like prison bars.
The creature roared.
Its wings flared violently.
Blue flames erupted from its mouth in a sweeping arc of freezing breath.
The blast collided directly with Seraphina's domain.
For a moment the entire battlefield vanished beneath blinding frost.
Jin MovesJin stepped forward through the storm.
His SSS-ranked physique adjusted instantly to the pressure and cold, muscles responding with effortless precision.
Most hunters would struggle to breathe inside Seraphina's fully expanded domain.
Jin felt…
comfortable.
Interesting.
His eyes followed the Wyvern carefully.
Its movements were powerful.
But predictable.
The wings.
The joints.
The breathing rhythm.
Patterns.
"Shin," Jin said quietly.
Shin didn't look at him.
"Yeah."
"The core will expose when it attacks again."
A faint smile tugged at Shin's lips.
"Then let's make it attack."
Breaking the WingsRen struck first.
Lightning exploded across the sky as he launched himself upward, blade trailing a spear of crackling thunder.
He slashed across the Wyvern's left wing.
CLANG.
Sparks erupted.
The scale armor cracked slightly.
The Wyvern retaliated instantly.
Its tail whipped through the air like a battering ram.
Ren barely twisted away in time, lightning bursting beneath his feet as he accelerated downward.
"Serena!"
Flame erupted.
Serena stepped forward, blade cutting through the air as a compressed wave of fire blasted directly into the wing joint Ren had weakened.
BOOM.
The flames exploded across the scale.
This time the armor fractured.
The Wyvern screamed.
The sound shook the entire dungeon.
Kaiser moved next.
Wind pressure spiraled around his body as he launched upward, fist pulled back like a coiled cannon.
"TITAN STRIKE!"
His punch slammed into the cracked wing joint.
The entire limb buckled.
The Wyvern crashed sideways into the frozen ground.
Shin didn't hesitate.
Gravity surged.
His blade glowed with crushing force as he dashed forward, sword slicing downward toward the creature's exposed chest.
But the Wyvern reacted faster than expected.
Its wings snapped open violently.
The sudden burst of air threw Shin backward.
The monster inhaled deeply.
Blue fire gathered in its throat.
Jin saw it.
Spatial InterferenceStage I — Spatial Fracture.
The space around the Wyvern's throat twisted slightly.
The mana flow feeding the breath attack destabilized.
The monster released its freezing blast prematurely.
Instead of a focused beam, the breath exploded outward chaotically.
Seraphina's domain absorbed most of it.
Ice collided with ice.
But the battlefield remained intact.
Shin landed lightly beside Jin.
"That helped."
Jin shrugged faintly.
"Timing."
The Wyvern EvolvesThen the creature stood again.
Slowly.
Its chest burned brighter.
The blue fire inside it intensified, cracks spreading across its armored torso like glowing veins.
The dungeon reacted.
The sky darkened further.
Mana density surged violently.
Ophelia's voice cut through the tension.
"It's evolving."
The words hung in the air.
Ren laughed.
"Oh good."
Serena glared at him.
"This isn't funny."
"It is if we survive."
The Wyvern roared again.
This time the sound carried something new.
Not just rage.
Intelligence.
Its wings spread wider.
Ice formed along their edges like razor blades.
Blue fire erupted along its spine.
Its eyes locked directly onto Jin.
For the first time since the battle began…
The monster had chosen a target.
Seraphina's ReactionSeraphina noticed instantly.
Her emerald eyes sharpened.
The Wyvern's attention wasn't random.
It had felt something.
Something in Jin's spatial interference.
Something unusual.
The creature launched forward again.
Faster.
Much faster.
Shin stepped forward.
But Jin stopped him.
"I've got this one."
Seraphina's gaze flickered toward him.
"You're reckless."
"Maybe."
Jin stepped forward into the falling shadow of the Wyvern.
His blade lifted slowly.
Void energy rippled faintly along its edge.
Not Stage Four.
Not yet.
But close.
The Wyvern's claws descended like falling mountains.
Jin inhaled slowly.
The space around him bent.
And the real fight…
was about to begin.