Kaela's hand burned with brilliance as she fired searing bullets of light toward Kiro, her body weaving between the arcs of his blackened sword.
"A demon… and with small horns at that. He should be weak compared to the others," she thought, eyes locked on her target.
Kiro kept dodging with surprising finesse. "You've got a good grip on your attribute, don't you?" he called out. Then his expression sharpened. "Let's see whose magic lasts longer."
A second blade materialized in his other hand, gleaming with the same dark energy.
Kaela narrowed her eyes. "Seriously? Another damn sword?"
---
Back with Taro—he wasn't holding back anymore. Flame crackled around him as his fists pounded into his opponent again and again.
But the masked demon let out a dry chuckle. "You really think I wouldn't notice your mana's dropping? You gave me a decent fight… but it ends now. Orders are orders. I don't want to get punished again."
Taro's glare burned hotter than his fire. "You won't be punished," he muttered, "because you're not getting out of here alive."
With a sharp kick aimed at his opponent's mud-covered face, Taro attacked—but the demon dodged again, rising from the ground with another strike from below.
Taro launched a fiery blast at the ground to propel himself upward, then twisted in midair. His foot ignited with power as he slammed it into the enemy's arm—grabbing, crushing, tearing.
Blood splattered as the demon's right arm ripped free. He howled in agony.
"You didn't even realize it, did you?" Taro said, standing over him. "That mud you're so proud of? It's drying up. My heat's evaporated the water. You're done."
The demon snarled, seething through the pain. "You… bastard! You'll pay for this!"
Taro's eyes were cold. "You only have two attributes. What did you think you could do with them?"
"I don't care," the demon hissed. "You humans… need to be wiped out. All of you."
---
Meanwhile, Kaela was barely holding ground. Kiro's twin swords struck relentlessly, giving her no room to breathe.
"I need to land one fatal hit. Just one," she thought, heart pounding. "But I need more power…"
Then it came to her.
"Elemental fusion… But I've never trained for it. I don have time nor a choice."
She gritted her teeth. "I can control water… and light. If I can just—combine them. Feel them. That's what Kobe said, right? 'Feel your elements.'"
Kaela took a deep breath and closed her eyes mid-motion. She focused. She felt the light pulsing in her hand. Then, slowly, she added the presence of water—drop by drop.
The fusion clicked. Not perfectly, not smoothly, but enough.
She opened her eyes and stepped back. The glow in her hand had changed—light moved like water, calm and fluid.
Kiro paused, noticing. "You're full of surprises, aren't you?" he said with a grin. "Fusing elements mid-battle? Alright, let's see which of us walks away from this."
---
Back to Rin.
He stood still, facing the demon leader, tension tightening every muscle. His arm ached, but he forced himself upright.
"Before I kill you," Rin said, "I want to ask something."
The leader raised an eyebrow. "Ask. Though I doubt I'll have an answer you'll like."
"That black flower… were your people the ones who planted it?"
The demon blinked. "A black flower?" Then he scoffed. "Disappointing. That wasn't us. Demons don't carry flowers, kid."
Rin clicked his tongue. "Tch… forget it."
"If I fall here… what happens to them?"
"Dammit," he thought. "My mana's nearly gone. That last lightning attack drained almost everything—and it barely hurt him…"
---
Two hours had passed since they entered the dungeon.
And the real battle had only just begun.
...
To be continued....