With that, Cyrus charged forward, his body moving on pure instinct. The creature roared, its tentacles whipping toward him like a storm of serpents. But he was faster. He dodged left, then right, weaving through the onslaught with a dancer’s grace. His blade flashed in the dim light as he struck at the creature’s limbs, cutting them down one by one.
But the creature was relentless. It pressed forward, forcing him to retreat, but he stayed just out of reach, always one step ahead.
Athena, meanwhile, was gathering her power. Her staff glowed brighter and brighter, the energy around it swirling like a vortex. She aimed carefully, waiting for the right moment.
Cyrus dodged another attack, his body moving in a blur as he sidestepped the creature’s reach. Then, with a powerful leap, he lunged forward, his blade slicing through the creature’s torso.
"Now!" he shouted.
Athena unleashed her attack. A beam of pure Aether shot from her staff, hitting the creature with the force of a hurricane. The blast tore through its body, disintegrating it in a brilliant flash of light.
For a moment, the battlefield was silent.
The battlefield seemed to hold its breath, the brief silence punctuated only by the dying flicker of the Aetheric blast Athena had unleashed. The massive tentacle creature, struck by the full force of her attack, teetered for a moment before its form began to unravel, the writhing black tendrils disintegrating into a cloud of dark mist.
But there was no time to savor the victory. Cyrus barely had a moment to breathe before another wave of monstrous tentacle forms appeared, rising from the shadows. These new creatures were even larger than the ones before, their bodies pulsating with an unnatural, grotesque energy. Their tentacles coiled and uncoiled with a life of their own, the air crackling with the weight of their presence.
Cyrus clenched his jaw, his muscles burning from the relentless pace of the battle. His eyes darted to Athena—she was breathing hard, the exhaustion beginning to show, but her expression was still fiercely determined.
Another panel flickered before them: [Round 4].
"Not again…" Cyrus muttered under his breath, his hands tightening around his blade. This whole situation felt like a sick joke, as if the dungeon were mocking them, testing their limits.
From the darkness, the creatures charged.
The first one came at Cyrus like a tidal wave of limbs, its tentacles lashing out in all directions. He leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding the strike, and slashed downward with his aether blade. The blow severed a few tentacles, but the creature barely faltered. It lunged again, faster this time, forcing him to roll under its bulk and slash at its underbelly. Black ichor sprayed across the ground, but the creature didn’t slow.
Cyrus spun around, narrowly dodging another tentacle aimed at his legs. He countered with a quick strike, slicing the limb clean off, but the creature immediately grew another. The constant regeneration was slowing him down, making it harder to gain any real advantage. His mind raced, searching for a weak point, something that would give them an edge.
Athena wasn’t faring much better. Her staff crackled with energy as she blasted away the approaching monsters, but they were relentless. One creature swung at her from behind, its tentacles poised to crush her, but she twisted out of the way, her movements sharp and calculated. She spun her staff in a wide arc, conjuring a burst of Aether that blasted the creature back, buying her a few precious moments to regroup.
"Cyrus!" she shouted, her voice strained as she deflected another attack. "We can’t keep this up!"
He knew she was right. They were outnumbered, and the creatures seemed to be getting stronger with each wave. But retreat wasn’t an option. Not here, not now.
A sudden idea flashed in Cyrus’s mind. "Aim for their core!" he yelled, his voice cutting through the chaos. "They’re regenerating from the tentacles, but if we take out the core, they can’t recover!"
Athena’s eyes flickered with understanding. Without hesitation, she raised her staff, focusing her energy. Another wave of creatures surged toward them, but this time, Athena didn’t aim for their limbs. She fired a concentrated beam of Aether straight into the center of the nearest monster’s chest. The beam pierced through its mass, striking the pulsing core hidden beneath the writhing tentacles.
The creature let out a horrible screech as its body convulsed, the core shattering like glass. The tentacles writhed violently before dissolving into smoke, the entire form disintegrating before their eyes.
"That’s it!" Cyrus shouted, his confidence renewed. He dashed forward, charging headlong into the fray. One of the larger creatures swung at him with a massive tentacle, but he ducked under the strike, his blade glowing with aetheric energy as he thrust it forward. The tip of his sword found the creature’s core, buried deep within its chest, and with a swift twist of his wrist, he shattered it.
The creature collapsed, its tentacles flailing before turning to ash. Cyrus didn’t pause. He spun on his heel, charging toward the next monster with renewed vigor.
The battle became a dance of precision and timing. Cyrus darted in and out of the creatures’ reach, targeting their cores with ruthless efficiency. Each time he struck true, the monsters disintegrated, their bodies unable to regenerate without their core.
Athena followed suit, her attacks becoming more focused. She no longer wasted energy on blasting away the limbs; instead, she aimed straight for the heart of the creatures, her Aetheric beams tearing through them with lethal accuracy. Together, they worked in perfect harmony, their movements synchronized as they cut through the remaining monsters.
But the creatures kept coming. No matter how many they destroyed, more seemed to rise from the shadows, each one more menacing than the last.
Just when it felt like the battle would never end, something shifted in the air. The ground beneath them rumbled, and a low, guttural sound echoed through the dark expanse of the battlefield. The remaining monsters suddenly stopped, their tentacles twitching as if sensing something far more dangerous approaching.
Cyrus glanced around, his grip tightening on his blade. "What now?"
A massive, hulking figure emerged from the darkness. It was unlike anything they had faced so far—a towering beast, its body composed of thousands of writhing black tentacles, but this time, there was no core to be seen. Its form twisted and undulated with an unnatural grace, its eyes—dozens of glowing red orbs—fixed on them with a terrifying intensity.
The sheer presence of the creature sent a wave of dread crashing over them. Athena took a step back, her breath catching in her throat.
"We’ve got to finish this," Cyrus said, his voice low and determined. "No holding back."
Athena nodded, her expression steely. They both knew this was the final test.
The creature roared, its voice a deafening cacophony that shook the very air around them. It charged, its tentacles flaring out in all directions like a storm of darkness.
Cyrus moved first, sprinting forward with blinding speed. He weaved through the onslaught of tentacles, each one narrowly missing him as he closed the distance between himself and the creature. He slashed at its limbs, but this time, the tentacles didn’t regenerate. Instead, they shriveled and fell to the ground, turning to ash as they hit the earth.
Athena followed, her staff glowing brighter than ever before. She unleashed a barrage of Aetheric blasts, each one striking the creature with pinpoint precision. The monster howled in pain, its form starting to unravel under the relentless assault.
But it wasn’t enough. The creature reared back, gathering its strength for one final attack. Its tentacles converged, forming a massive, writhing mass that loomed over them like a tidal wave.
Cyrus grit his teeth, his entire body tensing as he prepared for the onslaught. But just as the creature was about to strike, a surge of power coursed through him. His aether blade flared to life, brighter and more intense than before.
With a roar, Cyrus leapt into the air, his blade slicing through the creature’s mass with a powerful, final strike. The tentacles convulsed, the creature letting out one last, ear-piercing screech before its form collapsed in on itself, disintegrating into nothingness.
The battlefield fell silent.
Cyrus landed lightly on his feet, breathing hard. His blade flickered, then vanished as he finally allowed himself to relax. He glanced over at Athena, who was standing beside him, her eyes still wide with disbelief.
"It’s over," she said, her voice barely a whisper.
Cyrus nodded, though the exhaustion was catching up to him. "Yeah... it’s over."
The panel flickered one last time, this time displaying a single word: [Victory].
Cyrus couldn’t help but laugh—this time, not out of nervousness, but relief. "I really thought we were done for."
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Athena managed a small smile, shaking her head. "So did I."
As the oppressive darkness around them began to lift, revealing the way forward, Cyrus sheathed his blade and turned to Athena. "Let’s get out of here."
They walked side by side, the weight of the battle still heavy on their shoulders, but with the knowledge that they had survived—together.
The quiet after their hard-won victory was short-lived.
Cyrus stood catching his breath, a tired laugh escaping his lips. The sight of the [Victory] panel felt like a reprieve, a sign that they had earned a moment of peace. But before he could fully relax, the panel flickered. The word "Victory" slowly faded away, replaced by another message that caused Cyrus’s blood to run cold: [Round 5].