The chasm widened into a vast underground basin, lit only by rivers of molten stone snaking across the floor. Heat shimmered in the air, warping the dark silhouettes of broken pillars and collapsed caverns. The deeper Noel and Noir went, the fewer hunters there were—until finally, there were none.

'Dad… this place feels different,' Noir murmured in her great-beast voice, each step shaking dust from the stalactites above. 'The mana is heavy. Like something old lives here.'

"Good," Noel replied quietly. "Old usually means strong."

The Veil of the Silent Sentinel rippled faintly around his shoulders, reacting to the ambient hostility that soaked the air like invisible pressure. Every pulse made the fabric grow heavier… denser… preparing itself.

Ahead, a stone arch cracked open from years of strain, revealing a cavern so massive it resembled the belly of a hollowed mountain. Inside, the ground trembled in a rhythm too slow and too deep to be natural.

Noel narrowed his eyes.

A low growl reverberated through Noir's chest. She lowered herself slightly, letting Noel slide off her back and land quietly beside her giant paw.

The air carried a scent—burning minerals mixed with something feral and ancient.

Noir's golden eyes gleamed. 'Dad… whatever's ahead… it's stronger than the Mauler by a lot. Almost feels like… the top of Ascendant.'

Noel cracked his neck once, loosening his shoulders.

"Perfect. We needed a challenge."

He stepped forward, cloak shifting like a living shadow, Revenant Fang humming faintly with hunger for a real fight.

The molten eyes blinked once—slow, heavy, deliberate.

Then the cavern rose.

Not the ground—

the creature.

Stone plates shifted, sliding over one another like armor being assembled. Magma-like veins pulsed across its body, illuminating a towering frame shaped like a bear forged from volcanic rock. Each exhale sent embers drifting through the air.

Lavaquake Behemoth (Ascendant – Elite) A monster so rare it appeared only once every few years—if ever.

The beast's head lowered, massive tusks scraping molten grooves into the ground.

Noir's fur bristled.

'Dad. Even I… feel that pressure.'

"Good," Noel answered, gripping Revenant Fang. "Keep your distance. Let me test it first."

The Behemoth inhaled—

and the entire chamber swelled with heat.

Noel's eyes sharpened.

Hostile intent detected.

The Veil of the Silent Sentinel pulsed once—like a second heartbeat.

A warning.

"Alright," Noel whispered. "Let's move."

T H O O M —

The Behemoth slammed a foreleg down, and a shockwave tore through the stone floor. Spears of molten rock shot toward Noel, each one large enough to skewer an ox.

He whispered—

"Shadow Step."

The world blurred.

Noel vanished into his shadow—

and reappeared atop a jagged pillar just as the molten spikes exploded beneath him.

The Behemoth roared, a furnace-blast of heat that rattled the cavern walls.

Noel raised a hand.

"Glacialis."

A streak of concentrated ice shot downward, slamming into the monster's forehead—

only to melt instantly on contact.

"Tch. Magic-resistant hide," Noel muttered. "Fine. Let's try something sharper."

He leaped, blade glowing with violent fire.

"Ignition Surge!"

Revenant Fang erupted in flames as he descended like a falling star toward the glowing fissure along the Behemoth's spine—

The creature twisted—unnervingly fast for its size.

A molten paw the size of a carriage swung upward to intercept him.

Noel's eyes snapped wide—

The cloak pulsed—Sentinel's Pulse activated—

—and the impact that should've crushed him instead sent him flying across the cavern, landing hard but alive.

He coughed once, stood, rolled his shoulder.

"Okay," he muttered. "That actually hurt."

Noir snarled behind him, shadows rippling around her paws.

'Dad… let me help.'

He lifted a hand slightly. "Not yet. Let's see what this thing can really do."

The Behemoth's molten eyes narrowed.

And the real fight began.

Heat rippled off the Behemoth's body in shimmering waves, each exhale bending the air. Its claws dug furrows into the earth as it shifted its weight—testing Noel.

Noel rolled his neck once, lowered his stance, and whispered:

"Alright… show me more."

The Lavaquake Behemoth obliged.

T H R U M —

Its core glowed brighter, like molten glass filling with pressure.

Noir hissed. 'Dad, careful—!'

The Behemoth charged.

Noel's boots skidded across the stone as he dove aside, feeling the ground cave inward where he'd stood a heartbeat before. Pebbles jumped. Dust spiraled.

The monster's mass didn't stop—it pivoted.

A creature that large should not have been able to turn so sharply.

'Fast… too fast for its size,' Noel analyzed. 'Front claws are overloaded—right side weaker.'

He extended a hand, palm grazing the ground.

"Flare Trap."

A sigil burst into existence beneath the Behemoth's advancing paw—

but the monster sensed it.

Its molten limb swerved.

Instead of stepping on the trap, it smashed down next to it, sending molten shards erupting outward. Noel shielded his face with his cloak; the Silent Guard trait shimmered, softening the impact.

Noel clicked his tongue. "You can dodge spells? Great. Annoying, but great."

The Behemoth roared—

a blast of fire so hot the nearest rocks glowed faint red.

Noel sprinted left—

The ground erupted behind him as a stream of lava tore through where his legs had been.

He pivoted sharply, flicking his fingers.

"Voltage Needle!"

A concentrated bolt of lightning shot forward—fast, thin, precise.

Z Z Z T —

It struck the beast's right eye—

—and the creature's head jerked back.

The first real reaction.

'Weak point confirmed,' Noel thought. 'Eyes are vulnerable.'

But the Behemoth recovered instantly, slamming both forelegs down.

A ring of molten fissures exploded outward—a deadly radius.

Noel launched himself upward, cloak snapping behind him. Midair, he twisted, letting the fissures scorch the ground below.

He inhaled sharply.

"Fine. You want wide-range attacks?"

His hand swept sideways, a burning arc tracing through the air.

"Fire Arc!"

A crescent of blazing fire slashed toward the Behemoth's shoulder—

hitting the joint with a solid crack.

The monster staggered, molten plates shifting awkwardly.

Weakness number two.

The right shoulder.

Noir darted around the field, massive paws silent despite her size, circling behind the monster. Her shadow rippled—

'Dad, its core exposure increases every time it attacks!'

Noel's eyes flicked to the glowing cracks along the Behemoth's chest.

'There. Overheats after big swings. Needs seconds to stabilize.'

Seconds Noel intended to steal.

He landed, sliding across the ground, the cloak absorbing the heat that licked at his ankles.

The Behemoth reared up—

casting a monstrous silhouette across the cavern.

Noel dug his heel into the floor.

And whispered:

"Let's break you open."

He blurred forward.

Revenant Fang ignited with fire.

The Behemoth's molten claws descended in a devastating arc—

—and Noel met the attack head-on, cloak pulsing with Sentinel's Pulse, absorbing the lethal intent for that single heartbeat.

Enough for Noel to slide under its arm—

—and slash across the exposed joint.

CRRRAAACK—

A fissure of molten blood sprayed out.

The Behemoth howled—

—and the cavern trembled.

The real opening was coming.

Noel tightened his grip on Revenant Fang, eyes shining with focus.

"Alright," he murmured.

The Behemoth lunged.

Not a charge.

A desperation rush.

Its molten plates flared open, glowing like liquid iron, heat pulsing in waves strong enough to warp the air. The creature's body moved with animal fury, dragging rivers of molten stone behind it as it sprinted on all fours.

Noir snarled. 'Dad—MOVE!'

But Noel didn't retreat.

He advanced.

His boots dug into the cracked earth as he sprinted directly toward the monster's massive chest. Every instinct screamed death, yet his focus sharpened to a razor's point.

"Let's push it," he whispered.

The Behemoth swiped with its left claw—

A molten blade the size of a wagon wheel.

Noel ducked under it, sliding across scorched ground. Sparks snapped across his cloak — Silent Guard absorbing the residual blast.

The second claw came down immediately.

Noel twisted his torso—

"Shadow Step."

A streak of black mist swallowed him.

The Behemoth's claw slammed into empty ground.

Noel reappeared on the creature's right flank, cloak billowing behind him.

He struck.

Revenant Fang cleaved down in a calculated arc—

SHNK—

More fissures broke open along the weakened shoulder.

The Behemoth roared and slammed its bulk sideways, trying to crush him.

"Not happening."

Noel leapt up the monster's arm, boots finding tiny hold after tiny hold on molten plates as they shifted under his feet.

The Behemoth twisted, trying to bite him mid-climb—

—Noel launched himself upward.

"Glacialis!"

The shard of ice slammed into the monster's open maw, frost hissing against molten teeth.

The Behemoth reeled back from the sudden temperature shock.

Noel landed on its back, crouched between its glowing spinal ridges.

The creature bucked wildly.

"Easy—"

He stabbed Revenant Fang downward.

The blade sank between plates.

Molten blood burst upward in a violent hiss.

The Behemoth roared so hard the cavern roof dropped chunks of stone.

Noir charged in from below with perfect timing—her massive form barreling into the monster's legs. She struck like a living battering ram, forcing the Behemoth to lower its torso.

A perfect kill angle.

Noel's eyes sharpened.

He rose to a full stand on the monster's back.

Fire gathered around his blade, twisting into a burning spiral.

"Let's end this—"

He dragged Revenant Fang outward.

"Ignition Surge!"

The blade erupted in flames.

Noel sprinted across the monster's back—

and slashed downward in a two-handed arc—

—directly into the glowing core fissure on its chest.

The strike detonated like a firestorm.

The Behemoth convulsed, molten veins exploding outward in fiery cracks. Its legs buckled. Its body thrashed—

—and then fell.

A titanic crash shook the cavern as the beast collapsed in a heap of cooling magma.

Silence.

Steam curled upward from its wounds.

Noir padded next to the corpse, shrinking back into her small form with a tired little hop.

'Dad… I think… we won.'

Noel landed beside her, exhaling.

"Yeah," he breathed. "We did."

A glowing window appeared before him.

[You have slain Lavaquake Behemoth (Ascendant – Elite).

You have received 0.10% Core Progress.]

[Current Core Progress: 82.93% — Mana Core: Ascendant]

Noel stared at it.

"…Only 0.10% for that?"

Noir fell onto her back, kicking her paws lazily into the air.

'I think we're getting too strong, Dad.'

He huffed a laugh.

"Yeah. Maybe."

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