The mantis staggered, but didn't fall.

Bruce slid back a step, eyes narrowing as the other two SS Ranked mantises moved in simultaneously, their bladed limbs cutting through the air in synchronized arcs. He twisted between them, sparks flying as Red's dagger deflected one strike while his elbow smashed into another limb with bone rattling force.

So that's how it was.

Stronger. Smarter. And finally worth his attention.

His heart beat steadily in his chest, not with fear, but focus.

Whatever was waiting deeper inside this dungeon, whatever being possessed that aura, it had finally decided to stop testing him with numbers alone.

Bruce clenched his fists, mana surging tighter around his body as he faced the SS Ranked mantises blocking his path, their auras flaring as their Authorities began to stir.

"…Alright," he muttered softly, eyes cold and sharp. "Let's see what you've got."

The dungeon changed.

It wasn't an explosion or a visible distortion. There was no dramatic shift in terrain, no collapsing walls or erupting mana. Instead, the air itself sharpened. The space around Bruce felt thinner, taut like stretched wire, as though a thousand invisible blades had been drawn and held at the edge of his skin. His instincts screamed, a primal warning clawing up his spine.

It felt as if a blade rested against his neck.

No, worse.

It felt like countless blade strikes were already on their way, frozen at the final instant before impact, and all he could do was stand there and watch.

Bruce frowned, jaw tightening.

'…What is this feeling?'

[That is the aura of their scythe forelegs,] Vaelith answered, her tone unusually tense. [Most of their Authority reinforces themselves, boosting cutting potential, refining force, amplifying lethality. The full effects are still unclear. But be careful. That aura alone carries the sense of being cleaved in a single strike.]

Bruce exhaled slowly through his nose. 'Damn…'

He could suppress it. He could heal himself, overwrite the sensation, dull the edge of that imminent death pressing against his nerves. But he didn't.

He chose not to.

He needed this feeling.

He needed the reminder.

Underestimating beasts empowered by an Invader was the fastest way to die, and if these were merely pawns, then whatever waited deeper inside this dungeon would be far worse. Bruce welcomed the danger, let it burn itself into his awareness, a warning etched into his bones.

Then he moved.

In an instant, Red split into dual daggers, spinning lightly between his fingers as he vanished from his original position. The ground shattered beneath his feet as he accelerated, speed exploding outward so violently it tore through the sound barrier. A thunderous sonic boom detonated behind him as he closed the distance, his blades flashing toward the narrow gap between the mantis' head and thorax, the precise weak point he'd already dissected mentally.

The strike was perfect.

The angle. The timing. The force.

And then,

Everything stopped.

Bruce's eyes widened.

All momentum vanished as if ripped away by an unseen hand. His body froze mid lunge, mana locked, space itself refusing to carry him forward. The world didn't slow, it halted.

'…Time stop?!'

Panic flared for a fraction of a second before logic slammed down.

No.

This wasn't time stop. This was force theft, Vaelith was in shock as it noticed this.

Before Bruce's dagger could connect, the mantis moved.

There was no buildup. No acceleration curve. One moment it was still, then its foreleg was already there, scythe slicing through space with blinding immediacy and speed.

If one could observe the strike in impossible slow motion, they would see it clearly. The force behind that slash was nearly double the force Bruce himself had generated moments earlier.

It had taken his edge.

His momentum. His force.

His intent. And was using it against him.

Bruce could only watch as the scythe forelegs closed in on his neck.

Or almost did.

PEW!

PEW!

PEW!

PEW!

Shadows erupted.

Multiple SS Ranked Shadow Wolves burst forth from Bruce's shadow as if teleporting, their forms snapping into existence between him and the strike. They slammed into him, hurling his body backward with brute force.

SLICE!

Blood sprayed.

Ten shadow wolves were cleaved apart instantly, their bodies severed so cleanly it looked unreal. The mantis' strike tore through them in a single arc, but with each cut, its momentum bled away, the stolen force expended all at once.

Bruce crashed across the floor, skidding backward as he regained control.

His heart hammered.

Realization struck hard.

'…So that's how it works.'

The loyalty of the beasts he'd gained through Mirrored Surgeon had just saved his life. He now understood the mantis' Authority a little.

Before he could fully reposition, Vaelith's voice rang sharply in his mind, stripped of its usual calm.

[Bruce, drop the blade. Use your palms.]

Understanding clicked instantly.

Bruce dismissed Red without hesitation. But instead of charging in with palm strikes after dismissing Red, he planted his feet and raised his hand, fingers spread as mana surged violently through his core and out of his palm.

No contact.

No sharpness.

No force to steal.

"Heal. Vitality Collapse."

The command was absolute.

The effect was immediate.

Invisible waves of destructive healing surged outward, bypassing armor, bypassing chitin, bypassing everything physical as the skill locked directly onto the internal cores of the SS Ranked mantises. The air trembled as their bodies spasmed violently, cracks spiderwebbing across their exoskeletons from the inside out.

Bruce didn't hesitate. The mana needed to impose multiple SS Ranked at once was monstrous, but he could handle it.

He targeted all of them at once.

It was wasteful. He knew it. These were SS Ranked beasts, perfect candidates for Mirrored Surgeon, invaluable assets under normal circumstances. But beasts capable of countering the majority of his combat methods couldn't be allowed to persist.

Not here.

Not now.

There was no pause. No regret.

Vitality Collapse ignited their vitality through Heal the instant his will solidified.

The dungeon shuddered as the SS Ranked mantises began to fail from the inside, their Authorities screaming silently as the foundations of their existence were starting to get torn apart.

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