The Pool of the Firmament had changed them.

Their bodies were no longer fragile human flesh. They moved with easy strength. Stamina boosted. Durability enhanced.

A blow that would have broken bones now left only fading bruises.

They were faster. Stronger. Filled with dangerous confidence.

They were ready for Zone A.

Their hunt for the second S-rank creature led them to the most dangerous place yet.

The land was empty and covered in black volcanic glass. Hot air rose from glowing cracks in the ground. Sharp rocks stood under a sky full of ash.

Rumble. Rumble.

The constant, low rumble was a reminder. They were walking on the skin of a sleeping volcano.

The map led them to a massive lava tube. A gaping hole breathing out superheated air.

The den of their prey.

"Edgar," Dante commanded.

His ghostly analyst appeared. Form wavering in the intense heat.

"Appraise the threat."

The information flowed into his mind.

Creature: Infernal Juggernaut, 'Hephaestus'

Rank: S

Abilities: Obsidian Carapace (immune to fire), Magma Core (shoots liquid magma), Heat Sink (absorbs fire attacks), Volcanic Stomp (area shockwave)

Weaknesses: Extreme weakness to ice and cold. Magma Core needs recharge time. Slow movement.

'Perfect. A living furnace. Erica's useless here. But Masha? Masha is the key.'

He turned to his team. They watched him with focus.

The doubts and anger from before had been burned away. Replaced by hard-won, practical trust.

"This creature is a living furnace," he began. His voice calm. "Erica, you're on support duty. Your fire is a liability here. Don't engage it directly."

"Your job is to intercept any magma bombs with your plasma lances. Protect the team from splash damage. You're our anti-air defense."

Erica nodded. Disappointment flickering in her eyes. But she didn't question it.

"Masha," he said. His gaze locking with hers. "You're the key to this entire battle. Your ice is our only true weapon."

"You won't focus on damage. Your goal is to target its joints. Shoulders, elbows, knees. Make its armor brittle."

He saw worry on her face. Being the key to such a dangerous plan was a heavy burden.

He stepped closer. His voice dropping slightly.

"You can do this, Masha. All of our lives depend on your control."

Her eyes widened. A faint blush rising on her cheeks before she gave a firm nod.

"Rina," he continued. "You stay near Masha. Her spell-casting will draw aggression. You keep her standing. No matter what."

"The rest of us are the hammer. Masha provides the anvil."

"The moment she freezes a joint, we attack that point with everything we have. We focus, we shatter, we move. We break this thing piece by piece."

They entered the lava tube.

The heat was staggering. Would have knocked out their old selves. Thanks to the pool, it was just heavy discomfort.

The tunnel opened into a vast, circular cavern. Floor of cracked obsidian.

In the center, bathing in molten rock, was the Infernal Juggernaut.

Over thirty feet tall. A hulking golem of black volcanic glass. Veins of glowing orange magma pulsed beneath its surface. Its head was a featureless block with two burning coals for eyes.

It rose from its bath as they entered.

THUMP. THUMP.

Heavy footsteps shaking the cavern.

"Begin," Dante commanded.

Masha opened her grimoire. Pages turning on their own as she chanted.

A blizzard of ice shards erupted. Not aimed at the Juggernaut. But at the air around it. Lowering the temperature. Fighting back the oppressive heat.

Then she pointed. A focused beam of absolute cold shot across the cavern. Striking the Juggernaut's right shoulder joint.

HISSSSS!

CRACK!

ROOOOAR!

The monster roared. A sound of grinding rock and escaping steam. The superheated obsidian hissed and cracked under thermal shock.

"Now!" Dante yelled.

Eric charged forward. Drawing attention.

Jin and Talia became blurs. Their weapons striking the brittle shoulder joint.

CLINK! CLANK! CRACK!

The sound like pickaxes against glass. Chips of obsidian flying.

The Juggernaut swung its massive arm. A limb the size of a tree trunk.

Eric met the blow with his shield.

BOOM!

The impact deafening. He was thrown back ten feet. But his feet never left the ground. His greaves holding him firm.

The creature enraged, turned its attention to the source of the cold.

Its featureless face opened. A torrent of liquid magma erupted toward Masha.

Masha's eyes widened in terror.

'No. If she dies, we lose our only weapon against this thing. Can't let that happen.'

Dante was already moving.

He appeared in front of her in a flash. His black sword, Soul-Drinker, held ready.

He didn't try to block. He simply held the blade up.

The magma stream washed over the sword.

HISSSSSS!

The parasitic blade didn't melt. It drank.

A flood of raw, fiery energy flowed through the sword. Into him. His mana pool swelling with stolen power.

He gritted his teeth against the searing heat. His reinforced body screaming in protest. But he held his ground.

A dark shield between the inferno and his ice mage.

'Burns like hell. But the sword is absorbing most of it. And the energy gain is worth the pain.'

When the magma jet stopped, he stood steaming in a puddle of cooling rock. Unharmed.

Masha stared at him. Her face pale. Shock. Awe. Something deeper she couldn't name.

He had stood in the heart of the fire for her.

"Focus on the joints, Masha," he said calmly. Not looking at her. Eyes fixed on the beast. "Don't let it rest."

His words broke her trance.

With renewed, fierce determination, she unleashed another beam of cold at the creature's knee.

The battle raged.

Brutal. Grinding.

Masha would freeze a point. The team would hammer at it until the obsidian shattered. Exposing molten magma beneath.

But the Juggernaut was S-rank. It adapted.

It realized its ranged attacks were being intercepted. That its direct attacks were being focused.

It changed tactics.

It raised both massive feet. Stomped down with all its weight.

BOOM!

A shockwave of force and heat erupted. The obsidian floor cracking and heaving.

The entire team was thrown off their feet.

Rina, the most fragile was thrown against a wall.

CRACK!

Her head struck rock with a sickening sound. She slumped to the ground. Unconscious.

The Juggernaut, seeing their healer fall, immediately targeted her.

It lumbered forward. Its massive hand raised to crush her.

"No!" Jin yelled. Trying to intercept. But he was too far away.

Dante held out his hand.

"Ouroboros."

FWOOSH!

The floor erupted in shadow.

A colossal, serpentine form of living darkness rose between the Juggernaut and Rina.

His Abyssal Shadow. Seven heads turning to face the obsidian monster. Violet eyes burning with otherworldly light.

Two S-rank behemoths. Staring at each other.

Fire versus void. Heat versus shadow.

Then they charged.

The cavern became a battleground of monsters.

Ouroboros was a fluid storm of shadow. Seven heads striking like dark whips.

The Juggernaut was a lumbering mountain. Magma-fists smashing craters in the ground.

They grappled. A chaotic tangle of black shadow and glowing obsidian.

CRASH! BOOM! HISSS!

Ouroboros's form was seared where magma touched it. But for every wound, it inflicted one back.

While the titans fought, the team regrouped.

"This is our chance!" Dante roared. "Its attention is completely focused! All units, target the chest! We're cracking its core!"

What followed was their most desperate assault.

Masha poured every ounce of mana into a single beam of absolute zero. Aimed at the Juggernaut's chest.

The glowing magma veins dimmed. Hissed. Began to harden.

Eric and Jin provided cover. Their enhanced bodies withstanding the intense heat.

Talia and Lana became relentless. Poisoned daggers and kinetic bolts striking the same frozen point over and over.

Erica fired a continuous barrage of plasma lances into the growing crack.

Finally, with a deafening groan, the obsidian plate shattered.

CRACK!

Its molten core was exposed. A blindingly bright miniature sun of liquid magma.

Ouroboros saw its chance.

All seven heads lunged forward. Mouths opening.

They didn't breathe fire or poison.

They breathed void.

Seven streams of pure darkness poured into the exposed core.

The Infernal Juggernaut let out a final, silent scream.

The light in its core didn't explode.

It was extinguished. Devoured by shadow.

The magma veins went dark. The burning eyes faded to black.

With a final groan, the colossal golem collapsed.

CRASH!

Its reign of fire was over.

They had done it. Slain another S-rank.

Dante released Ouroboros. The shadow dissolving back into his soul.

He looked at his team. Exhausted. Battered. But alive.

Masha was staring at him. That look in her eyes again. Admiration. Respect. Maybe something more.

"Good work, everyone," he said. His voice steady. "Rest for some seconds and after that we will think what to do next...with this corpse and with the path ahead."

"Dante," Masha said softly. Walking toward him. "Thank you. For saving me. Again."

He looked at her. His expression unreadable.

"You don't have to" he said simply. "It was my job as a leader."

The words were cold. But she heard something else. Something she wanted to hear.

And that was enough.

For now.

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