The eyes were as large as Leo's entire body, and just as he'd suspected, they were red—though far less so than the wolf's. Where the wolf's eyes had been completely crimson from sclera to pupil, these massive ones were only faintly red, the colour clinging to the borders of the iris like a thin, unsettling ring.

It was as if the same drug had been used on it as the wolf, but diluted by its sheer size. The effects were weaker, yet still unmistakably present—

A wave of pressure rolled off the creature's eye, and Leo staggered as the dagger in his hands suddenly shuddered. His eyes widened. The chipped blade melted—literally melted—sliding off the bony handle like molten wax. The liquified metal hovered in the air for a moment, swirling like some metallic slime, though its sharp glint made it feel far more dangerous than its texture suggested.

A heartbeat later, the floating mass twisted violently, forging itself into a spiralling blade with a needle-fine tip. It whirled at blurring speed and shot straight for Leo's chest.

"Damn!" Leo cursed, throwing his forearm in front of him. The impact punched through his arm, the blade drilling halfway through and poking out the other side.

"Hss—!" Leo hissed, his breath sharp. Pain flared hot and raw, but he kept his arm fixed in place, tightening his muscles to trap the metal. The spiralling blade vibrated furiously, trying to burrow through flesh and bone to reach his heart.

Then—another vibration, this time near his chest.

Leo froze. His stomach dropped, pupils contracting in dread.

"Shit! The trial metal plate!"

He'd kept the plate strapped to his chest, afraid storing it in his spiritual space might break whatever link allowed the corpses to teleport back. So he had pinned it inside his front pocket like a badge.

He regretted that instantly.

The metal burst from his chest pocket, shredding his shirt as it liquefied mid-air, reformed into a sharp, surgical-looking tool, and lunged for his heart. It moved so fast he didn't even have time to react—

But—

Shing—!

A translucent blue barrier flared to life like a second layer of skin, stopping the attack inches from his chest. The sharp point denting due to the barrier—then the barrier spider-cracked and shattered like brittle glass.

Ding!

High-Blue-Tier Spirit Armour – 0/3 uses left.

Recharge 1 use by using 2000 mana units.

"F-fuck… that scared me to death," Leo muttered, cold sweat dripping down his spine as he sucked in a shaky breath. His respect for Brant skyrocketed in that instant.

Even if the armour had triggered in previous situations where he might have survived regardless, this one was different. This one had to be fatal. And he had no intention of finding out whether a pierced heart was something he could recover from his regeneration or healing.

Thankfully, he'd recharged the armour once after that three-cored golem's slap. Otherwise, today would've been the end. It had already activated twice before—once when he was launched by the sudden repulsive force, and once when he'd crashed into the boulder—and now this.

Which meant this single colossus had forced three Spirit Armour activations within minutes.

A terrifying thought.

An idea suddenly clicked. With a sharp thought, both the metal lodged in his arm and the dented needle stuck against his chest vanished—pulled straight into his spiritual space. He swept his senses through it immediately, searching for any other metal pieces.

Unequipping his spirit armour, he sent it back. Couldn't risk it if it even a tiny speck of metal in it.

Thankfully, he'd thrown away the rest of the broken armour long ago, compelled after the very first day of the trial when he took the beating while trying out different techniques with his skill on beasts. If he hadn't, things could've gone very wrong just now.

As soon as the metal disappeared, the wound in his arm began knitting itself together, the familiar warm tingle of healing crawling up his skin. The colossal eye still stared at him, unblinking, as if searching for another weapon to animate. Then, finding no metal nearby, the ground began to tremble.

"Doesn't even give time to breathe!" Leo spat.

He thrust his hand toward the unconscious wolf, focused on his Primordial Beast Taming Talent, and a crisp system chime echoed in his mind—taming successful. He didn't even look at the notification. With a single thought, he sent the wolf into his spiritual space, making sure her family's corpses remained on a different island he'd created previously out of boredom. He only kept the Shadow Wolf's body closer, in case the pup someday needed to vent her rage.

Shyra, who'd been momentarily stunned by the bizarre behaviour of the dagger's metal, snapped herself out of it. She stared directly into the Colossus's enormous eye without a trace of fear.

The ground shook harder.

"Shyra, jump high!" Leo shouted as he vaulted onto her back.

Shyra exploded upward, leaping nearly twenty meters into the air. The moment they left the ground, the terrain behind them erupted—razor-sharp earth spikes bursting upward like spears.

"Metal, Earth… what else do you have motherfucker? Show me!" Leo growled, guiding Shyra to land on the massive thirty-thousand-square-meter hill-like back of the beast.

She touched down only to leap again instantly, claws barely brushing the Colossus's rocky surface. It clearly sensed their exact position on its back and kept trying to impale or crush them.

"Hmph," Leo snorted, teeth clenched.

"Keep dodging—straight for the head!"

He summoned Niri.

Both he and Niri activated [Solar Beam] simultaneously, golden energy gathering in front of their extended hands as Shyra carried them in wild, erratic arcs across the Colossus's back. They only needed to buy time for the charge.

A minute dragged by, and Shyra danced through a deadly storm—earth spikes, heaving boulders, even sharpened projectiles. But with her trait, Feline Agility, she moved like a streak of living lightning, twisting and springing with impossible grace. Every attack missed her by inches, but none came close.

Feline Agility: Blessed with extreme flexibility, speed, and reaction time. Even as a cub, its balance and reflexes outclass most Low-star beasts.

Still, the Colossus wasn't dumb. Every tactic it used aimed to force Shyra away from its head.

Leo focused. He'd already made up his mind.

No matter what—he would tame this thing. If not for its strength, then for that metal manipulation technique… and the fact that it was basically a walking fortress and house.

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