—A few seconds prior—

"S-stop me!" one professor screamed as he hurtled straight toward the Colossus's slightly open maw.

From the moment Brant had flung them forward with that violent gust of wind, the three professors had been half-riding the wind itself. Mid-flight, one of them swiftly summoned his eagle, grabbing another professor and pulling him upward. That left the third man alone—still caught in the roaring airflow that soared like a dragon—being carried directly toward the Colossus.

As they flew closer, the true scale of the monster became horrifyingly clear.

Unlike the reports, the Colossus wasn't merely large—it was gargantuan. Its body spanned nearly five to six hundred meters in width, with a towering height close to two hundred and fifty meters. From this proximity, it felt less like a beast and more like a moving landmass.

"We're supposed to deal with this thing?!" a fairly middle-aged man shouted, disbelief thick in his voice. "My acid won't even eat three meters deep into that shell!"

"At least you can try to deal damage," another professor snapped back. He looked similarly middle-aged, though deep wrinkles lined his face, as if life—or perhaps a divorce—had worn him down. "What's my mud gonna do, huh? That thing's got Earth Manipulation! My attacks only reinforce him!"

Before the argument could escalate, the voice rang out sharply over the wind.

"He's a physical type, isn't he?!"

"Punch him, musclehead!" the professor barked, already extending his arm forward as corrosive energy gathered. "You've got a physical-type beast!"

"Oh… ahh… yes!" the man responded, startled but quick to act.

[Muscle Burst]!

Thick veins bulged violently along his right arm as his sleeve tore apart. Muscles swelled unnaturally, skin tightening as power surged through him. Carried by the momentum of the wind, he was already perfectly positioned for a devastating strike.

"AHHHHH—!" he roared, summoning his beast at the same time.

A massive, yellow-furred ape materialised midair.

Lacking its master's momentum, the beast immediately entered free fall—but that was exactly what it needed. It slammed into the forest floor below, releasing a thunderous shockwave that rippled outward in a twenty-meter radius.

BAAAM!

At the same moment, the professor's fist crashed straight into the centre of the Colossus's head. The advancing giant slowed as a massive crater formed at the impact point, chunks of hardened earth and stone blasting outward.

Without wasting a second, the professor enhanced his legs with the same skill and kicked off, leaping away. Before he could even land, the ape that had fallen earlier came rocketing upward toward the same crater. It had converted the kinetic energy from its fall, compressing it—and now it was about to unleash it all.

[Kinetic Blast]!

BAM! BOOOOM!

The impact erupted in two distinct waves—first the ape's crushing punch, then a delayed kinetic shock that ripped through the crater, sending violent tremors across the Colossus's body.

Both master and beast disengaged cleanly.

In their place, a thick stream of greenish liquid poured down from the sky like a pressurised jet.

[Acid Hose]!

Siiizzzzlll!

The exposed inner skin layer sizzled violently as the acid chewed through it, smoke rising in thick plumes.

HOOOOOOONNNNNGGGGGG!

The Colossus roared in pain. With the crater already carved deep enough to expose its main body, the acid did wonders—at least for a moment. Soon, however, the damaged area began sealing itself as a fresh Earth Layer rapidly formed, blocking the acid as it struggled to penetrate the continuously regenerating shell.

[Mud Spikes]!

Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing!

Countless mud spikes erupted upward toward the acid stream. But instead of cracking the shell, they dissolved on contact, melting back into the structure and reinforcing the Earth layer even further.

"See?" the wrinkled professor muttered. "Told ya."

"Told ya?!" the acid user snapped. "You fucker, stop helping the beast! If your attacks are useless, just stand there and spectate!"

And just like that, they began their assault on the beast, slowing it down enough that by the time it reached near the city, the beast tide should have already been cleared.

Meanwhile, within the beast tide—

"M-master Dale!" Rys shouted. "Look at the third position—the person is only fifteen thousand points behind you!"

As she spoke, Rys punched a beast straight through its skull, white icy particles swirling tightly around her fist before dispersing into the air.

"Don't you see the number?" Dale replied sharply, raising an earth wall just in time to block a porcupine's spiked charge. "That person is no one else but that man's girlfriend!"

"What's that?!" Enra suddenly yelled.

Everyone turned toward her line of sight.

Not far away, a hulking ten-meter beast stood locked in combat, releasing wave after wave of thick, brownish vines that wrapped and crushed down upon a frost bear, suppressing it with relentless force. Amid the chaos, Enra caught a glimpse of pink hair—and instantly recognised Lily, standing firm as she commanded the massive Treant.

Dale froze for a brief second before sharply turning his head away.

"Come on," he said, forcing his voice steady. "We shouldn't get distracted. Let's leave them alone… whoever they are."

A faint shiver ran through him as Lily's eyes resurfaced in his memory. He clenched his jaw, trying his best not to think about it.

But Enra completely missed the hint.

"Master! We should bring her to us," she said eagerly. "Look how powerful her beast is!"

She was already imagining how incredible it would be to spar against something like that.

"Lyss," Dale said simply.

Without hesitation, Lyss raised her staff and unleashed a concentrated water cannon.

WHOOSH!

Enra was instantly drenched from head to toe.

"W-what—stop! Stop!" Enra screamed, sputtering as she struggled to breathe through the torrent.

"W-why?" Enra asked. "Her man is already dead. And I'm sure she already likes Master, with how good he looks."

Dale just shook his head, pointedly focusing on commanding his beasts to finish off the porcupine, pretending he hadn't heard a word of that.

Lyss sighed and began explaining—quietly—that Dale believed Leo was still alive, and even if he wasn't, Dale would never approach her anyway—

"He's scared?!" Enra exclaimed in disbelief.

"Impossible! He snatched me from that hobo of a count's son without batting an eye, and now he's scared of a girl with no background? Come on—she's so pretty too…"

As Enra said that, her gaze drifted back toward Lily. Just as her thoughts began to spiral into something inappropriate, her heart skipped a beat.

Lily suddenly turned.

Her eyes met Enra's directly.

The contact lasted only a moment before Lily turned away again, refocusing on the frost bear as if nothing had happened.

Even Dale was shocked at how Lily had sensed Enra's gaze. Instead of reassuring him, it only deepened the chill in his spine.

And this time, even Enra was completely mortified.

She stumbled backwards and fell onto her butt, eyes wide.

---

"P-professors!"

An instructor came scrambling through the forest below, his breath ragged, face pale with fear.

"

A-another—" He tripped over a root and crashed to the ground.

"Hm?" Lu frowned. "Another what?"

The instructor lifted his head, eyes wide with terror.

"ANOTHER COLOSSUS IS APPROACHING!"

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