As Alen suddenly stabbed something into Zane’s chest, to Zane’s absolute shock, the volatile, chaotic mana inside his body started to forcefully transfer into the object.

He opened his eyes and looked down. A purple crystal fragment was embedded directly into his chest. If Alen had thrust it just an inch to the left, it would have pierced his heart.

The crystal was rapidly sucking out the chaotic purple mana. Upon seeing it, Zane realized exactly what it was: the same explosive crystal fragment from the tunnel that Alen had snatched out of the air earlier.

’Damn this psycho bastard! Who carries such dangerous stuff around like it isn’t a walking bomb?’

’He should have been blown up along with it... F*ck, it hurts! Damn, it feels like someone is sucking out my own lifeforce...’

As the chaotic mana was absorbed into the crystal, the heavy physical toll on Zane’s body lessened, and his own mana finally calmed down. His face was deathly pale; he looked exactly like someone who had just barely escaped death.

"Hehe... It seems to be working," Alen muttered softly.

"It is absorbing the chaotic mana perfectly."

"But it won’t last long..."

"Even this crystal has a limit. We have to take care of the Dungeon Master as soon as possible."

Alen turned toward the Dungeon Master, who was glaring at them with bloodshot eyes, radiating a heavy, suffocating killing intent. The sheer air pressure of the entity’s aura blew nearby debris away, but Alen stood calmly, his silver hair blowing back in the wind.

"Sigh... Hey, naive girl. Do something about that guy for a bit. I will join you in a few minutes,"

Alen suggested. He had to stay with Zane; since the crystal might explode if it overloaded with mana, Alen needed to monitor it until it reached maximum capacity.

Serene, who stood a few meters away, nodded firmly. She stared at the Dungeon Master with intense, glowing eyes.

"I’ll handle it."

She gathered a massive amount of mana from her core, forming a spell above her hand.

[In the name of Heaven: I request the God of Divinity to bestow me with Light Magic temporarily, in exchange for sacrificing more than half of my physical stats for a day.]

Suddenly, her skin grew pale as her physical body became several times weaker. Her overall physical stats plummeted to a quarter of their original strength. But in return, a blinding, holy light began to emit from her body, illuminating the dark cavern.

She didn’t wait for the boss to strike.

[The Heaven’s Blessing: I request the spell fired by my Light Magic to double in power...]

[The Heaven’s Grace: Light Type - Spear of Judgment!]

A massive spear made of pure, condensed light magic formed in the air above her. Its sheer holy presence immediately deflected the boss’s dark killing intent. With a final mental command from Serene, the spear shot forward.

As the spear of Light Magic hurtled toward the Dungeon Master, who was still in a weakened state from Zane’s draining spell, he felt a genuine chill run down his spine. The holy magic was approaching at incredible speed. Suddenly, the dark tendrils binding him loosened their grip just enough. Using every ounce of his remaining strength, he tore the shadows apart and leaped away a fraction of a second before the spear struck the ground where he had been standing.

*BOOOOOOOOOOM!*

A deafening explosion echoed throughout the cavern. The entire dungeon shook as if a small-scale earthquake had struck, causing heavy debris to fall from the high ceiling.

As the dust cleared, a massive, smoldering crater several meters deep was revealed where the spear had landed.

Serene’s face became even paler. She had lost more than half of her mana in that single attack, and because the Dungeon Master had managed to escape, it was completely useless.

Suddenly, a suffocating killing intent washed over her. The Dungeon Master, having narrowly dodged the blast, glared at her with furious, bloodshot eyes.

A dark grimoire floated beside him, continuously emitting thick, purple mana.

"YOU INSECTS! YOU ARE ALL GOING TO DIE BY MY HANDS!"

[Dark Spirit Art: Chaos Stream!]

Violent purple lightning erupted from his body, tearing through the ground as it launched directly toward Serene.

Serene immediately channeled her remaining mana.

[The Heaven’s Grace: Aegis of Protection!]

A glowing hexagonal shield manifested around her. As the chaotic lightning struck, it deflected around the barrier, blasting violently into the surrounding walls.

But the onslaught continued. The shield began to crack, deep fractures webbing across its surface in several places under the intense pressure.

*SHATTER!*

The shield broke into pieces. The chaotic lightning blasted straight through, violently striking the defenseless Serene.

*BOOOOM!*

She was launched backward several feet through the air. Her body slammed into the ground, and she was barely able to lift her head from the stone floor.

But the Dungeon Master wasn’t done with her.

"YOUR DEFENSES WON’T WORK AGAINST ME, GIRL! EVEN IF YOU STOLE 90% OF MY POWER, I CAN STILL DEFEAT INSECTS LIKE YOU!"

"HAHAHA! IT HAS BEEN SEVERAL DECADES SINCE I LAST FOUGHT HUMANS... IT IS FUN TO PLAY WITH YOU BEFORE KILLING YOU!"

"BUT SINCE YOU IMPRESSED ME WITH YOUR POWER—AND ACTUALLY MADE ME FEEL PAIN—I WILL GIVE YOU A QUICK DEATH... HEHE. BY BLASTING YOUR BODY INTO A THOUSAND PIECES!"

[Dark Spirit Art: Chaos Spear!]

A jagged spear made of pure chaos manifested in thin air and launched toward her at lightning speed.

Serene, who was lying helplessly on the ground, watched the incoming spear. A small, confident smile tugged at her lips.

"Got you..."

As the dark spear slammed into her, her body suddenly blurred and distorted into particles of light. It was an illusion she had created using her Light Magic.

Her real body was already standing directly behind the Dungeon Master, who was still looking at the fading illusion in shock.

[The Heaven’s Grace: Spear of Judgment!]

She ruthlessly slammed her Light Magic spear into his back. The holy weapon pierced straight through his chest, blowing a massive hole through the center of his body.

As the holy magic flooded his body

, the dark mana began to burn away instantly. Darkness was inherently weak against Light-type magic. The entity’s body shrieked, slowly disintegrating into dark ash. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Serene slumped to the ground, panting heavily. She had drained every last drop of her mana. She was now at her most vulnerable; her physical stats had plummeted, leaving her with almost no protection or stamina.

She watched the Dungeon Master’s burning body until the very last cells disintegrated into nothing. She let out a deep sigh of relief. Lying flat on her back, she stared up at the high ceiling for a moment before turning her head to check on Zane.

She could see him lying near the wall, staring directly at her. His face was deathly pale, his expression twisted in sheer shock, and he was frantically pointing a trembling hand in her direction.

She couldn’t see his face very clearly. Her sense of sight had drastically decreased because she no longer had enough mana to naturally enhance her vision.

’Hmm... Is Zane trying to say something? Is he trying to signal me with his hand?’ Serene thought groggily.

As she squinted at him, he just kept pointing desperately toward her.

’Is he asking if I’m okay? That’s possible, but why would he look so terrified?’

A heavy, sinking feeling settled in her gut as if something was terribly wrong. She slowly turned her eyes to look behind her—and finally realized exactly what Zane was pointing at.

The dark grimoire. It was still floating above the ground, continuously emitting thick, purple mana.

Suddenly, the dark energy around the book intensified. A massive, shadowy hand reached out from the pages of the grimoire, grasping the air. Then, another hand appeared.

Slowly, the entity’s upper body dragged itself out of the magical book, followed by the rest of its form.

Serene stared at the figure in absolute dread. It was the exact same Dungeon Master she had just fought. But there was one terrifying difference: this one wasn’t powerless. The one she had just killed was heavily weakened by Zane’s draining spell.

The entity standing in front of her now was at his absolute full power. He emitted the suffocating, powerful aura of a Peak A-Rank monster.

The power gap between them was so incredibly massive that it was impossible for the current, exhausted trio to defeat him.

The entity smirked from beneath his dark hood.

"IT SEEMS MY OTHER VERSION OF ME WAS DISAPPOINTING... BUT DO NOT WORRY. I WILL PLAY WITH YOU ALL TO MY HEART’S CONTENT! HAHAHAHA!"