Draven slowly pushed himself to his feet.
Blood continued dripping from his torn clothes.
The wounds covering his body had already finished knitting themselves back together.
He glanced at Aldric.
"...You can let go now."
Aldric released the back of Draven's tattered clothing.
"...Looks like you finally pulled yourself together."
He smirked.
"...Thought you'd finally lost it."
"...Lying there..."
"...Muttering to yourself like some lunatic."
His grin widened.
"...But I get it now."
"...It's the exact opposite."
His crimson eyes locked onto Draven.
"...You're finally ready to play..."
"...Aren't you?"
Silence.
Draven rolled one shoulder.
**Crack.**
Then the other.
**Crack.**
He slowly tilted his neck from side to side.
**Crack... Crack...**
He drew in a long, steady breath.
The air around him seemed to tremble.
Then—
he slowly exhaled.
A long hiss escaped between his teeth.
"...Hssss..."
Silence returned.
The strands of mana surrounding his body grew denser.
His aura continued rising.
Not explosively—
but relentlessly.
Like an ocean whose tide refused to stop climbing.
His fingers flexed one by one.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
As though reacquainting themselves with movement.
**Crack.**
**Crack.**
**Crack.**
Across from him—
another Rift-Breaker forced half of its colossal body through the widening Breach.
It roared.
Draven didn't even spare it a glance.
Aldric chuckled.
"...I'll keep them busy."
Dark mana surged beneath his feet.
"...Maybe kill one while I'm at it."
Draven answered without turning around.
"...Do what you want."
The instant the words left his mouth—
**BOOM!!**
The ground beneath him exploded.
His figure vanished.
Only a shattered crater remained where he had been standing.
Aldric's grin widened until his fangs became visible.
"...Alright."
Dark crimson mana condensed around his outstretched hand.
Blood gathered from across the battlefield.
From the corpses of the fallen Rift-Breakers.
From the crimson stains soaking the shattered stone.
It spiraled together.
Compressed.
Solidified.
A massive poleaxe slowly took shape within his grasp.
Its crimson blade gleamed with an ominous sheen.
He rested it casually across one shoulder.
His crimson eyes lifted toward the four advancing Rift-Breakers.
"...Come on then."
He smiled.
"...Let's see which one of you bastards dies first."
With a single step—
he charged.
**BOOM!**
Aldric shot forward.
The shattered ground behind him collapsed beneath the force of his step.
The nearest Rift-Breaker immediately turned toward him.
Its massive arm swept horizontally.
A blow powerful enough to flatten an entire fortress wall.
Aldric didn't slow down.
"...Too slow."
He ducked beneath the strike.
The wind pressure alone ripped apart the surrounding stone.
His poleaxe swung upward.
**BOOOOM—!!**
The crimson blade slammed into the creature's forearm.
A shower of black scales erupted into the air.
The Rift-Breaker staggered.
A deep gash split open across its arm.
It roared furiously.
The wound immediately began knitting itself back together.
Aldric laughed.
"...There you go."
"...Now you've finally started paying attention."
The monster's other fist descended.
Aldric kicked off its injured arm.
The massive fist smashed into its own shoulder.
**CRAAASH!**
Fragments of black armor exploded in every direction.
Aldric flipped gracefully through the air.
Dark mana surged around the poleaxe.
Without hesitation—
he hurled it.
The weapon spun like a crimson storm.
**BOOOOOOM—!!**
It buried itself deep inside the Rift-Breaker's chest.
The impact drove the gigantic creature backward several steps.
Before it could recover—
Aldric was already there.
He seized the handle.
Then ripped the poleaxe free.
Black blood erupted from the wound.
"...Still standing?"
He grinned.
"...Good."
"...I'd hate for the fun to end already."
---
Elsewhere—
Draven had already reached another Rift-Breaker.
There had been no roar.
No warning.
Only a blur.
The monster instinctively swung both massive arms downward.
**BOOM!**
The floor shattered.
Dust exploded skyward.
Nothing.
Draven wasn't there.
The Rift-Breaker's head suddenly jerked upward.
A presence.
Above.
It looked toward the ceiling.
Too late.
Draven descended silently.
His crimson eyes never left the monster below.
*...If only I had a weapon...*
For a brief instant—
the thought crossed his mind.
Then—
*...Screw it.*
*...Doesn't matter.*
*...I'll just rip out what I want.*
Dark strands of mana coiled around his right leg.
Not leaking—
Compressing.
Folding.
Again.
And again.
Each layer packed tighter than the last.
Until the surrounding air began to distort.
Then—
he struck.
**BOOOOOOM—!!**
His heel crashed into the Rift-Breaker's skull.
The creature's enormous head was driven violently downward.
Its neck bent at an unnatural angle.
The ground beneath its feet exploded into a massive crater.
Stone erupted upward like a tidal wave.
The Rift-Breaker released a furious roar.
Its colossal body staggered.
Draven pushed off its head before it could retaliate.
He landed lightly several meters away.
His Folding Mesh never stopped.
Abyssal mana continued pouring into him from every direction.
*...If I continue absorbing constantly...*
*...Then redirect part of it into my attacks...*
*...Every strike becomes stronger.*
His gaze remained calm.
*...But every bit I spend...*
*...Delays reaching the amount I need.*
For a brief moment—
he weighed the two choices.
Then—
his answer came immediately.
*...Forget it.*
*...I'll just end this quickly.*
The flow of mana inside his body changed.
Instead of allowing it all to continue flowing inward—
he forcefully redirected a portion through his limbs.
The veins along his arms instantly bulged.
His muscles trembled violently.
The pain multiplied.
His bones groaned beneath the overwhelming pressure.
Blood seeped from the corners of his eyes once more.
Draven ignored it.
The Rift-Breaker had already recovered.
It roared.
Both massive arms swept toward him from opposite directions.
Trying to crush him between them.
Draven didn't retreat.
**BOOM!**
The ground exploded beneath his feet.
He shot straight toward the monster instead.
At the exact instant the two colossal arms slammed together—
he slipped through the impossibly narrow gap between them.
The crushing impact thundered behind him.
His right fist drew back.
Mana spiraled violently around it.
Folded.
Compressed.
Forced into a single point.
The skin across his arm split open.
Blood sprayed into the air.
He swung.
**BOOOOOOOOOOM—!!**
His fist punched straight through the Rift-Breaker's armored chest.
A violent shockwave erupted from its back.
Layer after layer of black armor exploded apart.
Cracks spread across its entire torso.
The monster's roar died in its throat.
Draven's arm continued driving deeper.
His fingers searched through the collapsing flesh.
Then—
they found it.
The Abyssal Core.
His bloodied hand tightened around it.
A faint smile appeared on his blood-stained face.
"...Found you."