The information fed back from the Magic Guide Card made Dark suddenly understand.
This giant axe had been the Two-Headed Demon's greatest reliance all along!
This giant axe could absorb life and convert it into power.
As Gatomon's strength surged by 1,000 points, its life—its mana—was also draining away at a frightening rate.
The reason it could still operate out in the field at this moment relied precisely on Dark's mana infusion; coupled with the drain from this giant axe, the situation only grew worse and worse.
Although Dark wanted to channel his own mana into it, with the Magic Guide Spirit already summoned onto the field, the rate at which mana could be remotely infused through the Magic Guide Card had a limit.
Gatomon was a four-star Magic Guide Spirit; its normal drain was 4 points of mana per second, and the limit of remote mana infusion through the Magic Guide Card was 8 points of mana per second—that is, twice the normal drain.
Moreover, the Magic Guide Master had to guarantee the stability of the mana transmission, and the Magic Guide Spirit's own mana movements could not be too violent either, otherwise the mana transmission would be greatly diminished.
In other words, while Gatomon was in combat, the mana support Dark could provide was extremely limited.
Otherwise, he would have been more than glad to shoulder the mana drain of this giant axe himself.
In the course of Gatomon rushing toward the Two-Headed Demon, he quickly made his estimate.
The mana that giant axe absorbed each second was roughly around 10 points.
And Gatomon's mana was 1,500+500 points, which meant that under normal circumstances, it could only sustain this state for about three minutes and twenty seconds.
Three minutes and twenty seconds—merely twenty seconds more than the three-minute time limit of a certain glowing star person.
If it took a hit or two midway through the battle, the sustainable duration would be even shorter.
But none of this could constitute a reason for Gatomon to stop!
...
Gatomon's speed kept increasing.
The Holy Ring on its tail gave off a white light, drawing a snow-white streak of flowing radiance as it dashed—astonishingly producing a beauty entirely the opposite of the bloodthirsty great axe.
The Two-Headed Demon had only just clambered halfway up when Gatomon's nimble figure abruptly entered its field of vision.
"Haa!"
Only a violent shout was heard.
Gatomon then almost exactly replicated the Two-Headed Demon's earlier action—leaping high, and borrowing the force of the descent, it suddenly hacked the giant axe down!
"Roar!"
The Two-Headed Demon's lion head abruptly let out an explosive roar, and the bull head, under its reminder, actually forced its body to twist around, raising its burly right arm to parry, gripping the blade of that giant axe with its steel-like five fingers.
But the force of Gatomon's downward chop was tremendous, forcibly pressing that right arm down and carving a hideous bloody gash into its palm!
The Two-Headed Demon was forced to release its five fingers.
Seizing the chance, Gatomon withdrew the giant axe, then, using one foot as a pivot, it dual-wielded the axe and suddenly spun, borrowing this rotational force to amplify its power, and without the slightest gap hacked once more at the Two-Headed Demon's ankle!
"Aagh!"
The Two-Headed Demon instantly let out two shrill, agonized screams.
Its right ankle had actually been cut halfway through!
The tendon snapped, and blood gushed out like a fountain.
"Cat Eyes!"
The command that suddenly came through made Gatomon glare the instant it withdrew the axe, lines of light like crimson wheels turning within its eyes, locking gazes in that instant with the ferociously staring bull head.
The bull head, Talen, was violent in temperament and bloodthirsty by nature, and was at that very moment in a fit of rage.
Glared at by this "Cat Eyes," its ferocity was fully stirred up, and the bloody light within its eyes turned dark red.
[Cat Eyes: Emits light from the eyes, throwing the target into Confusion, with a chance to attack itself.]
The mechanism by which "Cat Eyes" induces Confusion successfully triggered.
The bull head Talen actually whipped its head around and bit down hard at the lion head Leon on its left side.
Although the lion head Leon sensed something was wrong, how could it possibly dodge a head on the very same shoulder?
Blood spurted abruptly.
The bull head Talen bit down on the right ear of the lion head Leon, and then, with a "riiip," tore that ear clean off!
"Aaooww!"
Amid the agonized scream.
The bestial nature inherent in the lion head Leon was thoroughly awakened, and even its originally rather calm gaze welled up with a bloody hue.
The Two-Headed Demon was gradually losing its reason.
...
Relying on the suppression of "Cat Eyes."
Gatomon gained precious breathing room.
It focused its eyes and, while the Two-Headed Demon had yet to recover, swung up that giant axe once more!
But although that lion head had had its bestial nature stirred, at this moment it still managed to react.
Enduring the bull head's biting, it twisted its waist, manipulating its two burly arms into fists; the right arm suddenly swept across, forcing Gatomon back, while the left arm turned into a great hammer and smashed down savagely from above!
Although this hammer-blow did not strike Gatomon, the moment it landed it produced a violent shockwave, which actually flung Gatomon further away!
"Roar!"
Amid the bellow.
The Two-Headed Demon finally stood back up.
Even though its momentum had been broken, its ferocious aura showed not the slightest sign of weakening.
And the wound on its right ankle was rapidly self-healing within a wrapping of bloody mist.
Given just a little time, it could fully recover its mobility—but Gatomon was not a single cat fighting alone!
Or rather, Dark Demon was not fighting alone either!
The alien-like furless black cat and the bone snake with the patterns of an alluring woman on the skin folds of its neck had long since silently drawn near.
"Skeletal Beauty Snake, Alluring Woman's Soul!"
"Sphinx Cat, [Shadow Tag]!"
The Alluring Woman's Soul that bored out from the skin folds of the Skeletal Beauty Snake's neck drifted like the wind toward the Two-Headed Demon, passing clean through its body and leaving it stiff all over.
The Sphinx Cat appeared soundlessly behind the Two-Headed Demon and planted a paw upon its shadow.
And then...
The Golden Beast, bearing golden wings on its back (Golden Insect), descended from the sky, and as it flew over the Two-Headed Demon's head, two Golden Feather Arrows burst out from within its wings, aimed squarely at the bull head's eyes!
Given the Two-Headed Demon's reactions, these Golden Feather Arrows should not have been able to hit.
But the bull head had fallen into a state of Confusion, and its outline had been pinned by [Shadow Tag], so it did not dodge in the slightest.
At the critical moment, the lion head, which had just had one of its ears bitten off, repaid evil with kindness, forcibly breaking through the restraint of [Shadow Tag] and suddenly slamming into the bull head, causing those two Golden Feather Arrows to graze past beside its ear.
Even so, these Golden Feather Arrows had without a doubt drawn the lion head's attention.
Having gained enough of a buffer, Gatomon once again gathered its power.
It lightly tapped off with one foot and leapt up, actually landing upon the [Bear Spirit]'s palm!
The [Bear Spirit], still maintaining "[Bear's Power]," came charging in like a war chariot.
Its hulking frame, in no way inferior to the Two-Headed Demon's, ferociously rammed into the Two-Headed Demon's abdomen.
Standing upon the [Bear Spirit]'s palm, Gatomon swung up the giant axe once more, and only at the moment the [Bear Spirit] collided with the Two-Headed Demon did it suddenly stamp forward, mustering all its strength to deliver a horizontal slash of the axe!
"Sssh—"
Scalding-hot blood sprayed out.
The Two-Headed Demon's abdomen had actually been split open by this single axe-stroke of Gatomon's.
The blood that stained the giant axe was instantly absorbed and vanished.
Gatomon felt its right arm growing heavier and heavier, and couldn't help its expression sinking slightly.
It was not until two potions burst open above its head and the scattered mana seeped into its skin that it recovered a little.
Having used two "Energy Potions" in succession, Dark knew very well that these 400 points of mana could only let Gatomon hold out for a little over half a minute more.
A sense of urgency that he felt only during formal duels surfaced on his face, and at the same time a look of excitement welled up in his eyes.
Three seconds later...
"In the name of Dark Demon, Magic Guide Summon—Trash Slime!"
"In the name of Dark Demon, Magic Guide Summon—Hawlucha..."
"In the name of Dark Demon, Sacrificial Summoning—Miltank!"
...
When the pink, adorable milk-cow appeared at his feet, even more Magic Guide Spirits rushed past from around it, joining the battlefield one after another.
Clearly, with Dark taking the lead and Sara's group of three making their moves, the rest of the young Magic Guide Masters had also mustered their spirits anew.
Even though their Magic Guide Spirits very likely could not contribute much to this BOSS subjugation.
Appropriate participation would still bring them spiritual gains.
Dark reached out and pressed a hand on Miltank's head, gently stroking its smooth, soft fur, and murmured, "Miltank, [Defense Curl]!"
The opponent was a Floor BOSS with an extremely high life (mana) value; Gatomon's three minutes of performance alone were not enough to win.
The mana defect of Magic Beast: Ditto would also be utterly magnified at a time like this.
Only Miltank was the hand that would secure victory!
"Moo-moo—"
Miltank nuzzled Dark's palm, then rubbed its two hands together and first rubbed out a bottle of "milk."
Only after Dark had taken that bottle of milk from its hands did it put on a solemn face and use "[Defense Curl]"!
Curling into a round ball, a layer of metallic luster lit up over Miltank's body surface, its defense multiplying.
"Very good, start rolling!"
Miltank wobbled slightly, then immediately began to roll.
From slow to fast, gradually accelerating.
The closer it drew to that Two-Headed Demon, the faster its speed.
...
At this moment...
The Sphinx Cat's [Shadow Tag] had already been broken free of.
Although the Skeletal Beauty Snake's Alluring Woman's Soul was still useful, its restraint on the Two-Headed Demon's movements was gradually weakening.
And the Confusion effect produced by Gatomon's "Cat Eyes" had long since disappeared.
The Two-Headed Demon tightly clutched the wound on its abdomen, both heads roaring in fury.
"Bam!"
Merely by swinging its right arm in a single sweep, it brushed aside all those two- and three-star Magic Guide Spirits.
Even Diana's [Bear Spirit] could not block the force of its one punch!
Although it had lost that bloodthirsty giant axe, it seemed to still possess an Ultimate Move that boosted its power; every punch of its right arm weighed a thousand jin, and one Magic Guide Spirit after another was blasted to pieces by it.
Were it not that the [Bear Spirit] possessed a considerable degree of physical immunity, it too would likely have already dissolved into mana.
"Meow!"
The newly recovered Gatomon treaded along the [Bear Spirit]'s spine, accelerating all the way into a dash, and once again leapt away.
This time, however, when it swung the giant axe down at high speed, the bull head suddenly jerked its head up, actually bracing the giant axe with its two horns and propping it up in midair!
"The same move can only be used once against a Demon."
The lion head's expression was grim; the blood flowing from where its right ear had been bitten off made it look all the more hideous and terrifying.
Just as the young Magic Guide Masters abruptly realized that this second-floor BOSS could actually speak, Miltank's first ramming attack had already slammed hard into the Two-Headed Demon's shin.
A feeble attack that merely grazed past, it did not draw too much of the Two-Headed Demon's concern.
Its attention was focused more on Gatomon.
Or rather, on the giant axe in Gatomon's hands!
"It's time to give it back to me!"
The Two-Headed Demon abruptly raised its hand, grasping for the haft of the giant axe.
"Whoosh—"
A gust of sinister air howled past.
That Alluring Woman's Soul once again passed clean through its body, making its body uncontrollably stiffen for an instant.
But its lion head roared once more, restoring the body's mobility.
An Ultimate Move cast by a mere three-star Magic Guide Spirit had its effect greatly reduced against the six-star Two-Headed Demon.
But Gatomon seized the moment, kicked off against the bull head, and used the recoil to fly back in retreat.
"[Bear Spirit]!"
That [Bear Spirit] immediately raised its arm and caught it.
This turn of events made the Two-Headed Demon, who had thought the giant axe was already within easy reach, surge with fury.
The tendon of its right foot had already self-healed, and it now took a stride forward, ready to charge.
But with a "bam," Miltank came rolling and slammed into the back of its heel!
This collision, though its force was still not great, had already reached a degree impossible to ignore.
The Two-Headed Demon turned to seize it, but a chest filled with gold suddenly appeared in its field of vision.
Magic Card · Golden Treasure Chest!
Greed for wealth welled up in the Two-Headed Demon's eyes.
It reflexively reached out to scoop it up, but its five fingers swept through and the illusion instantly shattered.
The Two-Headed Demon almost immediately broke free of the temptation of the "Golden Treasure Chest."
But by this time, Miltank had already gone rolling away.
The lion head then made a decisive judgment, abandoned Miltank, and continued charging toward the [Bear Spirit] and Gatomon.
Where the man is, the axe is.
To have one's weapon taken away is a warrior's greatest disgrace.
...
And upon the [Bear Spirit]'s back.
Meowth, temporarily pressed into duty, reluctantly handed the "milk" in its hand over to Gatomon.
Gatomon was at once overjoyed and downed it in one gulp!
In an instant, its nearly depleted mana was restored by half.
That was enough to support it through another minute or so of violent exertion.
Therefore, without the slightest hesitation, it swung up the giant axe once more, bursting out with a blazing fighting spirit, and charged head-on at the Two-Headed Demon.
...
Having lost the giant axe, the Two-Headed Demon, relying on its own strength alone, no longer held the advantage in its contest against Gatomon.
But within the eyes of its seemingly maddened lion head, a coolness still lay hidden.
When Gatomon pounced again, the bull head manipulated its arms to meet the attack.
The lion head, meanwhile, while the two sides were locked in close combat, suddenly threw its head back and roared in fury!
Ultimate Move · Beast King's Roar!
"Roar!"
This roar was so very sudden.
It had not been used when it was sent flying earlier, nor when its abdomen was cut open.
It had stubbornly waited until this very moment.
Gatomon, utterly defenseless, took this one terrifying roar head-on.
Its dainty body went tumbling backward through the air like a kite with its string cut.
But even as it flew away, it still firmly gripped that giant axe, and only when its mana hit bottom did it abruptly exert force, flinging the giant axe toward the direction of the gate.
The giant axe sliced through the air, falling in an arc.
"Half-Dragon Man!"
Teddy Doron's shout rang out through the hall.
A half-dragon, half-human Magic Guide Spirit abruptly leapt up, its scale-covered dragon claw seizing the giant axe flying through the air with a single exertion of force.
"It's finally my turn!"
A light of excitement showed in Doron's eyes.
...
[Card Name: Half-Dragon Man]
[Type: Spirit Card]
[Level: ???]
[Species: Dragon Species]
[Attribute: Dragon-type]
[Mana: 1400]
[Attack: 1400]
[Defense: 1300]
[Ultimate Moves: Dragon Scale Armor, Dragon Bloodline]
...
The Dragon Species, renowned for its might.
A three-star overlord in no way inferior to a Troll.
This was Doron's newest transmuted Magic Guide Spirit—the Half-Dragon Man!
Dragon-headed and human-bodied, the Half-Dragon Man was covered all over with dragon scales, a short dragon tail trailing behind its rump.
Its Ultimate Move "Dragon Scale Armor" was a passive skill—that is, the dragon scales that covered its whole body like a suit of armor.
The skill-ified dragon scales had a guaranteed degree of sturdiness, adding a full three hundred points of defense for it.
Therefore the Half-Dragon Man's actual defense value was 1,600 points!
Already surpassing the limit of three-star.
As for the other Ultimate Move, "Dragon Bloodline," it was an Ultimate Move that could be actively triggered, making it grow a pair of wings, lengthening its dragon tail, and activating its dragon bloodline.
With "Dragon Bloodline" triggered, all three of the Half-Dragon Man's core stats would increase to some degree, and it would also gain a certain degree of mana-recovery ability.
Although that recovery ability was still not enough to offset the drain brought by the giant axe.
It could undoubtedly make it more enduring.
Under Doron's command, the Half-Dragon Man raised the giant axe high and launched into a charge.
In the course of its charge it triggered "Dragon Bloodline," and its speed suddenly surged up a notch.
That Two-Headed Demon was in the very midst of seething fury; it now, without the slightest hesitation, abandoned the undying giant bear and swung its right arm in a punch toward the giant axe that the Half-Dragon Man was hacking down!
"Bam!"
The strength of the two sides showed a stark gap in this instant.
Even wielding the giant axe, the Half-Dragon Man's attack only rose to 2,400 points—an enormous difference compared to the Two-Headed Demon, whose base strength was at least 3,000 and above.
That giant axe was savagely smashed down to the ground.
"Half-Dragon Man!"
Doron's cry of alarm rang out accordingly.
But as the sound of the giant axe crashing to the ground rang out, the Two-Headed Demon had already grabbed the Half-Dragon Man's shoulder, hurled it up, and then forcefully slammed it back down.
"Bam!"
With just one thunderous crash, this Half-Dragon Man dissolved into mana and vanished.
And that dark-red bloodthirsty giant axe finally fell to beside the Two-Headed Demon's feet.
"It's time to end this."
After undergoing a whole series of mishaps.
The bull head Talen's ferocity withdrew inward, and the lion head Leon's dignity gained the upper hand, simultaneously seizing sovereignty over this body.
It manipulated the body to bend down and reached out to grasp the axe haft.
"Rumble-rumble!"
As it bent down, the Miltank, rolling in for the third time, suddenly came crashing in from behind it.
The Two-Headed Demon's gaze flashed, and the instant it grasped the axe haft it spun around at high speed, swinging the giant axe in a half-circle that swept like lightning toward the Miltank assaulting from behind it!
The momentum of Miltank's rolling grew stronger with each pass.
Each amplification was more pronounced than the last.
As long as one calmed down and gave it a moment's thought, one could sense the danger hidden within.
The lion head Leon was not about to be deluded by the desire to slaughter like the bull head Talen; in but an instant it parsed out the danger and chose to strangle it midway!
Yet in the very instant it turned and swung the axe, its expression suddenly changed drastically—it felt as though its whole body had gone soft and limp, and the force of its axe-swing was even weakened by fifty percent!
Although the axe subsequently struck the rolling Miltank, it was completely unable to stop it, and instead helped the Miltank change the direction of its roll!
The Miltank successfully completed its third roll and immediately spun off like a yo-yo.
The Two-Headed Demon recovered its strength an instant later.
Its five fingers abruptly tightened, and as it raised the giant axe, its gaze turned toward the human closest to it.
The composedly standing blond youth now had two more Magic Guide Spirits at his side.
One was the three-star Magic Guide Spirit—Shuckle.
The other was the Magic Guide Spirit raised to two-star—Eevee.
The "Pride II · New" that had prompted Eevee's star-up had, after more than an hour of cooldown, once again returned to a usable state.
...
When the Two-Headed Demon noticed him, it suddenly, inexplicably shuddered.
The lion head Leon finally realized just where the core of this band of uninvited guests—the greatest threat—truly lay!
"Moo!"
The bull head Talen, having regained the bloodthirsty giant axe, surged once more with the desire to slaughter.
It charged without the slightest hesitation toward Dark Demon, the giant axe in its hand already raised, determined to hack him into mincemeat!
But with a flash of light, a pitch-black round ball appeared before Dark.
"Mobius Bug, I'm counting on you."
Rose cupped her hands over her heart and prayed with all her might.
Ultimate Move · Mobius Ring!
The seven-colored halo blooming from within the pitch-black round ball spread outward as it rotated into a vast force field, enveloping that Two-Headed Demon within it.
As the Two-Headed Demon's giant axe came hacking down, it was like plunging into a quagmire, unable to advance an inch.
Clearly, the impact force of its downward chop had already been thoroughly absorbed.
And above the "Mobius Bug"'s head, a "1" quietly surfaced.
...
The "Mobius Bug"'s Ultimate Move—"Mobius Ring"—had a very interesting characteristic.
Whoever entered the force field produced by the "Mobius Ring," no matter what force their actions generated, it would all be absorbed and converted by the force field.
Even if one wanted to withdraw, one would be squeezed once over by this force field.
Rather than calling it a defensive skill, it would be better called a control skill.
The Two-Headed Demon was thus completely controlled within the force field, moving as slowly as a snail.
Under such circumstances, after Miltank made one circuit, it came rolling in once again!
The fourth roll!
The fourth roll under the "[Defense Curl]" state.
The "Rollout" Ultimate Move, with a base power of merely 30, had astonishingly already risen to 480!
With Miltank's 1,000 points of attack power, using an Ultimate Move of power 480.
This was roughly equivalent to twice the power of a 2,000-attack Devimon using Death Claw!
Or equivalent to the power of the 4,000+ attack Two-Headed Demon using a charged strike!
...
As the roll came bearing down, Miltank's whole body had already wound itself with a powerful wind force, making it like a wind-wheel.
Very soon, it charged into the range of the "Mobius Ring"'s force field.
Almost in that very instant, the "1" above the "Mobius Bug"'s head jumped to "2."
Immediately after came "3," "4"...
Each leap of the number gave off a sound like a piano key being pressed.
One could clearly see that the Two-Headed Demon was also exerting force.
"Cover your ears!"
Dark abruptly recalled the sound-wave attack he had endured within the hidden space, and hurriedly bellowed the order at the top of his voice.
The young Magic Guide Masters had been tensely watching all along, and now they all reflexively covered their ears.
And then, after Miltank finally crashed into the Two-Headed Demon and reversed back again.
The "4" above the "Mobius Bug"'s head jumped straight to "5"...
____
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