The smoke slowly drifted across the battlefield.
Crackling strands of lightning danced through the air before gradually disappearing, leaving behind only the smell of scorched earth and corrupted flesh.
For a brief moment...
The entire battlefield fell silent.
Then...
The smoke began to clear.
Limbo didn't lower his guard.
His silver eyes remained fixed ahead, carefully observing every movement through Area Scan.
One by one...
The silhouettes emerged.
Dozens of corrupted creatures lay scattered across the ground, their bodies riddled with lightning burns. Several had been completely torn apart, while others twitched weakly before collapsing into pools of black blood.
The first wave...
Had been annihilated.
Even the corrupted beasts behind them instinctively hesitated.
Some stepped backward.
Others growled uneasily.
It wasn't fear.
It was caution.
They had just witnessed something they hadn't expected.
Behind the barrier, Mora stared blankly.
"...He..."
She looked toward Limbo's back.
"...He's really fighting them..."
The frightened child who had spent the entire siege trembling finally saw a glimpse of hope.
Not victory.
Just...
Hope.
Adri silently observed Limbo.
A faint smile remained on her face.
"He doesn't fight recklessly..."
She murmured.
"He observes."
"He decides."
"Then he acts."
"No wasted movement..."
"No unnecessary attacks..."
"He only used exactly what he believed was needed."
For the first time since Ruddi's disappearance...
She felt slightly relieved.
Maybe...
Just maybe...
That troublesome Guardian hadn't made the wrong decision.
Far across the battlefield...
Traka slowly looked over the destruction.
His expression never changed.
He calmly stepped over the remains of several fallen corrupted creatures without sparing them a second glance.
"...Interesting."
One of his subordinates hurried forward.
"My Lord!"
"The first assault unit has been wiped out."
"I can see that."
Traka answered indifferently.
The subordinate hesitated.
"Should we advance ourselves?"
Silence.
Traka slowly shook his head.
"...No."
His crimson eyes remained fixed upon Limbo.
"Continue."
"Let them measure him."
The subordinate immediately understood.
"As you command."
With a sharp screech, another signal echoed through the corrupted ranks.
Unlike before...
This time, the creatures that stepped forward were entirely different.
Heavy footsteps shook the earth.
One...
Two...
Three...
The ground itself trembled beneath their weight.
The smoke finally cleared completely.
Limbo's expression hardened.
"...So..."
"This is the next group."
These creatures stood nearly twice the height of the previous ones.
Their bodies were covered with thick black scales that resembled natural armor. Jagged spikes protruded from their shoulders, while corrupted veins pulsed beneath the hardened surface like molten lava trapped inside stone.
Some carried enormous claws.
Others possessed massive forearms that looked capable of crushing boulders with a single strike.
Unlike the smaller creatures...
These monsters looked like warriors.
Not fodder.
The System reacted instantly.
"Danger Level Increased"
"Threat Assessment Updated"
The blue notification disappeared almost immediately.
Limbo quietly exhaled.
"...I figured."
Behind him, Adri's expression became serious once more.
"Be careful."
"Those aren't the same as before."
"I know."
Limbo answered without looking back.
"They're stronger."
"And..."
He narrowed his eyes.
"...they're smarter."
The larger corrupted creatures didn't rush immediately.
Instead...
They slowly spread apart.
Maintaining distance from one another.
Surrounding Limbo from multiple directions.
His Area Scan immediately began mapping their positions.
"North..."
"Three."
"West..."
"Two."
"Above..."
"Four flying units..."
"Behind..."
"Nothing yet."
He frowned.
"They're avoiding blind spots..."
"They're preventing me from targeting all of them at once."
The realization came instantly.
"They adapted..."
The previous barrage...
Had taught them.
Traka smiled faintly.
"...Excellent."
"Now..."
"Let's see..."
"...how you adapt."
The first creature suddenly lunged forward.
Its enormous claw tore through the air toward Limbo.
BOOOM!!
The ground exploded where it landed.
Limbo had already moved.
A flash of blue lightning carried him several meters backward.
Before the creature could attack again—
Dozens of lightning bullets shot toward its chest.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The explosions covered its upper body completely.
Smoke erupted.
Limbo didn't celebrate.
He already knew.
The attack...
Wasn't enough.
As the smoke dispersed...
The creature remained standing.
Its scales had cracked.
Its flesh had burned.
But...
It hadn't fallen.
"...So that's your limit."
Limbo whispered.
The creature roared before charging again.
Not only it.
The others moved as well.
One from the left.
Two from the right.
Flying creatures descended from above.
Area Scan instantly filled Limbo's mind with countless trajectories.
"Too many..."
"Lightning Bullet Barrage won't finish them..."
"Then..."
His thoughts accelerated.
Lightning alone...
Wasn't enough.
His gaze briefly shifted toward the shattered stones scattered across the battlefield.
An idea formed.
Not a new spell.
Not a new skill.
Just...
A different application.
His lips slowly curved upward.
"...Then let's change it."
Mana surged through both hands.
Lightning crackled violently around his fingertips.
The broken rocks lying across the battlefield began trembling.
Small fragments rose into the air.
Then larger ones.
Adri's eyes widened slightly.
"...He's..."
"...combining them?"
Limbo calmly extended his hand.
Lightning wrapped itself around every floating stone like countless blue chains.
The air itself began vibrating under the increasing pressure.
The next attack...
Wouldn't simply pierce.
It would crush.
The battlefield held its breath.
Every floating stone trembled in midair, suspended by countless strands of crackling lightning. Blue arcs leaped from one fragment to another, binding them together into a single destructive formation.
The surrounding mana became unstable.
Even the corrupted creatures instinctively slowed their advance.
They didn't understand what Limbo was creating.
But every instinct they possessed screamed one thing.
Danger.
Limbo's silver eyes remained fixed upon the approaching monsters.
His breathing had become heavier than before, yet his mind was unusually calm.
"Lightning alone..."
"Pierces."
"Stone alone..."
"Crushes."
"So..."
"Why not both?"
He wasn't inventing a spell.
He wasn't following a magic formula.
He was simply combining two things that already existed.
Just like solving a problem.
Just like finding another path when the first one failed.
His hands slowly came together.
The floating stones immediately gathered into several compact masses, each wrapped in violent streams of lightning.
Blue sparks burst in every direction.
The ground beneath his feet cracked under the increasing pressure.
"...Lightning Stone..."
He slowly inhaled.
"...Cannon Strike."
BOOOOOOM!!
The stones launched forward like cannonballs.
Not one.
Not two.
Several.
Each projectile screamed through the air while wrapped in violent lightning, leaving glowing blue trails behind them.
The first struck the chest of the leading corrupted warrior.
CRAAASH!!
The impact alone sent the enormous creature flying backward.
Before it could even hit the ground—
The lightning coating the stone exploded.
BOOOM!!
The scales protecting its chest shattered apart, fragments scattering across the battlefield as violent electricity tore through its body.
The creature roared in agony.
Unlike before...
It didn't remain standing.
It crashed heavily into two monsters behind it, throwing all three to the ground.
Another stone struck from the left.
BOOOOM!!
The second warrior instinctively raised its massive arm to block.
The stone shattered upon impact.
But that had never been the real attack.
The compressed lightning erupted a heartbeat later.
CRACK!!
Brilliant blue electricity exploded outward, racing across its arm before spreading throughout its entire body.
Its muscles convulsed violently.
The creature staggered backward.
Its hardened scales had survived.
Its body had not.
The remaining projectiles rained across the battlefield.
Explosions echoed one after another.
Stone.
Lightning.
Dust.
Black blood.
The battlefield disappeared beneath another cloud of smoke.
The violent shockwave swept across the forest, forcing even the smaller corrupted creatures to retreat several steps.
Back inside the sanctuary...
Mora stared with her mouth slightly open.
Her eyes followed the explosions one after another.
"...Amazing..."
The word escaped her unconsciously.
She had seen Limbo use lightning before.
But never like this.
Never with such overwhelming force.
Adri remained silent.
Her eyes never left the battlefield.
"...No..."
She whispered to herself.
"He's not merely combining magic."
"He's adapting it."
The realization slowly settled within her.
Most mages spent years mastering a single spell.
Years perfecting a single technique.
Yet Limbo...
After realizing his first attack wasn't enough...
He hadn't hesitated.
He hadn't retreated.
He hadn't complained.
He simply changed his approach.
Like water finding another path around a rock.
"...Adaptive Class..."
A faint smile appeared on Adri's face.
"So that's what it means..."
Far beyond the smoke...
Even Traka stopped smiling for the first time.
Not because he feared the attack.
But because...
The boy standing before him had exceeded his expectations.
The smoke slowly drifted away.
The larger corrupted warriors that had confidently advanced moments earlier now struggled to rise.
Some had lost entire arms.
Others dragged broken legs behind them.
A few remained motionless where they had fallen.
Silence spread through the battlefield.
Then...
Traka slowly laughed.
"Heh..."
Another laugh followed.
"Hehehe..."
The surrounding corrupted creatures immediately lowered their heads.
"...Excellent."
His crimson eyes remained fixed upon Limbo.
"So..."
"You really are different."
He slowly raised one hand.
This time...
There wasn't even a trace of amusement left within his voice.
"Spread the darkness."
The corrupted army immediately stirred.
A heavy wave of black mist rolled forward across the battlefield.
The ground darkened further.
The dead trees groaned.
The corruption itself seemed to become denser.
Traka's next words echoed calmly across the battlefield.
"...Find it."
A brief pause followed.
Then...
"...Bring it alive."
The order sent a strange chill through Limbo.
"It..."
Not...
"Them."
Not...
"Him."
Just...
"It."
His eyes instinctively moved toward the sanctuary.
Toward Mora.
Almost at the same moment...
Adri did the same.
The two looked at each other.
Neither spoke.
Neither needed to.
A forgotten memory suddenly surfaced inside Adri's mind.
Mora...
Her eyes turning completely black.
That strange smile.
The unfamiliar voice.
The overwhelming pressure from that night.
Her expression changed.
For the first time since the battle began...
Genuine unease appeared across her face.
"...Don't tell me..."
She whispered so quietly that only she could hear it.
The words never reached Limbo.
Nor Mora.
But the fear behind them...
Was unmistakable.
And somewhere within the corrupted ranks...
Traka's faint smile returned.
The pieces...
Were slowly moving exactly where they needed to be.