Chapter 38 - The Counterattack
[KUTO – NOBLE CLASS DUNGEON, BOSS ROOM]
Gunja's body remained impaled on the wall.
Not whole. Divided.
From the waist to the chest — two symmetrical halves, separated by a cut so perfect it seemed surgical. Blood flowed in thick rivers, staining the ancient stones with dark red that spread like spilled ink, creating patterns that looked like profane runes.
A brutal reminder.
Death does not ask permission.
It does not negotiate.
It simply takes.
The silence that followed was absolute.
Heavy. Suffocating. Pressing against eardrums, against lungs, against sanity itself.
But paradoxically, it screamed — each second of silence echoing louder than any sound could.
Then, luminous particles began to detach from the body.
Small digital sparks — blue, white, golden — floating like fragmented soul ashes, rising slowly before dissipating into the heavy air.
The end of a life.
Narrated with irony and silence.
Reduced to pixels and light.
Jack stood motionless.
Shield still raised — but his fingers trembled, muscles contracting involuntarily. Cold sweat dripped down his dust- and dried-blood-covered face, mixing with the thin red trickle running from his cut cheek.
The sound of his own breathing — rapid, irregular, gasping — was the only thing keeping him aware that he was still alive.
His eyes — a mix of pain, fear, disbelief, helpless rage — stared at Gunja's dissolving body.
He had been alive ten seconds ago.
Laughing.
Making jokes.
Breathing.
And now...
Then the void responded.
***
CRACK.
Dry, deep, wrong sound.
Like bones being realigned by invisible and brutal hands.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
The sound multiplied — repeating, echoing, growing until it filled the entire room with a cacophony of a skeleton reconstructing itself.
The ground vibrated.
Not a light tremor. A pulsation — as if something colossal beneath them had begun to breathe for the first time in centuries.
The walls groaned — ancient stone creaking under invisible pressure.
The air became heavy. Dense. Hot like a forge oven, yet carrying a deadly cold simultaneously — an impossible temperature that made the skin ache.
The torches — burning in blue-cold since they entered — recoiled, flames shrinking like frightened creatures, trembling violently.
In the center of the room, shadow took form.
It did not appear. It condensed — as if it had always been there but had only now chosen to be seen.
A body began to rise.
Slowly.
Inexorably.
As if the earth itself were expelling it, rejecting its presence but forced to accept it.
Thegg.
The Barbarian General.
Grayish skin reconstructing — not healing, but being stitched by red fiery lines that traversed every old wound, every deep scar.
Muscles pulsed — alive, swelling and contracting visibly, covered by tribal runes carved directly into the flesh that vibrated in deep crimson tones, emanating heat that distorted the air.
Each bone crack was a muffled thunder.
Each breath, a primal roar that made the massive chest expand impossibly.
When he finally stood completely upright—
The ground seemed to bend under the weight.
The entire dungeon creaked — not a structural sound, but organic, as if the very structure felt fear of the creature it housed.
A hot, heavy breath swept through the air — impregnated with the smell of burnt iron, raw flesh, old blood, and something rotten that had no name.
Célia let her staff fall — hands trembling so much she couldn't hold it, fingers slick with cold sweat.
Sensi raised a protective field instinctively — but the light flickered like a candle about to go out, blinking, weakening every second.
Dimitri breathed gaspingly, eyes fixed on the giant, mouth half-open, unable to process the scale of what he saw.
And Haru — normally invisible in the shadows, always confident — murmured in a trembling voice:
— The air... is too heavy... — Pause to breathe with difficulty. — This... this isn't natural.
Jack clenched his teeth so hard his jaw ached.
Rage fought against fear.
Survival instinct screaming "RUN" while pride roared "FIGHT".
— Damn it... — voice coming out hoarse, broken. — How are we going to beat this thing?!
Thegg slowly raised his face.
Black hair parting, revealing a face sculpted by decades of war — square jaw, scars crossing the cheeks, nose broken multiple times.
And the eyes.
Glacial blue. Soulless. Without humanity.
Only hunger.
They ignited — emanating spectral energy that cut through the darkness, creating two columns of cold light that swept the room.
Then he roared.
***
The roar was not sound.
It was force.
A wave of ancestral power that traversed the air, the ground, the walls, the bones — destroying spells, cracking stones, making the entire world tremble under absolute pressure.
The torches exploded — they did not go out, they exploded — in blue flames that rose three meters before dissipating.
The ceiling dripped dust and stone fragments.
The very light seemed to flee from him, shrinking into the corners.
Some covered their ears, screaming — but they couldn't hear their own screams over the roar that filled everything.
Others fell to their knees — legs giving way involuntarily, bodies refusing to stand before the supreme predator.
But Kuto stepped forward.
Not backward.
Forward.
The fear was there — throbbing in his chest, tightening his throat, making his hands tremble.
But it was swallowed by an inner flame that burned stronger.
His heart pounded like a war drum — thum-thum, thum-thum, thum-thum — accelerating, pumping pure adrenaline through his veins.
Blood boiled.
And an inner voice echoed — not rational, not calculated, but primal:
"Fight."
"Or die trying."
He smiled.
Not happy. Not confident.
Savage.
The smile of someone who had just accepted he might die here, but would take a piece of the enemy with him.
— So this is it... — he murmured, voice coming out hoarse but firm. — A true monster.
***
Thegg turned his gaze.
Slowly. Deliberately.
Not to Jack. Not to Kuto.
To Célia.
The healer.
The physically weakest.
The one keeping everyone alive.
Time seemed to stop.
Célia froze — entire body rigid, eyes wide, tears starting to stream down without her noticing.
— N-no... — voice coming out as a broken whisper. — Please...
Thegg raised one of his axes.
Slow movement. Deliberate. Inevitable.
He pulled his arm back — muscles swelling, runes shining brighter, the very air around the blade distorting.
And threw.
***
The axe crossed the distance in a fraction of a second.
It did not fly. It cut through space — creating a vacuum trail, sound like sharp thunder exploding behind it.
Jack reacted before thinking.
Body moving on pure trained instinct — years of battles, years of protecting comrades, years of being a shield.
He jumped.
Shield raised.
CRASH.
The impact was devastating.
Not just physical force — but a wave of energy that exploded in all directions, creating a wall of sound and pressure that threw dust, stones, everything backward.
Jack was hurled like a ragdoll — body spinning out of control, hitting the ground once, twice, three times before sliding to a stop.
The shield — solid metal, enchanted to resist — cracked in half, fragments flying.
And Jack was bleeding.
From his eyes. From his mouth. From his ears.
Not external wounds. Internal — ruptured vessels from pure pressure.
But Célia was alive.
Fallen, protected by the body he had placed between her and death.
— ATTACK! — Jack roared, spitting blood, voice tearing his throat. — DON'T LET HIM GET CLOSE TO HER!
***
Selina reacted instantly.
Raised both hands — fingers moving in complex patterns, runes forming in the air around her.
— ARCANE ARROWS: MULTIPLE SALVO!
Blue energy condensed — not one, not ten, but dozens of shining projectiles forming simultaneously, floating around her in orbit before aligning.
She fired.
The air hissed — cut by lights leaving bright trails, all converging on Thegg.
The barbarian moved.
Not human. Predator.
Dodged — colossal body leaning impossibly, letting the first salvo pass by centimeters.
Rolled — movement too fluid for something so massive, evading the second wave.
Spun — axe cutting the air, deflecting arrows he couldn't avoid, sending them back at random angles.
Each step cracked the ground.
Each dodge was a death sentence.
Behind him, explosions devastated the walls — stone exploding, leaving smoking craters, filling the air with thick dust.
***
Haru emerged from the shadows.
Literally. Emerging from the darkness as if it were liquid — body materializing behind the colossus without sound, without warning.
Two black blades gleamed — not common metal, but shadow steel, absorbing light.
He slashed.
The giant's right tendon.
Sound of metal against metal.
Not flesh tearing. Metal hitting metal.
— Impossible... — Haru whispered, eyes widening. — It's hard as iron...
Thegg spun.
Monstrous movement — hips twisting, torso following, arm coming in a wide arc.
The elbow hit Haru like a battering ram.
The rogue flew — crossing ten meters before hitting the wall with a sound of breaking bones, then falling, rolling several times before stopping motionless.
The impact created a crater where ground had been before.
***
Thegg advanced again.
Direction: Célia.
Each step was an earthquake — BOOM, BOOM, BOOM — cracking stone, raising dust.
The next movement was a leap.
Colossal. Impossible.
Four-meter body flying three meters high, blocking all light, shadow swallowing the entire room.
Fist descending — not a punch, a hammer — aimed directly at where Célia and Jack lay fallen.
— DEVIATION PORTAL! — Sônia shouted, voice ragged with effort.
Golden circle exploded on the ground — runes spinning, shining intensely, distorting space.
Jack and Célia disappeared — sucked into the portal at the exact instant the fist hit.
BOOM.
The explosion annihilated half the room.
No exaggeration.
Stone columns shattered — fragments flying like projectiles.
Cracks spreading to the ceiling — black lines traversing the entire surface.
Energy dispersed in concentric waves — each one throwing debris farther.
When the dust began to settle, Thegg stood in the center of the destruction.
Runes on his arms burned — living patterns pulsing, reorganizing, shining brighter.
And the blue flames around — from the torches, from the burning debris — began to bend toward him.
Sucked in. Feeding him.
***
Kuto advanced.
He did not think. He just moved.
System reacted:
[ADAPTABLE CLASS: ACTIVATING DUAL MODE]
Two swords materialized in his hands.
Not common. Elemental.
Right: red as living fire — flames licking the blade, heat distorting the air.
Left: blue as lightning — electricity crackling, sparks jumping.
Aura exploded from him — orange and white in a flaming whirlwind, lifting dust, making his black hair whip violently.
— I WON'T LET YOU TOUCH ANYONE!
***
[DUEL: KUTO VS THEGG]
Kuto disappeared in a flash.
[ROGUE CLASS: MAXIMUM SPEED]
Reappeared on the giant's shoulder — impossible, but it happened.
Swords crossed in an "X", slashing downward.
CLANG.
Sound of impact echoed like underground thunder — reverberating off the walls, making ears ring.
The ground cracked in concentric circles — waves of pressure spreading.
Dust and energy floated before exploding into flames.
Thegg recoiled.
For the first time.
Half a step. Just half.
But he recoiled.
The blue eyes focused on Kuto — no longer a predator hunting easy prey, but a fighter recognizing an opponent.
He spun — two axes in a double arc, absurd speed for something so massive.
Kuto dodged — body leaning impossibly, Matrix-style, feeling the wind from the blades passing by centimeters.
Spun in a full rotation — momentum used to attack.
Swords slashed in "X" again — aimed at exposed ribs.
CLANG CLANG.
Sparks. Shock. Energy exploding.
No deep cuts — but the rhythm was increasing.
[ADAPTABLE CLASS: SWITCHING]
Kuto's body began to change — not physically, but posture, movement, intent.
***
ELEMENTAL STANCE:
Bursts of wind propelled him — each step covering three meters, body floating lightly.
Fire coiled around the blades — leaving burning trails, each slash causing burns even without direct contact.
Lightning crackled — paralyzing muscles for fractions of a second, creating openings.
He attacked — not brute force, but speed and element.
Red blade slashed horizontally — Thegg blocked with axe.
But flames exploded from the impact point, enveloping the giant's arm, burning hardened skin.
Blue blade came from below — electricity jumping from metal to flesh, making muscles contract involuntarily.
***
WARRIOR STANCE:
Body solidified — low stance, feet firmly planted.
[INCREASED STRENGTH: +40%]
Precise blocks. Frontal impacts. Absolute control of the fight's center.
Thegg attacked — axe descending with force that would split a mountain.
Kuto blocked — both swords crossed above his head, forming an "X".
CRASH.
Shockwaves spread — ground under Kuto's feet sinking, cracking in a spiderweb pattern.
But he held.
Then pushed — muscles screaming, veins bulging, roar of effort tearing his throat.
Thegg was forced back — not much, just a step, but it happened.
***
ROGUE STANCE:
Deadly speed.
[ROGUE CLASS: PARTIAL INVISIBILITY]
Unpredictable movements — emerging from impossible angles, attacking blind spots.
Kuto vanished from in front of the giant.
Reappeared behind — red blade slashing in an upward diagonal.
Opened a fissure in the hardened skin — not deep, but real.
Black blood oozed — thick, burning like boiling oil upon touching the ground.
Vanished before the counterattack.
Reappeared to the side — blue blade piercing between ribs.
Electricity pulsed — traveling through the giant's body, making muscles contract.
***
Thegg roared — not pain, rage.
The axes began to spin — not simple movement, but a red energy whirlwind, creating portals of destruction around him.
Each strike devastated the environment — lifting stones, creating vacuum, releasing compressed energy that exploded in waves.
Kuto slid — body low, almost on the ground, passing under the first axe by centimeters.
Spun — using momentum to gain speed.
Leaped — body flying three meters, spinning in the air.
Red sword embedded in the colossus's right tendon.
Not just cut. Burned — flames burying into the wound, cauterizing and destroying simultaneously.
Thegg fell to his right knee — first time completely off-balance.
But the eyes blazed — no longer glacial blue, but frenzied red.
***
[TRIPLE COMBINATION: KUTO, JACK, HARU]
Jack — with shield destroyed but determination intact — advanced again.
Sword raised, battered body but functional.
Haru resurfaced from the shadows — broken ribs but ignored, twin blades vibrating with dark energy.
The trio moved as a unit.
Not planned. Instinctive.
Kuto created openings — elemental attacks forcing Thegg to dodge, exposing flanks.
Jack intercepted lethal blows — blocking with arm, with body, with everything he had, diverting attention.
Haru appeared in blind spots — slashing where defense opened, tendons, joints, any weakness.
Thegg roared, increasing speed.
Shockwaves pushed the air — cutting wind like invisible blades.
Ceiling began to collapse — huge pieces falling, creating obstacles.
Battlefield turned to chaos — fire, dust, light, darkness mixed.
In a colossal leap, Thegg spun — both axes in full rotation, creating a cyclone of destruction.
BOOM.
The impact hurled the three away — Kuto hitting the wall, Jack rolling out of control, Haru vanishing into shadows involuntarily.
But they rose.
Even bleeding. Even exhausted. Even broken.
They rose.
— If we're going to die... — Kuto murmured, leaving fire trails under his feet as he stood — ...let it be fighting!
***
[FINAL COMBINED ATTACK]
Selina up high — floating three meters above, hands extended, arcane energy sphere concentrating between her palms, growing, pulsing.
Sônia — black flames accumulating around her, swirling, intensifying, forming an inverted sun that sucked light.
Sensi — dozens of spiritual swords floating, shining, spinning like a deadly constellation.
Romeu — all remaining arrows nocked simultaneously, tips glowing with enchantments.
Dimitri — colossal fireball condensing, spinning violently.
Célia — amplification runes shining in sync, boosting everyone's power.
— DISPERSE! — Jack shouted. — NOW!
***
The explosion that followed did not seem of this world.
Fire. Light. Wind. Darkness. Everything mixed in a collapse of pure magic.
The sound was not thunder. It was annihilation — sound wave that made ears bleed.
Blinding flash — impossible to look directly at, light burning retinas even with eyes closed.
Combined force hit Thegg with divine violence.
For three seconds, nothing existed but pure energy.
Then, silence.
***
The ground smoked — melted in some points, charred in others.
Dungeon trembled — structure damaged to the point of imminent collapse, pieces of ceiling falling slowly.
Romeu fell to his knees, laughing nervously:
— Hah... did we win...? — Voice coming out broken, incredulous. — We actually won...?
Jack — bloodied, shield destroyed, body covered in wounds — stared fixedly at the fog where Thegg had been.
His gaze did not blink.
— This... — voice low, laden — ...is still far from over.
From the middle of the smoke, crimson glow began to pulse.
Thum-thum.
Thum-thum.
The runes on Thegg's body reignited — not just returning, but intensifying, shining brighter, hungrier.
The smoke dispersed — pushed by invisible pressure.
And the Barbarian General rose.
Again.
Bigger.
Regenerated skin. Swollen muscles. Eyes shining pure blood-red.
More alive.
More monstrous.
Than before.
***
[BOSS: THEGG — PHASE 2 ACTIVATED]
[GROUP: 9 MEMBERS (CRITICAL)]
[FIRST DEATH: GUNJA]
[NEXT: Thegg's Awakening: Massacre]