The moment the killing intent exploded—
The battlefield erupted.
BOOOOM!!
Auralis moved first.
Her crimson hammer tore through the air toward the man who had spoken earlier with enough force to flatten the entire ruined pathway.
But the man only smirked.
Then caught it.
The impact still shattered the ground beneath him violently, yet he remained standing.
Auralis' eyes widened slightly.
Strong.
Very strong.
The man grinned afterward.
"Oh? You've got power."
Then his knee slammed upward into her stomach hard enough to launch her backward through a broken stone pillar.
BOOOOM!!
At the same time—
The remaining four moved.
Two rushed Lily instantly while another targeted Aurelia directly. The last one stayed near the leader calmly, clearly acting as support rather than engaging immediately.
Zael still didn't move.
His eyes simply observed silently.
Lily twisted space immediately as blades of compressed mana shot toward her opponents from multiple angles.
One dodged effortlessly.
The other shattered the attacks directly with reinforced fists before appearing in front of her almost instantly.
Fast.
Far too fast.
Lily barely distorted space enough to redirect the incoming punch away from her face.
BOOOOM!!
Even then the shockwave still sent her skidding backward.
Meanwhile Aurelia faced an even worse situation.
Her opponent wielded twin black daggers coated in some kind of corrosive energy that continuously ate through her mana barriers.
Every clash forced her backward further.
"You're distracted," the man said coldly.
A dagger slipped past her defense.
Blood splashed.
A shallow cut opened across her shoulder before she immediately retreated.
Not enough.
The man was already behind her again.
Aurelia barely blocked the next strike with compressed mana reinforcement around her arm.
CRACK!!
Even then she was forced backward several meters.
On the other side of the battlefield, Auralis roared and swung her hammer repeatedly, each strike carrying terrifying destructive force.
Yet her opponent matched her head-on.
Not only matching—
Overpowering.
The man blocked another hammer strike before driving his fist directly into the hammer's side, knocking it slightly off trajectory.
Then he punched Auralis across the jaw hard enough to send her crashing through ruins again.
"Too slow," he mocked.
Auralis spat blood.
Then grinned.
"Say that again."
She charged again instantly.
Meanwhile Lily and Aurelia were steadily getting pushed back.
The gap in numbers mattered too much.
Even if individually they could contend briefly—
Fighting two-on-one continuously drained Lily heavily while Aurelia's opponent was simply monstrous in close combat.
The five mythical awakeners weren't ordinary elites.
Their arrogance came from strength.
Real strength.
Zael watched calmly from the side.
Not interfering yet.
Observing.
Measuring.
The leader finally glanced toward him with amusement.
"You're calmer than I expected."
Zael shrugged lightly.
"They're not losing yet."
The leader laughed softly.
"…Interesting confidence."
Then the battlefield shifted again.
Lily barely reacted in time before one of her opponents appeared above her and slammed a kick downward.
BOOOOM!!
The ground collapsed beneath her as she distorted space frantically to survive the impact.
At nearly the same moment—
Aurelia took another hit.
Blood splattered lightly from the corner of her mouth this time as she slid backward violently.
And Auralis—
Got driven into the ground hard enough to crater the battlefield beneath her.
The girls were still fighting.
Still holding.
But barely.
And slowly—
The five mythical awakeners were overpowering them.
—
Mana surged violently across the ruined battlefield as the five mythical awakeners finally decided to stop treating the fight casually.
The first to move was Lily's opponent.
Silver markings spread across both his arms before dozens of glowing blades materialized around him instantly.
[Mythical Skill: Thousand Edge Barrage]
The blades shot forward simultaneously.
Lily's eyes widened slightly.
Space distorted frantically around her as she redirected part of the attack away—
But there were too many.
BOOOOM!! BOOOOM!! BOOOOM!!
Explosions erupted continuously around her while shattered ruins filled the air.
The second opponent appeared directly behind her during the barrage.
[Shadow Compression]
Dark energy condensed around his fist before he punched downward violently.
Lily twisted space desperately at the last second.
The attack missed her directly—
But the shockwave still slammed her into the ground hard enough to crack the terrain beneath her.
Meanwhile Aurelia's opponent activated his skill next.
The black daggers in his hands suddenly multiplied into dozens of spectral copies.
[Phantom Fang Dance]
He vanished.
Then reappeared everywhere at once.
Aurelia's mana barriers lit up repeatedly as dagger strikes rained toward her from impossible angles continuously.
She blocked seven.
Dodged three.
The eleventh cut opened across her side.
Blood spilled.
Her breathing roughened slightly afterward.
Yet even then her expression remained composed.
Mana circles formed instantly around her.
[Arcane Sequence: Prism Lock]
Multiple compressed mana constructs erupted around her opponent simultaneously before collapsing inward.
BOOOOM!!
The man was blasted backward through broken pillars—
Only to emerge moments later mostly unharmed.
"…Now that," he admitted calmly, "was dangerous."
Then he attacked again immediately.
On the other side of the battlefield—
Auralis laughed.
Actually laughed.
Because her opponent had finally stopped holding back too.
Flames erupted across his body while molten cracks spread through the ground beneath his feet.
[Infernal Titan Form]
His physique enlarged slightly as heat distorted the surrounding air.
Then he punched forward.
Auralis met it directly with the crimson hammer.
BOOOOOOM!!
The collision generated a shockwave massive enough to flatten nearby ruins completely.
Auralis got pushed backward several meters.
Her opponent didn't move at all.
"…Damn," she muttered excitedly.
Then her own mana surged violently.
The crimson hammer glowed brighter.
[Crimson Impact]
She swung downward with enough force to split the battlefield apart.
The man crossed both arms.
The impact still blasted him through multiple ruins violently—
But moments later he stood back up again.
Smiling.
Not heavily injured.
Strong.
Ridiculously strong.
Meanwhile Zael continued watching silently.
His expression remained calm.
But inwardly—
He acknowledged it.
These five were monsters.
Not dragon-level monsters.
But monsters nonetheless.
The leader noticed his gaze and smirked.
"You understand now?"
Zael looked toward him lazily.
"Understand what?"
"That your little group can't win."
As if to emphasize the point—
Lily got blasted backward again.
Aurelia narrowly avoided another lethal dagger strike.
And Auralis finally lost a direct clash badly enough to get launched across the battlefield.
The leader spread his arms slightly.
"My subordinates are all mid Second tier awakeners at least. Each of them survived battlefields far worse than this dungeon."
His grin widened.
"And your friends are getting overwhelmed."
Zael finally sighed softly.
Then started walking forward.