The second Sand Tsunami never had the chance to fall.
The Terracotta Warden stood at the center of the battlefield.
Ancient runes illuminated the ground.
Countless tons of sand spiraled upward.
The magical wave grew larger with every passing second.
It was preparing to drown the entire battlefield beneath a sea of earth.
Memory stared upward.
The incoming attack was several times larger than the previous one.
Even Bubbles looked terrified.
The little slime hid behind Memory's leg while trembling.
Memory swallowed nervously.
"Akari..."
"Yeah?"
"I think we're in trouble."
Akari didn't answer immediately.
Instead—
she stared directly at the Terracotta Warden.
Something had changed.
The feeling flowing through Narukami Tenrai was different.
Stronger.
Heavier.
More violent.
The blade vibrated in her hand.
Purple lightning surged along the sword's edge.
Electricity danced across her arm.
Across her shoulders.
Across her entire body.
A system notification flashed before her eyes.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Narukami Synchronization Increased]
Current Output: 3%
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Akari blinked.
"Three percent?"
The moment she spoke—
BOOOOOM
Purple lightning erupted from her body.
The surrounding battlefield exploded with electrical energy.
Several nearby Terracotta Warriors were instantly vaporized.
Not destroyed.
Not shattered.
Gone.
Reduced to dust.
Akari stared at her sword.
The blade looked brighter than before.
The lightning more concentrated.
The divine power within Narukami felt far more alive.
Like the weapon itself had finally acknowledged her.
The Terracotta Warden noticed it too.
The giant turned away from Memory.
Its crimson eyes focused entirely on Akari.
The Sand Tsunami collapsed.
The boss canceled the attack.
Memory immediately sighed in relief.
"Oh thank goodness."
Then she realized why.
"...Wait."
The Warden raised its gigantic polearm.
Akari raised Narukami.
Neither moved.
Neither blinked.
Then—
they charged.
BOOOOOOM
The battlefield exploded beneath them.
The distance vanished instantly.
The giant polearm descended.
Narukami rose upward.
The two weapons collided.
CRAAAAAAAAACK
The sound was deafening.
A shockwave exploded outward.
But unlike before—
something was different.
Purple lightning erupted from the collision point.
Not a few sparks.
Not a few bolts.
An entire storm.
Lightning exploded throughout the chamber.
CRACK
CRACK
CRACK
CRACK
The battlefield became a sea of divine electricity.
Terracotta Warriors were struck instantly.
Some exploded.
Others melted.
Several simply ceased existing.
The lightning struck the floor.
The walls.
The pillars.
Even the ceiling.
Chunks of stone rained downward.
Memory screamed.
"AKARI!"
A bolt nearly hit her.
Another narrowly missed Bubbles.
The slime launched itself into Memory's arms.
The two immediately dove behind one of her summoned Terracotta Spearmen.
The summon got struck instead.
BOOOOOOM
The entire warrior exploded.
Memory pointed furiously.
"CONTROL YOUR LIGHTNING!"
Akari couldn't even hear her.
The collision was still ongoing.
Narukami screamed.
The divine blade glowed brighter and brighter.
The Warden pushed downward.
Akari pushed upward.
For several seconds—
neither side moved.
Then suddenly—
CRACK
A small fracture appeared on the giant polearm.
The Warden's eyes widened.
Another crack appeared.
Then another.
Then another.
The ancient weapon began falling apart.
Akari's eyes widened.
The divine power flowing through Narukami surged again.
The sword emitted a high-pitched hum.
The lightning intensified.
The polearm shattered.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM
The weapon exploded into thousands of pieces.
Fragments scattered across the battlefield.
Several Terracotta Warriors were crushed by their own commander's weapon.
Silence followed.
The Warden froze.
It stared at its empty hand.
Almost as if it couldn't comprehend what had happened.
Its weapon.
Its symbol of authority.
Its greatest strength.
Gone.
Destroyed in a single clash.
Akari was equally shocked.
"...I did that?"
Memory immediately shouted.
"YES!"
The Warden roared.
The entire dungeon trembled.
This time—
it was truly angry.
Without its weapon—
the giant lunged forward.
Its enormous hand shot toward Akari.
The fingers alone were larger than a person.
The shadow swallowed her completely.
Memory screamed.
"LOOK OUT!"
Akari reacted instantly.
Narukami flashed.
A single slash.
CRACK
The divine blade cut through the giant palm.
For a brief moment—
nothing happened.
Then—
purple lightning erupted inside the wound.
The entire hand exploded.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM
Stone fragments scattered across the battlefield.
The severed hand crashed onto the ground.
The Warden staggered backward.
Its arm ended at the wrist.
Purple lightning continuously devoured the remaining stump.
The divine energy refused to disappear.
Instead—
it continued destroying the corrupted stone from within.
The boss stared at its missing hand.
Then at Akari.
Then at Narukami.
For the first time since the battle began—
fear appeared within its crimson eyes.
Akari slowly lowered her sword.
Electricity danced across the blade.
Her breathing had become heavy.
Her muscles ached.
Her hands hurt.
Yet she smiled.
A smile full of excitement.
A smile full of determination.
A smile that looked suspiciously familiar.
The same stubborn smile Rio wore whenever facing impossible odds.
Far behind her—
Memory stared with her mouth hanging open.
Bubbles stared too.
Both remained completely speechless.
Finally—
Memory pointed.
"...Okay."
Akari tilted her head.
"What?"
Memory pointed harder.
"You are definitely Rio's sister."
Akari blinked.
"How?"
Memory pointed toward the giant boss missing an entire hand.
"Normal people don't do that."
The Terracotta Warden roared again.
The dungeon shook violently.
More cracks spread throughout its body.
Ancient red energy leaked from those fractures.
The boss was wounded.
Badly wounded.
But it wasn't defeated.
If anything—
it looked even more dangerous than before.
Akari tightened her grip on Narukami.
Memory recalled her remaining summons.
The Terracotta Warden slowly stepped forward.
One arm gone.
Weapon destroyed.
Yet somehow—
its presence felt larger than ever.
The real boss battle was only beginning.
Lightning roared throughout the Terracotta Armory.
The battlefield had become almost unrecognizable.
Broken pillars littered the floor.
Ancient walls were covered in cracks.
Hundreds of shattered Terracotta Warriors lay scattered across the chamber like discarded statues from a forgotten civilization.
At the center of the destruction stood Akari.
Her breathing was rough.
Sweat rolled down her forehead.
Purple electricity crackled around Narukami Tenrai.
The divine blade hummed softly in her grip as arcs of lightning danced across its edge.
The power flowing through it was far greater than before.
Far greater than when the battle had started.
Three percent.
Only three percent of Narukami's true power.
Yet it already felt overwhelming.
Across from her—
the Terracotta Warden staggered.
The gigantic guardian had been reduced to a miserable state.
Its once-pristine armor was gone.
Massive wounds covered its body.
Chunks of terracotta had been blasted away.
The thick stone armor that had once seemed indestructible was now breaking apart piece by piece.
Chunks of terracotta crashed onto the battlefield.
The Warden roared.
Its movements became increasingly desperate.
The giant no longer attacked methodically.
It simply tried to hit Akari.
Any hit.
Just one.
But it couldn't.
Narukami's divine power was pushing Akari beyond her limits.
The lightning itself seemed to guide her movements.
Even if she lacked Rio's experience.
Even if she lacked proper mastery.
The raw power flowing through Narukami was compensating.
For now.
The Warden suddenly stopped moving.
Its glowing eyes locked onto Akari.
Then—
it clapped both hands together.
BOOOOOOOM!
The entire dungeon trembled.
Memory immediately felt danger.
The ceiling cracked.
Sand poured downward.
Ancient runes appeared overhead.
Then countless projectiles materialized.
Thousands.
No—
tens of thousands.
Sand arrows.
Every one of them pointed toward Akari.
Memory's jaw dropped.
"...That's not fair."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Boss Skill: Terracotta Arrow]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The arrows fell.
Like rain.
Like an avalanche.
Like the sky itself had become a weapon.
The entire battlefield disappeared beneath the storm.
Akari looked upward.
The incoming attack blocked out the ceiling.
Every possible escape route was covered.
The Warden roared triumphantly.
It believed it had won.
Akari slowly raised Narukami.
Purple lightning gathered around the blade.
The air trembled.
Electricity danced across the floor.
Memory immediately noticed something different.
The divine power was becoming concentrated.
Compressed.
Focused.
Akari took a single step forward.
Then whispered.
[Narukami Second Form: Lightning Spectrum]
The battlefield shook.
The lightning surrounding Narukami intensified.
The blade emitted a high-pitched hum.
Even the Warden instinctively stepped back.
Akari's eyes narrowed.
She swung.
One simple forward slash.
Nothing flashy happened at first.
No visible projectile.
No beam.
No explosion.
Just a single slash.
Then—
the world split apart.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
An invisible shockwave erupted from Narukami.
The pressure alone shattered the ground.
The floor exploded outward.
The air itself distorted.
Everything in front of Akari ceased to exist.
The incoming rain of arrows met the shockwave.
And vanished.
Not blocked.
Not deflected.
Destroyed.
Every single arrow disintegrated instantly.
Thousands of projectiles disappeared within a fraction of a second.
Memory's eyes widened.
The attack didn't stop there.
The invisible wave continued forward.
The Terracotta Warden froze.
For the first time since the battle began—
fear appeared in its eyes.
The shockwave struck.
CRAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!
The entire dungeon shook.
The giant's armor exploded.
Every piece.
Every layer.
Every protective plate.
Shattered.
The stone shell that had protected the boss throughout the battle detonated outward.
Fragments scattered in every direction.
The Warden screamed.
Deep cuts appeared throughout its body.
Its chest.
Its arms.
Its shoulders.
Its legs.
Every part of the giant was sliced open.
Stone flesh ruptured.
Lightning erupted from the wounds.
The force carried the Warden backward.
Its massive body smashed through three pillars.
Then a fourth.
Then finally crashed into the far wall.
BOOOOOOOOM!
Dust engulfed the battlefield.
Silence followed.
Memory stood frozen.
Even Bubbles stopped moving.
Neither knew what to say.
The sheer destruction left them speechless.
The dust slowly settled.
The Terracotta Warden remained standing.
Barely.
Its armor was gone.
Completely gone.
The giant now looked wounded.
Broken.
Damaged beyond belief.
Cracks covered its entire body.
Chunks of stone were missing everywhere.
Lightning still crackled from within the wounds.
The boss stared at Akari.
Then looked down at itself.
Almost as if it couldn't understand what had happened.
Memory swallowed.
Her voice trembled.
"...Akari."
Akari lowered Narukami.
Still breathing heavily.
Still covered in electricity.
"Yeah?"
Memory pointed toward the Warden.
"That was terrifying."
Akari scratched her cheek.
"Was it?"
The Warden suddenly dropped to one knee.
The giant trembled violently.
Its body began shaking.
Cracks spread across its stone flesh.
Red light leaked from inside the fractures.
The dungeon lights flickered.
The temperature dropped.
The atmosphere changed.
Immediately.
The feeling of victory vanished.
Akari felt it too.
The Warden wasn't dying.
Something else was happening.
Something much worse.
The red glow intensified.
The giant's body began convulsing.
Bones cracked.
Stone shattered.
Blood-red energy erupted from every wound.
The Warden let out a scream unlike anything before.
A scream filled with pain.
A scream filled with madness.
Memory instinctively took several steps backward.
Bubbles hid behind her.
The giant slowly stood again.
The blood-red aura consumed its body.
Deep cuts carved across its chest and shoulders.
One arm hung partially broken.
The divine lightning still crawled through the cracks in its body like living serpents.
For the first time since entering the hidden dungeon—
Akari could see victory.
The giant monster took another step.
Then another.
Then—
its knees buckled.
BOOM.
The enormous body crashed against the floor.
Dust exploded outward.
The entire chamber shook.
Silence followed.
Akari stared.
Memory stared.
Even Bubbles froze.
For several seconds nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Then Memory slowly pointed.
"...Did we win?"
Akari blinked.
"I think we won."
Memory's face lit up instantly.
"WE WON!"
The pink-haired tamer jumped into the air.
Bubbles bounced happily beside her.
The remaining Terracotta Spearmen lowered their weapons.
Akari finally allowed herself to relax.
The tension left her shoulders.
The lightning surrounding Narukami slowly faded.
A smile appeared on her face.
Her first hidden dungeon.
Her first real boss.
And they had actually beaten it.
"See?" Akari said proudly.
"I told you we'd be fine."
Memory immediately pointed at her.
"You almost got us killed seventeen times."
"That's an exaggeration."
"It is not."
"It definitely is."
They continued arguing.
Neither of them noticed the change.
Not immediately.
At first—
it was only a faint sound.
Crack.
Akari stopped talking.
Memory stopped talking.
The sound came again.
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
Both girls slowly turned toward the Terracotta Warden's corpse.
The giant body was trembling.
Akari frowned.
"...That's not normal."
Memory immediately took several steps backward.
"Nope."
The corpse shook again.
Violently.
Crack.
CRACK.
CRACK.
The sounds became louder.
Like countless bones breaking simultaneously.
The giant body suddenly convulsed.
Its limbs twisted unnaturally.
Its torso began shrinking.
The enormous frame compressed inward.
Stone shattered.
Armor cracked apart.
The entire body started collapsing into itself.
Memory's face turned pale.
"What is happening?"
Nobody answered.
The Warden's body continued changing.
Its bones began shifting beneath the armor.
Massive cracks spread throughout its frame.
Then something horrifying happened.
A bone pierced through its chest.
Memory screamed.
Another bone erupted through its shoulder.
Then another.
And another.
And another.
Sharp white spikes burst through the terracotta shell from every direction.
Blood poured from the wounds.
Not sand.
Not dust.
Blood.
Dark red blood.
The sight was so unnatural that Akari momentarily forgot to breathe.
The giant body continued shrinking.
Its muscles compressed.
Its skeleton twisted.
The armor shattered completely.
Blood dripped onto the floor.
The chamber itself seemed to react.
The air grew heavier.
Colder.
More oppressive.
Then—
the room turned red.
An enormous crimson aura exploded from the corpse.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The pressure slammed into both girls.
Memory nearly fell over.
Bubbles immediately hid behind her.
Every remaining Terracotta Warrior in the chamber collapsed.
Their bodies crumbled into dust.
As if acknowledging a new ruler.
The transformation continued.
The giant body became smaller.
Smaller.
Smaller.
Until eventually—
it reached human size.
The creature slowly stood.
Neither Akari nor Memory spoke.
Neither could.
The monster standing before them was no longer the Terracotta Warden they had fought.
It resembled a person.
Only vaguely.
Its body was covered in blood.
Fragments of broken armor fused into flesh.
Jagged bones protruded through its skin.
Its face had become a horrifying mask of exposed bone and crimson muscle.
Its eyes glowed an unnatural red.
No intelligence remained.
No strategy.
No thought.
Only instinct.
Only violence.
Only destruction.
Its arms had transformed completely.
The hands were gone.
In their place were massive blades formed from sharpened bone.
Blood slowly dripped from their edges.
The creature tilted its head.
A cracking sound echoed from its neck.
Then it looked directly at Akari.
Memory felt a chill run down her spine.
That thing wasn't a boss anymore.
It was a nightmare.
A system notification suddenly appeared before both girls.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT]
The Terracotta Warden has resurrected.
State: [BLOOD RELEASE]
Warning:
This boss has entered an unstable mutation state.
All statistics increased.
Aggression increased.
Skill patterns altered.
Survival is not guaranteed.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Memory read the message.
Then read it again.
Then slowly looked at Akari.
Akari looked at Memory.
Neither said anything.
For several seconds they simply stared at each other.
Then Memory pointed at the notification.
"...Survival is not guaranteed."
Akari nodded.
"...I saw that."
Memory pointed harder.
"That message has literally never appeared before."
Akari nodded again.
"I noticed."
Memory looked ready to cry.
Akari looked ready to panic.
Then the Blood Release Warden moved.
It vanished.
BOOOOOOM!
The floor beneath it exploded.
The creature crossed the entire battlefield instantly.
Akari's eyes widened.
Too fast.
Far too fast.
She barely raised Narukami in time.
CLAAAAANG!
The bone blade collided with the divine sword.
A shockwave erupted throughout the chamber.
Akari was launched backward like a cannonball.
She smashed through three stone pillars before crashing into the wall.
BOOOOOOOOM!
Dust erupted everywhere.
Memory froze.
The Blood Release Warden slowly turned toward her.
Its red eyes burned like twin stars.
Its bone blades dripped crimson blood.
And for the first time since entering the hidden dungeon—
Memory genuinely felt fear.
Not nervousness.
Not anxiety.
Fear.
Pure fear.
The monster took one step forward.
Then another.
The battle had started again.
And somehow—
their victory had only awakened something far worse.