"Aren''t you the feisty one? Just like your master" it said with an amused tone, blocking Eli''s sudden attack with a gauntlet.


    "..." Eli''s eyes narrowed in confusion as he tried to decipher the cryptic words, ''Master'', uttered by the Dungeon Walker.


    ''sniff, sniff''


    "Hmm? What is this smell?" Dungeon Walker''s grotesque face contorted further as it caught a peculiar scent in the air....even though there was no nose to begin with.


    ''Tsk, it''s affecting Monster too''Eli mumbled inwardly.


    With a casual and indifferent tone, Eli proposed,


    "Shall we y round two?"


    His voice wasced with confidence as he prepared for another bout.


    Mana Breathing


    ''Deep Inhale''


    "Terra Arts: 2nd Form"


    His body visibly transformed, veins protruding on his arms and legs, revealing the underlying raw power coursing through his body.


    "Round Two?" Dungeon Walker, still struggling to make sense of Eli''s words, mumbled a few incoherent phrases but ultimately shrugged it off and, with a deafening,


    ''BOOM'' Propelled itself forward with incredible speed.


    It reappeared right in front of Eli, wearing gauntlets that radiated menacing power, and unleashed a fierce punch toward him.


    "SMASH"


    The attack was swift and ferocious, reminiscent of the first encounter between the two.


    "Hehe..." Dungeon Walker giggled thinking it crushed Eli tly....but,


    "That''s all you got" An indifferent voice came under its hands.


    Eli, maintaining his calm and almost disinterested demeanour, met the punch with a single open hand.


    His left arm, bulging with protruding veins, absorbed the blow effortlessly, holding it back with astounding strength.


    Dungeon Walker, its lipless grin turning into an ugly expression, couldn''t believe its eyes. It gazed upon Eli, who had effortlessly halted the attack. The monster''s ck eyes met Eli''s emerald green pupils that glinted with something darker.


    His right hand which holding Celestria softly tapped on the ground,


    ''Tick, Tick''


    /Domain/


    The room seemed to tremble and shift as Eli''s aura intensified, creating an imposing magical pattern on the floor beneath him.


    He maintained his indifference even as his eyes met Dungeon Walker''s. The monster''s face twisted with confusion and surprise.


    ''chuckk''


    Eli swiftly moved, shing his de-like hand through Dungeon Walker''s stomach. The monster, taken aback by Eli''s speed, staggered backwards, injured and perplexed.


    "Grrrr" it growled, focusing its energy on healing its injuries.To Dungeon Walker''s surprise, its wounds began to close rapidly.


    However,


    "BOOM!!"


    Eli appeared behind Dungeon Walker in the blink of an eye andnded a powerful punch on its face.


    It was a devastating blow, and Dungeon Walker, still recovering from its previous injuries, was unprepared to defend itself.


    "FFrrrrffff"


    Eli exactly hit on its jaw joint.


    The impact rattled Dungeon Walker, sending it rolling across the chamber. Despite its considerable size, it seemed as if it had been struck by an opponent far more massive.


    The room reverberated with the monster''s heavy crash as it helplessly rolled toward the wall but something was amiss.


    Dungeon Walker was rmed to find a dark trident hovering in its path, positioned to pierce its head.


    Sensing the imminent danger, Dungeon Walker altered its trajectory slightly, causing Celestria to pierce through its corbone instead.


    "aaarrrrhhhhh"


    hosted-on-NovelFire


    It let out a painful cry as it mmed into the wall, Celestria impaled in its corbone.


    With hazy, pained eyes, Dungeon Walker nced toward the source of its anguish.


    "sma Arts: 1st Form"


    Eli backed off, observing the beast''s agony. Eli''s right hand, which had previously been sheathed in a gauntlet of stones, shed its outeryer like sand. Sparks faded from his legs as he ended his previous manoeuvre.


    Then Eli clenched his hand, his eyes never leaving Dungeon Walker''s form.


    Although Dungeon Walker was wearing the gauntlet, it still felt the burning and stinging sensation when it tried to pull Celestria from its corbone.


    "chhkkk"


    However, just like before, Celestria pulled by itself and returned to Eli''s hand.


    "Let her out" Eli said as he walked towards Dungeon Walker.


    "Grrr, YOU MONGREL!!!" Dungeon Walker shouted as it stood up and stomped towards Eli.


    Eli maintained hisposure, locking his gaze on the advancing Dungeon Walker, which was poised to p its colossal hands around him.


    Eli''s eyes shimmered with yellow sparks, and the veins around them bulged, while his sclera zed a vivid red.


    Time seemed to slow down.....no, his reactions sharpened and faster. He gracefully crouched and thrust Celestria upwards into Dungeon Walker''s ribcage.


    "rhh" Eli could feel immense pressure building behind his eyes, the sensation of his eyeballs nearing their limits.


    He swiftly ceased channelling mana into his eyes, preventing them from bursting under the strain.


    "p"


    "chkkk"


    Dungeon Walker pped its immense hands together, hoping to crush Eli, but something sharp prated its side body.


    It shifted its head to the side to find Eli, ring intently.


    Dungeon Walker tried to counter with an elbow strike, but Eli had already moved, evading the blow.


    "Let her out" Eli reiterated, his expression still indifferent.


    "Who?" Dungeon Walker shouted in exasperation.


    "Tiana"


    "Oh, that fairy...." Dungeon Walker contemted briefly, licking its lips, and remarked, "She was tasty..."


    Eli held a steady gaze on Dungeon Walker for a moment before ncing at Alysia, who still had a flushed face.


    Dungeon Walker capitalized on that brief moment of distraction and reappeared in front of Eli,unching a punch.


    It believed Eli was unable to react in time, and a smirk crossed the monstrous face.


    "cckkkkkk"


    However,


    Dungeon Walker''s triumphant expression turned into one of agony as it felt a searing pain across its back.


    The monster stumbled and crashed into Eli, but it passed through him, leaving Dungeon Walker bewildered.


    Dungeon Walker swiftly turned to face its unexpected assant....only to be greeted by the sight of Eli hanging from the chain that was wrapped around his left hand and the other end was embedded in the chamber''s ceiling, while on the other hand, dark blood dripped from Celestria''s tips.


    ''ng, ng''


    ''Thud''


    With a single jerk, Eli pulled the Ember free andnded on the ground, sending a ripple across the ck pool below.


    ''I cannot go deeper as if there is another sturdyyer inside its body'' Eli thought.


    Whenever he tried to cut deep, it couldn''t pass through a certain limit.


    ''I guess, I don''t have any other choice'' Eli pondered.


    "AARRRRRRRHHHHH!!!" Dungeon Walker roared in pain as it advanced swiftly toward... Alysia.


    ''If not for her ''Dark Mana'' devouring my strength, that mongrel would be nothing but paste... If I cannot win with a fight, then I''ll take a hostage'' Dungeon Walker schemed, hoping to intimidate Eli by using Alysia as a bargaining chip.


    The Others watched,pletely stunned by Eli''s incredible power.


    Their eyes couldn''t believe what they were witnessing, as Eli effortlessly handled the monstrous creature.


    Not only that, Their racing hearts could hardly keep up with Eli''s astonishing abilities....


    However, they were too preupied with Eli''sbat prowess to notice the approaching threat.


    It was almost upon them, and they werepletely unprepared,


    ''plop''


    ''plop''


    ''plop''


    ''plop''


    ''plop''


    ''plop''


    Everyone one suddenly pulled down by an unseen force.


    "Huh?" Dungeon Walker stood baffled.


    "Do you think after witnessing you y, I would let you y again?" Eli''s voice echoed in the chamber.


    Eli had anticipated this move and had already deployed his domain, using it to protect the others from any hostage situation.


    "Ting"


    Dungeon Walker swiftly countered Eli''s attack.


    "me Arts: 1st Form"


    Celestria burst into mes, wrapping Dungeon Walker in fiery tendrils of red and yellow,


    ''Snort''


    But the monster sneered, releasing a contemptuous snort.


    With a single breath, it extinguished the mes.


    "It seems you''re slowing down a bit" Dungeon Walker said, regaining its confidence as it assessed Eli''s diminishing power.


    Eli merely tilted his head and smiled with an enigmatic expression.


    ''Sssshhhnnnnnn''


    Dungeon Walker felt an impending danger and hastily attempted to block an iing light beam.


    Eli stepped back, his gaze shifting from his trembling leg to the unconscious Alexander.


    "Y-You should have asked for help" A cute shy voice came.


    Eli nced back to see a white-haired woman with a blush on her face.


    "Y-Yes?" Amber stuttered while supporting Eva, who had just woken up.


    "Ash, Y-you must" Maire while hiding her red face.


    "Asher Eli, Count me in" Rize said straightly even though her face was red.


    "A-Asher, I am too" Oliver stammered, trying not to look at Eli and cover his sister''s eyes, who were nkly staring at Eli after waking up.


    "....I would have been grateful, if not for your bashful looks" Eli said.


    "S-Shut u-up!!" Amber shouted.


    Eli''s eyesnded on Silver haired woman who had dead eyes although her face was red.


    "She is Alive" Those words were directed towards Alysia making others frown.


    Alysia''s eyes widened in surprise as lost colour returned back to her eyes....


    "S-She..." Alysia stuttered.


    "Yes" Eli affirmed before smiling making others even turn their face redder....however, when his eyes fell on Oliver, he suddenly turned indifferent.


    "How many times?" Eli asked.


    Amber understood his question and indicated the usage of the white spheres.


    "Only two times left" she replied.


    "...." Eli looked around once more before closing his eyes and said, "Don''t slow me down".


    His words irritated the others, but after witnessing his extraordinary fight....they swallowed their words.


    As Eli prepared to move,


    ''Crack, Crack''


    A sudden sound of cracking.


    Making everyone turn their attention to his leg, which had just crushed Alexander''s balls.


    ''Did he really have to go to such lengths to crush Alexander''s balls?'' they thought collectively.


    Eli stopped and turned back, addressing everyone, "Attack the spot where I hit it.".


    "???" Seeing their questioning gaze,


    Eli pointed towards the monster which had some brown spots in its ck body.


    Confusion filled the air as they looked at the monster, particrly the brown spots on its ck body.


    "Don''t tell me thats....?" Oliver was shocked, recognizing the simrities with the cleansing spell Kyra and Kira had used to remove dark mana.


    "Hero Candidate?" Alysia muttered, but Eli remained silent.


    "A-Ash" Marie walked towards Eli with the intention to help,


    But he raised his hand and looked at everyone before speaking sternly, "No, don''te closer unless you''re prepared to lose your innocence."


    "....." Maire and the others bit their lips, feeling a mix of anger and frustration, unable toprehend their emotions fully.


    ''ssshhhhh...hh..."


    The white beam finally ceased, and with determination, they prepared for a second round.


    [Eli, Help Alysia]


    ''Even now you are worried about your friend...ah'' Eli smiled warmly when he heard those words.


    Suddenly, Eva stepped forward and stood in front of Eli, her gaze intense.


    "..." Eli frowned.