Xar could currently be seen on his knee, blood dripping down his mouth as he finally rose up, still glaring at the two Reavers standing in front of him, both ready to charge in again without hesitation.

His eyes narrowed as if something suddenly dawned on him. He swiftly turned around, his gaze falling on Blake, Zen, and Jace as they continued overwhelming the monstrous beast.

"You all don't know what you are dealing with," Xar finally spoke, his voice low but chilling.

"What? Thought you were going to say 'who we are dealing with'." Tom cackled, his tone mocking even in the middle of battle.

Xar only shook his head, and the bitterness in his sigh was evident.

"He brought us here accidentally, and now he is trying his best to eliminate us. But shockingly, he lacks the power to defeat us. And you think if—IF—you manage to defeat me, it is over?!" Xar thundered so loudly that even Zen halted mid-charge, his ears catching the words at the exact moment a limb whacked him into a tree.

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand. What are you talking about?" Lyra asked, brows furrowed as her hand gripped her weapon tighter.

Xar just chuckled darkly, his shoulders rising and falling, before he let out another deep sigh.

"How about you beat me, then you find out? But I got to warn you though… your doom is coming!" Xar said with a crooked grin. His voice carried a dangerous certainty that unsettled the air around them.

Before either of them could respond, Zen's earlier words—fight in sync wafted into their ears, forcing their focus back on the battlefield.

"Guess the kid has formulated a plan. We have no choice but to follow it," Tom whispered toward Lyra. She only clicked her tongue, her face hardening, and then dashed forward with full speed, her boots cracking the ground beneath her.

"Fools indeed," Xar muttered. The moment Lyra appeared in front of him, her weapon had already transformed into a longsword. Without hesitation, she swung with blistering speed and raw force, her blade cutting through the air like lightning.

Xar tilted his head to the side, avoiding the strike with uncanny precision, but Tom was already there.

Appearing like a fiery blur, he swung his sword upward from below, releasing a flame slash that tore through the space between them. Xar reacted instantly, leaping backward as the slash cut into a tree, cleaving and burning it to ashes in an instant.

Without missing a beat, Xar countered, thrusting his bone spear straight at Tom's abdomen.

The B-rank Reaver slammed his greatsword in front of him, blocking the blow with all his might. Sparks and heat flared from the collision, the sheer force sending Tom skidding across the ground, his boots digging furrows into the soil.

Before Xar could press forward, Lyra reappeared in a flash, this time with a rapier in her hand. She lunged and swung with deadly precision, but Xar's arm morphed instantly. His bony hand snapped forward, gripping the rapier by its blade and halting its advance completely.

With brutal efficiency, he yanked her forward and slammed her into the ground. A thunderous crash rang out as dust erupted, the earth beneath her body shattering on impact.

"Inferno!" Tom thundered, his roar echoing as he bolted forward. Flames roared along his sword as he stabbed it into the air with every ounce of strength he could muster. A tunnel of fire exploded outward, scorching the forest and lighting up the battlefield.

Xar's instincts kicked in as his hand instantly morphed into a large shield. He raised it high to block, but the moment the torrent of flames connected, his entire arm jerked backward violently. The sheer force of the strike sent him skidding a full metre, his heels tearing trenches into the ground.

Cracks spiderwebbed across the shield. A loud snap followed as the bone construct shattered into fragments that scattered across the ground. Xar froze, his body rooted in shock, confusion flashing across his face.

And just at that moment, Warmongress leaped into the air, her presence blotting out the dim light above as her shadow fell directly over him.

Around her, fifty spears crackling with lightning instantly appeared, their tips humming with destructive energy. With a sharp snap of her fingers, Warmongress sent them hurling toward Xar. The sky seemed to tear as the barrage rained down, forcing the creature to snap out of his daze and glance upward at the incoming storm.

"I believe they call it… shit!" Xar mouthed, panic flashing across his face as he suddenly bolted, moving at full speed. He twisted, rolled, and pivoted desperately, trying his absolute best to avoid the spears that slammed into the earth with thunderous crashes. Each impact cracked the ground violently, kicking up clouds of dust and debris that swallowed the battlefield in chaos.

Pivoting hard on one foot, Xar narrowly avoided a spear that skimmed past his cheek, so close it left a shallow cut. The weapon pierced through a tree with such force that it buried itself deep, almost splitting the trunk in two.

High above, Aria remained perched on her tree, her bowstring drawn taut. Her breaths were steady but sharp, her eyes locked on every opening she could find.

"Zen said to serve as a distraction… find the opening," she whispered under her breath, her words a reminder to herself as she steadied her aim.

A loud crash from the other side of the forest drew her attention for only a second. Her gaze flickered toward Jace and the others, just in time to see the water Reaver smash a waterfall attack down onto the beast. But in retaliation, the monster swatted him out of the air, hurling him into a tree with bone-crushing force.

The beast was bleeding more than ever now, its black ichor pouring freely. Blake and Zen, both ragged and battered, were holding it back together, pushing beyond their limits.

Aria turned her head sharply back toward Xar. The creature had somehow evaded all fifty lightning spears, though his chest heaved as he panted. He was fast, too fast, but even he could not mask his exhaustion. Without hesitation, Aria let go of her bowstring.

FWIIISH!

The arrow tore through the air at blistering speed, a miniature tornado spinning around its shaft as it screamed toward Xar.

But the bone-armored warrior was just as quick. Without even looking, he snapped his fingers up and caught the arrow midair between two fingers. The force rippled through the ground, yet he held it steady and raised it toward his face.

He stared at it with a flicker of confusion before his grin returned, sharp and mocking. His gaze shot toward Aria's perch, as if to taunt her.

"Zen! NOW!" Aria roared.

Right on cue, the arrow detonated. A violent explosion ripped through the battlefield as flames and smoke blasted outward, tearing Xar's hand apart in the process. His wrist and palm vaporized instantly, chunks of pink blood and bone scattering across the scorched ground.

"Lady Warmongress!" Zen shouted, his eyes flashing as he darted forward, sword gripped tightly. His voice boomed across the clearing. "Blake! Strongest attack now!"

"Sound Veil!" Blake responded without hesitation. Multiple limbs from the beast lashed toward him, but his sharpened senses carried him through. He twisted, flipped, and narrowly avoided each strike before he leaped into the air, positioning himself directly above the beast's crown.

"Absolute Destructo!" he bellowed, his palms slamming together with earth-shattering force. The resulting clap erupted into a colossal shockwave, a wall of compressed sound that hammered downward. It smashed into the beast with such devastating pressure that it was forced into the ground, the earth caving beneath it. A crater nearly ten metres deep formed instantly, blood bursting out in torrents from the monster's body.

Yet even then, it still wasn't dead. Its limbs flailed weakly, struggling against the crushing weight.

Meanwhile, the smoke from Aria's explosion slowly began to clear. Through the gray haze, Lyra emerged like a blazing phantom, directly in front of Xar. Her weapon had shifted into a massive flaming sword, and she wasted no time. She swung it with terrifying speed, the flames roaring brighter as they cut through the air.

The creature froze, a smile tugging at his lips even as his doom approached. "You're all toast."

But his words were cut short.

At that exact moment, Zen sprang forward, appearing in front of the disoriented beast. His sword swung in a vicious arc, fueled by every ounce of strength he had left. The blade struck the beast's already bleeding neck with overwhelming force, biting a full metre deep into its flesh. Black blood erupted in a violent spray.

Zen's sword, however, could not endure. It shattered into fragments even as he disengaged and pulled back. The beast staggered, still alive, its body trembling as it began regaining its senses.

Then—

[Phantom Edge Used]

A ghostly white glow erupted in the air. The phantom blade shot forward, striking the exact same spot Zen had just cut. The spectral edge dug deeper, another metre into the monster's neck, and this time the strike finished what Zen began. The beast's head severed cleanly, rolling free as its body slumped.

And in the same breath, Lyra's flaming sword cleaved through Xar, decapitating him in one fiery stroke before his entire body was engulfed in flames.

The battlefield went silent.

The moment Xar's headless corpse dropped to its knees, the A-ranked beast disintegrated into particles of ash, its form unraveling into nothing.

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