Moments later, before the golden-winged beast could react, a dazzling spark of lightning emerged on a glass shard, then refracted to the surrounding shards.

The result was a blinding flare that lit up the night sky with a resonating 'BOOOMM!!'

Knowing that her distraction wouldn't last for long, Esther sheathed her blade.

She turned around and leapt up, descending to the ground.

"ROOAARRR!!"

Unfortunately, the golden-winged beast quickly recovered its composure and chased after her.

It looked much angrier than before. It parted its jaws, unleashing a terrifying breath of poisonous purple flame.

Esther failed to react on time.

Before she knew what had transpired, the purple flames knocked her forward with a resonating 'Banngg!' and slammed her to the ground, engulfing her and her surrounding rocky plain.

Esther coughed, her body wracked with pain.

She wiped the blood trickling down her lips, her strength waning with each passing moment.

She attempted to stand up, but realised that she couldn't.

She looked at her back and saw that parts of her uniform were burnt, caught in the direct impact of the poisonous purple flames.

Esther quickly took out a poison detoxification pill from her storage ring and placed it in her mouth. A warm chill emerged from the pill as it quickly dissolved, spreading through her organs and combating the poison.

The golden-winged beast landed in front of her.

Esther raised her head to look at the enormous winged beast, towering 14 meters -45ft- tall.

"You've been playing with me, haven't you?" she asked with a bitter smile.

Esther doubted that it understood her words. Even if it didn't, she doubted even a little that it would respond.

The golden-winged beast parted its jaws again, revealing its terrifying, sharp rows of teeth.

Poisonous purple flames ignited from its belly, surging towards its throat.

It seemed as though the beast wanted to burn her alive before feasting on her corpse.

Esther gritted her teeth in frustration.

She saw no route for escape.

Just as Esther was about to raise her sword, ready to fight to the death, the night sky above the golden-winged beast shone with a bright light eerily similar to its golden-colored feathers, bombarding the back of its head.

Esther looked up and saw Draven, whose body was wrapped in golden flame feathers like fiery armour, unleashing a flurry of strikes.

Each strike released a feather-like arc of golden fire that bombarded the back of the golden-winged beast fiercely.

"ROOARR!!"

The golden-winged beast stirred a violent gust of wind as it flapped its wings back, slamming it into Draven.

Draven landed on his feet, crouching low to the ground.

He spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground.

Meanwhile, the golden-winged beast soared into the skies.

Draven looked at Esther and nodded.

Draven stood up and ran in a different direction.

Esther struggled to her feet and ran in another direction.

They had no hope of defeating a Rank Two Lesser Beast together.

They weren't foolish enough to risk their lives by thinking otherwise.

Just like before, they both hoped that the golden-winged beast would follow one of them while the other escaped to safety to get help.

All that mattered was whether help would arrive before the golden-winged beast caught the other.

The golden-winged beast took to the skies. It towered above them like an eagle sighting its prey. Its gaze reflected arrogance as they fled.

It didn't chase them immediately.

It parted its jaws again.

A misty purple gas flowed out, accompanied by poisonous purple flames, and unleashed dangerously close to where Draven and Esther had dashed away.

A sharp whistle echoed through the atmosphere.

Before Draven could understand the source of the whistle, a terrifying wave of poisonous purple flames struck him and went around Esther.

The blast shook the earth, sending rocks and dust flying and throwing her to the side.

They tumbled to the ground, rolling to a stop.

A massive crater emerged a distance away from where they once stood. Surrounding it was a poisonous purple gas that slowly spread into the area.

Esther opened her eyes with some difficulty and exhaled deeply.

Witnessing this, she thought, 'Sure enough, it's playing with us.'

Esther looked up at the golden-winged beast staring down at them from the skies in contempt. It was as though it was inflicting punishments for misdemeanours.

It was also a warning.

It was highly likely that any other attempt they made to run would result in their deaths.

Esther turned her gaze to the distance and saw that Draven had already collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

He appeared to have been hit directly by the blast and couldn't bear it. His combat uniform was charred, with several blackened patches. His injuries were covered with purple marks.

Esther suspected that the flames were poisonous.

This should also mean that the gas coming her way was headed in the same direction.

Esther frowned at the sight. Her mind spun, trying to devise a way of escape.

Unfortunately, she couldn't figure out anything.

The golden-winged beast slowly descended before her.

It raised its large paw above her head.

She could only close her eyes, hold her breathing, and hope for the best. "Haa…"

Violent winds stirred around her, causing her long white hair, loosened from its ponytail, to lash fiercely around her.

Suddenly, a steamy mist emerged from the forest in front of her, spreading towards the poisonous purple gas and them.

Esther, who was still oblivious and resigned to her fate, didn't notice the unfolding bizarre phenomenon.

The golden-winged beast quickly noticed the steamy mist and growled fiercely, releasing a poisonous purple gas from its throat.

But just before the flames could leave its throat-

BANNGG!!

A brilliant blue beam of light shot from the sky, slamming into the throat of the golden-winged beast.

BOOMM!!

The golden-winged beast roared in pain, crashing to the earth and rolling several times before coming to a halt.

A second crater formed around the golden-winged beast.

Esther snapped open, sensing a sudden heat on her body.

Her face turned into a mix of surprise and relief at the unexpected turn of events. She looked around at the steamy mist that had enveloped the area, mingled with the poisonous purple gas.

Her actions had caused her to inadvertently breathe in the gas, causing her throat to itch and turning her injuries to a deeper shade of purple.

"COUGH!!" Esther coughed violently.

She searched for Draven. At the same time, she scanned for the golden-winged beast.

Before she closed her eyes, it had once stood in front of her. Now, after the sudden impact that resonated through the air, she quickly deduced that someone or something had attacked the golden-winged beast.

The steamy mist appeared to be the answer to her question.

There was only one beast in the dungeon capable of producing such a steamy mist.

The mid-stage Rank One Flaming River Deer!

She had fought and killed it several times, so she was very familiar with its abilities.

However, at this moment, she wasn't sure if her judgment was correct, because the steamy mist was far more potent than she had imagined, enveloping a much larger area.

Instantly, this led her to another assumption: this was the result of another magical beast, similar to the golden-winged beast.

Esther quickly found the golden-winged beast lying in a small crater on the ground. At the same time, she spotted Draven.

She stood up to run toward his position, but just as she took a step forward, she felt a wave of dizziness hit her, causing her to collapse to the ground.

She looked back and saw the deep purple marks on her wounds. She could barely feel her legs. She also realised that she could hardly control the function of her limbs and other parts of her body.

She was stuck.

Esther gritted her teeth in anger and frustration.

She could only hope that other students nearby had realised what had happened and would quickly report it to the Dungeon Nurses for help.

Or that the two magical beasts would fight each other to the death, giving her time to recover and escape.

Or perhaps they would ignore her and flee to heal their injuries.

However, just as hope began to stir in her heart, it was quickly diminished.

***

Meanwhile, at a distance, Ezekiel rode on Felix and hid within the mist, observing the golden-winged beast as it struggled to get back on its feet.

He shifted his gaze to two individuals lying hopelessly on the ground, a distance apart from each other.

When Ezekiel arrived, he had saw Esther and Draven attempting to rescue the injured students from the golden-winged beast.

From Felix's analysis of the mana radiating from the magical beast, they had confirmed that it was a Rank Two Lesser Beast.

Ezekiel had already confirmed it himself when they arrived. However, with Felix's accurate judgment, he determined that this was a mid-stage Rank Two Lesser Beast.

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