"You had one chance to take one of us out, and you picked the wrong target," Venedikt's voice sounded in the dissipating aftermath of the giant explosion.

"You sure know how to talk big for someone who barely survived even though you seemed to be expecting an ambush, or you are just very talented,"

"But in any case, you have given me a target to play with," Vesper said, with a playful hint to her tone as she saw Venedikt standing with his left arm missing just beyond his shoulder.

'If Alex hadn't warned me to stay prepared for an ambush, I would certainly be dead,' Venedikt mused, the agony of his incinerated arm coursing through his body in waves.

Venedikt had sensed the bullet because of void sense, but it was traveling so fast that the barrier ability he was prepared to use would not take effect in time, so in the moment of urgency, he used his left hand to cast the Space Compression, creating a quick barrier.

At the same time, he used Void Shift to displace himself and the crystal into the void realm, but until then, his arm had already been lost, burned by the intense flames.

"Your luck is truly bad," Vesper said as she heard the voice of Killian telling them to act on plan B.

"You are the silent type."

"I like people like you because it's entertaining seeing how long you can stay brave in the face of a long, helpless death," Vesper said, her expression hidden under the mask but her eyes gleaming with a mischievous glint being visible to all.

'If I could move freely by using space shift, then things would have been different, but I need to protect the crystal, and she surely has superior agility than mine,'

'This battle is troublesome, but I need to end it before Ravyn and Andrei, as I can't be the last one because that would look bad,' Venedikt thought, the thought of losing not even crossing his mind, even with a handicap.

"And You talk too much for someone who is dressed like a manikin," Venedikt said after he was done scanning the surroundings, with the usual calm having returned to his eyes.

"Space Collapse"

Venedikt spoke, his legacy staff touching the ground, sending an invisible shockwave through space, and with it, the surrounding hundred meters began to warp and distort, with some areas stretching while others compressing.

The space warped and twisted, creating a surreal landscape of complete destruction, and Vesper, who seemed ready to act angered by the last comment, retreated to safety.Vesper was a Fifth Rank individual, an extreme rarity among the players, and with her being an assassin, she was the worst match for Venedikt. On top of that, she had him dominated in agility, so it was far from a battle of equals, and Venedikt understood it very well.

---------------

"I am sorry for attacking you," Andrei said, an annoyed expression on his face.

"Same from me,"

"This bastard could mess with our emotions," Ravyn said, his eyes glued to the robbed figure floating in the distance.

"But he should have a limited range or some form of time limit, and as we are in two against one situation, we can use that to our advantage and figure his weakness out," Ravyn said further, but at this point, Andrei was already morphing into a different beast as he sprinted toward Aetherius.

'I expected nothing less from him,' Ravyn thought, having understood Andrei's open and free spirit demeanor.

"Avatar of Cannibalism." V.3

Andrei's humanoid figure began to grow, reaching 10 feet with bulging muscles that grew past the dark, heavy, asymmetric armored west and leg greaves that vanished, leaving behind just a plain leather legging.

Andrei's exposed face became covered by a menacing helmet, its jagged ridge meeting at the center with glowing, deep, verdant green eyes, and from his forehead rose a single, longhorn, curved and ending in a bifurcated shape similar to a rhinoceros beetle, adding to his intimidating visage.

A set of hard shell wings tore through his back, sending blood and viscera spraying out, and in an instant, two ethereal sets of crystalline wings, each pulsing with green veins, separated from the hard shell wings.lights

Meanwhile, his arms became encased in armored shells, bearing deadly claws, while his chest morphed into a blend of lined chitinous plates.

As the transformation concluded, Andrei was a tank, armored from head to toe, but with wings, claws, and rich miasmic poison, he was a walking calamity.

"Hey, fake priest, Let's see if you die to my poison first, or I rip you from piece by piece," Andrei said, his deep voice echoing as his blurred figure appeared before Aetherius, taking a wide swing with his axe.

But Andrei stopped, his eyes going dull as he free-fell to the ground, looking at his hands in contemplation, and a moment later, a beam of continuous concentrated light fell on him.

---------------

"The assassin is named Vesper, and besides her amazing skills as one, she has the unique ability to create shadow clones, with the uniqueness being her ability to switch her consciousness between her clones as she wishes without any cooldown,"

"The priest is named Aetherius, and he has the unique ability to wield the heavenly Virtue of Kindness, so fighting against him with messed up emotions is more than changeling."

"So your teammates are as good as dead, but you can save them if you are capable of doing so," Killian said, and after a momentary pause, he continued.

"I wanted to kill the space magician, destroy your crystal, and also steal your prey, ultimately foiling your plan, so I can anger you to go all out and have a good battle,"

"But your friend survived, so did the crystal, and from your eyes, I can tell that you are not interested in this battle but don't worry, I had a plan in case things went this route," Killian uttered after seeing Alex continue building distance using his speed and the knife teleportation ability.

"In two to four minutes, a Seven Star Elemental creature known as the Corpse Eater will manifest with the crystal of unrest as his source, and defeating it is near impossible,"

"So my strategy B is to let the creature manifest and make sure you don't escape, so the only way you can leave this place is by killing me or by dying," Killian said, his already oppressive aura growing in might.

'If it's just three of them, then I don't need to employ the Elemental Summon, and instead, I can use a better option and achieve a crushing victory,' Alex thought, the emergency plan he had coming to mind.

Killian was speculated to have the legacy of the Berserker Monrach, as his capability to grow his strength was in a league of his own, and on top of that, even in his most deranged state, he was not just a mindless beast but a walking calamity with decent clarity of mind.

Alex could see from the limited info available that Killian was a middle-stage Fifth Rank warrior, and while his stats were hidden, after the few weapon clashes of their weapons, he understood that he didn't hold a major advantage, at least not in strength.

Alex was not surprised by knowing that Killian strength was reaching above 300K points, and his speed, stamina, and vitality wouldn't be far behind, and he also understood that this was not the limit.

If Killian had brought his entire team, Alex had planned to summon a peak Sixth Rank creature to aid his team, and he himself would push his elemental limits by using Mana Amplification and Mana Overdrive and employ the Domain Skill to take on Killian.

'Let's see how much I have improved from the last time,' Alex thought, his eyes narrowing at the grinning giant swinging his war maul.

"Don't forget, it was you who came looking for a true battle, so don't be a disappointment and entertain me," Alex said, his cold voice accompanied by the primal roar of the menacing dragon visage materializing behind him.

"Chrono Sanctuary" "Dragon Monarch Aura"

Alex's eyes took a colder tone, his demeanor shifting as he stared at Killian, who stood frozen in place, his excitement momentarily replaced with fear and shock, yet in an instant, rage boiled in his eyes, and with sheer will, he completed the swing.

Alex's pupils reflected the bottomless depth they carried as he stared the surprised Killian in the eyes like reminding him of his insignificance, and an instant later, the towering Dragon with the menacing head and hollow eyes moved his claw, and met his objective with deadly precision.

Killian moved down like a bullet, crashing into the solid ground, with the force of the impact turning the tens of meters of land upside down, leaving a trail of upheaval in his wake.

Alex stood in the sky with a carefree look, the manifestation of a towering dragon slowly dissipating into the air.