Second Phase

As it moved, its body glitched—sections of its form warping as if struggling to maintain a stable shape, pieces phasing in and out of existence. Then, it stabilized. The distortion vanished in an instant, as if the monster had forced itself into reality.

"ROOAAARR!!" The sound that erupted from it wasn't just a roar—it was wrong. Distorted, glitching like a corrupted audio file. It lifted its massive arms high—then slammed them down with a thunderous crash. The impact sent cracks spider-webbing through the stone beneath them, a shockwave blasting outward with a deafening boom.

Ben exhaled sharply, his eyes narrowing as he took in the abomination before them. "…Of course, they can fuse. And again with this familiar tune…" He immediately sent orders to the Krell Scouts. With only one enemy left, he could fully focus on controlling his creatures. His mind shifted into strategy mode. "Defensive formation! Don't engage yet!"

The Krell Scouts responded instantly, spreading out in a semi-circle, awaiting his command. The creature moved. The ground beneath them shifted—mana rippled. Ben barely had time to react before the metallic floor erupted, jagged blocky spikes tearing through the dungeon like a terrain manipulation attack. Elvira shot upward, avoiding the attack with a quick rise in altitude, her sharp gaze locked onto the creature.

"Move, now!" The Krell Scouts scattered just as the spikes shot up where they had been standing moments before. Ben's eyes locked onto the creature's chest—its core had flared right before the attack. 'So it needs to charge before using that. Good.' But there was no time to celebrate. The creature glitched forward, skipping frames like a corrupted game sprite, suddenly appearing right in front of one of the bow scouts.

"Dodge!" But Ben order come Too late. A massive arm slammed down, the impact launching the Krell Scout across the battlefield like a ragdoll. The dungeon floor cracked under the sheer force.

Ben gritted his teeth. 'It's fast. Three types of attacks so far—spikes, heavy slams, and that glitch charge. But no time to think about that now.' Then came the tendrils—six of them, each shifting and morphing into a different weapon. A chainsaw. A hammer-like mass. A spiked whip. Each moved independently, slicing through the air at random angles.

Ben cursed under his breath. "Shields up! Axemen, hold position! Archers, target its eyes!" The scouts moved like a well-oiled machine. Shield-bearers dug in, bracing for impact. The spearmen stayed just outside reach, striking only the moment the whip clashed against the shields. The axemen held steady, waiting for their moment.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The Creature's grin twitched—like it was amused. Then, its core pulsed. Ben's eyes narrowed. "Another spike attack—Jump!" The scouts leaped just as another set of spikes erupted from the ground. Two weren't fast enough, they got hit mid-air and sent sprawling—but the others landed safely. 

Ben wasn't done. 'If it follows patterns, that means—' The Creature glitched again, skipping frames as it teleported mid-slam toward the downed scouts. 'Exactly what I expected.'

"Shields! Intercept!" The two shield-bearers surged forward, slamming into the Creature mid-motion, cutting off its attack. The impact sent it staggering, its body flickering wildly, as if momentarily losing its grip on reality. 

"Spears! Pin the limbs! Now!" The spearmen dashed in, striking fast, driving their weapons into the writhing tendrils before they could lash out. The Creature screeched, its attacks disrupted, its shifting form glitching under the coordinated strike.

Ben's smirk widened. "Axemen—crack that core!" The two armored scouts lunged, their heavy axes swinging in brutal unison. The weapons crashed into the Creature's chest, shattering interlocking blocks. A visible fracture spread around its core. The Creature screamed. Its body convulsed, glitching so violently that even the air around it seemed to distort, reality itself rejecting its existence. But it wasn't done.

The creature reared back. Its core pulsed—harder, faster, radiating a terrifying intensity. The cracks in its form twisted, shifting, rewriting themselves like corrupted code, repairing the damage in real-time. At the same time, the six tendrils shot outward—far beyond their original reach. Ben's mind raced. 'It's entering a second phase.' He quickly give out order, "Fall back! Shields, cover the retreat!"

As if to mock him the familiar tune play out once again, and than the pace start fasten like it got a remix into a boss game soundrack. Ben start feeling the urge to curse, he star wondering, is this a test? Or just some kind of game that the owner of the ruin created for their amusement?"

The six tendrils suddenly pulled back, twisting and expanding as they engulfed the creature. It looked like a flower closing—except there was nothing beautiful about it. More like a grotesque, shifting egg of flesh and distortion.

"Elvira, any idea what it's doing?" Ben's instincts screamed at him to attack. But at the same time, another part of him warned—don't. That conflicting feeling made him hesitate. If this was some kind of phase transformation, attacking blindly might trigger something worse. 

Elvira's voice was steady, but her eyes narrowed as she observed the shifting mana. "It's strange… That creature doesn't feel like a single entity. It's like… many creatures moving at once. If I understood it better, I might be able to disperse it."

Ben's eyes sharpened. "Does it have a weak link?"

Elvira's gaze stayed locked on the creature's. "Before? Yes. Now? I don't see any."

His lips twitched. "You could have told me that earlier, you know."

She glanced at him, unfazed. "Well, you told me not to intervene. Besides, you already hit one of its weak spots anyway."

Ben frowned. "Wait—you're saying it had another weak point besides the core?"

Elvira gave a small nod, her expression thoughtful. "Yes. One of its tendrils. The one that barely moved to attack you."

Ben's mind raced, replaying the fight. The six tendrils had been a nuisance—annoying, but not all of them were threats. And now that he thought about it, the hammer-like tendril barely did anything the entire fight. 'Damn it. I got played.' His jaw clenched. "Next time, tell me. You know my mana sensitivity is very bad."

Elvira chuckled softly. "Alright, my beloved." But just as quickly, her expression hardened. "…It's coming."