A Fierce Battle!

Back at the main battle—

Erik, Aron, and a high-ranking sorcerer took on the Karken.

The sorcerer hurled a fireball straight at the monster's face, but one of the two massive fangs protruding from either side of the Karken's mouth shot forward like a frog's tongue, exploding the fireball mid-air.

Erik charged forward, Aron right behind him. The Karken swung at Erik, who blocked the blow.

Aron rushed past and leapt toward the Karken's arm, aiming to sever it. But the Karken twisted its upper body, yanked back the arm Erik had blocked, and struck Aron square in the back, slamming him into the canyon wall.

Erik lunged at the monster's head. The Karken dodged, grabbed Erik by the leg, and smashed him into the ground. It lifted Erik for a second slam—

"Fireball!"

The sorcerer's next spell struck the Karken's face directly. The impact forced the beast to drop Erik.

The moment Erik hit the ground, he sprinted toward the spot where he knew the second heart was located. Due to the Karken's massive size and angle, the strike wouldn't be easy—but Erik charged in anyway.

He darted beneath the Karken. The heart was above him.

He swung his sword —the Karken grabbed the blade.

Its clawed fingers wrapped around the weapon, halting the strike cold.

"You bastard!"

Aron came flying back into the fight. With a clean, powerful slash, he severed the Karken's hand at the wrist, freeing Erik and his sword.

Without missing a beat, Erik drove the blade upward. The first strike pierced the hide but didn't reach the heart. The second barely made it any deeper.

Gritting his teeth, Erik let go of the hilt, reinforced his arm with mana, and punched the sword's pommel.

CRACK!

The blade exploded through the Karken's back. The creature let out a guttural scream.

With the mana readings he'd sensed earlier, Erik pressed his hand into the wound. He reached deep—until he felt it. The second heart.

But he couldn't grab it. The Karken's size had changed too much. It was buried deeper than he expected.

"This isn't good."

Erik tried to pull his hand back—but the wound had already closed behind him. Flesh began knitting together around his arm.

He could feel it crushing him.

He poured every drop of his remaining mana into his arm, trying to burn the way out from inside—but without Core Activation, the fire was weak.

The Karken grabbed him by the leg again and hurled him toward the sorcerer.

Erik twisted midair, managing to shove off the sorcerer's shoulder and avoid slamming into him.

He landed hard—just in time to see Aron flying toward him.

Too fast.

BOOM!

Aron crashed into him, and the impact sent both of them tumbling across the battlefield.

Erik shoved Aron's body aside and staggered to his feet.

"Shit… this isn't getting us anywhere!" Aron muttered.

He rose, gripping his sword tightly with both hands, the blade pointed skyward. Golden light bloomed around him, mana flaring. Glowing particles danced in the air as his body began to radiate with power.

Core Activation.

He was going all in.

Across the field, the Karken had turned its fury on the sorcerer, hammering down blow after blow. The sorcerer's barrier trembled under the weight—cracks already spiderwebbing through the magical shield.

Then, in a flash, Aron disappeared.

In a single step, he reappeared in front of the Karken and sliced clean through its arm. The beast roared, swinging its remaining limb. Aron caught it with his blade, parrying the blow with a flash of golden light.

Its twin fangs launched at him, like spears.

Aron dodged one and cut off the other with a sharp arc of light.

But the Karken's severed limb had already begun to regrow. Within moments, the previously cut arm came flying again—fully reformed.

Aron hadn't expected it.

CLANG!

Erik stepped in, swinging hard, intercepting the attack just in time.

"Go! It's a little off-center!" Erik shouted.

Aron didn't hesitate. He dropped low, dashed beneath the Karken, and plunged his sword deep into its core.

"Light Magic—Discharge!"

A shockwave burst from inside the creature. The left-center of its torso exploded, flesh and bone erupting in a blast of golden light. The Karken screamed, staggering.

The heart hadn't been destroyed, but now it was exposed.

The Karken snarled, reached back, and grabbed Aron by the cape, flinging him like a ragdoll toward Erik.

"Erik!" Aron shouted midair.

Erik rolled aside, narrowly dodging Aron's body, then sprinted toward the gaping wound. This chance wouldn't come again.

The creature's healing had slowed—but its rage hadn't.

It didn't swing this time. Instead, it punched—a brutal, direct blow. Erik ducked and slid under the massive arm, closing the distance.

"Fireball!" the sorcerer called out, launching a volley of spells to cover him.

Erik dove into the wound, reached in—and felt the heart. He pulled, but it was lodged deep. Too deep.

Shit.

Behind him, the Karken had turned on the sorcerer. He barely raised a barrier before the monster smashed him into the ground. It pulled back for another swing—until Aron intercepted it mid-swing.

"Erik, what the fuck are you doing?!" Aron roared.

The Karken screamed and snatched Aron's legs with one arm. With the other, it smashed him down into the fallen sorcerer. Then, with a grotesque twist of its torso, it grabbed Erik by the leg—and his arm.

Erik didn't let go of the heart.

He gritted his teeth, locking his muscles, refusing to release it.

He could feel the mana shift.

It was going to use the fangs.

From above, the twin crimson fangs shot down, aiming straight for Erik's chest.

"Wind Blade!"

The fangs shattered mid-air.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosive arrows detonated against the Karken's face.

"I hope we're not too late!" Old Man Val bellowed, slamming his hammer into the creature's wrist. It shrieked and let go of Erik.

Elsa.

Eri.

Val.

They were all here.

"I can't waste this chance."

Erik reached in again, reinforcing his arms with every last drop of mana he had. With a primal roar, he pulled.

The heart tore loose.

The Karken screamed, eyes glowing red, reaching out desperately for the organ.

"No, you don't!"

An arrow whistled through the air—Eri's.

It struck the heart midair and exploded. Flames engulfed it. The heart disintegrated into ash.

The Karken howled. Its aura flared—rage, pain, bloodlust. The sheer force of its will pressed down on all of them.

But this time, Erik didn't falter.

One heart down.

One more to go.