The Pale Crown's growling laughter shook the cavern walls, a deep, bone-scraping rumble that made dust rain from the ceiling. Theo didn't care. With a furious shout, he dashed forward, blade raised high.
"You bastard—YOU'RE DEAD!"
Steel sparked against chitin as Theo met the monster head-on. Each clash sent shockwaves through the cavern, his footing sliding on shattered stone. The Pale Crown swung its massive claw, and Theo ducked low, countering with a slash that barely left a mark.
From the sidelines, Kairo watched with clenched teeth.
"Theo! Listen! We have a plan—HEY!"
His voice was drowned under the chaos.
Flint sat beside him, bruised and annoyed, muttering, "That idiot's gonna break every bone he has…"
Lilian knelt next to them, hands trembling as she glanced at Flint's wounds. "He shouldn't be fighting alone," she whispered.
Theo didn't hear any of them. He pushed forward again, eyes blazing, his anger completely fixed on the creature that nearly killed his friend. The Pale Crown swatted down, and Theo barely parried, sliding back but refusing to fall.
Kairo stood up, jaw tight.
They needed a perfect moment.
And Theo's rage was burning that moment away.
Theo gritted his teeth, eyes blazing.
"Get here, you ugly freak!"
The Pale Crown's laughter rumbled again—wet, gravelly, amused. It lunged, claws sweeping in a brutal arc. This time it aimed straight for Theo's chest.
Theo twisted aside by barely an inch. Even missing him, the sheer force of the strike sent a blast of air that shoved him backward. Pebbles skittered across the ground as he slid to a halt, gasping. But he didn't hesitate—he planted his feet and darted forward again, blade flashing.
"Damn it, Theo! You're being suicidal!" Kairo shouted, voice raw.
Theo didn't hear a single word.
Behind Kairo, Lilian stood up on trembling knees. She swallowed hard but clenched her shaking hands with as much bravery as she could gather.
"Kairo… tell me what to do," she whispered.
Kairo froze for half a second. He did have a plan—one that could work. But there was Theo, and the monster, locked in a whirlwind of claws and steel.
Theo slashed again and again, sparks bursting from the Pale Crown's fur with every hit. But nothing pierced deep—its hide was too thick. The monster's rhythm, however… Kairo couldn't ignore it.
He forced himself to focus, eyes narrowing.
The cave roof—damaged by Flint's crash earlier—hung in a fragile state. Cracks zigzagged through the stone, bits falling like grains of sand. One solid shock could bring it all down. Maybe not enough to crush the beast outright—but enough to trap it, damage it, or at least create an opening.
Then there was the Pale Crown's movements.
The way it leaned heavily forward whenever preparing to strike.
The drag of its hind legs, uneven and rhythmic.
The slight twist of its shoulder each time it wound up for a heavier blow.
Patterns. Harsh, rattling, predictable.
Theo blocked another swipe, arms shaking from the force, but he retaliated instantly with a downward cut. The blade bounced off uselessly, but Theo kept going, fueled by pure stubborn fire.
Kairo's mind spun with calculations, tracing angles, timing, the distance between Theo and the monster—and the ceiling hanging over them all.
They only needed one opening.
One window.
One perfect heartbeat where Theo wasn't in the kill zone and the Pale Crown committed to a full strike.
Kairo's pulse quickened.
"Just one moment…" he muttered, more to himself than to anyone else.
And he watched.
Waited.
Timed every movement with growing intensity.
The window was coming. He could feel it.
The Pale Crown roared—deep, guttural, delighted. Its eyes burned a violent red, steeped in manic amusement. It wanted Theo to keep trying. Wanted him exhausted, desperate, broken. Wanted his fear.
But Kairo didn't fear it—not even a little.
And that only made the monster's grin widen.
"Lilian," Kairo said sharply. "Prepare your spell. We need it as strong as possible."
Lilian swallowed but nodded, stepping forward.
"Here goes…"
She extended her trembling hands. A bright white magic circle flared to life before her, wind swirling fiercely inside it like a miniature storm struggling to break free.
"I–I'm ready to fire," she whispered. "Just say the word."
"Good. Hold it for now."
Kairo turned back to the fight.
Theo was a blur of movement—slashing, dashing, rolling under claws, blocking desperate blows that nearly snapped his arms in half. He fought with everything he had, rage and determination burning hotter than fear. But he still didn't hear Kairo's voice. Didn't see the danger in how close he was pushing himself.
And if they waited any longer… Theo wouldn't last.
But the perfect moment wasn't here yet.
Just one moment—
Where the Pale Crown stood directly under the cracked ceiling…
And Theo was out of the way.
Kairo's eyes locked onto the battle.
And he waited.
Theo lunged toward the Pale Crown, sword raised, teeth grit in sheer fury. The monster lifted its massive arm, claws gleaming, ready to swat him aside like a squirming insect. It leaned forward—just a bit—placing its entire hulking body right beneath the cracked portion of the cavern wall.
Theo dodged backward on instinct.
This was it.
Kairo's breath halted.
The moment—the exact moment he'd been waiting for.
"Theo! Step back—NOW!" Kairo shouted, voice echoing through the trembling cavern.
But Theo didn't listen.
He lunged again, reckless, rage-blinded.
"Theo! I said GET BACK!"
Still nothing.
Kairo's heart pounded painfully. Theo was too close—if Lilian fired now, he'd be crushed along with the monster. They had seconds. Less than seconds.
Something inside Kairo twisted—like a knot being yanked tight. His vision flickered.
And suddenly—
A flash.
A familiar blue cube—that same one he'd seen in the void before, when he was trying to awaken his magic—shimmered behind his eyes. A heat sparked in his chest. A force surged up his spine.
Kairo didn't think.
He just screamed:
"THEO!!"
The world snapped.
Theo froze mid-dash.
His breath stopped. His limbs locked. His sword halted inches from his chest as if reality itself had grabbed him.
(What?!) Theo thought, panic flaring.
(What's happening!? Why can't I move—!?)
Kairo stumbled forward, stunned.
"Wh… what did I…?"
Then—
A ping.
A sound that didn't belong to the cavern.
DING—!
A translucent screen blinked into existence before Kairo.
[New Ally Acquired]
[Theo has joined your Territory.]
Kairo's eyes widened.
(All this time… Theo wasn't even part of my territory? But then Flint and Lilian? Why—)
His thoughts shattered.
Because above Theo's frozen form, the Pale Crown's enormous claws were descending—fast. The monster's grin split wider, saliva dripping in delight.
It loved this.
It loved seeing its prey helpless.
It laughed—a horrible, rattling sound—eyes gleaming as it prepared to crush Theo like a toy.
"THEO!" Kairo roared.
No response. Theo still couldn't move.
The claws came down.
Kairo snapped back to reality.
"LILIAN—NOW!!"
"O-okay—here it goes!" Lilian cried.
Her magic circle flared blinding white, and with a sharp WHUMPH, a massive blade of swirling wind erupted forward. It screamed through the air, slamming into the already-fractured ceiling—
CRAAAAAACK—BOOOOM!
The cavern roof collapsed.
Enormous slabs of stone sheared free and plummeted downward. The Pale Crown looked up just in time to see death falling toward it. A boulder the size of its torso smashed onto its shoulder—another slammed into its hunched back—then a final massive chunk crushed down over its head.
The monster's guttural laughter cut off.
Silence swallowed the cavern, broken only by the echo of debris and the faint hiss of fading flames from Flint's earlier blasts.
Theo staggered backward, breath thin.
"Holy… hell…"
Kairo sucked in air, chest heaving, legs trembling beneath him. He still hadn't processed what he had done—how he had frozen Theo, how he had commanded him. His hands shook uncontrollably.
Beside him, Lilian collapsed to her knees, panting, her hands quivering from magical strain. Her face was ghost-pale, sweat dripping as she forced out, "D-did… did it work?"
For a moment, it seemed the answer was yes.
Then—
Crunch.
A crack broke through the rubble.
Crunch… crack…
A blood-soaked snout pushed through the debris.
The Pale Crown's head emerged—half-buried, eye swollen, face torn open—but still smiling. Still laughing, a faint sick rattle of amusement bubbling in its throat.
"Theo!" Kairo shouted, voice raw. "This is the chance—FINISH IT!"
Theo's breath hitched as control returned to his limbs. He didn't hesitate.
He dashed forward, sword flashing in a clean, furious arc—
SHHK!
The blade tore through the Pale Crown's throat. The laughter finally stopped.
Kairo blinked as a message flickered before him:
[Tier Advancement Complete: Congratulations—You have reached Tier 3]
Finally putting the potato thief to rest.
To be continued.....