The explosion had barely settled when Astarhound let out a roar that shook the very ground. Black strands of miasma coiled around its body like living chains, and its blazing purple eyes fixed on the group as if they were nothing more than pitiful prey.
"Prepare for combat. It's not—!"
The commander didn't even finish the order before Astarhound's shadow vanished.
Boom!
Braum was sent flying like a sack of rags. His thick shield crumpled inward, and his massive body skidded across the ground before slamming into the stone wall hard enough to send rubble raining down.
"Braum!!" Cecil screamed, but before he could reach him, the beast's claws swept in. He barely managed to twist his spear up to block.
A sharp crash rang out—the spear snapped in two. Cecil was flung away, blood spraying in a long arc through the air.
"So fast!"
Meryl trembled as she began chanting a spell, but before the light could even take shape, an overwhelming pressure crashed down on her. She dropped to her knees, clutching her chest as an invisible wound tore through her—her mana ripped apart from within.
Commander Eldran tried to cast a sealing spell, but Astarhound merely swung its head. A surge of purple energy crushed the entire magic circle and sent Eldran tumbling end over end. He slammed into the ground, coughing violently as blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
The entire group fell into chaos. In a single, fleeting moment, the situation was completely overturned. Groans of pain, the sound of shattering stone, and the monster's roar fused into a living nightmare.
Astarhound stepped forward, each heavy footstep heralding death itself. The pressure radiating from it made it impossible for anyone to stand.
"No… no one can take any more…" Meryl whispered, her voice shaking.
At that moment, as despair draped itself over them like a burial shroud—
A sudden white light burst forth.
Teresa stood up.
Her armor was cracked, blood streamed down her arm, her breathing ragged… yet her eyes shone brighter than ever. Not with fear, but with resolve. She stepped forward, placing herself between Astarhound and her comrades, even though her legs trembled.
"If you want to harm them, you'll have to get through me first!"
The declaration was firm, despite her dire condition. Astarhound roared and slammed its claws down. Teresa couldn't evade in time and was forced to block head-on.
Boom!
A circle of holy power blossomed beneath her feet, a pillar of white light shooting straight upward. Astarhound's massive claw was halted midair, pressing down as if to crush her, yet Teresa remained standing, her boots digging deep into the ground under the pressure.
Wind howled, dust and stone spiraled upward, and the earth cracked into jagged lines.
"Teresa…?!" Cecil gasped in disbelief, still sprawled on the ground.
The light around her grew ever stronger, holy power surging like a storm.
"I… won't let… anyone… die here!!"
The air around Teresa twisted as if the light itself were being compressed to its limit. Astarhound roared and charged like a whirlwind of darkness. Teresa, utterly exhausted, clenched her sword—now cloaked in holy radiance—and charged straight at it.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The two opposing forces collided again and again, deafening explosions echoing throughout the ruins. Teresa twisted aside from a bite, slid beneath the beast's belly, and slashed upward in a brilliant arc. Astarhound roared, spun its body, and counterattacked, forcing her to erect a temporary barrier to withstand the blow.
"Kh—!"
Blood spilled from the corner of her mouth, yet Teresa did not retreat.
She charged again.
Claws and blades of light clashed repeatedly, leaving behind streaks of white and black intertwined as if tearing space itself apart. Massive chunks of stone were pulverized into fine dust. Heat and toxic energy swept across the battlefield, making even those lying far away struggle to breathe.
"Stop, Teresa! You still can't control that power! If you keep this up, you'll die!" Eldran shouted from behind.
But Teresa didn't hear him. Or rather—she no longer cared. All that remained was her ragged breathing, the pounding of her heart… and the colossal form of Astarhound.
They continued exchanging blows—ten strikes, thirty, fifty, then over a hundred. Each time Teresa thought she would fall, her holy power flared briefly, pushing her onward.
Yet no matter how strong her will, her body could not keep up with the immense strain, and it began to fail.
A particularly brutal blow from Astarhound smashed into Teresa's shield, shattering the armor on her arm. She was hurled away, slammed into the stone wall, and collapsed heavily onto the ground.
"Kh—!" Teresa tried to rise, but her knee immediately buckled.
Astarhound stood there, hot breath billowing out in purple fumes. It advanced slowly, like a predator savoring the certainty that its prey had nowhere left to run.
No one could reach her in time.
Meryl struggled to stand, but her legs refused to obey. Cecil clutched his chest, crawling only a few inches. Eldran lay in a pool of blood, unable to cast even the simplest spell. Braum remained unconscious.
Teresa bit her lip until it bled.
"…It can't end here."
She pressed her hand to the ground. Holy power flared like a dying ember in a storm—but this time, it was different. More frantic. More violent. So fierce it bordered on self-destruction.
Astarhound sensed it and lowered its head, growling warily.
Teresa forced herself upright, her golden hair matted with blood, her eyes shining with terrifying intensity.
"Fine…" She whispered, her voice weak yet unyielding as steel. "If I can't win with strength… then I'll pour everything… into a single strike."
The light beneath her feet erupted, a pillar of holy power shooting upward as if to tear open the ceiling of the ruins.
This time, either she would kill Astarhound—
Or she would die with it.
Teresa raised her sword, and in that instant, the holy power around her detonated like a dying star.
The light spiraled inward, forming overlapping circles beneath her feet, trembling as if on the verge of collapse. Ancient holy glyphs appeared, then dissolved into the air, resonating like the distant toll of a massive bell.
Astarhound roared in alarm, its entire body tensing.
Teresa screamed, pouring out her final breath.
[SANCTUS IMPETUS]
A colossal pillar of light fired from her blade—a beam of holy power compressed to the point that its white brilliance nearly tore the surrounding space apart.
Boom!
The beam struck Astarhound head-on.
Silence fell. Everyone held their breath, knowing that this was Teresa's last strength. If the monster did not fall, they would all die here.
As the smoke slowly cleared, a massive silhouette still stood before them. Astarhound's outer armor twisted… shattered… and was crushed into huge fragments. Half of its left side had been driven into the ground, scorched down to the flesh beneath. Black blood sprayed out, vaporizing the moment it touched the stone.
Astarhound howled in agony—not the roar of a ruler, but the scream of a beast driven into its final corner.
But—
It was still standing.
Its body trembled, breath ragged, yet its eyes remained wide open, blazing red like twin furnaces.
Meanwhile, Teresa barely had time to register that the colossal form had not fallen—before all the strength drained from her body at once.
She collapsed like a broken doll. The holy power vanished completely, leaving her eyes unfocused with shock and exhaustion. Her breathing grew faint, on the verge of stopping.
Astarhound roared, its red eyes burning with fury. It dragged its heavy, murderous body forward, its massive shadow engulfing Teresa like a freshly pronounced death sentence. One stomp, one bite—and she would be obliterated.
But—
Thud.
An overwhelming pressure descended from nowhere.
Astarhound froze mid-step, its entire body convulsing as its survival instincts screamed. The warriors behind it felt the same crushing pressure, struggling to breathe, goosebumps rising—but mercifully, it wasn't directed at them, so they merely trembled instead of collapsing outright.
The commander gasped in horror. "…W-What… is this…?"
From the shadows, a young woman stepped forward. Her beauty instantly drew the eye, yet no one dared speak—the immense pressure bearing down on them all came from her.
She approached, her gaze pausing on Teresa with an inscrutable look. A faint smile crossed her lips.
A thread-thin stream of silvery mana brushed Teresa's chest. The bleeding wounds partially closed, and Teresa's labored breathing steadied. Not a full heal—just enough to keep her from dying in the next few minutes.
Done with that, the young woman walked straight toward the monster. Her mana spread outward like a smooth, black tide. Astarhound—the creature that had devastated the entire squad in a single outburst—now trembled uncontrollably, its legs locked in place as if nailed to the ground.
She raised one hand slightly.
No chant. No preparation. Just a casual motion, like brushing away dust.
A supreme spell descended like divine thunder. Astarhound was hurled away like a sack of sand, smashed into the stone wall and leaving behind a deep crater.
It didn't even have time to roar.
Boom!
A second explosion struck directly into its chest.
Boom!
A third followed instantly, crushing the armor that had already been shattered by the humans' struggle.
After three terrifying detonations, Astarhound's body was completely charred, devoid of any sign of life. The young woman calmly extracted the core from its remains and absorbed it directly.
Power flowed into her continuously, drawing a satisfied smile to her face. Obtaining Astarhound's core was equivalent to restoring half of one-tenth of her former strength.
"That last attack consumed quite a bit of mana. Even if it's replenished, using high-tier magic like this isn't very efficient. Best to limit it in the future unless absolutely necessary."
She thought this to herself and turned to leave—but the commander hurriedly called out to her.
"Miss, please wait!"
She stopped, but did not turn around.
"Thank you for saving our lives. Might I invite you to my estate as a guest for a short while? Consider it my way of repaying you."
The young woman scoffed lightly.
"There's no need for repayment. But pass a message to that girl—I very much look forward to her growth. And make sure she remembers my name…"
"Kalyse."