Date: February 12, 542 years since the Fall of Zanra the Dishonored.
The echo of the Stone Chimera's wild howl had not yet faded in the distant corridors when the air in the amphitheater turned into a dense, vibrating barrier. The guardian's Pillar-level presence pressed on the knights, forcing their inner essence to contract. Kaedan felt his Unbreakable Armor respond to this challenge—the basalt armor grew heavy with weight, literally planting the young man into the stone floor.
"Spread out!" Kaedan roared, cutting through the ringing in his ears.
The Chimera didn't wait. Its segmented obsidian legs began to move with a speed unnatural for such a giant. The huge right pincer, studded with sharp crystals, traced an arc in the air, aiming directly at the group.
Bert and Olaf instantly darted aside, shielding themselves with shields, which were struck by a powerful airwave. Kaedan, however, took the blow upon himself. He didn't dodge; his role was clear—to become that very breakwater against which the monster's fury would shatter.
The young man raised his arms in their massive vambraces. The collision of pincer and Armor produced a shower of sparks and a sound like a forge hammer striking an anvil. Kaedan was thrown back three meters, his boots plowing deep furrows in the obsidian floor, but he held. The density of his inner power allowed his Vessel to withstand this crushing impulse, though a dull, pulling pain arose in his shoulders.
"Iskon!" Kaedan shouted, regaining his balance. "It's too fast for its size!"
Iskon stood frozen ten paces away, his eyes narrowed into slits of cold blue flame. His Scaling Spirit vibrated at the edge of perception. He didn't just see a beast—he saw the complex structure of ancient power.
"It's guarding its rear with the serpent-tail," Iskon tossed out laconically. "Deprive it of that defense. I'll find a gap when it opens."
The Chimera, realizing that a frontal attack had yielded no result, changed tactics. Its obsidian wings unfurled with a rustle, creating a powerful gust of wind saturated with fine stone chips. Bert and Olaf were forced to shield themselves, losing visibility.
At that moment, the Chimera's serpent-tail lunged forward, writhing between the columns. The serpent's head with its curved fangs aimed for Olaf, who was most vulnerable.
"Back!" Kaedan dashed to intercept, putting all his energy into the burst.
He managed to intercept the serpent's body with his basalt-vambraced hand. The stone scales of the tail were icy and slick. The serpent immediately began to coil around Kaedan, trying to crush his Armor. The young man felt his ribs begin to groan under the increasing pressure. This was a chance that had to be paid for in blood.
"Now! Bert, Mark—strike at the base of the legs!" Kaedan commanded, holding the writhing serpent.
Bert and Olaf, overcoming the wind's resistance, delivered a series of blows to the Chimera's forelimbs. These were diversionary maneuvers, but they made the monster focus all its attention on the frontal attack for a moment. The Chimera roared, ready to unleash its full power upon the knights, forgetting about its own tail, locked in Kaedan's grip.
Iskon was waiting for that very instant.
He burst from his spot, turning into a silvery streak. His Scaling Spirit worked flawlessly. The young man didn't approach the serpent's head—he leaped to where the tail attached to the scorpion's body. In mid-flight, his double-edged sword abruptly shortened to the size of a dagger, allowing Iskon to slip between the guardian's furiously beating wings.
As soon as he reached his target, the sword blade instantly lengthened threefold, filling with the dazzling radiance of accumulated power.
"Sever!" Iskon exhaled.
The steel, enhanced by the quality of a Warrior and the Scaling Spirit, passed through the obsidian joint of the tail like butter. An ear-splitting screech sounded, and the serpent-tail, which a second ago had been trying to crush Kaedan, fell lifelessly to the floor, writhing in its death throes.
The Chimera emitted a sound that made the very walls of the pyramid tremble—it was no longer the howl of a guardian, but the cry of a wounded deity. From the severed point gushed a thick, glowing substance—the concentrated energy that had fed the monster for centuries.
The Chimera staggered, its wings beating convulsively, lifting rubble into the air. It had lost one of its main sensory organs and weapons, but this only made it more dangerous. Madness flared in the creature's eyes.
Kaedan, freed from the tail's grip, sank heavily to one knee, his Armor covered in deep dents, and a thin trickle of blood ran from his nose.
"One down..." he rasped, raising his gaze to the enraged beast. "But it seems she's just getting angry."
Ahead lay the most difficult phase of the battle. The Chimera was preparing for a counterattack, and this time, its wrath promised to be devastating.