The moment the two lower swords sank into the stone, the whole boss room trembled.
Neo's grip tightened around Gravebite. For half a heartbeat, nothing happened. The surviving Awakeneds kept moving, kept attacking, kept trying to force the boss back with arrows, spells, shields, and steel.
Then the floor answered.
Dark green lines burst out from the impact points beneath the throne and raced across the stone in every direction, thin at first, then thickening into a low wave of poison that skimmed over the ground with terrifying speed.
Neo understood it instantly.
"Jump!" he shouted.
His whole group reacted at once. Max pushed off hard with the shield raised. Alice lifted with her axe already in hand. Snot cursed and sprang into the air. Marika jumped a fraction later, flames still circling one hand. Neo moved with them, but he had been closer to the boss than the others.
The wave passed beneath them like a living stain.
