The mutated ogre roared and lunged again—but this time, it wasn’t the wild, flailing brute from before. It moved with unnerving precision. Each step was grounded. Each attack deliberate. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

’It’s adapting...’

Eli’s heart jackhammered against his ribs. His arms clung tighter around Kairo’s shoulders as the cold wind cut against his skin, the scent of blood sharp in the air.

"Two overheads!" he shouted, voice cracking. "Opposite angles!"

The monster’s four arms blurred into motion. Two massive clubs came crashing down from above in a pincer strike, while the other two twisted behind its back—primed for a spinning follow-up. The pavement buckled beneath its weight.

Kairo didn’t even blink.

He pivoted sharply and slammed his foot into the ground with controlled force.

Eli felt the blood stir before he saw it. "Blood Pillar!" he gasped, just as a crimson spike burst from the cracked earth beneath them.

The pillar launched them upward like a rocket, narrowly avoiding the crushing swing of the ogre’s weapons. The clubs collided where they’d stood a heartbeat ago, pulverizing the asphalt with thunderous impact.

Cracks spiderwebbed across the street. The shockwave shattered windows and sent debris raining down like hail.

Eli’s breath hitched. Wind screamed in his ears as they soared.

’They’re actually evenly matched in power... no, the ogre might even be slightly stronger.’

But why was it moving like that? It moved and fought like it was a boss-level monster, but it wasn’t.

Above the battlefield, Kairo twisted mid-air with a dancer’s grace. Crimson trails arced around him like comet tails, glinting in the dying light.

Eli spotted it first. "Whip the rear left arm! It’s open!"

"Understood."

A whip of blood lashed out with blistering speed, coiling around the ogre’s rear arm just as it lifted for a backswing. Kairo yanked hard. There was a grotesque pop—followed by a sickening crack.

The ogre howled in agony, rearing back—but its glowing eyes only flared brighter.

Then Eli felt it again.

That pulse.

That pressure.

His skin crawled.

’That can’t be...’

He turned his head—just slightly—to the far end of the ruined street.

The real boss stood there. Towering. Roaring. Still unmoving.

Like a conductor directing a symphony of carnage.

’I knew it. It’s feeding it. The mutated one—The boss is making him stronger.’

"Keep your focus," Kairo murmured near his ear as they landed, his boots skidding across the cracked asphalt. "You’re losing sync."

"S-Sorry!" Eli forced himself to snap out of it, shaking his head. But the roar... it wasn’t just noise. It scraped at his thoughts like nails across glass.

’It’s hard to think...but I have to. I have to. If I mess up—Kairo and I could die.’

The ogre didn’t give them a moment. Even with its arm dangling uselessly, it spun with disturbing grace, swinging its remaining clubs in a vicious new pattern. Two up front in a scissor strike—fast and close—while the others followed on delay, meant to corner.

"Parry and backstep!" Eli shouted, instincts firing. "Behind you—spike incoming!"

Kairo moved like water. He dropped low, slicing the lead clubs away with a flick of his blade, then slid backward over the fractured road—just in time to dodge a jagged blood spike the ogre had conjured by dragging its claws into the pavement.

Eli didn’t wait. "Now! Pulse Burst—feet!"

Kairo reacted instantly. The moment the ogre stepped forward to pursue—

Boom.

Tiny droplets of blood beneath its feet—planted earlier without notice—detonated in a concussive burst.

The explosion sent the beast reeling. Dust and flame shot up its legs. It stumbled for the first time, knees buckling, arms flailing.

Kairo narrowed his eyes, his grip tightening. "Nice call."

"Not nice enough."

Because the ogre didn’t stay down.

It snarled. Muscles bulging. Bones audibly shifting. And slowly, defiantly, it pushed itself upright again.

’At this rate... Kairo’s going to burn out. His blood loss, stamina, carrying me—it’s too much even for an S-Class hunter. And that thing... it’s not even close to done.’

Kairo’s blade remained raised, angled in front of him with the precision of a seasoned killer. His breathing was calm, his body still—but Eli could feel it. The subtle tremor beneath his grip. The tension in Kairo’s frame. The cracks forming behind that stoic facade.

Fatigue was creeping in.

And the mutated ogre?

Still rising.

Its muscles twitched unnaturally, like cords being pulled by invisible strings. Bone popped back into place. Flesh mended. It straightened with a rumbling exhale, steam curling from its mouth.

’It should be dead... Kairo dislocated its arm, blew its footing, and still—’

Eli’s gut twisted. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. This wasn’t just another mid-tier boss fight. This wasn’t strength versus technique. No—

This was a trap masquerading as a battle.

"Fall back," Eli rasped, panic lacing his breath.

Kairo didn’t flinch. "What?"

"I said fall back!" Eli snapped louder this time, grabbing his shoulder with both hands. "Just—please. Trust me."

Kairo’s crimson eyes flicked toward the ogre, then narrowed at Eli. His jaw clenched, clearly reluctant.

But then, with a low hiss of frustration, he pivoted on his heel and launched backward in a powerful burst, blood whips wrapping around debris to help them swing and land several meters away—behind the shattered remains of a collapsed building.

Smoke and dust swirled around them like a suffocating curtain. Rubble cracked beneath their boots.

And yet... the mutated ogre didn’t chase.

It stood there.

Still.

Breathing heavy. Shoulders rising and falling.

But unmoving.

Almost like it couldn’t.

’No... like it’s waiting for something.’

Kairo exhaled slowly through his nose, the sweat on his temple catching the firelight. "You better have a damn good reason for that."

"I do," Eli said, heart pounding against his ribs. "It’s the boss. That roar—it’s not just for show. It’s feeding the mutated ogre. Keeping it alive."

Kairo’s eyes sharpened. "And how exactly do you know that? What if it’s just a war cry? A distraction?"

"No." Eli shook his head firmly, eyes wide with clarity now. "It started the moment the ogre mutated. And every time you land a hit—every single time—the roar spikes. It gets louder. Stronger."

He pointed past the smoke, toward the looming silhouette still screaming into the air like a siren of death.

"It’s like it’s funneling power into it. Replenishing its energy every time we try to wear it down."

Kairo didn’t respond immediately. He just stared at the mutated ogre through the smoke—its body twitching with unnatural heat, eyes still glowing.

Eli stepped closer, pressing on. "That’s why it isn’t weakening. You’re hurting it, yeah—but it’s healing too fast. That’s not regeneration. That’s reinforcement."

He swallowed. "The boss ogre is the battery. And the mutated one? It’s the weapon."

Kairo’s blade lowered an inch.

"...Ogres don’t have that kind of coordination," he muttered. "They don’t mutate mid-fight. And they definitely don’t support each other with magical effects."

"Exactly." Eli’s voice shook, but his gaze held steady. "This isn’t normal behavior. They didn’t come from a standard gate."

"They came from a tear," Kairo murmured, eyes narrowing. His tone had shifted. Tighter. Sharper. The mention of a tear wasn’t small.

Eli nodded. "Which means it could be from a dimension we’ve never catalogued. A place with different rules. Different monsters."

Kairo finally turned his full gaze back to him.

Silent.

Assessing.

’He’s listening. He actually trusts me enough to listen.’

Eli took a breath, trying not to let it shake too much. "If we keep focusing on the puppet, we’re wasting blood. Time. Energy. It’s just going to keep getting back up until one of us falls."

Another beat passed.

Then: "What do you propose we do, then?"

Eli turned toward the distant shape of the boss ogre—still rooted in place, still howling like a beacon tearing through the air. Its roar wasn’t just noise anymore.

It was pressure. Rhythm. A heartbeat.

And it pulsed with power.

Eli clenched his fists.

"Attack the boss directly."