"Huh?"
The leader shouted, "[Divine Manifestation]!"
[Paladin Second Skill: Divine Manifestation]
[Skill Effect: Transform into a warrior imbued with divine power, wielding a greatsword to attack, with sword aura capable of slicing through bullets. Defense is greatly enhanced during the skill's duration.]
However, the moment the skill was activated, the expected image of a divine warrior did not appear. Instead—
"BOOM!!!!"
Like a molten lava bomb detonating on the spot, a blinding flash of light mixed with surging flames erupted far more intensely than during the previous test, instantly engulfing the leader's figure.
"Damn! My eyes!!"
The fourth brother let out a cry of agony, instinctively squeezing his eyes shut and burying his face tightly in his cloak.
The second and third brothers were also forced back by the sudden intense light and energy shockwave, unable to look directly at the scene.
When the blinding light finally subsided slightly and the chaotic energy flow began to calm, the three barely regained their vision. What they saw left them utterly terrified—
It was unbearably cramped!
The originally spacious testing area was now completely packed.
Dominating the space was a colossal lava behemoth!
It had completely lost the leader's previous, relatively refined Fire Demon form, swelling to at least ten times its original size.
Layers of dark red molten lava armor covered its body. Its four massive lava arms, cramped for space, twisted and curled, pressing tightly against the pixelated walls and ceiling of the hall.
The entire monstrosity looked like it had been forcibly shoved into an overly small box, unable to move.
"Wow... so... huge!" The third brother gazed up at the giant with awe.
"Exactly, that's right!" The second brother excitedly analyzed, sounding like a live commentator. "Since it's materialized, the skill's manifestation should be based on our current physical forms and energy!"
"The leader's current body is essentially a highly condensed mass of flame and lava energy! He absorbed a massive amount of energy before."
"Under the influence of the [Divine Manifestation] skill, that energy directly acted on his own energy structure, causing a massive, tangible expansion of his energy form!"
The fourth brother finally snapped out of his shock. Listening to the second brother's explanation, he muttered,
"Transforming with accumulated energy... What is this? A primal Ultraman?"
"Not only that!" The second brother's eyes grew even more fervent. "Theoretically, after transforming into this form, the leader's body should have a much higher capacity and control over energy! If he were to activate his first skill now..."
"Um, guys..." the third brother interjected weakly.
The fourth brother gasped, then started coughing violently from the thick sulfur smell in the air. "Cough... cough! Y-you mean... he could maintain this size while continuing to absorb and stack energy?!"
"Um..."
The third brother tried again to cut into their conversation, his voice faint.
"Theoretically, the limit of energy expansion depends on the leader's own mental endurance..." the second brother continued calculating.
"HEY!!!"
The third brother let out a sharp shout through their mental link, interrupting the discussion. "Stop chatting! The leader seems to be in a bit of trouble!"
"Huh?" x2
The second and fourth brothers snapped back to attention, focusing again on the trapped lava behemoth.
They saw its expression growing increasingly pained, its lava-formed features twisting into a grimace.
Only then did they realize with horror—the leader's presence in their mental link had completely vanished at some point!
"Leader?!" the second brother called out through the link.
No response.
In reality, the lava behemoth only writhed in greater agony, its massive body straining against the hall's walls, emitting groans of stress.
"Leader! What's wrong? Say something!" the fourth brother yelled anxiously at the giant.
Just then, a wave of chaotic, intense thoughts surged violently into the trio's mental link.
[Oooohhhh—!!! It hurts so much!!!]
The colossal lava body shuddered violently, spewing wild flames and molten debris from its surface. The entire Primordial Hall shook along with it.
"This is bad!" The second brother's face paled. "His power keeps stacking! The leader can't control it!"
"What do we do?!"
The third brother watched in panic as the leader's volume continued to swell, his deer hooves nervously pawing the ground.
"Stay calm!" the second brother snapped sternly, raising a hand toward the leader. "[Nightmare Brand]"
A ripple of murky energy instantly struck the leader's massive form.
It was a curse skill from a Necromancer, capable of inflicting weakness on enemies.
The effect was immediate—the wildly erupting flames and light on the leader dimmed somewhat, becoming less blinding and violent. His struggling also slightly subsided.
But it was clearly a drop in the bucket, like covering an erupting volcano with a damp towel.
"Fourth!" The second brother suddenly turned to the stunned fourth brother. "Use your skill to absorb the leader's energy! Now!"
"Huh?" The fourth brother looked bewildered, pointing at himself. "My skill? That's a life drain! The leader is a lump of lava now—does he even have blood?!"
"When you attacked the test dummy, did it have blood?!" the second brother almost roared. "The skill description says 'life drain,' but its essence is energy theft! What's flowing through the leader right now is pure energy! Treat it as blood and suck it out!"
The fourth brother, jolted by the shout, suddenly understood. "Oh! Right!"
Without hesitation, he focused his gaze. "Leader... sorry about this... *Abyssal Vortex*!"
With his shout, a twisting, swirling crimson-black hole materialized in front of the lava behemoth's chest.
"Vwoom—!!"
The crimson-black hole emitted a greedy hum. Ribbons of pure energy were stripped from the lava behemoth's body, frantically surging into the bloody vortex.
Just as the glow of the leader's lava form began to dim slightly—
"It's not working, second!" the fourth brother suddenly cried out in panic. "My [Abyssal Vortex] counts as an attack! It's being judged as damage by the leader's first skill!"
"The energy conversion has started again! The energy inside him is still increasing!"
Sure enough, the lava behemoth, which had just shrunk a bit, shuddered violently. The blazing white light on its surface erupted once more with even fiercer intensity, like a last flare.
"ROAR—!!!" (Let... me... out!!!)
The thought exploded through the link, carrying undeniable urgency.
The group instantly understood his meaning.
"Just focus on leaving!" the second brother decisively reminded him through the link.
Almost the moment her words finished, the lava behemoth vanished...
---
Meanwhile, at Rhine Lab, outside a certain medical office.
Saria stood before the door, slightly straightening her uniform, which had become somewhat disheveled from the previous battle. Despite the waves of pain shooting through her arm, she remained composed.
She raised her hand and gently knocked on the door.
"Please come in..." A slightly weary, calm female voice came from inside.
Saria pushed the door open. The room was filled with the faint scent of disinfectant and medicine.
Sitting behind the desk was a Liberi woman. She wore a white researcher's coat that accentuated her slender frame.
Most striking were the round-framed glasses on her face and the slightly fluffy, soft feathers extending from the brown short hair at her forehead.
She was the person in charge of the Ifrit Project...
...or rather, the student of the project leader—Himmel.
Himmel was looking down at an experiment report. Hearing the door open, she looked up, clearly taken aback when she saw the visitor, then averted her gaze slightly, somewhat uncomfortably.
"...It's you. What are you doing here?"
Saria's lips parted slightly, about to say something, when her arm involuntarily twitched.
This subtle abnormality immediately caught Himmel's attention. Her gaze instinctively swept over Saria's naturally hanging arm.
When she saw the unnatural bend and charred marks on Saria's right hand, barely concealed by the uniform sleeve, the distance on Himmel's face instantly gave way to alarm.
"Your hand?!"
Himmel shot up from her seat, quickly rounding the desk and rushing to Saria's side.
"What happened to your hand?!"
Without waiting for an answer, she carefully, gently, took hold of Saria's right arm.
When she rolled up the sleeve to see the extent of the damage, Himmel inhaled sharply.
The condition of Saria's arm was extremely critical. The calcium-based crystal coating covering the exterior had long since shattered and peeled off from the previous Ultimate Impact, revealing the true state underneath—
From the lower arm all the way to the hand, the skin and muscles showed a horrifying charred blackness, like wood completely scorched by flames... desiccated and cracked.
Even the outlines of the underlying bones were visible.
The slightest movement could cause this fragile limb to completely break apart.
Saria was about to offer some words of reassurance, but Himmel cut her off with a rare, firm tone.
"Don't move! Come with me!"
Himmel's voice held an undeniable urgency. Gripping Saria's uninjured left arm, she began pulling her toward the deeper treatment room.
Feeling the slight tremor in Himmel's grip, Saria remained silent for a moment, then ultimately did not resist, allowing herself to be led.
She knew if she stood her ground, this frantic little bird might hurt herself.
As she pulled Saria quickly toward the treatment room, Himmel couldn't help but scold, her voice laced with suppressed fear and anger.
"What kind of mission did you go on?! How could you get injured like this?! Couldn't the calcification even protect you?!"
"Did you push yourself too hard again?! I've told you so many times, the job of the Defense Department isn't about you facing all the danger alone!"
Saria listened silently. She offered no defense, just let this little bird, who was always worrying about her, pull her toward a place of healing.
At least by Himmel's side, she could temporarily set aside the heavy burden of being the Defense Department Director and catch... just a little breath.
After treating the wound, Himmel's expression didn't relax in the slightest. Instead, she looked at Saria even more seriously.
Applying ointment and carefully wrapping the arm with clean bandages had temporarily halted the worsening of the injury, but the severity of the burns weighed heavily on Himmel's heart.
By now, she had fully regained her composure from the initial panic. No one understood Saria's strength better than she did.
The Director of the Rhine Lab Defense Department—her defensive capabilities and physical prowess were considered top-tier even across all of Columbia. What kind of person could injure her to this extent?
Connecting it to the loud rumble she'd faintly heard earlier and the commotion that had echoed within the research institute, a suspicion began to form in her mind.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm, and asked in as steady a voice as possible:
"Saria, what exactly happened? Your injuries..."
Saria looked into Himmel's eyes, filled with worry behind her glasses, and remained silent for a moment.
She knew there was no hiding it, and spoke in a low voice, her tone carrying a trace of barely perceptible gravity:
"Tonight, an unknown entity breached the fourth experimental block. I engaged it in combat."
She gave a brief account of the process—
When Saria mentioned the most critical features, her voice deliberately slowed, carrying a tone of confirmation:
"…Based on its physical characteristics, especially that distinctive molten rock body, its ability to manipulate extreme-temperature flames, and preliminary energy spectrum analysis…"
"Combined assessment indicates a high degree of alignment with the entity documented in the archives—the Ember Demon."
---