The battlefield no longer resembled a dungeon.
It was a ruin.
A graveyard of stone and shattered will.
At its center—
Three figures moved.
Too fast for the eye.
Too precise for chaos.
Steel clashed.
Light burst.
Darkness screamed.
Elias stood alone.
Between them.
Against them.
The Dark Knight struck first.
A heavy swing—
Crushing.
Absolute.
Elias stepped in.
Not away.
CLANG
The impact rang like thunder.
The ground beneath his feet collapsed—
But he held.
Before the Dark Knight could follow—
Light descended.
The White Knight appeared above him.
Blade raised.
Chains igniting.
[Boss Skill: Radiant Cascade]
"…Again."
Elias whispered.
This time—
He didn't block.
He moved.
A single step—
A pivot—
A shift in angle so precise it seemed impossible—
The waves of light—
Missed.
Not deflected.
Not stopped.
Avoided.
The White Knight's eyes flickered.
For the first time—
A delay.
Elias saw it.
And he took it.
He vanished.
Not with speed—
But with intent.
He appeared in front of her.
Blade already mid-swing.
[Sword Skill: HellBlitz Excalibur]
White-gold flames erupted.
Not explosive—
But condensed.
Refined.
Deadly.
SLASH
The strike connected.
Clean.
Perfect.
The White Knight's body froze.
Her halo cracked.
Chains flickered violently.
A single line of light—
Split across her form.
"…Vow…"
She whispered.
"…must—"
Shatter.
Her body broke apart—
Fragments of pure radiance scattering into the air—
Fading—
Dissolving—
Gone.
Silence.
For half a second.
Then—
The Dark Knight roared.
It surged forward—
Faster than before—
Blade raised in pure retaliation.
Elias turned.
CLANG
Their blades collided again.
Darkness pushed.
Violent.
Relentless.
But Elias—
Did not yield.
"…One down."
Hinabi muttered from the distance.
Magumo smirked faintly.
"…About damn time."
Kiraya exhaled.
"…He actually did it…"
But Fayzan—
Didn't speak.
Because his eyes—
Were still locked on the battlefield.
"…No…"
The air shifted.
Again.
That same—
Wrong—
Sound.
CRACK.
Fragments of light—
Reappeared.
"…You've got to be kidding me…"
Magumo's voice dropped.
The radiance gathered.
Faster than before.
Denser.
Brighter.
Reforming.
"…It's coming back—!"
Ayame shouted.
The White Knight returned.
Not weakened.
Not broken.
Perfect.
Again.
But this time—
Different.
Her halo—
Fully intact.
Unfractured.
Radiant.
Her chains—
Longer.
Sharper.
Alive with power.
Her presence—
Overwhelming.
"…Infinite regeneration…?"
Sumi whispered.
Elias didn't look surprised.
He stepped back slightly—
Creating space between himself and the Dark Knight—
As the White Knight fully materialized beside it.
Two bosses.
Once more.
Stronger.
"…So that's the condition."
Elias spoke quietly.
Hinabi frowned.
"…Condition?"
Elias' eyes narrowed slightly.
"…They're not separate."
A pause.
"…They're bound."
The Dark Knight shifted.
The White Knight mirrored.
"…As long as one stands…"
Another pause.
"…The other returns."
Silence.
"…So we kill them both at the same time?"
Magumo asked.
Elias didn't answer immediately.
Because both bosses—
Moved.
At once.
Light surged.
Darkness followed.
A perfect synchronization.
A system.
And now—
It had adapted.
Elias raised his blade again.
Flames igniting.
"…Then we adjust."
He stepped forward.
Not to defeat one—
But to face both.
At the same time.
Again.
Because this wasn't a fight anymore.
It was a puzzle.
A vow.
One that refused—
To be broken.
And Elias—
Was about to break it anyway.
The battlefield had become a loop.
Light.
Darkness.
Death—
And return.
Elias moved again.
Not with hesitation.
Not with doubt.
But with clarity.
Both bosses surged forward.
Perfectly synchronized.
The Dark Knight's blade came first—
Heavy.
Crushing.
Unforgiving.
The White Knight followed—
Chains igniting—
Radiance building.
A perfect combination.
One to bind.
One to break.
CLANG
Elias intercepted the Dark Knight's strike.
Steel grinding against darkness.
The force alone shattered the ground beneath them.
At the same time—
Chains wrapped toward him.
Fast.
Precise.
Unavoidable—
Or so it should have been.
Elias twisted.
Just enough.
The chains grazed him—
Burning—
But missing their full bind.
"…Tch."
Even he felt that.
They were faster now.
Sharper.
Learning.
The White Knight rose again—
Blade glowing.
[ Boss Skill: Radiant Cascade ]
Light erupted outward.
Wave after wave.
No delay.
No opening.
Behind it—
The Dark Knight raised its shield.
[Boss Skill: Abyssal Bastion Crash]
"…A combo."
Hinabi muttered.
"…Again—!"
Elias saw it.
Immobilize.
Then annihilate.
He moved before it completed.
A step forward—
Into danger.
His blade ignited.
[Sword Skill: HellBlitz Excalibur]
He struck—
Not at the White Knight—
Not at the Dark Knight—
But between them.
The ground split.
Energy collided.
The sequence broke.
BOOM
The combo failed.
Both bosses were pushed back—
Not far—
But enough.
Elias stood still.
Watching.
Thinking.
"…Something's off…"
Kiraya whispered.
Fayzan narrowed his eyes.
"…He's not going for the kill…"
Because Elias—
Had already done that.
Once.
Twice.
And it changed nothing.
The White Knight raised her blade again.
Unharmed.
Restored.
The Dark Knight stepped forward.
Unbroken.
Relentless.
"…So that's how it is."
Elias spoke quietly.
He moved again.
Faster.
Sharper.
He closed the distance with the White Knight first.
CLANG
A rapid exchange.
Precise.
Deadly.
Then—
A shift.
He broke her guard.
A clean opening.
SLASH
The White Knight split apart again.
Light shattered.
Fragments scattered.
"…There—!"
Sumi shouted.
But Elias—
Didn't relax.
Because behind him—
Darkness surged.
The Dark Knight's blade descended—
A killing strike.
Elias turned—
Blocked—
Countered—
But his eyes—
Didn't change.
Because he already knew.
Behind him—
Light was returning.
CRACK.
The White Knight reformed.
Faster than before.
"…As expected."
Elias exhaled slowly.
This time—
He didn't attack immediately.
He stepped back.
Creating distance.
Both bosses stood again.
Side by side.
Perfect.
Untouched.
"…He stopped…"
Magumo frowned.
"…Why isn't he finishing it?"
Hinabi narrowed her eyes.
"…No…"
A pause.
"…He already did."
Elias lowered his blade slightly.
"…They're not independent."
The words were quiet.
But they carried.
Kiraya froze.
"…What do you mean?"
Elias' gaze shifted between the two.
"…You kill one."
A pause.
"…The other restores it."
Silence.
"…So it's pointless to take them down one at a time…"
Fayzan muttered.
Elias nodded once.
"…They share a condition."
The Dark Knight stepped forward.
The White Knight followed.
"…As long as one remains…"
Elias continued.
"…The other will not stay dead."
Hinabi clicked her tongue.
"…So we just kill them both at once?"
Elias didn't respond immediately.
Because that—
Was the problem.
Two bosses.
Different speeds.
Different mechanics.
Different pressure.
Perfect synchronization.
And only one chance.
Elias raised his blade again.
Flames igniting.
"…It has to be the same moment."
The bosses moved again.
This time—
Faster.
More aggressive.
They had adapted.
Light surged.
Darkness followed.
Elias stepped forward.
Not to win.
But to prepare.
Every clash now—
Measured.
Every movement—
Calculated.
He wasn't fighting to defeat them.
He was learning them.
Their timing.
Their rhythm.
Their delay.
Because this fight—
Would not end—
Until both of them—
Fell.
Together.
And Elias—
Was already deciding—
Exactly when that moment would be.