The massive Nightmare slowly lowered its countless glowing eyes toward Kael.
Purple mist leaked from its enormous body as distorted flesh twisted and pulsed unnaturally.
The surrounding streets had already fallen silent.
Far away, alarm bells across Fortress Genesis began ringing one after another.
Inside the ruined bar, debris continued falling around Kael as he stared at the towering creature without moving.
Then—
One of the Nightmare's massive eyes focused directly on him.
And the Nightmare smiled.
The Nightmare's smile stretched unnaturally across its massive form, as if countless faces were trying to imitate a human expression at once.
Then the ground shook.
BOOM!
One massive arm slammed downward toward Kael with overwhelming force, crushing through the remains of the bar as purple corruption exploded outward from the impact.
Dust and debris swallowed the area instantly.
Kael narrowly escaped the massive arm before it crushed the entire section of the ruined bar.
BOOM!
The ground shattered behind him as he leapt across nearby rooftops, moving quickly through the late morning.
In his hand, the borrowed sword was already close to breaking, cracks spreading along the blade from the earlier battles.
Truth.
His eyes glowed faintly once more, his vision pierced through the Nightmare's enormous body.
Inside the mass of corruption—
Six dark cores pulsed violently within it, buried deep beneath layers of flesh and Nightmare energy.
While sprinting across the rooftops, Kael raised his hand mid-run.
The air above him twisted violently.
A massive ice spike—sized like a full tree trunk—formed in an instant, hovering for a fraction of a second before being hurled forward.
WHOOSH—!
It shot straight toward the Nightmare's shoulder, aiming precisely at one of the hidden cores Kael had already identified.
THUD—CRAAACK!
The impact shook the air.
The ice spike embedded deep into the Nightmare's shoulder… but only halfway.
The monster's body was far tougher than expected—dense corruption and reinforced flesh stopping the full penetration.
For a moment, it seemed like the attack had failed, but Kael's expression didn't change.
Because behind the first spike—A second ice spike was already there, towards behind of first spike.
Cutting through the air at the exact same trajectory, following the opening created by the first impact.
The second ice spike pierced cleanly through the Nightmare's body.
For a brief moment—A silence.
Then—
ROOOOAAAR!!
A distorted scream of pain echoed as the Nightmare recoiled violently, its massive form shaking the entire battlefield.
The hole created in its body began to shift immediately.
The flesh didn't "heal" normally, it flowed.
Like liquid corruption being pulled back together by an unseen force, the torn space stitched itself shut in seconds.
Kael's expression remained unchanged as he watched it happen, he wasn't surprised.
"…Regeneration." he muttered quietly.
The Nightmare twisted its body unnaturally, as if every part of it could bend and re-form at will, adapting to damage instead of resisting it.
Kael's eyes narrowed faintly as he observed deeper.
"…There are only five cores inside it," he whispered to himself while still moving across the rooftops. "And every part of its body is just an extension… becoming solid, then falling apart and reforming."
His grip tightened on the broken sword.
"So the cores are the source… and the foundation."
Kael continued running across the rooftops behind the massive Nightmare, his movements steady despite the collapsing streets around him.
The broken sword in his hand trembled faintly from the pressure it had already endured.
Then he jumped.
His body shot into the air toward the Nightmare's upper back while he raised the damaged blade, preparing a precise strike instead of brute force.
Through Truth, he could clearly see one of the cores hidden inside the Nightmare head, pulsing beneath layers of corrupted flesh.
A clean slice through the right point would destroy it instantly.
Kael's eyes remained calm as he descended toward his target.
But—
One of the countless purple eyes scattered across the Nightmare's body suddenly moved and locked onto him.
In the next instant, the Nightmare's back twisted violently.
SHHHK—!
Countless spikes of corrupted flesh erupted outward toward Kael like a storm of spears.
Kael hadn't expected the Nightmare to attack like that while he was still exposed mid-air.
The countless spikes rushed toward him from every direction, fast enough to block any normal escape route.
But instead of focusing on defense, Kael swung his broken sword while falling.
SHHK!
Several incoming spikes were sliced apart instantly as fragments of corrupted flesh scattered through the air.
Then—
Kael stepped directly onto one of the remaining spikes.
Using it as footing, he accelerated again, running across the Nightmare's own attack toward its head.
The broken sword in his hand was already positioned for a clean strike aimed at the hidden core.
For a brief moment, the plan was within reach, but just as Kael closed in—
The Nightmare's head suddenly distorted.
One of its countless eyes widened, and spikes erupted directly from its face at point-blank range.
Kael's eyes narrowed slightly.
Too close.
Before he could fully react, the attack slammed into him.
BOOOOM!
His body was hurled violently toward the ground, crashing through debris and shattered stone as dust exploded across the battlefield.
Kael lay amidst the shattered ground, dust and broken stone scattered around him from the impact.
Above him, the massive Nightmare twisted violently, countless purple eyes staring down like a sky full of monsters.
But Kael's expression remained calm despite the damage.
"I see… The Nightmare itself isn't the problem." he whispered quietly.
His faintly glowing eyes narrowed as he replayed the battle in his mind.
He could see the cores.
He could predict movement.
He knew where to strike.
But—
He lacked experience.
Kael understood what he should do, yet he had never fought against unpredictable trick attacks like this before.
The Nightmare's shifting body, hidden spikes, and unnatural reactions were things his instincts still couldn't fully keep up with.
"…So this is my weakness," he muttered softly while slowly pushing himself back up. "…Then I'll focus my concentration." Kael said quietly.
Slowly, he stood back up from the shattered ground.
Dust slid from his clothes while the broken sword remained tightly held in his hand.
Above him, the massive Nightmare continued roaring, its countless eyes moving restlessly across his body, searching for the next chance to strike.
But Kael's expression had changed slightly.
Not fear, not anger, but focus.
The faint glow in his eyes sharpened as the world around him seemed to slow little by little under his concentration.
Kael took a slow, silent breath, then he tightened his grip on the broken sword.
For a brief moment—Everything became still.
And in the next instant, Kael vanished from his position.
BOOM!
The shattered ground beneath him exploded as he rushed straight toward the massive Nightmare at terrifying speed.
The Nightmare slowly raised its enormous body, countless purple eyes shifting wildly in every direction, searching for him through the darkness and debris.
Its distorted flesh twisted restlessly, preparing for another unpredictable attack.
While Kael sprinted across the rooftops, a faint flame slowly appeared beside him in the air.
The fire condensed further and further until it became a tiny sphere no larger than a marble.
A small and quiet, Yet terrifyingly concentrated.
The Nightmare suddenly sensed danger.
One of the cores hidden inside its head immediately shifted downward through the flesh, moving deeper into its body to avoid destruction.
But Kael saw it clearly.
Through Truth, he could follow the exact movement of the core and predict where it would move next before it even finished shifting.
His glowing eyes narrowed slightly.
Then a the tiny flame sphere shot forward.
SHHHK—!
It pierced through the air at terrifying speed, aimed directly toward the Nightmare's back where the moving core would arrive.
The tiny flame pierced through the Nightmare's flesh and disappeared deep inside its massive body.
At that exact moment—
The moving core shifted downward, and collided directly with the flame.
BOOOOM!
A violent explosion erupted from inside the Nightmare body, once a core downward are now gone.
The blast tore through layers of corrupted flesh from within, creating a massive hole through its body as burning purple flesh scattered across the battlefield.
The Nightmare let out a distorted roar of pain, its enormous form staggering violently.
And through the torn opening—
Kael saw it.
Another core are exposed, briefly revealed by the internal explosion.
Kael immediately jumped again, this time, he was prepared.
Behind him, countless spikes of ice formed in the air, each one sharply condensed and perfectly shaped.
Then—They fired.
WHOOSH—!
A storm of ice spears shot forward toward the Nightmare's exposed opening, tearing through the air with terrifying speed.
Before the purple eyes could even react, the spikes had already arrived.
SHHK! SHHK! SHHK!
Ice pierced through corrupted flesh and surged directly into the Nightmare's exposed core zone, freezing and destabilizing the surrounding energy on impact.
To prevent regeneration and to hide again the expose core.
While falling downward, Kael steadied himself mid-air.
The broken sword in his hand began to glow faintly, a thin layer of concentrated energy wrapping around the cracked blade.
His eyes locked onto the exposed core revealed through the earlier explosion and ice barrage.
Kael twisted his body in mid-fall and swung.
SHHHK—!
A clean, precise slash cut directly through the exposed core.
For a brief moment, the core resisted—Then it split in half.
The Nightmare let out a distorted, collapsing roar as the shattered core began dissolving.
Slowly, it turned into drifting mist, fading away as if its existence itself was being erased.
The moment the core dissolved into mist—
The Nightmare's massive body violently staggered.
One of its countless eyes flickered, then dimmed completely.
A distorted roar echoed across the battlefield, but it was no longer as stable as before—more like something breaking apart from the inside.
Kael landed lightly on the shattered ground, sliding back a few steps as debris settled around him.
Above him, the Nightmare's movements became erratic.
Its regeneration slowed.
Its form twisted unnaturally, trying to stabilize—but failing.
Large portions of the Nightmare's body began dissolving like unstable solid matter.
Chunks of corrupted flesh broke apart mid-air and crashed onto the ground with heavy thuds, turning into dark, fading residue.
Kael stood still, watching carefully, his eyes tracked every change.
The cores were destabilizing.
But the Nightmare was not dying yet, It was shifting.
"There's only three cores, thigh, waist and left shoulder." Kael said softly.
Suddenly—
The Nightmare let out a deeper, more violent roar.
Its remaining eyes turned wild, no longer controlled or focused.
Berserk.
Its massive arms began swinging uncontrollably, each motion tearing through nearby houses and collapsing structures like paper.
BOOM! CRASH!
Entire buildings were crushed and flung aside as debris scattered across the district.
The ground shook violently under its rampage, but Kael remained steady, observing its unpredictable movements.