Heh... Can We Make Peace?

[Big Brother: Found the kid!]

[Second Brother: Where? How is she?!]

[Big Brother: Not good! She's in the Boss room!]

[Fourth Brother: The Boss room? Isn't this the first floor?!]

[Second Brother: Damn it! The dungeon layout has been merged! Third Brother, turn around!]

[Third Brother: Hold on! I'm almost there!]

[Fourth Brother: Wait! What's the Boss in that room?]

Buzz—!!!

A massive barrage of cross-shaped light bullets poured down on Big Brother like a storm of gunfire, only to melt away the instant they neared the molten domain.

Big Brother raised a hand, and [Explosive Flying Shield] shot out with a howl.

The Snow Mountain Ape King roared, gathering an enormous snowball in its hand before hurling it fiercely.

The two collided violently in midair, creating a tremendous explosion and shockwave.

[Big Brother: King Snow Ape! But it's ridiculously huge!]

[Fourth Brother: Fuck! Can't you feel the ground shaking?!]

[Big Brother: Obviously!]

Boom—!!!

The Ape King slammed both arms into the ground, and visible shockwaves swept toward Big Brother and Ifrit like a tsunami.

Big Brother's flaming pupils contracted. He immediately retreated to Ifrit's side, kneeling down and shielding the girl tightly with his body.

The terrifying shockwave swept past him without affecting Big Brother at all. Instead, it made his body grow even larger, reaching ten meters!

Big Brother looked down at the pain on Ifrit's face, and the rage in his chest surged once more!

"Roar—!"

With a furious roar, the molten beast charged back at the Ape King.

The Ape King narrowed its scarlet eyes and remained still. Yet just as Big Brother was about to reach it, it slammed the ground again.

"Rumble—!"

The ground beneath Big Brother instantly collapsed, throwing him off balance as he toppled to one side.

Seeing this, the Ape King pounded its chest with both hands. Countless sharp ice spikes shot toward Big Brother like a torrential rain.

The piercing hiss of ice spikes melting under the high heat rang out incessantly. Soon, thick white mist blanketed the entire battlefield.

The Ape King planted both hands on the ground, and its enormous body suddenly sprang upward. Borrowing that force, it charged violently into the white mist!

Then—

"Roar—!!!!"

A barrage of punches!

An incredibly pure barrage of punches!!!

The Ape King wildly pounded the brightest glowing figure in the white mist, all while continuing to fire ice spikes downward in an indiscriminate assault!

One second passed.

Two seconds passed.

Three seconds passed.

Four seconds...

"Smack—"

The Ape King's eyes suddenly widened. One of its fists had been caught!

The Ape King's massive body dropped to the ground, and the shockwave it created blew away the surrounding white mist.

"Roar..."

A rolling wave of heat rushed forward.

As the white mist cleared, standing there was a Lava Giant nearly twenty meters tall!

The Ape King instantly realized that its opponent's change in size came with a massive increase in threat.

It immediately gathered another enormous snowball in its free hand and smashed it viciously toward Big Brother's head!

It still had no effect. The snowball vaporized the instant it touched Big Brother's body.

The Lava Giant continued growing, reaching twenty-three meters and surpassing the Ape King!

Startled and enraged, the Ape King threw its other fist at Big Brother's face, only for it to be firmly caught by another palm.

Scalding pain shot through the flesh of its hands, and the Ape King immediately condensed a layer of ice around its arms.

Molten lava and solid ice produced great clouds of vapor, once again shrouding the two giant beasts.

"Roar—!!!"

The Lava Giant howled as, before the Ape King's disbelieving eyes, it lifted the creature entirely off the ground and smashed it down hard!

The ground shattered and caved in, and the Ape King let out a pained howl.

Then, the red glow in the Ape King's eyes intensified—

The Boss had entered its half-health berserk state!

Its muscles swelled wildly, and its snow-white fur took on an ominous blood-red hue. Berserk power surged forth, actually forcing Big Brother upward!

Big Brother refused to yield and increased his strength. At the center of the cave, the two terrifying beasts gripped each other's hands in a primal contest of strength!

The ground around them continually shattered beneath their pure clash of power, revealing the horrifying strength each possessed—strength enough to shake mountains.

"Roar—!!!" x2

The two giant beasts roared at the same time. A curtain of flame and an icy tide surged toward their faces simultaneously, producing white mist that covered their heads once again.

Within the mist, scarlet, berserk eyes and flaming pupils filled with fury stared each other down!

The smoke was scattered by violent currents of air!

What!?

The Ape King's jaws were wide open, and a destructive cross-shaped beam was rapidly gathering within them!

How despicable! It had actually taken advantage of the moment when Big Brother's hands were restrained!!!

A trace of cunning flashed through the Ape King's berserk red eyes.

With both of your hands locked down, how will you block this...

Bang—!!!

A heavy punch containing destructive force smashed brutally into the Ape King's head!

Its upper and lower jaws were forcibly shut in an instant. The terrifying energy that had yet to fully erupt exploded inside its mouth, sending huge fangs, scorching blood, and shattered ice flying everywhere.

The Ape King was dazed by this "third-party" attack. The intense pain inside its mouth proved that the attack just now had not been an illusion.

But... the sensations coming from both hands were so real!

Who was it?!

Where had the attack come from?!

Suppressing its dizziness, it looked ahead and widened its eyes in disbelief.

Behind the Lava Giant, scorching magma churned violently. An even thicker lava arm was slowly retracting, its fist still flickering with residual red heat.

[Apotheosis]

Accompanied by the unnerving sound of surging magma, the Lava Giant's body expanded once again, its enormous shadow completely engulfing the Ape King.

At the same time, another equally massive lava arm condensed into shape behind it.

Oh, it was fine. Big Brother had four arms.

Ape King: "..."

"Roar..." Heh... can we make peace?

Its answer was—

"Roar—!!!" Ora ora ora ora!!!

A barrage of punches!!!

Big Brother had used a barrage of punches too!!!

Faster than the Ape King's! Stronger!!

The two arms in front still firmly pinned the Ape King's arms down, while the two larger arms behind swung down in a frenzy at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow!

Boom boom boom boom boom—!!!!

And that wasn't all. Blinding red light and explosive flames ignited around those two newly formed giant arms!

The violent flames, driven by the extreme speed of the swings, formed a circular wall of fiery wind around Big Brother!

Under that terrifying barrage of punches, like a raging storm, the Ape King's head continually warped, caved in, and blackened!

It could not even let out a single cry of pain.

"Roar—!!!"

With Big Brother's final roar, the two arms in front suddenly released their grip, while the two burning giant arms behind stopped attacking.

All four massive lava hands clenched together into an enormous meteor fist and smashed down toward the Ape King's defenseless chest!

Its snow-white chest instantly caved in. Along with a clear cracking sound came a scorching light that pierced through its back!

"Ahh..."

The Ape King let out a dying whimper. Its once-resounding voice was now incomparably miserable.

However, Big Brother did not even intend to grant it the right to cry out.

Smack—!

Two hands clamped around its neck like iron pincers, while the other two grabbed its upper and lower jaws respectively, beginning to pull them apart!

The Ape King no longer had the strength to struggle. Nothing remained in its eyes but primal terror and pleading as it looked at Big Brother, who resembled a demon god.

Buzz...

Buzz—

Buzz—!!!

The Lava Giant opened its huge mouth, and a blinding miniature sun gathered within it.

Before the Ape King's despairing eyes, Big Brother pulled its mangled head closer.

Two hands wrenched its upper and lower jaws as wide apart as possible, then blasted straight into the depths of its open mouth!

Flames burst from the Ape King's seven orifices, followed by its torso.

Boom—!!!

With an explosive roar, the Ape King's enormous body broke apart into countless charred fragments that shot in every direction.

A ruined eyeball rolled to a stop in front of Ifrit with a soft plop, its frozen pupil still retaining its final despair.

"Roar—!!!"

Having eliminated its powerful enemy, the Lava Giant spread its arms and let out a triumphant roar like a gladiator victorious in a duel.

Ifrit stared at the scene before her, like a myth brought to life, and was speechless for a long while.

This... was a true Flame Demon?

Rumble rumble—

With the death of the Lord Boss, an ornately decorated giant treasure chest rose from the ground at the center of the cave amid a rumble.

At the same time, a deep-blue portal and a dark-purple portal silently spun open in the empty spaces on either side of the chest.

Ifrit's gaze was drawn to the familiar blue portal.

Was that the exit?

She braced a hand against the ground and tried to stand, but the Lava Giant's attention was drawn to the treasure chest after it appeared, and it actually began pounding on it.

The violent tremors threw the newly risen Ifrit off balance, and she fell to the ground again.

"Smack..."

A soft sound rang out.

The Lava Giant suddenly turned its head, its burning pupils instantly locking onto her.

Ifrit met its gaze and, after hesitating for a moment, stood up again.

She tried to approach it, gathering her courage as she spoke:

"Um... thank you..."

"Roar—!!!"

A scorching blast of air rushed at her. What entered Ifrit's view was a lava meteor rapidly expanding until it filled her entire field of vision.