Who... Are You Fighting?

"Roar—!"

Four molten great axes slammed viciously into the giant ape's chest, and Fourth let out an exaggerated scream.

But the scream lasted only half a second before rapidly fading.

"Hmm... still doesn't hurt!"

Seeing that the giant ape was still standing tall, Second and Third, who had been watching anxiously from behind, both breathed a sigh of relief.

Fourth instantly regained his confidence. He puffed out his chest again and shouted loudly:

"Come on, Boss! Don't hold back! Let the storm rage even harder!"

"Roar—!!!"

What answered him was a crimson storm of destruction. The four sharp axes hammered down like blacksmiths' hammers, striking every corner of the giant ape's body without pause.

Second by second, the attacks continued...

Under such high-frequency assaults, the energy absorbed and converted by the Immortal Body reached an astonishing level.

The giant ape's body swelled slightly, like a balloon being inflated.

Seeing this, Second called out:

"Hold on a little longer! Boss is clearly getting smaller!"

Fourth turned the giant ape's head toward Second and said casually:

"Don't worry~ I'm invincible right now!"

However, Fourth's flag-raising words gave Second an intensely ominous feeling.

Almost at the same time, Third's weakened voice rang out:

"Second..."

"Hm?" Second instinctively turned to look at Third.

Third's tall body was trembling slightly. The few symbolic candle flames atop his antlers flickered unsteadily, as if they could go out at any moment.

"My... my energy... is exhausted..." Third's voice was hoarse with fatigue.

"I can't maintain this level of enhancement... anymore..."

Fourth: "Huh?"

As Third spoke, the giant ape's body suddenly shuddered.

Then, its massive frame began shrinking at a startling rate, as though it were leaking air.

Fifty meters... forty meters... thirty meters...

In just a few breaths, the giant ape had returned to its original size.

The blood-red aura and frenzy around its body rapidly faded as well, returning it to its original appearance.

The Lava Giant Demon froze. Its chaotic mind immediately reached a conclusion:

The enemy had gone limp! That meant its attacks had finally worked!

"Roar—!!!"

Amid its excited roar, the attacks descended again, even more forcefully than before.

At that moment, within the Ape King's body, Fourth immediately sensed the vast amount of energy that had previously been absorbed by the Immortal Body but had not yet been fully converted.

Without the enormous capacity brought by Third's enhancement, the Ape King's body was already completely full.

"Wait! Hold on a little longer! I haven't gotten off yet!"

Third slumped to the ground and replied weakly:

"There really isn't any left... not a drop of mana remains..."

Amid Fourth's despairing cries—

Squelch—!

The sound of a sharp weapon cutting into flesh clearly echoed through the suddenly silent cavern.

"Raaah—!!!!!!!"

This time, Fourth's scream was a completely genuine cry of pain.

Hearing that real scream, the Lava Giant Demon paused again...

Then it swung its other three axes even faster!

"Wait! Wait! We're on the same side, Boss!"

Fourth sprawled miserably on the ground, clawing at the floor with his uninjured arm as he tried to crawl away.

But the Lava Giant Demon clearly had no intention of sparing its enemy, relentlessly pursuing him with chopping strikes.

"Hold on a little longer, Fourth!" Second shouted from the side, trying to encourage him.

"At Boss's size, he can only keep chopping for another minute! No, thirty seconds! He'll definitely regain consciousness by then!"

"Easy for you to say!!!"

Fourth rolled around miserably to dodge the falling axes while protesting.

"You're not the one getting chopped up!!!"

As the giant axe was about to cleave down toward a vital area, Fourth's soul trembled.

He controlled the giant ape to spin around sharply, raised his uninjured arm before him, and made a stop gesture.

"Stop, Boss—!!! Have you forgotten our precious friendship!? Have you forgotten the days when we ran dungeons together, farmed monsters together, and ate group-order meals together!?"

The Lava Giant Demon's downward swing suddenly halted, and joy surged in Fourth's heart...

The next second, the giant axe came down even faster, mercilessly striking toward its original target—the space between the giant ape's legs!

"Stop it—!!!!"

Fourth let out a terrified scream born of instinct.

"Anywhere but there! Absolutely not there!!!"

At the very last instant before the axe blade hit him, Fourth gave up all resistance and cried out heart-wrenchingly:

"Dad—!!! I was wrong—!!!!"

Boom—!!!

The giant axe smashed down viciously, and a violent shockwave swept outward with shattered stones and ice fragments.

However...

At the final moment, the combined axe shifted slightly and slammed into the ground between the giant ape's legs.

The Lava Giant Demon remained in its chopping posture, making no further movement.

After a long while, a suppressed voice slowly sounded through the link:

[Is that so... Then what were you wrong about?]

"Boss!" x3

Hearing that familiar voice through the link, the three of them cried out in unison.

Having regained consciousness, Boss wearily took several steps back before collapsing into a sitting position as if all his strength had been drained.

The lava glow around him flickered, but it was no longer violent.

[Phew...] Boss let out a long breath, a trace of lingering fear in his mental transmission. [Why didn't you stay farther away from me? It was too dangerous!]

Fourth immediately seized the chance to complain first:

"It was Second! He said we needed to test the fastest way to make you regain consciousness! I was forced to cooperate!"

Boss turned his gaze toward Second.

Second did not defend himself and admitted it calmly:

"It was an error in my judgment. I still underestimated your power..."

Boss looked at his brothers, all of whom were still lively and unharmed. No expression could be seen on his lava-formed face, but a sigh came through the link:

[Forget it... As long as no one got hurt.]

He paused, his massive head sweeping around the cavern.

[Where's Ifrit?! Is that child all right!?]

Third immediately answered, "She's fine. Second used Time Stop in time to save her. My Shadow Wolf is protecting her now—I'll have it bring her over right away."

[That's good...]

Boss relaxed and lowered his head to examine his still-massive body.

[So... did you test out any effective methods?]

Third nodded. With a thought, the massive trees that had previously been soaked in Fourth's blood extended from the shadows and clung to Boss's body.

[This is...?]

"This is a combo skill Third and Fourth developed by accident. It's basically... an otherworldly version of Wood Release?"

Boss relaxed and allowed the enormous trees to wrap around him, feeling the restless energy within him steadily being drawn away.

[Since you'd already developed it, why did things turn out like that just now?]

Fourth controlled the Ape King to plop down on the ground, grumbling irritably:

"Isn't it because you kept cheating, Boss! First you blew yourself up without warning, then you inexplicably turned into elements and reassembled yourself! You didn't even eat a Devil Fruit, so why can you use Logia-type abilities!?"

[???]

The others all talked over one another as they explained. Even Boss found it remarkable as he listened. He tried recalling and imitating the sensation Fourth had described.

His lava-formed body suddenly rippled, then rapidly melted as though it had lost all support, turning into a pool of magma spread across the ground.

Third crouched down curiously. "How does it feel?"

[...A little strange. I feel... very free.]

Soon, the magma gathered and took shape again. Boss had just wanted to ask Fourth how possessing the Ape King was going when Third spoke up to remind them:

"They're back."

The shadows at their feet rippled like water. A wolf's head made of darkness emerged first, followed by the rest of its body.

Ifrit was lying quietly atop the Shadow Wolf's back, completely motionless.

The others immediately gathered around, but their bodies stiffened at once.

Second moved the fastest. He carefully lifted Ifrit from the wolf's back, only to find her burning abnormally hot to the touch.

"What's going on?! She's scorching!"

Third immediately looked toward the Shadow Wolf. The wolf hurriedly let out a wronged low howl, indicating that it had nothing to do with this.

"No..."

Second instantly realized what had happened, cold sweat appearing on his forehead.

"A child this small was controlled by a Flame Demon fragment and forced to fight for so long. Her body kept switching between extreme cold and scorching heat... It's already a miracle that she held on until now."

Seeing the pained expression on Ifrit's face, the brothers all felt a wrenching sense of urgency.

"Right! A red potion!" Fourth suddenly shouted.

"If red potions can heal us, can they heal her?"

The others froze. Third immediately said, "But where are we supposed to find one now? We cleared so many rooms and didn't see a single potion!"

Boss suddenly turned his head, looking toward the enormous treasure chest at the center of the cavern, which had somehow remained intact despite the succession of fierce battles.

"No! There's one more place!"

Fourth said, "I have terrible luck. I never get anything good from treasure chests..."

[Boss: You know me. My luck has always been bad...]

Second said, "I'm still holding the child..."

That left only one candidate...

Third was silent for a moment before walking toward the treasure chest that would decide the little girl's fate.

Creak—

Light flashed, and everyone held their breath.

"Yes!"

"Phew..." x3

The three of them let out long breaths, and their taut nerves finally relaxed.

"Put everything away. We're returning to the hall immediately!"

"The environment here is still too harsh for her. She needs an absolutely safe place to recover."

They wasted no more time. They quickly gathered the treasure chest's loot, and Third stored it all in the shadow space before they stepped without hesitation into the deep-blue return portal.

Light flashed again, and they had returned to that familiar, empty yet reassuring hall.

The cold stone walls and floor felt warmer than anywhere else at that moment.

Fourth curiously examined his body. He was no longer in the Ape King's form and had returned to the adult male body he had possessed before entering.

"Does teleportation come with body correction too?"

"Forget that for now! Third, where's the red potion?"

Third took out the life-saving "red potion," but the others could not help falling into a brief silence.

The potion was bright red, contained in a transparent glass bottle with the opening sealed by a smoothly polished oak stopper...

Everything about it was exactly like the large health potion from the game in their memories, capable of instantly restoring health.

Except... its size.

Fourth poked the enormous glass bottle, which required both arms to wrap around.

"Isn't this a thermos bottle?! How are we supposed to use it? Just force it down her throat?!"

"We can't worry about dosage now! We'll deal with that later!" Second snatched it from Third's hands and pulled out the stopper.

He carefully lifted Ifrit's head, aimed the bottle opening at her lips, and slowly poured in the potion.

Something astonishing happened:

Aside from the potion that flowed into Ifrit's mouth, the liquid that ran from the corners of her lips and fell onto her skin was rapidly absorbed into her body.

"It can be applied externally too?" Fourth said in surprise.

Under the tense gazes of the group, the effect was almost immediate.

Ifrit's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed. The unnatural flush on her face faded into a healthy rosiness, and her hurried, pained breathing became steady and deep.

"It worked!"

Second Sister carefully settled Ifrit onto a cushion and tucked a blanket around her before sitting beside her to keep watch.

Only after finishing all that did she raise her head and look at her siblings.

"Where's the food? Did you find any earlier?"

Third Brother immediately reacted. The shadow beneath his feet squirmed, and he reached into it to pull out the basket Alina had given them.

The others were somewhat surprised by Third Brother's "shadow storage" ability, but this was clearly not the time to investigate it.

Second Sister hurriedly took the basket and lifted the white cloth to inspect its contents.

"There's meat!"

Eldest Brother immediately stood up. "Isn't there a kitchen on the second floor? I'll make her something hot to eat!"

Second Sister quickly stopped him. "Wait! How are you supposed to cook with that body of yours? Are you trying to set the kitchen on fire or melt the pot?"

Fourth Brother volunteered. "Eldest Brother, you give the orders and tell me the steps. I'll do it!"

"Alright!"

The two immediately ran toward the second floor, leaving only Second Sister tending to Ifrit and Third Brother standing quietly in the hall.

Second Sister looked at Third Brother. "That much energy consumption must have exhausted you. Go get some rest first."

Third Brother gave a slight nod and replied in a low voice.

"Yeah... I'll go sort through the other things we got from the treasure chest."

With that, he turned and headed toward the forge on one side.

The moment he stepped into the forge, Third Brother finally had time to completely relax.

At a thought, Shadow Wolf silently formed beside him and affectionately rubbed its head against his palm.

With the crisis over, the question he had been suppressing in his heart surfaced once more.

Third Brother stroked Shadow Wolf, recalling the instinctive attack it had made when he summoned it earlier.

Lowering his head, he fixed his eyes—hidden beneath rune cloth wraps—firmly on it.

"Awoo?"

"Before... who were you fighting?"