"Huh?"
Boss: "[Apotheosis]!"
[Paladin Skill 2: Apotheosis]
[Skill Effect: Transforms into a warrior possessing holy power, attacking with a greatsword. Sword energy can cut down bullets. Defense greatly increases while the skill is active.]
However, the expected image of a holy warrior did not appear the instant the skill activated. Instead—
"BOOM!!!!"
It was as though a lava nuke had detonated on the spot. An even more dazzling light than during the previous test erupted alongside roiling flames, instantly swallowing Boss's figure.
"Damn it! My eyes!!"
Fourth Brother let out a miserable cry, instinctively squeezing his eyes shut and tightly covering his face with his cloak.
Second Brother and Third Brother were likewise forced back again and again by the sudden blast of light and energy, unable to look directly at it.
When the blinding radiance weakened slightly and the chaotic energy currents settled a little, they barely regained their sight. The instant they saw the scene before them, all of them were scared out of their wits—
It was unbelievably crowded!
The originally spacious testing area had been completely stuffed full.
What occupied the space was an enormous Lava Giant!
It had completely lost Boss's previously relatively lean Flame Demon form, its body having expanded more than tenfold.
Layers upon layers of dark-red lava armor covered it. Its four massive lava arms had to twist and curl due to the cramped space, pressing tightly against the pixel walls and ceiling of the hall.
The entire monstrosity looked as though it had been forcibly crammed into a box far too small for it, unable to move.
"S-So big!" Third Brother stared up at the colossal creature in shock.
"That's right, exactly!" Second Brother analyzed excitedly, like a live commentator.
"Since it has been realized in reality, the way the skill manifests should naturally be based on our existing bodies and energy!"
"Boss's body is essentially a highly condensed mass of flame and lava energy! He absorbed an enormous amount of energy earlier."
"Under the catalysis of [Apotheosis], that energy acted directly on his own energy structure, causing a massive expansion through the materialization of energy!"
Fourth Brother finally recovered from his shock. Listening to Second Brother's explanation, he muttered:
"Transforming with stored energy... what is this? Vitality Ultraman?"
"Not only that!" Second Brother's gaze grew even hotter.
"Theoretically, after Boss transforms into this form, the upper limit of energy his body can contain and mobilize should be even higher! If he activates his first skill now..."
Third Brother: "Um..."
Fourth Brother sucked in a breath, then began coughing violently after being choked by the thick sulfur smell in the air.
"Cough... cough cough! Y-You mean... he can maintain this size while continuing to absorb and stack energy?!"
"Um..."
Third Brother tried once again to interject, his voice weak.
"The theoretical limit of energy expansion depends on Boss's own consciousness and how much it can withstand..." Second Brother was still calculating.
"Hey!!!"
Third Brother let out a piercing cry through the link, interrupting their discussion.
"Stop talking! Something seems wrong with Boss!"
"Hm?" x2
Second Brother and Fourth Brother suddenly came back to their senses and focused their attention on the Lava Giant wedged in place.
The pain on its face was growing increasingly intense, its lava features nearly twisting into a knot.
Only then did they realize in horror—at some point, Boss's voice had completely vanished from the mental link!
"Boss?!" Second Brother tried calling out through the link.
There was no response.
The Lava Giant in reality merely struggled more painfully, its enormous body grinding against the hall walls and letting out a strained groan.
"Boss! What's wrong? Say something!" Fourth Brother panicked as well, shouting at the giant.
At that moment, a powerful, chaotic stream of thought suddenly crashed into the mental link shared by the three of them.
[Ooooooh—!!! It hurts so much!!!]
The huge lava body shook violently. Berserk flames and chunks of lava blasted from its surface, and the entire Vitality Hall began to tremble violently.
"This is bad!" Second Brother's expression changed drastically.
"The power is constantly stacking up. Boss can't control it!"
"Then what do we do!?"
Third Brother watched Boss grow larger and larger in panic, his deer hooves scraping anxiously against the ground.
"Calm down!" Second Brother barked, raising a hand toward Boss.
"[Nightmare Mark]"
A dim gray ripple of energy instantly struck Boss's massive body.
This was a Necromancer curse skill that could inflict weakness on an enemy.
The effect was immediate. The raging flames and light erupting from Boss's body were suppressed somewhat, no longer as blinding or violent, and the intensity of his struggle also lessened slightly.
But it was clearly only a drop in the bucket, like placing a wet towel over a volcano on the verge of erupting.
"Fourth Brother!" Second Brother suddenly turned toward Fourth Brother, who was still standing there in a daze.
"Use your skill to absorb Boss's energy! Hurry!"
"Huh?" Fourth Brother looked utterly bewildered, pointing at himself.
"My skill? That's bloodsucking! Boss is a lump of lava right now. Does he even have blood?!"
"Did the testing dummy have blood when you attacked it!?" Second Brother was practically roaring.
"The description says bloodsucking, but its essence is energy plunder! What's surging through Boss's body right now is the purest energy! Treat it like blood and suck it over here!"
That shout struck Fourth Brother like a revelation!
"Oh, oh, oh! Got it!"
He no longer hesitated, his gaze sharpening.
"Boss! Sorry... Otherworldly Vortex!"
With his shout, a twisting, spinning crimson-black hole suddenly appeared before the Lava Giant's chest.
"Bzzzz—!!"
The crimson black hole emitted a greedy hum. Pure energy, like bands of light, was stripped from the Lava Giant's body and crazily poured into the blood-red vortex.
Just as the glow of Boss's lava body began to dim—
"This won't work, Second Brother!" Fourth Brother suddenly shouted in terror.
"My [Otherworldly Vortex] also counts as an attack, so Boss's first skill recognizes it as damage!"
"The energy conversion has started again. The energy inside him is still increasing!!"
Sure enough, the Lava Giant's body, which had just shrunk slightly, suddenly jolted. The blazing white light on its surface burst forth again with even greater ferocity, like a dying flame flaring back to life.
"ROAR—!!!" (Let me... out!!!)
The thought exploded through the link, carrying an urgent command that could not be questioned.
They instantly understood what he meant.
"Just think about leaving!" Second Brother decisively reminded him through the link.
Almost as soon as she finished speaking, the Lava Giant vanished...
Meanwhile, at Rhine Lab, outside a certain infirmary.
Saria stood before the door, slightly tidying the uniform that had been disheveled during the earlier battle. Although waves of sharp pain came from her arm, she remained calm.
She raised her hand and lightly knocked on the door.
"Come in..." A calm but somewhat weary female voice came from inside.
Saria pushed open the door and entered. A faint scent of disinfectant and medicine filled the room.
Behind the desk sat a Liberi woman. She wore a white researcher's coat that outlined her slender frame.
Most eye-catching were the round glasses on her face and the soft, slightly fluffy feathers extending from her short brown hair at the forehead.
She was the person in charge of the Flame Demon Project...
Or rather, the student of its person in charge—Silence.
Silence was looking down at an experimental report. Hearing the door open, she looked up, visibly freezing when she saw who had arrived. She then turned her face slightly away with some awkwardness.
"...It's you. Why are you here?"
Saria's lips moved as she was about to say something, but her arm gave an uncontrollable twitch.
That tiny abnormality immediately caught Silence's attention, and her gaze instinctively swept over Saria's naturally hanging arm.
When she saw Saria's right hand, concealed by her uniform sleeve but still visibly bent at an unnatural angle and marked with charred traces, the distance on Silence's face was instantly replaced by alarm.
"Your hand?!"
Silence abruptly rose from her seat, hurried around the desk, and rushed up to Saria.
"What happened to your hand?!"
Without waiting for an answer, she carefully lifted Saria's right arm.
When she rolled up the sleeve and saw the condition beneath it, Silence sucked in a sharp breath.
Saria's arm was in an extremely terrible state. The Calcification crystals covering its exterior had long since shattered and fallen away under the earlier ultimate impact, revealing the true condition underneath—
From her entire forearm to her palm, the skin and muscle had turned a horrifying charred black, like dead wood completely scorched by blazing flames... shriveled and cracked.
Even the outlines of the bones beneath could be seen.
Even the slightest movement could cause this fragile limb to completely collapse.
Saria was just about to say something reassuring, but Silence interrupted her with an unusually forceful attitude.
"Don't move! Come with me!"
Silence's voice was urgently firm beyond question. She grabbed Saria's uninjured left arm and started dragging her deeper into the treatment room.
Feeling the faintly trembling strength in Silence's hand, Saria fell silent for a moment before ultimately not resisting, moving along with her pull.
She knew that if she stood still, this anxious little bird would likely hurt herself.
As Silence pulled her quickly toward the treatment room, she could not help scolding her, her voice filled with suppressed fear and anger.
"What mission did you even go on?! How did you get hurt this badly?! Even Calcification couldn't stop it?!"
"Were you pushing yourself again?! How many times have I told you? The Defense Department's work isn't about making you shoulder every danger alone!"
Saria listened silently. She did not argue, merely allowing this little bird who was always worrying about her to pull her toward a place that could heal her wounds.
At least by Silence's side, she could temporarily set down the burden of being the Defense Department's director and catch her breath... just a little.
After treating her injuries, Silence's expression did not relax in the slightest. Instead, she looked at Saria even more seriously.
The ointment and clean bandages carefully wrapped around her arm had temporarily stopped the injury from worsening, but the shocking burns made Silence's heart sink.
By now, she had completely recovered from her initial panic. She knew Saria's strength better than anyone.
As the director of Rhine Lab's Defense Department, Saria's defensive capabilities and physical condition were among the very best in all of Columbia. Who could have injured her to such an extent?
Thinking of the faint explosive sounds she had heard earlier and the commotion coming from within the research facility, a guess began to take shape in her heart.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, and asked in the steadiest tone she could manage:
"Saria, what exactly happened? Your injury..."
Saria looked into the worried eyes behind Silence's lenses and fell silent for a moment.
She knew she could not hide this matter. When she finally spoke, her voice was low, carrying a trace of barely perceptible gravity.
"Tonight, an unknown organism invaded the Fourth Experimental Block, and I engaged it in battle."
She briefly described what had happened—
When Saria mentioned the most crucial characteristics, she deliberately slowed her voice, as though confirming something.
"...Based on its appearance, especially its unique lava body, its ability to control flames of extreme heat, and the preliminary energy spectrum analysis..."
"Taken together, it highly matches the Flame Demon recorded in the files."