Deinofrigus’s massive winged limb tore through the wall as cold vapor poured from his maw. His glowing blue eyes burned with mystical malice.

  “More mortals?” he growled, a cruel grin forming.

  “The more… the merrier.”

  The nine shuddered at his terrifying presence. Each movement he made caused the cavern to tremble.

  Wolfton leapt to the front, orange lightning and fire crackling around him. Everyone except James activated their powers.

  Jin summoned swirling winds. Aurelia’s hands glowed pink. Water droplets gathered around Edric. Lysandra prepared to summon a spatial gate. Helga tightened her grip on her staff, Sameer drew his sword, and Triste uncoiled her whip.

  The wyvern, however, suddenly released a violent surge of revolting energy that flooded the entire chamber.

  Fear seeped into their minds.

  Their limbs trembled uncontrollably, bodies shivering, teeth chattering, eyes widening in horror. Their powers began to falter as their will slowly crumbled.

  “Is… is this the end?” Sameer muttered, shaking. “We’re going to die…”

  “….”

  “All of you, snap out of it!” James suddenly shouted.

  Everyone recoiled in shock.

  “We didn’t come this far by luck,” he continued. “We survived through constant fighting, battling monsters again and again. This dungeon intends to kill us, are you really going to let it have it's way?!”

  James walked forward slowly and calmly toward the malicious beast.

  His glassy blue eyes did not waver. They were fixed entirely on the wyvern.

  He glanced back at Edric and the others.

  “You five are Champions, chosen by a god for a reason. Your mental resilience surpasses that of ordinary people. Do not let fear born from assumptions control you.”

  He paused, his expression aloof and nearly emotionless.

  “Have you no pride? Where is your sense of superiority? Are you really going to let an overgrown lizard belittle you?”

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  Then he turned toward Sameer, Triste, and Helga.

  “You are not amateurs. You have fought monsters, survived horrors, and endured starvation and despair. Why? Because you never learned how to quit. You came this far driven by hope. Are you going to abandon it now… because of fear?”

  He raised his head, calmly meeting the wyvern’s gaze.

  “I have only one favor to ask.”

  “Assist me. Make him bleed, even if it’s only a single drop. That’s all I need.”

  Silence fell over the chamber.

  The five Champions gasped.

  “James… he spoke!” Jin exclaimed, pointing.

  “My word! Edgelord Alpha actually said something,” Edric added, equally stunned.

  “His voice… it’s so deep and mature…” Aurelia whispered, eyes glittering.

  “It’s so sonorous and captivating…” Lysandra added dreamily.

  “I could almost call him… Daddy!”

  The two ladies said it at the same time.

  The others stared in confusion at their reactions. Helga, however, somewhat understood; she had only heard James speak once before, when he wanted to confirm her identity during the rescue mission. After that, he had remained silent.

  Whatever their strange reactions were, she acknowledged James’s composure and mental strength. Now she understood why they considered him the strongest among them.

  “Do you have a plan?” she asked.

  James did not answer.

  Suddenly, he vanished.

  He moved with blinding speed, leaving everyone stunned.

  In an instant, he appeared before the wyvern, so fast that even the melancholy Mystic Beast flinched.

  Launching himself upward with explosive force, he clenched his fist and struck Deinofrigus square in the chest.

  A shockwave rippled across the icy body of the beast, forcing it several steps backward and shaking the cavern.

  Helga, Triste, and Sameer stared in utter disbelief.

  “That speed… that strength…”

  While the three were still in awe, the five students rushed forward to support him.

  “Now the fun begins,” Edric said with a rebellious grin. “I’m not standing around after Edgelord Alpha asked a favor.”

  “You’re not alone,” Jin added excitedly. “Today is officially my lucky day, I heard James speak!”

  Deinofrigus looked down at his chest. Cracks spread across his icy thorax like a spiderweb, marring his once-perfect form.

  Rage consumed him. His glowing blue eyes burned with furious light as mist poured endlessly from his maw and nostrils.

  “How dare you defile my perfect body with such filthy hands!” Deinofrigus roared.

  “Death to you!”

  Blue light surged through his eyes and throat, gathering into a blinding core before erupting outward in a torrent of freezing radiance that devoured everything in its path.

  Moments later, Edric shouted:

  “Now!”

  A stream of pressurized water burst from his hands. Wolfton unleashed lightning-infused flames into the water, merging their attacks into a devastating combined assault.

  They aimed directly at the fractured chest James had created.

  Jin released a powerful gust of wind, amplifying the electrical current and increasing the damage.

  Aurelia summoned a ring of gravity that pinned the gargantuan beast in place. Though imperfect, it prevented Deinofrigus from blocking the incoming attack.

  Electricity surged across the monster’s body as wind and pressurized water deepened the fracture in its chest.

  The wyvern let out a guttural roar.

  Impressed by their coordination, Helga, Triste, and Sameer joined the assault, striking relentlessly at the same weakened point.

  Unable to endure the barrage any longer, Deinofrigus released a massive explosion of energy and ice shards.

  Everyone was thrown backward.

  His glowing eyes burned with murderous fury as his maw began to shine once more.

  “You will all die screaming!” he roared.