The tremors came first, faint at first, rippling through the cavern floor in irregular patterns.

Kieran’s emerald eyes narrowed, his senses on high alert as his hand hovered near the golden light of the Celestial Crest.

Behind him, Selene shifted uneasily, her golden eyes darting toward the passage ahead.

The silence of the cavern shattered with a deafening roar, so primal it sent stone dust cascading from the jagged walls.

Emerging from the shadows, the Apex Fangbeast returned, larger than it had appeared before, its muscles rippling with raw power.

Its serrated fangs gleamed, glistening with a strange, dark fluid, and its molten eyes burned with a frenzied intensity.

Surrounding it, dozens of mana parasites clung to its flanks, their translucent, pulsating forms writhing as though feeding off the beast’s fury.

The Fangbeast slammed into a nearby rock wall, shattering it into rubble and scattering the parasites in its wake.

Kieran instinctively stepped forward, his movements calm yet deliberate, the Crest glowing faintly in his hand.

Selene grabbed his arm.

“Wait! That thing’s out of its mind! We can’t just blindly charge forward! We need a plan!”

Kieran’s gaze didn’t waver as he pulled his arm free.

“Then stay out of my way,” he said coldly, his voice cutting through her protest like a blade.

The Fangbeast roared again, charging toward them with a speed that belied its size, claws tearing through the stone floor as though it were paper.

Selene glanced at Kieran, her golden eyes narrowing as she steadied her stance.

“Fine,” she said with a tinge of exasperation, frost spiraling in her palms. “But if we die, I’m blaming you.”

Kieran raised his hand, unleashing a blast of energy fueled by desperation.

The golden beam struck the beast in the shoulder, but it overpowered the Crest, the recoil knocking him back several paces.

His arm throbbed painfully, his breath hitching as he realized the blast had drained far more energy than he’d intended.

Selene darted beside him, her hands raised, frost spiraling outward to create a barrier of jagged ice.

The Fangbeast collided with it, the ice cracking but holding firm for a moment.

Kieran's gaze flicked to Selene, his voice calm but laced with curiosity.

“You wield ice?” he asked as she spread her arms, the frost surging outward in a jagged wave.

Selene nodded silently, her focus unbroken as she guided the frost to spread steadily across the ground.

The beast reared back, its claws smashing through the barrier in one massive swing, sending shards of ice flying.

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Kieran pushed himself upright, the Crest flickering as he tried to steady his breathing.

He fired again, this time a smaller blast aimed at a parasite clinging to the beast’s side.

The shot hit its mark, the parasite shrieking as it dissolved into green mist, but the effort drained him again.

“Too much,” Kieran murmured to himself, his tone measured and calm as he adjusted his stance.

Selene was already at his side, her frost slowing another wave of parasites that had swarmed toward them.

“Control your output!” she snapped. “If you burn out, we’re dead!”

Kieran’s jaw tightened subtly and his mind sharpened with focused calculation.

He drew another tendril of energy from the Crest and he focused on keeping it steady and smaller and more precise.

He fired again and the beam cut through three parasites without the debilitating recoil.

A flicker of triumph crossed his face.

“Got it,” he said under his breath and his movements became more deliberate as he fired shot after shot and the golden beams sliced through the parasites with deadly precision.

The Fangbeast, however, was relentless.

It roared and it smashed through another wall and debris cascaded down as it swiped at Selene’s frost with wild and erratic swings.

“It has gone completely insane!” Selene shouted as she dodged backward and frost spiraled from her hands to slow its advance.

“It shouldn’t be acting like this!”

“It’s not just insane. It’s desperate.” Kieran’s eyes narrowed.

The Crest flared brighter as he fired again and he targeted the beast’s front legs in quick succession.

The blasts struck true and they staggered the Fangbeast but they failed to slow its rampage.

Selene’s frost thickened and it formed spikes that speared through several parasites attempting to swarm them.

“Teamwork, Kieran!” she shouted and her voice was edged with urgency. “Draw it to the left!”

Kieran nodded and his movements were fluid as he darted to the side and he fired a concentrated beam at the Fangbeast’s right shoulder.

The beast roared in pain and it turned its molten gaze toward him and its focus shifted entirely.

Selene seized the moment and a storm of frost spiraled around her as she unleashed an explosion of ice that encased the beast’s hind legs.

The Fangbeast roared and the ice held for a moment before it shattered under the strain of its raw strength.

Kieran kept his distance and he fired precision blasts at the parasites still swarming the cavern floor.

Each shot was calculated and just enough to destroy without draining him entirely.

His movements became a dance of efficiency and the Crest bent to his will as he fired and repositioned and his focus remained unyielding.

Selene’s frost thickened again and it created a circular barrier around them as she sent another blast of icy spikes toward the Fangbeast’s chest.

The beast faltered and its movements slowed as the frost encroached further and its molten eyes blazed with fury.

Kieran’s gaze darted to Selene and her breath came in quick bursts as the strain of her power began to show.

He stepped forward and the Crest flared brighter as he prepared a larger blast.

“Together,” he said firmly and his tone brooked no argument.

Selene hesitated and then she nodded and her hands raised as frost spiraled outward to meet the golden glow of the Crest.

The combined energy surged forward and it became a blinding torrent of light and ice that struck the Fangbeast square in the chest.

The beast roared and the cavern trembled under the force of the impact as it staggered back.

For a moment it seemed as though they had succeeded.

But the Fangbeast let out another guttural roar and its molten eyes narrowed with renewed fury as it smashed through the remains of the frost barrier.

Kieran’s jaw tightened and his mind raced.

“We can’t kill it like this,” he said and his voice was calm despite the chaos around them.

Selene’s golden eyes flicked to him and a flicker of fear broke through her composure.

“Then what do we do?”

Kieran’s gaze shifted to the collapsing walls and the scattered debris.

He clenched his fist and the Crest glowed faintly as he prepared for the next move.