The world shook beneath my feet. Every nerve throbbed with pain, and my own breath reverberated in my skull like thunder. From the fog in my head emerged the booming voice of Darius,

"Ashira! Move it!"

Instinctively, I rolled to the side, barely avoiding another blow from the Rat King’s tail. The beast’s claws dug into the stone, crumbling it like sand. I shook off the remnants of disorientation, feeling the chaotic energy pulsating through my veins.

The runes on the walls flickered, pulsing in rhythm with the ragged breaths of the Rat King. His massive body lifted slightly as he roared once more, unleashing a wave of dark energy. The air around us thickened, and the tension became almost tangible. The wounds Darius had inflicted on him earlier had already healed, leaving only scars on his thick skin.

Lifting my gaze, I saw Darius, who was like a shadow—his sword slicing through the air with the precision of a predator, yet the Rat King responded almost instinctively, as if anticipating the attacks. He retreated in a flash, and his tail whipped through the air with dizzying speed. Darius raised his weapon at the last moment, blocking the strike, but the force of the blow forced him to take a step back. He gritted his teeth as he stared at the formidable foe. Ordinary cuts worked, but too slowly—the Rat King was still too powerful, and his regeneration prevented the infliction of mortal wounds. He had to find a way to end it.

His thoughts raced with possibilities: should they focus on one deep wound? Or perhaps try to completely throw the monster off balance? One thing was clear—they couldn’t let this fight drag on; with every passing second, their chances were diminishing.

Then, a new idea sparked in Darius’s mind.

"Ashira! Pour your chaotic energy into my sword!" he shouted, never taking his eyes off the beast. He knew that my energy could destabilize the monster’s power, giving us the upper hand.

I hesitated, my thoughts clashing chaotically as I searched for a solution. How could I transfer the energy into his sword? I had never done it before. For a split second, disorientation washed over me, but I quickly cast aside my doubts.

"Darius, give me your sword!" I called, reaching out my hand. I knew that only by holding the weapon could I better channel the energy.

Without hesitation, Darius handed me the weapon, but before I could do anything further, the Rat King let out a deafening roar and lunged into attack.

"I'll handle him!" Darius shouted, immediately charging at the beast. His movements were swift and precise as he dodged blows and provoked the monster to focus on him.

Instinctively, I stepped back, clutching the hilt, trying to find a way to transfer the energy. My heart pounded, and my mind raced at full capacity. I had never channeled chaotic energy in such a way before—what if I did it wrong?

I focused on the vibrations of energy within my body, imagining it flowing from my hands into the metal. I took a deep breath, calmed myself, and allowed the power to surge.

A purple glow began to seep from my fingers, slowly enveloping the blade. At first, it was chaotic and unstable, but with each passing second, it took shape. The sword began to tremble, its surface pulsating with restless energy.

I yearned to pour even more energy into the weapon, to squeeze every ounce of power from it, but then I noticed cracks twisting along the blade like fractures in ice just before breaking. My heart raced—overloading it was beginning to destabilize the sword. I had to stop immediately.

I halted the flow of energy and took a deep breath, feeling sweat trickle down my temple. I looked at the sword—it pulsed with an uneasy purple light, as if it might shatter at any moment. I couldn’t add any more without risking its complete destruction.

"Darius!" I shouted, lifting the weapon and thrusting it in his direction.

He caught it on the fly, and the moment his hand closed around the hilt, the purple glow exploded around him like a wild storm. For a split second, his eyes widened under the surge of power, and tension rippled through his muscles.

The sword pulsed with chaotic energy, and every strike left behind violet streaks in the air. Darius gripped the hilt tightly and immediately attacked.

His first slash pierced deeper into the Rat King’s body than the previous blows. The beast roared in agony, retreating as the chaotic energy began to destabilize the tissue at the wound.

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I concentrated, and my Eye of Chaos revealed something extraordinary—the energy I had transferred to the sword did not dissipate throughout the monster’s body. It remained in the wounds, pulsating and disrupting the stability of its energy. In those places, the beast’s power tore itself into chaotic shreds, impossible to reassemble, as if its very strength were betraying it.

"It works!" Darius exclaimed, delivering another lightning-fast swing. Seizing the advantage, he began inflicting rapid, shallow cuts that prevented the monster from regaining control over its body. Every move left behind new, pulsating wounds, where the chaotic energy thwarted the stabilization of the beast’s strength.

Seeing the effect, I was reminded once more of my earlier technique with the chaos needle. But this time… what if I could do more? After all, it was my energy now inside the Rat King's body. Since it was there, could I manipulate it?

I clenched my fists and focused on the monster’s wounds. I tried to sense the energy I had previously poured into Darius’s sword. Its chaotic streaks were still there, swirling and destabilizing the beast’s tissue. If I could concentrate enough, maybe I could control it.

A wave of chaotic energy pulsed in the air like an invisible storm unfolding at the edge of my perception. I focused even harder, trying to synchronize with the chaos I had injected into the Rat King’s body. I knew that if I could find a way to control it, the battle might end faster than we expected.

At first, I felt only resistance—the energy behaved like a wild river, untamed and impossible to harness. The more I tried to grasp it, the faster it slipped from my hands. I gritted my teeth. I had to approach this differently.

Taking a deep breath, I allowed myself to feel the energy instead of forcefully trying to control it. I focused on the beast’s pulse, its internal rhythm, where both its own power and my chaotic force intertwined. Slowly, I began to sense the spot where I could induce a disruption.

I gathered all my concentration and struck—not with brute force, but with a gentle impulse. In an instant, the Rat King jerked and froze momentarily. It was only a fractional pause, but it was enough to show me that I was on the right track.

However, the beast was not about to stand still. As soon as its body regained freedom of movement, it let out a wild, shattering roar. The energy within it exploded, and the monster launched itself into a frenzied rampage across the arena, attacking everything in its path without regard for its own injuries. Its blows became more chaotic, yet simultaneously less precise. Every strike left cracks in the ground, and the air trembled with its unbridled fury.

"Darius!" I shouted, jumping back at the last second to avoid one of its strikes. "Keep him occupied for a little longer and keep landing blows! The more wounds you inflict, the more chaotic energy I can harness inside him. Wait for the moment when the chaos starts tearing him apart from within—then you'll have your chance for the final attack!"

"I’m counting on you!" Darius shouted, gripping the hilt of his sword more tightly. Without a moment’s hesitation, he charged forward, evading the beast’s next wild swings. He moved quickly and precisely, delivering lightning-fast cuts that further destabilized the enemy. His blade glowed with a purple aura, and every attack left behind new, pulsating wounds.

Meanwhile, I concentrated even harder, forcing my Eye of Chaos to work at the limits of its capability. The world around me blurred, and the pulsating lines of energy became sharper, as if responding to my determination. Using my analytical skill as well, I tried to understand the structure of the beast’s energy—to find its weak point and turn its own strength against it.

Chaos energy in the Rat King's body had reached a critical point. Every subsequent cut by Darius deepened the instability, and I could see it clearly through my Eye of Chaos—the beast’s energy lines were beginning to disintegrate, their structure losing coherence. That was it. I had to take advantage of this.

I clenched my hands, my thoughts focusing on one thing—to shatter his internal energy. If I could properly direct the chaos, I could smash him from the inside.

"Just a little more!" I shouted to Darius. "His energy can’t hold on much longer, but I need a moment!"

Darius didn’t answer, yet his body immediately sprang into action. He evaded the beast’s wild strikes; instead of launching a direct attack, he began baiting the monster, forcing it into even greater aggression.

The Rat King roared in fury. His body trembled, and streaks of pure, violet chaotic energy began to emanate from his wounds. The monster didn’t understand what was happening, but its instincts told it one thing—it had to destroy the threat.

This was the moment.

I took a deep breath and focused all my attention on the wound that pulsed the strongest. The energy accumulated there began to swirl, and I condensed all the remaining chaotic power into one point. I directed it deep into the beast’s body, violently disrupting the flow of its own energy. In an instant, the magical lines inside him began to shudder, and their harmony was brutally shattered. The entire body of the Rat King tensed, and he suddenly froze, as if something had wrested control from his limbs. His breathing grew shallow, and his eyes widened in terror as he felt his own power slipping out of control.

"Darius, now!" I screamed.

Darius didn’t wait for further instruction. In one swift movement, he charged forward, seizing the moment of the beast’s total destabilization. His sword blazed with a violet light, and with precise force, it cut through the air, severing the Rat King’s head in one powerful strike.

The hall fell into absolute silence. For several seconds, the only sound was the echo of the blade slicing through the air. Then, with a dull crash, the massive body of the beast collapsed to the ground with a resounding thud.

[SYSTEM] Congratulations! You have defeated the Rat King.

[SYSTEM] Processing rewards…