The moment did not last.
It never did
Not in battles like this.
The severed arm had barely struck the ground
Still twitching
Still leaking that blackened, burning blood
When Allure moved.
Not backward.
Not in retreat.
But forward.
Her body twisted violently
A full rotation
All remaining arms extended outward
A spinning storm of blades.
Rio reacted instantly.
Both swords came up
Imperial Saber on the left
Crimson Bloodmoon on the right
CLANG!
The first impact rattled her bones.
CLASH
CLANG
CRACK!
The second and third came faster
Too fast
Her stance broke.
Not fully
But enough.
"…Tch!"
Steel scraped against steel
But not all of it.
A blade slipped through.
Then another.
Thin lines of red appeared across her arms.
Cuts.
Shallow
But real.
The force pushed her back
Boots dragging
Ground cracking beneath each step.
She barely held.
Barely endured.
And then
It stopped.
Allure halted mid-motion.
Her body straightened.
Her mouths
Opened.
All of them.
One.
Two.
Five.
Ten.
Dozens.
Each one stretching unnaturally wide
Teeth grinding
Energy gathering.
A glow formed.
Crimson.
Black.
Distorted.
"…You're starting to annoy me."
The voices layered again
Echoing from every direction.
Above each mouth
Energy condensed.
Small at first
Then growing.
Spheres.
Dozens of them.
Floating.
Rotating.
Each one pulsing with unstable power.
Ryota's eyes widened.
"…Rio!"
He raised the musket
Forced what little stability it had left
"DODGE!"
BANG!
Another shot rang out.
Scalular Impact surged through the barrel
Pushing the weapon past its limits
The bullet tore forward
CRACK!
It struck Allure directly
Center mass
The force hit.
Not missed.
Not redirected.
Hit.
Her body jerked
Momentum broken
She was launched backward
BOOM
Her back slammed into the far wall
Stone shattered outward
Cracks racing across the surface like lightning.
The spheres
Destabilized.
For a fraction of a second
They wavered.
Then
They detonated.
BOOOOOOM!!!
Light swallowed the chamber.
Flames.
Shockwaves.
Fragments of stone and energy erupting outward in every direction.
The ground shook violently
The walls fractured further
The entire dungeon groaned under the strain.
Rio moved.
Not away
But through it.
She twisted
Dashing across the collapsing terrain
Using the momentum
Using the chaos
Escaping the core of the blast.
The shockwave still hit her.
Hard.
But not enough.
When the light faded
Smoke filled the battlefield.
Debris fell slowly.
Silence
Brief.
Heavy.
"…Nice shot."
Rio's voice broke through it.
Ryota exhaled.
"…Heh… yeah…"
He lowered the musket slightly.
His hands trembled
Not from fear
But from strain.
"…You okay?"
Rio stepped beside him.
Her breathing heavier now.
The crimson veins across her body
Still glowing
But slightly dimmer than before.
"…Still standing."
A pause.
"…Barely."
She glanced down briefly.
Her energy
Dropping.
Not rapidly.
But steadily.
Time was running.
Her resonance
Had a limit.
And she was already halfway through it.
"…We don't have much time."
Ryota nodded.
His gaze shifted toward the smoke.
Where Allure had been.
"…Then we finish it fast."
A beat.
"…Why haven't you summoned Auram?"
Rio didn't answer immediately.
Her grip tightened slightly on her blades.
"…He's still recharging."
A pause.
"And in this state... I could not use skills"
"…And even if he wasn't…"
Her crimson eye narrowed.
"…I don't want to rely on him."
Ryota blinked.
"…Huh?"
She looked forward.
Through the smoke.
"…If I start depending on something like that…"
Her voice lowered.
"…Then I won't get stronger."
A breath.
"…I don't want a shortcut."
Another.
"…I want to earn it."
Silence.
Then—
Ryota smiled faintly.
"…Yeah."
He raised the musket again.
"…Sounds like you."
He pulled the trigger.
Click.
Nothing.
He frowned.
Pulled it again.
Click.
Still nothing.
"…Don't tell me…"
He checked the weapon.
Cracks.
Along the barrel.
Along the grip.
The entire structure
Damaged.
Overused.
Pushed beyond its limit.
"…It broke."
Rio sighed softly.
"…Figures."
[Unique Skill: Scalular Impact]
Repeatedly forced through a weapon not meant to handle it
It had finally given out.
Ryota lowered it slowly.
"…Guess I'm back to basics."
Rio didn't respond.
Because her eyes
Were locked forward.
Through the clearing smoke.
Something was there.
Standing.
Unmoving.
Allure.
Still alive.
Her body damaged
Pieces of armor cracked
One arm gone
Burn marks across her form
But standing.
And more importantly
Changing.
Rio's eyes narrowed.
"…Ryota."
"…Yeah?"
"…Look."
He followed her gaze.
And saw it.
Allure's HP bar.
Dropping.
Slowly.
Steadily.
"…Wait…"
It wasn't from their attacks.
Not entirely.
It was
Draining.
From within.
From the explosions.
From the overuse of energy.
From the instability of her current form.
"…She's burning herself out…"
Rio's mind raced.
Patterns.
Data.
Behavior.
Everything aligned.
"…That form…"
A realization.
"…It's not sustainable."
Her grip tightened.
"…She's forcing it."
Ryota blinked.
"…So if we just"
"…No."
Rio cut him off.
"…She'll kill us before that happens."
A pause.
Then
Her expression changed.
Slightly.
Sharp.
Focused.
"…But…"
An idea formed.
Precise.
Calculated.
Dangerous.
Her crimson eye gleamed.
"…We can use it."
Ryota looked at her.
"…What are you thinking?"
Rio exhaled slowly.
Then—
She stepped forward.
Blades ready.
"…I'll show you."
Because now—
This wasn't just a fight.
It was a countdown.
The smoke had not yet cleared
But Rio had already decided.
She stepped forward.
Crimson aura flickering.
Breath steady—but thinner than before.
"Ryota."
He turned.
"…Yeah?"
Her eyes never left the figure in the distance.
"…Be my second sword."
A pause.
"…Second… what?"
No explanation came.
No time for one.
Because the answer
Was already approaching.
From within the smoke
Allure moved.
Not slowly.
Not cautiously.
Furiously.
Her massive, distorted form tore through the haze
Armor cracked
Mouths snapping
Remaining arms twitching with killing intent.
"…YOU!"
She lunged.
Rio moved first.
CLANG!
Crimson Bloodmoon met Allure's blades head-on
Shockwaves ripping through the ground beneath them.
The impact alone split stone.
Rio didn't fall back.
She stepped in.
And this time
She wasn't alone.
CLASH!
Ryota appeared at her side
Iron Steve raised
Intercepting a strike aimed at her blind spot.
"…Got it now."
He grinned.
Second sword.
Not behind.
Not ahead.
Beside.
The rhythm formed instantly.
Allure attacked
Relentless
Unpredictable
Overwhelming.
But now
There were two.
Rio shifted left
Dodging a downward strike
"Now!"
Ryota moved.
Iron Steve swung with everything he had
CRACK!
One of Allure's arms shattered at the joint
Steel biting through corrupted flesh.
The severed limb dropped
Black blood hissing against the ground.
Allure froze
Just for a moment
Then rage exploded.
"…YOU DARE!"
Her remaining arms surged forward
All of them
At Ryota.
Too fast.
Too many.
Ryota raised his blade
CLANG!
The impact hit.
Hard.
Too hard.
His arms shook
His stance buckled
And then
SNAP
Iron Steve broke.
The blade split in half.
"…No!"
His voice cracked.
For a moment—
The battlefield faded.
That sword
The first one Rio gave him.
The one that carried him from the very start.
"…Damn it!"
But he didn't stop.
Didn't hesitate.
Because the fight
Was still happening.
His fist clenched.
"MOVE!"
[Unique Skill: Scalular Impact]
Energy surged through his arm
And he punched.
BOOM!
The hit connected.
Allure's massive body was launched backward—
Crashing into the wall once again.
Stone shattered.
The chamber trembled.
Rio was already moving.
Closing the distance
Her Imperial Saber thrust forward
STAB!
It pierced through one of Allure's arms
Pinning it.
The blade trembled under pressure
Allure reacted instantly
Another arm slashing downward
Trying to sever the weapon
CRACK
The saber's edge fractured
But it held.
Still embedded.
"…Stay."
Rio twisted
Dodging another strike
Barely
Then
THUD!
Two broken halves of Iron Steve flew past her
And struck.
Pinning both of Allure's right arms into the wall.
Ryota stood behind
Breathing hard
Empty-handed
"…Not done yet."
Rio didn't look back.
She didn't need to.
Her hand shifted
Gripping what remained of her saber
Then
STAB!
She drove it forward again
Piercing another arm.
Now
Only two remained.
The ones closest to Allure's core.
The final defense.
The final attempt.
Allure roared
Both arms lunged
Trying to grab Rio
To crush her
To end it
But
She jumped.
Clean.
Precise.
Effortless.
The grab missed.
And in that instant
Rio descended.
Both hands gripping the Crimson Bloodmoon
And drove it down.
BOOM—!
The blade pierced through
Pinning both remaining arms to the ground.
Allure froze.
Completely.
Every limb restrained.
Every movement stopped.
Her transformation
Flickered.
Cracked.
The monstrous form
Beginning to collapse.
Rio landed softly.
Her crimson aura
Fading.
The glow in her eye
Dimming.
Bloodmoon's Resonance
Ended.
Her body trembled slightly.
But her hand
Remained steady.
Because in it
Was something small.
Simple.
A bullet.
Taken earlier.
Unnoticed.
Prepared.
Allure's mouths opened again
Energy gathering
Desperate
Unstable
A final detonation.
"…I'LL TAKE YOU WITH ME!"
Rio raised her arm.
No weapon.
Just the bullet.
She pulled back
Then
Threw it.
With everything she had left.
"…Checkmate."
The bullet struck.
Lightly.
Barely even damaging.
Just a scratch
Across Allure's face.
For a split second
Nothing happened.
Then
Rio's eye flared.
[Unique Skill: Chronos Eye]
Time bent.
Not around her.
Around Allure.
Accelerated.
Forced forward.
Unnaturally.
Violently.
The energy gathering within Allure
Spiked.
Uncontrolled.
Overloaded.
"…Wha"
She didn't finish.
Because the detonation
Came early.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The explosion consumed everything.
Light.
Sound.
Space itself.
The chamber vanished into pure destruction.
And at the center of it
Rio stood
Unmoving.
As the end
Finally arrived.