Official-Level Conjuration Spell – Spatial Compression
Creates a 500-cubic-meter energy cage around the target and rapidly compresses it until the enemy is completely crushed.
Note: The caster must continuously channel magic during compression.
The moment the rock worm's head began sinking into the ground, a gray-black energy box enveloped its neck and a third of its body. Before it could even register what was happening, purple energy surged through the box, and the space within started to shrink. Though the spell's compression speed wasn't overwhelming on a microscopic level, it was clearly visible on a larger scale. Wherever the gray-black boundary touched, flesh and blood were relentlessly torn apart, rapidly reducing the rock worm's body within the cube to pulp.
"Woooo!!!"
Sensing imminent death, the rock worm immediately abandoned its attempt to burrow into the cliff, concentrating all its remaining power into resisting the spell's crushing force. At the same time, the light-yellow energy gathered on its head condensed into dozens of miniature energy rock worms that shot toward the gray-black box.
As expected of an official-level magical beast, the ice rock worm wasn't relying solely on brute strength. Its energy manipulation was just as formidable.
By channeling the last vestiges of its power into its body, the rock worm momentarily halted Realm Compression.
Punk frowned slightly and increased his magic output, but the dying rock worm squeezed every last drop of energy from its cells to counteract the spell's effects. The result was a deadlock.
If Punk had been fighting alone, this battle might have turned into a prolonged war of attrition. And given that the ice rock worm had already adapted to the cold erosion mixed with legendary power, the victor wouldn't be certain. After all, Punk himself couldn't withstand this extreme cold indefinitely.
But this was a three-on-one fight. The stalemate wouldn't last long.
With the rock worm pouring all its remaining energy into resisting the spell, Punk's allies—Kang Kai, Bahanger, and Golem One—charged toward their immobilized target.
A trapped enemy was an easy target. The rock worm had concentrated everything into defending against Realm Compression, leaving itself vulnerable elsewhere. How could Bahanger and the others pass up such an opportunity?
First, Golem One cast Steel Bindings, further restricting the worm's movement. Then, Bahanger's heavy hammer crushed its remaining right eye into pulp. Finally, Kang Kai unleashed his signature move once again—Wheel Saw.
With no complicated tactics needed, the battle was over in an instant.
Kang Kai's dagger sliced clean through the worm's head in just three seconds, while Punk's Realm Compression crushed a third of its body into a bloody mass the size of a carriage.
The ice rock worm—Tishachar's pet—was dead.
The trio, along with the golem, remained wary as they stood on the steep rock wall, watching the segmented corpse of the worm slowly detach from the cliff before plummeting into the abyss below.
Although the beast's carapace and blood were valuable alchemical materials, none of them had the luxury of harvesting it. The upcoming battle with Tishachar took priority. Transporting such massive amounts of material was impossible, and neither Punk nor Bahanger's spatial rings had enough capacity to store everything. Despite the painful loss, they had no choice but to let the remains fall into the depths.
Then came the inevitable reaction.
"Oh no, no, no, no! Look at what you've done! My precious pet! You actually killed it! I'm going to skin you alive, grind your bones to dust, rip out your veins one by one, and shred your souls into pieces! AHHHHH!!!"
It wasn't just the trio watching the rock worm's corpse disappear into the chasm—its owner was watching, too.
The moment Tishachar witnessed her servant's miserable demise, she completely lost control. This time, she didn't merely send another projection to harass them—her words exploded in midair, filling the battlefield with shrill screams and childish threats.
And, perhaps due to the fact that they were still within her projection's range, even when one of her avatars was destroyed, a new one immediately materialized to continue the verbal assault.
While Punk and Kang Kai ignored the barrage of insults, Bahanger wasn't nearly as composed. The dwarf warrior's rage flared instantly, and Kang Kai had to physically restrain him from wasting energy on smashing Tishachar's meaningless projections. Bahanger's temper was already unstable, and now it was clear—he wasn't just hot-headed.
He was a berserker.
Realizing this, both Punk and Kang Kai exchanged glances, their expressions heavy with a mix of frustration and resignation.
"Oh, so you're a berserker? You could've mentioned that earlier. We just thought you were irritable this whole time."
Berserkers were an incredibly troublesome profession. Under normal circumstances, they were indistinguishable from warriors with bad tempers, but the moment they were provoked, they could enter a state of madness, temporarily unlocking immense strength at the cost of losing all reason—including attacking allies.
Berserkers weren't just a double-edged sword.
They were time bombs.
Punk and Kang Kai had a sinking feeling in their chests. If Bahanger lost control during the upcoming battle with Tishachar, things could spiral out of control fast.
"Bahanger, let me remind you—we just wasted five minutes dealing with that overgrown bug. If we're not inside Tishachar's base in ten minutes, we'll have no choice but to turn back. Unless you want to freeze to death in this valley, I suggest you stop screwing around."
Kang Kai wasn't in the mood to sugarcoat anything. He made it clear to Bahanger: every second wasted on meaningless rage brought them closer to failure.
Given Bahanger's concern for Dolize City's residents, Kang Kai hoped reason would prevail over wrath.
The dwarf grumbled under his breath, clearly frustrated, before raising his hammer and bonking himself twice on the head.
"Alright, alright! I got too angry again. I can't help it when I get mad, but that damned woman is infuriating."
His sanity seemed to return—at least a little.
Vowing to keep himself in check, Bahanger declared:
"We can keep going. Don't worry, old Bahanger knows how to control himself!"
Punk and Kang Kai shared another doubtful look. Out of sheer necessity, Kang Kai reluctantly nodded and followed Punk forward. Still, he made sure to keep a wary eye on the dwarf.
Punk, meanwhile, remained silent, but his thoughts were filled with unspoken curses.
"A berserker. Of all things. Add Tishachar's poisonous tongue into the mix, and you're no better than a walking disaster. You sure you're not actually her favorite pet?"
No matter how much Bahanger insisted that he had things under control, Punk had seen enough berserkers to know better. Every last one of them swore they could keep their rage in check—right up until they lost control.
One thing was certain.
If he wanted to survive this mission, he'd need to hurry.
Tishachar's taunts had already begun having unintended consequences. If they weren't careful, they might not even make it to her base before Bahanger turned on them.