The Abyss Tyrant roared.
The sound carried weight—rage, hunger, and ancient violence. The cavern ceiling trembled as chunks of stone fell into the pools of acid below.
Three glowing cores burned inside its chest like furious suns.
Level 20.
On Hellish difficulty.
That meant it was stronger than anything meant to exist inside this dungeon.
Yang exhaled slowly.
"Of course the dungeon breaks after I clear it."
Behind him, Yuan struggled to push herself off the wall. Blood ran down the side of her face. Her sword trembled in her grip.
Cheng staggered nearby, electricity flickering weakly across his armor.
The escorts that had followed them into the dungeon were already retreating toward the exit portal.
Two of them were dead.
One was missing an arm.
The Tyrant stepped forward again.
Each footstep shook the cavern floor.
Yang raised his blade.
Black shadows spiraled around him like a gathering storm.
"Devouring Strike."
Dark energy wrapped itself around the edge of his weapon.
His HP began slowly regenerating from the earlier burns, thanks to Shadow Regeneration, but it wouldn't be enough to survive a direct hit from that monster.
He needed precision.
He needed speed.
And most importantly—
He needed to survive long enough to learn how it fought.
The Tyrant moved first.
A massive armored arm swept through the air like a battering ram.
Yang reacted instantly.
"Shadow Step."
His body dissolved into black mist.
The attack crushed the stone where he had been standing only a moment before.
Yang reappeared ten meters away.
Mana dropped sharply.
Mana: 80 / 110
The Tyrant turned toward him immediately.
It was fast.
Too fast.
Yang's instincts screamed again.
This monster was intelligent.
It wasn't just attacking blindly.
It was watching him.
Learning him.
The Tyrant lunged again.
Yang rolled beneath its claws and slashed across its leg.
The shadow blade scraped sparks against the hardened slime armor.
The damage was minimal.
Yang frowned.
"Great."
The creature swung its other arm.
Yang barely ducked in time. The strike slammed into the cavern wall, shattering stone.
Yuan shouted from behind him.
"Yang! The cores!"
Yang glanced at the monster's chest.
Three glowing cores.
Just like the Slime King.
Except these were protected by layers of armored slime.
Cheng staggered forward again.
Lightning exploded around his spear as he picked it up.
"Move!"
He thrust the weapon forward.
A bolt of lightning struck the Tyrant's chest.
The blast cracked part of the outer armor.
One of the cores flickered.
Yang's eyes sharpened.
That was the opening.
He sprinted forward.
The Tyrant roared and swung again.
Yang slid beneath the attack and activated another skill.
"Shadow Bind!"
Black chains burst from the cavern floor.
They wrapped around the Tyrant's legs.
The monster struggled violently.
But the chains held—for a moment.
Just three seconds.
Yang jumped.
He ran up the creature's body just like before.
The first core burned before him.
He raised his blade.
"Devouring Strike!"
The shadow blade plunged into the glowing core.
Energy exploded outward.
The Tyrant roared in fury.
The first core shattered.
Yang was thrown off the creature's body again.
He landed hard.
But the system flashed.
+1,200 EXP
The Tyrant staggered.
Two cores remained.
But now the monster was furious.
Its body expanded suddenly.
Black spikes erupted across its armor.
Acid sprayed everywhere.
Yang barely rolled clear as a pool of corrosive slime exploded beneath him.
Then the Tyrant moved again.
Faster.
Its claw slammed into Yang before he could dodge.
The impact sent him flying across the cavern.
He crashed into a pillar of stone.
Pain exploded through his ribs.
HP: 48 / 140
Yang coughed.
Blood dripped from his lips.
His vision blurred slightly.
"…That hurt."
The Tyrant began charging again.
Yuan suddenly stepped forward.
Her flames surged brighter than Yang had ever seen.
"I'm not useless!"
She thrust her greatsword into the ground.
Fire erupted around her body.
"Ashfall Inferno!"
A wave of flames blasted toward the Tyrant.
The explosion engulfed its upper body.
The monster roared in anger.
For a moment its vision was blocked.
Cheng seized the chance.
Lightning surged down his spear.
"Storm Breaker!"
He launched forward like a bolt of thunder.
His spear pierced through the weakened armor near the second core.
The core cracked.
But not completely.
The Tyrant retaliated instantly.
Its claw slammed into Cheng.
He was thrown across the cavern floor.
Yang watched everything happen in seconds.
Something shifted inside him.
For the first time…
His siblings weren't looking at him with hatred.
They were fighting beside him.
Not against him.
Yang slowly stood.
Shadow energy gathered around him again.
His mana was nearly drained.
But the Tyrant was wounded.
Two cores damaged.
One left untouched.
Yang clenched his fist.
"Alright."
He whispered to the darkness inside him.
"Let's finish this."
The Shadow Mark pulsed.
Cold power surged through his body.
A new message appeared.
Skill Evolution Available
Yang smiled faintly.
"Perfect."
Shadow Blade expanded.
The weapon grew longer.
Sharper.
Darker.
[Skill Evolved]
Shadow Executioner (Lv.1)
A high-speed assassination strike that targets enemy cores or weak points.
Yang's body vanished.
Not with Shadow Step.
With speed.
Pure speed.
He sprinted toward the Tyrant.
The monster roared and swung its claws again.
Yang slid beneath the attack.
Shadow energy trailed behind him like wings.
He jumped.
Spun.
And struck.
The blade pierced the second core.
It shattered instantly.
The Tyrant screamed.
Yang didn't stop.
He twisted midair and plunged the weapon into the final core.
"Shadow Executioner!"
Darkness exploded.
The cavern shook violently.
The Tyrant froze.
Its three cores flickered.
Then—
They shattered.
The massive creature collapsed.
Its body crumbled into black sludge across the cavern floor.
Silence returned.
The system erupted with notifications.
[Abyss Tyrant Defeated]
+3,500 EXP
[Level Up!]
Yang fell to one knee.
His chest heaved as the adrenaline faded.
Yuan stared at the fallen monster.
Cheng slowly stood as well.
Neither of them spoke.
Finally Yuan whispered quietly.
"…You really killed it."
Yang wiped blood from his mouth.
"We killed it."
The dungeon exit portal finally stabilized.
The nightmare was over.
But something had changed.
Not just Yang's power.
Something between the three of them.
For the first time…
The Lion siblings stood together.
Not as enemies.
But survivors.
And far above the mortal world—
The gods were watching.
Because the monster they had tried to erase…
Was growing stronger than they ever intended.