Riseth planted her feet firmly on King’s plated, scaled body, using her arms as focal points to redirect the Z’egreh’s relentless mental assault on their minds. The creature’s tendrils lashed out wildly, writhing with malicious intent. King maneuvered through the ever-growing mass of black, writhing tentacles, his cursed flames proving agonizingly effective against the eldritch monstrosity.

  The Z’egreh screeched in agony, its grotesque eyeballs bursting in eruptions of white ichor, staining its tentacles in viscous streaks. The ichor was hungrily lapped up by the toothy maws riddled across its twisted, grotesque form, adding another layer of horror to the unearthly creature.

  King’s Curse Feather Cascade struck the massive form, each cursed payload embedding itself deep within the writhing eldritch monstrosity. Riseth attempted to amplify the curse’s effects, but she struggled to track the magic as it seemed to be swallowed by the chaotic, ever-shifting mass of eldritch energy.

  They faced two options: either continuously corrupt the already corrupted creature, forcing the curse to tear it apart from within, or focus on trimming and burning away its expanding form, severing its ability to draw strength from the environment to empower itself further.

  Riseth wracked her brain for ways to improve their chances as they continued to whittle down the ever-growing mass of tentacles. None of her directly linked concepts and other strong affinities she was aware of were a good match for dealing with eldritch beings. Her strongest finisher skills, like Vortex Tear, weren’t an option here, as the risk of backfiring was too great; she couldn’t afford to make things worse. I’ll have to discuss that with Sotarr later, she thought grimly.

  While bombarding the monstrosity with bolts was effective, it felt like a drop of water on a blazing stone. King was shouldering most of the burden, and Riseth’s contributions—amplifying King’s magic with Amplify Magic and shielding their minds—left her feeling unsatisfied. This isn’t good enough. I want to do more, she thought, frustration simmering beneath the mental strain the eldritch monstrosity inflicted. She exhaled slowly, reigning in her displeasure. That’s your Covetix heritage talking. This is fine. I’ll get there. We can handle it. I don’t need to do everything myself right now.

  Steeling herself, Riseth strained to conjure more Battle Spheres, a skill she had copied from Alistair. The spheres hurled even more Bolts of Corruption at the ever-growing monstrosity. The bolts, arcane constructs she had specifically designed to counter regenerating opponents, proved equally effective against the creature’s relentless, swelling mass.

  Riseth furrowed her brows, her tail flicking nervously as she reevaluated the situation. She spared a glance toward Alistair, who kicked the spider-like creature across the island like an empty can that refused to die, with Fluffy hounding the abomination alongside him. A small wave of relief washed over her, seeing that he and Fluffy were holding their own and would soon join them. Her eyes landed on one of the larger crystalline spikes at the bottom of the volcano, her tail beginning to flick excitedly as a plan took shape in her mind.

  "You’re being twitchy. Did you come up with something?" King asked through the Akashic Link, his breath attack roaring as he inflicted countless curses at the Z’egreh.

  Riseth let out an offended gasp. "I am not twitchy!"

  King relented with a snort. "Alright, fine. But did you or not?"

  Riseth glared daggers at the back of King’s head for a moment before letting it go, a wicked smile tugging at her lips. "I did."

  She allowed the plan to fully take shape while they continued their assault, King patiently waiting for her response.

  "The large crystal at the bottom," Riseth finally said through the Akashic Link, "we’ll fill it to the brim with corrupted and cursed energy and let it die from its own gluttony."

  She waited as King considered the plan. His eventual response echoed through the link.

  "That could work," he said thoughtfully. "The crystalline spike was already designed to contain vast amounts of energy, so filling it with cursed and corrupting energies should be manageable."

  King’s tone shifted slightly as he continued, "But for the curse to truly take hold, it needs the right conditions—and preferably a price for both of us. Without that, it won’t be strong enough to corrupt an eldritch monstrosity of this size and power."

  "Time, value, and pain," Riseth replied confidently.

  She could almost hear the cogs turning in King’s head as she began channeling her magic toward the large spike she had designated.

  "I see how you’d get time and pain," King mused through the Akashic Link. "The extended effort we put into empowering and protecting the crystal, coupled with the suffering we’d inflict on ourselves through the expenditure of mana and life force, could work—if we manage to safeguard the spike. But how exactly do you account for value?"

  "We turn it into a cursed treasure," Riseth suggested, her tone resolute. "Something of great value to you—and, by extension, to me since I’d hate to see any treasure wasted. If Alistair manages to join us, perhaps we can keep the cursed treasure if we defend it long enough. If not..." She let the thought hang, her determination evident.

  "Excellent," King rumbled, briefly turning his head to glance at her, a toothy smile tugging at his draconic features. Riseth could feel the shift in his resolve, his heartbeat quickening, the powerful thrum resonating through his massive form. A surge of life and cursed energy poured from him, seamlessly intermixing with her own.

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  She redirected her focus to manipulating the crystalline spike, ensuring it could adapt to the overwhelming energies. Her work began with shaping the rough, critical pathways before carefully refining the finer, more intricate structures. Fully immersed in the task, she stood firmly atop King’s armored plates, trusting him to shield her from any threats as she poured all her concentration into the delicate process.

  Alistair cursed as he quaffed his first potion, the concoction working to mend some of the holes the monstrosity had punched into him. His regeneration was struggling to keep up, overpowered by the relentless strain on his body.

  He could feel power continuously growing within him, his frame beginning to strain and tear under the immense pressure. The skill he was developing was heavily rooted in what he called Forcebound Momentum.

  While he could have relied on the natural synergy between the concepts of battle and momentum to gradually empower him during combat, he had chosen to forcefully accelerate the process. To achieve this, he integrated two additional concepts—Acceleration and Force. This approach drastically reduced the time required for the skill to build momentum, but it placed immense strain on his body.

  As a body cultivator, his sky-high body statistics and augmentations allowed him to endure the damage for now, with his improved regeneration counteracting it over time. However, the damage had already begun to surpass his ability to regenerate, worsened by his Regeneration Marrow still being in its early stages of development. Despite the rest of his Augmented Physiology being highly refined and tempered, the recently modified marrow struggled to keep up with the overwhelming forces coursing through him.

  The spider-like Ktholl’kra launched itself at him again. Despite its fragments being rapidly destroyed, it only grew more vicious, showing no signs of slowing its relentless assault. Its ability to regenerate and grow new limbs was entirely unhindered, the fragments expanding and contracting at will, much to Alistair’s mounting frustration.

  While it fought like a wild beast most of the time, an unnerving intelligence lurked beneath the surface. Alistair could swear that some of the entities within its body were far more intelligent than the rest. Targeting them was nearly impossible. They constantly delved deeper into the strange, fleshy substance, using others as shields while actively evading his attacks.

  Alistair hacked deep into the creature once again, watching as its flesh hardened in a futile attempt to resist his strike. The Blazing Edge flared, burning through the eldritch monstrosity’s outer layers. In response, the creature split itself apart, sacrificing some of the entities within to defend against his attack. Fluffy seized the opportunity, striking the writhing mass with a surge of lightning, destroying several of the fragments that had retreated furthest from Alistair’s blow.

  His Cold Rage tempered his emotions, though he still gave the serpent a nod of acknowledgment as a tendril of flesh lined with bony spikes lashed out at him. Alistair brought up the butt of his poleaxe, primarily relying on his weapon skills to redirect the blow, his momentum-stealing ability still negated. A shock of force rippled outward as the weapon made contact, shattering several fragments and deflecting the tendril’s attack. Fluffy’s spinning metal plates struck true, tearing into the creature’s writhing form and adding to the relentless assault.

  The Ktholl’kra grew more spikes, each facing Alistair as if poised to launch themselves at him. It surged forward again, intent on punishing his aggression. Alistair responded by using his telekinesis to pull himself straight back, unwilling to be caught by the same trick twice. His body, however, was already struggling to endure the strain he was putting it under.

  I need to vent this pressure, or I’ll rip myself apart, Alistair thought grimly, the mounting strain threatening to overwhelm him. The momentum he’d gathered was pushing his body far beyond its limits.

  Considering his options, he made a snap decision to convert all the accumulated power into energy, aiming to release it directly through his enemy in a devastating attack.

  Rapidly repositioning with his telekinesis, he delivered a vicious kick to the creature, channeling the stored energy into pure kinetic force. The Ktholl’kra’s body partially exploded from the impact before being sent hurtling toward the ground, tearing through the incredibly tough trees, rocks, and earth. Alistair wasted no time, relentlessly pursuing the forsaken creature as Fluffy joined him in the chase.

  After converting and releasing enough of the accumulated energy with the assistance of his Arcane Energy Manipulation, Alistair heard the familiar chime as the skill upgraded to Supreme.

  Below him, Alistair watched as the writhing form of the Ktholl’kra finally fell still. With a surge of determination, he unleashed another hail of highly charged Kinetic Strikes, the blasts raining down to obliterate the last remnants of the Fragment of Ktholl’kra. A chime echoed in his mind, confirming its death.

  He let out a shuddering breath, wishing he could release the Cold Rage as he analyzed the grueling battle. The creature had forced him to contend with what felt like thousands of independently acting fragments. Each functioned as part of a singular entity yet possessed its own miniature magical system, reserves, and, in some cases, unique powers and intellect—or at least primal instincts.

  Though the creature was finally destroyed, its fragmented structure had been staggeringly complex. The sheer scope of its abilities had pushed him to his limits, forcing him to adapt in ways he hadn’t expected.

  Despite the challenges, the battle had proven invaluable. It had sharpened his control over his skills and provided insights that only such powerful and strange opponents could offer. As the final fragment fell, he felt the surge of advancement as he reached level 141. He could sense he was close to breaking into level 142—and another skill upgrade seemed within reach.

  He had much to think about and multiple ideas on how he could expand and adapt his own skills for the future, many of his abilities having already subtly improved through the experience.

  Quickly checking his notifications, he confirmed that Arcane Energy Manipulation and Cold Rage had both upgraded to Supreme tier—something he’d have to look into later. For now, there was a much, much bigger problem demanding his attention.

  In the distance, Riseth and King were locked in a brutal battle with the Residue of Z’egreh. The eldritch monstrosity had swelled to a gargantuan size, its grotesque, worm-like mass of writhing tentacles lashing out violently. The sheer overwhelming force of its attacks bore down on the comparatively smaller dragon, consuming much of the volcano and surrounding jungle in its relentless expansion.

  They were engaged in a desperate tug-of-war over a blackened crystalline spike that radiated intense cursed and corrupted energy. King and Riseth fought to prevent the monstrosity from mindlessly devouring the large cursed treasure, their combined strength barely managing to hold it back. Meanwhile, Z’egreh’s sprawling mass continued to grow in every direction—except one.

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