Looking at the appendage descending toward me, I froze. The limb, easily as large as my entire body and weighing far more, was going to crush me—squish me into a puddle of blood. I couldn’t move, couldn’t think. The suddenness of the attack had left me paralyzed.

  But then I realized—I wasn’t the only one in danger. There was Lila. She was tucked away in my bag, completely stranded from the disaster waiting to take us both out. My chest tightened, not just from fear but from guilt. She trusted me to protect her, to keep her safe. And now, because I messed up, she wouldn’t even have a chance to get away.

  Maybe out of that guilt, or just responsibility, I somehow found the courage to push past the paralysis that had gripped me. I lifted my arms, almost on instinct, trying to shield myself. Maybe, just maybe, it would offer some kind of defense. The best case, two broken arms instead of death. But deep down, I knew how ridiculous that was. No amount of wishful thinking would save me now.

  I clenched my teeth, bracing for the inevitable. My mind raced, searching for some miracle, some way out—but there was nothing.

  And then, at the very last second—

  The slime I wore as a mask to blur out my vision, to prevent the effects of the Oculothorax’s gaze, suddenly shot out. It detached itself from my face, and shot toward the descending limb.

  I had almost forgotten about it, but in that instant, it made its decision. As if connected by the same mind, I knew what my slime was expecting. It was trying to save me, to intercept the hit before it crushed me.

  I didn’t hesitate. Using another two points of mana from my reserve, it began to shapeshift, pulling out from itself a round shield, to take on the physical force of the Oculothorax’s strike.

  The shield shot out fast, taking shape just in time. The Oculothorax's appendage slammed into my slime’s new shield. The impact sent a shockwave through the air, and a gust of wind whipped past us. But my slime stood firm, taking the full force of the hit. It bent under the pressure, but it didn’t break.

  With everything I had left, I pushed back, sending a command through the bond I shared with my slimes.

  “Regroup!” I shouted, my voice hoarse. “All of you, NOW!”

  There was no time to come up with some big plan, no time for any strategy. The reinforcements were already on us. I could hear the flapping of wings and the sound of stone bodies smashing through the broken walls.

  

  Now was the perfect time to go for it, since all of its abilities were on cooldown. It could only use its powers every few moments because of the cooldown effect, and those cooldowns were maybe just under a minute. Since it had burned through all its abilities in a frenzy, it was stuck in recovery mode and could only attack with physical hits. This was the window we needed to act, while its abilities were locked down.

  “Now!” I shouted, pushing my slimes forward. “We attack while it's vulnerable!”

  

  For a moment, things seemed to go well. My slimes pressed forward, relentlessly attacking, their movements coordinated. The Oculothorax wobbled under the pressure, cracks starting to show on its defense.

  The slimes didn’t falter. They honed in on the Oculothorax’s vulnerable points, avoiding its desperate swipes and maintaining constant pressure on its central eye. It was clear we were slowly winning the battle.

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  I didn’t hesitate. “Keep pushing! It’s almost there! Don’t let up!”

  But then, just as I thought victory might be within reach, the Oculothorax did something I hadn’t expected—a move I had never seen in any of my previous encounters with it. Maybe it was because I’d always fought it with just a small group of adventurers, never with a whole army of minions at my back. It was changing things up in ways I hadn’t expected.

  The Oculothorax suddenly began rotating in place, its massive body twisting and spinning like a whirlwind. Its limbs were flung outward, spinning around its body in a violent cyclone. Each limb collided with the ground with mighty force, creating shockwaves that reverberated through the room. The spinning mess of limbs turned into a straight-up danger zone.

  “Move!” I shouted, watching as my vanguard slimes, the front-line fighters, were pushed back, their bodies battered by the impact. Some of the tanks were thrown off their feet, sliding across the stone floor.

  In that one hit, four of my vanguards got flattened by the spin, crushed into nothing but gooey puddles of slime.

  "Damn it!" The Oculothorax was clearly trying to take out my close-combat forces—the ones that were keeping it in check.

  I quickly glanced over to where my slimes had been—now scattered, some still standing, others struggling to get up. They weren’t dead, thankfully, but they were out of position. That meant they didn’t have much time to get back into place, and in that time, the Oculothorax could easily regain its cooldown and use blink to get right up to me.

  The Oculothorax massive body started to slow down after the cyclone, but its limbs were still flailing around, like it was trying to regain its balance. It was clear that it was dizzy from the spin, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before it tried to strike again. But for now, it was vulnerable—at least for a few moments.

  I had four points of mana left before i ran out, but it was enough for one final push. If I could get my vanguards in close combat and my tankers back into position, I’d just need to hit it from afar!

  “Stay out of range of its limbs! We need to hit it from a distance!”

  I used two of my four remaining mana and ordered all my slimes who weren’t rangers to shapeshift into that role, their greatswords and shields turning into crossbows.

  “Fire at will! Take it down now!” I ordered, my voice hoarse but determined.

  My remaining slimes wasted no time, launching a relentless stream of bolts at the Oculothorax, aiming for its central eye once more. The pressure was on—it was now or never.

  I could feel my heart racing as my slimes hammered away at the Oculothorax, the tension thickening with every passing second. The gargoyles and Eyebats were closing in. I knew we had little time. The boss was recovering. Its limbs were regaining strength, its body twitching as it straightened, clearly preparing for another attack.

  I gritted my teeth, my eyes locked on the central eye—this had to work. We had no choice. The rain of gelatinous bolts kept coming, each one sinking into its flesh, sending spasms through the Oculothorax's massive form. The central eye—our target—was riddled with holes, and I watched in satisfaction as the Oculothorax jerked and thrashed, clearly in agony.

  It was starting to falter. Its attacks grew slower, the power in its limbs becoming sluggish. The boss’s movements grew more erratic as it floated downward, its body slowly descending toward the ground.

  “Come on… come on…” I whispered to myself, my breath shaky.

  With a final, mighty thud, the Oculothorax crashed to the ground, its massive form quivering before it fell still.

  For a brief, silencing moment, the chamber fell silent.

  I blinked. Was it…?

  The message flashed on my screen.

  A huge, almost breathless sense of relief washed over me. I could feel the adrenaline fading as I took in the weight of the victory.

  I did it. I really did it.

  “YES!!!” I shouted in triumph.