"Let go of me!" Lucky Girl gasped, kicking frantically as she struggled to break free from Hex's grip.
By sheer coincidence, her foot landed on a hidden trigger in the haunted house. The ancient bricks beneath them sank inward with a sharp crack.
With a deafening rumble, the floor gave way. Countless chunks of stone and clouds of thick dust collapsed along with them, plunging both into the darkness below.
As they fell, the Charm of Luck hanging at Gwen's chest flared to life, its glow surrounding her in a faint golden shimmer. By sheer fortune, every falling brick narrowly missed her, allowing her to land safely in a shadowy underground passage.
Hex wasn't so lucky. A heap of heavy stones crashed down upon him, burying him completely under the rubble.
Gwen looked up toward the hole above, planning to use the pile of rocks pinning Hex down as leverage to climb back up. But before she could move, threads of radiant gold light began seeping from the cracks in the debris.
"The evil sorcerer's breaking free!" she exclaimed. Without a moment's hesitation, Lucky Girl turned and sprinted deeper into the tunnel.
Boom!
The next instant, the massive stone pile exploded apart. From within the dust and rubble emerged a golden energy barrier, its surface shimmering faintly as it pulsed with dense magical power.
Hex's face was dark with fury as he hovered inside the shield. His eyes flashed, and waves of raw mana surged outward, shattering every last piece of stone around him.
"Charm of Luck, you will never escape me!"
Shrouded in a sinister purple glow, Hex rose from the debris and shot down the tunnel after her, determined to reclaim the pendant.
...
Inside the haunted house above, rows of white candles lined the walls, their blue flames flickering like ghostly will-o'-the-wisps.
Grandpa Max moved quickly between the tall stone pillars, working deftly to free the terrified tourists bound there.
The thrill-seekers, who had already given up hope, burst into tears of relief at the sight of their rescuers, thanking them over and over.
But the moment their restraints were cut, they bolted for the exit, not daring to linger for fear of getting caught in the chaos of battle.
Three hulking Rock Monsters towered over the hall, their bodies etched with eerie purple markings. Each punch they threw carried immense power, making the very air wail with every swing.
Ben, in his Four Arms form, was caught in a grueling fight.
He narrowly dodged one monster's blow, only for the other two to rush him together, locking him in a crushing hold. Their combined weight pressed down so hard he could barely breathe, forcing him to struggle just to stay standing.
"Alright—you've officially made me mad!" Four Arms growled.
He clenched his massive fists and swung with full force. The air cracked with the sound of impact as his red arms became blurs, battering the Rock Monster in front of him and driving it backward.
Then he lunged sideways, grabbing another monster by the neck. With a brutal twist, he crushed it with a deafening crack.
The golem's head flew free, its massive body convulsing twice before stiffening and collapsing to the cold stone floor.
"Now you know not to mess with me, losers!"
But before he could celebrate, another Rock Monster tackled him from behind, knocking him flat as they rolled across the ground, locked in another fierce struggle.
Meanwhile, the battle between Humungousaur and the demonic statues was reaching its climax.
The towering alien's thick, brownish-yellow skin gleamed under the dim light as he moved, raw strength radiating from every motion.
One of the demonic statues, its eyes blazing blood-red, lunged at him with razor-sharp claws.
Humungousaur roared and met it head-on, throwing a punch that collided squarely with its strike.
Boom!
The impact shattered the demon's claws instantly, the sheer force blasting apart its entire stone arm. Shards of rock and dust exploded through the air, scattering across the floor like a rain of gravel.
"Roar!"
The demon statue bellowed in rage, baring its jagged fangs as it clamped its massive hands onto Humungousaur's shoulders, lunging to bite at his neck.
In that instant, Humungousaur spotted its opening—its chest and abdomen were completely exposed.
Just as the demon's fangs were about to sink into him, its entire body froze, trembling violently. From the back of its chest, a thick, powerful arm burst through. Humungousaur's brute strength had punched clean through its body, leaving a gaping hole straight through its core.
"Roar!"
Another demon statue swooped down, leaping high into the air like a hunting hawk diving toward its prey.
Humungousaur grabbed the corpse of the first demon and hurled it upward with tremendous force.
Boom!
The two collided midair with a thunderous crash, shattering into a rain of stone shards that scattered across the hall, crumbling into dust beneath the eerie blue glow of the ghostly flames.
With the demon statues destroyed, Humungousaur turned and saw that Four Arms was still in the middle of a brutal fight.
Two hulking Rock Monsters were trading relentless blows, their colossal fists hammering down on him from both sides.
Humungousaur's eyes hardened. He charged forward, swung his massive tail in a sweeping arc, and smashed one of the Rock Monsters into rubble, bringing the fight to a swift end.
"Oh man~ These rock freaks are strong," Four Arms muttered, scratching his head.
Humungousaur shook his. "They're just strong, not skilled. You still need more battle experience."
In terms of pure strength, these Rock Monsters were far weaker than the demon statues. Their huge size gave them brute force, but it came at the cost of speed—slow, clumsy puppets with power but no finesse.
Ben, still in his Four Arms form, had been too focused on overpowering them directly. Going head-to-head against three tireless, pain-immune golems naturally left him struggling.
"Looks like Gwen's gone down the tunnel." Grandpa Max stood beside the collapsed opening, his expression grim. "That evil sorcerer went after her."
"Then we'd better move fast—Gwen's in danger." Without another word, Grandpa Max jumped down into the dark tunnel below.
Humungousaur and Four Arms exchanged a glance, then sprinted forward and leapt in after him...
...
In the cold, silent tunnel below, a tense chase was already unfolding.
Lucky Girl, half her face hidden behind a black mask, moved quietly through the shadows. Her dark combat suit blended almost perfectly with the walls around her.
The passage was dim, lit only by the faint flicker of scattered candles.
Gwen breathed heavily, eyes darting around as she searched for any possible exit. She knew she couldn't take Hex head-on—her best chance was to find a way out and regroup with her Cuz and the others.
"Beti—Bota—Naka!"
A familiar voice suddenly echoed from the wall beside her.
Boom!
Before Gwen could react, the stone wall exploded outward. The force of the blast threw her backward violently.
From the dust stepped Hex, clutching his gray wand, flames flickering ominously around his body.
"Lucky Girl," he sneered, "you can't escape me."
He looked down at Gwen lying on the ground and began chanting an ancient incantation.
With a low rumble, thick vines burst from the floor—made entirely of stone. They twisted and writhed like serpents, lashing wildly in every direction.
Under Hex's control, the stone vines shot toward Gwen all at once.
"Water Dragon Soul!"
In an instant, a roaring water dragon materialized in front of her, its serpentine form twisting and coiling as it surged forward to meet the storm of stone vines head-on...