As time passed, the balance of the battle began to shift dangerously.
The fight was no longer the same as it had been at the beginning.
From the moment the giant stood up from his throne, everything changed.
The stone monsters, which had once moved slowly and heavily, now struck with much greater force. Their movements became faster, as if a hidden power was feeding them from the presence of the being that had been sitting on the throne.
Every step the giant took released a dark energy into the hall, and every vibration made the other statues even more aggressive.
The four of them realized the truth almost at the same time.
If this giant did not fall first…
This raid would never end.
But the problem was clear—and deeply frustrating.
No matter how many attacks hit him…
He was not affected.
Thomas Andre rushed forward, his fist wrapped in his battle aura, and struck the giant's body directly.
BOOM!
The stone shook, dust scattered everywhere…
But the strange smile did not disappear.
The giant did not move even a single step.
On the other side, Hwang Dong Su attacked with his brutal speed. His energy claws tore through the air as he aimed at the giant's joints and the points where his body connected to the ground.
Precise strikes.
Deadly against any normal enemy.
But here…
They meant nothing.
Liu Zhigang calmly raised his hand, and invisible waves of spiritual energy spread out, striking the giant from the inside, trying to destroy his structure at its core.
The stone body shook slightly…
Then became still again, as if nothing had happened.
Even Louis, who moved with calculated steps and aimed his attacks at visible weak points, saw the truth clearly.
This being…
Could not be defeated by normal methods.
At that moment, Thomas Andre felt something break inside him.
Anger.
Humiliation.
A wounded pride.
How could a stone being stand unmoving before his power?
How could his attacks be ignored as if they were nothing?
He clenched his teeth, his eyes widening.
Then—
He laughed.
A low, deep laugh, carrying a hint of madness.
Suddenly—
His body began to grow.
His muscles swelled terrifyingly, the air around him tearing apart, while a dense golden aura burst out and surrounded him completely, making his body look like an unbreakable solid mass.
He shouted in a low voice:
"Enhance."
In a single moment, everything changed.
From nothing, a massive stone armor formed around Thomas's body, glowing with a destructive aura, as if the earth itself had submitted to his power.
He stood there…
Like a living disaster.
The winged statue's stone eyes widened.
In a terrifying moment of realization, it understood the source of that power.
This human…
Was not just another strong hunter.
He was one of those who had borrowed power from the fragments of the Ruler.
But before it could think of a way to stop him—
Thomas disappeared.
Then—
BOOOOM!!
Thomas Andre leapt with all his strength toward the massive giant with the strange smile and threw a single punch.
Just one punch.
The air shattered.
Space cracked.
And the giant's body was blasted violently toward the ground.
Stone collided with stone as the giant crashed onto his back without moving, while cracks spread across the floor of the hall beneath him.
But Thomas did not stop.
He raised his hand, his eyes shining with cold brutality.
And with his mental power alone—
The surrounding stone statues collapsed, crushed, and fell to the ground like lifeless dolls.
In a single moment…
Thomas Andre showed the world, the dungeon, and the monsters themselves—
The true meaning…
And the absolute value…
Of a Nation-Level Hunter.
*** ***
The aura of the winged monster suddenly changed, as if it had made a final decision deep inside.
Its six wings vanished in an instant, and in their place appeared six terrifying arms—thick, covered in stone cracks, and pulsing with dark energy.
Before anyone could even take a breath—
The monster disappeared.
In the next moment, it appeared right in front of Thomas Andre.
Three arms struck at the same time, merging into one punch filled with crushing power.
It all happened in less than a second.
BOOM!!
Thomas's body slammed into the ground with terrible force.
The floor cracked beneath him, and dust exploded in all directions.
Everyone froze.
They had thought…
that this raid was already over.
But the scene before them was shocking.
Thomas Andre, a Nation-Level Hunter, was lying on the ground.
And it did not stop there.
The winged monster sensed the true danger in the dungeon and realized without hesitation that Thomas was the biggest threat. It completely ignored the others and began chasing him, attacking again and again without mercy, never giving him time to breathe.
The fight between them was violent—far too fast for the others to interfere.
Hwang Dongsoo and Liu Zhigang found no opening at all.
Any attempt to step in would have meant death.
All they could do was watch…
and wait for a chance that might never come.
As for Louis—
He slowly turned his head, looked left and right, then muttered quietly, as if speaking to empty space:
"You're watching this right now, aren't you?"
No answer.
Louis smiled calmly, but there was heavy pressure behind it.
"As I said before… Sung Jin-Woo will never enter this dungeon."
He paused, then continued,
"Shouldn't you get a new vessel in that case?"
No answer.
In the background, the brutal fight between Thomas and the winged monster continued.
Louis looked at them and spoke more seriously:
"This is your only chance. If you don't show yourself now… the Engineer will be destroyed here."
At the same moment—
Thomas clenched his teeth and used all of his telekinesis.
The winged monster froze for just one moment.
A very short moment… but it was enough.
Thomas charged forward and threw a massive punch that hit the monster directly, blasting it backward until it crashed into the far end of the hall.
"Tch—"
The winged monster growled in anger.
"Damn the Ruler's fragments… This never happened in any previous timeline. What changed this time?"
It slowly lifted its gaze toward Louis.
That person…
He did not exist.
No name. No trace. No time signature.
As if he had appeared from nothing.
"Could this… be part of someone's plan?"
The Engineer—the true name of the monster—raised all six arms. Using telekinesis, it pulled the weapons of the stone monsters that Thomas had defeated earlier toward itself.
The weapons gathered around it.
Hwang Dongsoo's eyes widened in shock.
"Isn't that… the same power Thomas uses?"
Thomas looked at him from behind his strange stone mask… without saying a word.
Then—
The fight between them began again.
By the Engineer's will, the stone monsters that had fallen to the sides began to move once more.
One by one…
Even the giant with the twisted smile started to rise.
This time, Louis felt real danger.
That person…
It seemed he would keep watching only, with no intention of interfering.
At the peak of the battle between Thomas and the Engineer—
Louis noticed a small opening.
Just one opening… was enough.
He thought, and in the same instant used teleportation.
He pulled Kamish's daggers from his system storage and coated them with Conqueror's Haki, trying to change their appearance even a little.
In a flash—
He appeared beside the Engineer.
One swing.
Three arms were cut off at once.
A second swing.
The remaining arms were severed.
Kamish's daggers were deadly by nature…
and strengthened by Conqueror's Haki, they became truly terrifying weapons.
Without caring how Louis had appeared or suddenly joined the fight—
Thomas rushed in and threw a brutal punch that sent both the Engineer and Louis flying away.
The Engineer crashed hard onto the ground, while Louis used the moment to try to restrain him.
Everything happened at insane speed.
So fast that Hwang Dongsoo and Liu Zhigang had no chance to interfere at all.
Thomas looked at the daggers in Louis's hands.
They looked…
similar to the Kamish daggers he knew.
But this time, they felt strange—so strange that he was no longer sure of the truth.
The Engineer sensed danger and tried to resist again—
Then suddenly, it stopped moving.
"Are you sure about this?"
The question made Louis freeze in place before delivering the final blow.
The question was not directed at him.
It could only be meant for… one person.
Before he could think any further—
The Engineer suddenly burst into laughter.
Mad laughter.
Then, before anyone understood what was happening—
The Engineer reached out and touched Louis's forehead.
And in a single instant…
Darkness fell.