In Another World With Omnitrix

As they try to move forwards, Lyra froze, eyes narrowing. "It's not dead."

The obsidian shards of its shattered body began to tremble, then lift, drawn back together by invisible threads of corrupted mana. Cracks sealed with glowing red veins, and where Theron's blade had severed an arm, a new one formed—larger, spiked, unstable.

"Everyone back!" she shouted.

Too late.

With an ear-splitting screech, the guardian exploded upward—now standing taller, broader, its limbs jagged and laced with glowing crimson runes. A second core had emerged beneath the first, pulsing like a heartbeat. This wasn't a single relic anymore. It had adapted.

"Great," Veyra muttered. "It has a second phase."

The creature launched forward. Galen barely raised a frost barrier before a fist slammed through it, sending splinters of ice and rock across the field. The impact sent him sprawling.

"Galen!" Elric shouted, vines erupting from the ground to slow the guardian's next swing. But the construct spun, tearing through them with a vicious swipe.

"It's absorbing ambient mana," Elric growled. "This place is fueling it."

Saria was already in motion. Her sabers flared with burning runes as she dashed across the crimson mist, striking the guardian's flank with a precise double-slash. Sparks erupted—only for the creature to spin and slam her mid-air with its forearm.

She hit the stone with a grunt, but rolled to her feet. "Hit it harder."

"No," Lyra snapped. "We have to destabilize the cores. Standard damage won't be enough."

Theron raised his enchanted sword, now glowing with ancient silver light. "I'll split its focus."

He charged in, drawing the guardian's gaze. The creature responded, launching a barrage of strikes fast enough to blur. Each hit clanged off Theron's blade or armor—but even he staggered with every blow.

Lyra moved next. A cold mist formed around her as she raised both hands, the temperature plummeting. "Galen. Follow my lead!"

He nodded grimly from the ground. "Frost compression protocol."

They moved together.

A wave of absolute cold surged from Lyra's palm—ice curling up the creature's legs in jagged arcs. Galen layered his own frost atop hers, refining the shape, forcing the crystal structure to harden unnaturally fast.

Veyra struck during the freeze. Her obsidian blade, humming with unstable corestone energy, slammed into the joint between arm and chest, triggering a controlled burst of darkfire.

The arm shattered—again.

But the guardian didn't fall.

It shrieked, leaping backward in an inhuman arc, and landed beside one of the warped relic pylons embedded in the terrain. It stabbed its remaining hand into the stone.

The dungeon responded.

The earth quaked. Crimson glyphs lit up across the dome-like ceiling. From the shadows beyond the mist, more shapes moved.

"Multiple mana signatures incoming!" Elric barked.

"We don't have time for a prolonged brawl!" Lyra shouted, casting a frost spike directly at the creature's exposed lower core. The spike slammed in—and stuck—but the core pulsed again and melted it from the inside out.

Theron narrowed his eyes. "We take out the main body before reinforcements arrive."

He dashed in again, shoulder-checking the guardian hard enough to stagger it. "Now, Lyra!"

She clenched her fist.

Behind the guardian, a blizzard vortex formed—ice crystals swirling violently. She unleashed the spell with a forward thrust, slamming the vortex into the guardian's back. The creature froze mid-motion—and at that exact moment, Saria lunged in with a roar, both sabers bursting into flame.

"I've got the cores!"

She stabbed one blade through the lower core and twisted. The creature spasmed.

The second saber found the upper chest—and this time, Lyra channeled a freezing lance directly into the wound.

Together, flame and frost collided inside the crystalline body—and the guardian exploded in a flash of violet-red light.

Chunks of crystal flew in all directions. The pressure wave knocked several of the guild elites back, some hitting the ground with groans. The battlefield went momentarily still.

Silence.

Then… footfalls.

Three new constructs stepped out of the mist—slightly smaller, but faster, with leaner frames and jagged spear-like limbs.

Veyra exhaled. "Of course there's more."

Saria rolled her shoulders. "I've still got breath."

"Don't get cocky," Lyra said sharply. "These aren't waves. They're guardians. The dungeon's protecting something."

"And it knows we're getting closer," Elric added grimly.

From deeper within the mist, more echoes came. Distant, distorted. Chant-like. As if something ancient and intelligent was watching them—and preparing.

Theron looked at the others. "Form up. Stay sharp. We move in two formations. Galen, Elric, you're center. Veyra and Saria left. Lyra with me on right."

Lyra glanced once toward Saria. "Try not to get separated."

Saria smirked. "Try to keep up."

They moved again—into the crimson mist.

And behind them, unseen in the gloom, a much larger figure stirred.

Watching.

Waiting.

Awakening.

End of Chapter.

Thank you for reading.