On the other side, Nox was facing the Chimeric Cleaver. He fought the monster with fervor and determination, his blade against the creature's crystallized claws, causing sparks to fly.

After a moment of battle with neither side gaining the upper hand, the two adversaries now stood dozens of meters apart, each analyzing their opponent.

But after a few more seconds of observing each other, the Cleaver's patience ran out.

It reared up, its enormous paws striking the ground with a force that shook the earth. Nox was still on guard, his gaze fixed on the creature. Looking at it, he saw multiple weak points in his adversary's defense, but he knew he had to remain cautious. The Cleaver was a formidable opponent, and he must not underestimate its power.

Then, suddenly, the Cleaver lunged toward Nox, its eyes burning with rage. It charged, its crystallized claws cleaving the air with deadly speed and precision. Nox prepared himself, adjusting his sword, ready to strike.

But the Cleaver was too fast, and Nox had to throw himself to the side to avoid the claws which slammed into the ground with a thunderous sound. He rose, his gaze fixed on the Cleaver which was turning toward him, ready to strike again.

"Its speed and explosiveness have increased," he thought.

As savage as a rabid animal, the Chimeric Cleaver charged again, with the same style as its first attack. The assault was imbued with deadly speed and precision. This time, Nox, who was ready, his sword raised, invoked the skill Mirror Dimension, creating a series of mirrors that reflected each other, forming multiple Noxes. All were identical reflections of the original.

"Surprised?" he asked with a smirk.

Disconcerted and disoriented, not knowing which Nox was the real one, the Chimeric Cleaver had a moment of hesitation, which allowed Nox to seize the initiative. He lunged forward, his aura-infused sword coming down on the Chimeric Cleaver with devastating force.

But just before being hit, the Cleaver's savage instinct took over and it used its skill [Cataclysmic Roar]. Mana exploded in a 100-meter radius, and Nox's reflections began to disappear one after the other. Nox, for his part, had shielded himself but was ultimately thrown far back by the roar.

Without waiting, the Chimeric Cleaver's eyes turned electric purple. Then, it launched its skill [Elemental Breath]. Lightning struck Nox.

Although the sequence of attacks was extremely fast, Nox had time to activate his Mirror Dimension skill once more.

This time, he didn't create reflections. Just before the lightning-charged breath reached him, he summoned a single mirror in front of him, which reflected the Cleaver's lightning and sent it right back in its face.

"You didn't expect that, did you? My Mirror Dimension is more complex than you think. It's a very versatile skill."

Unfortunately for Nox, his counter-attack had no effect. Once the lightning breath hit the Cleaver, it dissipated like air, canceled by the skill [Magic Resistance]. This was the reason why mages had to avoid this monster: it took almost no magical damage. Spells dissipated upon touching its skin.

But Nox was far from having said his last word. Since the start of the fight, he had been constantly using the sword in its perfect form; he was therefore aware of every opening his adversary revealed.

However, the monster's wild nature made it unpredictable. Every opening Nox saw never lasted long enough; it disappeared immediately. The animal instinct of this creature made it extremely sensitive to danger.

"Let's end this fight quickly," Nox murmured.

And as if it had understood, the creature, after observing Nox warily, began to circle him at an impressive speed thanks to [Runic Borrowing]. Every step it took left an explosive rune on the ground.

Then, after circling Nox several times, who remained motionless, the Cleaver leaped at him, its crystallized claws cleaving the air. Despite the danger of this attack, Nox did not back away.

His heart pounded wildly. He knew he was in danger, but he was willing to take risks. He lunged forward, his sword in hand. He then saw other openings in the monster's defense and prepared to attack. Nox gripped his sword firmly before unleashing multiple lightning-fast strikes on the Cleaver, which he executed with surgical precision and devastating force.

The Chimeric Cleaver roared in pain, but did not stop. It used the skill [Energy Burst], concentrating all its energy into its muscles before unleashing a physical and magical explosion, creating a gigantic crater.

But Nox, moving with supernatural speed and agility, dodged the attacks. Then, as he slipped into the Chimeric Cleaver's blind spot, Nox vanished. More precisely: he had become invisible to the creature's eyes.

The Chimeric Cleaver was caught off guard and dropped its guard.

Suddenly, Nox saw his chance. Still invisible, he created about ten reflections who, along with him, executed the obliteration simultaneously. The power of this combination was such that the Chimeric Cleaver was literally shredded. It screamed in pain, its body collapsing onto the ground with a deafening crash.

Silence returned to the battlefield, the only sound being the raspy breathing of the dying Cleaver. Nox knew he had won, but also that the fight was not yet over. The Exsanguinator was still there, biding its time.

On the side of Johan and the other remaining guardians, the Exsanguinator had been trapped in the spatial isolation for over fifteen minutes.

Fifteen minutes during which they were unable to kill it, even though it was not defending itself and was enduring all their attacks.

"Weak. So weak. Do you truly believe you have a chance to defeat me with your ridiculous skills?" he asked Johan, a hint of arrogance in his voice.

At first, Johan had believed that if the Exsanguinator endured all their attacks, it would be vulnerable, but he quickly understood that he had underestimated its regeneration ability.

Johan gritted his teeth, his gaze fixed on the Exsanguinator with disgust. He had thought their constant bombardment strategy would weaken it, but he was mistaken.

"How can a creature like this even exist?" Johan thought, his face doubtful.

The Exsanguinator, after assessing Johan and concluding that he was running out of options, burst into laughter, a sound that made Johan shiver.

"I gave you a chance to die painlessly, but you refused it..."

Johan looked in Nox's direction and saw that he was still fighting the Chimeric Cleaver.

"How could I have thought he could beat an S+ rank monster in half an hour?" he thought. "Should I use it?"

Johan hadn't used all his cards yet. He still had his most powerful, most devastating skill. He had only used it once after unlocking it, and then swore never to do so again.

But today, he had to break that promise and stake his life on it. If, despite all the power of this technique, the Exsanguinator did not die, he was finished.

"I prefer to try everything before I die rather than just stand here waiting for someone else to get us out of this situation."

"Guys, with the rest of my mana, I'm going to cast my last skill. If it kills him, we'll have won. Otherwise..."

"Hahaha, why are you telling us first? Just do what you have to do. In the worst case, we'll just die," replied Jack, looking nonchalant. With everything he had seen in this portal, he knew that hoping to leave alive was utopian, but that didn't mean giving up.

Even knowing he was going to die, he was going to fight until the end, like a guardian. The others were almost of the same mind.

"So do what you have to do," Jack said with a pained smile.

Johan nodded and smiled. He himself didn't know why he was smiling. Was it because of Jack's words? Or maybe because he was reaching the end of his life? He didn't know. He mobilized the little mana he had left, then activated his most powerful skill, directly inside the spatial isolation: [Black Hole]. Then a black hole formed.

The black hole was an immense void, a bottomless abyss that seemed to suck in everything around it. It was so dark that it became almost palpable, as if the light itself was afraid to approach it.

At its center was a point of singularity, where gravity was so strong that even light could not escape. A point of no return; anything that got too close was irresistibly pulled toward the center.

The event horizon, the boundary beyond which nothing could escape, formed an invisible border around the black hole. Even the spatial isolation had begun to waver under the black hole's intensity.

Around it, an accretion disk swirled at incredible speeds, heated by friction and gravity, emitting an intense light that illuminated the surrounding space.

At the sight of it, the Exsanguinator flinched. He had never seen anything so oppressive. His predator instinct told him to move, but he was frozen, unable to move a single muscle, drawn like a magnet towards this thing.

"What is that...?" he stammered.

He, who was a predator at the top of the food chain, felt, for the very first time, powerless.

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