Is this really a Game?!

Reign turned to his team, his eyes serious. "Something's off. These creatures are... nervous."

The others looked around, realizing the same unease in the crystalline beasts. The monsters' uneasiness was a stark contrast to their previous, almost mechanical stillness.

Beast stepped closer, scanning the hall. "Maybe there's something else here, something even they fear."

Jin nodded, tightening his grip on his weapon. "We need to be cautious."

Reign approached the chest, his hand trembling slightly as he reached out. The moment his fingers touched the chest, a sharp, resonant sound echoed through the hall. The runes on the chest flared to life, their light growing brighter until it was almost blinding.

The ground shook, and a deep, resonant growl filled the air. From the shadows at the far end of the hall, a massive, shadowy figure emerged. It was one of the creatures from the murals—the malevolent, twisted beings that had battled the crystalline beasts.

The creature's eyes glowed with a sinister red light, and its form seemed to shift and waver as if made of pure darkness. It towered over them, radiating an aura of palpable hatred and malice.

Reign backed away from the chest, his heart pounding. "This must be what they were guarding against."

The shadowy creature advanced, its movements fluid and almost hypnotic. The crystalline beasts shifted nervously, but none of them moved to attack the intruder.

"We need to fight it," Mia said, her voice steady. "This is what the crystal's power is for."

Reign nodded, feeling the energy from the crystal and the amulet surge through him. He focused, channeling that power into a barrier around his team. The creature roared, slamming against the barrier with its massive, clawed hands.

The barrier shook but held firm against the attack. One thing, however, was the fact that the monster was much more powerful than they anticipated. From this one attack and the immense aura radiating from it, Reign and the others were able to identify what realm the monster had reached.

It was a Tier VII monster, a being that they couldn't defeat with their current strength.

Luckily for them, they didn't need to defeat the monster with only their strength.

Reign took a deep breath as he clenched the crystal before a beam of light was projected from it, striking the monster and causing it to roar in pain.

Its roar echoed through the hall, shaking the very foundations of the ruins. The creature's malevolent eyes locked onto Reign filled with a mix of rage and fear.

"We need to keep it distracted!" Reign shouted, pouring more energy into the crystal. The light intensified, driving the creature back with each pulse.

Wolf and Shadow moved quickly, their weapons drawn. "Let's give it something else to focus on," Wolf said, darting to the side to flank the creature.

Shadow nodded, slipping into the darkness, his form almost melding with the shadows around him. They attacked in unison, Wolf's blade slashing at the creature's legs while Shadow's daggers sought out weak points in its shadowy body, but were unable to find any.

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The creature's body was constantly changing from the outside, it was barely noticeable thanks to how large it was and how small the changes were, but it was almost like the outer layer of its body was not physical, it was more like water.

The creature bellowed in pain, its attention divided between Reign's relentless assault and the twin threats of Wolf and Shadow. It lashed out with a massive claw, but Wolf was too quick, rolling under the swipe and coming up with another slash to its torso.

"Keep moving, don't let it pin you down!" Beast roared, joining the fray with a powerful arrow he launched from his bow while Tank charged forward to join the others. He landed on the creature's back, driving his axe into its flesh. The creature bucked and twisted, trying to shake him off, which it managed to do, causing Tank to slide on the ground as he landed on his shield.

Tank quickly rolled to his feet, readying his shield to block the creature's next attack. Beast's arrows struck true, each one embedding itself in the creature's shadowy form, but they seemed to do little more than anger it. The creature's attention shifted momentarily to Beast, giving Reign a brief respite to refocus his energy.

"Laura, get ready to heal!" Reign commanded, his voice echoing through the chamber. Laura nodded, her hands glowing with a soft, green light that turned purple as she prepared to mend any wounds the team might sustain.

The creature roared again, its form distorting and reshaping as it prepared for another attack. It lunged at Beast, but Reign channeled more power into the crystal, sending another beam of light that intercepted the creature mid-leap. The force of the light beam sent the creature sprawling back, its red eyes blazing with fury.

Shadow reappeared from the darkness, his daggers striking at the creature's side. "It's like fighting smoke," he muttered, frustration evident in his voice. "We need a way to solidify it."

"We have to keep it off balance," Laura said, her voice calm and focused. She drew a series of runes in the air, sending out waves of demonic energy that disrupted the creature's form, causing it to waver and flicker.

Reign's barrier continued to hold, but he could feel the strain. The creature's power was immense, and it was taking everything he had to keep the protective shield intact. "We need to find its core, something inside its body has to be a weakness of sorts!" he shouted, his voice strained.

The others nodded, but they all knew it wasn't going to be easy at all to find anything deep inside the monster as it was not only huge but very difficult to damage.

Had it not been for Reign using the crystal to assault the monster, it would have been even more difficult to battle against it.

Merely dodging the regular attacks the creature was using against them was very difficult and they had no idea what to do to force its body to change.

Shadow glanced at Reign and then at the crystalline beasts, an idea forming in his mind. "What if we use the crystal monsters?" he suggested, his voice low but urgent. "They might have a connection to this thing.

"Reign nodded, focusing on the amulet. He reached out with his mind, trying to communicate with the crystalline beasts. To his surprise, they responded, their previously nervous stances shifting to one of purpose.

"Everyone, get ready!" Reign shouted. "We're going to use the crystal monsters to help us."

The team regrouped, positioning themselves strategically around the chamber. The crystalline beasts moved as one, surrounding the shadowy creature and creating a barrier of their own. Their bodies glowed with the same light as the amulet, intensifying as they focused on the malevolent entity.

Reign channeled more energy into the crystal, sending a powerful beam of light into the heart of the shadowy creature. The crystalline beasts followed suit, their bodies emitting beams of light that converged on the creature, creating a lattice of energy that trapped it in place.

The creature roared, thrashing against the combined assault, but the light held it firm. The air crackled with energy, the chamber vibrating with the intensity of the power being unleashed.

"Now, strike at its core, decimate the body!" Reign commanded, his voice echoing through the chamber.

Wolf, Shadow, Tank, and Beast launched their attacks in unison. Wolf's blade struck at the creature's chest, searching for any sign of vulnerability. Shadow's daggers sliced through the shifting darkness, while Tank's axe and Beast's arrows added their force to the onslaught.

The monster was not just taking all the attacks without doing anything, however, and tried its best to attack them back, its large body doing its best to break through the many rays of light that were holding it down and making it unable to move.

It was thrashing around, causing the rays to shake, but Reign clenched his teeth and poured as much mana as he could in order to continue holding it down in place while the others continued assaulting it, his mark activating as he went all out.

Jin was using his ability to create a large explosion near the neck of the monster, Aelrinder was enveloped by the power of stars as he stabbed forward, causing a ray of light of his own to strike the monster while the others all went all out as well, using their marks to bring their power to the next level.

The monster could do nothing but roar and try to get away from the light as the attacks continued pouring onto its body, causing it to become slimmer and some parts to turn completely physical, no longer as shadowy as before.

"It's working, just continue attacking it!" Reign said as he smiled dangerously at the monster which was barely able to disrupt the rays of light anymore.