Ethan's breathing hitched.
This thing's defenses were already beyond common sense.
His attacks.
Thalorien's Worldheart Crystal.
Even the spatial shockwaves—
none of it had actually hurt it.
This wasn't just "hard."
It was some deeper protective mechanism, something built into its existence.
Ethan pulled up the system immediately.
[Re-scanning target…]
The interface unfolded in a flash.
The monster's structure appeared in his vision as layers of energy: bone, muscle, bloodline flow—everything laid bare.
Then, the next second—
the system flagged an anomaly.
Location—
its mouth.
Ethan's pupils tightened.
That wasn't a normal wound.
It was an extremely unstable energy fault line.
Like some force was pushing outward from inside, warping the body from within—
making the spatial structure misalign.
It wasn't "cracked."
It was—
connected to the inside.
"Found you," Ethan muttered.
He steadied his breathing.
Dropped his center of gravity.
