The tremor became a quake.
Not the uneven stomping of the B-ranks.
Heavier.
Measured.
Each step compressing the earth before lifting again.
The trees ahead didn't merely bend—
They snapped.
Then it emerged.
Taller than the others by nearly half their height again.
Broader.
Thicker.
Its skin wasn't gray-green.
It was deep blue.
Veins pulsed faintly beneath the surface like glowing rivers of mana.
Scars layered across its torso—old battle marks that had healed imperfectly, tougher.
Denser.
Its eyes locked onto the corpses of the fallen trolls.
Then onto Draven.
It didn't roar immediately.
It assessed.
Aldric exhaled slowly.
"…That's not an ordinary B-rank."
The air felt heavier around the creature.
Its regeneration was visible even at rest—small cuts along its knuckles sealing within seconds.
Mana pressure rolled outward in steady waves.
The cultist stumbled back.
"Blue… that's a variant—"
The troll moved.
Not fast like the others.
But when it stepped forward—
The ground caved beneath its foot.
Crack.
Shockwaves rippled outward.
Aldric's smile vanished completely.
"…You pulled a high B-rank. Maybe low A."
The troll finally roared.
The sound wasn't wild.
It was deep.
Controlled rage.
It charged.
Faster than something that size should move.
Draven shifted first.
The massive fist descended—
He sidestepped, but the air pressure alone split the ground where he had stood.
Before he could counter—
The troll's other arm swept horizontally.
Draven blocked.
The impact sent him sliding back several meters, boots carving trenches through the dirt.
Aldric's eyes narrowed.
"Now that's more like it."
He stepped forward—
And vanished.
Reappearing above the troll's shoulder, crimson mana flaring.
He drove a spear of condensed blood down into its neck.
The spear pierced—
But stopped halfway.
The skin was denser.
Harder.
The wound began sealing around the embedded blood construct.
Aldric clicked his tongue.
"…Thick."
The troll grabbed him midair.
Crushing grip.
Aldric's body dissolved into blood mist for a split second, reforming behind it before the grip could tighten.
It turned instantly.
Too sharp.
Too aware.
Draven's eyes glowed again.
Focused.
Searching.
This one's mana was different.
Not just a single concentrated core.
The crystal pulsed deeper.
Protected.
Shielded by layered mana currents feeding its regeneration.
More complex.
He watched the flow.
Mapped it.
The troll lunged again.
Draven didn't dodge fully this time.
He stepped inside the swing.
Its fist grazed his shoulder, tearing fabric and carving a shallow trench into the ground behind him.
His glowing eyes locked onto the center of its chest.
There—
But slightly lower.
Buried deeper than the others.
Protected by reinforced bone.
The troll's knee came up.
Draven leapt back just as it cratered the earth.
Aldric reappeared at its flank.
Crimson energy surged thicker now, despite the sunlight.
"You seeing it?" he called.
"Yes."
The troll roared again and slammed both fists down.
The impact split the clearing apart.
Dust and debris exploded upward.
Through the chaos—
Draven moved.
Not fast.
Precise.
He launched straight toward the monster's torso.
The blue troll saw him coming—
And for the first time—
It smiled.
Draven's hand drove forward—
But the troll twisted.
Its forearm crashed down like a falling pillar.
The impact struck Draven mid-lunge and sent him crashing into the fractured earth.
The ground split open beneath him.
Before he could rise—
The troll's other fist caught Aldric mid-movement.
A direct hit.
The sound was sickening.
Bone cracked.
Aldric's body was launched across the clearing, smashing through two trees before skidding to a halt.
Silence.
Dust rolled.
The cultist's breath stopped.
For a second—
Neither of them moved.
Then—
Aldric coughed.
Blood spilled from his mouth.
His left arm bent at an unnatural angle.
His ribs visibly caved inward.
He pushed himself up slowly, eyes narrowing at the blue giant.
Flesh began knitting back together—
But slower.
Painfully slower.
He clicked his tongue.
"…Tch."
He rotated his shoulder, grimacing as bone reformed.
"Damn sunlight."
His regeneration crawled compared to night.
Wounds sealing—
But not instantly.
"Annoying."
Across the clearing—
The troll stepped toward the crater where Draven had fallen.
Before it could press the attack—
The rubble shifted.
Draven rose.
Calm.
Blood dripped from the side of his head.
His sleeve was torn.
A shallow crater marked where he had been embedded.
The wound across his torso sealed within seconds.
Not as dramatic as Aldric's regeneration—
But efficient.
Controlled.
He rolled his neck once.
Eyes glowing faintly again.
The troll stared at him.
It had felt that strike connect.
Felt bone give.
Yet he stood.
Aldric exhaled slowly, standing fully now, ribs finishing their repair.
"Guess we misjudged it."
The troll charged again.
Faster this time.
It swung at Aldric—
He failed to fully evade.
The fist clipped him, driving him into the ground again.
Aldric's regeneration flared—
Slower.
Sunlight pressing against his magic.
He forced himself up, blood dripping from his brow.
"This is ridiculous."
The troll turned toward Draven again.
Draven stepped in to counter—
The troll's knee caught him mid-step, sending him skidding backward once more.
For the first time—
They had failed to break through.
The blue troll stood tall.
Uninjured in any meaningful way.
Its regeneration still pulsed strong.
Aldric wiped blood from his mouth.
His smirk was gone.
He stood straighter.
Mana surged around him again—thicker this time.
Less playful.
Less restrained.
He glanced at Draven.
Then back at the troll.
"…Alright."
His eyes darkened.
"Playtime's over."