~~~~
Meanwhile, after using Molten Smash. Max was sent crashing to the wall by the Kobold Captain creating a deep pit. He quickly came out of the hole and he turned to the kobold Captain, turning even more serious.
With a flash, he sped towards the kobold Captain using crimson blink, his speed becoming faster. When he got to the back of the kobold Captain, he created a chain with his chaos blood manipulation to hold the Kobold Captain's hand down whilst continuously reinforcing the chain with chaos blood energy. After successful binding the kobold Captain, Max slashed at his spine with full force creating a deep dash overflowing with lava.
ROAR!!!!!
The Kobold Captain roared in pain and he activated Overdrive mode. Immediately, violent energy gushed into the kobold Captain's strengthening him and two seconds later, the binding chain was broken through.
The atmosphere turned volatile.
The Kobold Captain, now in Overdrive Mode, surged with molten energy. Lava-like veins throbbed across its body, and steam hissed from its mouth like an over-pressurized furnace. Its strength had doubled in an instant, and its speed—once heavy and brute-like—had become dangerously agile.
WHOOSH!!
The Captain's greatsword cleaved through the air with terrifying velocity, blazing like a solar flare. The sheer heat warped the space around it, distorting the flames already dancing along the walls of the lava cavern.
Max's instincts flared.
His pupils constricted.
"So fast—!?"
Though he had memorized the Captain's skill set, knowing was not the same as understanding.
He had underestimated the sheer explosive amplification that came with Overdrive.
There was no time to dodge.
No margin to counter.
Only one option remained—
Block.
CLAAAAAANG!!
Max swung his own greatsword upward at the last possible moment, crossing it with the descending blaze of the Kobold Captain's flaming strike.
The collision was cataclysmic.
A thunderous shockwave exploded outward from the point of impact. Flames scattered. The earth cracked. Max was forced to one knee, the force pressing down on him like a mountain trying to crush his spine.
His palms burned from the vibration of the clash.
The weight of the Kobold Captain's full strength threatened to split him in two.
"So this... is what true power feels like."
But Max didn't falter.
He gritted his teeth, blood trickling from his lips.
Behind his trembling guard, his golden draconic eyes burned brighter than the kobold's flames.
"I didn't come this far to be broken by a gatekeeper..."
And then—he pushed back.
With a furious roar, Max summoned the chaos-infused energy surging within his body. His scales glowed red-hot, mana surging through his veins like wildfire. His greatsword, still clashing with the kobold's, began to vibrate with chaotic energy.
..[Passive Skill Activated: Dragon Will – Beginner Tier]
Effect: When the host is overwhelmed by external pressure, Dragon Will activates to temporarily enhance strength and durability based on willpower.
"Get OFF ME—!!"
Max roared, standing fully upright, his muscles bulging as he overpowered the flaming greatsword—and sent the Kobold Captain staggering backward with a blast of raw force.
Sparks exploded between their blades as they disengaged. The kobold skidded several feet, molten claws tearing trenches in the stone floor.
The Captain snarled in disbelief—no prey had ever pushed it back mid-Overdrive. Not until now.
Max's chest heaved, sweat and blood mixing.
His shoulders ached, and his arms trembled—but he stood tall.
He raised his greatsword again, the blade now flickering with crimson chaos energy.
"Come, Captain. Let me show you what it means to defy your limits."
The battlefield boiled with heat, fissures of molten rock glowing beneath fractured stone.
Max stood still—too still—his chest rising and falling as the power in his veins burned hotter than fire. His vision tunneled. The Kobold Captain was all he could see.
Crimson Blink!
The world slowed. The edges of Max's form dissolved into streaks of scarlet light. He moved.
From the Kobold Captain's view, he was there—then gone—then right in front of it, sword already in motion.
Max's boots shattered the ground beneath him, fragments of stone rising and hanging in the air like they'd forgotten how to fall. His blade arced upward in a perfect killing line, each droplet of molten sweat on the Captain's jaw caught in the crimson glow.
CLANG!!!
Sparks burst in every direction, frozen for a heartbeat before the world snapped back into motion, forcing both warriors apart.
The Kobold didn't retreat—it surged forward.
Max didn't hesitate—his left hand snapped up.
Blood spikes materialized midair, their surfaces slick and glistening, reflections of lava twisting across their sharp edges. They launched forward like hunting serpents.
The Captain's sword met them, each impact sending ripples through the air, each shatter ringing like glass breaking underwater.
Then—its guard faltered.
Chains—thick, writhing, and dripping with blood magic—coiled around its limbs. The air pulsed with the sound of tightening links.
Max's lips curled into a grim smile.
He leapt.
Ten meters up—the wind roared around him, but the world below moved in syrup-slow clarity.
The crimson glow of his greatsword swelled as blood magic poured into it, expanding the weapon upward to intercept.
Max twisted midair, a sharp rotation sending his clothes flaring around him like a dragon's wings.
His blade came in a horizontal slash first—baiting the defense—before snapping into a vertical rotating slash like the death strike of a deathbringer crosswheel
The first blow shaved a deep gouge across the Captain's shoulder, blood and molten ichor hanging in the air like ruby mist.
The second blow—
The two swords met. The Kobold's blade fractured along glowing lines, pieces scattering outward in a halo of steel shards.
BOOOOM!!!
The ground erupted. Lava burst upward in a geyser of fire and stone. A shockwave rippled across the battlefield, flattening the already shattered terrain. The Kobold Captain's roar was drowned in the detonation, its body torn apart, scattered in molten spray.
When the fury settled, the battlefield was silent—except for the soft hiss of cooling rock.
Max stood in the center of the crater, his greatsword buried in the earth, steam rising off his shoulders.
A long breath escaped him. The world tilted. His legs gave way.
He collapsed—
—and the crimson light faded from the ruins.
---