"So…"
My voice remained calm.
"…show me everything."
For a moment—
Kragar didn't move.
The battlefield seemed to hold its breath.
Then his expression changed.
The faint amusement disappeared.
What replaced it was something colder.
Something serious.
"…As you wish."
BOOOOOOM!!!
Crimson flame erupted from his body.
Not outward.
Upward.
A pillar of fire shot into the sky, swallowing Kragar completely.
The volcanic domain trembled.
Mountains cracked.
Magma burst from the ground.
The air distorted beneath the sudden increase in heat.
I narrowed my eyes.
That wasn't simply an increase in energy.
The flame was changing him.
His body wasn't merely releasing power.
It was becoming a vessel for something far more dangerous.
Then—
CRACK.
One of the runes on his armor shattered.
Then another.
CRACK!!!
CRACK!!!
The armor covering Kragar's body began separating.
Not falling apart.
Opening.
Releasing.
A deep crimson light emerged from beneath the plates.
Kragar stepped forward.
BOOM.
The pressure struck me.
My body sank slightly.
My feet dug into the ground.
The heat pressed against my skin like an invisible furnace.
But I didn't retreat.
I simply watched.
His skin had changed.
The red surface was now covered in glowing patterns.
They stretched across his body like molten cracks.
Bright orange-yellow markings spread over his chest, arms, and shoulders, resembling flames painted across his skin.
They looked almost like burning tattoos.
Like strips of a dying sun.
Then I saw the mark behind him.
A massive orange-yellow flame had appeared across his back.
It wasn't merely glowing.
It looked alive.
Burning beneath his skin.
Burning with rage.
Behind Kragar—
Something enormous began taking shape.
A massive flame slowly rose from his back.
Like a second body.
Like a gigantic creature made entirely of fire was standing behind him.
I felt its presence.
Ancient.
Violent.
Hungry.
My instincts screamed.
Danger.
Kragar raised one hand.
The enormous flame behind him moved with him.
Then—
WHOOM!!!
A wave of crimson fire swept toward me.
I vanished.
SWISH!!!
The flames passed through the space where I had stood.
The ground melted instantly.
Stone turned liquid.
I reappeared several dozen meters away.
My eyes dropped toward my arm.
A faint burn marked my skin.
I touched it.
My eyes narrowed.
The Tiger God Physique had reduced the damage.
But it hadn't completely negated it.
Good.
That meant I couldn't become careless.
Kragar disappeared.
My instincts reacted instantly.
I turned.
Too late.
BAM!!!
His fist slammed into my stomach.
My body flew backward.
BOOM!!!
I crashed through a rock formation.
Stone exploded around me.
For a moment—
I didn't move.
Then I stood.
Dust fell from my shoulders.
I wiped the corner of my mouth.
A trace of blood stained my fingers.
I looked at it.
Then smiled.
"Now we're talking."
Kragar appeared in front of me.
His fist came again.
I blocked.
BAM!!!
The impact pushed me backward.
I twisted.
His second fist passed beside my face.
I stepped inside his guard.
My elbow slammed into his ribs.
BAM!!!
He staggered.
I followed with a knee.
BAM!!!
Then a palm strike.
BOOM!!!
Kragar flew backward.
But before he could land—
The flame behind him moved.
A massive fist of fire descended from above.
I jumped.
BOOM!!!
The ground exploded.
I flipped through the air.
Another flame attack came from the side.
I twisted.
SWISH!!!
It missed by inches.
Then another.
And another.
The flames weren't attacking randomly.
They were coordinating with Kragar.
One blocked my escape.
Another forced me toward him.
And Kragar waited for the opening.
I understood immediately.
The flame wasn't simply increasing his strength.
It was fighting alongside him.
A two-on-one battle.
Interesting.
I landed.
Kragar charged.
The flame followed.
I didn't retreat.
I moved forward.
Our fists collided.
BAM!!!
At the same instant—
The flame struck from behind.
My instincts screamed.
I twisted violently.
The flame passed across my back.
SSSSSS!!!
Pain flashed through my skin.
I countered immediately.
My fist struck Kragar's chest.
BOOM!!!
He staggered.
I followed.
Another strike.
Then another.
CRACK!!!
The armor fractured further.
Kragar's expression hardened.
I was breaking through.
But then—
The flame behind him suddenly changed.
It began compressing.
All of it.
The enormous mass of fire collapsed inward.
Smaller.
Denser.
Hotter.
Until everything condensed into a single point.
My instincts exploded.
Danger.
I immediately retreated.
SWISH!!!
The next moment—
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
A massive beam of crimson fire erupted.
It tore across the battlefield.
Mountains disappeared beneath it.
The ground melted.
The sky seemed to split beneath the unbearable heat.
I reappeared several hundred meters away.
My breathing remained steady.
But my expression had changed.
Serious.
That attack—
If I had taken it directly…
Even the Tiger God Physique might not have saved me.
I looked toward the center of the destruction.
Kragar stood there.
His armor was almost completely open.
Only a few runes remained.
His breathing was heavier.
The flame behind him had become smaller.
The glowing markings across his body had dimmed.
Like a dying sun.
So that's the limitation.
The stronger he released the flame—
The faster the seal broke.
And the more energy he burned.
I studied him carefully.
Then—
I saw it.
His chest.
A faint point of light pulsed beneath the remaining armor.
There.
The source.
The core.
Or perhaps—
The seal itself.
Kragar noticed my gaze.
"…You found it."
I didn't answer.
He laughed softly.
"You really are troublesome."
He raised both hands.
The remaining runes glowed.
Then—
The flame behind him disappeared.
All of it.
Every trace.
Gone.
For a moment—
The battlefield became completely silent.
I frowned.
Where did it go?
Then I felt it.
Inside him.
The entire flame had been pulled back into his body.
Kragar's expression became calm.
Too calm.
"This is the last exchange."
My eyes narrowed.
He lowered his stance.
"So finish it."
The ground beneath him began melting.
His body disappeared.
BOOM!!!
He appeared directly in front of me.
I blocked.
BAM!!!
My arms shook.
His fist pushed me backward.
I planted my foot.
Stopped.
Then struck.
BAM!!!
Kragar blocked.
We exchanged blows at close range.
No techniques.
No tricks.
Just physical combat.
Punch.
Block.
Counter.
Strike.
BAM!!!
BAM!!!
BAM!!!
Each impact shook the battlefield.
Kragar's strength was overwhelming.
But my body was adapting.
Every movement became clearer.
Every attack became easier to read.
The Tiger God Physique wasn't simply making me stronger.
It was teaching my body how to use that strength.
My movements became smoother.
Faster.
More precise.
Kragar's attacks began missing by increasingly smaller margins.
Then—
I saw it.
The opening.
His right side.
The armor there had completely cracked.
I moved.
SWISH!!!
My fist drove directly through the opening.
BOOOOOOM!!!
Kragar's body bent.
The remaining seal shattered.
CRACK!!!
Crimson light erupted from his chest.
The flame inside him began pouring outward.
But I was already there.
My palm pressed against his chest.
Energy condensed.
Not explosive.
Not wasteful.
One point.
One target.
His core.
Kragar looked directly into my eyes.
For a brief moment—
There was no hostility in his expression.
Only relief.
"…So this is how it ends."
I frowned slightly.
Then—
"Collapse."
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The energy detonated inward.
The crimson flame was compressed back into Kragar's body.
The remaining energy collapsed around the core.
Cracks spread across his entire body.
His armor shattered.
Fragments fell away.
His body began breaking apart into particles of crimson light.
But instead of falling—
Kragar smiled.
"…You passed."
I froze.
"What?"
His body continued dissolving.
"The Tower wasn't testing whether you could overpower me."
His voice weakened.
"It wanted to know…"
He looked directly at me.
"…whether you could recognize what was hidden beneath the power."
My eyes narrowed.
"Who sent you?"
For the first time—
Uncertainty appeared in Kragar's eyes.
"I don't know."
Then—
His body vanished.
Completely.
The battlefield became silent.
The remaining flames disappeared.
The heat slowly began returning to normal.
I stood there.
Unmoving.
Processing his final words.
The Tower had called him a guardian.
Yet he had spoken as though he had been sent here for a purpose beyond simply testing my strength.
And the mission reward—
Five thousand Points.
Almost insignificant.
That wasn't the real reward.
The real reward was information.
Someone had wanted me dead.
Someone had sent Kragar.
And even Kragar didn't know who.
I looked toward the volcanic mountain.
Something about this place was wrong.
Very wrong.
Then—
DING—
The red Tower interface finally appeared.
«[Third Stage Cleared]»
A second notification followed.
«[Guardian Kragar Defeated]»
Then another.
«[Tower Trial Evaluation in Progress…]»
I waited.
The screen flickered.
«[Evaluation Complete.]»
«[Combat Performance: Excellent]»
«[Adaptation: Excellent]»
«[Physical Development: Exceptional]»
My eyes narrowed slightly.
Physical development?
The Tiger God Physique had already changed the way my body fought.
But apparently—
The Tower had noticed it too.
Another notification appeared.
«[Fourth Stage Preparation Beginning…]»
I looked toward the distance.
The volcanic landscape began changing.
The mountains trembled.
The sky darkened.
A low rumble rolled across the domain.
Something deeper within the Tower was awakening.
I clenched my fist.
A faint smile appeared.
"So…"
Another trial.
Another guardian.
Another chance to grow.
My blue eyes glowed faintly.
I stepped forward.
Whatever waited beyond the next stage—
I would face it.
After all—
I had already entered the Tower.
There was only one direction left to go.
Forward.