A brief yet chilling staredown ensued.

Clearly, Chaos wasn't going to let him off easy, and he would have to focus on taking down who he assumed to be the guardian if he wanted to survive.

The tyrant chicken-lizard's fury reached its peak, and it let out another horrifying, primal roar, sending shivers down the duo's spines.

But Hal and Loki stood their ground.

In the next moment, the colossal beast opened its massive jaw and scraped at the ground with it, tossing a mouthful of rocky soil to the air.

It then spun and struck them, using its tail as a baseball bat.

The rock chunks shattered into smaller, more lethal shards, shooting straight towards Hal.

'Whoever said beasts can't cast spells, you're dumb!'

Hal gritted his teeth before his humanoid figure was destroyed by the rock bullets.

The tyrant chicken-lizard let out a victorious bellow, but not for long, as scorching hot water erupted beneath it, forcing it to step back a few steps.

It then made contact with something and froze. The colossal beast stepped on a [Chrono Trap].

Chains and dark hands then emerged from two magic circles on the ground, latching onto its massive legs.

"Die!" Hal roared, dashing within striking range using [Zephyr Step], a black, ghastly maw in hand.

He then chomped at the tyrant chicken-lizard's leg, leaving it roaring in agony.

[Dreadmaw] managed to wound it.

However, the damage it dealt was a bit disappointing, considering it had always been Hal's finishing move in the past.

But he was fully prepared for such a scenario.

The colossal beast was finally able to move the next moment, and it easily broke through its shackles in less than a second, roaring in fury and pain.

Unfortunately, it was destined to experience more.

Hal had already planned his attack sequence.

Before it could even finish roaring, it trembled for a moment, causing its voice to crack slightly.

In the next moment, a decimating wave of light consumed its massive figure.

Hal was sure it was still alive, though, so he quickly followed up with another common-tier burst volley, sending ten basic yet level 200 spells flying the tyrant chicken-lizard's way.

The instant the light disappeared, a cloud of gray smoke covered everyone's vision.

But the instant response of a loud roar told Hal all he needed to know.

'Damn it, this thing won't die!' he cursed inwardly.

A massive maw tore through the smokescreen in the middle of his frustrations, biting at him furiously.

Hal suddenly felt himself locked at where he stood.

'Spatial Lock?!'

How the hell did this beast manage to cast a spell?!

Left with no options, he stacked all his defensive spells, summoning wall after wall, barrier after barrier, all of which were destroyed by the tyrant chicken-lizard's raw charge.

Shards of rocks and ice and fragments of mana scattered everywhere as the terrifying jaw closed in on him.

A massive, spine-chilling shadow consumed Hal.

In the next moment, the colossal beast's maw snapped shut, locking him in.

The tyrant chicken-lizard munched on its victim, ignoring the Devourer Nyxwolf latched at the back of its neck, tearing through its skin with every violent jerk of its head.

And then it trembled once more.

This time, small amounts of blood streamed down its nostrils.

The colossal beast spat out what it was crunching on, realizing the sounds somewhat sounded strange.

Sure enough, what came out of its enormous mouth was destroyed wood, not mangled human remains.

Hal emerged from a void pocket behind the beast, hands in an immoral gesture.

He then fired a [Spirit Orb] at it, sapping a bit of the beast's energy before descending from the skies.

Hal gently landed with the help of [Glide].

Only now was he able to observe the extent of the damage he was able to inflict upon the tyrant chicken-lizard.

There were many tears and holes in its skin, along with an entire scorched side.

However, it didn't have a single lethal wound, and the furious gaze in its terrifying eyes was as lively as ever.

'Damn it, do I have to use a charge of my limited-use [Epic]-tier spells on this guy?'

Hal hesitated.

He wasn't sure how deep the damned temple goes, and if he used a charge of one of the three offensive [Epic]-tier spell cards in his arsenal this early, then he might find himself in an extremely dangerous situation later.

'Like the current one isn't…' he gritted his teeth, planting traps as Loki annoyed the colossal beast, running circles around it while pouncing occasionally to tear a small opening open.

The dilemma was the expense of Chaos Karma versus a charge of an offensive [Epic]-tier spell card.

Hal believed that this tyrant chicken-lizard in front of him was quite manageable, though he wasn't sure how much Chaos Karma he would have to use to end the beast.

While his reserves have grown massively, the same problem remains: he didn't know how deep the Temple of Chaos goes, and he had to balance his resources.

'Fuck it, I'll use a charge!'

There was a chance that his future enemies wouldn't be as tough as the tyrant chicken-lizard in front of him.

Having firmed his decision, Hal snatched the colossal beast's attention from Loki by firing a few elemental spells, granting the wolf time to catch his breath.

The tyrant turned and roared at Hal, swiping its tail on the ground and sending soil and debris flying his way.

He then heard the beast's heavy footsteps; it was also charging at him.

Hal naturally wouldn't back off, as the easiest way to execute his plan was to lure the colossal beast into a [Chrono Trap].

Doing so was quite easy.

The tyrant chicken-lizard was on a full-blown charge, attempting to space-lock Hal in place once more, but he had already thought of a solution for this.

While he himself wouldn't be able to move on his own, other things would be able to push him out of the way, the flat part of his conjured greatsword, for example.

Donning a set of mana armor, Hal raised his arms, blocking the conjured weapon he used, sending himself flying sideways and out of the [Spatial Lock]

He then dismissed his greatsword.

Two seconds later, the colossal beast found itself frozen in time again, skidding on the ground with a blank look.

Hal quickly reappeared in front of the tyrant chicken-lizard using [Blink], pointing two fingers at its forehead.

A multi-colored, warping ray of light then shot forward, piercing through the massive creature's skull.