"There's just no f*cking way…"

The colossal beast remained motionless, but Hal knew it wasn't dead yet.

A notification would've informed him if he succeeded in killing it.

What he found difficult to believe was that despite using a charge of an [Epic]-tier spell card at point-blank range, he still failed to take the bastard's life.

How tough could a damned beast be?!

Sure enough, its gaze returned just a few seconds later, and this time, it seemed to be even more furious.

Hal shot another volley of his [Common]-tier burst to deal additional damage.

But that was the end of his offensive for now, as he was blown by an aura shockwave in the next moment.

He was able to stabilize his footing with the help of [Glide].

The tyrant chicken-lizard roared, prompting Hal to look with wariness. His eyes widened.

A few dozen meters in front of him, the colossal beast's thick hide was turning an eerie jet-black, beginning to emit crimson smoke as well.

Hal felt the hairs on his body stand on end.

His instincts told him that the beast in front of him had suddenly become extremely dangerous, far from what it was just a few seconds prior.

Sure enough, it disappeared the next moment, and the next thing Hal knew was that there was a massive maw less than two meters away from him, threatening to devour him whole.

The space around him was also locked.

There was simply no time to push himself away using a conjured weapon.

Hal's blood ran cold, his life flashing before his eyes. But he refused to die like this.

Unwilling as he was, what could he do except use another charge of one of his [Epic]-tier spells?

A translucent yellow cube shot forth from his palm, expanding and encasing the tyrant chicken-lizard.

The colossal beast then warped and returned to its initial position.

It was evidently confused about what had happened, unable to attack again before the [Spatial Lock] dissipated.

"Woof!"

A loud bark then sounded from behind the tyrant chicken-lizard, providing a moment of clarity to Hal as he looked.

Loki was already standing inside the entrance, calling for him with utter urgency.

The barrier somehow opened up!

Was the requirement to deal just enough damage to force the beast to use whatever berserk state it was in now

That made sense, but Hal couldn't be sure either.

He couldn't give two f*cks about it, though, as all he wanted to do was get the hell out of there.

Unfortunately, the tyrant chicken-lizard was still in front of him.

It attacked once more, locking the space once again to prevent him from escaping, but Hal was ready this time.

He swatted himself away before the colossal beast's tail descended upon him.

[Your [Conjure Greatsword] spell card was destroyed.]

His conjured weapon was unable to survive, but it didn't matter much, since the card he used was disposable permanent, anyway.

Hal naturally wouldn't sacrifice his level 200 greatsword that easily.

As a result, he was able to dodge and gain some distance, though his position only shifted from in front to beside the tyrant chicken-lizard.

He was far from being safe.

The beast sensed his intent, quickly dashing towards the entrance and momentarily ignoring him.

The battle suddenly turned into a race.

Things would be problematic if he allowed the tyrant chicken-lizard to block the entrance, and Hal naturally wouldn't let that happen.

He was prepared to go all out.

Activating [Tailwind], he dashed alongside the colossal beast, gritting his teeth in frustration.

His trusty escape spell wasn't too effective this time.

However, Hal still had a lot of cards up his sleeve. He activated [Flight], turned around, and cast [Knockback] on himself, allowing him to pull slightly ahead.

But Hal wasn't done yet…

He almost sprained his ankle after forcefully descending and planting his foot on the ground, minimizing the effects of inertia with the help of an immediate [Licht Step].

The tyrant chicken-lizard roared furiously, realizing it was being left in the dust.

It scooped a mouthful of rocky soil with its jaws and hurled it violently at Hal.

'This damned thing!' he cursed.

Fortunately, he had already prepared his escape path. Hal summoned an Ironwood Puppet a distance ahead, swapping places with it and summoning earthen, ice, and mana barriers behind him, blocking the projectiles.

However, it wasn't long before a massive head smashed through the barricade.

The tyrant chicken-lizard was still in hot pursuit!

It roared once more in anger, realizing that Hal was only a few meters away from the entrance.

Something happened within the beast's body, and it suddenly fired a horrifying, concentrated Gravity Ball at him while locking his position.

Unfortunately for the tyrant, Hal had already managed to conjure a chain, tossing it towards Loki with all his might.

The wolf companion quickly bit on the chain, pulling hard.

Loki wasn't strong enough to deal real damage to the tyrant chicken-lizard, but his force was more than enough to pull his master right to safety.

Hal shot through the air, untethered by the spatial restrictions due to the external force.

The colossal beast rushed with all its might, opening its maws wide as it desperately gave chase.

It then dove.

Hal felt the cold whispers of death behind him.

'F*ck…F*ck!'

But before it caught up to him, the shadow of the entrance consumed him, giving him a fleeting moment of peace that was destroyed a second later as a loud, smashing sound thundered just a few meters behind him.

It seemed as though the entrance would be no match for the giant maw, given how easily the beast's raw strength destroyed all the barriers Hal summoned.

Mysteriously, it was the beast's teeth that gave way, a tooth on the upper-right side snapping in half due to the impact.

Hal's chest heaved up and down as he turned to look.

It was a close call, but he was safe.

He then shifted his attention once more to the descending staircase.