Is this really a Game?!

For a moment, it seemed as if time froze as Reign's swords, powered by everything he had, his lightning, his soul power, light, and darkness, connected with the gap Reign found in the Warden's armor. The force of the strike, the immense power of his abilities, the timing of his attacks … it was all perfect.

Clang!

And yet not enough.

His swords never reached the armor, instead, they struck the axe of the Warden who, for the first time during this battle, decided to defend against a physical attack.

"Dammit!" Reign cursed, pouring more strength into his swords, only to then glance forward, and for his eyes to meet with the red eyes of the Warden, causing him to suddenly freeze, his body trembling slightly as the red eyes stared into him, into his very soul.

Reign's breath suddenly got caught in his throat as the eyes bore into him. He felt as if time itself had slowed, as the eyes stared at him, it was as if his very essence was being pulled into them, into those glowing, malevolent orbs.

It wasn't just a stare, but a soul-crushing weight pressing down onto him, attempting to strip away everything he had. His mind raced, struggling to break free from the oppressive gaze, but he could feel immense power radiating from the Warden, it was akin to nothing he had ever encountered, an embodiment of death, a being whose very presence seemed enough to crush him.

For a brief moment, Reign felt fear, immense fear. He had not felt like this for a long time, and now, he felt that if he didn't break free, his soul would be consumed.

"Reign!" Shadow's voice cut through the tension as he appeared like a dark blur beside Reign. His daggers flashed, hitting the Warden in the shoulder, actually causing the creature to flinch as the attack landed.

Even though the Warden barely shifted, it was enough for Reign to snap out of the trance-like state, his eyes widening and his muscles activating as he pushed back, launching himself back from the Warden.

He tumbled through the air, landing several meters away, gasping for breath as he glanced at the Warden.

"That was close." Shadow muttered as he panted as well. He had spent a mere second next to Reign and the Warden, he was not the main target of the oppressive power the Warden possessed, and yet, it was enough to make him feel immense pressure and danger.

He couldn't even imagine how it felt for Reign, the one who was the main target of that immense aura that came from the Warden. It was no surprise that Reign was unable to do a thing, that he froze in such a manner in front of the Warden.

"Thanks … had you not arrived …" Reign didn't finish, and Shadow said nothing, he merely shook his head to show that there was no need to thank him.

"It used soul power again, but the worst part is that he didn't even attack, he just glanced at me and used the aura around him, but since I was right in front of him, I got to feel all of it at once."

"That thing is definitely not just a realm above us, it might be a Tier VIII being even." Reign stated as the others stared at the Warden with even more vigilance.

All of them had been certain that the previous tactic would work, that Reign's attack would land on the Warden and deal damage and that they would finally wound the monster and start with the second part of the trial, surviving, only for their hopes to be shattered right away.

The Warden was still standing still, however. It had just defended itself with the axe, blocking the attack coming from Reign and staring into his eyes. Its very gaze, coupled with the aura around him, had been enough to place Reign in such a sorry state.

Nobody could even imagine what waited for them once the Warden actually started attacking.

"Can we really survive for a minute?" Mia asked with a trembling voice as she stared at the Warden.

"With my transformation, I still don't think I can last more than 10 seconds, even that would be stretching it, to be honest." Reign said with a solemn expression, clearly not positive about their chances of surviving against Warden.

"The system wouldn't let us battle against a monster that is too powerful for us, the Warden will probably not fight us with full force, it will probably use only a small portion of its strength," Wolf stated with a calm, yet weary expression as they all stared at the Warden with worry in their eyes.

The monster was still motionless, staring at them as its aura started returning.

"We can't let the aura fully return, attack it, we'll try the same tactic again, only that this time, it won't only be me that goes for it." Reign said as he narrowed his eyes at the Warden and clenched his swords again. He was still panting a bit, but he was ready to continue the battle, to pour everything he had into the next attack.

"The two of us will strike the bastard together," Jin said, his calm demeanor not faltering even at this moment.

"Aelrinder will hit the monster first, with your power of stars, I need you to do your best to create an opening, any form of opening will do," Jin told Aelrinder who nodded while the others started attacking the Warden once again.

Wolf's purple flames flared once again while Mia flanked the Warden from the other side, bombarding it with ice attacks. The two quickly started coordinating, combining their powers right above the Warden while the others continued attacking.

Beast, already fused with Blackie and having used his mark, attacked with his bow, creating powerful wind arrows that cracked with black lightning. Each arrow carried immense energy, detonating the moment it struck the Warden, creating a powerful gale that was mixed with black lightning.

Laura was casting spell after spell, assaulting the Warden, Tank and Greenie were hitting the monster with their axe and hammer respectively, and yet, it was all for naught as they barely did any damage to the powerful creature.

Reign stared at the Warden and the aura around it. The attacks did little to the body of the Warden, but they were making the aura lessen around it, weakening it further and further. Still, it wouldn't be easy to wound it, Reign had already tried it and almost paid dearly.

He was observing the battle, however, staring at the Warden and what was going on with it, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

And then, the fused attack of Mia and Wolf was complete, and they dropped down what looked like a giant ice stake that was completely purple inside at the Warden, who glanced up, moving its head for the first time and suddenly lifted its arm in order to defend.

The strength of their combined attack was so high that even the Warden felt a bit of pressure, actually defending against it.

The stake struck the arm, and then it exploded, powerful frost and scorching purple flames exploding all around the Warden as Tank and Greenie had moved away a couple of seconds ago, well aware of what was going to happen.

"Now!" Reign shouted, charging forward with Jin as Aelrinder, who had been waiting for his signal, moved. The ground cracked as he disappeared from sight, turning into a yellow blur that appeared in front of the Warden in an instant, his spear shining a blinding yellow light as it stabbed forward, aiming at the eye of the Warden.

Clang!

The spear struck the axe that the Warden quickly positioned in front of its face, and then the charged up energy from Aelrinder's attack exploded, causing the upper body of the Warden to be engulfed in the powerful yellow wind that was expelled from the spear.

Immediately after that, Jin appeared above the Warden, and struck down with his fist, his entire body shaking and turning red from how much he was clenching his muscles and channeling his mana.

The punch broke through the sound barrier and a ray of explosive energy charged at the Warden from the fist, going down with blinding speed. It struck the Warden from above, or at least it looked like it struck as it was impossible to tell thanks to Aelrinder's wind that was assaulting the creature.

And then, Reign appeared, from the left side, swinging the only sword he was holding with both hands forward. The slash produced no sound, and then it struck the axe that the Warden had positioned so that he could block both the sword and Aelrinder's axe.

"I'm not done yet, you damn monster." Reign said as his aura suddenly spiked, another sword appeared in his left hand, which was no longer holding the original sword, and he struck.

While in motion, his body was changing, growing taller and more muscular while wings sprouted behind his back.

Reign had decided to pour everything he had into this one attack, he decided to use his transformation because if that didn't help him damage the Warden, nothing would.

Not to mention that it wouldn't be for naught, as the 1 minute they had to survive would start right after wounding the Warden, and only a second would have passed in his transformed state.