Ethan's figure blurred as he dodged past the creeping tendrils of slime, his speed unmatched, his movements swift as lightning.
He was so close—
The Battle Crown lay just a few meters away, gleaming in the chaos, untouched by the destruction around it.
"Almost there—!"
But just as his fingertips nearly brushed against the crown, a sickening force crashed into him.
"Ugh!"
A massive slime tendril struck him with devastating force, hurling him backward at terrifying speed.
He barely managed to twist midair, channeling mana to soften his landing—
But the force was too much.
He slammed into the frozen ground near Lila, Morris, and the unconscious Kaelen, ice cracking beneath him as he coughed out blood.
Lila's eyes widened.
Morris cursed under his breath.
The Slime Harbinger loomed over the battlefield, its grotesque mass undulating, its black-purple ooze shifting ominously as it let out a deep, distorted chuckle.
"Fools," it gurgled. "The Battle Crown belongs to me."
