The attribute stone was manufactured as an auxiliary item, specifically made to enhance magic or skills, another item, or a weapon's performance by applying the corresponding element's characteristics.
For example, fire-attribute stones were made for weapons, making them more powerful and destructive. Water-attribute worked well with a healer or a healing item, though it was also fit for a weapon, making its form fluid and flexible. And earth-attribute stone made everything sturdier and more solid.
After equipping the earth-attribute stone, the gauntlets were now imbued with the toughness and durability that, hopefully, could match against a creature as durable as the stone man.
The stone man, towering and menacing, had just finished reassembling itself after Niveus's last attack. Its azure eyes gazed at him while its massive fists raised to hammer.
Niveus used the advantage as the side with more agility, leaping into the air and bringing his fist down after some acrobatic move mid-air.
BOOM!
The impact was still explosive despite not being enhanced by fire-attribute stones.
Niveus's fist collided with the stone man's arm, and the earth-shattering blow sent cracks spider-webbing across the stone surface.
The force of the punch reverberated through the creature's body, and the stone man staggered back, its once-immovable form now trembling.
But it refused to yield.
With a guttural roar, it swung its other arm at Niveus, attempting to crush him with its massive fist.
Suffering from overexertion and side effects of the divine energy, Niveus was too late to dodge the crushing blow.
"Guahk!!"
Niveus was sent flying far away, crashing harshly on the more uneven and rough terrain.
["Niveus!"]
"Not... yet. I can still fight."
As a half-angel, Niveus didn't have to worry about physical injuries as his regenerative power was more powerful than humans. But, it would be a different story if it was from divinity or demonic energy.
The stone man, albeit attacking with mysterious energy, wasn't something Niveus had to worry about.
Niveus sprang back to his feet, eyeing the advancing stone man whose each step caused the ground to tremble.
A moment later, he heard something cracking.
When he was about to think what that sound was, the dark edges of his vision disappeared.
"Oh, my mask..."
His hand reached for his face, feeling the smooth skin of his cheek as the shards of the mask fell to the ground.
"It's not the time to think about that," Niveus said, shaking his head.
Niveus began rushing forward to meet with the advancing stone man.
When he got closer to the creature, Niveus lunged at it, aiming for its legs.
Ducking low, he dodged the stone man's devastating swing smoothly as if saying he didn't want to experience getting crushed for a second time.
Then, Niveus delivered a powerful swing to the stone man's knee joint, one of its weaknesses—to disturb its movements, according to Nono.
The stone man's leg shattered under the impact, sending the creature toppling to one side.
Niveus didn't celebrate or seem happy with what seemed to be a fatal blow, especially after witnessing the stone man begin to pull itself back together, the broken piece of stone reassembling quickly.
Narrowing his eyes, Niveus calculated his next move.
As the stone man's leg reassembled, Niveus slammed his fist into the creature's torso, driving it back with barraging strikes. Each punch was a hummer blow, and each impact sent more cracks rippling through the stone.
The stone man retaliated with a wild swing of its arm, catching Niveus off guard and sending him flying through the air once more.
He crashed into the ground several meters away, and the wind knocked out of him as he skidded to stop.
"Again... ugh!"
Groaning, Niveus forced himself to his feet, this time his vision swimming. He could feel the taste of blood lingering in his mouth.
["Niveus. I have analyzed the stone man and our surroundings during your clash and found out how to defeat it. Do you want to hear it?"]
...
As the battle wore on, Niveus found himself retreating more often than he cared to admit. He would shatter the stone man's arm with a devastating jab, only to have it reform moments later, forcing him back on the defensive.
It was also for Nono's sake, of course.
It had been an hour since he had exchanged blows with the stone man. By the second hour, Niveus began using the terrain to his advantage, luring the creature into narrow passages and rocky outcrops where its size became a hindrance.
Niveus would duck behind cover, only to reappear with a flurry of punches that shattered the creature's limbs.
As the third hour was coming, Niveus found himself on the brink of exhaustion.
"Are we there yet?"
["Just a bit more. Look in front of you."]
Several hundred meters away from him, Niveus spotted a deep fissure in the ground. The crack in the earth stretched into a seemingly bottomless abyss as if the world was split in two.
Upon seeing the abyss, Niveus couldn't help but smile.
Glancing behind, he found the stone man still chasing him.
"Time to end this exhausting fight, big guy."
Taking a deep breath, Niveus lured the stone man to fight near the fissure.
When it happened, Niveus leaped into the air and delivered a powerful punch to the stone man's chest, driving it back, right to the edge of the abyss.
"Not so smart, eh?"
The ground beneath the stone man crumbled, and for a moment, the creature teetered on the edge.
Niveus, seeing his chance, delivered one last punch, sending the stone man into the bottomless abyss.
As the creature fell, its body began to disintegrate, the stones that had once formed it breaking apart and vanishing into the abyss below.
Niveus watched, breathing heavily, as the stone man finally disappeared from sight, its roar fading into nothingness.
Exhausted but victorious, Niveus collapsed to his knees and then lay on his back.
He had won but at a great cost.
The dimensional bag that cost a fortune along with attribute stones within was lost in the chaos of the battle. But he was too exhausted to care, his body too battered to move, let alone search for it.
"Later… I'll worry about it later."
Niveus stared at the purple sky, its swirling vortex still ominous above him, before letting his heavy eyelids close. The world around him began to blur as fatigue overtook him.
"It's fine if I take a nap here, right, Nono?" he asked, his words slurred with exhaustion.
Nono sighed, her voice echoed in his mind, tinged with exasperation but softened by concern.
["I'll wake you up if something bad appears."]
Trusting in her words, Niveus took a deep, steadying breath and allowed himself to drift into unconsciousness.
The moment his eyes closed, the world seemed to exhale with him, falling into a rare, tranquil silence.
["Damn you... always making me worry,"] Nono muttered, though Niveus could no longer hear her.
For a time, the world was eerily serene, the kind of stillness that precedes a storm.
The vast, barren landscape was almost peaceful, and even the bottomless abyss remained silent as if not wanting to disturb the slumber of a literal angel lying so close to its edge.
Two hours passed, and nothing happened. Niveus slept soundly, his chest rising and falling in a slow, steady rhythm.
But after another two hours, the world began to tremble. A deep, resonant sound echoed up from the depths of the abyss, a sound so filled with harrowing terror that it seemed to come from the darkest corners of the world.
["Niveus, wake up!"]
Nono's voice rang out in his mind. But Niveus didn't stir.
The abyss continued to rumble, the sound growing louder.
Then, the sky above began to respond, a deep, guttural rumbling reverberating through the air.
Out of nowhere, a massive flying object appeared in the sky, materializing as if it had always been there. Its sheer size cast a shadow over the ground, and the rumbling intensified as it descended.
["Niveus!!"] Nono screamed again, her voice filled with desperation.
But no matter how loudly she called, Niveus remained oblivious, his body unresponsive.
With no other choice, Nono exerted her authority.
The air around Niveus shimmered, and a radiant, white light began to envelop him, pulling him away from the purple world.
Just as the light whisked away, the massive flying object landed on the ground with a deafening thud. The earth trembled beneath its weight, and a mechanical door creaked open, the sound so loud it seemed to split the air itself.
At the entrance, a humanoid figure stepped out.
Their form was almost human, save for the hardened, rock-scaled skin that stretched from below their neck down to their entire right arm.
The figure's cold, calculating eyes scanned the landscape, finally settling on the abyss where the stone man had fallen.
"Looks like the rat has escaped," the figure muttered, their voice low and devoid of emotion.
The abyss remained silent, as if holding its breath.
But the figure's gaze remained fixed, their expression unreadable as they stood there, alone in the purple world, where the echoes of a battle still lingered.