Luca staggered forward, his breath ragged, every fiber of his being screaming in pain as the Witch Vanessa floated before him, her presence as imposing as ever. He swung his blade again and again at the invisible barrier that surrounded her, but it didn't so much as crack. Vanessa watched him with an unreadable expression, her glowing blue orb still lofted lazily in her left hand. Luca's heart pounded, his vision blurring as the Abyssal Chaos System flashed incessantly in his mind.
Warning: Health dropping. Current health: 30/1800.
Ignoring the system's alarms, Luca pushed on, refusing to back down. "You're no different from the rest," he spat, blood dripping from his lips. "You call me an ant, but you're the monster."
Vanessa sighed, her voice growing cold. "Enough of this. You bore me." With a flick of her wrist, the barrier vanished, and in the blink of an eye, Luca's body lifted off the ground. His bones shattered as she flung him across the room, crashing into the stone wall like a ragdoll.
Warning: Critical damage. Health: 5/1600.
She floated down gracefully, her feet lightly touching the ground as she approached Luca's broken form. Without a word, she raised her hand, and an eerie glow enveloped Luca. To his shock, his wounds began to knit together. Bones realigned, muscles reformed, and his breathing steadied. His health regenerated, the system reading:
Healing applied. Current health: 1800/1800.
Luca blinked in disbelief, expecting mercy. But Vanessa's lips curled into a mocking smile. "I healed you so I can break you all over again."
With an otherworldly speed, she appeared before him, her hand outstretched as she unleashed a surge of dark energy, slamming him into the ground. Blood spattered the dungeon floor as her attacks became more vicious, each one crushing his body further into the earth. The Abyssal Chaos System rang out with warnings, the words blurring in his mind:
Health: 500/1800... 300/1800... Danger.
Luca struggled to his knees, desperate, his pride refusing to let him fall without a fight. He charged at her once more, but Vanessa side-stepped easily, her staff smashing into his side, sending him crashing back to the floor. She gazed down at him, her blueish gray-black eyes cold and detached. "You think you're special because you can take from others? That path will destroy you long before you reach true power."
Another blast of energy hit him square in the chest, knocking the wind from his lungs.
Health: 50/1800. Warning: Imminent danger.
"Your kind always seeks strength by devouring others," she continued, her voice dripping with disdain. "But you forget that there will always be someone stronger."
Luca coughed, blood pooling beneath him. He tried to rise, but his body refused. Vanessa loomed over him, raising her hand once more. For a moment, he thought it was the end, but instead, she flicked her wrist and sent him flying out of the dungeon with a surge of power.
Luca's body hurtled through the air, crashing outside the dungeon, the world spinning around him. When he finally hit the ground, he lay in the dirt, defeated and broken. As the dungeon doors sealed shut behind him, Vanessa's voice echoed in his ears:
"Come back when you're something more than an ant."
Health: 20/1800...
And then, silence.