After Hell Rider possessed the demon's body, he began swinging his demonic spear, creating a massive fiery storm aimed directly at the team.
Isaac soared forward with great speed to face the storm, forming a massive wall of fire to block it. Shouting defiantly, he declared, "Let's see whose flames are stronger—your hellish inferno or the noble flames of the phoenix!"
The clash of fire unleashed catastrophic destruction upon the volcanic castle, raising the temperature to unbearable levels. The fiery storm intensified, and it appeared that Isaac was struggling to hold his ground. But he refused to back down, knowing that failure could spell disaster for them all.
With a confident gleam in his eyes, his flames grew brighter, turning golden. He screamed with all his might and slowly began pushing back, though he was still visibly struggling.
"Show me true phoenix fire, Isaac! I believe in you!" Morpheus called out, his voice filled with encouragement.
Empowered by the words, Isaac's eyes blazed golden as his fire turned into a brilliant golden inferno. With newfound determination, he dispersed the fiery storm completely, shielding his companions. However, his exhaustion was evident—his power had been greatly drained.
The demon smirked mockingly, uttering unintelligible words in its guttural language.
Morpheus turned to Rosemarie, saying, "Now that Hell Rider has taken over the demon's body, we can finally destroy him. In his previous form, he was just pure flames. But now he has weaknesses. Use your insight ability to find them."
Rosemarie nodded, her forehead glowing with a violet chrysanthemum symbol. Her eyes lit up as she activated her ability. After a moment, she said, "He has two spiritual energy sources—one on the left side of his chest and the other on the right."
Morpheus smiled with determination. "Finally! If we destroy those sources, we'll defeat Hell Rider. It seems there are dimensional restrictions on his power—he can't use his full strength. That's to our advantage."
Charging forward with shadow energy coursing through his sword, Morpheus thought to himself, This is it. Either now or never. I need to put myself in danger to trigger my berserk state.
He swung his sword directly at the demon's chest, but the demon blocked the attack with his trident spear, creating a violent clash of sparks between fire and shadow. The collision felt like a battle between light and darkness, yet neither side was inherently evil—they were simply fighting for strength.
Morpheus quickly teleported behind the demon, aiming a horizontal slash at its back. The demon blocked the attack again, their weapons colliding with tremendous force, sending both of them staggering backward.
The demon's physical strength isn't overwhelming, Morpheus analyzed, but its fire is dominant and powerful. I need to force it to take me seriously and put myself in real danger.
Summoning shadow bombs, Morpheus dashed at the demon, launching the bombs at breakneck speed. The demon slammed its spear into the ground, forming a fiery shield that caused a massive explosion.
Amidst the chaos, Morpheus charged his blade with shadow energy and hurled it at the demon with incredible speed. The demon assumed it was a missed throw and retaliated with a fiery spear attack. But Morpheus teleported beside the demon, holding a shadow bomb, and struck at close range. The demon dodged the bomb, which exploded on the ground.
Just as the demon leaped away to avoid the blast, a shadow portal opened in front of him. From it emerged the sword Morpheus had thrown earlier, striking the left side of the demon's chest.
The demon fell to its knees, coughing blood, and looked at Morpheus in confusion. With a sly grin, Morpheus said, "I don't know if you understand me, but this was my plan all along. Now you only have one energy source left."
"Attack now, together!" Morpheus commanded Isaac and Rosemarie.
Rosemarie summoned massive vines, shaping them into a sharp spear, while Isaac gathered every ounce of his remaining strength to form a golden fiery arrow. Both launched their attacks simultaneously at the demon.
As the demon knelt on the ground, coughing blood, it reached into the right side of its chest and pulled out its second energy source—a black crystal radiating with malevolent energy.
Morpheus froze in disbelief. "Is it… trying to kill itself?"
But before he could process, the demon did the unthinkable. It swallowed the crystal with its demonic jaws. Its bones cracked and expanded as it grew in size, reaching nearly four meters tall. Its eyes burned with a primal fury, now resembling a rampaging beast.
Although Rosemarie and Isaac's attacks inflicted serious wounds, the demon seemed unfazed. A renewed sense of dread washed over Morpheus.
The demon vanished with incredible speed, reappearing beside Rosemarie and delivering a devastating punch aimed at her stomach. She managed to shield herself with her vines, but the sheer force of the attack hurled her into the castle walls.
The demon scanned its surroundings with feral eyes until its gaze locked onto Isaac. Reacting quickly, Isaac formed a massive fiery spear and hurled it at the demon. The spear struck, but the demon continued charging toward Isaac, undeterred.
It reached Isaac in an instant, grabbing his face and slamming him violently into the castle walls.
Watching the carnage, Morpheus felt the familiar surge of rage and destruction rise within him. His eyes turned completely black, and his aura became tainted with bloodlust.
The demon notices Morpheus's savage aura, clapping its hands together as if acknowledging a worthy opponent.
Their battle begins—a ferocious clash of raw power and instinct. Moving faster than the naked eye can track, they leave behind afterimages, each collision shaking the ground and sending shockwaves through the air. The battlefield is left in ruins wherever they fight, with the earth shattered and echoes of their strikes reverberating like thunder.
Morpheus, despite being in a berserk state, retains fragments of rational thought. This isn't enough, he realizes. I need to become even more enraged.
He begins recalling his most painful memories, each one fueling his fury. His aura grows darker and more bloodthirsty, becoming almost tangible with its malice. His eyes, now completely black, begin to bleed as the intensity of his rage overwhelms his body.
The fight becomes even more brutal and relentless. Each strike is more devastating than the last, the sheer force of their combat pushing them both beyond their limits. Their movements are driven by pure instinct, their surroundings disintegrating in the wake of their power.
Two nobodies, fighting over nothing, driven solely by their primal instinct to win.
Meanwhile, Isaac, using his phoenix regeneration ability, and Rosemarie, healed through her vines, recovered from their injuries.
Rosemarie shouted, "Morpheus! Stop! You're going to hurt yourself!"
But Isaac, with a determined look, said, "How pathetic we are. While Morpheus risks his humanity, we fell to just a few blows. We've lived as nobles, never needing anything, while Morpheus has fought this unjust world his entire life. Instead of stopping him, we should join him."
His fiery spirit reignited, and he roared, "Let's join him and burn with everything we have until all that's left is white ash!"
Inspired by Isaac's unexpected resolve, Rosemarie's fighting spirit ignited. Her aura became more noble and powerful as she crafted the strongest vines she'd ever created, forming a spear. She hurled it with incredible speed, piercing the demon's left shoulder.
The demon screamed, disoriented, as Isaac's flames intensified. With a resounding cry, he invoked, "Royal Phoenix Skill: Eternal Flames," forming a colossal flaming sword that cleaved through the castle. He struck the demon, severing and incinerating its right arm entirely.
Morpheus seized the opportunity, delivering a devastating shadow-charged slash that bisected the demon in two.
As the demon fell, Isaac collapsed to his knees, blood dripping from his mouth. Damn, I'm too weak to use the Royal Phoenix Ability, he thought.
Rosemarie returned to her normal form, collapsing from exhaustion. I overexerted myself too much, she reflected.
Morpheus exited his berserk state and fell unconscious.
Silence enveloped the battlefield until an enigmatic voice echoed: "Congratulations, brave ones, on your victory over the first dimension."