That is when the Hellish fight began, in one fiery blaze….

— THUMP! THUMP! —

The entire realm shook, the air as hot as a furnace and the stone platform tilting slightly. The human and the wolf tensed as they stared at the giant flaming heart in the air.

— THUMP! THUMP! —

Along with that powerful resonating beating, balls of flames spawned near the heart, soon transforming into….chickens?! Those were goddamn flaming chickens! A second later, it began raining down on them.

— THUMP! THUMP! —

The flaming chicken projectiles were fast, hella fast!

Jack quickly threw himself on the side, the area he had just left already charred burning rock. Death came from above, and they were **ing getting out of there!

The two ran, no sprinted. Their survival instinct kicked in as they knew that they couldn't stop for even a second. Rock shrapnels exploded all over, slamming against them, reminding them of how close of a call it was.

In their wake, they left a sea of fire, one that consumed all, one that nothing could resist. As fiery chickens kept relentlessly being thrown, they felt trapped. It was as if no matter what they did, there would never be an end.

"Woo!

" (Panicking!)

Moon Moon was going crazy. What was all that?! There was fire everywhere. FIRE!!! It knew fire to be a good thing. Fire allowed one to cook meat, and cooked meat was good. But this, this?! This was too much fire! Way too much fire!

"Just keep running. It has to end at some point. Hopefully, that point will happen before we die.

"

Hearing its master's voice worked wonder. He was right. It would do its best, for his sake. It had to make it proud. It had too! It resolved itself, even raising its head high up as it ran, howling.

— Howl! —

Jack grinned. This howl didn't contain any worry, or confusion, only a deep conviction. They would fight until the end, no matter what end awaited them.

By now, the entire arena had been turned into a sea of fire— or close. Only a few spots were remaining. They were trapped.

All that existed in this realm was the platform, and the fire, and their sorry asses trying to survive it. As for the exterior of the area? There was nothing, only an endless void.

Then they ran out of places to stand. The fire began to consume them at an incredibly rapid pace. The inferno clung to their bodies, causing red damage numbers to appear non-stop.

-1

-1

-1

-1

-1

-1

-1

"It seems it's the end for us, my friend.

"

"Woo!

" (Disappointed.)

The now flaming wolf hung its head low, huddling next to its master. As usual, they would perish together.

Mission failed, we'll get them next time.— or not?

Suddenly, a gush of fresh air engulfed them as the fire disappeared. They had somehow survived the first round?! Sharing a look, they began chugging potions, warily glancing at the boss.

It was unmoving, it was silent, it just floated there. Somehow it seemed listless as it didn't beat anymore. Then it slowly floated down, with the grace of an unsullied tissue.

"I'm not sure what's happening, but in doubt, you know what to do….FUCK IT UP!

"

"Woo!

"

The two charged at it as they began swinging Cluckinator and claws, respectively. A puff of red would escape the creature with every attack as if a ghost very slowly getting exorcised.

But it suddenly started floating again, slowly rising out of their reach. In the sky, it then began to beat again, increasingly louder.

— Thump! —

— Thump! Thump! —

— THUMP! THUMP! —

That's when they knew the fight was resuming.

As if prompted by some divine power, the altar they were standing on began rumbling. It almost felt like they were on the belly of an ancestral titan waking up.

— CRACK! —

— Rumble!—

Suddenly the rock began cracking at places, with pillars rising. They all had different shapes. Some were tall, some were thin, some were straight, and some incredibly distorted.

"I'm not sure I like this, not gonna lie.

"

"Woo!

" (Agreeing!)

What would happen this time around? The two awaited anxiously. But it turned out that it was some more of the earlier attacks as more flaming projectiles spawned.

— THUMP! THUMP! —

That's when the rain of fire resumed. So what if they had survived the first wave? That heart just wouldn't give up that easily!

"Stay next to me and remain near the fiery birds,

" Jack instructed.

"Woo!?

" (Confused.)

Were they going to fight back? Should it be ready to pounce on the fire chickens? The chicken part was easy. The issue was the fire part. Fire was hot, really hot!

"We have to be careful on how we spread the fire,

" Jack explained.

This was the new plan. They had to dodge fast but run slow—this way, the entire arena wouldn't get overrun by residual flames.

"Woo!

" (Pained)

Moon Moon was having an issue. It could avoid just fine when running at full speed, but now it had to stay near its master. At least, it was managing to avoid a direct hit, even when it felt its fur and skin burning.

Jack did his best to help his pet, bottling in a laugh. Right now, Moon Moon's ass was literally on fire! It made for a tragic yet ridiculous sight.

But there was good news; most of the arena was free of fire, just in time for the next round to start. Seemingly noticing that its attacks were neither connecting nor pushing them too far into a corner, the heart got angry.

"Holy **, that thing's mad! Get ready!

"

"Woo!

"

They weren't sure how, but they could both sense that something huge was coming. It began to thump increasingly fast, with new projectiles spawning every time. There weren't just a few either, but countless!

— THUMP! THUMP! —

— THUMP! THUMP! —

— THUMP! THUMP! —

— THUMP! THUMP! —

The two could only stare in shock at the beating heart and the red sky, illuminated by the many projectiles just floating there.

That's when they felt the heart's gaze on them. This time it was killing them…