Meanwhile, Gale and Baruss, working in perfect synchronization, harnessed the power of wind. Gale summoned a sharp gust that formed a concentrated blade of wind, and Baruss, not to be outdone, sliced the air with his own slash of sharp wind magic. The combined attack hit the beast’s two front feet, toppling the creature onto its back.

Seizing the opportunity, Rai swiftly jumped into the air, his aura flaring brighter than ever. With a deep inhale, he tapped into prana, unleashing an Atmaan explosion that significantly boosted his power. His body surged with newfound speed, and he rocketed toward the beast like a shooting star. With a mighty roar, Rai focused every ounce of prana into his fist, then descended at breakneck speed, delivering a thunderous punch straight into the beast's abdomen.

The force of the impact was so great that the ground beneath the beast cracked open, sending a shockwave through the area. The beast howled in agony, its monstrous form shuddering under the weight of the blow.

The four of them stood together, smiling in triumphant unison, their breath heavy from the battle.

“Well, there’s no way it’s getting back up from that,” Rai said confidently, his silver aura still faintly glowing as he wiped a bit of sweat from his brow.

Just as the words left his mouth, the beast groaned, the ground shaking as it slowly began to rise back to its feet, clearly undeterred by their combined assault.

The smiles on their faces instantly faded. Their eyes widened in disbelief. Rai’s jaw dropped.

“No way…” he muttered, his confident tone completely gone.

Baruss, looking up as the beast rose. “I forgot to bring an extra pair of underwear!” he said as his legs were trembling.

The beast, even in its ferocity, seemed to pause for a split second, as though it was equally shocked by Baruss’s declaration. Then, it just snarled.

Rai, Gale, and Rose turned to look at Baruss with wide, disgusted eyes. Even the beast seemed to be offended by his words.

“Seriously? This is the time for that?” Gale groaned, rubbing his temples.

“I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that,” Rose muttered, her red eyes flicking away in embarrassment.

Baruss, now realizing the gravity of the situation, glanced around awkwardly, then said, “Well, I’m just saying... I didn’t expect that thing to get back up, okay?!”

The group braced themselves, preparing for round two. But to their surprise, the beast, still reeling from Baruss's previous comment, did something unexpected: it reached into its massive mouth, pulled out a pair of underwear, and tossed it to Baruss.

Everyone stared, jaws hitting the floor, their faces a perfect mix of confusion and disbelief. Baruss blinked rapidly before speaking up, his voice full of hesitation. "Hey, whose underwear is this?" he asked, already bracing himself for the awkward truth.

The beast, seemingly unbothered, pointed to itself with a single claw, causing the group to freeze in utter silence. For a moment, time seemed to stand still.

Then Rai, with his usual comedic timing, broke the silence. "There is no way in hell this is gonna fit you," he said, a teasing grin spreading across his face.

To everyone’s horror—and bafflement—the beast proceeded to put on the red underwear to prove that it was indeed its own. The group’s eyes nearly popped out of their heads as they watched in stunned silence.

"That... is beyond elastic," Rose quipped, unable to hold back her disbelief.

Baruss, trying to keep his composure despite the absurdity of the situation, shrugged. "You know what, that’s a nice look on you... keep that red underwear on while we beat your ass." He gave the beast a mock thumbs-up, clearly making light of the ridiculousness of it all.

The group exchanged wide-eyed looks, wondering how their battle had taken such a bizarre turn.

The beast let out a deep, rumbling chuckle, its snarling grin bared wide. The shift in its demeanor was immediate—what had been a bizarre moment just seconds ago turned into a deadly serious confrontation. With a swift, mighty punch to the ground, the beast caused the earth to tremble beneath them, sending shockwaves that threw the group off balance.

Before they could recover, the beast opened its massive maw, unleashing a torrent of black fire from its throat. The flames crackled with an eerie energy, consuming everything in their path.

Rose, eyes narrowing, quickly fired a powerful beam of fire from her hands, matching the beast’s attack. The two streams of fire collided mid-air, creating an explosion that rocked the battlefield. The force of the blast sent all four of them careening backward, crashing into the nearby wall with a violent impact.

As Rai slowly picked himself up, still groaning from the impact, he weakly asked, “What the hell was that?” His voice barely audible through the daze.

Rose, groaning as she rose to her feet, replied in a similarly weakened tone, “That was Abyssflame.”

Gale, shaking off the rubble, squinted at her and asked, “What’s that?”

Baruss, trying to sound serious, answered with exaggerated confidence, “It’s flames from the Abyss,” while giving a cartoonish, overly solemn look to the others.

The group blinked in unison, staring at Baruss with unamused expressions.

Rose, ignoring Baruss’s odd display, clarified, “Yeah, those are the flames of hell itself, said to be able to burn everything in its path.”

Rai grinned, finding his footing and steadying himself. “Sick. This is getting more interesting by the second.”

However, despite the excitement, a fleeting thought gnawed at the back of his mind. Kromus had told him these beasts were supposed to lack intelligence, but the battle so far was proving the complete opposite. Rai furrowed his brow in confusion, silently thinking, what’s going on here?