However, this action was clearly taking a massive toll on the zombie monster.

  Its body was visibly undergoing terrifying changes.

  Its muscles swelled, then tore apart, unable to contain the frenzied power surging within. Dark red flesh glistened underneath.

  Its lower body, already withered and rotten, had now completely liquefied, turning into puddles of foul-smelling pus that dripped continuously onto the floor. It was as if that part of its body had simply given up.

  Its aura swelled, becoming more powerful than ever, but mixed with that power was the stench of its own impending doom.

  It was strong, but it felt like it was only one step away from complete colpse and death.

  However, that one step was, for Pandora, still an insurmountable gap.

  Her thoughts raced. She immediately queried the System in her mind: "System, can you convert all my Alchemical Elements into power for Elsa? A temporary boost?"

  【…Searching for rules matching this command…】

  【Rule match found.】

  【Myriad Alchemy products can be “reforged” to enhance their existing abilities. However, “reforging” requires time. Based on the current total resources, the estimated time is: thirty seconds.】

  It could be reforged. It could be boosted!

  But it needed thirty seconds!

  Thirty seconds… The time wasn't long, but in a battle of this level, it was more than enough to decide life or death.

  Pandora’s mind raced, weighing the pros and cons in a fraction of a second.

  However, the zombie monster on the wall was no longer giving her time to think!

  “ROAR—!”

  It let out a roar that sounded like it was tearing its own lungs apart.

  Its massive body crashed down from the wall!

  The Frenzy Mist continued to pour into its already bloated, deformed body from all directions. Blood flowed from its constantly tearing muscles. The monster was a bloated, ferocious beast, like it had been forcibly injected with a fatal overdose of stimunts and was about to explode.

  She couldn't wait any longer!

  “Elsa!” Pandora shouted in her mind.

  “Understood.” Elsa’s response was as calm and pcid as ever.

  Pandora took a deep breath. In those clear eyes, all hesitation and calcution had vanished, leaving only… pure resolve.

  She didn't retreat.

  She took the initiative, charging toward the monster that had just nded and was now exuding an aura of pure destruction!

  Unexpectedly, the “Frenzy Mist” flooding its body seemed to have severely affected its reaction speed. As Pandora closed in, it was surprisingly slow to react.

  Not until the sword of Elsa in Pandora’s hands, carrying a sharp whistle of wind, was about to touch its body, did it seem to react, like a sluggish robot.

  It raised that deformed, massive arm, but at a speed more than a beat slower than before, trying to deflect Pandora’s attack.

  However… this was a feint!

  The instant it raised its arm, Pandora flicked her wrist. The heavy chop transformed into a swift, tricky thrust! She poured every ounce of her strength into the strike!

  Shingk—!

  The sword light pierced the flesh without hindrance. The hide, forcibly ripened by the Frenzy Mist, didn't seem to have been strengthened; on the contrary, it had become more fragile.

  The long sword plunged deep into the arm it had used to block, an arm almost as rge as its torso!

  Success?

  No!

  Something’s wrong!

  Pandora looked at the scarlet eyes hidden behind the massive arm. In those eyes burned a madness that sought to destroy everything, but deep within was hidden a sliver of… cunning. A glint of triumphant cunning!

  Something’s wrong!

  Pandora froze, every muscle in her body locking up as if she’d been completely frozen in shock.

  She watched, helpless, as it raised the arm with her sword still embedded in it.

  And then—

  BOOM—!!

  That arm exploded!

  It burst into a cloud of viscous, flying blood mist!

  The force of the explosion sent the sword of Elsa flying!

  After that, its remaining, intact hand, shrouded in the blood mist, reached for Pandora, who seemed frozen in fear.

  Its mouth slowly opened, revealing fangs that could crush anything.

  Was this slowness a side effect of the Frenzy Mist destroying its agility? Or did it still retain a sliver of consciousness, savoring its final moment before a feast?

  It didn't matter.

  Shingk—!

  A faint sound, almost blending in with the explosion, of a bde piercing flesh rang out.

  A greatsword, pitch-bck and glowing with a sinister red light, precisely pierced through the back of the zombie monster’s head, emerging from its right eye socket, which still flickered with madness and a dying spark of cunning!

  A rotten eyeball, along with a small piece of brain matter, fell to the floor with a soft plop.

  Pandora’s lips curled into a broad, triumphant smile.

  Her body, light as a feather, nimbly and gracefully leaped out from the giant hand that was about to grab her, nding several meters away. She took in the whole scene.

  Elsa, dressed in her cssic maid’s uniform, held the greatsword that had pierced the monster’s skull with both hands, standing there silently. Her aura was demonic, her expression calm, as if she’d done nothing more than pour a cup of tea.

  She pulled the long sword free, and the massive corpse crashed to the ground. Then, she turned to Pandora and gave a slight bow.

  “I have fulfilled my duty, Master.”

  Thirty seconds was too long.

  Killing it didn't need that much time.

  Ten seconds was enough.

  “Hah… hah…”

  Pandora stood beside the massive, completely lifeless corpse of the second-rank Live Iron Golem, her chest rising and falling as she fought to calm the storm raging inside her after the intense battle.

  A sharp, stabbing pain still came from her broken ribs, but it had been temporarily suppressed by Elsa’s power and didn't affect her movements.

  She raised a hand, wiping a smear of the monster’s still-warm blood from her cheek. Her gaze then fell upon the two dark, shattered holes on the second floor—the ones she’d made herself.

  She shot a look at Elsa beside her.

  Elsa read her intention in an instant. Her figure flickered, appearing silently at Pandora’s side, the tip of her greatsword pointing to the ground, her whole body in a perfect stance, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.

  “Do you have any other tricks?”

  Pandora’s voice broke the deathly silence, a silence born from death and decay.