Levi inhaled sharply as the essence pooling in his palm slowly sank itself into his hand, infusing it with pure Destruction power.

He'd never used an essence in this way himself, personal powerups had never been an approved use for dungeon essence, but there were always stories. So he wasn't surprised by the burning pulse that echoed against his own as his hand glowed brilliant orange.

A multilayered bellow of fury shook the air as every creature in the dungeon roared in perfect sync. The ground trembled as they all rushed Levi at top speed.

Since essence had so many powerful applications in crafting, items that could last for years instead of hours, it was almost unthinkable to waste one on a temporary boost during a single fight.

But if you wanted to rile up an entire dungeon? Nothing else came close.

Every Destruction-aligned item he carried shone out like a beacon in his mind through some unknown new sense. His hand unconsciously moved to rest on the hilt of his Destruction sword as the blade's power stone hummed in sympathy. A hungry resonance built and built, pressing against Levi's control.

If he were any other low-level fighter, that power would have overwhelmed him and immediately burst out in uncontrolled waves of destruction.

Yet the violent pressure of the pent-up power didn't reach the level of control necessary to properly use one's own mana and stamina beyond the tenth threshold. Levi had once surpassed the fourteenth. His control was steel-tight and unflinching. Even the glow of his hand calmed, restrained by his will.

The combined forces of the Beast dungeon's third floor charged from every corner, disregarding territory boundaries and terrain, Levi's presence a beacon of absolute unforgivable hatred.

The bosses in their final arena broke down the walls around them, crossing the open hills at a speed that had them closing in on the racing kalvex packs. The dinosaurs formed a thundering herd, drawing in together from their separate haunts, closing in.

No going back now. Until the effect faded, he'd turned himself into an impossible-to-ignore target for anything not Destruction-aligned.

Wind rushed against his face and hissed through Snap's brown-gold wings as they flew at full surge. He caught a glimpse of Irene flying beside him, keeping up for now, but she'd turned back to stare in shock at the oncoming stampede.

"Stay out of their way, and they should ignore you!" Levi shouted.

Irene only hesitated a moment, then nodded and veered Snip upward and out of the way.

He had to trust it would be enough. As much as he wanted to watch over her every moment, between the ongoing battle over Becca's tether and the destructive power he held barely restrained, he couldn't afford to let himself be distracted.

The air vibrated with the gathered enmity of the dungeon as another shriek trembled the air, a unified bellow of rage as the collected inhabitants of the floor closed in. Levi saw the tyrannosaurs on his left, an overly-fast lobsteroc with a plus designation closing in from behind.

Levi had anticipated his escape necessitating a somewhat explosive exit, but after seeing the inhabitants of this floor his expectations had taken a steep upward turn.

This wouldn't just be an escape. It would be a rampage.

Hopefully Javier had managed to get any civilians out of the way. At this point it was too late to worry. He'd done what he could. The die was cast. All that remained was to survive what would play out.

Snap surged stamina, far outstripping the enhanced regen from the elixir, wings beating hard and fast, but that would only last so long.

Ahead, the entrance gateway back to the previous floor shifted and stretched, visibly warping as though the carved claws of its frame were pulling it open wider. Instead of being roughly twice as tall as Levi, it was already twice that and still growing. Making room for even the largest monsters to follow him out.

Then they dove into the portal and burst out into the boss room on the second floor.

He didn't have time to see what they were grabbing from this one, Snap was surging stamina to race across the room and out the entry door before it could slam shut. They crossed the cramped-seeming room in a split second, the portal behind them continuing to expand. The entry door trembled as they passed it, the architecture shifting to expand that opening as well.

They soared up and out over the gorrillagus's forest, the sound of the stampede behind them already pouring out through the portal up. But for a moment they were safe, this room tall enough that they could--

Something moved out of the corner of Levi's eye. He raised his sword instinctively, flaring its Destructive Slash even as the Giganto Gorillagus slapped its massive hand down at them.

The huge black monstrosity had been waiting in ambush to swat them out of the air, but it had underestimated its opponent.

Levi's sword caught the massive hand, the force of their collision driving its Destruction edge deep into the massive gorilla's palm. Into... and straight through.

He'd misjudged the strength of the essence-enhanced slash. In a flare of orange light the blade sheared the huge hand diagonally in half without resistance. Three fingers and half the palm went tumbling away beside them, but the arm wasn't even slowed by the slash.

The blow crushed Levi's sword arm back into his chest and threw Snap's trajectory off, one wing beating madly to try to restabilize them as they lost altitude.

The gorillagus screamed and flailed, its other hand smacking the already faltering Snap and sending them into an uncontrolled spin.

Levi couldn’t see clearly what was happening as they tumbled through the air in unstable descent, but he caught a glimpse of a dozen tyrannosaurs charging behind them through the entrance to the gorilla's forest. The rest of the horde wouldn't be far behind. They were losing their lead already.

They crashed through the treetops, then Snap abruptly tucked wings and dove as the gorillagus stomped right where they'd been a second before. Its angry, pained shrieks echoed across the dungeon's walls. A hundred other creatures roared in symphony.

Levi didn't remember the last time he'd felt so intensely alive, so incredibly sharply focused on every moment. This felt more like the dungeons he was used to. Riding the razor-edge of disaster second by second, death awaiting at the slightest mistake.

Swarms of flying fish from the next room came rushing in to meet them, not even waiting for them to reach their door before swarming. Thick enough that they momentarily blotted out sight of the forest below.

Levi glanced back, but it was too late to change course. The pursuing lobsterocs were already flying out into the room, blocking their chances of returning that way.

At least the fish swarms were more fragile. Getting into a midair scrap against thirty flying lobsters would be suicidal.

This wasn't going to be pretty either way.

Snap drove his wings as fast as they could flap, trying to outfly the oncoming swarm, but there was only so much evasion possible when they had to get past - or through - thousands of bladed, biting, and slicing flying fish.

The gorillagus leaped up, swatting at them. Snap reacted instantly, casting Pulse to throw them out of the way.

Behind, the onrushing wave of furious dinosaurs, sabercats, kalvex, and roc-lobsters closed in fast.

There was no time to stop and think. Power pulsed in his hand. The tether in his mind twisted and stretched.

"Up, go over."

Snap obliged, casting Pulse twice in quick succession, hurling themselves upward and shoving down the closest swarms of flying fish. Levi grimaced. At this rate he'd burn through all his mana long before they escaped the dungeon, and with the lobsteroc's regens all locked to stamina, once they used it that would be it.

Below, the sea of fish doubled over on itself like a living thing, twisting as they climbed to meet them.

The higher vantage revealed no secure route forward. The doorway to the next room was completely blocked by the vast collection of fish still flying up toward them by the hundreds.

No way out, no way back. Only one choice left. They had to go through.

Bad idea, bad idea, bad idea!

It was the only idea he had.

Levi gripped his Destruction sword tight, unlatching his harness with his other hand.

"Be ready," he told Snap, then jumped off.