As soon as the door opened, the destructive wave of Chaos Flames I unleashed, containing my entire mana, engulfed the whole hall like a compressed inferno.

Within seconds, the interior began to burn like a molten furnace, reaching thousands of degrees.

A portion of the stone walls and pillars could not withstand the pressure of this sudden, massive explosion and shattered with a roar.

The hundreds of dog-faced mummies, giants, and other vile creatures filling the room... all those weak monsters, evaporated into nothingness the instant the dark fire touched them.

They vanished without understanding what hit them, without even a chance to scream.

When the cloud of dust and smoke cleared, the survivors were revealed. Sethrak, the Dungeon Boss, was still sitting on his throne.

With him were his elite guards, seven spearmen whose bodies were wrapped from head to toe in special runic cloths.

Their eyes glowed ominously in the darkness, and each appeared to be at least at the Fifth Star level.

The ruin boss Sethrak's body was engulfed in flames, yet he rose to his feet as if resisting the dark fire and let out an ear-splitting roar.

He fixed his bloodshot eyes on the duo standing at the entrance. More accurately, he fixed them on the one responsible for these destructive flames: me.

The remaining seven guards and the Boss lunged forward as a single unit. Fredrinn strategically took a step back. Now, no obstacle remained between the Boss and me.

Just as Sethrak raised his enormous scythes to swing them at me, I opened my palm. The small, smooth black sphere materialized there.

"Come, Zagna!"

Instantly, the four-armed, nightmarish monster burst forth from the sphere. Sethrak, who had been charging, was caught completely off guard by this sudden appearance.

Before he could even process what was happening, Zagna's razor-sharp tail pierced him directly through the heart.

Even with his heart pierced, Sethrak leaped back reflexively in pain.

He pressed a clawed hand to his chest, his fingers instantly soaked with gushing black blood. He knew he would die if this continued.

He raised his scythes and, with a sudden motion, cut down the seven elite guards standing behind him in a single, horizontal strike.

At first, it seemed illogical for him to destroy his own men. But within seconds, the life essence of all seven guards left their bodies, drawn like tendrils of black smoke toward the wound in Sethrak's heart.

In the blink of an eye, the mortal wound healed, as if it had never existed.

His hateful gaze scanned the three figures in the room. Fredrinn had drawn his sword, poised to attack. Zagna, with its massive body, had taken a protective stance in front of me.

As for me, I was sitting casually on the floor, exhausted from the attack, trying to rapidly gather mana and recover my strength.

Sethrak scraped his two enormous scythes together with a threatening, ear-splitting shriek. Sparks flew. Then, he lunged forward once more.

This time, Fredrinn made the first move. He also surged forward. He met the two crossed scythes with his sword, blocking with immense power. He then retreated slightly, attempting to redirect the scythes' force rather than meet it head-on.

But Sethrak extended his massive, canine jaws toward Fredrinn, trying to bite his neck. Fredrinn was forced to abandon his sword technique. As he tried to leap backward, he had to block a powerful kick from Sethrak.

"KRAAAAA!"

Sethrak unleashed a mind-numbing shriek that dulled the senses of everyone in the room. Fredrinn seemed slightly dazed by this 'Blood Howl'.

Sethrak exploited the opening, bringing his scythe down from above in an attempt to split Fredrinn's skull.

At the last possible second, Fredrinn swung his sword to block the blow. He simultaneously tried to move quickly behind Sethrak.

But the massive beast was impossibly fast despite its size, even faster than Fredrinn.

The other scythe swung toward Fredrinn as he tried to circle around. Fredrinn, using both hands on his hilt, parried the powerful blow.

The two were locked in a contest of strength. Just as Sethrak was overpowering Fredrinn and about to shatter his defense, a massive, unexpected fist from Zagna slammed into his great jaw, sending him flying sideways.

As Sethrak tried to struggle to his feet, Zagna grabbed him by his canine head, lifted him from the ground, and began slamming him from wall to wall like a rag doll. I couldn't comprehend Zagna's sheer, raw power. What in the world had Dr. Aris made this monster from?

To escape this humiliating predicament, Sethrak used his 'Ruin's Call' ability.

Large stone pillars erupted from the walls and floor, attempting to crush Zagna from both sides. But Zagna simply caught the pillars with its other two free arms.

Sethrak's head was still trapped in its grasp, and it began to squeeze with all its might. The sound of cracking bone filled the air. Sethrak raked his claws against Zagna's arms, but to no avail. Zagna was impossibly strong and durable.

Just then, a 'Curseborn Smoke' rose from Sethrak. A black mist, laced with blood, flooded the entire area.

Zagna, angered by the mist, stomped its foot, sending out a shockwave that dispersed the smoke.

But Sethrak had already broken free. He had sliced off both of Zagna's hands at the wrist, the very hands that had been crushing his head. Now he mockingly squeezed the severed giant hands, crushing them in his own.

Instantly, the life energy Sethrak absorbed with his 'Soul-Rending Claws' ability healed his wounds. But he could do nothing against the insidious 'Void Rot' afflicting his body. That curse continued to consume him from the inside, moment by moment.

More stone pillars shot toward the now two-handed Zagna, aiming to crush it.

Just then, Fredrinn swiftly intervened. Before the pillars could reach Zagna, he shattered them all in mid-air with his sword.

Zagna's severed hands were already beginning to regenerate, flesh and bone slowly knitting back together. It would be back to normal in a few minutes.

Zagna, not waiting for its arms to finish regenerating, charged forward again in a rage. Fredrinn attacked alongside it. Zagna's massive tail swung down on Sethrak like a club. Sethrak tried to dodge by pulling away, but this time he was met by Fredrinn's blade. He used his scythes to block the attack.

At that exact moment, Zagna's remaining intact fist slammed into Sethrak's undefended abdomen. Sethrak was hurled backward by the impact.

He quickly righted himself and managed to land on his feet.

The walls began to move again. Dozens of sharp stone spikes shot toward them from the floor and walls.

Fredrinn skillfully maneuvered his sword, dodging the spikes and slicing through any in his path. Zagna, however, did not stop. It charged forward, its massive body shattering the spikes as if they were toothpicks.

It demolished a wall that rose between it and Sethrak with a single punch. It clasped its two hands together like a sledgehammer, leaped, and tried to bring them down on Sethrak's head.

Sethrak instantly raised another spiked stone wall between them, but it was of little use.

Even as its hands were pierced, Zagna smashed through the wall and brought its unified fists down on Sethrak's skull.

Sethrak crashed to the ground. Before he could get up, Zagna grabbed him again, this time by the legs, and spun him around like a windmill.

Then it hurled him across the room into the far wall. Sethrak was left embedded in the stone.

Before Sethrak could recover, Fredrinn lunged forward. His sword was now coated in a dark aura.

Sethrak made a last-ditch effort to defend himself with his scythes, but his arms buckled under the weight of Fredrinn's strike. Fredrinn's sword pierced the flesh of Sethrak's chest and exited through his back.

Fredrinn then viciously twisted the blade inside him, shredding his internal organs. Sethrak tried to stop him, tensing his muscles and grabbing the bare blade with his hands.

His massive fingers bled. He tried to release his black smoke, but it was too late. Fredrinn ripped his sword back out.

Chunks of severed flesh flopped to the ground. Sethrak's fingers, which had tried to grip the blade, were also severed and fell away.

He lay on the floor in a pool of black blood, a massive, mortal gash across his torso. He tried to rise, but Zagna planted its massive foot on his one remaining hand and crushed what was left of it.

He lay there, wounded and helpless. The time had come.

But Sethrak used his last resort. The final ability of the 'Totem Clan Bond'.

"Berserker Rage!"

All his wounds sealed in the blink of an eye. His eyes turned a deep crimson, burning with pure hatred.

He repelled Zagna from his hand and blasted Fredrinn backward with a sudden, uncontrolled wave of power that erupted from his body.

His already large frame now looked bloated, his muscles swollen and more massive than before. The scythes he held now glowed a lethal, blood-red color.

He vanished from his spot instantly. The next moment, he materialized behind Fredrinn.

He swung a single scythe. With an incredible reflex, Fredrinn twisted at the last second to parry the attack, but the force of the blow broke his arm and shattered his armor, sending him flying backward.

Zagna lunged at Sethrak. It tried to impale the stationary boss with its massive tail, striking like a spear. But Sethrak, with a single cut, severed Zagna's nearly indestructible tail.

Zagna roared in pain and rage and charged again. Simultaneously, the injured Fredrinn swung his sword with his good arm to support the attack. But just as their attacks were about to land, Sethrak vanished. Both heroes halted their assault and spun around, searching for where the deadly monster had gone.

Sethrak stood right in front of Cassian, who was sitting exhausted on the ground trying to recover. Red foam dripped from the monster's mouth. He had raised his scythe. He was looking directly at me.

In that instant, I understood.

Yep. I was completely screwed.

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