Chapter 66: No Alliances
"This Boss is too strong!! We should join together, and fight--"
BAM!!
A dagger struck the horrified kid’s forehead, instantly draining all his remaining health, and he dropped to the ground, dead. The blade sank deep, silencing the desperate pleas of the very person who had hunted Asher across the frozen wasteland.
Asher watched, as his body and face changed into that of an old man. The illusion magic sustaining his youthful appearance dissolved, revealing the true, withered visage of the SSS-Rank necromancer.
"There is no we here."
Asher flicked his fingers, as his Mythic-Tier Devouring sword appeared in his hand; the red bone sword instantly emanated a suffocating energy. He had spent his entire life being betrayed and underestimated by the world; he would never rely on the fragile promises of a dying enemy.
"...?!"
The Sorrowful Priestess looked down at him, her eyes narrowing slightly. Amidst the chaos of the unsealing, she seemed to register the abyssal aura of his weapon, recognizing him not just as an intruder, but as a genuine threat.
"Don’t give me that look." Asher pointed his sword at her:
"You have two options, stay put, and let me kill you, or fight to the death." He ordered, his voice echoing through the massive stone chamber with the absolute authority of the Aetheldawn bloodline.
"Useless Human!!"
The Priestess murmured in a calm tone, her words stunning Asher in place. The sheer contempt in her melodic voice resonated with a divine, otherworldly power.
’She... Spoke?’ He was stunned. A dungeon boss was supposed to be a mindless creature, not a sentient being capable of looking down on him with genuine disdain.
This was the second time Asher had met a monster who could use human language, the first time, he was too angry to listen, but this was different. This felt ancient, as if he had awakened a deity trapped in a cage.
BOOOOM!!
".....?!"
He watched the ceiling as a white runic circle appeared, and from it, white lightnings dropped from the sky, heading towards him. The sheer speed of the magical bombardment left no room for hesitation.
"Don’t underestimate me!!"
Asher placed his energy into the sword, causing it to vibrate, and shot towards her. The dark Aether within him surged, eager to clash against the holy element of the Priestess.
{Judgement Strike - Activated.}
BOOOM!!
[Physical Attack Damage: -956,016.]
[Physical Attack Damage: -956,016.]
He sent out double slashes, only to hit a barrier; the first strike left cracks on it, and the last shattered her defense. The impact echoed like a detonating star, the sheer force of his Divine-Tier skill ripping through her absolute protection.
"...?!"
The Priestess watched her defense shattered, leaving her open; she slowly opened her mouth, and the next moment:
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!"
"FUCK!!"
Asher grabbed his ears, and dropped to his knees: ’What the hell??? This wasn’t listed in her abilities!!’ The system provided raw stats, but it didn’t account for hidden, unlisted environmental attacks like a localized sonic boom that threatened to liquefy his brain.
BOOM!!
Now, lightning fell in a frenzy, falling all over the place, with more than five heading straight towards him. The Priestess was punishing his audacity, turning the entire arena into a grid of holy execution.
Asher gritted his teeth, as blood flowed from his ears. The pain was blinding, but his survival instincts kept him conscious.
{Health: -10,000.}
{Health Point: 69,900/159,900.}
’This dungeon is like a game, so I have to think like a player... First, I will ignore her scream, and try my best to dodge the lightnings. That is the main attack.’ He violently forced his mind into a state of pure, analytical detachment. Panic was a luxury he couldn’t afford at the moment.
He rolled forward, as the lightnings struck his previous spot, turning the ground to ash. He rolled again, dodging another, then opened his palm, as a dark fireball appeared, swirling with highly concentrated, 9,999% pure Aether.
He leaped backward, dodging another lightning, and while in midair, threw the fireball straight at the Priestess’s face. It cut through the air like a meteor of compressed darkness.
BOOOOM!!!
[Magical Attack Damage: -705,000.]
[Priestess’s Health: 9,295,000/10,000,000.]
’I thought I am strong, but this is crazy.’ He thought; his attack stopped the screaming, and it also left a scratch on her face, which she wasn’t so happy about. An attack that would instantly vaporize an SS-Rank boss was nothing more than a superficial blemish on her colossal health pool.
"HOW DARE YOU HUMAN?!!!"
BOOOOM!!!
The Lightnings doubled in both speed and number, raining down all over the place, even burning the old man’s corpse into ashes in seconds. The dungeon chamber became a blinding strobe light of lethal holy energy.
Asher used his speed to its maximum, dodging all the lightning; close combat was useless here... No matter how he tried, he couldn’t get close to the priestess, so he switched to explosion Fire, and Curse daggers. He had to kite her, whittling down a mountain with a pickaxe while dancing through a minefield.
Curse daggers have a cooldown of ten seconds, which was good, but explosion fire was different; its Cooldown was a whole ten minutes. He had to perfectly sequence his rotation to maximize his damage output without leaving himself vulnerable.
He instantly moved to the side, dodging another lightning, and threw his dagger at her. Due to her huge body, he never missed a shot.
[Magical Attack Damage: -705,000.]
[Priestess’s Health: 5,770,500/10,000,000.]
’I will hide in stealth, and attack every ten seconds... Without seeing her target, she won’t be able to target me, but she can still attack.’ He merged with the shadows of the violently trembling room, letting the Dark King Judgement armor amplify his lethal rhythm.
’4, 3, 2, 1.’
Asher leaped backward, dodging another lightning, and threw his dagger again; due to being in stealth, the damage increased, exploiting the armor multipliers.
[Magical Attack Damage: -870,000.]
[Priestess’s Health: 4,900,500/10,000,000.]
"ARGHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
".....?"
Asher was stunned, as she screamed again, but this time he didn’t feel any pain; instead, the lightning runic circle above shattered into pieces like broken glass. The sudden cessation of the lethal bombardment felt fundamentally wrong.
’Wait! Is she... Is this the second stage?’
[Priestess’s Health: 4,900,500/10,000,000.]
Next Moment:
[Priestess’s Health: 8,000,000/8,000,000.]
"You got to be kidding me!!" Asher exclaimed. Sara already told him about this, but seeing it was a bit annoying; all his previous attacks were now invalid. The meticulous, deadly grind he had just executed was completely wiped away by a singular, rigid rule.
[Name: Sorrowful Priestess.]
[Class: Special Boss.]
[Rank: SSS-Rank (Peak).]
[Agility: 80,000.]
[Energy: 1,440,000.]
[Defense: 1,520,000.]
[Health Point: 8,000,000.]
[Physical Attack: 400,000.]
[Magical Attack: 640,000.]
Asher watched as the Priestess’s eyes turned from white to red, then two huge feathery wings burst out from her back. And she ascended into the air, her arms stretched downward on both sides, radiating an oppressive aura of a fallen angel preparing to judge the damned.
[Skill: Summons balls of holy lights which creates five knight warriors with 50% of her stats: If summoned warriors deal damage, summon five more.]
’Here we go again.’ Asher gripped his Mythic-Tier sword, his eyes locking onto the new system mechanics. The fight hadn’t even truly begun.