Kai exhaled, keeping his grip firm as the Hollow King lunged. Its twin swords flashed—he met the first strike with a solid parry, angling his blade to deflect the force instead of absorbing it. The second sword came low—he dropped his weight, guiding it past his side with a quick redirection.
A rapid series of slashes followed, but his defense held firm. Soft parries for speed, hard parries for force. When the boss lunged, trying to impale him, he pivoted sideways, rolling his wrist to drag the enemy's momentum past him—deflecting, not blocking. The force behind each blow threatened to shake his grip, but he kept his movements precise—no wasted strength.
Still, the difference in strength left behind -2, -1, -4 on Kai's head each time their blades met with a bit more force than they should.
Then, his counterattack came.
Kai responded with tight, efficient movements, parrying high, then low, using soft deflections to control the flow. A thrust came straight for his chest—he pivoted, beat the blade aside, and stepped in with a riposte, his sword flicking out in a quick counter. The tip scraped across its ribs, forcing it back.
A series of -27, -36, -35 flashed above its head, the damage display struggling to keep up with fast attacks, showing it all at once instead.
The Hollow King retaliated with an overhead strike. Kai sidestepped, slipping under the swing in a low pass, then snapped his blade across its exposed flank in a clean draw cut. The skeleton staggered, its movements growing more erratic.
It had power and speed—but Kai had control.
The Hollow King roared and came swinging hard again. Instead of blocking, Kai slipped his back foot out, stepping diagonally into a different stance—a low evasive lunge that let the attack sail past while bringing him under the enemy's reach.
In that moment, his blade snapped out again.
A single, decisive draw cut across the Hollow King's exposed side.
A massive -40, -37, -38 appeared over its head.
Another roar—this time laced with frustration. Kai exhaled sharply, rolling his shoulders. He could already tell—the boss was starting to falter. It had speed. It had power. But it was predictable.
And predictability meant death.
This fight wasn't about stats or levels. It was about skill. The one thing he could fight toe to toe with the boss on.
The Hollow King roared, spinning into a brutal downward strike. Kai raised his sword in a high guard, but instead of taking the full impact, he angled the block just enough to glance it off. The force still rattled through his bones, but he stayed on his feet.
His stamina was running low. He couldn't afford to match power with power. Kai clenched his jaw. 1900 HP to 100. One mistake, and he was dead.
The boss lunged again. This time, Kai didn't block—he sidestepped at the last moment, letting the attack pass while his sword flicked out on the counter. A deep cut across its side. The Hollow King staggered, but its health barely budged.
He couldn't win by trading blows. He had to outlast it—make it burn more energy than he did. However, before the Hollow King could attack again, his mother, Jor, and Mimi had positioned themselves right behind him. Not interfering but ready to act if needed.
Kai smiled. Right. Not 1900 to 100 but 1900 to 500. That was more than enough.
"Attack relentlessly. Leave defense to me," Kai said and lunged forward. His teammates smiled behind him as they circled the Hollow King.
The Hollow King's twin swords came down in a brutal arc—met instantly by Kai's blade. He angled the parry, forcing the attack wide, then pivoted to deflect the follow-up strike. Not a single hit landed.
Jor's sword pierced deep into the Hollow King's ribs. The boss snarled, twisting to counter, but Kai was there—his sword intercepted the attack before it could reach. Mimi's fiery sword struck low, her sword carving into the beast's leg, setting it on fire. It staggered, but its fury only grew.
Another savage flurry. Kai stood firm. Every strike met resistance, his blade moving with cold precision, turning aside each attack before it could find flesh. His mother's sharp, purple hand-sword lashed against the Hollow King's back, burning through its fancy cape. Jor's sword drove forward again—another clean hit. Mimi danced around, her blades slicing shallow but constant. Occasional arrows of Sherry hitting in between.
A wild -30, -23, -56, -47, -25, -34, -46, -54, -26 continuously flashed over the Hollow King's bony head.
The Hollow King roared in frustration. It was attacking three, but fighting one.
Kai exhaled, stepping forward into another perfect deflection. His team wasn't perfect, but they didn't need to be. He was their shield. They were his sword.
And together, they were tearing the boss apart.
The Hollow King could not transform into other monster forms unless Kai left it unattended for 30 seconds. He was unwilling to do that. The damage dealt to the real Hollow King was the only true damage.
When its health dropped below 400 HP, Kai had no choice but to unleash the full might of his mana in a single attack with his Infernal Scion skill. The accumulated damage from the parries had sent him below 7 health. Even a single transformation and attack—into the beginning rat monsters, no less—could finish him off.
Another problem: the boss became unpredictable once it entered enraged mode, dipping below 20% of its health.
Kai wasn't going to risk that. He had to believe in his skill. It was the better choice of the two.
And it turned out to be a fucking perfect choice.
Kai's body ignited in furious orange flames. Not only his teammates, but even the Hollow King instinctively backed off as the heat flared.
It was useless for the monster, though.
Sword wasn't his main weapon.
Kai used the pause in the fight to pull out his bow. He felt the fire coursing through his veins—bright, hot, empowering. He poured it all into a single arrow.
The arrow erupted from the bowstring, a blazing comet of pure destruction. The moment it left his fingertips, the cavern seemed to hold its breath. The fire surged, swallowing everything in its path.
The Hollow King barely had time to react.
BOOM!
The impact was cataclysmic. The explosion detonated on contact, a raging inferno bursting outward like a dying sun. The cavern walls trembled as flames surged, twisting and roaring, swallowing the boss in an unstoppable tide of orange fire.
The Hollow King's agonized roar pierced through the chaos, its body convulsing as its bones warped and cracked, molten metal from its swords dripping onto the dirt below. Its health bar plummeted, chunks vanishing in an instant.
-200, -137, -175. And then—dead.
Kai exhaled, lowering his bow, his eyes closing slowly, his body losing control. The fire still flickered across his body, heat radiating from his skin. His sword may have held the line. But this? This was the true power.