The chamber reeked of blood.
The stone floor beneath them was slick with crimson, bodies littering every corner of the battlefield. The only sounds that remained were their ragged breaths and the distant, rhythmic dripping of blood from the lifeless corpses.
Ray stood among the fallen, his fingers curled so tightly around his sword hilt that his knuckles turned white.
His chest heaved, adrenaline still thrumming in his veins, but the battle was over. The rage that had driven him moments ago now sat heavy inside him, suffocating.
But it hadn't been a victory.
Not when so many lay dead.
Garrick's body lay a few feet away.
His shield—the same shield that had protected them countless times—was cracked, its once-polished surface stained with blood. His massive frame, which had stood like an unshakable wall, was now motionless.
His face was frozen in a grimace—not of pain, but defiance. Even in death, he had refused to submit.
Irene knelt beside him, her trembling hands hovering over his chest, glowing faintly with healing magic. But it was useless. She knew it was useless.
Still, she didn't stop.
Her breaths came in shallow gasps, her fingers pressing desperately against his wounds, her magic flickering like a dying candle. Her lips moved, whispering incantations—prayers, pleas, desperate denials.
"Come on," she choked out. "Come on, just—just a little more—"
But there was no response. No movement.
Garrick was gone.
A sharp, broken breath tore from Irene's throat, her hands shaking violently. The glow of her magic flickered once, then faded entirely.
Selene turned away, her jaw clenched tight, her hand gripping the fabric of her sleeve so hard it nearly tore.
She ripped a strip from it and tied it around her wounded arm, her usual smirk nowhere to be seen. "We need to move," she muttered, voice void of emotion. "Lingering here won't bring them back."
Vince pushed himself up from the wall with a groan, his bloodied hand clutching his side. He spat on the ground, his face twisted in disgust.
Nathaniel didn't respond. He simply wiped his spear against a fallen mercenary's cloak, his movements mechanical, his eyes distant. His body was still, but his fingers trembled slightly around his weapon.
Bary had been the last to die.
Their fight had been brutal—Nathaniel's spear against Bary's Great Sword. He had fought like a cornered beast, dodging and striking with the precision of a man who had never lost before.
But in the end, Nathaniel had driven his spear straight through his throat, pinning him to the blood-soaked ground.
And yet, there was no satisfaction in the kill.
Only loss.
Lucien exhaled sharply. "I don't like this."
"No one does," Nathaniel muttered.
Irene wiped the back of her hand across her damp cheeks, swallowing her grief. She rose from Garrick's side, her face pale but resolute.
Ray felt the back of his neck prickle, his breathing shallow.
Nathaniel took a slow breath, then stepped forward. "You did great Ray. Now let's go."
After resting for a while, they stepped inside the boss room.
And the doors slammed shut behind them.
***
The moment they crossed the threshold, the darkness around them came alive.
One by one, torches flared to life with eerie green flames, casting distorted shadows against the damp stone walls. The unnatural fire flickered wildly, as if alive, its glow bathing the chamber in an unsettling luminescence.
The air was thick with an unsettling tension, heavy with a scent neither of blood nor decay—something far worse. It clung to their lungs, turning each breath into a slow, suffocating weight.
At the center of the hall stood a lone figure.
A stone knight.
But something was deeply off about the air he exuded.
Then, its eyes flared.
Twin embers of emerald fire ignited within its sockets, casting an eerie glow as it slowly lifted its head.
Its gaze locked onto Ray.
And it did not waver.
The others tensed, hands instinctively tightening around their weapons. A cold sweat formed along Ray's spine, but before he could react—
Ash moved.
Silently, effortlessly.
Unlike the others, he wasn't frozen in place. He didn't flinch at the sight of the Black soldier, nor did he react to the suffocating atmosphere pressing down on them.
He was immune to fear.
His expression remained unreadable as he shifted in the shadows, slipping out of sight with practiced ease.
He wasn't here to fight.
Not yet.
He was here to observe.
And when the time came—when the moment was right—he would strike for the Rune.
***
The black knight exuded no breath, no sound—only an overwhelming presence that made the very air feel heavier, pressing down on their lungs like a vice.
Its armor was obsidian, void-like, polished to an unnatural sheen that reflected the dim light of the chamber. Veins of green light pulsed beneath its cracked surface, jagged and imposing.
But it was the sword that drew Ray's gaze.
A pitch-black blade, its edge gleamed with an eerie green hue, faintly pulsating—almost as if alive.
So this is the God-Slayer sword, Ash thought, his gaze lingering hungrily on the weapon.
Too bad. If not for the absurd requirements, I would have taken it. But alas, it was meant for Ray.
Nathaniel exhaled sharply. "Formation," he ordered, voice cutting through the suffocating silence.
"Ray, stay back. You're too weak for this."
Ray clenched his fists but obeyed. He stepped back, though his sharp gaze never left the knight.
Nathaniel's eyes never leaved the enemy in front of them. The weight of leadership pressed heavy in his tone, leaving no room for argument.
Selene twirled the daggers in her hands, her stance light, balanced, ready to react at a moment's notice.
Vince already had an arrow nocked, his fingers tightening on the bowstring.
Lucien murmured an incantation under his breath, magic swirling at his fingertips.
Irene's staff glowed faintly, her expression tense, ready to heal at a moment's notice.
But then suddenly,
The black knight moved.
{A/N: Changing soldier to Knight}
And all hell broke loose.
One second it was standing still.
The next—
It was right in front of Nathaniel.
A normal fighter wouldn't have even registered the movement.
But Nathaniel wasn't normal.
CLANG!!
Spear met sword.
The impact sent a thunderous shockwave through the chamber, forcing Vince and Lucien to stumble backward.
Nathaniel's arms shook from the force, his feet digging into the stone as he barely held his stance.
"Shit—!" He gritted his teeth, straining against the sheer weight behind the attack.
It's too fast.
But he didn't retreat.
He twisted his spear, redirecting the force, and lashed out with a counterattack.
A sharp, precise thrust—
The Black Knight tilted its body slightly, dodging with inhuman ease.
Nathaniel's eyes widened.
The sword whipped around in a clean, horizontal arc—aimed to decapitate him.
I can't dodge it.
But before the blade reached him—
THWACK!!!
An arrow struck the sword, shifting its trajectory by a mere inch.
An inch that saved Nathaniel's life.
Vince had fired at the last possible second.
Nathaniel rolled backward, gritting his teeth as he adjusted his stance. "Thanks—"
Before he could finish, Selene struck.
She emerged from the shadows like a specter, her daggers flashing in the dim light.
She aimed for its spine.
But the knight—
Didn't even turn.
Instead—
Its elbow shot backward, slamming into her ribs.
The impact was brutal.
Her eyes bulged as she was launched across the chamber, slamming into the wall with a sickening crack.
She gasped, blood spraying from her lips.
Yet, she wasn't dead.
She had twisted her body at the last second, mitigating the damage.
She was still in the fight.
But barely.
Lucien, who had been waiting for an opening, finished his spell.
"Infernal Bind!"
From the ground, chains of fire erupted, snaking toward the knight like living serpents.
They latched onto its arms, its legs, burning and restraining.
Lucien shouted, sweat dripping down his forehead.
"NOW! HIT IT WITH EVERYTHING!"
Vince's arrow shot forward, aimed straight at his eyes.
Nathaniel lunged, his spear glowing with mana, targeting the knight's heart.
Selene moved again, despite her injury.
Even Irene joined in, hurling a blast of light magic—her only offensive spell—straight at the enemy.
It's not that easy to win, Ash thought watching the tactic they used.
CRACK!!!
The chains shattered, along with their hope.
Like fragile glass.
The knight ripped free from the spell as if it was nothing.
Vince's arrow whistled through the air, aimed straight for the knight's eye.
CLANG!!!!
The arrow shattered mid-flight, deflected with a casual flick of the knight's blade. It had seen the attack before Vince even loosed it.
Nathaniel lunged in the same instant, his spear a blur as it sought the weakest point in the knight's armor. A direct stab to the exposed joint of its shoulder.
But before the tip could even graze metal—
The knight twisted and sidestepped and with a flick of its wrist.
Nathaniel's spear was deflected to the side, his own momentum throwing him off balance.
And then the Black Knight slammed a brutal and lightning-fast fist at him.
It crashed into Nathaniel's ribs, lifting him off the ground before launching him backward. He hit the floor hard, choking on his breath as a sharp, splintering pain exploded through his side.
Selene moved like a shadow, her daggers flashing, one aiming for the knight's throat, the other for its spine.
But the knight didn't turn.
As if sensing the attack, it simply shifted its weight, letting the first dagger miss by a hair's breadth. Then, with an almost lazy motion, its arm snapped back—yet again.
A backhand slap.
It caught Selene clean across the face.
Crack!!
Her body twisted in the air before she slammed into the ground, blood splattering from her mouth.
Lucien's voice rang through the hall. "Selene, hold on!"
The air crackled with mana as he unleashed a blast of fire toward the black knight, the flames roaring to life as they crashed against its back. The heat was intense enough that Ray could feel it even from a distance.
Yet, the knight did not even dodge.
Flames surged forth, colliding against the knight's armor.
And faded.
The spell—erased. As if it had never existed.
Lucien stumbled back, shock flashing across his face.
Irene rushed to Selene's side, the glow of her healing magic already enveloping Selene's body. "She's alive!" she called out, her voice barely hiding her panic. "But she—she won't last if we don't—"
A shadow loomed over her.
The black knight was already moving toward them.
Its green eyes burned with something almost amused, as if it was enjoying this. It had been playing with them—testing them.
And now, it was ready to kill.
Ray's heart pounded.
His hands shook.
His mind screamed at him to move.
But they had told him to stay back.
They had believed they could handle this.
Yet, one by one, they were falling.
Nathaniel was still struggling to rise. Vince was preparing another arrow, but his hands were unsteady. Lucien's magic had failed, and Irene was too busy keeping Selene alive to do anything else.
And the black knight—
The black knight was about to crush them.
Something snapped inside Ray.
No.
His body moved before his mind could process it.
His feet dug into the ground, and in a single burst, he shot forward. The world blurred for a moment, his mind hyper-focused on his target.
The knight had raised its foot, ready to bring it down on Irene—
Ray's sword flashed.
A sharp, clean arc.
His blade met the black knight's ankle at the perfect angle, striking in the precise moment it had lifted its weight.
The impact made the creature stumble.
"MOVE!" Ray shouted.
Irene snapped out of her trance, scrambling backward with Selene in her arms.
The black knight turned its head toward him, its fiery gaze locking onto his.
Ray felt it again—that suffocating pressure. The sheer wrongness of the being before him. It was beyond him, beyond anything he should have been able to fight.
Yet—
He could feel it.
Its movements.
Its attacks.
The way it fought.
Every move, every strike, every defense—with his Sword God trait he could see it all.
After seeing his sword attacks form the sidelines,
His body understood.
His mind understood.
A thrill ran through him, something cold and sharp, yet exhilarating.
Tsk, show off, Ash thought with a expression as if he had eaten shit.
Ray's lips parted, breath shaky, voice steady. "I'll tell you when to move."
Nathaniel, clutching his side, turned toward him. "What?"
Ray's eyes never left the black soldier.
"I can see it," he murmured, more to himself than anyone else. His grip tightened around his sword. "I know how it fights."
Lucien stared at him in disbelief. "You—What the hell are you talking about?"
But Ray did not answer.
He moved.
And this time, when the black knight swung his sword—
He dodged as if he knew the future.
His blade met its arm at just the right moment, disrupting its momentum. His body knew how to react before he even thought about it.
He had already learned.
From the sidelines, from observation—he had mastered it.
His body felt light.
His sword felt right.
But still the difference in the stats were not that easy to overcome.
Ray was again pushed back.
***
A/N: Hey hey, dear readers!
Remember that 10-chapter mass release I mentioned? Well, the wait is almost over! 🎉
Tomorrow's the day—so tighten your seatbelts, grab some popcorn, and get ready for an absolute rollercoaster! 🚀🔥 You won't wanna miss this! 😏