[Sanctus Ruina Activated]
As soon as the skill was activated, the entire dungeon arena trembled. Magic circles filled the area. Golden-white light burst from the ground, piercing upward. It tore through the air like lightning. A massive magic circle formed on the dungeon ceiling, glowing brightly and accompanied by a faint, echoing chant. A hymn of angels began to play.
Three winged beings clenched their fists, closed their eyes, and prayed at three different corners of the room. Their bodies were enormous—probably around 100 meters tall. The mouths of the three continued chanting in a melodic tone that was supposed to be beautiful.
[Sanctus Ruina Activated]
[Description: Summons divine destructive power that sweeps through a 100-meter radius. All entities with dark affinity or cursed mana will be completely destroyed. Unavoidable. Absolute.]
[Cooldown: Can only be used once per lifetime.]
Dyren smiled. "You're going to die, bastard!"
The Headless King raised his massive sword. Just as he was about to strike, his body collapsed. His bones cracked. Slowly, he began to suffer the effects of Sanctus Ruina.
The world crumbled into light. The Headless King's slash stopped mid-air, and his sword melted like wax under the holy radiance. His body trembled. Glowing cracks appeared all over his armor and body. Slowly, his form began to break apart and be neutralized.
"GRRAAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!!" The Headless roared in agony.
The headless monster raised his arms as if trying to stop the destruction. But nothing could resist Sanctus Ruina. He would die—no question. Not only him, but all undead monsters or any being tied to darkness and evil would be obliterated.
Golden-white flashes, like holy fire, pierced through the Headless King's body from every direction. His body disintegrated piece by piece—from legs, hands, chest—until he finally exploded into light and dust.
[The Headless King: Eliminated]
A system message appeared in Dyren's blurred vision, but he didn't have the strength to read it. Pain overwhelmed him. He vomited blood. His legs, arms—his entire body—felt like it was melting away. He collapsed helplessly on the ground.
His Health Points kept dropping. Dyren was a necromancer. He possessed dark and cursed energy within him. Sanctus Ruina considered him something to be destroyed.
[HP: 96 / 2,600]
[HP: 46 / 2,600]
[HP: 1 / 2,600]
[Undying Will Activated – Effect: User cannot die for 5 minutes. HP will not drop below 1.]
Dyren's body lay scorched, like burned charcoal. Black smoke rose from his skin and eyes. His clothes and armor had melted, his bones were cracked, and blood oozed from every pore. That skill… was far too holy for a necromancer.
"Agh… kah… hah…" Dyren's breath felt like fire stabbing through his lungs. The world looked hazy, the colors blurred. But he remained alive, enduring excruciating pain.
A soft chime echoed.
[All monsters in the dungeon have been eliminated.]
[Dungeon Boss has been defeated.]
[Dungeon Clear – S-Rank Completion.]
But Dyren didn't care about the notifications. He just stared at the dungeon ceiling that was shaking and cracking from Sanctus Ruina's lingering effects. As long as the skill hadn't ended, he would continue suffering. Although he wouldn't die—yet.
He only had five minutes. "Do I have enough time?"
[02min : 17sec]
[02min : 16sec]
"Is it still not over?" Dyren groaned.
Time kept ticking. Dyren's body was weakening. He could barely hold back the searing pain inflicted by Sanctus Ruina. Slowly, his consciousness began to fade, and then he blacked out.
The hero party was on the sixth floor. They had just defeated the floor boss with great difficulty. But then, something unexpected happened. The dungeon started shaking. They looked at each other, confused by the phenomenon.
"Is this a sign the dungeon has been cleared?" Saria asked with a curious look.
Kael and Ereon shook their heads. "Impossible. This is an S-rank dungeon. There's no way…"
Suddenly, a screen appeared before them. Their faces were filled with shock. Something they had never imagined… had actually happened.
[All monsters in the dungeon have been eliminated.]
[Dungeon Boss has been defeated.]
[Dungeon Clear – S-Rank Completion.]
[All non-dungeon entities will be expelled in...]
"What? The dungeon really was cleared?" Ereon still couldn't believe it.
[3...]
[2...]
[1...]
A white light emerged and enveloped their bodies. The four of them were still in shock, but their expressions turned serious. They exchanged glances. They were about to be teleported out of the dungeon. All entities not part of the dungeon would be returned outside. That meant… they could finally see who had defeated the S-rank dungeon's tenth-floor boss.
"I want to see… What kind of person could do that?"
Their bodies were teleported out—along with the bones of adventurers who had perished in the dungeon. At the same time, the dungeon collapsed and disappeared without a trace. The hero party looked around, scanning the area. Then they saw someone in a black cloak.
That figure glanced at them… then immediately ran away.
"Chase him!" Ereon ordered.
But just as he was about to give chase, someone grabbed his leg. The man was covered in wounds and blood. Ereon halted his pursuit. Someone needed his help. His heroic instincts told him to save the man first.
"Drink this!" Ereon said, handing over a healing potion.
The young man quickly drank it. Ereon turned to look toward the cloaked figure, but he was already far gone. Ereon clicked his tongue in frustration. He had lost the only lead to identifying the one who had defeated the S-rank dungeon. He was sure that person was powerful.
He needed someone that strong to help him defeat the Demon King. He believed that person could make his party even stronger. Unfortunately, the opportunity had slipped away.
Then, looking back at the young man lying there, covered in wounds, he realized… this man had also come out of the S-rank dungeon.
"Who are you?" Ereon asked.
The young man was brought to the nearest village and received proper treatment. He also told them about his experience in the dungeon. He had been brought in by a powerful swordsman as a guide. There were ten others, but they had all died on each floor.
"We were sacrificed by the swordsman. One by one, he killed us to gain tremendous power. I'm the only one who survived," the young man explained with his head down in sorrow.
Ereon clenched his fists. "That can't be forgiven." He patted the young man on the shoulder. "I'll avenge your friends. I promise!"
The young man nodded. "Thank you, Hero. You truly are someone I can depend on."
Ereon blushed slightly. He stood up and walked toward the door. "I'll go speak with my companions. You get some rest."
Then he left the room with his companion, Kael. However, his gaze lingered with suspicion toward the young man.
Once the two had gone, the young man smirked.
"They're so easy to fool."
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