Chapter 99: Temple of the Fallen Heretic (3)

The Temple of the Fallen Heretic’s difficulty was mostly concentrated on the 2nd-floor boss, the Death Knight, and the 3rd-floor boss, the Lich.

If one had decent physical ability, the Death Knight could be taken down through grappling, but the Lich could be quite the ordeal if you didn’t know the strategy.

“Is this it? The 2nd-floor boss room.”

As on the 1st floor, a massive iron door appeared before the cadets who had charged through the 2nd floor with unstoppable momentum.

Maximilian and Gale took the lead in opening the door, and Carl and Amy stepped forward to fill the gap.

Laysis and Lien prepared for an ambush, while the mage duo stirred their mana, ready to unleash magic at a moment’s notice.

Creak.

The door, firmly sealing the entrance, swung open to reveal the inside.

A pitch-dark interior without a single flame.

Maximilian and Gale stepped forward cautiously, entering the room.

Flick.

Suddenly, the brazier to the left of the entrance ignited.

Flick. Flick. Flick. Flick.

One by one, the braziers lit up like a blue ribbon, gradually illuminating the once-dark chamber.

Kiing—

Upon the altar.

In the throne, one of the Death Knight’s eyes blazed with a crimson flame, burning and rising higher.

Fwaaah—

An indescribable aura emanated from the Death Knight as it rose from the throne.

Maximilian, who had confidently entered the boss room, began to falter and glanced at Carl with a doubtful expression.

“Carl, this one looks pretty tough.”

“……”

“Carl?”

“……Something seems a bit different.”

Carl tilted his head.

Such dungeons usually reset over time after being cleared, returning to their original state.

How many times had he attempted this raid to obtain the source of that blazing eye?

Looking closely at the Death Knight, its frame seemed larger than he remembered, and the aura it emitted was slightly stronger.

“Carl, what should we do?”

“Hmm.”

All eyes turned to Carl—

The party leader and the only one with prior experience clearing this dungeon.

He shrugged under the weight of their stares and replied,

“I believe you all can do it.”

“Is that really…?”

Before the words could finish.

The Death Knight seized the long sword hanging on the wall and roared with overwhelming force.

—Kuaaaaargh!!

The shockwave made every hair on their bodies stand on end, and their minds reel for an instant.

Even before the fight began, the cadets’ fighting spirit visibly faltered.

‘No choice, then.’

The door was already shut behind them.

If they didn’t defeat the Death Knight, there was no way out.

Thus, Carl was the first to spring forward toward the towering skeletal giant.

Shiiing!

Closing the distance in an instant, Carl swung his sword with force.

The Death Knight likewise thrust out its sword in response, but despite the immense size difference, Carl had the advantage.

Kang!

The long sword was knocked upward.

Carl slipped inside its guard, slashing mercilessly.

Kang! Kagak! Kang!

Marks appeared on the Death Knight’s seemingly impregnable armor.

Perhaps annoyed by Carl’s persistence, the Death Knight swung its sword to knock him away.

Whoosh—

Carl evaded with a light spin in midair and landed deftly on the ground.

“See? This is how you do it.”

“…Do what?”

“Carl, your jokes have been getting worse lately.”

Get up close and engage in melee combat with that hulking monster?

While everyone hesitated, Yuria scoffed and raised her hand.

“It’s big, but it doesn’t seem like much. Are you all that scared?”

Wooooom—

Mana surged.

Her intertwined elements were ice and wind.

From the magic circle that formed, sharp ice crystals shot forth toward the Death Knight.

“Take this!”

“I’m coming too!”

Among the vanguard, Maximilian was the first to launch forward.

Like Carl, he sidestepped and weaved through the Death Knight’s attacks, closing in within moments.

“Hup!”

His greatsword smashed into the Death Knight’s knee joint.

Armor fragments scattered in all directions.

Realizing it wasn’t as formidable as expected, Maximilian shouted to the others,

“This thing’s all size, its durability’s wea—ugh…!”

The Death Knight’s sword suddenly lashed out, striking Maximilian’s side.

He managed to angle his greatsword to avoid a direct hit, but the force still flung him back.

“Hup!”

Laysis took his place.

With even swifter movement, she climbed up its frame and drove her sword into what seemed to be its chest.

Paga-gagak!

Her fierce aura carved into the Death Knight’s armor and bone.

She wanted to cut it down in a single blow, but her skill wasn’t yet at that level.

‘In that case!’

Her aura shifted in nature.

Instead of keeping it condensed, she let it burst outward in all directions.

If it had been an external strike, it wouldn’t have mattered much—

But now, with her sword already lodged inside, the surging aura tore into the Death Knight’s insides.

“Haaap!”

Following that, Amy and Lien shattered the joints in both its legs, bringing the Death Knight to its knees and sprawling it on the ground.

“Hup!!”

Gale’s mace, which had smashed countless skeleton heads until now, struck the Death Knight square on the crown.

Crack-crack-crack—

The helmet encasing its head shattered into pieces, and even the floor beneath it, struck by the force, split with hairline fractures.

“What the—? It’s nothing special.”

“I told you, didn’t I? Looks intimidating, but we’re more than enough on our own.”

Maximilian, who had barely returned after being blown away earlier, tilted his head at the sight of the Death Knight being so easily overwhelmed by the cadets’ teamwork.

“I told you, didn’t I? We can handle this ourselves.”

“We got scared for no reason. It’s just that its huge size and that scattering blue flame made it seem scary.”

“Were you scared?”

“…No, actually, I wasn’t!”

Having his thoughts seen through, Maximilian kicked off the ground and charged toward it with renewed vigor, swinging his greatsword harder than ever to make up for the embarrassment.

Flick—!

At the same time, the Death Knight’s flames flickered once.

‘So, it’s the second phase.’

Boss monsters like the Death Knight would change their attack patterns or traits when in danger.

Unfortunately, the change happened right when Maximilian began his assault.

Chzzzz—!

Its bare, bony jaws gaped open.

Soon, a torrent of blue flame swirled within.

“Oh, damn—”

Fwaaaah!

A massive wave of flames swept through the surroundings.

The cadets quickly retreated out of its range—

But Maximilian, charging in with full force, took the blast head-on.

“Gaaaah! Hot!!!”

Thud.

Carl reached out and grabbed the back of his neck.

Then he spoke to the struggling Maximilian, whose whole body seemed aflame.

“Don’t worry. If you have a blessed garment and a divine artifact, the Death Knight’s flames can’t harm you.”

“…Oh? You’re right.”

Realizing his body was unharmed, Maximilian’s face flushed bright red.

“Ugh, seriously. I feel like I’ve just been embarrassing myself since we came in here.”

“Then, Maxim, would you like to try doing it properly this time?”

“How?”

Carl pointed his sword at the Death Knight’s center.

“Do you see that bright red jewel wedged between the bones beneath its armor?”

“…I think so.”

“That is the Death Knight’s core. Destroy it, and it will fall.”

“A life vessel, huh?”

Maximilian nodded, a fire of determination in his eyes.

Chzzzz—

Once it had expelled all its flames, the Death Knight slowly rose, its presence brimming with murderous intent.

Clang.

The twin edges of the greatsword in its grip split apart, transforming into a longsword.

Its power had lessened compared to before, but its speed had increased significantly.

“Gale.”

“Hey, coward. You good now?”

“Shut it. I’m gonna land a big one—just get that thing to lower itself.”

“I’ll help.”

“Me too.”

Laysis and Amy exchanged glances, then, as if on cue, kicked off the ground and darted in from left and right.

Shwiiish!

The Death Knight unleashed a sweeping slash toward the cadets rushing at it like flies.

Carl stepped forward in their place, blocking the attack and taking the vanguard role.

Claaang!

In that moment, Laysis and Amy closed the distance and shattered its knee joints once again.

At the same time, thunder crashed in the heavens, and a massive bolt of lightning struck the Death Knight’s head.

Rumbleee!

The shockwave shook the dungeon interior in an instant.

It was the strongest blow they had been holding back for the right moment.

Clatter!

Chains burst from the ground, binding the Death Knight’s limbs.

With a strained expression, Forzer stretched out his arm and called to them,

“I can’t hold it long!”

“Hup!”

Gale’s mace once more smashed into the Death Knight’s head.

The massive shockwave shattered the remnants of its helmet, fully exposing its skull.

Slash—

Lien seized the opening, slicing diagonally through its head to clear a path toward its chest.

And through that path, Maximilian soared high into the air, gripping his greatsword with both hands, and brought it down with all his strength.

Smaaash!

The blade traced a long arc, cleaving through the Death Knight’s armor and ribs, and lodged deep into its spine.

It went without saying that the bright red jewel inside—the core—was shattered.

Crack.

With a sound like something breaking apart, the Death Knight’s flames all went out.

Srrrk.

The massive pile of bones collapsed to the ground.

Confirming the Death Knight had ceased activity, Maximilian let out a breath of relief.

“Well, at least I landed the big hit.”

“Even if everyone else set you up for it.”

“Hahahaha.”

“Still, you did well. You delivered the decisive blow.”

They teased Maximilian, but none held back their praise.

Among them, there was no one else who could, with a single attack, cleave through the Death Knight’s armor and ribs, and destroy the life vessel.

Thunk.

The halved life vessel rolled to Carl’s feet.

He picked it up and tilted his head slightly.

‘Was it always this big?’

The dungeon itself didn’t differ much from what he knew, yet the Death Knight seemed just a little bigger and stronger than usual.

‘It can’t be that the Wraith Lord has revived, right?’

There were times when monsters would go berserk on a regular cycle, but it would be years before that period came again.

Once, not long after he had arrived in Artenia, it had happened, and the horizon had been filled with monsters.

That had been the first time he felt the world’s scale pressing down on him.

It wasn’t something he wanted to imagine, so Carl pocketed the life vessel and turned to the cadets.

“Good work, everyone.”

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