Rena and the adventurer were visibly shaken by the sight of the two towering figures waiting for them.

Honestly, it would’ve been strange if they weren’t afraid. Those creatures were imposing—monstrous even—and their auras radiated a power that made anyone second-guess the idea of picking a fight.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” the adventurer asked, glancing at William, then back at the enemies on their thrones. “I know you’re strong, but I don’t think we can win this…”

William was getting tired of hearing that. The guy was always scared, always assuming the worst. It was starting to get on his nerves.

“Shut the hell up and focus on the fight,” William snapped. “You’re either with me—or you’re next. Your choice.”

No sugarcoating, no diplomacy. Just the raw truth. Rena liked that. She nodded and gripped her staff, already preparing her spells. She was ready.

The two bosses on the thrones remained motionless at first. William expected that. He knew how this worked—until they stepped into the aggro range, the enemies wouldn’t move.

Behind the thrones, the portal shimmered faintly, pulsing with energy. But the way forward was sealed. As long as those two creatures lived, the portal would stay locked. No sneaking past, no clever tricks. They had to fight.

“This is going to be rough,” Asura said in his mind. “Their auras are intense.”

“I know,” William replied, stepping forward. “But we don’t have a choice.”

If he wanted to escape the dungeon, he had to climb. There was no other way.

He walked to the center of the throne room, Rena and the adventurer trailing behind at a cautious distance.

The moment his foot hit the midpoint, the throne room responded.

The armored warrior moved first. He rose from his seat, lifting his massive greatsword with a single hand like it weighed nothing. He turned his head—those red, burning eyes locked onto William.

William couldn’t see the man’s face beneath the full black plate armor, but he could feel the killing intent radiating from that gaze. It was suffocating.

“Get ready!” he shouted.

The giant warrior began to walk—slow, deliberate steps that boomed like thunder with every impact against the floor. But instead of a direct swing, the boss raised his free hand.

Magic.

A frozen shockwave burst from his palm, and within seconds, a dome of solid ice encased William and the armored titan—isolating them from Rena and the adventurer.

“Shit,” William growled.

This was bad.

He immediately tried to break through the ice with his sword. No luck. He tried blasting it with flames, but the ice didn’t even melt. No matter what he threw at it, the barrier held.

He was trapped.

And outside the dome, the robed figure—the second boss—had also risen. With eerie calmness, the mage began approaching Rena.

The fights had been split.

“Focus,” William said out loud. There was no room for hesitation now.

This wasn’t the time to hold back.

[Demonic Transformation – Stage 2 Activated]

A wave of dark energy burst from within him, wrapping around his limbs like fire. His muscles tightened, his senses sharpened. But that wasn’t all—he triggered every single body-enhancing spell he knew, stacking them on top of each other.

Strength. Agility. Reinforcement.

Each spell added to the next, and the surge of power was intoxicating.

[+120 points from Demonic Transformation.]

[+50 Strength.]

[+50 Agility.]

His stats soared—nearing 300 in both strength and agility. That was a serious boost. He could feel the raw power coursing through his veins. His heart pounded like a war drum.

Now came the real test.

Would it be enough… to take down the armored giant before him?

Because this time, there was no one to help him. No backup. Just him—and the boss.

*

The warrior’s speed was astonishing for his size. It didn’t take long for him to be right in front of William, preparing a devastating strike with his massive sword.

But William, now transformed, his eyes glowing red and his body cloaked in dark, red-black energy, moved like lightning to avoid the attack.

The giant’s sword swung down with terrifying force, the gust of wind it created making William’s black hair whip violently. The sound of the sword hitting the ground was deafening, echoing through the room with a crash.

Even with such strength, the ground wasn’t destroyed. The entire castle was built with a special material designed to withstand battles like this. After all, these bosses respawned constantly. Others might have fought them before, and this place needed to hold up through countless battles.

Taking advantage of the brief opening, William surged forward, climbing the sword like a ladder, scaling the warrior’s giant arm. He searched for a weakness in the armor, but it was nearly impenetrable—except for the eyes.

William rushed toward the warrior’s glowing red eyes, aiming to pierce them directly. But the giant wasn’t stupid. With terrifying speed, the warrior opened his mouth and released a freezing breath.

The magic was channeled instantly, too fast for William to react in time.

The icy blast hit him squarely, knocking him backward with immense force. Not only was he sent flying, but he was partially frozen, his movements becoming sluggish.

“I think I’ve got a debuff,” William thought grimly.

This was bad. Not only was he physically damaged, but now his movements were slowed, making it even harder to land a successful blow.

But he didn’t give up. If he couldn’t attack the eyes, he’d try something else.

William dashed toward the warrior’s legs. The giant swung his sword again, but William easily evaded it this time. He circled behind the creature, positioning himself near the heel of the warrior’s leg.

The entire body was encased in thick armor, but William wasn’t backing down. He had a new ability to try.

As part of his transformation, William had gained access to a set of special abilities that were previously beyond his reach. One of them was called Demonic Cut of a Thousand Souls. The description of the skill wasn’t very specific, but the name alone was ominous.

William focused, channeling the dark energy that had surrounded him into his sword. The air around him seemed to pulse with whispers—screams from the damned, voices crying out for help. It was unnerving, yet powerful.

The color of his energy shifted to an eerie green. Green skulls appeared around him, rising in a swirling vortex. A thousand skulls. They flew toward the giant’s exposed leg the moment William’s sword made contact with the armor.

“Demonic Cut of a Thousand Souls!” he shouted.

The sword’s energy alone was enough to create a deep gash in the giant’s armor, revealing the flesh beneath. But the true power of the attack lay in the thousand souls—the skulls that followed, swirling around the blade and tearing into the exposed leg of the giant.

The skulls tore into the warrior’s flesh like worms feasting on their prey. The damage was so intense that the giant staggered forward, barely able to stay upright, leaning on his sword to prevent himself from falling.

William, however, felt the toll of using such immense power. The strain was visible on his face—he was exhausted. The amount of demonic energy he’d unleashed was still too much for him to handle comfortably.

But he knew this was his moment.

With a grunt, William gathered his remaining strength and formed several orbs of black fire, hurling them toward the exposed leg. The fiery balls exploded on impact, sending waves of dark energy into the warrior’s already damaged body.

Each strike hit like a hammer, causing massive damage. The warrior was reeling now, vulnerable. Any attack from William would be devastating at this point.

Everything seemed to be going well for William. He was attacking the giant, who was unable to defend himself, and it seemed like his strikes were causing significant damage to the creature.

The skulls continued to devour the giant’s body, climbing higher and higher. William didn’t know how far this would go, but it seemed to be working well.

That’s when the boss moved. He canceled the ice arena. Rena and the adventurer were in trouble, struggling to deal with the other boss.

They weren’t seriously hurt, but they hadn’t managed to deal any damage to the boss.

“William!” Rena shouted as the barrier was removed.

The giant, now wounded, jumped away and moved closer to the other boss. Then, he let out a high-pitched, piercing scream, and his armor fell off, revealing a grotesque, mummified creature.

And then, something unexpected happened. The two bosses merged! The mage entered the back of the warrior. The only thing left outside was his arm, still holding his magic book.

Four wings appeared on the warrior’s back, and his body contorted, becoming more hunched. His nails transformed into claws, and a second head appeared on the side of his.

The monster was truly grotesque. William could feel the creature’s aura intensifying greatly.

“Shit…” William said.

The tides had changed.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep