Chapter 14: Checkmate

The Ember Hunter’s sword ..

Lifted from the ground.

And began to float beside him.

“…Telekinesis.”

That unnatural ability allowed him to wield his blade without touching it.

His range expanded dramatically.

“Moon! From now on, you return as primary attacker—coordinate with Alicia!”

“Raiden, protect them with everything you’ve got!”

They obeyed instantly.

But despite their coordination, the battlefield transformed into hell the moment the Ember Hunter entered his second phase.

That was why he was one of the most infuriating early-game bosses ..

These additional abilities.

His blade moved through the air freely, striking from multiple angles and distances at once.

The Hearts resisted fiercely ..

But even Alicia was no longer effective.

With the sword controlled telekinetically, she could barely approach him.

Landing a hit was out of the question.

Watching from close range, Ethan clenched his teeth, the Wise Raven’s Insight blazing within his crimson eyes.

“As I thought… We cannot win unless we strike his weak point.”

But how were they supposed to reach the left side of his chest—

When he guarded it constantly with that massive shield?

And now, even approaching him had become nearly impossible.

The Heart warriors had reached their limit.

Their current levels were insufficient for victory.

“Think, Ethan… think. Aren’t you the best player?”

He muttered aloud, sweat running down his temples as he forced his mind to move.

Everything slowed in his vision.

Time itself felt stretched thin.

“Losing to the first boss… If that happens, that bastard Ishizaki will laugh at me.”

He swallowed hard.

Then stepped forward toward the battlefield.

“I won’t allow that. Today is not the day I die.”

With renewed resolve, Ethan projected his thoughts .. directly to Moon.

“Moon… listen carefully.”

His voice carried weight.

Then he dropped a bomb.

“In ten seconds… you’re going to die.”

The words stunned them all.

But Ethan continued, speaking several rapid, precise instructions only to Moon.

And just as he predicted ..

The flow of battle shifted.

The Ember Hunter assumed a strange stance.

He positioned the floating blade before him.

Then—

It began to spin.

Faster.

And faster.

Like a drill tearing through the air.

A crimson vortex of iron.

Then .. in less than a single second ..

The Ember Hunter hurled his weapon.

The speed was monstrous.

Defending against it was impossible.

The blade struck Moon Heart like a colossal bullet—piercing through her chest, tearing forward until it burst out from her back, leaving a cavernous void within her body.

Moon collapsed instantly.

Her flames extinguished.

Her eyes froze.

The horrifying sight drew the same emotion from every Heart present.

Fear.

He had targeted her deliberately.

She was the strongest among them.

“Moon!!!”

Their cries rang out in unison—

But the Ember Hunter did not grant them even a breath.

He prepared to strike again.

“Raiden! Fall back and leave Alicia alone!!”

Ethan issued another seemingly irrational command as he sprinted toward the battlefield.

“Quick! Throw me your remaining flask!”

Though bewildered, Raiden obeyed without hesitation.

“I only have one left!”

“That’s enough! Throw it!”

Raiden hurled the final healing flask toward Ethan as he retreated.

“You’re leaving me alone?!!” Alicia trembled, tears gathering in her eyes.

“Alicia! Fall back toward me—but do not turn your back to him, no matter what happens!”

She followed the command.

Slowly retreating toward Ethan ..

And the Ember Hunter followed.

Unable to match her speed over distance, he chose his strongest weapon once more.

Before him, the greatsword began to spin—twisting like a drill, gathering lethal momentum.

Alicia ran faster.

Pure terror overtook her.

“I’m going to die!!”

She knew she could not evade an attack that moved like a cannon shot.

Fear made her stumble.

She fell forward onto the ground.

In that instant ..

The Ember Hunter launched the attack.

Alicia lay exposed.

Defenseless.

Moments away from death.

Time seemed to freeze across the battlefield.

All eyes fixed on a single point.

Alicia gasped.

“W-waht ?”

Warm, red blood splashed across her face ..

Across her entire body.

But it was not her blood.

Standing before her ..

Ethan.

He had taken the attack with his own body.

A gaping hole now tore through his abdomen.

The sword had pierced him from the front, half its length protruding from his back—

But it had stopped there.

It had not passed through to strike Alicia.

Ethan’s body convulsed violently.

His eyes burned as if they would burst from the sheer agony consuming him.

The flask was clenched between his teeth.

He had begun drinking the moment the blade pierced him.

“Don’t lose consciousness. Don’t lose consciousness. Don’t lose consciousness—”

Pain like this had never existed in his previous life.

Even the flask barely helped.

“I have a demonic body… My endurance is higher than theirs… I’ll be fine… I’ll be fine… damn it!!!”

He nearly ground his teeth to dust.

Yet despite the torment ..

Despite the inhuman suffering ..

Ethan remained conscious.

With the last fragment of his will, he reached out with his remaining hand and seized the hilt of the Ember Hunter’s sword.

“Throwing your weapon at the Legendary Weapons Master… is the same as surrendering it, you bastard !”

A brilliant blue rune ignited beneath his palm.

In an instant, the massive greatsword was pulled entirely into the glowing sigil ..

And vanished without a trace.

Ethan staggered, barely able to remain upright.

“I learned the limits of his telekinesis when he used that attack on Moon… I built the plan around it.”

The Wise Raven’s Insight had allowed him to predict the strike beforehand—by observing the mana flow gathering within the Ember Hunter.

He had calculated the distance.

Placed himself precisely within range ..

So the blade would remain lodged inside him, rather than passing completely through as it had with Moon.

“It turns out my experience as a player alone wouldn’t have saved us…”

He coughed blood, swaying.

“But this isn’t a game anymore.”

“In the game… I couldn’t steal a boss’s weapon.”

A faint laugh escaped him as he collapsed to his knees.

“But here… I can make it mine.”

He struggled to breathe, sustained only by the demonic body that barely kept him conscious.

The Ember Hunter now stood disarmed.

Only that massive shield remained.

He did not realize how close he had moved—

During his pursuit of Alicia, he had advanced too far.

He now stood beside the fallen body of one very specific person.

“Moon Heart…”

The keystone of the plan.

Without warning—

Her body erupted into blazing fire.

Flames engulfed her entirely.

The Ember Hunter turned toward her ..

Too late.

Moon Heart bore a rare and mighty blessing.

The Blessing of the Phoenix.

“And the phoenix… always rises from the ashes.”

By the time he turned ..

Moon’s sword was already at his neck.

Following Ethan’s earlier instruction to remain still, to feign death as long as possible ..

And when the moment came, to target his head.

Even if he guarded his weak point ..

If his head were severed, death was certain.

For the first time, the Ember Hunter moved his shield upward—

To block Moon’s flaming ambush.

He succeeded.

But that single motion ..

Exposed his left chest.

His weak point.

And someone had been waiting for that very instant.

Hidden at a distance ..

Bow drawn to its absolute limit—

Chai Heart emerged, pouring every remaining drop of mana into his final arrow.

A wide smile spread across his face.

“Everything happened exactly as you said, big brother.”

Earlier, Ethan had ordered him to cease firing.

To conserve his strength.

For one decisive, final strike.

And that moment .. Had arrived.

From afar ..

Chai released his Arrow of Light.

It tore through the air with astonishing speed and precision—

Piercing directly through the Ember Hunter’s exposed weak point.

A fatal blow.

The boss’s health dropped to zero.

The crimson light in the Ember Hunter’s eyes flickered ..

And died.

He fell to his knees.

Shield raised once more toward the sky—

Before his body dissolved into drifting, tormented souls finally granted release from long suffering.

They evaporated ..

Transforming into power that flowed into the Hearts ..

And into Ethan ..

Who at last surrendered to darkness.

His consciousness finally slipping away into the abyss.

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