Chapter 63
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Star Shadow (4)
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The ritual Namm had performed wasn't about offering souls to a demon as sacrifices.
She had separated the souls of Rahir and the other Kargai people from their bodies, binding them to the plateau.
Unlike their rotting, vanishing flesh, souls could linger forever.
But there was one problem: most souls instinctively sought rest.
The state people called death—eternal slumber or enlightenment.
Namm didn't want that.
She hadn't performed the ritual for a massacre.
To preserve the souls of the king and his people, she had no choice but to use force.
And that's where the demon came in.
Every rumor has a reason.
Why had the plateau's sole survivor thought Namm offered souls to a demon?
The answer lay in the center of the cursed tent.
In profound darkness thick with starlight.
[Namm, the time has come...!]
Boom!
The wall exploded, and a massive beast's claw burst through.
A voice like grinding machinery boomed through the air.
[Why haven't you handed over your life force...!]
"W-What is that?!"
Rahir's eyes widened.
Its grotesque form mixed beast and human hands.
Crimson-black curse energy spewed from its matted fur.
"You've finally shown yourself."
Star Shadow.
The true boss of the king's tent—and the culprit behind the plateau's curse.
Bran flicked the blood from his sword.
"Take a good look, Rahir. That's the demon from the rumors."
"A demon... so Namm sacrificed her people's souls?"
"Yes. It cursed this land and bound your souls here. Namm nurtured it deep in the tent, feeding it her life force."
He'd skimmed the details but hit the key points.
Rahir sighed deeply.
"Why on earth...!"
"You should ask her yourself after this is over."
This wasn't the time for chit-chat.
Now that he'd dragged out the hard-won foe, it was time to focus on Star Shadow.
A hidden boss you could only face by subduing—but not killing—Namm.
The tricky condition meant most first-time players skipped it entirely.
'Lucky we can fight it now.'
But ignorance came at a steep price.
If you didn't slay Star Shadow in the king's tent, it would later block your path alongside its master—far stronger than now.
So it had to die here.
"Protect Kael."
"Wait, you're...?"
Bran signaled Arazan and charged.
Heavy Strike energy surged into his two-handed grip once more.
As his downward slash carved toward the wrist—
Boom!
The thick sound of rending flesh rang out, severing the wrist.
The hand hit the floor. Silver fluid—its blood—gushed like a waterfall.
Arazan narrowed her eyes at the stump.
"Tentacles?!"
The wrist's interior was a writhing bundle of countless tentacles.
Hundreds of severed strands writhed, spewing fluid.
"Oh. Disgusting."
Rahir grimaced.
It was a sight to turn even a three-day-starved beggar's stomach.
A beastly growl echoed from the hole.
[Grahk?!]
Star Shadow's voice.
Painless yet whining.
The severed wrist retreated into the hole.
[Insolent vermin... so you were here...!]
A roar shook the air.
Its presence rushed closer.
Bran's hair stood on end from the wave of killing intent.
"Damn it, fall back!"
As he leveled his sword defensively and shouted—
Riiip!
The fabric wall tore open, revealing a massive monster.
Everyone's eyes widened.
Its kick connected instantly, slamming into Bran.
Thud!
He flew like a battering ram, crashing into the opposite wall.
"Bran!"
Arazan cried out in horror.
Power that mocked the tent's durability.
Star Shadow growled.
[How dare a mere insect interrupt my meal!]
Nearly ten meters tall.
Its vaguely human frame furred like a beast.
Stitched seams evoked a stuffed doll.
But its two independently moving heads stood out most.
A red wolf drooling saliva, and a white one.
Purple glows leaked from sunken sockets.
"Crimson Wolf and White Wolf? How are those ancient beasts...!"
Arazan's brows shot up.
Star Shadow's heads were extinct ancient predators.
As she reeled at the bizarre form—
"Everyone, cover your ears!"
Thud! Bran burst from the debris.
A clear imprint marred his chest from the kick.
The atmosphere turned dire.
As Arazan moved to plug her ears—
[Roooaaar!!!]
Both wolves' maws gaped, unleashing a chilling howl.
The tent shook like an earthquake.
A bone-rattling roar.
The hidden boss of the Cursed King's Tent, Star Shadow, casts [Voice of the Wilderness]!
The prior warning reappeared.
The tent had muffled it before, but not now.
As the sound waves swept their bodies—
[Voice of the Wilderness] erodes the mind!
Mental strength continuously drains while exposed.
If the mind fully collapses, the target's soul is absorbed by Star Shadow!
Messages flashed in sequence, vision blurring.
Voice of the Wilderness—one of Star Shadow's key skills.
A conditional instant kill.
Low mental strength or no counter meant souls got ripped out in one go.
Unyielding mental strength resists the erosion!
Unshaken by a powerful foe's threat. Tenacity of the Weed activates!
It was no issue for Bran.
This was why he'd maxed mental strength.
But he wasn't thrilled this time.
'Should've dodged or blocked.'
A clear mistake.
The embarrassing kick had thrown off his timing.
Plan was vocal organ destruction pre-howling.
He hadn't accounted for power-up from the prior roar.
A blunder that could cost the happy ending!
"Gaaah!"
"Shit."
As expected, pained screams erupted behind the charging Bran.
"...Huh?"
But not whose he'd expected.
Turning, his eyes bulged.
"Arazan."
"Nngh..."
She clenched her teeth instead of replying.
Blood dripped from her white ears.
A strained voice leaked from under her deer mask.
"I'm... fine...!"
Arazan had covered Namm's ears—not her own.
Namm thrashed in seizure, mid-purification.
Kael, hugging her tight, hadn't noticed, focused solely on the rite.
"Hah."
Bran shivered.
Ice-cold judgment.
His sole worry was Namm's soul extraction.
To think she'd sacrifice herself.
"H-Her descendant!"
Rahir's belated shock burst out.
He was trapped in Wolf Baihir's maw, glowing like a mirror orb.
Arazan's quick improv.
She inhaled sharply and bellowed.
"I'm fine! Go!!"
The tent quaked.
Blood dripping from her ears, her spirit unbowed.
Bran gripped his hilt.
"Right. Thanks."
No more mistakes.
His sprint exploded into acceleration.
Star Shadow reached for Namm.
[Hand over that woman!]
Bran leaped simultaneously.
Landing on its arm, he thrust.
Stab! Stab! Stab!
Lightning stabs pierced three vitals: brow, throat, heart.
Gush!
Three blood fountains erupted from the wounds.
Brisk combo! Consecutively destroyed vitals of a stronger foe!
Strength and Agility rise!
All targets shattered.
Messages praised his precision.
Weakened voices leaked from both maws.
[Grk, aah... evil...]
The giant staggered.
Thud!
As Bran landed, it toppled forward.
Glows faded from the wolves' eyes.
"...!!!"
Arazan and Rahir froze.
The fallen Star Shadow didn't twitch.
Arazan released Namm's ears with a hollow laugh.
"...Hmph. Worth enduring."
"The more I see, the more impressive your friend."
Rahir didn't hide his awe.
As a forbidden "ha-" word nearly escaped him—
[Impressive, vermin.]
A new low, profound voice filled the chamber.
"What?"
Everyone flinched.
Calm yet ominous timbre.
Like a demon crooning.
A message appeared before Bran.
The hidden boss of the Cursed King's Tent, Star Shadow, reveals its true form.
Otherworldly presence intensifies!
A ripple undulated over the corpse.
Whoosh!
Arazan hunched as it swept her.
"Ngh?!"
"This is...!"
Rahir's face hardened.
Unlike prior pressure, this crushed like ocean depths.
The voice echoed again.
[Though mere shell, I withhold no praise. My favorite creation.]
Then anomalies hit the corpse.
Silver tentacles sprouted, tearing stitches—like cordyceps from a dead insect.
Explode!
The beast body burst, expelling an amorphous mass.
As silver mist cleared, Star Shadow's true form emerged.
Arazan gasped.
"What kind of creature...!"
"From another world."
A fair reaction.
It resembled a land-evolved jellyfish.
Its translucent core swarmed by thousands of tentacles.
Absorbed souls screamed in internal vortices.
"Ugly bastard."
Bran clicked his tongue.
Typical otherworldly looks—repulsive.
But no underestimating now.
Smaller, yet presence doubled.
Otherworldly aura and curse boiled around it, warping air.
"You fiend!"
Arazan loosed an arrow, but it melted before contact.
Like with Namm.
Star Shadow slowly ascended.
[But luck ends here. You'll all meet miserable ends.]
"Monster! What did you do to my wife?!"
Rahir shouted.
No fool would miss the jellyfish's role in Namm's fall.
A chuckling reply.
[Nothing. Master merely nudged her back.]
"Master?"
[Yes. The great one... enough to topple this fool woman.]
Its voice was silky.
Body lost, yet confident—backing assured.
Bran knew it.
Perched near the ceiling, it spoke.
[Enough talk. Must devour Namm after killing you. Intruders merit a century's life force.]
"Take life force?"
[No more answers. Yours is to despair.]
Ignoring Rahir, it splayed tentacles.
[While resident here, my power is infinite!]
Phase 2 opener.
Flash!
Silver light erupted from the flickering core.
Star Shadow casts [Specter Devour]!
Devouring begins. Souls in radius absorbed by Star Shadow!
The red-tinged alert signaled dire threat.
Specter Devour was that kind.
Uninterrupted, it powered up uncontrollably.
Rahir glanced at Bran.
"Bran...!"
"It's fine."
Bran shook his head.
He stood still for reason.
Gazing at Star Shadow, he focused on recovery.
"Rahir. Smell something burning?"
"Burning? In this mess, what're you—huh?"
Rahir's eyes rounded.
Arazan mirrored it.
His no-mistake vow stemmed from certainty.
Certainty he could julienne that jellyfish punk.
Perhaps his role ended subduing Namm and drawing Star Shadow.
As the alert faded—
[...Hm?]
Star Shadow twitched.
No souls flew from walls and ceiling.
Irritated voice from dimming core.
[Fled in fright? Futile against fate.]
Tent-bound, all in devour range anyway.
Flash!
Light burst anew.
Star Shadow casts [Specter Absorption]!
...Nothing changed.
[Impossible...!]
Star Shadow's bewilderment leaked.
Not a single soul approached.
Yet Voice of the Wilderness had absorbed before.
Something was deeply wrong.
[Vermin, what have you...]
As it turned to Bran's group—
BOOM!
An intact wall exploded, crimson flames erupting.
No time to dodge or block.
Flames faster than sound engulfed Star Shadow.
[Kieeeek!!!]
Agonized shrieks echoed.
Its engulfed flesh shredded and vanished.
"Wh-What?!"
"...!!!"
Arazan and Rahir gaped.
The flame torrent vanished into the opposite hole.
Neutralized a powerful enemy in one strike!
Weed Pack activates!
Party growth triggers Weed Pack!
Flames subsided, revealing beyond the wall.
Not drab tent innards.
Rahir's eyes widened.
"What."
Vast plains stretched to the horizon.
Kargai Plateau.
Broad skyline and starry sky beautiful.
Where corridor should be: charred ash swirling.
Smoke rose from unburnt tent remnants.
"Hey, walk a bit apart! I said I can't control it yet!"
"Every step treads history—how could I?!"
Familiar duo emerged from the hole.
Welcome faces.
Dragonblood woman with double-bladed axe.
Dwarf turned black toy poodle from soot.
Entering Namm's room, they blurted in shock.
"Gah! What the hell?"
"Oh no... the ancient shaman's chamber!"
Ilrak and Benden.
Benden's five-times-bulked pack intrigued, but Ilrak shone.
Her axe wasn't hot—wreathed in true flame.
Same as incinerated Star Shadow.
"Ow, hot hot!"
A crude red stone embedded in the blade core.
The "crimson stone" trinket from Alto pre-Valkeros.
"Ah, Bran!"
Spotting him, Ilrak beamed.
Halting afar, she waved wildly.
"Burned it all like you said! Benden grabbed relics! Only this area and king's room left!"
"Ilrak."
"Hit your timing perfect, but you look wrecked! We weren't late, right?!"
Her booming voice echoed across the plateau.
One-shot hidden boss, yet fretting lateness.
Crunch!
Bran chuckled incredulously, stomping a creeping Star Shadow fragment.
[Gek!]
It slumped.
Barely alive, slug-like.
Turning to Ilrak, Bran thumbs-upped.
"Of course not."
Leave it to pros.
Purification to Kael.
Destruction to Ilrak.
Decoy op: success.