Skahaza's Phase 2: The Punishing Ice Dragon
Skahaza's Phase 2 doesn't activate in normal situations. There's only one condition that triggers it: killing Skahaza with a long-range sniper shot from outside her perception range.
When that happens, Skahaza revives in the form of an ice dragon. This version of Skahaza has a special effect called Counter-Sniping: Punishing Ice Dragon. Her strongest passive, Ice Immunity, completely vanishes, and instead, her physical body and magical abilities go into overdrive to their limits. And she always teleports right in front of the sniper.
It's a setup where she won't forgive anyone who takes her out in such a cowardly way from a distance.
I called it "I Kill Sneaky Bastards Mode."
So, I knew Skahaza would show up like this.
—And I'd planned for it from the start.
Thud! Jin Cheon-jin leaped from the helicopter and landed on the rooftop of a building overlooking the battlefield. The fight had already begun.
Kwaaaang—! Skahaza's massive roar tore through the air.
Flash—! A black figure in a pitch-black coat fluttered past the dragon's jaw by a hair's breadth, shooting through the sky like a piercing arrow.
A person?
He looked like a flyer, but no. It was ultra-high-speed ice stepping—creating ice platforms in midair and kicking off them. With each step, a sharp crack echoed, and brilliant blue ice shards scattered like a meteor shower.
Insane speed. And in his hand, a familiar staff.
The Apostle!
Jin Cheon-jin was about to jump in but hesitated.
Whiiiish! Countless ice bullets formed behind the Apostle, blotting out the sky like an army's volley.
…!
Jin Cheon-jin swallowed hard. An overwhelming barrage, like a legion firing in unison. Over a hundred shots at a glance! The computational power to unleash them without even 0.1 seconds of focus sent chills down his spine.
The bullets spun like drills and flew toward Skahaza.
"Ah…"
Jin Cheon-jin let out an involuntary groan. Fast and numerous. The spellcasting was impressive. But there was a fatal flaw.
Ice magic.
"No…"
Skahaza was a boss with Ice Immunity. A legendary ability that no ice magic could damage.
Pew-pew-pew! Most ice arrows were shot down by Skahaza's defensive spells. Only a few pierced through.
But it was pointless. Just as Jin Cheon-jin squeezed his eyes shut—
Thud! A dull impact, and blood sprayed.
It penetrated? How?! Skahaza definitely has Ice Immunity!
Jin Cheon-jin doubted his own eyes. Skahaza had lost her Ice Immunity upon becoming the Punishing Ice Dragon, but Jin Cheon-jin had no way of knowing that. He could only assume the Apostle's magic had forcibly overwhelmed even Ice Immunity.
But piercing those tough scales had weakened it; the wound was shallow. Frost formed on the injury, healing it in seconds. Net damage: zero.
Whoooosh! Dozens of intricate blue magic circles bloomed around Skahaza. Complex lines and runes far beyond Jin Cheon-jin's comprehension. Each geometric pulse sent heart-stopping pressure through his body. Alien, overwhelming mana density.
As the completed circles blazed bright, a blizzard laden with eternal chill erupted.
But the Apostle danced through the air. Ice shards formed in split seconds as his footholds. Defying inertia, he zigzagged diagonally, turned at right angles—slipping through the blizzard like a ghost.
Incredible.
Jin Cheon-jin watched in awe. Even basic ice mages needed massive focus to create platforms underfoot, but the Apostle did it effortlessly, like thought alone sufficed.
Hummm— The Apostle's hands traced complex patterns in the air. Even more ice bullets formed.
200? No, over 250.
He thrust both hands forward, unleashing a storm of projectiles.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Skahaza blocked with her wings and counterattacked immediately.
Whoooosh—! The air around her began to swirl toward her, her chest swelling massively.
Gooooh—! A dense blue mana orb gathered before her gaping maw. A blue beam lanced from the dragon's mouth.
The dragon clan's ultimate: Dragon's Breath.
Kwaaaaaang! The ice dragon Skahaza's breath carried extreme cold, stretching like a death ray.
Breath! Dodge!
Jin Cheon-jin screamed inwardly. But the Apostle didn't dodge.
Instead, he raised a hand and faced it head-on.
"Crystal Wall."
A transparent ice barrier rose before him, perfectly bisecting Skahaza's breath.
Impossible.
Jin Cheon-jin's jaw dropped. Breath could turn S-rank Awakeners to corpses in an instant. You couldn't block it—only evade to the side. That was raid common sense.
But the Apostle blocked it head-on.
And it wasn't over. The surrounding chill was sucked toward him. The extreme cold from Skahaza's breath concentrated on the Apostle.
His body began to glow blue.
Jin Cheon-jin was stunned.
Absorbing mana?
Kraaaah! The massive dragon bellowed in rage. The temperature plummeted.
Jin Cheon-jin felt his body freezing.
Urk!
He'd seen many Awakener battles, but never such a clash of overwhelming power.
Realizing ice magic couldn't beat the Apostle, Skahaza switched to physical attacks. Her massive tail whipped at blinding speed.
Whoosh! But the Apostle was faster. He evaded as if teleporting, then charged her chest in the opening.
Ice orbs trailed behind him as he leaped off platforms.
That’s…?!
At first, Jin Cheon-jin thought it was Han Seol-ah's ultimate, Permafrost. But no. As a non-mage, he couldn't pinpoint the difference.
But Jin Cheon-jin was an S-rank Hunter, a martial artist hypersensitive to mana flow. Waves only the pinnacle could read assaulted his retinas.
Evolution…?
To his eyes, the ice storm orbs trailing the Apostle looked like an evolved Permafrost. Stronger, more stable!
But the number was off. Absurdly so. Orbs filled the sky: five, ten, twenty… countless, multiplying endlessly. Suns of cold devoured the battlefield in blue.
Kraaah! Skahaza spewed mana in a scream, but her forming magic circles shattered before completion. Like being denied existence by a superior being—repeated misfires.
In desperation, she swung tail, wings, claws. The Apostle created platforms at odd angles, flipped midair, bounced unpredictably—evading everything.
Yet his path to Skahaza never wavered.
Finally, close enough to touch her scales.
"Diamond Dust!"
With a short kiai, the orbs—now forty strong—slammed into her scales.
Kriiiing—! A horrific shredding sound echoed. The orbs burst, unleashing feral ice storms that ground her scales like whirlwinds.
Giiiing! Not enough. Dozens more formed around the Apostle, hammering her scales. Some penetrated, exploding inside and ripping her apart.
Crack! Ice pillars erupted from Skahaza's body.
Kraaaaaah! But she didn't die. Frost already formed on the tears, attempting self-healing.
"No! Can't let her heal…!"
Jin Cheon-jin screamed unwittingly.
The Apostle casually pulled away. The frost, thought to be healing, twisted grotesquely. Crunch-crunch— Ice blades grew from within, swelling massively. The dragon's body was pierced and frozen solid. Like trapped in an ice prison.
Soon, Skahaza was a perfect ice sculpture. A massive blue dragon statue, artistic in its beauty.
Unbelievable…
Jin Cheon-jin held his breath, watching.
The irony of the ice dragon dying to her own element.
The Apostle snapped his fingers lightly.
Snap.
Crack! The frozen body shattered into countless shards, scattering and refracting light like diamond dust.
Beautiful.
At that moment.
94th Floor Tower Break Boss: Ancient Blue Dragon—"Ice Dragon Skahaza" has been subjugated.
The subjugation alert appeared. Jin Cheon-jin finally exhaled. His tension released, legs buckling—he barely held on.
They survived.
The Apostle descended slowly to the ground, stepping down ice stairs he created. Like a hero from myth.
Aw, look at this old man's eyes.
The burly, hairy musclehead was staring with sparkling eyes. Made my stomach turn.
Anyway. Phase 2 done.
Saved time. Conserved mana. No overexertion.
Best of all, spared the backup mana stored in Eternal Winter.
Hm, well. Wasn't easy.
Platform control. Dispelling Skahaza's magic. Casting. Evading physicals. Plus adjusting firepower so Jin Cheon-jin uncle, who teleported in, didn't die. Hands-full mission.
But I pulled it off. An S-rank would've struggled. But who am I? EX-rank Hunter.
"Thank you for saving Korea… truly."
The approaching Jin Cheon-jin bowed deeply, 90 degrees.
"Heading to Pyongyang."
Grateful or not, gotta play Apostle to the end.
"Pardon? Why Pyongyang…? Isn't it gone?"
Gotta rescue Han Seol-ah too, whom he left behind.
"Not over yet."
And save this country while at it.
Ding—!
Tower Break difficulty is dramatically increasing.
…Gasp!
Jin Cheon-jin inhaled sharply in shock.
Knew it'd come.
Looking back: When Han Seol-ah took down the Frost Dragon, the Tower went 'This bitch?' and sent Skahaza next.
Sending unbeatable foes? Clear meaning.
'Don't hold out.'
The Tower won't tolerate beating boss breaks like this.
We're in this mess 'cause we can't clear it…
—Can't clear the Tower? Die then.
From the Tower's view, part-timer attitude.
Anyway. Took down Skahaza. Held out again.
End of story? Tower pats on back?
No way.
'This bitch?' again. Sends another unbeatable one.
[Tower Break - 94th Floor]
[Tower Break Boss: "Wondrous Echo" - Resonator Rezonar]
Ugh, shit.
The curse slipped out. Knew it'd be tough for Han Seol-ah.
But of all things…
This fucking scout mob.
Tower's intent crystal clear.
Relying on one standout, 'Han Seol-ah'? —Then send a mob no single player can beat.
That's it.
94th Floor Tower Break clear count has exceeded the threshold.
Tower Break difficulty deemed inappropriate.
Tower Break intensity becomes extremely powerful, cycle drastically shortens.
"A-Apostle…"
3 days until start
Beep—
Climb the Tower
…
Jin Cheon-jin collapsed to his knees.
…Can't blame him.
Victory snatched into new despair.
No one saw it coming.
But.
I did.
My plan wasn't just beat Skahaza, yay claps!
Skahaza was 'easy' by my standards.
The real issue: the crisis after.
If this loops, we're done.
Say we beat this nasty next boss. Then? Something worse.
—Not climbing? Die!
Tower won't change.
How to break the cycle? That's what my plan was for from the start.
Operation name: Echo of Death.
Or… clear the hidden quest.