The Black Hands Strike

Well, well, here it comes.

Melwood Elion floating in the sky, with dozens of pitch-black hands lunging down from there—now that's a sight. I'd seen it so many times in the game it bored me to tears, but watching it like this? Totally different vibe. Knowing one hit means instant death sends a tingle down your spine.

But my veteran instincts aren't dulled enough for me to gawk or freak out like some noob.

Our rookies, though...

"Wh-what the...?"

They were having a very different reaction. Lumen, Ebnis, Relbrian, and Kalen were holding up okay, but the others? Hesitating like those black hands streaking across the sky were shooting stars about to crash down.

Tsk, what the hell are they doing?

I channeled mana into the voice amplification spell Relbrian had cast on me and bellowed.

"Ah."

Their bodies jolted.

Finally snapping out of it, they gripped their weapons tighter.

Up in the sky, massive hands came swooping down aggressively, palms wide open, tearing through the air as they plummeted. Chills every time.

That aside.

I've seen this hundreds of times—positioning tells me the drop timing instinctively.

BOOM!

No sooner had I spoken than one hand slammed into the ground. Melwood Elion's opening move: projecting a fan of mana hands from the sky to smash the earth repeatedly.

It's AoE with an instant death judgment. In the original game, it didn't even count as direct damage—it was fall damage, so you couldn't iframe or skill through it. No wonder it's the gatekeeper boss.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Dozens of hands pounded down at once, shaking the ground like an earthquake. Dust billowed, revealing the cratered clearing. Fierce winds whipped everyone's hair.

"Whoa, that's insane..."

Millije shrank beside me, but I was unfazed. Not just me—everyone was.

"We've already seen it coming," Reina said, and I nodded.

No-hit clear on a first-time boss without patterns? Even I wiped countless times at first. But after pouring in the hours, knowledge piled up—I could clear blindfolded.

And honestly? Our party's the real monster here.

Why this party's broken? This world's built on the Salenium Saga game. I optimized it game-style.

Two light element characters for starters.

"Tch, taking orders from the likes of you..."

"On it, Sub-Marquess Ebnis."

Ebnis and Lumen charged forward. Mana hands lunged at them, but—

Lumen's blade glowed with brilliant light. Ebnis's sword, forged from gathered light mana, sliced clean through hands six and eight.

"I know! Holy Sword: Guard!"

Her light longsword morphed into a massive shield, blocking seamlessly. Lumen, sheltered behind it, swung—

—severing the wrist. The shield reverted to sword form.

Hm.

That's Ebnis's unique skill, Holy Sword. It shifts forms: shield for guard, axe for destruction, spear for speed, sword for execution. Picks the optimal per fight, with bonus damage scaling off enemy max HP. Title heroine for a reason—plus her guaranteed one-shot and standard Attribute Sword.

"Wh-what're you saying out of nowhere?! Holy Sword: Speed!"

A light spear pierced the writhing black wrist, followed by a double-bladed destruction axe cleaving it off. Godlike strength.

And her element? Light. Against darkness, damage triples based on power.

"GRAAAAAAAH!"

Melwood screamed, losing four mana hands instantly, flailing the rest wildly. Two might've struggled, but—

"Got it!"

"Yes, Senior Adrian!"

The frontliners waiting in reserve dashed out, striking prepared blows.

Ice trailed their swings: frost-infused blade and seven-element greatsword.

And not done yet.

"Got it! Incoming left! Kelly, prep your spell! Mid-Tier Lightning Elemental Magic: Lightning Arrow!"

"Yes, Mid-Tier Water Elemental Magic: Water Fall!"

Backline mages unleashed spells everywhere. Water and lightning reacted, paralyzing the hands. Reina's ensuing fire magic scorched two mana hands clean.

"GRAAAAH! AAAAH!"

Melwood's screams intensified.

From the rear:

"Yes, Senior!"

"Got it."

"Th-thanks, Millije."

Millije quickly passed mana recovery potions. Relbrian layered buffs nonstop.

Everything clicked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠perfectly. Those mana hands—mere dodges in the game—were getting dismantled one by one. No pattern memorization needed; preemptively slicing stopped attacks. Seamless teamwork driving us to clear.

I clenched my fist.

Right. The hands are the threat; Melwood's true body isn't that strong. Watch for the next spell, chop all hands, and we're done quick.

"Y-you guys are amazing..."

"Mm, I wanna jump in too. Adrian, no good?"

My senses screamed otherwise. No way it ends this easy. I know he doesn't fold like this.

Then—

"Ugh?!"

"Sub-Marquess! Hold on—I'll be right there, don't overdraw mana—"

Ebnis stumbled; a mana hand dove in. Lumen reached from beside, but too slow. Holy Sword: Guard would save her but knock her out.

I clicked my tongue, blasting a spell ahead of her. Leveled to 3 this week—chant speed was sharp.

"Ack!"

The wind gust shoved Ebnis forward; Lumen yanked her, dodging by a hair. She glared, embarrassed at needing help.

"Th-tha-thank...?"

"Grr! Just you wait!"

Ebnis gnashed her teeth and refocused. I scanned the field.

"Yes, Adrian."

"......"

Reina nodded, casting. I shifted gaze.

"S-Senior? What should I watch for?"

He nodded, gripping his greatsword's hilt with resolve.

Good. We can handle phase 2 like this.

And so: Lumen fronting with Ebnis, blocking/slicing mana hands. Kalen backing, Erhan filling gaps. Backline mages covering.

Then, it appeared.

"Hyaah!"

As Ebnis's Execution felled the last ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mana hand—

It came. Black energy burst from limp Melwood like wings; he thrust arms forward.

"Adrian! It's starting!"

The spell. But we prepped for this.

That instant, I froze.

"...Kyaa!"

A elongated blob of black mana shot from Melwood's hand, smacking Ebnis. No time for Guard.

"Ebnis? Sub-Marquess Ebnis! Damn, she's out—Adrian!"

"Yeah, got it."

She drew her rapier from her waist and advanced resolutely. Lumen carried fainted Ebnis back; Kelly approached.

"Just knocked out. She'll wake soon."

Reina looked panicked my way.

"Adrian."

"It's not in the intel. Not in what I gathered either."

No intel ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠here either. Hundreds of clears, but this pattern? Brand new.

"Yeah."

We locked eyes and nodded.

"We have to do this."

Unexpected snag. But aren't we used to curveballs?

Didn't forget Act 1 Scene 1. Now matters most—don't panic, adapt fast. Time won't wait.

That moment—

"Adrian!"

Melwood leaped from the air, diving at our center.

Before I could react, dark energy from his hand engulfed the raid team—everyone but me.

Even collapsing, they eyed me: run.

Top-tier debuff: unbreakable sleep for a duration.

I looked up. He approached, cloaked in jet-black aura like a robe, black grimoire floating beside, black sclera and slit red pupils, unnaturally curved lips.

"You."

I met his gaze.

"You're not Melwood Elion."