Boss Battle (2)
Touched directly by the hand of the Goddess according to my wish, the Invitation of the Forgotten had become a dedicated relic meant exclusively for the trials of Muriel, Rebecca, and Cacciola. With everyone except Cacciola having already conquered their assigned ordeals, the relic's intended purpose would come to an end the moment she cleared hers.
However, running out of an intended purpose did not mean it was entirely useless. Often, when an item finished its primary role, its residual functions could still be exploited. Whether the Goddess had foreseen this or not, it was such a magnificent trick that I was tempted to bow in gratitude. Of course, if someone actually ordered me to do so, I would flatly refuse.
Regardless, I had been searching for a suitable guinea pig to test the relic's 'residual function' upon, and one had just fallen right into my lap.
"Hm?!"
The instant the words left my lips, the Invitation of the Forgotten gleamed with a faint, silvery luminescence. From the hidden side of the world, through a subtle rift in space, a sliver of divine authority reached out and bestowed 'qualification' upon Hegellina Krenkel—the qualification of a human who could forge new value through sheer will, conquer his own mortal existence, and stand wholly on his own two feet. In short, the qualification to transcend humanity.
"...What in the world is this...?!"
Far from rejoicing, the Lich panicked, frantically examining his own grotesque frame. And why wouldn't he? Against his will, he had just been forcibly designated as a 'Trial Taker,' officially sanctioned in the name of the Goddess.
Within a trial, a challenger was required to overcome their shortcomings entirely alone. To enforce that absolute self-reliance, all external interference was ruthlessly severed. Yet the golden gate that was supposed to appear nowhere manifested. It was only natural—the trials inscribed within this relic were tailored solely for Muriel, Rebecca, and Cacciola. Not a single test had been prepared for him. The end result was simple: he had been utterly and completely cut off from the outside world.
"Heheheh. What's got you so flustered?"
The secret behind the Lich's immortality resided within this very dungeon. By design, the labyrinth itself served as the font for his innumerable lives. Unless every speck of flesh, every shard of bone, every chimera, and the core of demonic mana within the complex were wiped clean, he would continuously regenerate from death. The ancient cardinal and the barbarian adventurer who confronted him seven centuries ago had been forced to seal him precisely because they failed to deduce that truth.
Having his vital lifeline severed so abruptly, the Lich was undoubtedly tasting unprecedented dread.
"What's the matter? Things not working the way you wanted?"
As I snickered and mocked him, the creature gritted his teeth, crimson flares violently sputtering within his hollow eye sockets.
"What...! What in blazes did you do?! This authority...! Is it Tu-moa?! How did you materialize that wench's divine power in the mortal realm?! Nay, before that, how can a mere human vessel wield such a thing?!"
"Who knows? Why don't you ask the Goddess yourself after you kick the bucket? Assuming she'll even deign to look at you, that is."
I offered him the most infuriating smirk I could muster and gave a brief hand signal. Princess Arpe stepped forward, clearing her throat with a quiet cough. Around her, spectral musical instruments materialized in midair, thrumming with palpable tension.
Unlike the soothing lullaby she had countered before, a mournful, sorrowful melody now rippled through the subterranean hall. Delicate, deliberate notes wove together, transmuting the cavern into a stage of bewitching art. And then, the true performance began.
"O-Ooh...?!"
"Whoa...!"
"Good heavens...! What in the world is this...?!"
Gasps of awe erupted in near unison from my companions as Arpe's trump card enveloped them.
The Sword Masters—Muriel, Rebecca, and Nemeth—were elevated to a state hovering on the threshold of Demi-Gods. Upper-tier Aura Users like Cacciola, Wendy, and Lira were pushed to the verge of Sword Masters. It was a buff that lifted a warrior's realm of power to the next tier—a singular, terrifying ability possessed by perhaps no one else on the continent: Forced Awakening.
Having such overwhelming support was almost unfair. What a completely broken skill.
"Lampon Pashtra."
"Huh?! Y-Yes?! You called for me?!"
Still staring blankly in dazed wonder at her suddenly elevated realm of power, she jumped, looking my way with an expression full of innocent bewilderment.
"You step into the fray, too."
"Pardon?! Me?! I-Is that really all right?!"
"Of course. In fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that you're the only one here who truly has the right to fight this battle."
"...!!"
At my words, her dazed face stiffened as if struck by profound revelation, before slowly stretching into a fierce, predatory grin.
"Think you can handle it?"
Truthfully, there was no need to ask. Battle intent was already billowing violently from the colossal weapon in her grip.
"I'll smash him to pieces!"
"That's what I like to hear. Well then..."
Looking toward Hegellina Krenkel's grotesque form—still frozen in disarray and shock—I focused my thoughts on the Absolute Ring Set.
"I'm tired and want to rest, so let's make this as quick, clean, and painless as possible."
"Y-You wretched cur! What are you?! Where did you crawl out from?! Just how...!"
"Shut your mouth."
In a fraction of a second, the crimson aura of the Absolute Taunt Ring sank into the monster.
"GRAAAAAAAAH! DIEEEE!"
Stripped entirely of his remaining sanity, the Lich hurled a barrage of spells straight at me. It was vicious black magic capable of melting anything it grazed into putrid sludge. But the violet radiance of the Absolute Evasion Ring was already coiled tightly around my frame.
With an absurd, elastic twist, my body bent and stretched at impossible angles, effortlessly slipping past the incoming death magic. Immediately after, I focused my mind and unleashed the Absolute Counter Ring.
A radial surge of dark energy expanded outward, undulating like a viscous, surging wave before crashing directly toward the Lich. It seemed the ring had chosen a completely new form of counterattack this time.
"What...?!"
The creature desperately attempted to parry or evade. Displaying an agility unnatural for a Lich, he sprinted across the chamber while rapidly erecting multiple layers of magical barriers.
"W-What is this?! No! This cannot be...!"
Yet, like an unavoidable curse of fate, the dark wave rendered all his efforts entirely moot, violently engulfing him. The sickening stench of melting flesh immediately flooded the chamber, forcing a grimace onto my face. The only silver lining for the monster was that undead physiology spared him the sensation of pain.
"Curse you! Curse you all! How can such absurdity be permitted?! I will kill you! I will tear every last one of you apart!"
His screech—dripping with raw fury, malice, and murderous intent—was abruptly smothered beneath the thunderous eruption of an oversized destruction spell.
"My word. Truly remarkable. To think I could cast a spell of this magnitude... It's quite a refreshing sensation."
"...Weller, sister. If you're going to sling magic around, give us a heads-up first."
"Hah! Do I need your permission to cast my own spells? Go eat dirt."
"Good grief..."
Shaking my head at her blunt reply, I turned my attention back to the battered Lich.
"K-Khhk...!"
His condition was miserable. While his flesh was rapidly stitching itself back together, the rate was nowhere near the instantaneous recovery he possessed in the original game. The isolation effect was working wonders.
"Hateful... abominations... I shall marinate you in agony... and drown you in despair...!"
The moment black mana began tracing a sinister magic circle in the air, an invisible, intangible blade sheared straight through it, cleaving the construct in two.
"...Mmm. The Mind Sword is far more finicky to wield than I anticipated."
"Haha. State the obvious, why don't you? Without rigorous practice, it won't ever strike where you want it to."
"Like this? Is this the way?"
Muriel and Rebecca fired off countless experimental Mind Swords, their intangible wills cleaving through space and gouging deep trenches directly into Krenkel's frame.
"Stop interfering!"
Though imperfect, the strikes were genuine conceptual blades, yet the Lich's reinforced body miraculously held together. Stamping against the stone floor, he threw a vicious punch forward. Clothed in his bizarrely engineered muscle and bone, his physical speed and strength rivaled those of an authentic Sword Master.
However...
"So this is an Aura Blade... To think the day would come when I could manifest it myself."
"...Once I clear my trial, this power becomes truly mine, doesn't it?!"
"Hahaha! Bwahaha! I did it! I'm actually using an Aura Blade! What a glorious sight!"
Wendy, Cacciola, and Lira—thoroughly thrilled by the taste of Master-class strength—blocked his advance. The radiant coats of dense aura danced along their weapons, tracing shimmering arcs through the dark cavern like brilliant fireworks. Visually speaking, the vivid spectacle of an Aura Blade looked almost more devastating than a Demi-God's conceptual strikes—an ironic contrast, all things considered.
"I told you to get out of my wayyyy!"
"HRAAAAAAH!"
CLANG!!
An unstable mantle of aura struck the flailing creature directly atop his skull. While it failed to inflict significant damage, the ringing impact was delightfully crisp and clear.
"What...?! You wench! You reek of that wretched barbarian and the cardinal!"
"That is correct! For I am none other than Lampon Pashtra, bearer of my great ancestors' blood!"
"An insolent whelp dares look down upon me...!"
It seemed Pashtra was running purely on adrenaline right now. I glanced over at the rest of the rear line.
"Cecilia. Arpe. You two know how crucial your roles are, right?"
"Of course. Please leave it to us."
Princess Arpe gave a firm nod through her mechanical mask.
"Good. I'm counting on you."
After patting the reliable youngsters on their shoulders, I reached out and ruffled the hair of the little girl standing with her lips stubbornly pursed.
"Vivian. Don't just stand there sulking. Keep your eyes open and watch closely."
"...I am watching, Orabeoni. You don't have to tell me twice."
Her slightly petulant reply brought a wry smile to my face.
"GYAAAAAAH! No! Not me! To fall in such a pathetic manner! This cannot be! THIS CANNOT BEEEE!"
Even severed from the dungeon's boundless vitality, Hegellina Krenkel proved remarkably tenacious. He dragged out the violent melee for a full ten minutes before his resilience finally began to falter.
"Looks like it's finally winding down."
His limits reached, chunks of shredded flesh and bone began tumbling to the floor in ever-smaller pieces, rolling across the blood-slicked stone.
"Ah... ahh... How hollow... For it to end like this... I, I am..."
With a final, sickening crunch, his skull shattered into fine powder, and the dense pool of black mana dissipated into nothingness.
"Phew... What an endlessly stubborn wretch."
"Indeed. To think he could endure against our combined assault for this long."
Muriel and Rebecca exhaled ragged breaths, leaning slightly on their weapons as the others tried to recover their stamina. Watching them catch their breath, I waved a hand and raised my voice.
"Don't let your guard down yet! It's not over!"
"...Pardon?"
Just as Rebecca tilted her head in confusion, the gentle glow illuminating the Invitation of the Forgotten abruptly vanished. With the target having 'died' once, the forced trial had reached its natural conclusion. Or rather, the tenuous connection had simply snapped. Using it a second time in succession was completely out of the question; even for a relic, chaining such a broken effect repeatedly was impossible.
—Heh... Hehehe! Hahahahaha! Kahahahaha! Just as I thought! Of course! To think my glorious life could be snuffed out so pathetically would be an insult to my existence!
"What...?!"
A voice reverberated from the empty air, prompting everyone to stiffen and raise their lowered weapons once more.
From the depths of the cavern floor, masses of flesh and splintered bone churned violently, stitching themselves together into a brand-new vessel.
"Cough! Hack! L-Lord Alzen, I can't...!"
Simultaneously, Princess Arpe reached her physical limit with Forced Awakening. The brilliant buffs draped over my companions vanished in a blink. Maintaining three Demi-Gods and three Masters simultaneously was evidently far too severe a strain on her mana.
"Heheh, kuhahaha...! Champions! How does it feel to witness the enemy you thought slain rise whole before your very eyes?!"
Meeting the gaze of the triumphantly sneering monstrosity, I merely let out a faint chuckle.
"Doesn't feel like much of anything, honestly. This might not be the standard storyline, but the boss gimmick still triggers just fine."
"...What?"
—AWOOOOOOOOO!
A sudden, thunderous wolf's howl shook the subterranean chamber to its foundations.
"Ugh...!"
The sheer, crushing pressure radiating from that cry buckled my knees, forcing me straight onto the floor.
"W-What is this?! What is happening now?! Why am I sensing divinity again?!"
As the panicked Lich stumbled backward in unsightly confusion, a colossal, snow-white wolf materialized from the empty air. It bore a resemblance to the guardian beast we encountered at the first Sealing Stone, yet the raw aura and transcendent majesty it radiated belonged to an entirely different dimension.
—To fulfill an ancient covenant, here I stand.
Though the beast's jaws never moved, its solemn voice resonated with crystal clarity within our minds.
"You...! Could you be Kubel?!"
—Commensurate with the worth of the souls of the child who served me and the barbarian who reached the pinnacle, I shall deliver divine retribution upon you.
"A servant of Kubel and a barbarian...?! Don't tell me... No, it can't be!"
Whirling his head around, Hegellina Krenkel fixed his venomous, hatred-filled eyes squarely on Lampon Pashtra.
"Your wretched bloodline... Even after centuries, you dare...!"
His words never finished. Snapping open its colossal jaws, the phantom wolf swallowed him in a single gulp.
Perhaps because the divine manifestation possessed no physical form, there was no gruesome spray of gore or splintering of bone. Yet its absolute authority was undeniable.
"AAAAAAAGH! GYAAAAAAAH! What is this?! What is happening to me?! Why... Why can I feel pain?! AAAAAAAAGH! IT HURTS!"
Thrashing in blind torment, the Lich watched in horror as his stolen nutrients, flesh, bone, intellect, and finally his very soul were inexorably unraveled from his vessel.
—The covenant is fulfilled.
Having confirmed Hegellina Krenkel's utter destruction, the giant wolf cast a brief, knowing glance toward me before dispersing like morning mist, vanishing without a trace.
—Descendant of my beloved child. Walk with your chest held high. You have earned that right.
"Ah... Uh...?"
Leaving behind those final, echoing words for Lampon Pashtra, the Beast God was gone.