Chapter 86
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: SS급 비명헌터-86화
-----------------------------------------------------------------
```html
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: True Chronos' Fury
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Oh dear, oh dear. In the end, I have to step in myself.”
“You should give up now, Father.”
Taking advantage of the father-son conversation starting up again, I infused my voice into Ego.
We're probably just before entering the fourth day by now. If we smoothly clear the remaining phases 3 and 4, the new record is secured for sure.
“It's been a while since I faced something like this. Kinda tense.”
Ha Mi-jun Hunter muttered as he shoved a hunter-grade energy bar into his mouth. Sure enough, close-combat hunters burned a ton of calories—Se-bin-i was chowing down on hunter jerky just as eagerly.
“We going with the standard formation for phase 3?”
Cha Do-yun Hunter spoke up. The “True Chronos” of phase 3 just swung its scythe in place, but the range was insanely wide, and it irregularly spewed fire orbs, making it a tricky bastard to handle.
“Guess we have to.”
“I'll take the front with Ha Mi-jun Hunter, Cha Do-yun Hunter in the rear, and Ji-ui handling the air.”
Se-bin-i stared hard at True Chronos before shifting her gaze to Zeus. Zeus was facing True Chronos head-on in a petty stare-down, standing right in the center of the temple.
Perfect spot to use as our central axis.
“With Zeus in the center, Ha Mi-jun Hunter on the left and Se-bin-i on the right would be best. Se-bin-i's attack range is wider, so it'll be safer that way.”
“Shin Ji-ui's turning into a full-on hunter veteran.”
Ha Mi-jun Hunter grinned and ruffled my hair.
“Alright, everyone watch out for the flames, and let's push to phase 4 safely.”
We moved to our positions before the conversation with Zeus wrapped up. I leaped into the air, landing at a spot where I could see the top of True Chronos's head, and readjusted my grip on Ego.
“Come on, give it a try!”
Boom!
No sooner had we settled than True Chronos swung its scythe horizontally. The two pillars in front split clean in half and tumbled down. The roof they were supporting shook precariously, on the verge of collapse.
Tree trunks sprouted from the base of the pillars, filling the empty spaces and barely holding back the crumbling ceiling.
Flames flickered atop True Chronos's hand, but they weren't aimed at us yet.
If only we knew when those things pop out, it'd be a hell of a lot easier.
Thud thud thud!!
Cha Do-yun Hunter's arrow struck True Chronos first. A thick bullet ejected from Ego flew straight for its heart.
Screeech.
“Tch...”
True Chronos swung its scythe, slightly deflecting the bullet's trajectory. As expected of an upper-mid S-rank dungeon boss—it could tank attacks to a degree.
The bullet embedded itself in a corner of the temple, shattering some decorative pottery before vanishing.
“Guh!”
At that moment, a black shadow hand choked True Chronos's neck. Se-bin-i, gripping the shadow's end, circled behind and wrenched its head back.
Chance!
I pulled Ego's trigger right at its throat.
“You... insolent worms!”
The black flames in True Chronos's palm swelled, then suddenly burst outward in all directions.
Kaboom!!
Holes punched through the temple floor everywhere as pillars of fire erupted. The scorching heat blasted my face, filling my lungs with fiery breath. My lungs felt like they were burning, so I covered my mouth and nose with my forearm.
“Cough! Cough!”
Through the thick smoke and flames, I saw True Chronos raising its scythe.
It slashed horizontally before, but this time it's slamming down at the floor.
I brought Ego to my lips.
“Dodge sideways!”
No sooner had I shouted than the massive scythe smashed into the floor. Cracks spiderwebbed out like breaking ice, splitting the entire temple floor in two in an instant. Dust rained from the ceiling, and the pillar bound by Ha Mi-jun Hunter's skill wobbled dangerously. The temple itself looked one step from total collapse.
“Damn, that's hot.”
A low mutter echoed in my ear. I turned toward the sound to see Se-bin-i crouched on the ceiling, gazing calmly at True Chronos. Aside from a few scrapes, she was unscathed.
Crunch.
Through the dust storm, Ha Mi-jun Hunter burst out alongside thick wooden vines. The vines wrapped tightly around True Chronos's scythe embedded in the floor, pinning it down. The panicked monster gripped it with both hands, struggling to lift it.
Ha Mi-jun Hunter shot me a quick wink, and I immediately pulled Ego's trigger.
Kaboom!!
I fired a larger-than-usual shot, nailing True Chronos right in the forehead. As the shadow hand tightened on its neck, True Chronos clawed at it with its nails, letting out guttural roars.
“Watch out!”
No sooner had Cha Do-yun Hunter warned than the monster dropped its scythe and thrust both hands skyward. Massive fire orbs began raining down like meteors.
Thud thud thud!!
“Ugh!”
No time to dodge—I blocked with my shield. Unbearable pain shot through the palm holding it steady. I hurled the shield upward and dropped to the floor. My blistered palm throbbed like it'd been stabbed by thousands of needles.
There has to be a separate pattern for the flame bursts.
I caught my breath and observed True Chronos. It had incinerated all of Ha Mi-jun Hunter's vines and was now raising its scythe again. Black flames were bubbling up in its hand once more.
Slash.
Suddenly, Se-bin-i appeared before True Chronos's eyes and slashed across its face horizontally.
“Graaaah!! You foolish humans!!”
Kaboom!!
“Se-bin-i!”
At the same instant, black flames engulfed True Chronos's surroundings in a flash. My heart plummeted before I could even register it. I dodged frantically amid the blaze scorching random spots in the space.
Wait a sec—hasn't it burst flames every time after getting hit?
I leaped high into the air to evade the fire orbs and heat, and my brain finally kicked in. If I saw right, True Chronos had only released those black flames whenever it took a direct attack so far.
Then we need to pile on attacks and overwhelm it all at once.
Clack.
Se-bin-i landed beside me on the ceiling and poured water from her inventory onto her burned hand.
“I figured out the flame pattern... Ugh!”
Thud!
That instant, Se-bin-i yanked me into her arms and blocked True Chronos's scythe with her shadow. She then dropped straight to the ground and tossed me toward Cha Do-yun Hunter.
“You okay?”
“Just some skin peeled off my palm.”
Cha Do-yun Hunter cast Sky Breeze while drawing back the string of Morning Glory.
“Hold on! Don't attack yet!”
[Eloquence Increased]
[Awakener 'Shin Ji-ui's' statement causes Awakener 'Cha Do-yun' to waver.]
[Speech Result: Doubt]
“Ha Mi-jun Hunter! Kang Se-bin! Everyone, just defend—no attacks!”
“Did you figure something out?”
Se-bin-i and Ha Mi-jun Hunter, blocking the massive scythe up front, glanced back slightly.
“It unleashes flame attacks every time we hit it directly.”
“So the attacks weren't irregular after all.”
Thud!
True Chronos's scythe came for me and Cha Do-yun Hunter this time. Instead of attacking, I rolled aside to dodge, and it retracted the scythe to prep another strike.
“We need to unload all our attacks at once and then evade.”
“Then right after the attack, I'll push back the flames with Heaven's Disaster as much as I can.”
“I'm counting on you, Cha Do-yun Hunter.”
[Eloquence Increased]
[Awakener 'Shin Ji-ui's' statement causes Awakener 'Cha Do-yun' to waver.]
[Speech Result: Shyness]
Man, this guy crumbles at a compliment.
Well, with parents like that, he'd never gotten proper praise or even decent treatment, so it made sense.
“Okay, then Shin Ji-ui Hunter gives the signal.”
I nodded to Ha Mi-jun Hunter and leaped higher than True Chronos's head. The monster seemed to be catching its breath too, just idly swinging its scythe forward now and then without any big moves.
The others seem positioned too...
I glanced at the hunters' spots, then brought Ego to my lips.
“Now!”
A heavy sonic bullet rocketed from Ego, leaving a white trail straight for its forehead. Just before impact, Se-bin-i appeared above its head. Cold wind arrows and thick wooden vines targeted its neck in unison.
Kaboom!!
A massive shockwave that shook the very space rocked the entire temple.
“Graaaah!!”
“Cha Do-yun Hunter!”
“Got it!”
Whoooosh—
A curt reply, and fierce winds began blasting toward True Chronos.
“Don't get cocky, you humans!”
Thud thud!
True Chronos hurled fire orbs from both hands. The heat singed our skin, but they didn't swallow us whole. I easily dodged the relatively slow incoming orbs and prepared my final blow on True Chronos.
Crack.
I shifted Ego to shotgun form, landed swiftly in front of it, then morphed it into a mortar.
Let's end this and head to the final phase!
The monster's face twisted in shock just as its black scythe thrust right at my nose. I rolled back by a hair's breadth, and the air vibrated massively.
Kaboom!!
True Chronos's body exploded just as the temple roof, barely hanging on, finally caved in.
“Y-you bastards!!”
A rage-filled scream, and True Chronos's body shattered as pathetically as a dropped statue.
Rumble rumble.
Its throne collapsed too, buried under the roof debris. A blast of black dust hit my face. I reached for Ego, and it returned to its original form, slipping neatly into my hand.
“Impressive doesn't even cut it—you're downright respectable.”
“Was that okay?”
“Overwhelming.”
Se-bin-i poked her face in instead of Ha Mi-jun Hunter to answer.
“Let's heal up quick before phase 4.”
Cha Do-yun Hunter cast Sky Breeze while eyeing True Chronos. The monster was completely buried under our attacks and temple rubble, only a mangled arm sticking out. It looked deader than dead, HP critically low—not just reduced, but it still had its final phase left for us.
“How much time's passed?”
“Four days, one hour, twenty-five minutes. New record's locked in; now it's about how much we shave off.”
Ha Mi-jun Hunter stowed the timer in his inventory again. We hadn't rested properly midway, so fatigue was finally creeping in.
Can't let my focus slip. Gotta stay sharp.
“You stupid, idiotic humans...!”
“Guys, careful! Father's state is off!”
Zeus, who'd been standing idly in the center until now, suddenly turned to us and pointed at True Chronos.
Rumble.
No need for Zeus to say it—we knew. Next, True Chronos would shrink to human size and turn this place into a wasteland.
“I will never forgive you!”
Thud!
Temple debris got sucked up through the ceiling hole, and the massive True Chronos floated up light as a feather. Sunlight streaming in made the floating dust particles starkly visible.
True Chronos glared at us, gripping its enormous scythe with both hands, then spread its arms wide toward the sky.
“My throne is inviolable!!”
The roar heralding the final phase—from an absolute god.
```