Chapter 203
Chapter 203
Calamity of Death.As expected of a final boss, fighting it wasn’t as simple as just memorizing attack patterns.
Without understanding the special gimmicks — the Imaginal Barrier and Death Suspension — one was bound straight for a bad ending.
Right.Just like that Iron-Blooded Duke now lying on the floor, coughing up blood.
‘He’s been poisoned, it seems.’
Binding it wasn’t enough.
True to its title as the Calamity of Death, its magic and the black miasma it spread were both fatally poisonous — incurable by any antidote.
What’s worse, the poison covered the entire map the moment the boss fight began, making long battles impossible.
“Your life… delicious. Offer it… to me.”
At some point, having devoured so many lives, the thing had gained speech — and was now cackling at our party.
Arms folded, it seemed to be waiting for us to succumb to its poison.
But it had overlooked one fact.
“…Grrgh…”“Why? Not going as planned, is it?”
Contrary to its expectations, we moved freely and even took advantageous positions against it.
“I didn’t think the Saintess’s blessing would have this kind of effect…”“She’s the protagonist, after all. If she were weak, how would the game even work?”
Although its toxin couldn’t be dispelled with normal healing magic —
Our party had the disaster-slaying weapon blessed by the protagonist buff:Saintess Rene.
Hearing my telepathic message, my sister smiled faintly.
“Hmm. Now I get why the Church made such a fuss. So it really works even against the final boss?”
Her subtle side-glance said it all.Even if she couldn’t use Telepathy, siblings always had their ways.
‘So, without me, they couldn’t even defeat the Calamity?’
Look at those greed-filled eyes.Makes me want to claw them out.
‘Don’t even think about negotiating with your talent. For the peace of the future empire under the Third Prince, the Calamity must be destroyed.’“Tch. Who said I wouldn’t? Why assume things?”
Assume? Please.I could already tell she was planning to use this Calamity subjugation as an excuse to push her political agenda — maybe win some sympathy for the Third Prince.
‘Hopeless simp for her favorite character.’
Anyway, thanks to the blessing’s poison immunity, we easily moved into the positions we’d planned beforehand.
And that wasn’t all.
“Grragh!”“Now, now, no need to glare like that. Look at me instead. Let’s spend some quality time together.”
The reinforced bones and thick flesh that easily shrugged off the elite troops’ attacks—Should’ve been impervious to mine as well.
“Impossible… why are you… able to wound me…?”
It howled, unable to comprehend the pain from my dagger’s slash.I smirked.
‘Makes sense. Back when you were sealed, the Nameless King was the only hero around. You wouldn’t know about the Saintess.’
The poison immunity was just a side effect.The real power of the blessing lay elsewhere—
‘The buff’s real feature is the massive stat boost and bonus damage against Calamities.’
Perhaps because of the holy energy burning through its skull, its dark eye sockets glowed in fury.
“Arrogant. Reckless. Foolish.”“That’s an odd thing to say to a hero who dares stand against you. A little respect would be nice.”
While trading words with it, I scanned my surroundings.
Nameless King and Elizabeth—the main DPS—confirmed.The Saintess, providing buffs and healing in the safe zone—confirmed.And Freesia, ready to guard her totem-like—confirmed.
“Haa, I’m nervous.”“We just need to do our part.”“You realize that makes it worse, right? You’re the only person who can say that so calmly while facing a monster like this.”
Camilla sighed heavily beside me — the other tank holding the line.
If we fell, the DPS line would collapse, and then the rear would crumble too.A literal last stand.
But that also meant—
‘As long as we hold, the DPS can go wild.’
“Just do as we discussed. I’ll signal you.”“…Got it. I trust you.”
Her eyes firmed with resolve as she summoned waves of Sand Legion soldiers with shields.
“I’m not going to let the creature that would ruin my domain live — not before I even become a duchess.”“Excellent resolve.”
We shared a brief, knowing smile.
“Offer your lives… to me!”
A giant skeletal hand smashed down where we stood—
A strike strong enough to turn soldiers into paste, simply through size and weight.
‘In the original game, that was an instant-death hit if it connected.’
But fittingly, the pattern was simple and slow.
“See? Not that hard to dodge, right?”“You’re probably the only one who can say that so casually after seeing that attack.”
Then came the next phase.
“Rise…”
From where the hand struck, sharp bone shards floated into the air.
Each one — a deadly projectile — homed straight for us.
“Lady Roberc, use your shield soldiers to protect yourself.”“…And you?”“I told you, didn’t I?”
Someone had to stay close and keep the aggro locked.Hide like a turtle, and the boss’s attention would drift elsewhere.
‘Rene, release the blessing.’
The moment I sent that telepathic order—
“Ugh…”
Dizziness hit.My stomach churned.
[Warning][You have been exposed to Death Miasma.]
That was the same toxin that had taken down the Duke.Biting my lip, I steadied myself.
“A-are you okay?!”“…Not exactly fine, but I can endure.”
Camilla probably wasn’t worried about the poison — she was staring at the bone shards sticking out of my body.
[Death Suspension active.][Further exposure will result in death.][Use Saintess’s Blessing to recover.]
At first glance, the system sounded helpful.But it was a trap.
‘Bullshit. Without Death Suspension, those shards would’ve killed me instantly.’
Even with several holes torn through my abdomen, blood pouring out, I kept moving.Just a bit dizzy and nauseous.
“Don’t worry about me. Keep commanding the Sand Soldiers. Protect yourself with the shield formation — and keep a dagger fighter by my side.”“…That, I can do.”
Her magic never failed to amaze me.The instant I asked, the sand shaped into soldiers perfectly matching my build.
‘Wow, that’s exactly my physique.’
No surprise, since there weren’t many dagger users around — she probably modeled it after me.
That worked out even better.Matching body types meant better combat synchronization.
Even in this chaos, her ability to follow my commands calmly was impressive.
“Wait for me. I’ll harvest that Calamity’s soul myself and make you a Duchess.”
My words of reassurance didn’t seem to please her.She only frowned.
“…Just don’t die. It’d all be meaningless if you did.”“Don’t worry. I’m best at keeping myself alive.”
With that, I leapt toward the reeling Calamity, accompanied by the sand soldiers.
I recalled the Duke’s knight — shredded to pieces in his armor.He had been competent.He’d dodged that slow hand-slam just fine.
“Ghhk— Wh-why… just from a small bone shard…”
But one homing shard was all it took to end him.
Whereas I, taking the same attack head-on, still stood alive.
‘If only he’d understood the mechanic, the outcome could’ve been different.’
I muttered a brief prayer and plunged the Crow Talon into the Calamity’s wormlike flesh.
“Y-you…!”“Heh. How does it feel to realize your attacks can’t reach me?”
The boss had two attack types:
Bone patterns — physical attacks like slams and projectiles.
Death miasma patterns — poison clouds and curses.
The first type was instant death on hit, so dodging was standard.The second was meant to be resisted through the Saintess’s blessing…
‘But there’s always a loophole.’
The alternative strategy was to use its own mechanics against it.The key: Death Suspension.
Once exposed to Death Miasma, you’d be locked in this near-death debuff.And that—was the exploit.
‘Calling it a debuff is an understatement.’
In this state, no matter how many bone attacks hit, you simply wouldn’t die — a pseudo-invincibility.That’s how I could fight this close.
Not a common strategy, of course.
[My forum post][“Calamity of Death Pattern Breakdown and Exploit Guide”][Replies:][— Did you even clear Luciana? You absolute sweatlord.][— What’s a Calamity?][— I read about it once. Anyone who beats that is insane…]
Yeah, I was the pioneer in this hellish difficulty game.
“Begone! You… leech…!”“Would you let go if you were me?”
I deflected its wild swings and drove my Crow Talon into its weak spots —Soft gaps between bones, eye sockets, joints — anywhere it would hurt most.
The sand soldiers mirrored my movements perfectly, adding bonus hits.
“You… worthless life… surrender it… now…!”
I had the aggro fully locked — mission accomplished.
“Cough!”
But the backlash was real.Blood spilled from my mouth as nausea turned to agony.
The poison had spread everywhere — I was on the verge of death.
“Heh. Finally… ripened.”
Realizing it, the monster opened its jaw wide in a grotesque grin.
“…Heh, heh… acting like the hunt’s already over.”
Too bad for it — I’d seen what happened to the Duke. I was ready.
‘Rene, Blessing!’“…You owe me, you know.”
Her loud complaint echoed across the battlefield, but the holy light that followed wrapped me instantly.
Even when the poison hit critical levels, our divine totem fixed everything.
“A heal too? Nice. You really are talented.”“…”“Now then — shall we continue?”
I canceled the blessing again, reactivating my undead-like state.The boss froze, unable to comprehend what it was seeing.
“Grrrhhh…”
After several repetitions of this pattern—
The Nameless King’s relentless assault and Elizabeth’s fierce flames finally shattered the monster’s upper body.
“Did… did we get it?!”
Elizabeth blurted the words instinctively — overwhelmed by triumph.
““…””“What? Why are you all looking at me like that?”
Rene and I exchanged a grim glance.
“Prepare yourselves.”
It wasn’t just because of Elizabeth’s resurrection spell.
After all, what kind of final boss would end without a phase change?
“GRAAAHHH!”
The Calamity of Death roared, its upper body rising once again —marking the start of Phase Two.