Chapter 281
Chapter 281
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 281
>Chapter Title: Hidden Phase
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[An eerie substance lodged in the Legion Leader's heart reacts to the Vessel of Fate.]
[Phase 2 is skipped.]
[A hidden phase occurs.]
“……Hidden phase?”
Suddenly, in this situation?
Before the dazed Do-hyun could even process what was happening, it began.
Saaaaah—
Something dark purple, like smog, rose from the Legion Leader and swiftly began staining the surrounding ground.
“W-What’s that?”
“No, what the hell is going on all of a sudden?”
“An aura’s pouring out?”
An instinctive sense of revulsion from the unpleasant energy.
The writhing ground felt downright ominous, like looking at a pollutant.
Even the raid party members, who had been riding the momentum, hesitated and fell back.
Nor were they the only ones.
“What’s this now?”
“……I don’t know the details, but it doesn’t look good.”
“Agreed.”
Ast, the Heavenly Demon, and Arthur, who had been sweeping forward with overwhelming momentum, came to a halt and furrowed their brows.
Even the zealot, who had been relentlessly swinging his greatsword without pause, was forced to retreat amid the thickening aura.
------!
The density of the roaring bellow was different.
A sharpness that seemed to tear through space transmitted through the air to their skin.
The Empress’s eyes grew serious.
“……Hey. Get ready.”
“Yeah.”
Her instincts were telling her.
Everything until now had just been a warm-up. This was the true start of the raid.
And it wasn’t just her—everyone here felt it.
They say ominous premonitions are never wrong.
[The Labyrinth begins abyssifying.]
[The ground abyssifies around the sealed abyss, ‘Ruin’s 4th Legion Leader.’]
[Current Labyrinth abyssification: 10%]
[If abyssification reaches 100%, the Labyrinth raid fails, and it will affect the outside.]
“What? Abyssification?”
“It’ll affect the outside of the Labyrinth? Doesn’t that mean we’re screwed if we fail?”
“It’s just like the Forgotten Tomb! Damn, mess this up and we’re war criminals!”
“Is the scale even right for this?”
The sense of crisis conveyed even through text was enough to sow chaos.
And it wasn’t over yet.
Kugugugu—
The ground shook, and the dark purple-stained earth began turning translucent.
“W-What’s that?”
“……An egg?”
“No, but why is it that huge?”
Beneath the revealed corrupted land was a massive egg.
Its size was absurd.
Just looking down at the floor brought a sense of powerlessness bordering on despair.
“Mountain after mountain.”
“No wonder it felt too easy…… Tsk.”
“Whatever it is, the situation doesn’t look promising.”
Ast and the Empress clicked their tongues in disbelief.
Arthur and the others were no different, but only Do-hyun and the Guardians wore grave expressions.
They had no choice.
‘Master, don’t tell me that’s……’
‘Yeah, looks like it.’
‘……We must stop it, my lord.’
Do-hyun’s group had seen it before.
The event that appeared when they defeated the Destroyer Gaimon in Brion.
‘The Eye of the Abyss.’
Its reptilian pupil was still closed, making it look like an egg at a glance, but there was no doubt.
The overwhelming presence, like that cosmic horror, wasn’t something you could forget even if you tried.
And above all.
“Hey! Look over there!”
“Damn, what’s that!?”
“It’s coming up! Block it for now!”
The legions of the abyss emerging from the faintly opened eye were proof.
Like an army rising from hell.
A ferocious dark purple aura flowed from those climbing from underground to the surface.
‘Over 50 at a glance.’
The silver lining was that they seemed like mere fodder—weak for abyss legions.
Some even had their heads pierced mid-climb and plummeted into the abyss.
“Huh?”
“There it is. Knock them down before they come up!”
“Okay!”
Regaining confidence, the players hurriedly started dropping them.
They’d already taken out a quarter, but regrettably, that was the limit.
Kyaaaaah—
Krurrr—!
“Up top too!”
“Argh, this is insane.”
Massive abyss beasts like wyverns flapping in the sky.
The remaining ones had flown in to interfere.
Th…… uuuu…….
Kikigik…….
Meanwhile, the abyss legions that successfully climbed up were shockingly human.
More precisely, they had once been human—half retained human skin, the other half corrupted and oozing from the abyss.
The players flinched at their grotesque appearance, but someone bellowed.
“Charge!”
“They’re weaker than they look! Don’t fall back—wipe them out!”
It was Marpad and Rabaon.
“……Pardon?”
“B-But what about the Legion Leader……”
The players, snapping to attention under their command, raised objections, but they were firm.
“Trust the masters to handle it.”
“You can’t focus on the Legion Leader with the legion in the way. Clearing the legion as fast as possible is how you help. Got it!”
“Yes!”
Unable to refute the precise command, they obeyed without further questions.
Of course, the Kashin cultists went without saying.
“Faithful, purge the heretics!”
“Yes!”
“For the almighty Kashin!”
At the zealot’s order, they plunged into the legions without a moment’s hesitation.
No horrific appearance or menacing aura could halt their fanaticism.
Do-hyun nodded in approval.
‘As expected of rankers—they adapt fast.’
Thanks to their quick handling of the sudden situation, they could focus on the Legion Leader undisturbed.
If those fools had let the legion interfere……
Just thinking about it gave him chills.
But they’d only averted the worst; the situation remained dire.
[Current Labyrinth abyssification: 12%.]
[Powerful abyss entities appear proportional to abyssification progress.]
‘It spawned the legion at 10%. No changes during the next 2%. Does it spawn legions based on 10% increments?’
The raid now had a time limit.
No more taking it slow and steady.
From his Brion experience, the abyss at 100% was obvious.
‘Abyss powerhouses.’
Once they appeared, it was over.
They had to end it as fast as possible.
[The sealed abyss, ‘Ruin’s 4th Legion Leader,’ activates the ‘Legion Leader’ trait.]
[While leading the legion, Ruin’s 4th Legion Leader gains ‘Knockback Immunity,’ ‘Status Ailment Immunity,’ and ‘Merciless’ effects.]
A stronger Legion Leader, with fewer members.
“Everyone get the situation? Drag this out, and we lose. We end it quick.”
“Same thought, but…… can we? The abyssification speed is no joke.”
“Mm.”
Ast couldn’t respond to the Heavenly Demon’s question.
In this short time, progress had jumped another 2% to 14%.
At this rate, new abyss entities—stronger ones—would spawn before the legion died.
Meanwhile, the Legion Leader still had 50% health left.
With reduced numbers, even simple math said it’d take at least two more hours.
“No. Killing it isn’t the strategy.”
Arthur spoke up then.
“? If not killing the boss, then what?”
“Looks like you know something.”
“Just a guess.”
“No time—spit it out, whatever it is.”
At the Empress’s urging, Arthur calmly turned to gaze beside the Legion Leader.
Where the massive egg…… no, the Eye of the Abyss lay.
“See that?”
“Who wouldn’t? It’s huge even with my eyes half-shut.”
“Look closer.”
“What the hell could be…… Huh?”
The Empress paused mid-scowl at Arthur’s calm reply.
There really was something.
Blending so seamlessly with the abyss-corrupted ground that it seemed part of it at a glance.
“An orb?”
It wasn’t just any orb.
A faint line connected the Legion Leader’s back to it, like a soul tether.
So faint you wouldn’t see it without close inspection.
‘Even I didn’t notice.’
Do-hyun genuinely hadn’t spotted it.
Not hidden—his Eye of Truth simply hadn’t activated.
“Objectively, does straight-up killing it before 100% sound feasible?”
“……No. Hell no.”
“That orb might be the key. Of course, it could be a trap……”
“Hmm. Is that so?”
The listening Empress nodded.
“Then let’s try it.”
“Huh?”
“Wait, Empress. It could be a trap. We should be more cau—”
“Argh, that hothead…… ignoring us and charging in again.”
Before Arthur and Ast could stop her, she kicked off the ground, bulldozed through the blocking legion, and reached the orb.
Standing before it, she swung her sword with full force.
Boom!
“What? Nothing happened?”
“That’s why I said think first……”
“Hit it more and see.”
“Argh, screw it. Pull the Legion Leader’s aggro.”
At her relentless strikes, the group hurriedly drew the Legion Leader’s attention as best they could.
Kwaaaang! Kwang! Boom!
After a few hits.
Crack—crack crack—
Boom!
A crack formed on the orb, then light exploded forth.
Like a flashbang in the dark, the burst made them squint.
Kraaaaa!!!
The Legion Leader writhed in agony.
System messages followed.
[Partially destroyed the sealed soul of ‘Ruin’s 4th Legion Leader.’]
[The Legion Leader takes severe damage.]
[Sealed abyss, ‘Ruin’s 4th Legion Leader’s’ health is now below 40%.]
“Oh?”
“No way, it worked?”
As Ast let out a disbelieving chuckle.
[The sealed soul splits into two upon partial destruction.]
[Both split sealed souls must be destroyed simultaneously.]
[Only single-target attacks accumulate damage.]
With the sudden messages, the orb split into two and scattered to either side.
“Huh?”
“No way?”
“I see. Now I get it.”
At this point, no one could miss the strategy.
The Legion Leader and its legion were decoys. They weren’t the real focus.
‘While drawing aggro on the Legion Leader, someone smashes the orbs.’
It seemed to shave off 10% per break, so four times would end it.
Five orbs was a hitch, but they had seven including the archers.
Doable.
That’s what they thought.
Ding—
Until the next messages appeared.
[The sealed soul’s destruction releases the suppression of ‘Power of Ruin.’]
[‘Ruin’s 4th Legion Leader’ can now use one of its sealed powers.]
[Uses Pillar of Ruin.]
[If the Legion Leader’s aggro is lost for 10+ seconds, a Pillar of Ruin generates.]
[If three or more Pillars of Ruin generate, they explode, causing AoE damage.]
[Warning! Pillar of Ruin’s AoE damage is an instant-kill judgment.]
“…….”
“…….”
Everyone fell silent as if by agreement amid the flurry of disorienting messages.
The Heavenly Demon’s dignified voice broke the icy silence.
“Looks like we’ve been had.”
