Chapter 25

Chapter 25.

At Ha-kyung’s declaration, the tanks looked puzzled.

Of course, melee damage dealers sometimes took on tanking duties when the situation called for it.

They tended to be sturdier than most, after all.

But from a tank’s perspective, they were all the same fragile bodies in the end.

Ha-kyung, however, was different.

He suddenly leaped in and began fighting the Shroud Wraith,

and even after exchanging dozens of blows, he was perfectly fine.

The tanks could only stare in confusion.

“If he has enough attack power to cut a Banshee in half in one strike, should his Defense not be low?”

“Exactly. Then why is he not going down?”

“Look closely. He has not even taken a single hit. He is dodging everything and still landing every attack.”

The tanks, seeing Ha-kyung’s fighting style with their own eyes, could not close their gaping mouths.

On top of that, under normal circumstances, aggro should have been bouncing all over the place.

The boss had been exposed to the main tank’s taunt abilities for too long.

And yet the Shroud Wraith was focused on Ha-kyung alone.

What did that mean?

A single thought rose in all their minds.

‘He is stealing aggro through sheer overwhelming attack power.’

That meant the boss felt an immense sense of danger from him.

Even while pulling off an insane performance, Ha-kyung’s mind remained calm.

‘There are no healers right now, so this is the only option.’

He had Tyrant’s Bracelet.

And if he made use of Restoration Veil as well, he could survive even two severe injuries.

Of course, it would still be better if he did not get hit at all.

To make that happen, Ha-kyung moved frantically.

But the real danger was only beginning now.

[Abyss Challenger’s authority, ‘Distortion,’ has ended.]

Fwoooong—.

The translucent barrier surrounding the group and the purple disc both faded away.

Then the Shroud Wraith slowly stretched both arms outward.

At once, black projectiles began flying toward them again.

Ssssss!

[The Curse of Aging corrodes equipment.]

“Damn it, that thing again!”

The tanks had no choice but to retreat in faltering steps.

Even attacking required mana.

Ma Do-hyuk, who had been supporting Ha-kyung, also withdrew from the battlefield.

It was not simply that he could not endure the curse and had run away.

Ma Do-hyuk circled behind the Shroud Wraith and raised the Whisperer.

“I will try to scatter the projectiles somehow.”

It was a very solid strategy.

If they stayed bunched together, there would be that much less room to dodge.

Thanks to that, Ha-kyung had a much easier time cutting away the Curse of Aging.

But because of it, their offense slowed to a crawl.

As though it had regained its composure, the Shroud Wraith began pressing Ha-kyung hard.

“Kieeeeeeet!”

Swoooosh—! Swoooosh—!

It attacked using its long arms and claws.

It felt less like being whipped by limbs and more like being struck by enormous tree trunks.

KRAAASH! KRAAASH!

Every time they scraped the ground, a tremendous amount of stone dust flew into the air.

For Ha-kyung, it was pure misery.

The Curse of Aging was focused on him as well.

A desperate crisis.

Clang! Sping!

[The ‘Final Stand Guard’ skill increases Defense and Resistance.]

[The ‘Shield Interpose’ skill neutralizes impact.]

Thanks to the tanks’ protection skills, Ha-kyung was able to hold out a little longer.

Of course, the support had obvious limits, so there was no way around using Tyrant’s Bracelet.

[Tyrant’s Bracelet activated.]

[The body rapidly recovers.]

Sssshhh! SKRAAASH!

Ha-kyung ignored defense entirely and unleashed a relentless barrage of slashes.

His compressed Abyss Refinement displayed terrifying destructive power.

Enough to ruthlessly shatter the Shroud Wraith’s composure.

And then something happened that Ha-kyung had not expected at all.

[The Curse of Aging has drained all mana.]

[Severe lethargy spreads through the entire body.]

[Movement reduced by 99%]

Whoosh! Grab!

The instant he faltered under the force of the curse, the Shroud Wraith seized Ha-kyung’s body.

“Kgh!”

“Mr. Ha-kyung!”

He could hear Ma Do-hyuk shouting, but the sound never truly registered in his ears.

The crushing pressure was too overwhelming for him to keep his senses straight.

Ha-kyung felt every bone in his body splintering.

Crack-crack-crack!

‘My movement only slowed for a split second, and it seized that opening...’

This was not simply a ghost-type boss that emitted curses.

Perhaps because it was Extreme rank, the gap in raw power felt overwhelming.

The Shroud Wraith laughed like it had gone mad.

“Kihihihihihi!”

At the same time, it gradually tightened its grip.

If ten more seconds passed like this, he would burst like a disposable ketchup packet.

Then the main tank’s voice came through the Whisperer.

“We will try to pry you loose somehow. So why not fall back for now and look for another way?”

Honestly, it was the most natural suggestion in the world.

How could three tanks and two melee damage dealers possibly finish a raid?

But this was the Layered Abyss.

The Shroud Wraith would only continue growing stronger,

and there was no guarantee they would find the escape gimmick, either.

Ha-kyung believed the best option was to end the raid as quickly as possible.

“Kgh! N-no. I will endure it somehow, so focus only on attacking!”

“What? But...”

Crunch!

After that, he could no longer hear his teammates’ voices.

The Whisperer attached to his shoulder had been crushed.

Regardless, Ha-kyung focused solely on deploying his skill.

‘Please... just do not fail.’

[Setting target for the Kin-Eater skill.]

[Target: Shroud Wraith]

Piiing—!

Fortunately, Kin-Eater activated properly.

And the power stored in the Reactive Magic Armor had reached its maximum as well.

[Reactive Magic Armor activated.]

[Cloak of Command activated.]

Kwaaaaaah—!

Dark crimson flames erupted from within the Shroud Wraith’s grip.

Maximized mana and Abyss energy had combined, creating a powerful synergy.

A tremendous pressure bore down on Ha-kyung’s entire body.

But he could endure it.

Thanks to the Cloak of Command, the pain had been erased.

And in any case, it was no worse than being held in the Shroud Wraith’s grasp.

Emitting streams of blue light from his eyes, Ha-kyung shot upward.

“Hah!”

His resounding shout crashed across the battlefield.

A moment later, a gigantic blade fifteen meters long came crashing down like lightning.

It was a strike like divine judgment.

Soul-Sever, following Kin-Eater.

Swoooooosh—! KRAAANG!

The Shroud Wraith hurriedly lurched backward.

Both of the arms it had reflexively thrust out were severed.

“Kieeek! Kieeek!”

The creature screamed in agony.

Dark crimson flames had spread onto its body and continued to burn it.

Flames born from mana and Abyss energy intertwined.

It was a disastrous kind of power.

Meanwhile, Ha-kyung remained suspended in the air.

He had unleashed an overwhelming attack, yet his blade was still burning.

Its length had shrunk to around ten meters, of course.

But the dark crimson flames continued to pour from it without end.

Ha-kyung observed himself in silence.

‘My control over Abyss energy is far better than before. I withstood Kin-Eater, and I still have power left.’

It felt as though he could keep fighting just like this.

He slowly took a step forward.

Incredibly, Ha-kyung was walking across empty air as though it were level ground.

It was the result of using Wall-Walking Steps with his immense Abyss energy.

The tanks staring up at him let out breathless exclamations.

“What in the world is that...?”

“Does Choi Hyun-ki have garbage for judgment? Why would he run after bringing in someone like that?”

“Huh? You are right. All they had to do was poke from the back with a few ranged attacks, and they could have cleared an Extreme-rank dungeon.”

Since they were all serving as guest members for the Raiders, the tanks were clearly top-tier awakened ones themselves.

But perhaps this was the first time they had ever seen a sight like this, because they could only keep marveling.

At last, Ha-kyung rushed toward the Shroud Wraith.

Sssshhhh—!

He ran while stepping through empty air.

He looked like some martial arts master descending from legend.

And then, just as Ha-kyung’s blade was about to pierce the creature’s chest,

[The Shroud Wraith activates its ultimate skill: ‘Grief Howl.’]

[An unstoppable wave of Abyss energy has been detected.]

“Kweeeeeek!”

The Shroud Wraith let out a chilling shriek.

At the same time, an impact wave of tremendous force exploded outward.

Booom—!

It was powerful enough to fling even Ha-kyung, who had been charging ahead without slowing, high into the air.

[The Wailing of the Dead ravages mental strength.]

[Fear clouds judgment.]

[Hallucinations distort vision.]

[Mental confusion makes it difficult to distinguish friend from foe.]

It was similar to the curse he had experienced in the medium Unknown-rank dungeon,

the Abyss of Loathing.

But this felt several stages worse.

It was as though every kind of mental debuff imaginable had fallen on him at once.

Even so, Ha-kyung did not waver.

‘There is only one enemy anyway. Its body is too enormous for me to mistake it.’

He had been launched hundreds of meters into the air,

but now he plummeted downward at great speed.

His target was the crown of the Shroud Wraith’s head.

By then, Ha-kyung was wrapped in dark crimson flames.

He had cloaked his entire body in mana and Abyss energy.

Ha-kyung fell like a missile reentering the atmosphere.

Swooooooosh—! BOOOOOM!

His strike landed squarely in the center of the Shroud Wraith.

Then Ha-kyung drove downward as though he intended to punch straight through the floor itself.

KWAAANG!

A thunderous crash rang out, and a cloud of dust erupted.

The Shroud Wraith’s movements came to a halt.

A moment later, all kinds of skills were cast on Ha-kyung.

[The ‘Barrier Pulse’ skill temporarily provides a protective shield.]

[The ‘Guard Frame’ skill greatly reduces the probability of injury.]

Even amid the chaos, his teammates’ determination to keep him alive stood out.

Ha-kyung suddenly looked up at the Shroud Wraith.

‘Did it die?’

That truly had been a strike poured out with every last ounce of strength.

Who in the world would ever hurl their body at a boss monster like that?

Even durable tanks would have been shattered to pieces by an impact that powerful.

But Ha-kyung had a solid reason for doing it.

[Restoration Veil activated.]

[Resets an artifact currently on cooldown.]

[Tyrant’s Bracelet activated.]

[The body rapidly recovers.]

Sssshhh!

Even if his entire body had been smashed apart, he would not have died.

Tyrant’s Bracelet would have restored him somehow.

Soon, the intensity of the ghostly shrieks rapidly faded.

The Shroud Wraith shrank like a balloon losing air.

[You have defeated the dungeon boss, Shroud Wraith.]

[As a reward, ‘Curse Breaker’ is granted.]

“Waaaaah!”

The moment the system message appeared,

cheers erupted from behind him.

It was the shout of the teammates who had watched with their hearts in their throats.

Ha-kyung rose from within the completely shattered ruins of an abandoned house.

Just then, a cluster of light slowly drifted down before him.

He casually reached out and caught it.

‘So this is the final reward.’

The Layered Abyss was now an Extreme-rank dungeon.

But since it had changed in the middle of the raid, the reward might still have remained the same.

After checking the artifact’s information, Ha-kyung smiled in satisfaction.

‘Oh? Curse immunity?’

The final reward was a small necklace.

An artifact called Curse Breaker.

It cut the power of curses at Unfathomable rank or higher in half,

and completely ignored anything at Unknown rank or lower.

Because it was an artifact useful regardless of position, it would undoubtedly fetch an enormous price.

Just like Tyrant’s Bracelet.

Before long, Ma Do-hyuk and the tanks gathered around Ha-kyung.

“Mr. Ha-kyung, are you all right?”

“Yes, I am perfectly fine.”

“Wow! You can deal damage, and you can tank. What exactly can you not do?”

“I can only endure temporarily like that. It is still quite far from proper tanking.”

Ha-kyung casually held up Tyrant’s Bracelet.

If it was Ma Do-hyuk, he would understand immediately.

They had cleared the Fusion Abyss together,

and he had seen Ha-kyung win it at the internal auction with his own eyes.

Meanwhile, just like Ma Do-hyuk, the tanks could not hide their excitement.

“Damn, that was insane. I cannot believe I got to see that.”

“This is the kind of story I could live on for the rest of my life. I do not think I will ever forget today.”

“If you ever need a guest member, call me. I will tank for you like a dog!”

The main tank was already trying to sell himself.

Ha-kyung calmed the overheated mood.

“Let us gather the spoils and get out first. If we stay here, we are only going to attract more monsters.”

“Yes, understood!”

The tanks moved at once.

The cleanup was finished quickly.

Since they were ghost-type monsters, there was not much to collect.

Soon afterward, the group left through the official exit.

Since the path had already been cleared in advance, the return trip went smoothly.

But the moment they passed through the Abyss Gate ,they came face-to-face with something revolting.

The master of the Raiders guild who had abandoned the front line and run.

Choi Hyun-ki.

“You filthy piece of trash!”