Chapter 35

Chapter 35.

Frost Bishop’s appearance was extremely grotesque.

It looked like bluish human bones covered only in ragged strips of leather.

On top of that, it held a massive staff made from monster corpses stitched together.

Because of that, an insane stench poured from it.

Flies the size of human heads swarmed around it in droves.

It was a truly revolting creature.

―Groaaaaah!

Frost Bishop discovered the raid party.

Its red eyes gleamed as it roared.

[Frost Bishop deploys Maggot Downpour]

Soon, white lumps began raining down.

SPLAT! SPLAT!

Larvae fell to the ground and turned pitch-black.

Then huge flies burst out from them.

BUZZZZZ!

As the swarm of flies rose into the air, they looked almost like drones.

They rushed in, clacking the jaws split to either side.

CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK!

It sounded like an electric taser being activated.

If one of those monster flies bit someone, it would tear away a huge chunk of flesh.

One wrong move, and only bones might remain.

Ha-kyung drew out Abyss Refinement in a long blade and swung it.

WHOOOSH! THUD-THUD-THUD!

Five or six monster flies were split apart.

Contrary to their vicious appearance, their defense did not seem very high.

Ha-kyung danced his blade constantly near the rear line.

‘This should give them some breathing room.’

Healers and ranged damage dealers had few defensive measures.

One mistake, and they could be swept away in an instant.

That was why Ha-kyung had taken it upon himself to guard the rear line.

That did not mean he neglected supporting the front line either.

It was possible because his mobility was excellent.

He could follow wherever he was needed.

The battle against the swarm of monster flies continued for roughly five minutes.

SLASH!

“Hah! Hah!”

Ha-kyung drew rough breaths as he delivered the final blow.

The view that had been blocked by the monster flies opened wide.

But then an unexpected sight entered Ha-kyung’s eyes.

‘Wh-what is that?’

At some point, Frost Bishop’s staff had begun glowing blue.

It seemed the creature had sent the swarm of monster flies first in order to prepare that.

Ha-kyung felt a chill run down his spine.

An overwhelming sense of danger was cruelly tearing through his heart.

‘This is truly dangerous. We have to stop it no matter what.’

But it was already too late.

A chilling energy burst from Frost Bishop’s staff.

[Frost Bishop deploys Frost Ray]

PEW! HSSSSSS!

At that moment, goosebumps rose all over Ha-kyung’s body.

‘This crazy bastard……!’

That was because Frost Bishop had clearly glared at the rear line.

Naturally, he had thought the skill would strike that way.

Fortunately, Frost Ray slammed into the front line instead.

A certain tank had stepped forward at just the right moment and used a taunt.

It was the work of the master of the Black Water Guild.

Diamond Wall, Yoon Chang-ho.

Ha-kyung let out a sigh of relief.

‘We almost got wiped out from the very beginning.’

The tanking was extremely stable.

Now the melee damage dealers simply had to step forward and smash its outer shell.

Then the ranged damage dealers could finish it off with firepower.

Soon, Ha-kyung charged toward Frost Bishop’s flank.

Together with Ma Do-hyuk.

“It has been a long time since we fought together. Let us enjoy this!”

“Yes, let us!”

Ha-kyung answered Ma Do-hyuk’s shout and drew Abyss Refinement out long.

[Abyss Challenger’s “Compression” authority increases the density of abyss energy]

ZING!

Since this was still an exploratory exchange,

He did not use Kin-Eater.

That was his single decisive strike.

Besides, this place was not a dungeon, but an open field.

Ha-kyung quickly looked around.

‘We never know when or where a new enemy might appear. I have to conserve my strength.’

Of course, the Great Sage, the team leader, would handle any additional monsters.

Right now, clearing the target came first.

He intended to target Frost Bishop’s left shoulder.

‘Making it unable to use its staff is important, but we also need to create a weakness. In that case, this is the best choice.’

However, Frost Bishop was roughly forty meters tall.

Its body was enormous, so approaching it was not easy.

It felt like an undead priest, but its physical ability could not be ignored either.

Sure enough,

Ma Do-hyuk was sent flying by the staff it swung.

THUUUNG!

“Gah!”

When Ha-kyung quickly checked, it did not seem as though he had died from the blow.

With an injury of that level, the healers would be able to care for him quickly.

Ha-kyung slipped into the opening created when Frost Bishop struck Ma Do-hyuk.

TAP-TAP-TAP!

He ran across Frost Bishop’s body as if it were flat ground.

There were slopes steeper than ninety degrees, but it did not matter.

Before Ha-kyung’s Wall-Walking Steps, now S-grade, no such limitation existed.

His figure surged up to Frost Bishop’s shoulder in an instant.

But when Ha-kyung had nearly reached his target point,

A pale-blue shockwave suddenly burst out.

THUUUUM!

[Frost Bishop deploys Frozen Repentance]

[The curse erodes your entire body]

[Mana Freeze effect: 50%]

[Skill deployment becomes difficult]

“Huh?”

“M-my skill activation…… slowed down?”

Groans burst out from all over.

People were struck absurdly again and again.

It was because they could no longer use their skills at the proper timing.

For tanks in particular, whose lives depended on timing, it was an extremely fatal curse.

But not for Ha-kyung.

[Curse Breaker activated]

[The effect of the curse is reduced by half]

Mana Freeze dropped to 25%.

And from the beginning, it was not a curse Ha-kyung cared about very much.

‘I do not only use mana anyway.’

His main power had now been replaced by abyss energy.

Ha-kyung drove Compression Soul-Sever into Frost Bishop’s shoulder.

SWISH! SKRAAAK!

Its hide was torn away at once.

Dark-blue bone powder scattered through the air.

Perhaps Ha-kyung’s strike had been quite critical,

Because Frost Bishop’s thrashing became extremely violent.

―Uwooooooh!

Immediately afterward, sharp claws flew toward him.

Ha-kyung turned his body and began running toward the ground.

It looked as if gravity had no effect on him.

Frost Bishop’s counterattack could only miss in vain.

TAP-TAP-TAP! WHOOSH!

When he had nearly reached the ground,

Ha-kyung looked at Frost Bishop’s staff, which was leaning sharply to one side.

‘Good timing.’

Why had he targeted the left shoulder from the start?

It had been to make the creature drop its weapon.

Right before Ha-kyung landed on the ground,

He put his weight behind a kick and struck the lower part of the staff.

CRACK!

Ha-kyung’s attempt produced a spectacular result.

Frost Bishop’s staff spun around.

Then it was flung far away.

The raid team members raised both hands and cheered.

“Waaaah! That was insane!”

“Bad King bro! I knew we could count on you!”

John’s voice was so loud amid the cheering

That it seemed to pierce Ha-kyung’s ears.

Because of that, he felt as though even more of the team members’ attention had focused on him.

Ha-kyung did his best to ignore it and moved away from Frost Bishop.

‘This does not feel good.’

Sure enough,

A foot, withered like a mummy’s, slammed down onto the ground.

SWISH! BOOOOM!

Stone powder burst up.

Dust billowed into the air.

Then a huge crater appeared.

It was the exact spot where Ha-kyung had just been.

If he had hesitated even slightly, he would have ended up like a mosquito struck by a flyswatter.

A chill crawled down his spine.

While running, Ha-kyung scraped against the ground and came to a stop.

‘Now should be the timing for the ranged damage dealers to do their part…….’

However, no matter how long he waited, no concentrated fire came pouring down.

Ha-kyung turned around with a puzzled expression.

Then a shocking sight unfolded.

A gigantic figure had appeared behind the raid team.

It was a creature Ha-kyung knew quite well.

[You have encountered Obsidian Titan, a field boss of The Void]

Immediately afterward, the Great Sage’s urgent voice rang out.

―The rear line is under attack! Tanks, please provide support!

The raid team the Great Sage had assembled had forty people.

Since their target was The Void, ten more people had been added.

However, there were only six tanks.

That was two more than a normal raid team.

Perhaps because of that, none of them could pull away.

Frost Bishop was that powerful an opponent.

Soon, Yoon Chang-ho’s shout came through Whisperer.

―If even one person leaves here, the front line will collapse too!

But they could not simply refuse to send support either.

If either side suffered a major blow, it would all crumble the same way.

Ha-kyung immediately turned and began running.

At the same time, he gripped the Whisperer attached to his shoulder tightly.

“I will go.”

―…….

However, there was no answer.

The rear line was currently scattered in all directions, fleeing.

It was truly a complete mess.

Ha-kyung paid it no mind and increased his speed.

Just then, Ma Do-hyuk caught up with him.

“I will go with you!”

“We may have to tank it. Will you be all right?”

“Of course. My body is fairly sturdy too.”

“Thank you.”

“My head is still ringing from all the times I have been hit from behind, but teammates are supposed to help each other.”

Ha-kyung and Ma Do-hyuk passed the members of the rear line.

Soon, Obsidian Titan came staggering toward them.

Its movements were strange, but it radiated a tremendous threat.

Ha-kyung knew.

He knew the creature’s attack was about to land.

He lightly shoved Ma Do-hyuk aside and shouted,

“It is coming! Get as far away as you can!”

WHOOOOSH! BOOOOM!

Obsidian Titan’s abnormally massive arm came crashing down.

It looked like a deliberately exaggerated downward swing.

Its center of gravity seemed to be in the tips of its hands, so perhaps it had no choice but to move that way.

Ha-kyung rolled across the ground, then sprang to his feet.

‘It is a little different from the one I met before. Is it some kind of variant?’

Its hammer-like fist felt much larger.

Perhaps that was why its swinging motions were even more extreme.

Soon, Obsidian Titan raised its opposite arm.

Ha-kyung instead threw himself into the creature’s chest.

This way, it would not be able to strike him properly.

Its attack range was simply too wide.

As expected, Obsidian Titan missed again.

WHOOOOOSH! KABOOOOM!

Of course, its power alone was tremendous.

Ha-kyung’s body staggered for a moment.

The shockwave and vibration were simply that strong.

Then an unexpected message appeared before his eyes.

[“Soul Brand” detects traces of a fragment]

[The signal has become clearer]

“Huh?”

Ha-kyung let out a gasp.

It was already shocking that an Ultimate Abyss Fragment had suddenly appeared.

But now there was even a message saying it was nearby.

He instinctively raised his head.

Thump! Thump!

It felt as if his heart had dropped.

A sharp chill spread down his spine.

Soul Brand was telling him the location of the Ultimate Abyss Fragment.

It was right in Obsidian Titan’s chest.

Inside a faintly cracked fissure.

Ha-kyung bit his lip slightly.

‘I have to go inside the field boss’s body?’

It would by no means be easy.

First, reaching that place would not be difficult.

He only had to deploy Wall-Walking Steps and cling to it like a spider.

But what if Obsidian Titan noticed Ha-kyung approaching?

‘It might strike its own chest. If that happens, I will simply die.’

That did not mean it made sense to kill the creature first and search afterward.

Everyone would be watching.

How was he supposed to quietly take the Ultimate Abyss Fragment?

Ha-kyung stared at Obsidian Titan through clenched teeth.

‘There is only one way. I have to enter that place right now.’

Of course, he was afraid.

Death would take away everything Ha-kyung had built.

Nothing else mattered.

But he absolutely wanted to crush the Abyss Ruler’s face.

To do that, he had to move forward.

Ha-kyung forced the corners of his mouth upward.

“I have to risk my life. Just as I have until now.”

Then he leaped toward his grand objective.