The thick fog, as though a living creature with malice of its own, grew heavier and more suffocating once they passed through the battlefield they had just cleared.
The frozen ground beneath their feet had fully melted, mixing with the foul remains of the sludge monsters, making every step a mire of stench and discomfort.
The eerie whispers did not fade with the defeat of their foes. On the contrary, they grew sharper, more distinct.
No longer a mere droning hum, they now carried fractured phrases—fragments steeped in pain and hatred—that pressed like icy needles against the bastions of their minds.
"…Cold… so cold…"
"…Why… betrayal…"
"…No rest… all of them… all must…"
"…Stay… with us…"
Kiriya's steps slowed slightly. Tilting his head, he listened to the whispers that refused to dissipate. His brows furrowed, but his eyes gleamed with a sharp, analytic light.
"These whispers… the repetition pattern and emotional intensity are strange." His voice was low, thoughtful.
His gaze swept the fog like he was unraveling a complicated code. "This isn't the unconscious echo of the dead—it feels more like memories, crystallized and amplified by some power…"
"Stay sharp." Lina's voice was cool and steady, her aura of frost flowing faintly around her, forming an unseen barrier against the encroaching miasma. "Whatever they are, their goal is to break into our minds. Focus on the task at hand."
Their objective was clear—the vast family mausoleum into which the pale ghost had vanished. From the mist, its silhouette emerged, looming like a great beast crouched in wait.
It was a once-majestic Gothic structure of pale stone, but erosion of centuries—and the assault of some darker force—had left it broken and scarred.
The intricate carvings were worn, most shattered beyond recognition. Its wrought-iron gates were warped and twisted, gaping open into a black slit that resembled the maw of some predatory beast.
Shards of shattered sarcophagi littered the ground before it, alongside fresh scars of soil recently torn apart.
"So this is the source." Kiriya halted roughly ten meters from the gate.
His hand rested naturally on the hilt of his obsidian blade as his eyes swept across the gaping tombs and the dark passage that led deeper within.
Lina stopped as well, her keen gaze fixed on the mausoleum's entrance. "The marks of destruction are recent—and filled with malice."
She crouched, brushing a finger against a shard of stone smeared with dark violet residue.
Her brows knit tightly. "This reeks of powerful dark magic, tainted with bottomless resentment."
At that very moment, from behind the twisted iron gates, in the abyssal dark—two points of ghostly green flame suddenly ignited. Then another pair. Then a third.
No roar, no whisper. Only the bone-grating click-clack of joints, and the shrill screech of metal dragging across stone.
One… two… three… Five figures in total emerged from the shadows of the mausoleum.
They were no longer the lowly sludge abominations, but skeletal warriors that still clung to a mockery of their former forms.
Their bones, stained a sickly dark yellow from centuries of corruption, burned with fierce green soul-flames deep in their hollow sockets.
Shreds of once-proud armor still clung to their frames, tattered yet betraying their martial origins.
Rusted swords and axes hung in their bony hands—weathered, but still dangerously sharp.
Their movements were stiff, yet frighteningly disciplined, bearing the unmistakable rhythm of trained warriors.
[Cursed Family Guardians]
[LV.30]
HP: 14,500
Background:
Once the loyal sentinels of the Monteil family of Dawn City, they swore their lives to protect the crypt. But betrayal and slaughter centuries ago soaked the earth in hatred. The dead found no peace. Their souls, now shackled to corroded armor and brittle bone, twist their oath of protection into vengeance upon the living.
The leading guardian, crowned with the broken remnant of a royal circlet, lifted its skeletal hand and pointed at the intruders. Its jaw clicked open and shut, and from the depths of its soul-fire came a voice, hoarse and hateful:"—In…tru…ders… Die…"
"Oh?" Kiriya raised a brow, a glint flashing in his calm eyes. The corner of his mouth curved in faint amusement. "Finally, something resembling a proper fight."
Lina raised her shield, sword glinting with frost. Her voice rang clear and cold, carrying unwavering decisiveness:
"Five of them. Higher level than us, and they move in formation. We take down the commander first."
"Got it." Kiriya's reply was quiet but steady. His obsidian blade dipped slightly, his body already blurring—ready to vanish into motion.
"Wait." Lina stopped him sharply, her tone calm yet resolute. "They'll focus their assault. If you charge recklessly, you'll be surrounded. I'll anchor the field. Strike when you see your chance."
Even as her words fell, she was already moving. Her shield slammed into the ground.
"Frost Domain!"
Ice magic erupted outward, coating the ground in a spreading field of rime. But these were not sludge monsters—they were level 30 elites. Their resistance was far stronger.
Though the frost slowed them, it lacked the overwhelming suppression it once had.
The commander's soul-flame flared violently.
With a sweep of its rusted blade, the other four guardians moved with military precision—two charging Lina head-on, the other two veering with uncanny accuracy toward Kiriya's concealed position.
"Tch, spotted already." Kiriya's form rippled into sight. His obsidian blade intercepted a descending battle-axe—CLANG!
Sparks burst in the fog as his block absorbed -387 damage. The impact numbed his arm.
On the other side, Lina held firm against the twin assault. Her shield rang with each heavy strike, her footing solid as stone.
Between her defenses, her blade shot out like lightning, stabbing at skeletal joints—not for heavy damage, but to disrupt their rhythm.
"Kiriya! The commander is preparing a spell!" she warned through clenched teeth.
Kiriya glimpsed it—the crown-bearing skeleton gathering a vortex of shadow energy. "Not happening." He sidestepped a slash, his voice sharp.
"Clone Summon!"
Two phantasmal doubles burst into existence, intercepting the warriors he had engaged.
Seizing the moment, Kiriya surged forward with [Blink Step], cutting a straight line toward the commander!
"Not so fast!" The skeletal leader broke off its incantation, swinging its rusted sword.
But that was exactly what Kiriya wanted. At the instant of collision, he switched places with a clone. [Clone Swap]!
His true body flickered into existence behind the commander's flank.
"Got you." His eyes gleamed like a predator.
"Phantom Slash!"
At such close range, the dark energy blade carved mercilessly into the commander's spine.-1988! (Critical!)
The massive blow rattled its bones. Its soul-flame shrieked in agony, flickering weakly. But it still clung to form, turning with desperate fury—its sword screaming down toward Kiriya!
Kiriya had overextended, momentum gone. He couldn't dodge—
BOOM!
A frost-coated shield slammed between them like a wall of steel.
CLANG!
The impact roared like thunder. Cracks spidered across the stone beneath her feet, but Lina did not yield an inch.
"Stay focused!" Her sharp voice cut through as she deflected the strike. "Strike now!"
No hesitation. Kiriya's blade darted like a serpent.
"Phantom Thrust!"
The obsidian sword speared directly into the commander's soul-fire eye socket.-1255! (Weak Point!)
The commander froze. Its soul-flame sputtered wildly, then guttered out. With a hollow sigh, its frame collapsed into a cascade of bones, dropping a faintly glowing [Memory Fragment] and a scattering of coins.
With their leader slain, the other four skeletons faltered. Their coordination broke, soul-fires flickering chaotically.
"Now! Finish them!" Lina slammed her shield to the ground again, unleashing another Frost Domain that locked them in place.
Kiriya and his clones surged forward, blades flashing. One by one, the skeletal guardians shattered, collapsing into dust and bone shards.
The battlefield fell silent at last. Both fighters stood catching their breath, exhaustion weighing on them.
The ceaseless battle and mental strain had drained much of their strength.
Kiriya eyed the scattered bones, then glanced at Lina. "Back there… thanks."
She lowered her shield, running a hand over a fresh dent on its surface.
Her voice was calm, almost flat. "It was teamwork. Don't take such reckless risks next time."
Yet the faint rise and fall of her chest, the sheen of sweat at her brow, betrayed just how hard that defense had been.
Kiriya chuckled softly, saying nothing more.
He stooped, picking up the glowing [Memory Fragment].
"Seems we're in the right place. Which means… there's bound to be an even bigger 'surprise' waiting inside."
The warped gates loomed before them, wide open. From the depths beyond poured suffocating cold and darkness so thick it felt alive.
The whispers, no longer muffled, now surged out of that abyss with crystalline clarity.