The heavy footsteps echoed like war drums, each strike reverberating through the deathly silent mausoleum hall—and into the hearts of the two players.
That sound, a blend of pain and grim authority, carried centuries of resentment.
It seeped upward from the depths of the spiral staircase, thickening the air until it felt frozen and malevolent.
Kiriya and Lina stood back to back, their weapons raised, eyes fixed on the direction the sound was coming from.
The whispering that had haunted them along the way now swelled to a fever pitch, as if countless unseen spirits were rejoicing, cheering for the blood sacrifice that was about to unfold.
"This hatred… It's even heavier than I imagined." Lina's voice was low, calm, but tense.
The frost runes on her shield lit up one by one, cold mist coiling around her to form a nearly visible barrier. "It's the despair of an entire family given form. Be careful—its attacks might not just be physical."
"Got it. My clones will draw their focus. You secure aggro when you get the chance."
Kiriya's voice became cold, calculating. Data streams flickered across his eyes as he analyzed the environment and possible tactics. "The floor's littered with loose bricks—watch its movement, it might use the terrain against us."
Thud. Thud.
The footsteps grew louder, closer.
Finally, a massive figure emerged from the darkness of the stairwell.
It could hardly be called "human" anymore. It wore the tattered, filth-stained ceremonial robes of House Monteil's lord, its towering frame nearly three meters tall.
Its skin was a lifeless gray, cracked like dried earth, with dark-purple, viscous corruption oozing from the fissures like a crawling curse.
In its hand, it dragged a massive great sword, rusted and chipped yet still exuding a bone-chilling aura.
The blade looked as if it had been forged from twisted ice fused with some kind of cursed black metal.
But the most terrifying thing of all was its head—a formless helm of ice and writhing shadow with no face, no features, only two hollow eye sockets burning with a ghostly blue flame, their light seething with endless pain and madness.
[Cursed Patriarch – Valeriu Monteil (Wraith form) – LV 30 Boss]
HP: 63,000 / 63,000
Traits: Wraith Aggregate, Frost Curse, Physical/Shadow Mixed DamageSkills:
Wrathful Cleave: Sweeps the great sword in a wide arc, dealing heavy physical damage and inflicting Frostbite (reduces attack/movement speed, stacks).
Soul-Shattering Howl: Unleashes a soul-piercing roar, dealing shadow damage to all enemies and inflicting Fear (loss of control, random movement).
Eternal Ice Coffin: Marks a target; after a brief delay, icy pillars erupt from beneath, trapping the target in an Ice Coffin, immobilizing and dealing frost damage over time. The coffin can be broken by allies.
Curse Drain: Absorbs the hatred lingering in the area, steadily regenerating HP.
Finale: Dirge of the Monteil Bloodline (Enrage): When HP falls below 20%, detonates all resentment in the hall, causing massive dark ice spikes to erupt from the ground, covering nearly the entire arena. Extremely hard to avoid.
"Invaders… desecrators…!"
The Boss's hollow gaze fixed on them, its soul-flames flaring violently. Valeriu's tormented voice exploded directly in their minds:
"Feel… the sorrow… of House Monteil!"
It dragged its massive sword and suddenly charged—its speed terrifyingly mismatched with its hulking size—straight for Lina.
"It's coming!" Lina shouted, bracing herself and stepping forward with her shield.
BOOM!
The great sword slammed against her Frost Shield with a deafening crash.
-680 (Block Absorbed)
Ice shards burst in every direction. The flagstones under her feet cracked, and Lina was pushed half a meter back by the sheer impact—but she held her ground.
Frost crept up her arm through the shield, but her own power surged to meet it, dispersing the invading chill.
"Block successful! Aggro stable!" Lina called out quickly, snapping her wrist to thrust her sword forward.
Frost Thrust! The blade darted like a viper, striking Valeriu's wrist with pinpoint precision. A layer of rime spread rapidly, slowing its next swing.
-1320 (Frost Damage, Slow Applied)
The Boss's hollow sockets suddenly turned toward Kiriya.
"Soul-Shattering Howl!"
A formless shockwave rippled out from its body, distorting the air.
-850 (Feared 1.5s)
"Watch the psychic shock!" Lina shouted, flooding her shield with frost energy to ward off the effect.
Kiriya reacted fast—almost on instinct—activating Blink Step to slide five meters backward in a blur.
But the howl's range was enormous. His head throbbed as if struck by a hammer, panic clawing at his mind. His movement faltered.
That tiny pause was all it took.
The Boss's arm swung, and a dark-blue sigil bloomed beneath Kiriya's feet.
"Eternal Ice Coffin!" Valeriu's voice throbbed with cruel satisfaction.
"Kiriya!" Lina's heart clenched. She tried to rush to him, but another massive Wrathful Cleave forced her to stay back, shield raised.
-620 (Partial Block)
Icy energy surged up from the sigil, ready to engulf him completely.
At the last possible moment, Kiriya's eyes flashed with resolve.
"Clone Summon!"
Two clones burst into being at his sides. Under his precise control, one clone slammed into him, shoving him out of the danger zone, while the other stepped directly into the glowing mark.
CRACK!
In the same heartbeat, a pillar of ice erupted, freezing the clone solid before shattering it into pieces.
Clone: -100% (Sacrificed)
Kiriya rolled across the floor, barely escaping the fate meant for him.
"Nice save…" Lina exhaled in relief, but her assault didn't slow—Frost Thrust sent shard after shard of ice lancing into the Boss, keeping its focus locked on her. "You good?"
-1280, -1305, -1250 (Combo)
"I'm fine…" Kiriya pushed himself up, pale from the strain—not just the MP loss, but the mental impact as well. "Thanks."
"Eyes forward!" Lina gritted her teeth, blocking another blow.
The battle dragged into a brutal stalemate. The Boss's attacks were devastating, mixing wide-range slashes with fear and ice coffins that kept them constantly pressured.
Lina stood unyielding as a glacier, blocking strike after strike. Her shield was dented, her arm numb, breath coming heavier with every exchange—but her gaze never wavered. Each block, each counter was perfectly timed.
Her Frost Domain spread across the floor, drastically slowing the Boss's movement and attack speed, carving out a narrow window for Kiriya to strike.
He became a shadow, Blink Step carrying him fluidly through the room. Phantom Thrust and Phantom Slash lit the Boss's body with streaks of black-and-silver light.
-1980
-2580 (Critical)
Clones appeared and shattered in turn—sometimes joining the attack, sometimes throwing themselves into harm's way to protect either him or Lina.
Under this relentless pressure, the two of them grew more synchronized than ever, often needing no words at all—just a glance, a subtle shift of stance, to read each other's intent.
"Its regeneration is too fast! We have to stop Curse Drain!" Kiriya shouted when he saw the Boss drawing in black-purple energy from the walls.
"I'll create an opening!" Lina slammed her shield into the floor at the exact moment Valeriu raised his sword. Ice Wall Barrier!
A solid wall of ice erupted upward, cutting the Boss off from the resentment it was feeding on—and catching its sword mid-swing.
"Now!"
Kiriya and his two clones struck from three angles at once, Phantom Slash cleaving into the exposed joints.
-5600 (Critical Chain, Interrupted)
The Boss let out a furious roar, its soul-flames flaring.
"Futile… Struggle… Sleep… with Monteil!"
Its HP finally dropped to the critical threshold.
Boss HP: 12,600 / 63,000 (Enrage Triggered)
The whispering in the hall turned into a shrieking chorus. The filth and cracks along the walls erupted with dark energy, and the floor quaked violently.
"Finale: Dirge of the Monteil Bloodline!"
Countless massive black ice spikes erupted chaotically from the floor, wreathed in ghostly blue fire, covering almost the entire hall save for a few narrow safe zones.
"Get to the edges!" Lina shouted, forcing her way forward with her shield, smashing through ice spikes underfoot. Kiriya leapt desperately from one safe spot to the next with Blink Step.
The spikes came faster and faster, the safe zones shrinking. They moved frantically, barely keeping ahead of the death surging around them.
Lina's shield shrieked as a main spike slammed against it, the metal warping under the impact.
At last, the deadly storm subsided. Both of them were panting hard, armor cracked, covered in scratches and frost. Lina's movements had slowed, her armor coated with ice.
The Boss, too, was left momentarily stiff after unleashing its ultimate skill.
"This is it—last push!" Kiriya's eyes blazed. All his cooldowns had just refreshed. This was their chance—maybe their only one.
"I'll pin it down!" Lina shouted, activating Frost Domain again, then charging straight in. "Its focus is on me!"
The Boss roared and turned toward her, lifting its sword. The blade gathered every ounce of its remaining darkness and frost, preparing a single apocalyptic strike—one that could shatter any defense.
Kiriya immediately began summoning clones.
And then—suddenly—everything went wrong.
The soul-flames in the Boss's sockets flickered. Its target switched without warning.
Its final, annihilating strike did not fall on Lina.
It came for Kiriya.
"What?!" Kiriya's pupils constricted. He had Blink Step, but he was locked in casting animation—completely unable to dodge. Death loomed over him like a falling mountain.
Time seemed to slow.
He saw the pure, destructive madness burning in the Boss's eyes.
He saw how pitifully small his hastily raised sword looked.
And then—he saw a figure step between him and death.
Without hesitation. Without fear.
It was Lina.
She didn't have time to brace with her strongest stance. She simply threw every ounce of strength she had into her shield, interposing herself—and her body—between Kiriya and the killing blow.
CLANG——!!! CRACK!!!