The darkness that covered Lucius was one that didn't let any light in, but even with how black it was all around him, the flames streaming out of his palm were darker still.
The knight, sensing the danger, pulled back all its darkness into the cape, wrapping itself in its shroud.
Lucius stood back, swallowing hard.
The darkness was gone now, and so was whatever the goddess had done to him.
"Thank you for your help," Lucius muttered, before rushing forward.
No reply came from the goddess. He frowned but didn't stop, his eyes fixed on his target.
The knight unfurled the cape, throwing it aside. The black flames clung to the fabric, devouring it in slow, writhing embers.
Lucius didn't let that distract him. In the next blink, he appeared in front of the knight once more.
'There's no going back!'
He struck down with his sword.
Clank!
The knight caught the blow, forcing him back. Then the two blurred into motion, steel and shadows colliding with brutal fury. The knight glided across the stone floor with inhuman grace, its blade carving arcs aimed to kill.
Lucius gritted his teeth, blocking, dodging, twisting away from each strike. His feet never left the ground, his instincts anchoring him against the storm.
'The fighting pattern is different.'
The shade knights had fought with discipline, trained rhythm. But this one—the boss—it was a monstrosity in its own right. No order. Just raw intent to kill.
Lucius didn't even know how the sword in his hands had held together till now under the assault, but he could only hope that it would hold on for a bit more.
'There.' Lucius shifted to the side as an upward cut passed in front of his face.
"Argh!"
Lucius drove his fist straight into the knight's chest plate. The impact echoed like a cannon blast. Metal groaned and cracked as the knight was hurled backward, crashing against the dungeon wall.
For the first time, Lucius saw damage—thin lines spreading from the dent where his punch had landed.
The knight's helm lifted, those red lights inside its sockets blazing hotter. It raised one arm and pointed at him.
Instantly, Lucius felt a chill down his spine. He looked down to the ground and jumped.
Shrrrk!
Black chains shot out from the shadows, sharp as arrows, lashing toward him from every angle. Lucius' eyes widened and he leapt back, gritting his teeth.
'The artifact on its wrist!' Lucius turned to it, seeing the black chain tied around its arm.
One chain sliced past his cheek, another slammed into the stone beside him, shattering it. He swung his sword against a third—
Crack!
His blade split cleanly in half.
"Damn it!"
The broken weapon clattered to the ground.
The bladed chains attacked him from every direction, making him back away while dodging.
It took all of his energy to see and react to every single attack.
Soon, Lucius found his back pressed against the wall, breath ragged, as the knight advanced with calm, slow strides. Each step was deliberate, heavy, the sound of inevitability.
From the shadows before it, the chains rose high, dozens of them, twisting like serpents ready to strike him down once again.
Lucius' cold expression twitched back into place.
And slowly, he stood upright once more, raising his fists to the creature.
His eyes were filled with so much focus and will to survive. He hadn't had any serious injury so far, even the wound on his cheek had closed.
He could risk it.
In the other dimension, silence reigned. It was not the silence of peace but the silence of absence—no wind, no breath, no sound at all. An endless black expanse stretched around her, broken only by the faint shimmer that clung to her skin, like starlight reluctant to let her go.
Her hair, long and red as burning embers, floated weightlessly as if even gravity dared not touch her. Each strand glowed faintly, a sharp contrast to the void that held her. Her dark eyes, deep and fathomless, carried the weight of fear she could not voice. They fixed on the space before her—the thin veil through which she could glimpse Lucius' battle.
Her hands, delicate yet trembling, pressed against the unseen barrier. Every motion was desperate, her fingertips dragging invisible ripples across the black glass-like surface. Her lips parted, shaping words that no sound carried, prayers swallowed before they were born.
Heavenly beauty or not, worry hollowed her face. She looked less like a goddess and more like a woman helplessly watching someone she could not reach. Her teeth pressed into her lower lip as Lucius vanished, reappeared, ducked, and bled. Every strike he took made her flinch, her knuckles whitening where they met the barrier.
When the chains rose high above him, her fear turned sharp, her eyes glistening with a desperate light.
...
The knight tilted its head, seeing the unwavering gaze that Lucius had, and then it raised its hand, making the chains tremble in anticipation.
As the knight brought its hand down, the chains came with it.
And the moment the chains came down—
Whoosh!
Lucius vanished, reappearing ahead of the shadows in a black flash, charging the knight head-on.
The knight was ready, sword swinging sideways in a brutal arc to cleave his head in two.
Lucius ducked under it, rushing forward.
BANG!
His fist shot upward in a savage uppercut, snapping the knight's head back.
He spun with the momentum, a full turn of his body, and his second punch crashed into its jaw like a hammer.
BANG!
The knight reeled. Before the last punch, its sword was already driving into Lucius' shoulder before it was sent flying.
Lucius didn't hesitate, gritting his teeth hard. Veins on his head popped like pipes about to explode.
He dragged the blade up from his shoulder, twisted, and threw it forward with all his strength.
The knight twitched in the rubble, struggling to get back up. As its helmet rose—
Clank!
The weapon rammed through the knight's helm and deep into the wall behind it. Sparks erupted as metal screeched against stone.
The knight twitched, bound in place, pinned like a broken beast.
Lucius stumbled back, chest heaving, arms trembling. His posture was that of a man who had just hurled a javelin, body leaning forward, muscles taut from the throw.
He stood there, panting hard, staring at the knight impaled against the wall—unmoving.
[You have slain a C-rank boss, The Gravedigger.]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have...]
[Congratulations! You have cleared one of a hundred levels of the crypt. Your rewards are being calculated.]