Chapter Ninety-Three: Victory

Although Linger had logged off, the magic circle she left behind remained. Thanks to it, I was restored to full strength—my battered body healing at a visible rate.

Phantom Moon, having just regained her combat power, stood up again. Purple Moon said, “Now there are only five of us left!” (Amaterasu was counted among us.)

I gave a wry smile. “Yes. If we kill the boss, everything is ours. If we fail, we all lose levels together.”

“So the hopes of all the players in Sky Dragon City rest on our shoulders. We’re about to become saviors,” One Sword Drifts Alone said with a laugh.

“Perhaps,” I replied, shaking my head.

Phantom Moon asked, “Am I really still alive?”

“Yes, that Valiant Dragon saved you,” Purple Moon replied.

After hearing this, Phantom Moon walked over to me and said, “Thank you.” She leaned toward me, making me feel awkward. I quickly turned my head and stammered, “It’s… it’s nothing. You… you’re welcome.”

One Sword Drifts Alone cut in, “All right, everyone, let’s go!” With that, he was the first to unleash a sword energy wave, slashing more than a thousand health points off the boss. Purple Moon’s whip struck the ground, and the earth split open. The terrifying Hellfire Demon appeared, letting out a thunderous roar. A luminous magic circle spun beneath its feet, and the ground cracked further as jets of magma surged forth.

“Hell Burner.” The Hellfire Demon’s body began to mutate. Three iron chains erupted from within, winding around Purple Moon, dragging her into the demon’s body. Flames crisscrossed and extended from the demon, merging with the molten rock below.

Moments later, a monstrous creature formed from solid magma emerged—its size rivaling that of the Eight-Headed Serpent King. “Hell Burner,” Amaterasu’s astonished voice rang out. She seemed to recognize this creature well.

The boss grew even more enraged, letting out a thunderous roar. Its thick-scaled serpent tail lashed upward, slicing through the air like lightning toward Hell Burner, while three of its heads lunged to bite at it.

But when they struck, only three tiny ‘1’ damage numbers floated above Hell Burner’s head—a forced minimum damage. Judging by its appearance, Hell Burner had no shield active. Normally, the Hellfire Demon’s defenses were average, so attacks should break through easily. The only explanation was that Hell Burner was immune to physical attacks!

The serpent tail slammed down with brutal force, but again, only a single point of damage appeared—though the ground beneath was split by a deep fissure, twenty or thirty meters long.

Hell Burner stretched out its flaming claws, raking the boss and shattering its thick scales, leaving charred furrows in their wake.

“Hurry and attack! I can’t maintain this state for long,” Purple Moon’s voice sounded from within Hell Burner. At the same time, Hell Burner seized the boss’s tail and, with a mighty swing, hurled the boss away. Countless fireballs then rained down on the boss like a storm.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The relentless barrage of explosions gouged deep craters around the boss, and its health plummeted rapidly under the onslaught. At that moment, we all closed in.

Desperate, I charged at the boss, unleashing Shattering Strike, Energy Burst, and Assault in quick succession.

—674

—1027

—1035

—1057

One Sword Drifts Alone shouted, “Thunderclap!” His longsword became a bolt of lightning, piercing directly into the gaping maw of the boss. Before our very eyes, the thunder-fire blade shot into its mouth and exploded, blowing off one of the serpent’s heads.

“Death Cross!” (Amaterasu)

“Rooted Out!” (Amaterasu)

“King’s Aura!” (Phantom Moon)

“Phantom Slash!” (Phantom Moon)

A flurry of damage numbers appeared. The Serpent King opened its massive jaws. Its black head lunged at me like a streak of darkness.

I slapped both hands to the ground, summoning a burst of lightning. The serpent’s head plunged into the crackling energy, recoiling instinctively from the destructive power. Taking advantage, I charged forward, staff in hand, accelerating steadily.

Expressionless, I brought the staff crashing down on the black head, drawing the attention of the other heads. In that instant, Hell Burner spat a pillar of flame at the Serpent King, forcing its body aside and causing its attack to miss me. I landed safely and glanced upward—Amaterasu had somehow appeared above the boss. Behind her, a blood-red mist gathered, swirling into a giant vortex like a monstrous wind wheel, spinning ever faster and darker. Her eyes blazed crimson, and an indescribable destructive energy locked onto the boss below.

Sensing imminent doom, the boss’s heart clenched. It looked up, just in time to witness this apocalyptic scene. A wall of fire descended from above, pressing relentlessly down upon the Serpent King. No matter how it roared and struggled, it was powerless before this wall of flame.

Purple Moon called out to Amaterasu in the sky, “I’ll hold it down—now’s your chance!”

The rest of us looked on as blood-red energy filled the air. The boss was trapped by Purple Moon’s crimson wheel. Realizing danger, everyone else turned and fled without hesitation—no one wanted to be caught in such a devastating ultimate attack.

The boss struggled and howled, fighting desperately against the descending fire wall. At the same time, we noticed that a blood-red mist had enveloped us, and the air reeked of blood. We could only watch this breathtaking, terrifying spectacle unfold.

When the fire wall was finally breached by the boss, rain began to fall—but this was not ordinary rain; it was red.

The sound of flowing water echoed—“Splash… splash…”—from an unknown source.

“What’s going on? Where is that water sound coming from?” The sudden noise left everyone baffled. We were inside Sky Dragon City, kilometers from any river or sea—how could there be such a sound? The rain had only just started, too.

“Splash… splash… splash…” The water sound grew louder.

“It’s blood—the blood on the ground is flowing!” One Sword Drifts Alone was the first to realize the source. At his shout, everyone looked down.

Blood—whether already spilled on the ground, still oozing from corpses, or splattered on nearby buildings—all began to surge wildly. The blood of countless fallen monsters and players pooled into streams, rushing toward a single point: the Serpent King.

With a ghastly roar, the Serpent King’s body was swallowed by waves formed from these blood rivers. The blood, as if alive, wrapped around the boss, and its thick scales began to melt. The blood surged into its body, turning it completely crimson. Three of its heads quickly dissolved, followed by its hulking body, which also showed signs of melting. As the Eight-Headed Serpent King howled, thick blood poured from every part of its form. In an instant, the blood transformed into red bubbles, rising skyward. The serpent’s flesh and skin dissolved into those bubbles, one by one ascending, until all that remained was a colossal skeleton. Even that, stained red, melted into a pool of blood, which then became a gigantic blood bubble that floated upward—until, with a thunderous bang, it burst.

A deluge of blood poured from the sky, drenching all of Sky Dragon City in red. We were not spared. After a few minutes, the blood-red hue faded from the sky, the mist disappeared, and the bloodstains on the ground gradually vanished. Amaterasu, suspended in the air, dissolved into nothingness, returning to the summoning space to slumber.

“Ding~! Congratulations on successfully defending the city. All participating players are awarded 45 million experience points.”

“Ding! Congratulations, Sky Dragon City has been defended. All participating players gain two levels!”

“Ding! Sky Dragon City has suffered severe damage. Maintenance will begin in thirty minutes, lasting eight hours. All players, please log off as soon as possible!”

“Ding~! The evil and mighty Eight-Headed Serpent King has been vanquished. Brave human warriors, congratulations on your ultimate victory in the defense. Yet the villain, unwilling to accept defeat, will launch another siege someday in the future. Courageous humans, do not lose hope—prepare for new challenges!”