As soon as the Curtain of Betrayal was reactivated, I could no longer see my comrades next to me.
Grieta.
The shell surrounding Dreadfear slowly began to crack as it resurfaced. It was almost as if his skin was covered in wax. His face lacked recognizable human features, other than a large eye in the center, and his body was strangely disproportionate. He held his bone sword in his hands and, for a moment, it looked like the same one he had before launching the Defense Mechanism.
[His feelings of hatred deepen].
However, his defensive status ended with him winning a buff. This is where luck played a clear role.
[The memories kept in his bones become more vivid.]
So he got the attack buff.
Scratch.
Dreadfear's sword became sharper as he dragged it against the rough terrain. Of the five power-ups he could receive during the third phase, this was the one that affected his weapon.
We will have to be more careful from now on.
Since I had received a damage boost, I decided to adjust our combat strategy a bit.
¡Clang!
As before, I focused on using my shield to block his attacks, but now I had to make sure that not a single blow fell on my body. There was a reason why his gun was so difficult to handle.
[A sharp thorn penetrates your body. Your Soul Power will be continually drained].
His powered sword was capable of absorbing PM, and the absorption rate increased the more damage you took. However, beyond that, there was an even more critical effect.
[The hatred within Dreadlord, Dreadfear, increases in proportion to the stolen PM].
Regardless of whether his weapon, armor, or eyeball received upgrades, all upgrades available in the third phase directly increased his Hate stat. When it reached the maximum, I got a very problematic power-up.
If his hatred reached that level, he had to cancel the raid.
If things got to that point, failing the raid would be the least of our worries. We would have to worry about surviving.
¡Whoosh!
Since I couldn't block their attacks, I avoided them.
Step.
When I took a step back to dodge, I tried to make the most of the breadth of the terrain while also being careful of my invisible companions in the fog.
[Lord of Terror, Dreadfear, has released Inner Mirror. You take damage in proportion to the reduction of your Spirit stat].
It wasn't a skill he could dodge. All he could do was take the hit with a bloody cough.
[Lord of Terror, Dreadfear, has released Memory of the Dead.]
Thanks to the help of our wizard, Versyl, I at least didn't have to worry about the bombs floating in the air like bubbles.
[Versyl Gowland has cast the Life Doll summoning spell.]
Summoning several dolls everywhere, he was able to prevent the bombs from reaching us.
«¡Kyaaaaaak!»
I lost count of how much time we shed our blood, sweat and tears in this fight.
...At any time.
[The Light of Faith has expelled inner terror. The Curtain of Betrayal has been temporarily lifted].
Just when he thought it was time, a white light burst out, filling the dark cave as Dreadfear screamed in pain and hid in his shell as before.
[Lord of Terror, Dreadfear, has launched Defense Mechanism].
If we once again failed to break through the shell, he would gain another power-up, making the raid even more difficult. However, he wasn't too worried about that possibility.
«Erwen.»
Why should he be, when Erwen was practically about to get her final form?
[Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has summoned the Elemental Ruler of Darkness, Dicloe].
It was time to move on to the last phase.
***
When you carried out a raid with about thirty adventurers, the Lord of Terror, Dreadfear, did not give you much reward. In general, the chief was avoided for this reason and was only hunted by clans that wanted to rise through the ranks. However, there was little-known fact about this raid, although with the way it had spread throughout the city like a heroic tale of yesteryear, it was more of an open secret.
«If you manage to beat her with five people, you get an incredible reward».
Of course, there were two things wrong with that rumor. First, you didn't exactly need five people. You just needed five or less.
And the reward is not so incredible.
The reward was not much different from any other reward. Still, there was a reason why the rumors had ended up being so exaggerated.
«If you succeed, this will be the tenth time since the era of the Last Great Sage».
Very few groups had managed to surpass the boss with five people, and all those who had achieved it were made up of incredible individuals who left their mark on history.
The Seeker of the Abyss, Limenin.
El Rey de los Elphos, Armella.
The Sea Dragon Hunter, Myulmarin.
There was one thing that all of these people, all of them considered great adventurers in their own right, had in common: they sparked a great interest in conquering the Lord of Terror, Dreadfear. Despite this, although countless adventurers followed in his footsteps and invoked him to inscribe their own names in the history books, those great few were the last to achieve it.
I mean, that's a fact. How are you supposed to defeat a boss monster on the first try?
The only reason he knew how to defeat him was because he had played countless times and tried various strategies. Games and reality were fundamentally different. Failing the game only meant an «Endgame» screen, but failing in reality was a permanent ending. If he hadn't had unlimited attempts to get it right, he would have died alongside those aspiring to make history. How could you learn something if there was no second chance?
...I wonder how those before me could defeat him.
What type of strategy did they use? Was it the same as mine? Or did they simply dominate the proverbial playing field with overwhelming specifications? I had no way of knowing. All the teams that had triumphed before were silent about their strategy.
I can not understand it...
The nature of the adventurers was to monopolize high-level information rather than reveal it to the public. However, the nobles were another story. Not only were they willing to make a map of the sixth floor and distribute it free of charge to adventurers, but they even generously divulged information about the tenth floor, which was previously completely unknown. Why would they keep something like that a secret?
Well, that's not something I should worry about right now. Or should I?
A sudden restlessness took hold of me.
¡Crack, crack!
[The Defense Mechanism launched by the Lord of Terror, Dreadfear, has collapsed].
As I gazed at the strange sensation that came over me, the thick shell surrounding Dreadfear abruptly cracked and black mist spilled out.
«Stop!» I hurriedly yelled at Erwen. It would be a waste of PM to attack him in that state. We had to save as much as we could. «Good job. You must be exhausted».
«Thanks...»
«All together!» I gestured for my comrades to come to me as we all got into formation.
«¡Kyaaaaaak!»
From the black mist, a loud screech was heard, like nails on a blackboard. The fog gradually dissipated as a bright red glow filtered through the cracked shell.
That aspect is scary.
I took a deep breath and looked into his eyes.
[Lord of Terror, Dreadfear, perceive a great threat in you].
The fourth phase had begun. This would be the crux of our raid.
Stomp, stomp.
Dreadfear slowly rose from his cracked shell, and then took a step forward.
At first they were worms, then black fog. Then he looked more like a normal person who was covered in a layer of wax.
Stomp.
But during the fourth phase, red veins could be seen through his white skin. His body was fragile and bony, exposing his ribs, arms and legs. Long gray hair fell from his head, and his face now had two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Unfortunately, they were not in their normal position. It seemed as if they had been placed at random. This guy was definitely not human. He was a humanoid monster.
Squish.
The eyeball under his chin began to roll.
Glug.
Blood gushed from the hole where his right eye should have been.
Screech.
The bone sword he held in his hands scraped the ground with a creepy moan.
Stomp, stomp.
A mysterious, sticky liquid crushed under his feet as he slowly walked towards us before stopping. His lost eyes locked on us.
«¡Kyeeeeee!»
Suddenly, he opened his mouth with a screech that came from where his nose should have been.
[There are five or fewer characters in the surrounding area].
[Special Condition – Old Memories has been fulfilled.]
[The terror within the Lord of Terror, Dreadfear, has been revived.]
We met the conditions to try to clear the raid with five or fewer people.
[The fragmented memories have dispersed. They begin to revolve around the surrounding area].
Now, all we had to do was go to a special map that only games with five or fewer players could enter. Once we cleared the raid there, then we could-
¡Flash!
A sudden burst of light blinded me. When I finally opened my eyes, I froze. «What is this? Where we are?
We were on a map I had never seen before.
***
[You have been affected by Goblin Paralysis Poison.]
[Special Condition – Distorted Memories has been fulfilled.]
[You are now being transported to the Pilgrim's Cave.]
***
Hans... Hans Delvein...
The name left Amelia speechless, who felt worry and suspicion running up her spine. However, he didn't leave it for long.
…No es for that.
He had confidently told her that there was nothing to worry about in this raid.
I should focus on my work.
So he got rid of his worries and concentrated on the interrogation. It would be a bummer if he decided to stop talking right after she managed to open his mouth.
«Where do you live?»
«...District Nine.»
«¿Conoces al Conde Alminus?»
«…No.»
He kept asking questions, and every time he felt like he was lying to him, he tortured him more silently. They went through this pattern several times before he finally broke down.
«I'm not lying... They only offered me the job on the black market. I don't know anything else... I also don't know who made the request...».
He instinctively realized that he was telling the truth. Questioning him further would not provide him with more information.
...So in the end I couldn't find a connection with Count Alminus.
Sigh. Yandel would definitely be disappointed to find out about this. Depression hung over her like a cloud for a moment, but she was adept at controlling her emotions. It was a shame, but it couldn't be helped. Instead of wasting more time with those useless feelings, he decided to do something productive.
Amelia headed back to her prisoners' belongings to check if she had missed anything. And while searching among them, he found something peculiar.
¿A paralyzing poison?
The gun he used to stab Bjorn had been poisoned. From its taste, it appeared to be a low-level Goblin poison.
But why...?
The more I thought about it, the more confused I became. Such a low level poison would do nothing to someone with such high stamina. So why did they bother using it? Especially when there were so many better alternatives they could have used instead.
«Why did you use Goblin Paralysis Poison?»
«Paralysis Poison...?» The obvious confusion in the man's voice only made her feel more uncomfortable. «I... never used that... No... I don't understand what you're asking me».
Amelia turned to look at the other man. He had remained silent throughout the interrogation, without saying a single word. Seeing him look into space with resignation in his eyes, Amelia became suspicious. He hurried to check his weapons and discovered that their blades were covered in poison.
Destello!
Suddenly, there was a burst of light in the area where the battle was being fought and, an instant later, the cave fell silent. That meant that his companions had moved on to the next phase. She quickly summoned a duplicate of herself to check the empty cave and the four corpses lying inside. A quick examination of their weapons revealed that they were also coated with the same Goblin poison.
Is it a coincidence?
Impossible.
Something is happening...
Instinctively realizing that something sinister was happening here, Amelia grabbed the silent man by the neck. «Answer me. Why did you use Goblin poison in your weapons?»
He hadn't even moaned during the horrible torture he had subjected him to, and he certainly wasn't responding to him now either.
¡Shink!
Amelia took out her dagger and brought it to the man's neck.
Goteo.
Blood dripped down his throat, but he still didn't flinch in the slightest. However, his expression had subtly moved away from his previous resignation.
«You...» Amelia sneered. «Who are you?»
The man opened his mouth for the first time. «I wonder», he chirped nonchalantly.
Amelia went to press the dagger even tighter against his neck when...
A shake!
An unknown force threw its dagger back.
Step.
The man got up from the ground. «I see you have good comrades around you. I can't believe he was willing to go this far to question me. But more than that, I can't believe I've begun to understand. That attitude will be of great help to you in the rest of your trip».
Amelia couldn't even begin to understand the implications of that answer. His mouth withered as he swallowed. «...Who are you? What is your goal?»
«Seeing that you care about him even in a situation like this, I guess that means you're not likely to betray him», the man judged, casting an evaluative look at Amelia. A satisfied smile lit up his face and he added: «Don't look at me like that. I'm just helping your destination go in the right direction».
She didn't respond.
«Did you know? A very interesting fate awaits Bjorn Yandel. It seems that he is someone who becomes stronger by experiencing difficulties». The man patted Amelia on the shoulder. «For example, what if that wizard hadn't died in the labyrinth that day? Do you think he would have become such a great hero? Someone like him, whose top priority is his own survival?».
No, it couldn't be...
The man laughed. «So don't worry. I'm sure he'll come back completely fine this time too».
Amelia squeezed the dagger in her hand tightly, ready to attack him as soon as she felt she could catch him by surprise. «Why are you telling me all this?», he asked, still searching for that perfect opening.
«The reason I'm being so generous is simple».
But she would never find that openness.
«Amelia Rainwales».
His clear voice echoed in his ears.
«You have fallen into the magic of Illusion in the past, right? Sleep well».
The man's fingertips gently touched his forehead.