Stark kept his eyes fixed on the monster at the far end of the platform.
The way it had tossed the awakener into the void made it clear this wasn’t the first ti it had done so.
It had probably thrown dozens of others into that endless darkness, judging by the splatters of dried blood staining the platform around them.
The figure stared back at him, its twisted body and horrifying face contorted in sothing that almost looked like shock.
For a mont, it seed as if the monster itself could not believe what it was seeing.
It was strange.
Even though it was the monster, even though it was supposed to inspire fear, it looked almost frightened of Stark.
That was unsettling.
While the creature stood frozen, Sam didn’t waste the mont.
His eyes turned imdiately to the glowing status panel that floated before him.
---
[Ghost King (Zone Boss)]
[Level: 90]
[Description: The king of ghosts, capable of commanding them and absorbing the souls of the damned, twisting their essence into his own power.]
[Skills: Invisibility, Soul Absorption, Ghastly Strike...]
[Hell-Mode Analysis: This can’t be everything... There must be more. Remain cautious.]
---
Sam clenched his fists and adjusted his stance.
He didn’t wait for the boss to make the first move.
Primordial Barrage! Mode Turret!
Fwish!
A turret shimred into existence above his head, crackling with energy before locking onto the target.
Sam pointed it toward the [Ghost King], who still hadn’t moved, as if trapped in a daze.
The turret charged for a heartbeat, then fired a devastating round straight toward the creature’s skull.
BOOM!
The bullet struck the [Ghost King] directly in the head.
The explosion tore through the chamber, the sound echoing across the platform.
The monster’s skull disintegrated instantly, fragnts scattering as its head vaporized under the impact.
There was no resistance at all.
Sam blinked.
"What the fuck?"
His summoned army still surrounded him, every spirit poised for combat, ready to throw themselves into the fight.
But the battle had ended in a single strike.
Just like that.
The [Ghost King]’s decapitated form wavered before dissolving into slow, silvery particles.
The fragnts drifted upward before being pulled down into the void surrounding the platform, vanishing into its depths.
Sam narrowed his eyes.
’That wasn’t the [Pale Monarch]. I’m missing sothing here.’
The [Hell-Mode Analysis] had said the sa thing.
This wasn’t right.
It couldn’t end like this.
The other awakeners hadn’t died this easily.
Dozens of them had been torn apart and absorbed, and yet the boss hadn’t even tried to fight back against him.
Was it truly so afraid of him?
Or was there sothing else lurking beneath the surface?
Sam scanned his surroundings, standing alone on the platform with only his spirits at his side.
Nothing moved. Nothing happened. No announcent ca.
"Huh."
That was strange.
If the fight had really ended, there should have been so kind of notification, so confirmation that the mission was complete.
But there was nothing. Which ant only one thing.
"The boss isn’t dead," Sam muttered.
His suspicion was confird a mont later.
The silver particles that had vanished into the void suddenly began to stir, glowing faintly as they swirled together.
In seconds, the particles reford into the looming shape of the [Ghost King].
The monster’s hollow eyes t his again, its body intact once more.
It still didn’t attack. It simply stared.
"Alright, army," Sam commanded, his voice sharp. "We kill this bastard as many tis as it takes!"
The gate had sealed shut behind him when he entered.
That ant no one else could co in to steal his reward. This fight was his alone.
One hundred of his summoned spirits stood ready.
At his command, they surged forward, charging toward their so-called king with relentless montum.
Even though the [Ghost King] carried the title of ruler over their kind, Sam’s will burned stronger.
His control over them was absolute.
They would tear the monster apart if he ordered it.
But then...
"Bad... idea..." the ghost king whispered.
Its voice was low, a broken mutter carried on the stale air.
"You... have... made... a... mistake..."
Sam barely caught the words, and when he did, he dismissed them imdiately.
Every monster he’d ever faced said the sa thing.
They all declared he was dood, that he had no chance, that he had stepped into a fight he couldn’t win.
They always tried to intimidate him.
But every single ti, he was the one still standing. This would be no different.
And yet, even as he thought that, an uneasy feeling tugged at the edge of his mind.
Sothing about the boss’s voice was different. It sounded like... fear.
[Void Watcher: He isn’t talking about defeating us. He’s nervous about sothing else, sothing stirring in the shadows.]
Sam frowned. But there was no ti to ponder further.
Just as his spirits closed in on the [Ghost King]...
Fwish! RUMBLE!
A thunderous vibration tore through the chamber.
The platform trembled violently, shaking beneath their feet.
The ghost king’s whisper broke the silence again.
"He... is... here... because... he detected... your presence..."
The words carried a tone of resignation, almost bla.
"It is... over... for us both... goodbye."
Before Sam could react, the void around the platform surged.
A massive, shadowy hand erupted from its depths.
It clutched the [Ghost King] in an instant and dragged him down into the darkness.
WAAAAAAH!
The boss was pulled screaming into the void and destroyed in an instant.
Just like that. Gone. But even then, no announcent appeared.
Which ant the mission still wasn’t over.
For anyone else, killing the [Ghost King] would have been the end.
But not for him. The rules changed whenever Sam appeared.
It was as if his very presence twisted the nature of the world around him.
As if sothing ancient and terrible awoke whenever he stepped forward.
[I see...]
A dark panel appeared before his eyes.
Its edges rippled like waves, unlike any panel he had seen before.
[ and the others have been awakened after so long because of your presence, it seems.]
Sam exhaled sharply.
"Who the fuck are you? Another batch of lunatics?"
[Your crude words an nothing to , child.]
[Face your death quickly, for we, the monarchs, have awakened solely to deal with you.]
’Monarchs.’
Sam’s eyes narrowed at the word. He’d seen it before.
That presence that always watched him had already warned him about the monarchs.
It said they had noticed him. And now, it was clear those warnings had been true.
Whoever was speaking to him now was one of them.
[It was never ant to be fair from the start. Let us end this quickly.]
Fwish! BOOM! BOOM!
A chain of violent explosions erupted all around him.
The force cracked the platform under his feet, shaking it apart.
Sam’s eyes widened as he realized what was happening.
The void around him wasn’t still anymore. It was closing in.
’No way...’
The panel wasn’t lying. It wasn’t planning to fight him fairly.
Dark hands rose from the void, stretching upward and wrapping around his summoned spirits.
One by one, they were dragged into the darkness.
He watched as every single one of his one hundred spirits was consud.
Notifications flashed in rapid succession, each declaring the death of another spirit.
His army was gone in an instant.
’Damn it... all that effort...’
[Alone, you will die, like the parasite you are.]
BOOM!
More explosions shook the chamber.
This ti, the void hands reached for him.
Sam drew his primordial sword in an instant, swinging hard.
He cut the grasping shadows apart, their forms evaporating under the weapon’s power.
But the assault didn’t stop. More hands ca. More cracks split across the platform.
The bad feeling in his chest only grew heavier.
The [Forsaken Lords] had at least fought him directly.
They had challenged him face to face. But this wasn’t like that at all. This was different.
This monarch didn’t care about fairness. It wanted him gone, nothing more.
The void surged again. From its depths, the sa massive hand that had dragged away the [Ghost King] reappeared.
It lood high above him, shifting shape as it clenched into a colossal fist.
[Well... any last words?]
"You—"
[I lied. I don’t care about your words.]
Fwish!
The fist pulsed once, then descended at blinding speed.
It slamd into the center of the platform.
CRACK!
The entire structure shattered under the impact.
Sam lost his footing instantly.
He summoned his [Primordial Wings] and launched himself upward, refusing to fall.
But...
[This won’t do.]
A dark pulse spread outward, washing over him like a tide.
Sam’s eyes widened. The sensation hit him deep, not on his body but in his very soul.
[Your soul has been inflicted with "Nullification."]
["Primordial Wings" cannot be used until the effect wears off.]
"You’ve got to be kidding ."
His wings dissolved. The platform was gone beneath him.
There was nothing left to stand on.
Sam’s body dropped, pulled by gravity into the endless void.
[It was a good journey, Primordial.]
[Too bad you never learned there were beings above the Forsaken Lords, waiting for you.]
[rge with the void. Beco one with .]
[It is the most fitting end for your kind. Embrace it.]
"Go fuck yourself," Sam growled as he fell, his body slowly sinking into the void’s depths, his eyes flaring with crimson aura, "I won’t give up."
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