The boss roared, its many eyes locking onto as it recovered from our clash. Anger was clear on its face. It hated that soone so much smaller had stopped it head-on.
Its killing intent began to rise.
"You think you’re the only one who can intimidate?"
My shadow aura raged. It poured from my body in thick waves, slamming into the ceiling like a rising waterfall.
My whole team was in awe. They knew I was strong, but not like this. Not to this extent.
On top of that, no one suspected the truth that Chase and Ace rcer were the sa person. Not even Alexa. To her, we simply shared the sa type of ability.
"RAWWR!"
The boss charged again. I t it head-on, spear clashing against its axes as we exchanged several heavy strikes. Each impact shook my arms, the difference in weight becoming clearer with every blow.
After a few more strikes, I started pulling back.
Its weight and montum were working against . If I kept trading blows like this, I would drain myself faster than it ever would.
"Just keep attacking it at a distance while I tank it," I shouted, planting my spear firmly on the ground as the boss reared back, preparing for another strike.
"Alexa, I want you ready for your ultimate move. Hit its leg, then fall back to the team!"
Her form blurred, disappearing from sight. A heartbeat later, dozens of versions of her appeared around the boss’s legs, each moving in perfect sync.
They sliced through its joints with blinding speed, sparks flying as steel t sinew.
The boss roared, swinging its giant axe toward her. But the clones simply shattered into fragnts, leaving nothing but afterimages in the air.
In the instant they disappeared, Alexa rematerialized safely behind a pillar, crouched and ready for the next strike.
"My turn!" I lunged forward, spear spinning, forcing the boss to pivot mid-swing. Its movents were slower, distracted by the previous attacks.
"Faye, do it!" I commanded.
Electricity crackled around her fingertips as she drew power from the air.
With a gesture, she sent a massive arc of lightning surging through Lian’s ice, the current channeling perfectly toward the boss legs.
Sparks and sizzling arcs erupted as the attack overloaded its nerve, forcing it to stumble backward.
I launched into another series of attacks, spear targeting it’s weak points.
At the sa ti, the guild unleashed a coordinated bombardnt—ice spikes, lightning arcs, fire torrents, and reinforced tal strikes raining down in succession.
Each impact hit like a detonating atomic bomb, the chamber shaking from the force.
The display of our firepower was breathtaking—but the boss was still okay. Its resilience was terrifying, a living testant to why so few survived this far.
A low roar echoed as it prepared its first ultimate pattern.
Suddenly, it leapt from one pillar to another, its speed instantly doubling. There was no stopping it—not even with my spear. All we could do was rely on our pre-planned tactics.
The boss launched itself off the ceiling like a living spring. It hurtled toward the team, axes raised high.
I clenched my teeth and inhaled deeply. There was no room for hesitation. Spear in hand, I t it head-on, bracing for impact.
BOOOOM!
The collision was brutal, sending flying to the ground. My muscles scread, my armor groaned under the force, but the strike reduced the power of its attack by nearly fifty percent.
Behind , the team held their positions, bracing behind reinforced barriers, ice and rock supporting tal sheets to absorb what remained.
"Hold formation! Reinforce every barrier!" I shouted.
The four axes slamd into the reinforced barricades, tal groaning and ice cracking under the force. But the shockwave still ripped through our defense.
mbers staggered, so thrown off balance by the impact. Others vomited blood, the sheer force of the strike tearing through flesh and lungs. Still, no one died which great news.
Mina and the other support mbers moved quickly, healing the injured with glowing hands and serum vials, restoring enough strength for them to stay on their feet.
I tightened my grip on my spear. "Good. We survived the first pattern. Now brace yourselves—the real fight begins."
Just as expected, the boss began getting stronger as it took damage. Its muscles bulged, and its killing intent intensified, eyes blazing with raw fury.
Still, I wasn’t worried. At this rate, I wouldn’t even need to use the Monkey Paw I retrieved.
"Keep attacking it!" I barked orders.
The boss’s power kept rising, it beca harder for to hold it back. Each clash drained more strength than the last. Before long, it entered its second pattern.
It planted its feet into the ground and began to spin, axes cutting through the air as a violent cyclone ford around its body.
The pressure alone warped the space around it. Even our reinforced barriers wouldn’t survive that.
Then it launched straight toward our group. Its speed exceeded everything we had predicted.
But when it tore through our position, there was nothing there.
The team had already moved. Yumi’s illusion hid every step of their retreat, masking their shift in formation.
At the sa ti, I stayed in its sight, drawing its focus just long enough for it to miss the change.
But it wasn’t over.
A few seconds later, explosions erupted inside the cyclone.
The bombs set up by Adam’s team detonated right at the cyclone’s core, placed there for this exact mont. The blasts shattered the boss’s footing, breaking its balance and tearing apart the rotation.
The instant it did, we moved. Out attacks poured in from every direction, slamming into the exposed boss before it could recover.
I also took the opening and hurled my spear from a safe distance repeatedly. The strike tore through its body, ripping away a large chunk before it even had ti to react.
Watching it staggers, made think that it wouldn’t last long enough to reach its third or fourth pattern.
I was right.
The boss collapsed onto the ground, its massive body crashing against the stone. It tried to move, tried to rise—but the strength was gone.
I landed near its head and didn’t take chances. My spear ca down repeatedly, piercing its skull. Only when brain fluid leaked out did I finally lower my guard.
It was dead.
We did it. And not just barely—we dominated the fight. If anyone heard what happened here, they wouldn’t believe it. We stopped the boss before it could even use its remaining ultimate move.
That fact alone said everything. Our damage output was far beyond its resistance.
"Did we... just win?" one of the mbers whispered.
His words sparked a chain reaction. Cheers erupted across the chamber.
That was right. We cleared the fifteenth floor.
After the celebration, I grabbed the boss’s core and imdiately began checking for any items worth my attention.
Thankfully, there was no need to rush.
Only 100 of the 150 slots had been filled, aning anyone outside wouldn’t know we had cleared the floor—at least, not until we reported it. Or if soone was reckless enough to enter without Association permission.
The latter was highly unlikely. Only soone intent on sabotaging my operation would dare to try.
"Okay, let’s wait here for a couple of minutes," I commanded.
The fight had ended too quickly, and it was in our best interest not to reveal that. Doing so would inevitably raise too many questions.
"Sir, these are the loots we found," Adam reported.
I retrieved seven tallic boxes. Setting them on the ground, I opened each one carefully.
Inside, multiple items glead, each radiating power and showcasing craftsmanship far beyond what most human-made artifacts could offer. Still, none reached Celestial Rank.
I examined them closely, weighing their worth. Even without reaching Celestial rank, each could easily fetch over a billion credits on the market.
Not enough to cover my losses—but I had anticipated this. This wasn’t about imdiate profit. It was about the bigger picture.
I set aside three items I had no intention of selling. These were ant to boost the combat power of my long-range S-Ranks, a strategic investnt rather than a quick payday.
The remaining four, though, I had to report to the Association. At the very least, they needed to see so results—or suspicions would arise.
After enough ti had passed, I placed the boss’s core onto the magic circle. It activated, opening a new tunnel that led straight to the Sixteenth Floor.
Soon, mbers of the Association and the Cleaners entered the chamber.
They stared in disbelief—No one died, which was even more impressive than the fact that we cleared the floor at all.
"I’ll hand over the boss’s corpse to you. Our team will move on to conquer the Sixteenth Floor," I told the highest-ranking mber of the Association available right now.
"So soon? Are you certain you don’t want to rest first?" he asked.
"Don’t worry, we won’t be fighting the boss on the Sixteenth Floor. We just want to locate the entrance and get a feel of the new environnt."
I paused and flashed a smile. "Also, make sure to announce to the public that we didn’t suffer any losses. I’m sure they’ll appreciate the good news."
Without waiting for a reply, I turned and led my team out. I wasn’t lying when I said we had no intention of engaging the boss on the Sixteenth Floor yet.
As powerful as our team was, our overwhelming victory here had only been possible because we had prior information about this boss.
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