‘A small snake?’
Seong almost had the impression that it was a re hatchling.
But the strange, mystical aura it radiated quickly dismissed that thought.
From what he could sense with his abilities—
‘This isn’t Apophis.’
That instinctive certainty struck him.
Even the boss standing before him, resembling a manifestation of the small white snake,
Exuded a completely opposite kind of power from Apophis.
Above its head, a halo-like ring of light hovered alongside the small serpent,
And rather than a mist of venom or corrosive fog,
It radiated brilliant roots of light,
Scattering illumination across its surroundings.
Just from its appearance, it was clear—
It was the antithesis of Apophis.
And more than just its holy-looking exterior,
It truly purified the darkness in its vicinity,
Cleansing even the lingering venom in the air.
As expected—
[Hidden Stage: 『Apophis’s Heart』 Guardian Encounter – Hidden Raid Boss, 『Serpent of Salvation, Fragnt of As』]
!!!WARNING!!!
You are unpartied!
You are in danger!
This is a WORLD BOSS hidden stage!
Your attribute compatibility is at its worst!
Even its na was different.
Though it was undoubtedly tied to Apophis in so way.
What exactly that connection was, Seong couldn’t yet determine.
But right now—
His focus had to be on fighting it.
And another notification appeared.
[TIP – 『Corrupted Heart』 within 『Apophis’s Inner Domain』 will weaken 『Serpent of Salvation, Fragnt of As』 upon its destruction.]
Unlike other hidden raid bosses,
This one was unusually direct in giving information.
And the worst-case scenario was spelled out—
Their attributes were completely incompatible.
A serious problem.
Testing it just in case,
Seong extended the power of the Lord of Darkness forward.
Sssssss—!!!
As if it had been doused in acid,
The darkness lted away.
‘...Damn it.’
Seong imdiately dismissed the Lord of Darkness ability
And leapt backward just as a radiant pulse shot toward the spot he had just been standing in.
If he hadn’t moved instinctively—
He would have been struck by a counterattack.
Seong narrowed his eyes at the sight.
The disadvantage was even worse than expected.
And as if acknowledging his hesitation,
The gigantic white serpent slowly opened its maw.
Above its head, the halo-like light condensed into a glowing core within its jaws.
Siiiiiiing——!!!
A high-pitched tallic vibration resonated through the air,
As an imnse pressure drew in the surrounding atmosphere.
Realizing what was about to happen,
Seong imdiately shifted into shadowform, vanishing into the darkness.
The instant he disappeared—
A blinding white beam scorched through the exact spot he had just been in.
BOOOOOOOOM—!!!
A cataclysmic burst of pure destruction erupted.
The ground where Seong had stood was left with a deep trench,
Completely obliterated.
Erging from the blind spot,
Seong clicked his tongue in frustration.
‘What the hell is that power?’
Even with his strongest attacks,
Leaving such a massive scar on the environnt wasn’t easy.
Yet this thing had done it effortlessly.
If he took a direct hit, he wouldn’t just be injured—
He’d die instantly.
But—
‘If that light touches darkness, it completely nullifies it.’
The worst attribute matchup imaginable.
If only his Lord of Darkness ability were stronger,
He would have had the upper hand.
But as things stood,
It was completely sealed off.
Not just the Lord of Darkness—
Every one of his darkness-based abilities was useless.
Thus—
The mont he erged from the blind spot,
He imdiately summoned his Blood Venom and Blood Swords.
Hundreds of crimson blades materialized.
Using those blood-forged weapons,
Seong gathered his energy.
At first, a gentle breeze stirred.
The blood swords began trembling.
One.
Two.
Then—
Ten.
A hundred.
As the count grew,
A massive crimson storm took shape,
With its whirling blades infused with highly toxic Blood Venom.
SHAAAAAAA—!!!
The hurricane of crimson blades shot toward the Fragnt of As.
Since the serpent had a blind spot,
It reacted too late.
SCHHHHHK—!!!
SLASH— SLASH— SLASH—!!!
The blades tore through its pristine white scales,
Shredding its entire body in a matter of seconds.
Wounds lacerated every inch of its hide,
And streams of blood poured out from its mangled flesh.
Countless grievous injuries.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say Seong had already won.
At least, that’s what he thought.
Just as an arrogant sense of victory began creeping into his mind—
A sudden dread surged through him.
Imdiately, Seong activated his defenses.
From Crescentra, he used Crystalized Exoskeleton—
And, just to be safe,
He unleashed Extre Heat and Extre Cold simultaneously,
Generating an imnse shockwave around him.
At that exact mont—
A tidal wave of radiant energy exploded outward from the Fragnt of As.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM—!!!
The impact devastated the surroundings.
The protective crystal armor he had just ford—
Was completely shattered.
‘...Shit.’
If not for Crystalized Exoskeleton,
That attack would have killed him instantly.
Fortunately, thanks to the barrier, Seong remained unscathed.
Without hesitation, he activated Shadow Drift,
concealing himself and using darkness to shift his position again.
For a creature with wounds like that to launch such a counterattack...
He hadn't expected ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ it.
Now in stealth, Seong witnessed sothing unbelievable.
Just monts ago, Fragnt of As had been on the brink of death,
Ravaged by Blood Swords, Venom, and his Crimson Storm Combo—
Yet now, it looked completely unscathed.
Just like when it first appeared.
‘What the hell?’
An illusion?
No, that was impossible.
Seong had resistance to illusion-based magic.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
If he had been affected, there should have been a system prompt warning him.
But there was none.
Which ant—
There was only one explanation left.
‘It healed itself that fast?’
Not just light and purification—
But regeneration on a massive scale?
To fully recover from the brink of death...
Seong stared at Fragnt of As, dumbfounded.
He remained undetected, hidden in stealth.
But even just watching made him feel frustrated.
How the hell was he supposed to beat this thing?
Was the only option to just stall until the Corrupted Heart was destroyed?
Seong might be able to pull it off—
But if it had been anyone else, there would be no chance.
‘Even just surviving this is going to be hard...’
Even he was thinking that.
Maybe if his retainers were here, things would be different.
But right now, he was alone.
Which ant—
He had to figure this out himself.
Taking a mont to strategize, Seong's mind ran through various possibilities.
‘This... might work.’
He hadn't known about its ridiculous healing ability before.
But now that he did—
He could adjust his tactics accordingly.
Erging from stealth, Seong imdiately unleashed his strongest combination.
He tore open the Gates of the Underworld, summoning his entire Legion of the Dead,
At the sa ti, he activated Death Venom Mist,
Spreading a thin, toxic fog from the corpses.
Half of it had already been used against the Anti-Demon Coalition earlier,
This was the remaining half.
A full-force charge of death itself.
The mont Fragnt of As sensed it,
It instinctively tried to purify them.
But before it could—
Seong activated two more skills in rapid succession.
Corpse Detonation & Venom Detonation.
As the two explosive skills combined—
A single spark ignited the legion of corpses and the venom mist,
Unleashing a blinding explosion that spread across the entire battlefield.
BOOOOOOOM——!!!
The brilliant white of Fragnt of As was engulfed in the explosion,
Its form fading into the light as if bleached away.
A cataclysmic detonation shook the entire area.
Seong escaped just in ti, using shadow movent to slip out at the last second.
As the dark smoke cleared,
He saw what remained of Fragnt of As—
Completely shattered.
Despite its insane healing and powerful attacks,
Its defensive capability was pitifully weak.
Had it been any other monster, this would have been an instant kill.
Yet even in this ruined state,
Seong could see its cells twitching,
Already trying to regenerate.
‘It survived even that?’
At that mont, Seong rembered the most broken skill he had obtained after defeating Hero Hindel.
And without hesitation—
He activated it.
Destruction of Salvation.
It was a skill so monstrous he hadn’t used it since the day he got it.
The mont it manifested,
Fragnt of As’s eyes widened in horror.
!!!!!!A skill worthy of the title of "Ultimate Annihilation."
The so-called Serpent of Salvation—
Didn’t even have ti to scream.
Its eyes bulged,
Its body crumbling into dust,
Unable to regenerate.
Seong had tid it perfectly,
Right when it was attempting to heal itself.
Had it been any other attack,
Not even Seong could have dealt this much damage.
It was like triggering another explosion on top of the first one.
But—
Sssssss...!The small, ghostly white serpent hovering above its head,
The so-called "Spirit of As",
Suddenly shouted sothing toward Seong.
The mont he understood its aning—
Seong dodged imdiately.
CRACK——!!!
SQUELCH—!!
RIIIIIP—!!!
A grotesque series of noises filled the air.
The corpse of Fragnt of As—
Swell as if its cells were expanding uncontrollably.
Then, in an instant—
Its mutating flesh seed to collapse inward,
Compressing into a new shape.
And when the transformation was complete—
It was no longer a serpent.
Instead—
It had taken the form of a humanoid reptilian,
A Lizardman-like figure,
Blending human and snake-like traits.
Its halo burned brighter than before,
Wings of light unfurled from its back,
And in its hands,
It conjured a pair of twin blades made of pure light.
Seong stared, baffled.
Wasn’t it supposed to be over?
‘Well, that’s annoying.’
Just when he thought he could get an easy kill—
Now it had evolved.
In its new form,
The now-humanoid Fragnt of As radiated even stronger power,
Its glowing eyes locked onto Seong.
And at that mont—
A system prompt appeared.
[Hidden Raid Boss 『Serpent of Salvation, Fragnt of As』 has transford.]
[Hidden Raid Boss 『Serpent of Salvation, Fragnt of As』 has entered Phase 2.]
[The boss has evolved into 『Corrupted Serpent of Salvation, Fragnt of As』.]
Corrupted Serpent of Salvation.
So now it was confird—
It was directly connected to Apophis.
Scratching his cheek, Seong sighed.
‘This thing just got even stronger...’
Now, it was clear—
Until the Corrupted Heart was destroyed,
He had to hold out.
SWISH—!
The mont the Corrupted Fragnt of As gripped its twin swords,
It vanished—
Appearing instantly in front of Seong.
‘Can I even survive this?’
In the next second,
A sword of pure light ca crashing down toward him.
BOOOOOOOOM——!!!
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