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A surge of scorching flame energy shot in from above and ahead, crashing violently against the rushing ice current.

The damage was nearly 2,000. Worse still, the flames showed no sign of fading. They clung to Zane’s body and continued to scorch him relentlessly.

After the lingering burn damage shattered the Iceflow Shield, the damage returned to its terrifying level of 1,500. In the blink of an eye, Zane had already lost a quarter of his HP, and the heat around him continued to rise.

‘There’s no other choice. We have to fight.’

Zane exchanged a glance with Treka. The Lightchaser Treka nodded solemnly, beads of sweat rolling down her face. In such an environment, they could not keep fighting for long.

With the environmental debuff and the burn effect stacking together, the HP loss had reached a staggering 3,800 per second. If this continued, he definitely would not last.

‘Invoke: Spirit’s Heart, cast on myself!
‘Then, Voice of Renewal!’

A bold green healing number burst into view. With a healing critical, the amount restored had exceeded ten thousand, instantly pulling her HP back to full. But that was only temporary. Voice of Renewal had a cooldown of two full minutes, so he could not rely on it again anytime soon.

**Whoosh!**

Treka did not remain idle either. An arrow imbued with faint light-element energy shot straight toward the boss. The instant it made contact, it exploded.

It was effective!

Zedana was blasted so hard it nearly lost its balance in the air. “Damn it…”

Raising the Autumn Moon Sword high, Starry slashed upward diagonally.

A domineering wave of sword energy shot forward.

“…What?”

“It’s Elemental Body! Purely physical attacks have a hard time affecting it!” Treka shouted urgently.

What!? If its physical damage reduction was that high, then Starry’s output would be drastically weakened. Meanwhile, her own HP continued to drop rapidly, and even using Cooling Powder was useless.

Without hesitating any longer, Zane shouted, “Retreat first! We can’t fight here!”

“Hehehe… you have no way out now.” Zedana steadied itself and laughed.

Turning back, Zane saw that the entrance they had used earlier had already been sealed off by violet Fire Spirits.

‘Damn it. When did they block the exit?’

“Invoke: Frost!” With a try-it-and-see mindset, he released the skill. As expected, the frost evaporated before it even had the chance to descend.¹　

‘The burn effect is still ongoing. Just how long is this supposed to last?’

At that moment, the Shadowfiend Shoulder Pads suddenly trembled. From within them, a wisp of black wraith drifted out and wrapped itself around Zedana. The curse effect had triggered!

The boss’ eyes widened. It tried to evade the eerie presence, but no matter what it did, it could not shake it off. Most of its vision became shrouded in shadow.

“Lackeys of the Dark Faction! I won’t let you off so easily!”
‘Hey, hey! Don’t go throwing baseless accusations! Still… this is a perfect opportunity.’

In its panic, the enemy began flying erratically, desperately trying to escape the darkness.

“Tre—” Before Zane could finish calling out, Treka had already drawn her bow. Power gathered around the arrow, forming spiraling currents of force that coiled around the shaft.

“Meteor Arrow!” Treka shouted in a low voice.

Carrying tremendous force, the shot slammed into Zedana and pinned it directly against the stone wall behind it.

“Nice!”

Under the intense heat, the arrow had already begun to melt. Zane immediately shapeshifted into the Swiftshadow Wolf. Starry leapt onto his back in a single motion. They had to seize every second.

“Awoooo—!”

With Warcry empowering them, physical attack increased by another 25%. The Autumn Moon Sword in Starry’s hand surged with icy energy, the strike poised and ready. Beneath her, the white wolf suddenly accelerated, bursting forward like a bolt of lightning.

The damage was exactly as expected. Despite being called Lightning Rush, it was ultimately still a physical charge. Then Starry brought the blade down. The true killing move followed.

With elemental weakness damage applied, Icy Moon Slash easily dealt over ten thousand damage. Frost spread from the Fire Spirit’s midsection, creeping outward and climbing along both sides until the boss was completely frozen into a block of ice.

‘Strike while the enemy is weakened!’ The wolf’s claws lifted, unleashing Tempest Field! Raging wind blades erupted into a swirling storm around them, shredding the boss caught within the vortex.

…

And it was not over yet. The Elemental Horn suddenly flashed with light, releasing another Tempest Field from within! Two storms converged, pushing the damage per second to a staggering 5,000–7,000.

Zedana’s HP plummeted rapidly, dropping to only 200,000 remaining.

Finally, due to the overwhelming level difference, the Shadowfiend Shoulder Pads’ curse effect lasted less than three seconds before fading. Immediately afterward, the ice encasing the boss melted and evaporated. A flaming hand thrust out from the opening, aiming directly at Starry.

Zzzzt—flame and lightning intertwined, hissing violently! The current moved at terrifying speed, wrapped in roaring fire as it slammed straight into Starry.

Even with the Wishkeeper’s magic defense boosted to 574 under buffs, Blazing Incineration had dealt massive damage. For a Mad Swordsman with only 283 magic defense, the result should have been far worse. Yet… her HP remained completely full.

She instantly realized what had happened. Relentless Triumph! That skill had just saved her again. Starry was blasted out of the air and crashed to the ground as the boss shattered the ice and emerged.

‘There is no turning back now. We have to finish it in one decisive push.’ Gritting his teeth, Zane shifted back into the Wishkeeper form.

He swallowed two potions and recovered a bit of HP. Around 9,000 HP remained. Still enough to fight!

Infuse his Mana Blade with Magic Swordsmanship, Zane slashed toward the raging flames before him.

Not bad. With hybrid physical and magical damage combined, his normal attacks were now nearly on par with Starry’s.

The instant the blade struck, mana automatically gathered at the tip of the blade. That’s… Mana Surge!

**Boom!**

Luck was on their side. It had triggered a critical hit! However, using skills so frequently drained his MP at an alarming rate. Zane had not noticed it before, but when he finally checked, the result was shocking. Only 24% remained?

Meditation. The Ring of Mana’s special skill was meant exactly for moments like this. The pressure on his mind eased significantly, and the mana recovery felt pleasantly smooth.

Still, this meant her Skill Points (SP) were nearly exhausted. Although the Elemental Horn could store spell-type skills, stronger spells required higher SP costs. Without any liquor to replenish them, SP could only recover slowly through battle.

Of course, Magic Swordsmanship was a rather special skill and did not consume SP.

**Whoosh—!**

Treka had not stopped attacking either, firing arrow after arrow like a relentless pea shooter. The intense fighting gradually drew the attention of the surrounding Fire Spirits locked in chaotic combat.

Whether it was the violet flames or pure Fire Spirits, all of them turned their attention toward the group and abruptly changed course. In the very next instant, a crimson tide surged in from every direction, rushing straight toward them.

**Boom!**

At the same time, the frost encasing the boss exploded apart. It was impossible to see how many clusters of flame were spinning rapidly around it. They formed a massive ring of fire circling its body. This must have been the skill Ring of Inferno.

‘This is bad…’ Front, back, left, right, even the sky above them was swallowed by a sea of red flames. Their vision was filled with nothing but blazing crimson fire.

“I have failed the Empress’ trust… to be pushed to this extent by mere intruders,” Zedana muttered to itself, sounding almost ashamed.

‘The Empress?’ Zane caught the word immediately. That might be the key to breaking through this illusion.

“However… before I atone, allow me to deal with them first.”