CHAPTER 64: BOSS FIGHT

The man stood slowly, his chair scraping back across the obsidian floor.

He reached down and picked up a long, ornate beastbone rapier—its blade glistened with a cruel, unnatural edge, slightly curved and engraved with infernal runes. At its hilt sat a deep crimson ruby, pulsing faintly like a still-beating heart.

As he raised it, the red mist thickened behind him, swirling like a storm on the edge of eruption.

A chill silence swept the room.

Then, he took a step forward.

"Since you’ve refused the Lord’s gift..." his voice deepened, resonating with layered distortion, "...be the gift to the Lord."

His demonic eyes glowed brighter, and in that instant—Rhys moved.

A flash of steel.

His blade swung in a clean arc, slashing forward in a high-speed Perfect Blade Draw.

The boss parried with preternatural grace—rapier and greatsword colliding midair with a shockwave of pressure, cracking the marble beneath them.

[ Boss Battle Initiated – Demon Worshipper: Sine the Gatewarden (Phase 1) ]

[ Level 129 – Elite Demon ]

[ Domain Effect Active: Red Mist Saturation – +20% Dark Spell Damage, -10% Light Resistance ]

Sine lunged forward, his movements blindingly fast despite his flowing black robes.

His strikes were elegant but vicious, a blend of fencing precision and corrupted speed.

The mist trembled.

Rhys’s boots slid across cracked marble as he dodged left, Sine’s obsidian rapier slicing through the space his chest had just occupied. A hiss of displaced air followed as red mist coiled violently around them, reacting to the Gatewarden’s fury.

Ghost Edge Step.

Silent. Instantaneous. Like vanishing from thought.

Rhys reappeared a few paces away, crouched low, sword drawn across his body.

"Is this guy really the Gatewarden...?" he muttered under his breath, sliding back into stance.

"Then does that mean—there’s another one waiting behind the gate?"

He felt the ache in his legs, the rising heat in his lungs.

But his grip tightened.

"No point thinking about that now."

The courtyard erupted as they clashed again.

Steel rang out, not once, but constantly—a ceaseless rhythm of slashes, parries, and bursts of magic-imbued strikes.

Sine’s style had shifted; it was no longer elegant. It was feral.

Corrupted power fed every motion.

He weaved in with a deceptive thrust—Rhys dodged by inches, countering with Arc Surge Slash.

The mana arc screamed through the mist, but Sine twisted mid-step and deflected it with the flat of his blade, sending it crashing into a crumbled statue behind them.

Sine retaliated with a spinning lunge, red mist condensing along his blade.

Rhys threw his sword up just in time—sparks exploded as mana clashed with infernal steel.

The impact sent Rhys skidding back across stone until he rebounded off a shattered column.

Dust spiraled into the air.

The courtyard was drenched in blood-hued fog. The once-pristine runes beneath their feet glowed dimly as if suffocating under Sine’s corrupted presence.

Across from him, the Gatewarden stood tall—black-cloaked, silver hair matted with sweat and blood, crimson irises smoldering like the core of a volcano.

"You rejected the Lord’s Gift... and so you’ll be tested by His will," Sine said, raising his blade with solemn conviction.

"And I’m the blade that’ll cut through it," Rhys replied, narrowing his eyes.

A sudden shriek—then the fog split violently as Puddle emerged from the side, leaping from a shattered column like a silver comet.

His form shimmered with ancient water magic, tendrils of liquid light twisting around his body.

"Puddle—go!" Rhys barked.

The ancient beast answered with a pulse of mana that shattered nearby tiles.

[Shadow Tendrils] lashed out, aiming to bind Sine in place—but the Gatewarden moved like lightning, leaping back and using his cloak to deflect the cursed magic. His eyes briefly flicked toward the creature.

"Tamer... you fight alongside that?" he spat. "A mere Slime? Do you think he can stand before the Lord’s chosen?"

"He’s not a beast," Rhys said, rising with a slow breath. "He’s my partner."

Sine didn’t respond with words. Only steel.

He lunged—so fast the air screamed.

Rhys parried mid-step, the impact jarring through his arms. He twisted, deflecting two rapid thrusts—but Sine vanished again, using the mist as cover.

Abyssal Grasp.

Puddle countered, dark tendrils rising from the ground and catching Sine’s boot mid-lunge.

For a heartbeat—he was trapped.

Rhys struck, his blade glowing blue with Water Blade.

The slash crashed down—but at the last moment, Sine snapped the tendrils and leapt back, wounded but still standing.

Rhys blinked sweat from his eyes.

"He’s fast. Faster than anyone I’ve fought."

They met in a flurry of motion: Rhys’s Whirlwind Slash battering Sine’s defenses, Sine answering with flurried twin-lance thrusts so fast the air shrieked.

They fought through the garden ruins, across broken steps and shattered glyphs, their battle spilling into every corner of the palace’s blood-soaked courtyard.

Rhys leapt high, blade overhead.

Sine raised his rapier—trapped the blow midair—then twisted, slamming his elbow into Rhys’s ribs and sending him crashing down.

Rhys hit hard but rolled instantly, kicking up gravel and casting Water Blade without even looking.

The glimmering slash curved midair and struck Sine in the side, leaving a clean, steaming wound.

Sine hissed—and vanished.

Rhys turned instinctively—too slow.

The Gatewarden reappeared behind him, mid-lunge.

But Rhys had already dropped low, ducking under the thrust and spinning, his sword flashing upward in a vertical slash that carved a line of mist and blood across Sine’s torso.

The fog condensed violently.

Sine stood still, one arm lifted.

Crimson runes spiraled around him, merging with his blade.

The courtyard shook.

"This is the Lord’s Trial," he said, voice rising with zeal. "And I am its Gate Guardian."

A shockwave exploded outward, hurling Rhys and Puddle back.

Sine’s body cracked with dark red light—his rapier extended unnaturally, transforming into a whip-like blade.

"Shit—form shift," Rhys grunted, sliding back over broken stone.

He coughed, then steadied his grip. "Puddle, coordinate!"

Puddle shimmered beside him, channeling Aqua Veil.

A pulse of healing light wrapped around them, briefly refreshing their strength.

Sine surged forward, blade sweeping in wide arcs, tearing gashes through the air.

Rhys ducked one, spun through another, and lashed out with Whirlwind Slash.

It collided with the whip-sword—exploding in a geyser of steam as fire met water.

From the left—Light Bullets.

Puddle fired a cluster of radiant projectiles.

Sine deflected most—but one seared across his shoulder. He snarled.

"Enough!"

The Gatewarden spun midair, blade turning rigid as it descended in a brutal thrust.

Rhys caught it.

Barely.

Steel locked steel, knees buckling under pressure. The blade crackled with infernal mana, forcing down onto Rhys’s sword.

Puddle struck from the side—Water Jet crashing into Sine’s hip.

It broke his stance.

Rhys roared and Vertical Slashed, driving the blow upward into Sine’s ribs. Blood sprayed into the mist—but the Gatewarden didn’t fall.

He twisted away with unholy momentum, dragging Rhys’s blade—until Rhys let go and backflipped just in time.

"NOW, PUDDLE!"

Puddle surged, his form glowing with Ancient Light.

Gleaming Halo.

Radiant aura burst outward, searing chunks of red mist and throwing Sine’s form into sharp relief.

Rhys was already mid-dash, snatching his sword from the air as he blurred toward the revealed target.

Sine turned—too slow.

Rhys rammed his shoulder into his chest, lifting him off his feet—

—and Arc Surge Slash detonated at point-blank.

The Gatewarden screamed, his body flung back, crashing through a pillar with bone-crunching force.

Dust and mist choked the courtyard.

Rhys stood at the center, panting, blade smoking, Puddle floating beside him—cracked, but still glowing.

From the rubble, Sine stumbled out—face bloodied, armor torn, crimson eyes flickering.

"You truly... resist... the gift..."

His blade fell.

His knees followed.

"I was... meant to be the best... the worthy..."

Rhys didn’t answer. He only stepped forward, blade lowered but still ready.

Sine’s voice faded to a whisper. "You... will die screaming... as you face... the Lord..."

He collapsed.

The mist convulsed—then shrieked, vanishing like breath stolen by wind.

And the gates behind them—colossal and cursed—creaked open.

Darkness waited beyond. But not silence.

Something stirred.

Rhys lowered his sword slowly, glancing at Puddle.

"Guess that wasn’t the final boss," he said quietly.

Puddle’s glow dimmed slightly. "Kyuu."

Rhys exhaled.

"Don’t worry, bud. We can win it."

Together, they walked toward the gate.

And then the red turned to white.

[ Congratulations, Player: Rank 1 Trial Complete – SUCCESSFUL ]

Rhys blinked as a golden prompt appeared before him.

"...I guess that was the last boss," he mumbled as the system’s chime echoed, and he slid the sword into his inventory.

[ Congratulations, Player "Blade" – Your Level Cap Has Been Removed ]

[ All Stored EXP Will Now Be Applied ]

[ Level Up ]

[ Level Up ]

{ You Have Reached Level 139 }

[ All Your Stats Have Doubled ]

[ All Class Skills Have Leveled Up Once ]

[ Ultra Hard Difficulty Completed – BONUS REWARD UNLOCKED ]

[ Stats Gained: +500 to Wisdom, Intelligence, Ancient Affinity, and Domination ]

[ Class Skills Leveled Again: Rite of Awakening, Legacy Bond, Predator’s Archive, Knowledge of the Unwritten ]

[ You have gained 390 free stat points ]

"Heh, good," Rhys mumbled as he stepped out of the Rank Trial chamber.

Another receptionist nearby looked up and asked,

"Did you just complete the Rank Trial?"

Rhys nodded, brushing dust from his cloak.

"Yeah, I cleared it."