CHAPTER 588: NO WAY OUT

"The Bone Sovereign! Get your ass out here—I’m gonna kill them all!" the Bonefiend Maiden screamed, her voice shrill with fury.

She looked like a little girl, but her face was twisted with rage, pure malice etched into every line.

And right then—

The ground began to rumble violently. With a deafening roar, a massive skeletal arm burst up from beneath the earth. As it clawed its way out, the full figure of the Bone Sovereign emerged—towering, terrifying.

And that was just the beginning.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

The air itself began to hum and vibrate. Space around them shimmered and warped, and then—one after another—figures started pouring out of swirling portals and dimensional rifts. Each one radiated a powerful, overwhelming aura.

They were Hero Units. And not just any—many of them were Tier 15.

In an instant, the atmosphere turned electric. Tension crackled in the air like a drawn bowstring, ready to snap.

But before anyone could make a move, the Bonefiend Maiden raised her hand again.

With a flick of her wrist, two enormous serpents materialized behind her, coiling in midair. Flames blazed from their open jaws, the heat so intense it warped the air around them.

The pressure they gave off was suffocating—monstrous.

There was no doubt: she was terrifyingly strong. Easily on par with Dungeon Overlord Sycus. Maybe even stronger.

She was a top-tier SSS-class powerhouse—definitely Tier 15.

"Hmph! Pathetic fools. I thought you’d just sit outside and wait for us to come kill you. But you actually came running in here yourselves? Fine by me..."

She sneered, her voice dripping with contempt.

"Saves us the trouble."

"So now, let me grant you the death you deserve. Die, you worthless trash!"

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

The Bonefiend Maiden’s voice was laced with scorn. The skull in her hand flared with blinding light, and the two flaming serpents behind her shot into the sky—racing straight toward Ethan.

"Umbral Detonation!"

Elira moved instantly, casting her spell—but then froze.

Because at that exact moment, the Bone Sovereign—still rising from the earth—launched a sudden attack.

And worse, the sheer power radiating from him... it was leagues beyond Elira, Ataneya, even the Bonefiend Maiden herself.

"Tier 16?!" Ethan’s scalp tingled as he muttered the words.

Yeah. No doubt about it.

Unless something was seriously off, the Bone Sovereign was a full-blown Tier 16 Hero.

"This is bad..." Ethan’s face darkened. He barked out, "Ataneya! You and Elira—take him on together!"

"Understood!" Ataneya didn’t hesitate. Her figure blurred as she launched herself straight at the Bone Sovereign.

Seeing this, the Bonefiend Maiden let out a cold, mocking laugh.

"Heh... Hahaha! What, you think the two of them can stop the Bone Sovereign? Keep dreaming!"

"Sure, he’s not a perfect Tier 16 yet... but he’s more than enough to wipe out garbage like you! Go ahead—wash your necks and wait for death! Hahahaha!"

Ethan’s face turned grim, his expression shifting between pale and flushed.

There were two takeaways from what she’d just said—one good, one bad.

The good news? The Bone Sovereign wasn’t a fully stabilized Tier 16 yet.

The bad news? Even so, he was still more than enough to crush them.

"Die, you pathetic worms!" the Bonefiend Maiden snarled again, and in a flash, she lunged straight at Ethan.

But before she could reach him—

Seraphina stepped in.

She threw herself between them, her dragon claws slashing through the air with wild fury. A tidal wave of draconic power exploded from her, lighting up half the sky with its sheer intensity.

"Your fight is with me! I’m gonna tear you apart! ROAR!"

"You?" the Bonefiend Maiden scoffed, her lips curling into a sneer. "Don’t make me laugh."

With a cold snort, she clashed with Seraphina—and the battle between monsters began.

At the same time, chaos had erupted across the battlefield—every Hero on both sides was now locked in brutal, all-out war.

The clash of steel, the roar of spells, the screams of the dying—it engulfed everything.

Blood. Fire. Fury.

The war had gone full-scale.

Seeing this, Ethan didn’t hesitate. He threw himself into the fray, charging forward to fight alongside his people.

But even with him personally joining the battle, the difference in strength between the two sides was painfully obvious.

Emerald Castle was at a serious disadvantage.

First off, the top-tier matchup was already a disaster: an Imperfect Tier 16 Bone Sovereign versus Elira and Ataneya.

No matter how you looked at it, Emerald Castle was on the losing end of that fight.

Then there was the numbers game—how many Tier 15 Hero Units did they have?

Seraphina, Cicero, Andona, Namyanna, Feylora, and the two from the Gate of Carno world—Trigath and Sigral. That made seven. Just seven.

And the enemy?

They had over a dozen.

Nearly double.

So yeah, from every angle—power, numbers, momentum—Emerald Castle was getting crushed.

The only silver lining?

Their average Hero strength was slightly higher.

Most of Emerald Castle’s Tier 15 Heroes were solid SS-rankers. On the other side, the enemy’s Tier 15s were a mix—some S-rank, some SS, and a few SSS—but the majority were just S-rank.

Eleven of them, in fact.

So while the numbers sucked, at least the quality wasn’t completely lopsided.

Still, the battle raged on.

Ethan was already being double-teamed by two Tier 15 S-rank Dungeon elites. He was holding his own, but barely.

Others wanted to help him, but they couldn’t. Everyone was locked in their own life-or-death fights.

To the left, Andona was clashing with Dungeon Overlord Olyan.

Andona had grown strong—damn strong—but even so, facing Olyan one-on-one, she was clearly struggling.

And it wasn’t her fault.

She was a Tier 15 SS-rank.

Olyan? A full-blown Tier 15 SSS-rank.

That kind of gap wasn’t something you could just brute-force your way through.

And worse, Olyan wasn’t holding back anymore. Back at Emerald Castle, he’d been cautious. Now? He was confident. Arrogant. Dangerous.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Wave after wave of crushing pressure exploded from their battlefield. Their fight had reached a fever pitch.

Olyan’s twin blades spun like a storm, unleashing torrents of violet flame that scorched the air and lit up the sky.

The heat was unbearable. The power—overwhelming.

Andona gritted her teeth, swinging her holy sword with everything she had, barely managing to block the relentless onslaught.

She was in serious danger.

Her defense was slipping. Her movements were slowing. Wounds were piling up, and her strength was starting to falter.

She was weakening.

"You’re strong, I’ll give you that," Olyan said, his voice calm, almost admiring. "If you were a Tier 15 SSS like me, I might not be able to beat you. But you made the wrong choice. You followed the wrong lord."

He smirked, voice turning smooth and persuasive.

"Give it up. You’re going to lose. But if you surrender now, I’ll vouch for you. You could join us—become part of the Dungeon. You’d be so much more powerful with us than wasting your potential in that pathetic Emerald Castle."

"The Dungeon is where the real power lives. It’s where you belong."

He was trying to recruit her.

Trying to tempt her.

"Shut the hell up!" Andona snapped, her voice ice-cold, eyes blazing with fury.

"You think you can judge my lord? You think I’d ever join you? Keep dreaming. I don’t care if I die today—I’ll make sure you bastards pay for every drop of blood you’ve spilled! Emerald Castle will win!"

"RAAAHHH!"

BOOM!

With a roar, Andona unleashed a blinding burst of holy light. The runes on her wings flared to life, glowing with divine brilliance.

She was going all in.

But even so, it was clear—she was running on fumes.

This was her last stand.

And on the other side of the battlefield, the fight between Seraphina and the Bonefiend Maiden?

It was playing out the exact same way.

...