Chapter 168: SSS-RANK Dungeon’s Boss

"It seems the Forest Queen is Dead." Darion opened his mouth, his voice resounding all over the hall, retracting his aura. The sheer, suffocating weight that had threatened to crush Asher’s lungs lifted slightly.

​"What will you do about that?" Anika asked, her sharp voice echoing in the vast stone chamber. She pointed a claw finger at Asher:

​"I have no beef with you, I am here for my snack... Let me take him, and I will leave." She said, her pride as an Elite Demon General forcing her to maintain an even, almost dismissive stance despite the astronomical gap in their stats.

​Darion turned his gaze to Asher, the cold red pupils searching his face for a fleeting second, then turned back to Anika:

​"I don’t have any issues with that, but..." He slowly raised one hand, his movement instantly placing the two on guard. The simple gesture caused the air pressure in the hall to plunge dramatically.

​"You killed ten of my guards, what will you do about it?"

​"....?!"

​Anika was stunned. She looked over her shoulder at the ten dead SSS-Rank Monsters outside, then back at Darion.

​"They attacked first, I simply defended." She explained.

​’What the?!! Anika is actually taking her time to explain. This guy’s stats are double hers. They are both Ex-Rank, but have a huge difference in stats... I think titles also have something to do with this.’ Asher thought, his mind racing through the tactical realities.

The title ’God’s Chosen’ wasn’t just a label; it represented an unfair baseline that amplified every point of his stats into absolute force.

​’Master, that one on the throne is the main strongest here... Even with both of us. No, even if we team up with Anika, we won’t win.’ The dagger spirit explained in his mind, his voice trembling with a genuine fear that Asher had never heard from the weapon before.

​"You simply defended, so if I kill you right now, it counts as I am defending."

​SWHOOSH!

​A red square stone materialized out of pure, compressed energy before Darion’s outstretched hand, and before Asher could think, it shot towards Anika with deadly speed.

​"You!!"

​Anika quickly brought out her spikes in a defensive shield, crossing her forearms as the attack smashed right into it.

​BAM!!!

​It easily shattered her spike defense, striking her chest with the impact of a falling mountain.

​PFFFT!!!

​Anika vomited a mouthful of dark blood, her feet dragging through the ancient stone floor, as the attack forced her five feet back.

​[Magical Damage: 5,000,000.]

[Anika’s defense: 15,000,000/20,000,000.]

​"You bastard!!" Anika yelled at him, her eyes flaring with violent fury as her claws elongated into terrifying crimson blades. She completely forgot Asher, and shot towards the guy on the throne, instantly appearing before him in a flash of speed.

​"DIE!!!"

​She slashed her claw, but before it could even land, another red square stone appeared, and shot forward. Due to the close distance, it accurately smashed right into Anika’s exposed chest.

​PFFFT!!!

​She vomited a bigger mouthful of blood, flying backward through the air, smashing heavily on the ground near the throne’s base.

​[Critical Magical Damage: 15,000,000.]

[Anika’s defense: 0/20,000,000.]

​’The first attack, Anika defended, which reduced its attack damage by half, dealing five million damage. The second attack, she couldn’t defend, and it was a close-up attack, which made it critical, adding an extra five million above his natural magical attack damage. He simply destroyed all her defense stats in two strikes.’ Asher thought in shock, feeling a cold sweat break out across his back.

​’If one touches me, I will be dead.’

​"I don’t believe I can’t touch you!!!"

​Anika pushed herself up from the cracked floor, stretching her hand towards Darion, as the space before her palm cracked open, and a massive red vortex appeared.

​’She is about to use that move.’ Asher thought, immediately backing away and creating distance from the two monsters.

​"Die, you arrogant bastard!!!" Anika screamed, as a beam of red destructive light shot out from the vortex, heading towards Darion with pure, unadulterated bloodlust.

​’The hell?!! This attack is even stronger than the one she used on Tempest.’ Asher blinked, his eyes wide open as the atmospheric pressure in the chamber doubled under the weight of the beam.

​"You actually came to my territory with this weak strength."

​The moment Darion completed his words, a massive hand appeared before him, opening its palm directly towards the roaring beam of energy, and started absorbing it directly into its core.

​"....?!!"

​Asher and Anika watched, completely stunned, as the spectral hand effortlessly absorbed all the blast, then slowly clenched its fist, snuffing out the residual light.

​Anika: "This?"

​Asher: "How is that possible?!"

​They both stared, utterly stunned by the effortless nullification of an ultimate attack.

​"I plan to kill you slowly... And nothing will stop me." He said, his white hair drifting gently in the wind.

​"I don’t think so."

​Anika vanished from the ground, appearing right beside him in a desperate, suicidal leap, and slashed with her claws, aiming straight at his head.

​BAM!!!

​Her claws smashed right into the hand that shifted to block her, stunning her mid-strike:

​"How did this get here?" She stared at the center of the palm, where a grotesque mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth suddenly opened wide.

​"Shit!"

​She quickly leaped backward, creating distance from the hand, gently landing on her feet while catching her breath:

​"That thing not only absorbs attacks, but also drains all types of energy... What sort of thing is that?" She muttered under her breath, and looked over her shoulder at Asher, who was currently taking slow, silent steps, trying to sneak out through the heavy iron door.

​"Hey, Human! Team up with me! If we defeat him, I won’t eat you."

​"Huh?"

​Asher stopped, staring at her with a slight frown, then turned his gaze to Darion, then back at her:

​"You must be joking, right?! Even if we join forces, we aren’t that guy’s opponent!!" Asher turned to Darion, raising his hands in a clear gesture of non-aggression:

​"Lord Darion, I am not with her." He quickly said, prioritizing his immediate survival.

​"You human weakling!" Anika snapped at him, her teeth gritted in sheer frustration.

​"Enough of this."

​Darion finally stood up from the throne, his presence casting a terrifying shadow over the hall. The next moment, twenty red square stones appeared, floating all around his body.

​"I should end this."

​’One of those things deals a total of ten million magical attack, and now there are twenty!! How can any Awakened defeat such a thing?!’