Chapter 180: The Battle Between the Strongest (1)

At the deepest point of the cathedral, something moved at the speed of sound.

It was little more than a shadow, appearing and disappearing in rapid succession as it devoured the distance toward its destination at an insane pace. Its speed had reached a level where even those who had attained the King Rank would struggle merely to catch a glimpse of it, let alone keep up.

That shadow belonged to an old man, ancient in years yet still remarkably agile despite having spent so long away from the battlefield.

Asterion Heart.

The Uncrowned Emperor unleashed his true speed the moment he separated from Jackson and his granddaughter, and within mere seconds, he reached his destination.

The Uncrowned Emperor found himself standing before an enormous, distinctive gate coated entirely in gold. Torches surrounded it, burning with dark crimson flames that illuminated the gate amid the darkness and made it stand out all the more.

From beyond that gate, seeping through its cracks and edges…

Asterion felt an ominous aura crawling toward him.

"Ah… this brings back memories."

The old man smiled in the face of death.

He remained exactly where he stood, refusing to retreat even half a step.

"I never imagined I'd encounter an aura like this at my age. I've lived a long life, but I've never felt one stronger than this…"

Asterion quickly understood that whatever awaited him behind that door would be the strongest opponent he had ever faced.

The old man had never imagined that the greatest challenge of his career as a hunter would appear after so many years of inactivity.

Not even in his wildest dreams.

And far too much was at stake.

If he lost, the Mother Flame would be extinguished, and the Legacy dungeon would expand to swallow Ashvarn and every hunter within it, turning them all into monsters.

The Golden Dawn Knight would then be able to leave his chamber inside the cathedral.

And Old Ashvarn would become a catastrophe capable of threatening an entire empire.

Asterion had once heard of another Legacy dungeon on the opposite side of the world.

A dungeon that had continued expanding until it swallowed an entire nation, its boss eventually becoming one of the Night Lords.

Even to this day, no one had ever managed to clear it.

If Asterion lost…

Old Ashvarn would become something similar.

Only God knew how much pressure descended upon Asterion at that moment.

How much responsibility had been placed upon his shoulders.

And yet, strangely enough…

The old man opened his arms to that pressure and embraced it as though it were something he had dearly missed.

"This feeling…"

Asterion clenched his fist, savoring every moment.

"The feeling of having everything at stake. One battle standing between life and death… and an opponent I don't even know whether I can defeat."

His grin widened.

"This is what it means to be a hunter again!!"

The Uncrowned Emperor's expression suddenly twisted.

His usual nonchalance vanished, replaced by a terrifying grin stretching from ear to ear.

He looked like a madman.

An ancient ghost starving for battle.

For a moment, he stood there unarmed.

Then a long sword appeared from nowhere in his right hand.

A katana, far larger than an ordinary one.

It resembled an odachi, though its design was slightly different.

A katana normally wasn't an ideal weapon for fighting monsters or other extremely durable creatures.

But Asterion's sword was anything but ordinary.

It was a high-tier weapon, even stronger than Ethan's Executioner's Sword.

Asterion swung it once.

The golden gate exploded.

It didn't split apart.

It literally exploded, blasted inward by the violent force of his strike.

The enormous gate crashed against the floor with a deafening roar.

And through the opening left behind…

The ancient hunter emerged like a ghost, his crimson eyes glowing through the darkness.

He looked completely different from every version of himself they had seen before.

This was the strongest hunter when he entered his extermination state, ready for battle.

But his opponent was no less terrifying.

On the other side, what the golden gate had concealed was finally revealed.

The final battlefield itself wasn't particularly remarkable.

It was far smaller than the main prayer hall Morgus had occupied.

The place resembled a throne room, remarkably similar to the chamber where Ethan had killed Mathius.

Stone pillars supported the hall, while the ceiling loomed impossibly far overhead.

The arena was otherwise completely empty.

There was nothing inside except a single throne at its center, surrounded by swords driven into the ground.

And upon that throne…

Sat the final boss of the Legacy dungeon.

A golden knight.

His armor gleamed beneath the light of the torches scattered throughout the chamber, while his crimson eyes burned with an intensity equal to Asterion's own.

The armor covered every inch of his body.

It wasn't excessively bulky or cumbersome.

Rather, it looked as though it had been forged specifically for the Golden Dawn Knight and no one else.

A long crimson cloak flowed from his back, lending him a majestic elegance that only made his presence feel heavier and more imposing.

Asterion's eyes gradually widened at the sight.

So did his grin.

"So this is him…"

His crimson eyes burned with excitement.

"This is the legendary Golden Dawn Knight!"

At that moment, the Uncrowned Emperor looked almost like a child watching a legend he had grown up hearing stories about suddenly come to life before his eyes.

Throughout his rise, whispers had always followed Asterion.

Whispers constantly comparing him to the legend of the golden knight.

The man said to have stood almost equal to the ancient Players who founded the Heart Clan.

And now…

The Uncrowned Emperor finally had the chance to fight that legend.

To discover which of them was stronger.

His desire for battle soared to an almost insane degree, every cell in his body trembling in anticipation of throwing itself into a life-or-death battle without the slightest hesitation.

Then all that excitement vanished.

Because, unexpectedly…

His opponent spoke.

"So… you are the High King who entered my domain and dared stand before me."

The golden knight slowly rose from his throne as he spoke.

"You will be the first to fall."

"Who the hell are you?"

Asterion's furious growl cut him off.

"And why are you using the Golden Dawn Knight's voice?"

The veins across the Uncrowned Emperor's face bulged like worms beneath his skin from the sheer force of his anger.

The knight tilted his head, seemingly caught slightly off guard.

"Oh? You realized the golden knight wasn't the one speaking, even though I used his voice…"

A hint of amusement entered his tone.

"Impressive."

"Answer the damn question, you bastard!"

Asterion interrupted him again.

The creature controlling the Golden Dawn Knight gave a quiet laugh.

"My name is Aldrich, the Devourer of Souls."

His crimson eyes glowed beneath the golden helm.

"One of the Aspects of Gladius, the Wisdom of Night… the great Night Lord."

For the first time…

The true final boss had finally revealed his identity.

Aldrich.

An unholy creature considered one of the most dangerous followers of the Night Lord Gladius, known as the Wisdom of Night.

A monster who had earned the title Devourer of Souls because of his ability to possess others and take control of them.

A power so formidable that even the Golden Dawn Knight himself had fallen victim to it.