Chapter 194: One Last Breath (3)

Our teamwork allowed us to gain the slightest advantage, and eventually, Asterion managed to create the opening I needed to end the battle once and for all.

But at that exact moment, the Golden Dawn Knight struck my Executioner’s Sword and knocked it out of my grasp.

My weapon was gone.

So I used my arm instead.

Tightening my mechanical fist as hard as I could, I threw the strongest punch my body could muster, forcing Night Lord’s Aura into the Legion Arm until it resembled a black metal projectile hurtling toward its target.

The sound of flesh being pierced followed almost immediately, and a violent eruption of dark aura spread outward in every direction.

My Legion Arm buried itself in the Golden Dawn Knight’s chest, punching straight through his body and emerging from his back.

At long last, I had landed the finishing blow.

And in that moment, the light in the Golden Dawn Knight’s eyes finally changed.

His deformed face trembled slightly. It was a frightening face, one that barely resembled anything human, but the corners of his mouth slowly rose as he struggled to form a smile.

There was no pain in his expression.

Only relief.

As though an ordeal that had tormented him for countless years had finally come to an end.

I had no doubt that the man standing before me now was the real Golden Dawn Knight, the same person who had spoken to me several times before.

“Thank… you… both…”

The words escaped his lips with great difficulty, his voice little more than a hoarse whisper. He slowly closed his eyes and collapsed against my shoulder, his blood completely covering my mechanical arm.

“We… won…”

I stood frozen, barely able to believe the words coming out of my own mouth.

I couldn’t believe that the great Golden Dawn Knight had finally fallen. Part of me kept expecting him to rise again, and I remained on guard, terrified that he might surprise us with yet another attack.

But this time, he never got back up.

It was the sound of Asterion collapsing heavily onto the ground that finally dragged me back to reality, reminding me that the old hunter was still in a horrifying condition.

I immediately pulled my arm from the Golden Dawn Knight’s chest and rushed toward him.

“Don’t you dare die, old man… Don’t you fucking dare die on me…”

I hurriedly grabbed a Flask and poured its contents into his mouth, desperately trying to make him swallow.

Flasks were powerful. They had always been capable of healing us Hearts, but Asterion had suffered an unimaginable amount of damage, and I was terrified that I might already be too late to save him.

“Don’t die…”

My voice had grown much weaker by then.

Asterion slowly opened his eyes, his body trembling violently. He couldn’t manage a single word, but the corners of his mouth rose into a faint smile, almost as though he were telling me to stop shouting and let him die in peace.

“Death doesn’t suit you, old man. So live. Live long enough to watch your grandchildren grow up and have grandchildren of their own.”

I managed a weak smile as I spoke.

The old man slowly closed his eyes in response.

The sight terrified me, but at least he looked peaceful.

“Finally… It’s over.”

I turned my head toward the Golden Dawn Knight’s corpse.

And froze.

Someone else was standing in front of it.

No, not someone.

A monster.

A creature that had appeared out of nowhere, despite there having been absolutely nothing there a second earlier.

Its skin was completely black, while its arms were so unnaturally long and thin that they looked almost skeletal. Its face was horrifying, with a long beak protruding from it as though the creature were wearing a plague doctor’s mask, and its crimson eyes glowed with unmistakable fury.

“DEATH TO YOU, YOU DAMNED HEART HUNTERS!!!”

Aldrich roared in rage and charged straight toward me.

I immediately positioned myself in front of Asterion’s body, shielding the old man as I reached toward the Executioner’s Sword. My telekinetic power pulled the weapon through the air toward my hand, but I was already too late.

I had been careless.

There had never been any guarantee that defeating the Golden Dawn Knight would also mean defeating Aldrich.

The battle wasn’t over yet.

And my failure to realize that sooner was about to cost me my life, along with the old man’s.

This cursed city, and this damned Legacy dungeon, simply refused to let us go, even at the very last moment.

“Flash, O heavens, and illuminate my world! Shine forth and dance upon the corpses of my enemies!!”

“THUNDER’S JUDGMENT!!”

Without warning, an enormous bolt of lightning descended from above and struck Aldrich directly, engulfing him in a terrifying amount of electricity that stopped him in his tracks before he could reach me.

I turned my head and saw a young witch pointing her staff toward us, her expression filled with alarm.

“Luna?”

It was Luna.

Chai and Alicia were running beside her, while Moon followed behind them, struggling to keep up because of her severe injuries.

Aldrich quickly escaped the lightning’s area of effect and retreated, putting some distance between himself and us.

Turning my attention back toward him, I finally managed to examine his true form through Wise Raven Insight.

…

Devourer of Gods: Aldrich

Rank: Saint Equivalent

…

The final boss… was only as strong as Aldebaran?

I could hardly believe it.

The most dangerous boss in the entire dungeon wasn’t overwhelmingly powerful at all. In fact, he was weaker than most of his own subordinates.

It was that possession ability that made him so dangerous.

“ETHAN!!”

My companions shouted from the distance, their expressions hardening the moment they noticed Asterion lying on the ground, barely alive.

“THE FINAL BOSS!! THAT’S THE FINAL BOSS!! THE BATTLE ISN’T OVER YET!!”

I shouted at the top of my lungs to warn them, preparing myself to fight once again.

They immediately did the same, directing a terrifying amount of killing intent toward Aldrich.

The creature stared at us silently with those horrifying eyes before finally speaking.

“You should not be helping them, Curse Bearer. Your place is within the depths of darkness, alongside the Night Lords and the followers of the dark.”

His words were directed at me, causing me to frown deeply.

“What the hell are you babbling about?”

I demanded an answer, but Aldrich simply turned his back on me.

“I have no intention of fighting you to the death. A powerful destiny guides your path, and I am not the one the Curse has chosen to be your Ordeal .”

Aldrich extended his hand, and a portal immediately began forming before him, opening a passage through which he escaped without hesitation.

“NO!! HE’S GETTING AWAY!!”

Chai and Luna shouted at the same time, unleashing arrows and fire toward the fleeing creature.

But neither attack reached him.

Aldrich had already passed through the portal, and the opening began closing immediately behind him.

“Oh, no you don’t.”

I fired my grappling hook straight into the narrowing passage and pulled myself toward it at full speed, barely managing to slip through before it closed completely.

As I crossed the threshold, I turned my head and caught one last glimpse of my companions.

And of Asterion.

‘Thank you, old man… I promise I’ll finish this, no matter what it costs me.’

Then I turned my attention forward again and passed through to the other side, determined to pursue Aldrich until the very end.