Outside, the scattered clouds began to gather once more, signaling a second coming of rain. Meanwhile, Regen had been circling for a parking spot for nearly half an hour.
His silver sedan was unremarkable, save for the black broadsword resting on the back seat. The interior smelled faintly of jasmine air freshener and cleaning fluid; though the latter was subtle, it gave the car a strangely inviting atmosphere.
["If that annoying woman knew you were wasting time looking for a parking spot…"] Caliburn remarked, drifting back to a memory from three years ago.
Regen didn't answer at first. He turned into an empty, open-air lot. Despite the lack of people, he chose to park carefully.
"Do you think… someone who survived the influence of both you and the Hunger of Fear still be called an ordinary person?"
["If she isn't someone with an exceptionally iron will, then she must possess some kind of resistance skill… perhaps,"] Caliburn replied.
"…" Regen fell silent.
[…] Caliburn followed suit for a moment.
"Is that what you see?" the young hunter asked, confirming. "This is the closest parking lot to the incident."
["Hmph… if you say so. I suppose it truly isn't an urgent matter then,"] Caliburn noted before falling quiet. ["There are only suspicious mysteries. But… you've harbored this suspicion for three whole years. Don't you think that's a bit long?"]
Regen said nothing. He exited the car, opened the back door, and retrieved the black sword. He locked the vehicle with the remote before walking to the security booth to tuck a parking slip into his leather jacket pocket.
The hunter walked toward the glowing light dome, carrying his black blade over his shoulder with unhurried strides.
"It hasn't been long at all, Caliburn," Regen said. "Not long at all."
…
…
"Regen, that show-off…! When the hell is he getting here?!" Rosaline screamed into her phone.
["I've tried contacting him, but he isn't picking up."]
Rosaline went numb. Her blood felt like it was freezing over, and waves of fury surged through her. "That bastard…"
["But… based on his GPS, he's close. He should be there in less than ten minutes,"] Drake said, staring at his holographic monitors.
"We're practically dead here, sir. Give my regards to everyone involved!" Rosaline snapped. She looked at the time; it had been over thirty minutes—way past Drake's initial estimate.
["Five minutes! If Regen doesn't show up, get out of there!"] Drake finally commanded.
"Thank you," Rosaline said, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly as she watched the boss finally extinguish the spectral flames. "Alright then."
"What are you doing?" Zenis asked from the floor, grabbing her wrist. "I'm the Fighter. You're just the Support."
"Just stay down," Rosaline told him.
"But—" Zenis protested, despite the gaping wounds in his chest and abdomen.
"Healing skills take time. [Skill: Purify]." Rosaline cast the skill to clear away the pollen and contaminants hindering Zenis's natural recovery. Once finished, she gave his face a playful, light pat. "Rest. But don't you dare fall asleep."
"Hermit!" Zenis called out as she turned away toward the regenerating boss. He tried to stand, but his injuries were too severe, and his vision blurred from blood loss. "You crazy woman!"
After a short walk, the hunter stood before Flowinee, who was already knitting her body back together. Her white floral head began to bloom again. Even though half her body had been charred away, she was recovering—albeit slowly.
"[Skill: Decay]," Rosaline chanted. But there was no effect.
Heh… heh… heh… The boss laughed, seeing the skill fail. A status window appeared before Rosaline.
[Skill: Decay failed. The Dungeon Boss has developed immunity.]
To win, I'd need Zenis's spirit fire, Rosaline thought. But the fire-user was currently clinging to life on the floor.
[Boss Debuff Remaining: 325m 45s]
Rosaline closed her eyes and sighed. I rarely use it. But perhaps… I should stop being afraid and use it for real. Even if it kills me, I have no choice left…
Decision made, she spoke aloud. "Only the two of us left can still move. In that case… I'm starting."
Flowinee, believing her opponent was powerless now that the primary attacker was incapacitated, let out a soft, mocking giggle. Rosaline ignored her, lunging forward with her shadow-flicker skill. Her clothes began to bleed into a pitch-black hue.
"[Skill: Void Mind]." Her killing intent and presence vanished instantly from Flowinee's perception. The boss gasped, startled, before feeling a cold blade pierce through her back.
It was a black dagger forged from the power of Aeternum.
"You aren't a god… so don't look down on us humans, De-von!" Rosaline roared, twisting the dagger in the boss's chest to widen the wound.
SCREECH—!! A high-pitched scream of agony echoed as Flowinee thrashed wildly. She responded by releasing a massive burst of floral pollen, creating a localized explosion for protection.
Despite the flowers blooming across her skin and the stinging pain driving her toward madness, Rosaline held onto the dagger with a death grip, locking her legs around Flowinee's torso until the parasitic blooms burned and withered away.
Struggling to maintain her balance as the boss bucked, Rosaline found an opening and bit into the boss's neck to anchor herself, then began a relentless barrage of stabs.
The piercing screams shattered Rosaline's eardrums until blood trickled from her ears. Even with her hearing ringing into silence, she refused to give in.
Flowinee used her vines to try and tear Rosaline away, but she couldn't touch her. The sheer intensity of the Aeternum energy made Rosaline's body look like a charred tree wreathed in smoke. The mysterious heat waves emitted by this power acted like a furnace, burning anything that came close.
Die! Just die already! Rosaline thought frantically, and Aeternum responded to her rage.
SCREECH! Red and black energy flooded into Flowinee. Her divine skin began to rot as if consumed by a malignant disease, with black veins spreading across her form.
Seeing her chance, Rosaline stabbed the other side of the boss's exposed neck, dragging the dagger down, hoping to tear the head clean off.
"Dammit!" Rosaline cried out as she felt her strength vanish. I've never used Aeternum for this long. My body… feels like life is being sucked out of it. Her hands and legs shook, but she didn't stop.
However, her vision began to blur, and her strength ebbed away until she was nearly unconscious.
Flowinee's vines finally managed to snag Rosaline, hoisting her into the air. Though she dangled helplessly, she still gripped the black dagger.
{"Your power is quite marvelous,"} Flowinee spoke—for the first time, in her own tongue. {"But I know that power is not yours… you thief."}
"…"
{"Where are you hiding it? The power of the 'Domain of the Perfected'?"} Flowinee demanded, using her vines to search Rosaline. Finding nothing, the Dungeon Boss grew increasingly agitated. {"Tell me… Tell me now!"}
"…He's…"
{…}
"Late as always… but he's… here," Rosaline whispered. She tightened her grip on the black dagger one last time, sliced the vine holding her, and plummeted to the floor.
…
…
At that same moment…
Walking down the middle of the street, Regen faced a massive crowd trying to surge into the dome. Authorities and other hunters were struggling to hold back two or three hundred people, a number that was growing by the minute.
The sweet, intoxicating scent permeated the air. Only the hunters and officers could withstand it, though even some officers were beginning to join the mindless crowd.
Regen leaped onto a thirty-story condominium nearby. He looked toward the Womb of Flowers, nearly two kilometers away. The area surrounding it was a mess of craters and sinkholes, making a close-range approach impossible.
He calculated the trajectory for a moment and asked, "Is there enough chaos here to stretch the blade to the center?"
["You're going to fight the Dungeon Boss from here?"] Caliburn clarified.
Regen didn't answer.
["…You are absolutely insane."]
"The core should be right in the center. If we destroy it from within, it's over," Regen said.
["But we're nearly two kilometers away!"] Caliburn added. ["Still… if you say so… Whoa, whoa, whoa!"]
Without a word of warning, Regen raised the black sword and began absorbing the ambient 'Chaos.' A deep, navy-blue blade began to take shape from Caliburn, extending into a towering flame of energy that reached toward the heavens.
Regen leaped from the building and swung with all his might, aiming directly for the distant Womb of Flowers.
SHING!
A titanic beam of blue light cleaved down from above. The radiant line sliced through the Dungeon Boss, splitting it into two perfect halves before the form exploded into a localized ice storm.
"Hermit!" Zenis roared before being swept away by the shockwave, crashing into one of the womb's walls.
"Agh!" Rosaline cried out as she was slammed into the opposite side, the ice storm flaying her skin. Her instincts took over, and Aeternum smoke swirled around her to protect her from the freezing shards.
It took nearly five minutes for the ice storm to subside. When it did, a biting cold blanketed the area, turning the womb into an icy tomb. Shards of ice rose around the boss like frozen petals. Flowinee remained at the center, looking like a frozen stamen—her body split in two, frozen solid before she could even realize she was dead.
[Dungeon Boss: Flowinee. Status: Deceased.]
[Cause of Death: Power of the Star of Chaos, Calibarn. Cryogenic energy incinerated cells instantly, preventing regeneration.]
Rosaline's status window flickered with the final result. At that moment, Flowinee began to glow, turning into a ball of white light that ascended into the sky, mirrored by every flower in the vicinity. All that remained was the sound of drops falling from the artifacts.
Clink… clink…
Silence fell over the tomb.
"…Dammit. That idiot tried to kill us along with the boss!" Rosaline muttered, though her voice was barely a whisper.
The Womb of Flowers slowly split along the cut line, the two halves tilting away from each other and collapsing.
And then, the rain began to fall. The first drop hit just seconds after the victory.
"Rain?" Rosaline looked up, confused. For some reason, the rain felt like a signal that everything was truly over. The spirit of slaughter and survival began to fade from her heart.
She had survived once more… just like every time before.
Exhausted beyond her limits, Rosaline fell into a half-conscious state. As the piece of the womb she was lying on began to slide and fall, she found she couldn't move a muscle.
Oh no… I celebrated too early.
As she plummeted, Rosaline thought of her former partner. Her lips moved in a silent plea for a miracle. "Help me."
Suddenly…
"Hermit!"
The young hunter's voice called out as he caught her mid-air, seated atop his spectral dragon. His face was a mask of relief as he saw his former partner still blinking.
"Ze…nis?" Rosaline whispered. "Are you healed?"
"…Lucky for you I was in the neighborhood," Zenis replied arrogantly, ignoring the question. He steered the dragon back up toward the street, flying through a sky filled with rising white lights.
Though they were born from something deadly, they looked undeniably beautiful in the night sky.