The deeper Abel walks into the throne room, the quieter everything gets.
No sound. No movement. No wind.
Just silence pressing in from all sides.
Astra follows one step behind him. Not even footsteps. Not even breathing. She just… exists there. Barely.
The torches along the walls flicker.
Once.
Twice.
Then they all go out at the same time.
Darkness takes everything.
A deep sound comes from somewhere ahead.
A breath.
Slow. Heavy.
The ground shakes under their feet.
Abel keeps walking.
"…Yeah."
Then—
Two lights appear in the dark.
Eyes.
Huge. Burning. Watching.
The air gets hotter. Harder to breathe. Like the room itself is alive.
Stone cracks.
The throne at the end splits open—
—and something rises from it.
A dragon.
Massive. Black scales covering its body. But they're not normal. They're cracked. And inside those cracks, something red glows like fire trapped under the surface. Smoke leaks from its mouth as it slowly spreads its wings.
The room feels smaller just from that.
Astra flickers for a second.
"…Not normal."
A screen appears in front of Abel.
[ Boss detected ]
[ Name: ??? ]
[ Title: System Guardian ]
[ Level: ??? ]
[ Warning: Data corrupted ]
The dragon lowers its head.
It looks straight at Abel.
Then it roars.
The sound hits like a shockwave. The ground breaks. Walls crack. Dust falls from above.
Astra disappears instantly.
The dragon inhales.
The air pulls in fast—
Then—
Fire.
A massive wave of red flames rushes forward and fills the entire room.
Abel steps into it.
The fire splits.
It doesn't burn him. It just moves around him like it's avoiding him.
"…Too obvious."
He vanishes.
Appears above the dragon—
Swings.
Clang.
Nothing.
The blade doesn't even leave a mark.
"…Tch."
The dragon reacts instantly.
A claw shoots upward.
Abel twists mid-air—barely dodging.
He lands and slides back across the cracked floor.
"…Durability's high."
A flicker—
Astra appears near the dragon's neck.
Three fast strikes. Same point.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Nothing.
She's gone again before the dragon can react.
The dragon moves.
Faster now.
It lunges forward, jaws wide.
Abel disappears.
Reappears at its side—
Strikes again.
Clang.
Still nothing.
The tail comes from behind—
BOOM—!!
The ground explodes.
Stone flies everywhere.
Abel slides back again, stopping himself with one step.
He watches.
The dragon attacks again.
Claw. Tail. Bite.
Everything at once.
Astra moves between the attacks, appearing and disappearing, testing angles, trying different points—
No weak spots.
"…No gaps," she says quietly before vanishing again.
Abel exhales.
"…Then we make one."
The dragon lunges again.
Faster this time.
Closer.
The jaws close in—
"…Now."
Abel steps forward.
His hand touches the dragon's lower jaw—
—and shifts it.
Just a little.
The bite misses.
Astra appears instantly.
She strikes.
A spark form.
A tiny difference.
She strikes again.
And again.
In the same spot.
Each hit just slightly deeper than the last.
Abel moves.
He runs up the dragon's neck.
Wind gathers around him.
Not wild.
Tight. Controlled.
"…Tempest Art."
A faint tiger shape forms behind him.
Silent. Watching.
"White Tiger Slash."
He swings.
A thin line appears across the dragon's neck.
For a second—nothing.
Then—
Crack.
The red glow inside flickers.
The dragon roars.
This time in pain.
It thrashes violently.
Slamming into pillars. Breaking the floor.
Astra reappears at a distance.
"…That worked."
The system flickers.
[ Warning ]
[ Guardian entering phase 2 ]
The dragon's body changes.
The cracks spread wider.
The red glow intensifies.
Then suddenly—
The heat disappears.
The air becomes heavy.
Oppressive.
The dragon opens its mouth—
And fires.
A beam shoots forward.
Not fire.
Not energy.
It erases everything it touches.
The floor disappears. The walls vanish.
Astra is already gone.
Abel stands still.
The beam reaches him—
And stops.
He raises his hand.
His Mana flows outward, acting like a shield.
The beam bends.
Distorts.
Then splits around him.
The dragon doesn't pause.
It moves instantly.
Faster than before.
Its body blurs forward, ignoring distance.
It appears in front of Abel and strikes.
Abel vanishes—barely in time.
Reappears behind it—
Strikes again.
Clang.
Still nothing.
The dragon turns faster now.
Adapting.
Its tail swings mid-turn—
Abel blocks—
BOOM—!!
The force sends him sliding back again.
"Guess even monsters can adapt."
The dragon attacks again.
But this time—
It doesn't aim where he is.
It aims where he will be.
Abel dodges—
The claw still grazes him.
A small tear appears in his cloak.
Astra appears briefly—
"…It's predicting."
Gone again.
The dragon fires another beam—
This time sweeping it across the room.
Abel moves constantly, bending parts of it, avoiding the rest.
The space around them is half gone now.
Then—
The system shifts again.
[ Warning ]
[ Guardian entering phase 3 ]
Everything slows.
Not time—
Movement.
The air becomes thick.
Heavy.
Every step feels delayed.
Astra appears—
But she's slower now.
Even her movements lag.
The dragon doesn't.
It moves perfectly inside it.
No delay. No resistance.
It strikes.
Abel dodges—
Too slow.
A shallow cut opens on his arm.
A drop of blood falls.
He looks at it.
"…So it can hit me."
The dragon presses forward.
Relentless.
Every attack timed perfectly.
Every movement controlled.
Abel steps back once.
Then again.
He watches closely.
The dragon roars.
Its body cracks even more.
The red glow becomes unstable.
The room starts to shake again.
The system flickers violently.
[ Critical warning ]
[ Guardian entering phase 4 ]
[ System override recommended ]
A new message appears.
[ Activate override mode? ]
[ Yes / No ]
The dragon opens its mouth—
Darkness gathers.
Denser than before.
Then—
Shadow breath.
A massive wave tears through the room.
Everything in its path disappears.
Abel doesn't move.
At the last second—
[ Sonic Leap ]
He vanishes.
The blast wipes through where he stood.
Gone.
Abel appears high above.
Looking down.
"…Making me reveal all my cards, huh."
He raises his hand.
Mana gathers.
Condenses.
Twists.
A gigantic spear forms.
Purple.
Covered in a dark aura.
Violent.
Unstable.
He points.
"…Go."
The spear fires.
The air splits.
The dragon reacts instantly.
Shadow breath again.
Stronger.
The two collide—
Impact.
No explosion.
No sound.
Both—
Disappear.
Erased.
For a second—
Silence.
Then—
A flicker.
Astra.
She moves.
Fast.
One dagger crackles.
Thunder builds.
She jumps.
Straight to the same spot.
The weak point.
First strike—
A normal dagger.
It sinks in slightly.
Then—
Second strike.
The thunderbolt hits.
BOOM.
Electricity explodes through the wound.
The dragon screams.
Loud.
Violent.
It thrashes—
A claw hits Astra.
She's thrown back—
But twists mid-air.
Pulls both daggers free.
Crashes into the wall.
Hard.
Stone breaks.
She lands.
Slides, then stops.
Still holding both blades.
The dragon roars again.
Louder.
Angrier.
The cracks spread further.
The system flickers again.
[ Activate override mode? ]
[ Yes / No ]
'Screw it'
"…Yes."
Black Mana explodes.
The chamber shatters.
Everything breaks apart around him.
Abel stands in the center.
His Mana is black. Crushing. Violent.
His eyes turn red, looking dragon-like.
His hair turns white.
Black pants. Leather boots. Black shirt. Open jacket.
A slow smile forms.
"…Now break."
The dragon fires fire breath.
Abel crushes it with one hand.
The black Mana explodes forward and crushes the fire.
Like it never existed.
"…Too weak."
The dragon switches.
Shadow breath.
Dark energy pours out, swallowing everything.
Abel steps into it.
Slow, bathing in it.
"…Yeah… try harder."
The shadows touch him—
Then get ripped apart by his Mana.
He disappears.
Reappears right in front of the dragon's face.
His hand shoots forward—
Punch.
Boom.
The air explodes.
The dragon's head snaps back.
A crack appears.
"…There it is."
He laughs quietly.
Kick.
Boom.
The ground caves in.
Another punch—
Boom.
Cracks spread across the dragon's body.
"Your still alive? Let me fix that."
He pulls back his fist.
Black Mana gathers.
'More, more, more.'
The air splits around it.
The system glitches.
[ Warning ]
[ Excessive mana output detected ]
The dragon senses it—
And disappears.
Right before the punch lands.
Abel's fist still swings forward.
It hits nothing—
But—
BOOM—!!!
The entire chamber collapses into a massive crater.
Everything is gone.
Dust fills the air.
Silence.
Then—
A shadow above.
The dragon is in the sky.
Its scales glow from within.
Its eyes—purple and white.
Light pours from its body.
It opens its mouth—
Shadow and light mix together.
The entire space lights up.
Then it fires.
A beam of destruction.
Before it reaches Abel—
Astra appears in front of him.
She raises her daggers.
The blast hits—
And gets absorbed.
The blades glow.
One white.
One purple.
Cracks spread across them.
Astra doesn't move.
Her eyes glow—red and blue.
She lowers her stance.
Then—
She moves.
Fast.
She runs up a wall.
The dragon's tail grows spikes—
It lashes out.
She doesn't dodge.
She cuts.
Each strike clean.
Each spike falling apart.
Nothing stops her.
She reaches the dragon—
Jumps.
"Body Double."
[ Notice ]
[ Astra has used the Skill: Body Double ]
She splits mid-air.
Two of her now.
One dagger each.
They fall toward the dragon—
Slash—!!
Both wings are cut off.
Clean.
The dragon screams.
It starts falling.
The clone throws its dagger.
It disappears.
Abel catches it.
He holds it out.
Black Mana pours into it.
Too much.
The blade cracks.
Shaking.
About to break.
Abel jumps.
Astra falls beside him.
Red Mana explodes from her body.
She accelerates.
Her white dagger turns red.
Corrupted.
They reach the dragon—
And attack.
A storm of strikes.
Fast. Violent. Endless.
Each hit breaks more of the dragon.
It can't fight back.
Astra moves in close—
She presses the red dagger into Abel's hand.
He grabs it.
Both blades now.
Black Mana surges.
Wild.
Unstable.
The blade shakes.
Cracks spread faster.
It feels like it might explode in his hand.
"…End."
One motion—
A single slash.
The dragon's head separates.
Clean.
Its body falls apart mid-air.
Blood scatters everywhere.
Silence.
The Mana fades.
Abel's body shakes.
His eyes return to normal.
His hair turns black again.
The blades fall from his hands.
"…Tch…"
He drops.
Astra catches him.
The system appears.
[ Boss defeated ]
[ Level up ]
[ Level up ]
[ Level up ]
[ Level up ]
[ Level up ]
[ Level up ]
[ Level up ]
[ Level up ]
[ Level up ]
[ Level up ]
[ Level up ]
[ Hidden class unlocked ]
[ Override mode registered as Skill. ]
[ You have learned the Skill: Menace ]
[ You have learned the skill: dragons breath ]
[ Astra has learned the skill: Stealth ]
[ Warning: Mana depleted ]
[ Status: Unconscious ]
Everything goes quiet again.