An aura that anyone could tell was unpleasant.

Even ordinary people who couldn’t sense mana would find it repulsive, so how much more so for Hunters sensitive to the surrounding flow?

“Let’s go in.”

Without delay, they entered the cave.

Then, a message appeared.

[You have encountered the boss Monster, ‘Black Magic Swordsman Artein (S+)’.]

“You’ve finally come!”

A pathetic appearance.

A body that was nothing but bones, but in his hand, he held a blue lamp containing vengeful spirits.

He looked every bit the Black Magic Swordsman.

“Blazing.”

And as soon as they encountered him, starting with Veronica, who hurled a spear made of flames with all her might.

The battle began.

“Summon.”

The creature, who blocked Veronica’s attack with a dark aura, shouted, and countless Monsters were created outside the cave.

As they appeared, Ha-yeon immediately shouted.

“Plan C!”

Due to the nature of Black Magic Swordsmen, they could only learn one type of black magic, not multiple.

Therefore, they didn’t know what type he was, and they prepared countermeasures for each possibility.

He was a summoning type, so they switched to C, which countered summoning.

The knights all turned to face the summoned undead and Monsters, with Elin guarding their rear.

Even for the knights, dealing with summons from an S+ class boss Monster wouldn’t be easy.

“Gram.”

Duke charged towards him, wielding a massive greatsword in one hand.

Duke’s ability was Mythic Reincarnation.

His epithet was Black Magic Swordsman, but the “Black” part was due to one skill, and the more important aspect was “magic swordsman.”

He could recreate mythical swords at his discretion.

“Sacred Haze.”

Seeing this, she immediately used Sacred Haze and charged in the opposite direction.

“Bone Spike.”

Artein quickly drew a magic circle, and a giant bone appeared in front of her.

“Obstruct the path!”

She infused mana into her sword, cleaved the bone, and unleashed a slash.

At the same time, Duke on the other side slammed Gram into the ground with all his ‘black mana’.

Seeing these attacks, the Black Magic Swordsman stretched out his hand in a chop, instantly creating a barrier, shattering the ground, and dodging the incoming black explosion.

And towards that Black Magic Swordsman, a dagger was thrown.

“Hmph!”

The dagger thrown by Kaede.

It wasn’t a powerful attack, but as if it were a signal, Ha-yeon ran again.

“Annihilation.”

This time, she slashed her sword up close.

But.

“The path is obvious!”

The figure was an illusion.

The illusion soon disappeared, and the real body appeared elsewhere, towards which Veronica launched flames.

“Burning Strike.”

A burst of ultra-high-temperature flames.

Hongyeom, in the form of a bird, emitted a great light and flew towards him.

And from the exact opposite side of the flames came black flames.

The two massive forces collided, and a great radiance illuminated the surroundings.

“Burst.”

Light magic.

A massive magic circle extended from Rozeldel’s hand, and from it, a giant beam of white night was unleashed.

The moment it enveloped Artein’s body.

[Another being has made contact with the leyline.]

[It has been confirmed that their power is greater than the current boss.]

[The boss Monster will be changed.]

[The leyline mana supply to the current boss Monster has been stopped.]

What did this mean?

The boss’s… change?

“Kuaaaak!”

The creature, who had been relaxed until just now, was instantly filled with horror and was swept away by her attack.

What on earth was going on?

[S+ class Monster, ‘Abyssal Aether’ has been inaugurated as the new boss Monster.]

[S+ class Monster, ‘Black Magic Swordsman Artein’ has been defeated.]

[You have acquired the item, ‘Lamp of the Wraith (S+)’.]

“What’s the situation outside!”

The System announced that Artein, whose epithet ‘boss Monster’ had disappeared, was dead.

Ha-yeon immediately turned around to assess the situation outside the cave.

Fortunately, only the Monsters had disappeared, and there was no damage.

“…What is going on?”

Suddenly, the boss Monster had changed.

She had never seen anything like this before. Nor had she ever heard of it.

The S-class Hunters next to her also had bewildered expressions.

And at that moment.

Thump!

A massive tremor shook the ground.

A tremor like an earthquake.

“……”

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

Not only because of the tremor but also because of the strange and unpleasant feeling rising from the ground.

Thump!

The ground shook once more.

Even more strongly than before.

And it moved.

“Retreat!”

At Ha-yeon’s words, even the S-class Hunters inside the cave began to move.

The knights outside began to run back at her words, and the other assassins did the same.

And not long after.

-Finally, the sky!

Something burst out from the ground.

No, it was too massive to be called something.

What should she call it?

To put it simply.

“…Dragon?”

Because it was a dragon.

[You have encountered the boss Monster, ‘Abyssal Aether (S+)’.]

A dragon.

An abyssal dragon enveloped in a black aura.

It glared at them with fierce eyes.

‘Using the knights against a guy like that would be more disadvantageous.’

She spread her mana.

Then, she saw the Monsters.

They were being drawn here, captivated by the dragon’s aura.

“Knights! And the assassin squad, deal with the surrounding Monsters!”

As soon as she finished speaking, they quickly moved to the surroundings, their earlier bewildered expressions gone.

And the creature watched them leisurely, spreading its massive wings.

‘Abyssal Aether… was it?’

It was clear to anyone that it was an unpleasant creature.

“Hoo….”

She took a breath and gripped her sword tightly.

Everyone here was a high-ranking Hunter.

She didn’t know where Reynolds was, but he should be nearby.

-Pathetic, insignificant beings.

The start of the duel came in an instant.

The creature, speaking in a low voice, opened its maw wide and instantly concentrated the surrounding mana there.

And fired.

“Keuk!”

Fallen, who was in the center, quickly moved and defended against the attack, but he wasn’t unharmed.

“The mana… is truly insane…”

His defense skill consumed mana to block any attack.

For him, who had nearly as much mana as Ha-yeon, to say such a thing meant that he wouldn’t be able to block many more of those attacks.

“Lord of Flame.”

Veronica was clad in armor of flames.

And with a flick of her finger.

“Burn.”

As if her finger were flint and steel.

Flames of even greater temperature than before erupted from there.

And the Abyssal Aether devoured the flames with the black aura emanating from its wings.

-Weak! So weak!

Kahahahaha!

The creature opened its maw wide and laughed loudly, shaking the earth.

She wanted to move, but she couldn’t.

No matter how much she used her epithet’s abilities, used Sacred Haze, and poured out her mana, she didn’t think she could win.

What she had felt since it first appeared became clear in that short exchange just now.

The other Hunters next to her felt the same.

The only ones preparing for battle were Duke, Veronica, and Rozeldel.

‘I can’t just stand here.’

The three of them prepared to fight.

Duke summoned Ascalon, the Dragon Slayer Sword, instead of Arondight, his usual sword.

Veronica amplified the power of Lord of Flame.

And Rozeldel infused mana into her hands and parasol, ready to detonate them at any moment.

They couldn’t just stand here.

But her body wouldn’t move.

It was her body, but it wouldn’t listen to her.

Just give up here…

‘Like hell I will!’

If she stayed still, she would die.

Then wouldn’t it be better to bet on fighting, where there was at least a slight chance of survival?

She forcibly moved her unmoving body.

She moved her trembling right leg forward with all her might.

She held the sword not only with her right hand but also with her left, gripping it tightly with both hands.

Her body still wasn’t listening well.

Fear? Perhaps that was it.

A massive fear that would surely cause an ordinary person to faint instantly.

But.

‘I’ve already experienced that for years.’

Before she was an S-class Hunter, she was a low-ranking Hunter in the Association.

She was a low-ranked Hunter, but because she was a veteran, she was summoned to attack a Dungeon one level higher, and she almost died there countless times.

The fear of seeing a comrade torn apart in an instant.

The helplessness against a Monster that didn’t even have a fatal wound despite her all-out attack.

Compared to that.

“I can move.”

The trembling in her body stopped, and she could move freely.

As she led that body towards the three who were preparing to fight in front, a familiar message appeared before her eyes.

[Constellation, ‘Moon-Cleaving Flash’ laughs heartily, saying that they seem to have chosen their contractor well.]

“Constellation…nim?”

[Constellation, ‘Moon-Cleaving Flash’ bestows an item upon you.]

[You have acquired the item, ‘Dragon Slayer’s Millennium Armor (S+)’.]

[This is a special situation, the price is waived.]

[The item is immediately equipped.]

[Constellation, ‘Moon-Cleaving Flash’ tells you to kill that moron’s familiar first.]

She didn’t know what it was.

But.

Something.

She knew that something tremendous that would change the situation had been given to her.