Defeating the BOSS!

"TAKE THIS," Stark activated [Aura Smash] and sent another crimson fist toward the boss.

But…

"-4729!" a bunch of lv13 monsters placed themselves in front of him to protect the Mayor, taking the hit in its place.

"-627!" the Mayor received minimal damage since he was protected.

Malakar smirked as he saw his monster take the blow for him, clearly enjoying the show of power and the feeling of being in total control.

Stark was surrounded, and surprisingly enough, Malakar ordered his monsters to mainly target Stark, leaving Lana to deal with a low amount of monsters.

Stark gritted his teeth in frustration at the interference, but didn't let it deter him.

He swiftly followed up with a series of lightning-fast punches, aiming to break through the defenses and land a crippling blow on the Mayor himself.

No monster that was in his way stood a chance.

Malakar, however, remained calm amidst the chaos, his eyes locked onto Stark with an unsettling calmness.

With a swift gesture of his hand, he activated "The Cane" skill, summoning the object in his right hand.

His left one however was still in the air, controlling the monsters.

"It seems like it's losing control over them when one of its hands is down…" Stark noticed that some monsters weren't even moving anymore, giving him the chance to close the distance further.

Only five meters before reaching the boss now.

The cane came rushing toward him, changing directions everytime it met a monster, and then…

"-272!" Stark saw it coming, but even while deflecting it, it still did good damage.

"His defense and attack are higher than before," he thought, not even stopping after that hit, "But it doesn't matter…"

Stark wanted to end it, and so he used the back of a monster to jump in the air, high enough to avoid any incoming attacks from the Mayor or his minions.

He soared through the air, his aura blazing around him like a fiery comet, looking down on all the monsters below.

With a fierce battle cry, Stark descended upon Malakar, his fist aimed straight at the Mayor's face.

"-3718!" as Stark's fist connected with the Mayor's cheek, a shockwave resonated through the battlefield.

Using in the momentum in his favor, Stark used the Malakar's body to launch him in the air again, avoiding both the [Hat Trick], [The Cane], and all the attacks from the monsters.

"LET'S END THIS," the sea of monsters below awaiting for him to fall, Stark spinned in the air.

"Aura Smash!" he activated the skill, ready to launch it down, this time confident he would hit all his targets as he had the boss in his vision.

'Holy shit…' Lana was astonished, and she found it quite beautiful as Stark's figure perfectly aligned with the giant Black Sun in the sky, creating an effect where Stark's aura was perfectly visible around him.

It only took Stark a singular second to aim his attack below, and so he launched the giant crimson fist at the monsters under him.

~FWISH… BOOM~

The explosion was bigger than any other this attack had ever caused.

"-6371!" the Mayor couldn't use his minions to protect himself, and so being hit by the center of the attack meant he received the highest amount of damage.

Plus…

[Enemy stunned!]

All the monsters in his surroundings cleared from the crimson fist, Stark began dropping down toward Malakar as he couldn't move his body anymore.

The boss used every ounce of strength it had left to lift its face just a bit, and thus he saw the sight of Stark diving toward him, his fist full of aura, ready to end the battle.

'It's the end,' It thought, acknowledging that it couldn't do anything anymore.

With a fierce determination in his eyes, Stark descended upon the stunned Mayor Malakar, his fist crackling with intense energy as he prepared to deliver the final blow.

The air around them seemed to vibrate with anticipation as Stark's attack loomed closer and closer to its target.

Malakar, unable to move due to the stunning impact of Stark's previous strike, could only watch in helpless horror as the inevitable approached.

As Stark's fist made contact with Malakar's form, a blinding explosion of energy erupted from the point of impact, sending shockwaves rippling through the battlefield.

"-5372!"

[Boss HP: 0/45000]

Malakar fell to the ground, his body lifeless as his HP had been reduced to 0.

And so, unable to control his domain anymore, all the monsters inside the boss area fell, disappearing a few seconds later.

Lana, who was overwhelmed by the monsters, almost let a cry of joy when she noticed that they were all gone, and so without wasting time she dashed toward Stark.

"YOU DID IT!" she jumped to hug him.

"…" Stark, a neutral expression on his face, didn't reciprocate the hug.

"O-Oh," realizing how embarassing what she did was, she let go of him, "G-good job!"

"Yes," Stark nodded, unaffected by her presence, after all he had done most of the job.

[You have slain 'Malakar, City Mayor lv15 (BOSS)', gained 75000EXP]

And adding the experience gained from the many monsters he had defeated while rushing to the boss…

Stark was enveloped by the golden glow again.

[Your level has increased to level 11, granting you one skill point and boost in stats]

[Experience: 2617/100000]

Lana was also enveloped with the glow, meaning she had leveled up as well, and even though she hadn't done much, she was still a participant.

[Dealt killing blow to BOSS ENNEMY, regaining 507HP!]

[HP: 578/1450]

But of course, along these few panels came a few other ones.

[You have beaten the boss while only being two (LOW HELP achievement), granting you a better equipment piece]

[You have defeated the boss of this rift, the black sun has acknowledged your strength and will not be trying to infect you anymore]

[Your efforts have paid, you can now leave this rift whenever you want]

Above the Mayor's lifeless body, something began shining: an item had appeared.

Immediately, Stark began walking toward it.

"I'm taking it by the way, I did everything," A neutral expression on his face, he informed Lana, who was also reading the panels.

"I-… Okay," she had nothing to say, he had done most of the work after all.

And just like that, Stark was able to defeat the boss.

'I wish she hadn't followed me though… I would have probably gotten an amazing item if I beat it solo…' he groaned while crouching to take the item.