Chapter 188

Clenching my jaw, I burn through thousands of MP while using my perception skill to try and get a hint of vision through the thick red fog. All it's giving me is a headache in return.

The dense mana barrier this beast has created is shrinking every time it lets out a shockwave, and it's getting a bit too tight for comfort.

I'm sitting at just over half health, with a 100-meter-wide dome closing in, and a vicious building-sided monster somewhere in the vicinity but entirely invisible to me.

I can hear its roar, heavy breathing, and movements from a distance, but the monster is fast and smart. With this limited visibility, it silences its movements when necessary and slips in and out of my range of perception.

I need to keep my guard up at all times, this fight just got a whole lot more serious.

Swinging both my white glowing dagger and my red shining sword across my body, I start letting out a barrage of 2000MP attacks over and over deep into the fog.

They silently drift through the red mist as I begin air-stepping around, bobbing and weaving through the rubble-covered battlefield.

I can feel the stone floor beneath my feet ripple and bend. Before now, I would try flying into the sky to get away from its radar system, but the thick fog-filled air is no different than the floor.

It knows exactly where I am, and there's nothing to do about it.

I grit my teeth, continuing to launch energy attacks into the heavy fog with only the sounds of a fast-approaching monster as my guide to aim each strike.

I know the crescents of wind and fire I'm launching are not strong enough to injure this beast, but I need to continue burning through mana to appease the Strengthening Fragment while simultaneously pinpointing this monster's exact location.

Just over 2000MP is enough to spark a dim glow of white light on collision. The buzzing sound of mana being released on impact gives me just enough visual and auditory cues to ready my next strike.

It's near, and coming in hot.

I stop my attacks after throwing half a dozen from each blade as I see the white signals of impact come closer and closer.

"It's time."

I charge up both weapons and plant my feet, looking up into the red fog while squinting, using my perception skill to attempt to look through it with all my might.

White, red, gold, and black aura grow around my body brighter and brighter as my breathing slows and all I can hear is my own heart beating in my chest.

Moments later, my window of opportunity opens.

The Behemoth lets out a roar, breaking through the fog and swinging its right bladed-arm downward at me.

With less than a second to think, I watch the glossy stone blade approach me from above as I Dunegon Walk away, positioning myself right over the beast's head.

I look down at the long white horn that juts out from its stone armor. My eyes dart back and forth until I lock onto a small portion of armor that's opened up just below its extended shoulder.

This is only possible because of its downward strike meant to attack me.

I smirk, bringing both of my weapons across my body and letting out a yell and two 2350MP crescents of mana.

The white and black attacks soar through the fog, gliding downward without making a sound.

The beast continues to lunge forward. It disappears into the fog along with the attacks I threw as the visibility gets even worse. I air-step backward as a ball of flames erupts into my field of view followed by the roar of an injured beast.

I watch the red mana cloud around me waver, then another shock wave rattles me to the core. I

freeze up, gritting my teeth, attempting to stay in the sky. This one is the strongest one so far...

My eyes open wide as I see the glossy blade of a flaming Behemoth lunging out from the fiery explosion below without a moment's notice.

Its shoulder's armor is cracked and broken. I can see two large gashes in its flesh, but the monster isn't concerned with it in the slightest.

It's focused on me...

I'm falling from the sky, attempting to gain my composure from the last shockwave of mana and watching the glossy blade of its flaming injured arm come right at me.

I can barely see 5 meters ahead, but I know I'm in trouble... and there's not much I can do.

Its stone blade gets closer and closer as I burst into flames and activate my Dunegon Walker skill less than a meter before impact.

Letting out a yell, I hit the hard floor below after blindly teleporting to the ground. I begin launching attacks in all directions once again.

All I see is red fog... and all I can feel is empty space all around me...

The ground ripples and flows and the mist that fills the air intrudes my lungs with a murderous presence. The buzzing sound of mana fills the air and clouds my brain more and more every second that passes.

"I need to keep pushing through..."

I've injured the Behemoth again, but it's not slowing down at all. I don't think I've even touched 20% of its HP.

The dome goes silent.

I can't hear a thing but continue launching attacks in all directions

Nothing hits. My white and black blades just glide through the red mist and disappear into nothingness before me.

I check my health bar, and gulp as I see it nearing 1/4. I grab a C-Class-graded HP potion from my item storage and drink it without a moment of hesitation.

I feel my body rejuvenate instantly, but that doesn't help my current situation as much as I'd hoped. This monster is still invisible to me, lurking nearby.

I continue air-stepping around the rubble, letting out 2000MP attacks in the hope of catching a glimpse of a small white glow, but have no luck...

The fog is growing even denser, and it's hard to see more than 3 meters ahead now.

I'm covered in sweat, breathing heavily, and my heart is beating out of my chest... For some reason, a grin creeps across my face.

I'm in the worst possible situation, but I'm loving every second of it. I'll make it out of here alive.

I launch another dual attack from my blades as I twist around a rock pile ahead to watch them both collide with something hard right in front of me.

My eyes widen as I watch a glossy stone sword covered in red mana shielding appear from the mist.

It's almost like it just appeared out of thin air. Luckily, the collision of my two energy attacks gave me an early warning to air-step upwards, narrowly avoiding the incoming stone arm.

The moment I jump up, its blade follows me from below. I let out another two attacks in the direction of the monster's body to give me a better idea of its exact positioning, then start to charge up my real attack.

The moment I see two more dim white lights through the red fog, I teleport blindly above their exact location.

With a yell, my dual 2350MP attack makes contact with the beast below. I can't see where I hit, but I know it was a successful shot.

I feel the heat of my fire magic erupting and hear the loud cries of the behemoth underneath me.

I grit my teeth and attempt to air-step backward, but I'm hit with another surge of dense red mana from the injured beast.

I grunt, then let out a yell of agony as the wave of MP makes its way deep into my veins.

My skin burns as soon as I'm hit, and I feel my organs twist and turn.

Almost 1/4 of my health drops from this single wave.

I cough up blood as I'm paralyzed in mid-air for a fraction of a second. I grit my teeth and see the flaming arm of the stone-covered Behemoth's blade come flying out of the fog in front of me.

I Dungeon Walk to the floor, and its glossy blade cuts through the air right where I was moments ago.

If not for my attack hitting its armor earlier, covering it in fire magic, I wouldn't have sensed the monster's sword in time...

Immediately, I start sending more waves of mana into the thick fog. My arms and legs are starting to tingle again... but there isn't much I can do about it.

I've increased my MP output to nearly full capacity. I'm not able to possibly let out more than 5k MP worth of attacks at a single time with the appropriate density and width.

The hot and heavy feeling of a Strengthening Fragment's final moments starts to burn in my chest.

I know this feeling well. If it takes over, I'll pass out soon...

I whisper under my breath while throwing another dual attack into the red abyss.

"I have to finish this here and now..."

The faint white light of one of my detection shots finally makes an impact on the beast. I lock onto its location and instantly begin charging up a new attack. This one has to be big...

Letting out a yell, and teleporting blindly into the fog directly above where the light from earlier shined, I release an attack downward with all my might.

I feel the final remnants of the Strengthening Fragment give me a boost of MP, greater than any attack I've realeased before.

A dual strike with just over 2500MP per blade rockets downward at the monster below.

Almost instantly, I hear the roar of a furious beast, and the heat of an explosion, but something unexpected happens.

Out of the corner of my vision, and entering the perception of my All-Seeing Eye, one of the monster's massive bladed arms comes swinging through the fog on my left side.

I sense it just in time, and begin to activate my Dungeon Walker skill, but am simultaneously hit with its wave of dense red mana...

My heart stops as I let out a groan. Another 1/4 of my health is ripped from my body, and a mana-reinforced blade comes soaring towards my unguarded frontside.

I just landed my most powerful attack so far on the Boss, but it was thinking one step ahead.

I wasn't fast enough.

Its blade makes contact with my chest plate...

I watch the bright flash of mana-imbued armor begin to fracture and burst. A white light blinds me as I'm faced with a sudden feeling of dread.

Until... I'm snapped out of it. The explosion from my armor bursting shocks my system and allows me to move once again.

"One last chance."

Bursting into brighter flames, and ripping myself out of temporary paralysis, I Dunegon Walk to the floor below just as the monster's blade starts ripping through my flesh.

Its long sword covered in thick red mana cuts through my armor like butter, slicing open my chest and lower abdomen.

If not for the shock of the armor's destruction, I would have been cut in two...

I let out a gasp as I hit the stone ground below. Red liquid pours from my chest and stomach. My feet and hands feel numb and the red fog all around me is getting thicker and thicker.

I can't sense a thing in this war zone and the buzzing in my ears makes it hard to think.

I let out a yell as I close up the wounds in my chest with self regeneration. My health has dropped below 10%.

Every part of my body aches and burns with unbearable pain. I reach into my item storage for an HP potion but pause before bringing it up to my lips.

I smirk, looking deep into the dense fog, and activate my newest skill instead.

"Final Breath."

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Author's Note:

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