*Injustice.*
What was binding me now was the very essence of injustice.
A raid recommended for twelve players.
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Solo play.
Since I re-entered this world, I’ve died countless times. Maybe it’s a good thing that this is a game now. In the past, if I hadn’t had my companions, I would’ve died and been left in some ditch long ago. Well, considering I started out with a cheat code in the form of the Holy Sword, I probably wouldn’t have gone down that easily.
But *Legion Commander Crow* was strong.
This was a demon with the power to stand toe-to-toe with the Hero’s Party in the past. His strength was entirely different from the *Fragments of the Hero* I had fought through blood and death. The Fragments had overwhelming speed and technique, while Crow had immense HP and attack patterns designed for a group.
In other words, even for me, the current me, defeating him would require accepting death.
*Shhhk!*
"Guh!"
His claw slashed diagonally across my small frame, sending pain coursing through my body as I gritted my teeth. Green light seeped from my belt, healing the wound.
"One life, so precious because it’s rare," someone once said.
But my life right now? It’s cheap.
Because it’s not just one.
I can throw away this worthless life as many times as it takes—to defeat the enemy, to grow stronger, to reunite with my old comrades.
How many times had I died today?
I’d lost count. Trying to keep track only gave me a headache.
I raised my sword.
*Boom!*
Golden energy surged from my blade in powerful streams.
*Flash!*
The light cut through Crow’s body, cleaving through even his thick, impenetrable feathers, leaving deep gashes across his torso.
*Cawww!*
Crow screamed in agony.
Once, twice, thrice—more sword beams followed, dismantling the massive crow.
And then, I gathered the final blow.
*Boom!*
Golden light surged from my body as well.
A temporary boost in physical strength.
It felt similar to the power I once had from the Holy Sword in the past.
Mana, right? In martial arts terms, it would be inner energy? Of course, I can’t feel even a sliver of it now, but when I use this power, I get a fleeting feeling of being my old self again.
*Cawww!*
*Flap, flap.*
With another beat of his wings, Crow’s enormous body started to rise into the air.
*Tsk.*
I leaped up, aiming to slice off his wings.
With my current physical strength, a jump like this was possible.
*Clang! Sizzle!*
Golden energy from my body collided with the violet energy surrounding Crow, sending sparks flying that nearly blinded me.
Clicking my tongue, I landed back on the ground.
As expected.
The energy shielding Crow was part of the *system*.
The system doesn’t just grant power to me.
Special phases for bosses—system-generated special patterns.
Forcing a halt to these is impossible.
Unless I had the kind of strength to turn Crow into crow meat before he could activate those phases, but I’m not that strong yet. Even if I regained all of my past powers, fighting a Legion Commander-level demon alone wouldn’t be easy. This guy can go toe-to-toe with a Hero.
"In the end, I have to follow the strategy laid out for me."
*Fwoosh!*
I dashed across the battlefield toward the first chimera, the pig-like one.
The sensation of cutting through the wind felt exhilarating. Though temporary, my speed now was incomparable to what it was before.
*Tsk.*
I easily leapt into the air, slipping past the chimera as it raised its war hammer, and aimed for its neck.
*Flash!*
*Boom!*
With a storm of light, the chimera’s head was severed, and its body was shredded to pieces.
One down.
I turned to locate the next one.
*Boom!*
A blast of demonic energy struck where I had been standing moments ago, but I was already right next to the second chimera.
*Slash! Slash!*
One strike from the left, one from the right. With each slash, a burst of light erupted from my waist as I continued the butchery of the pig-like chimera.
*Squeeeal!*
The pig’s dying cry was mournful, as if it were pleading.
Don’t cry. I’ve been through worse. Even children cry when they see someone else cry next to them. Though I’m not a child anymore.
*Thud.*
*Screeech!*
As the second chimera fell to the ground, a sharp sound tore through the air, brushing past my ear.
Tracking its path with my eyes, I twisted my body and slightly ducked. *Thud!* The sharp raven feather embedded itself into the ground behind me.
How dirty. I can’t hit him, but he can still attack me.
The speed was impressive, but I could dodge it easily now. Anyway, Crow will come down after I deal with the chimeras. No need to worry.
*Tatat!*
Moving quickly, I activated the cooldown reset ability on my bracelet.
The final chimera swung its war hammer toward me.
At my current speed, if I didn’t slow down, the hammer would hit me squarely. Have you played baseball before? But I’m like a fastball that changes speed. I shifted my sword to my waist and accelerated. *Slash!* *Boom!* The accompanying mana storm from the slash tore the chimera apart.
*Tsk.*
I arrived at the center of the battlefield.
Grinning, I looked up at Crow.
"It’s over. Come down now."
*Thud.*
He listened well.
*Cawww!*
Crow screeched loudly, glaring at me with those hateful eyes.
Suddenly, the surroundings distorted.
Everything turned blue.
This place—it’s different from before.
We’re still in the heart of the *Abyssal Tree*, but now we’re in an alternate realm.
Crow’s body remained in the original world, while mine existed in this other world.
They call this *Isolation*.
His eyes were still trained on me.
The special phase wasn’t over with the chimera.
Now, we were entering a new battle stage.
In this state, my attacks couldn’t touch Crow. My sword passed through him as though he were a ghost.
But Crow could still attack me. His physical attacks didn’t reach me, but his long-range attacks, which detonated inside my body, were still effective.
It’s a pattern that targets a distant enemy—your body freezes, and demonic energy explodes within. I’ve died to this a few times. The sensation of unwanted energy invading my body was deeply unsettling.
I couldn’t hear the sounds in the outer world, but I knew there were continuous demonic explosions happening out there. It seemed like this phase required splitting the party between those in the outer world and those in the alternate realm. How in the world are we supposed to beat this?
However, there was one section of the battlefield—divided into eight slices—where the explosions didn’t occur. Like a slice of pizza. If this were a party play, the tank could adjust their position, ensuring that the safe zone was aligned with the party members. But how was the tank surviving the explosions in the outer world? Was there a mechanic to protect them?
After dozens of attempts today, I still hadn’t found a way to deal damage to Crow in this phase.
*Tsk.*
I turned my back to Crow.
My gaze landed on the outer edge of the battlefield, where the pig chimera had been.
"There’s something over there, I’m sure of it."
*Boom!*
I fired off a sword beam in that direction.
---
*Taptaptap.*
Late at night.
In Chris’s dark room, only the floating hologram shimmered in the air.
"......."
Chris was reviewing the information they had gathered from today’s battle with *Legion Commander Crow*.
She sighed deeply.
"In the end, all we did was see the 90% special phase once."
They had wasted so much time on the gatekeeper, but she felt they had enough time to properly try the 3rd boss.
Still, it was hard to keep everyone alive up to that point.
Above all, the biggest issue was the stacking *Punishment* debuff that ignored invincibility frames.
You had to predict the explosion spots ahead of time to avoid the *Punishment* stacks. Melee damage dealers needed to always be ready, and the ranged dealers had to precisely figure out the boundaries between close-range and long-range explosions and avoid them through positioning alone.
And the tank’s survival was the biggest problem.
To avoid the *Punishment* stacks, the tank had to constantly adjust their distance, but if they moved too far, they would trigger *Crow’s Gaze* and die instantly.
*Crow’s Gaze.*
That pattern where he destroys a distant target’s insides—it was impossible to avoid.
This was similar to Zakham. It would take countless attempts for every member of the raid to adapt and succeed.
How many days would it take to bring down Crow? A week? Two?
If they had help from Rain, they could probably defeat him quickly.
Chris shook her head furiously.
Get a grip, Chris.
How long are you going to keep relying on Rain?
What happened to your determination to fight through the phases yourself as the vanguard and aim for the first clear?
Resolving to regain her focus, Chris finished reviewing the strategy and headed toward Rain’s room.
*Tiptoe, tiptoe.*
On Rain’s door, there was no sign saying "Do Not Enter." Since Rain had called her a
comrade, she hadn’t put the sign up again.
But barging in at this hour without permission didn’t feel right.
She pulled out her smartphone and checked Rain’s status through the messenger.
[Swordsman ‘Drizzle Rain’ (Online)]
Rain was still fighting.
Chris clenched her fist tightly.
"Rain, you can do this...!"