Even if I resisted the demonic energy explosions, the debuff would still apply. In the shadow world, I couldn’t attack. My attack windows were extremely limited, so even with the Hero’s power, the battle time was tight. If I got too far from Crow, it was instant death. That also meant I couldn’t freely move around to perform mechanics while in the isolated state.
If I was too slow killing the chimeras, Crow would enter berserk mode. If I failed to perform the mechanics in the shadow world, he’d go berserk. If the time limit passed, he’d go berserk.
So this is what it’s like to not have companions.
But still...
*Flash!*
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
With a final strike accompanied by a violent storm, I dispatched the last chimera.
---
**[3rd Boss]
[Level 53]
[Legion Commander Crow]
[HP: 98,174,985 / 300,000,000 (30%)]**
---
*Cawww!*
*Thud.*
Crow’s massive body landed in the center of the battlefield.
His final flight was over.
His gaze locked onto me, and the world around us distorted.
I met his eyes confidently.
After enduring so much pain, I had reached this point.
The final special phase.
Everything turned blue—a world isolated from the outside.
The final battle in the shadow world was about to begin.
As my body fully entered the shadow world, Crow raised both hands toward the sky.
*Tearrrr...*
He ripped through space, entering the shadow world himself.
"This time, you’ve stepped into the ring."
I smiled.
Even Crow’s beak seemed to twist into a grin.
---
*Clang! Flash!*
Crow’s claws collided with my sword, and a flash of light shot across the battlefield from his mouth. I calmly parried his attacks and stole a glance at the outer edge of the battlefield.
There it was.
---
**[Crow's Phantom]
[HP: 10,000,000 / 10,000,000 (100%)]**
---
It was Crow, before he took on this monstrous form, back when he looked human.
When I put some distance between us, despite the instant death pattern, I had spotted it. It wouldn’t appear unless I got close.
Crow’s phantoms could only be seen in the shadow world. They continuously funneled power to Crow in the outer world. If the power reached a critical level, Crow would go berserk.
At 90% and 60% HP, three phantoms appeared where the chimeras had fallen. When all three phantoms appeared at once, it was actually easier—I could just keep my distance and slash them all down with sword beams, then return to fighting Crow. That was the rhythm of those special phases.
But in this final phase, I could sense only one phantom at the 12 o’clock position.
This meant one thing:
In this final special phase, the phantoms appeared one by one.
Now I had to deal with Crow’s attacks in the shadow world. This was far harder than the 90% and 60% phases where Crow merely observed from the outer world.
To sever the flow of power to Crow, I had to destroy the phantoms.
But my sword beam had a one-minute cooldown.
*Swish!*
Ignoring the claw that grazed my face, I twisted my body and unleashed a sword beam at the phantom.
*Boom!*
The phantom’s presence vanished. I could feel the flow of power to Crow being cut off.
*Slash!*
I spun around, following through with a slash that tore into Crow’s side, splattering black blood as it gushed from the wound.
If another phantom appeared in a minute, my sword beam would be ready. If that were the case, it would be easy.
*Hum...*
As I started slashing at Crow’s body again, 30 seconds passed, and I sensed another phantom.
This time at the 7 o’clock position.
It wouldn’t be so simple after all.
The cooldown on my sword beam hadn’t reset.
What should I do?
The answer lay in the gap between patterns.
Crow’s four-strike claw pattern—it came in a set. There was a significant delay after it. As long as he was in that pattern, I could create some distance.
If I moved after the fourth strike, I had 1.5 seconds before the next pattern.
That gave me roughly 1.5 seconds to reach the phantom, take it down, and return to Crow. Even a 0.1-second delay would trigger Crow’s instant-kill internal destruction pattern on me.
*Screech!*
With a sound like nails on a chalkboard, Crow’s claws scraped toward me, signaling the start of his four-strike pattern. *Swish!* I immediately dashed backward.
*Fwoosh!*
Accelerating. Faster. I was running out of time.
The distance to the phantom closed—14 meters, 13 meters, 12 meters.
The phantom came into view, now within range of my strike.
It was stretching out its hands, pouring demonic energy into Crow.
Lowering my body as I ran, I brought my sword to my waist.
*Boom! Boom!*
With a storm of mana accompanying my slash, the phantom was shredded. I quickly turned back toward Crow, covering 20 meters in the blink of an eye using a backstep and sword slash.
Could I make it back in 1 second? Even with my enhanced abilities, it would be tight. Twisting my body, I sprinted toward Crow as fast as I could.
*Swoosh!*
Crow's final upward strike missed as I sprinted. I could see his eyes focusing on me. Cold sweat dripped down my face. My hand hovered over my bracelet’s cooldown reset function, but I hesitated. If I used it now, I might fail to finish the raid.
Six meters... five meters...
Just before Crow could lock onto me, I stepped right into his range.
*Swoosh! Clang!*
I barely raised my sword in time to block his horizontal slash, feeling the chill of near death. If my timing had been off by a fraction of a second, I would’ve failed the perfect guard, and the damage would have killed me. Right now, I was fragile. After reviving with the World Tree’s power, my HP was stuck at 1%, allowing for no mistakes.
But I smiled.
It was a melee attack, not the fatal internal destruction pattern.
Close, but I had successfully eliminated the phantom and returned.
The final hurdle was cleared.
Now, I just had to alternate between using my sword beam and slashes, keeping up the attack until Crow’s HP was depleted.
*Boom!*
A massive explosion of demonic energy covered the entire battlefield, ringing in my ears.
The same explosion that occurred in the outer world now erupted in the shadow world as well.
Crow’s final outburst was terrifying.
But I calmly sidestepped, moving through the safe zone of the battlefield. The explosion’s pattern cut the area into eight slices, like a large pizza, with one slice acting as the safe zone. The position of the safe zone kept changing, but I could easily keep track of it now. Who ate that one slice?
Crow’s HP was down to 5%.
I decided to talk to him.
"How does it feel, huh? Being controlled by a system?"
If the current Astra continent were a real world, Crow might have been an even more difficult Legion Commander. He could’ve annihilated the entire battlefield with magic, leaving no safe zones.
But now, Crow was just a chess piece.
A black knight on the board.
Knights are powerful pieces that can leap over others, dominating the chessboard.
But even knights have weaknesses.
They can’t attack the enemy directly in front of them.
A white pawn taunting you from the front—well, too bad you can’t ignore the rules and just gobble it up.
*Boom!*
Another explosion, complete with the usual safe zone, spread across the battlefield. Even with my weak power, the path to victory was clear.
"If there are rules to the game, I’ll follow them."
*Swish.*
I lowered my stance and unleashed another sword slash.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
The powerful storm accompanying the slash tore Crow’s body apart.
*Cawww!*
Crow shrieked in agony.
His body was already covered in wounds.
"Of course, following the rules doesn’t mean I have to like them."
A mere pawn flying around like a queen—it must be irritating, right? I never properly promoted, but you used that *Punishment* debuff, so let’s call it even.
*Flash! Flash!*
Golden sword beams flashed, slicing through Crow’s weakened wings.
*Caw... caw...*
Crow, who once stood so firmly, began to stumble backward.
I didn’t need to deal with any more phantoms.
Now, I would unleash everything I had.
This would end the game.
*Fwoosh!*
The bracelet shone with light.
At the same time, a streak of light sliced through the air.
And in the path of that light...
Was Crow’s neck.
*Flash!*
---
The *Abyssal Tree* had completely stopped functioning.
It had always been a dead tree, but now, it was nothing more than an empty shell.
I walked through the mist-cleared forest. I could feel the energy of life around me.
I was hurting. I was tired. It was hard.
But I could endure it.
The World Tree was scattering its green leaves.
The path to the World Tree.
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The elves’ faces were bright.
In front of the World Tree.
A white-haired male elf shed tears
.
He held my hand tightly, infusing it with the power of spirits.
Toward the inside of the World Tree.
The branches parted to welcome me, making way as I passed.
At the heart of the World Tree.
The spirits still emitted light.
But now, it was not the pitiful light I had once seen. It was filled with life and warmth.
I heard their voices.
—"Thank you."
—"You saved the World Tree. You saved the elves."
And then, I stood before her.
A glowing green orb, shining the brightest.
The orb slowly took the shape of an elf.
White hair. Long ears. A beautiful face. A gentle smile.
My companion, *Igrain*.
An old friend.
Igrain greeted me with a radiant smile.
"Welcome, Rain."
"I’m back, Igrain."
I collapsed before her.
And buried my face in her warm embrace.
It wasn’t exactly like before.
But the warmth was still there.
*Shh...*
Delicate fingers ran through my hair.
Just for a moment.
Just let me stay like this for a moment longer.