Seong had initially planned to step in, but it seemed completely unnecessary.
In fact, letting his familiars handle the entire raid on their own sounded like a great idea for the video. He decided to focus solely on supporting them instead.
After all, wasn’t it his familiars who had been the most bored while he was off in the Hall of Knights?
‘They’re really good at this.’
Their coordination was seamless, as if they’d been a team for decades.
It made sense for Leonic, Valtar, and Fiora, who had been working together since the battle against Helena.
But Anemore, Kalisha, Barfur, and Drakanos were newcomers.
Even so, their teamwork was impeccable.
Barely ten minutes into the raid, a system message appeared before Seong.
[The Hidden Raid Boss, 『Mistress of Illusions Mirage Ne』, is evolving.]
[The Hidden Raid Boss, 『Mistress of Illusions Mirage Ne』, has entered Phase 2.]
Warning
She looked far more menacing now.
Yet none of Seong’s familiars appeared overly concerned.
They were cautious, yes, but there wasn’t a shred of fear or panic among them.
“Skreeeeee!!!”
Mirage Ne roared in fury, opening her massive jaws.
The venomous and illusory energy within her began to coalesce, concentrating into a breath attack—a signature move of dragons.
With no way to block it, the familiars instinctively began to retreat.
But just as they were withdrawing, Seong issued a simple command.
“Go.”
At that word, the familiars halted their retreat and closed in on Mirage Ne instead.
Just as Mirage Ne prepared to unleash her deadly breath, Barfur leaped into action. Kalisha enhanced his trajectory by launching him like a cannonball with a wave of dark energy.
Using the momentum, Barfur propelled himself mid-air.
BOOOM!
The air itself seemed to rip apart as the explosive shockwave roared.
Barfur’s speed was almost as fast as the sound of the impact, and he drove his fist into Mirage Ne’s massive head.
THWAAACK!!!
The force of the blow was deafening, causing Mirage Ne’s head to snap violently to the side.
Her jaws, originally aimed at the familiars, now pointed toward a cliff.
At that precise moment, Seong activated his skill.
Whoosh.
Beneath Mirage Ne, an abyss of endless darkness appeared. From within, countless grotesque hands emerged, clawing their way toward her.
Like the hands of vengeful spirits dragging their prey to the underworld, they latched onto her.
Mirage Ne found herself utterly immobilized.
[『Grip of the Abyss』 has sealed the Hidden Raid Boss, 『Mistress of Illusions Mirage Ne』, for 3 seconds.]
[The Hidden Raid Boss, 『Mistress of Illusions Mirage Ne』, attempts to resist.]
[This skill cannot be resisted.]
As the message appeared before Seong, his familiars launched a full-scale assault.
Leonic and Valtar swung their aura-infused swords.
Schaaash!
Drakanos, watching them, shook his head slightly before igniting his blade with a crimson glow and delivering a masterful slash.
Shhhhhtk!
Chiiiiii!!!
Fiora, her energy replenished, transformed into a small dragon once more and exhaled a concentrated breath onto Mirage Ne.
Kwoooosh!!!
Above them, Anemore descended like a bolt of judgment, turning the entire world a brilliant shade of turquoise as his thunderous strike landed.
Kwarrrrrr!!!
The coordinated attacks overwhelmed Mirage Ne completely. Her breath attack, meant to obliterate the familiars, ended up harmlessly directed toward the cliffside.
BOOOOOM!!!
No matter how much Mirage Ne struggled, her efforts to retaliate were futile.
Whenever she tried to target the melee attackers, Seong would immobilize her or reposition his familiars.
If Seong wasn’t using his skills, Kalisha or Anemore would swiftly intervene to pull their allies to safety.
Their teamwork was airtight—there wasn’t even a sliver of an opening for Mirage Ne to exploit.
Seong could’ve tested out new skills, but he chose not to.
There was no need.
This raid was entirely about showcasing his familiars, and they were doing more than enough.
Still, Mirage Ne proved her worth as a Hidden Raid Boss by holding out for a significant amount of time.
‘She’s tough, I’ll give her that,’ Seong thought, observing her endurance against the relentless barrage.
But now, the end was near.
“Skssss...”
Her strength was waning, and she was on the verge of collapse.
As the familiars prepared to launch one final assault, Drakanos moved.
With a light step, he leaped into the air.
His movements were as unassuming as an elderly man taking a leisurely stroll, but the impact was monumental.
BOOOM!!!
The ground he’d pushed off from fractured, leaving a massive fissure in his wake.
The shockwave roared as he shot through the air like a projectile, closing in on Mirage Ne.
As he neared her, Drakanos adjusted his posture slightly, gripping the hilt of his sword, still sheathed.
Srrrng—.
The blade, glowing as if it had been submerged in molten lava, emitted a fierce heat.
As it was fully drawn, it blazed with a fiery crimson light, momentarily blinding to anyone nearby.
For a brief instant, both Drakanos and his sword vanished.
Then, they reappeared behind Mirage Ne.
Drakanos sheathed his blade with deliberate care.
Click.
As the sword slid back into its sheath with a sharp, resonant sound, Mirage Ne turned her massive head toward Drakanos as if trying to make sense of what had happened.
Her head turned slowly—too slowly—and at an angle no neck should allow.
Then, the thin line across her neck began to deepen.
Ssss...
Her head detached, slipping cleanly off her shoulders, and fell heavily to the ground.
Thud—!
Fwshhhh—!!!
From the headless body, a geyser of blood mixed with venom and illusory energy erupted, painting the battlefield in toxic crimson.
One clean strike, and her head was severed completely.
Watching the scene unfold like something out of a comic book, Seong let out a sigh of disbelief.
“Wow.”
Swordsmanship could accomplish something like this?
As Seong marveled, his body froze.
It felt as though even breathing had become difficult—a familiar sensation signaling the start of an event cutscene.
Seong’s avatar began to move toward Mirage Ne’s severed head.
Her venomous fangs twitched, and suddenly, she spoke.
[Ahhh! Mistress of Illusions! Please do not abandon me!!!]
The cutscene left Seong puzzled.
Wait, wasn’t she the Mistress of Illusions?
Her name was literally Mistress of Illusions Mirage Ne!
What was this about?
Focusing on the event, Seong watched as a soft pink energy began to descend from the sky.
‘That energy...’
It was familiar—the same energy Mirage Ne had wielded throughout the battle.
But now that he thought about it...
She hadn’t actually used illusionary powers in combat.
The only ability she’d displayed was venom.
For someone titled “Mistress of Illusions,” she fought more like “Mistress of Venom.”
Was this energy the key to solving the mystery?
[Ahh, Mistress of Illusions...]
Mirage Ne’s severed head called out desperately, but the sky remained silent.
Growing frantic, she cried out again.
[Please, have mercy! Grant me the power of illusions once more!!!]
But instead of answering her plea, the pink energy absorbed all traces of Mirage Ne’s illusory power, ascending back into the heavens.
[No... Noooo!!!]
As her last vestiges of power were stripped away, Mirage Ne’s head flailed helplessly.
But with her body severed and her powers gone, there was nothing she could do.
Deprived of her illusory energy, her body withered like a dried husk, leaving behind only venom so potent that even she began to dissolve in it.
[Please... grant me strength... just once more...!]
Her desperate cries echoed, but the heavens remained indifferent.
With her illusory powers reclaimed, Mirage Ne succumbed to her own venom, her body melting into an unrecognizable heap.
The event cutscene ended.
“Hm.”
It was a shocking revelation.
“So, the Mistress of Illusions is someone else?”
In hindsight, it made sense. For a Hidden Raid Boss below level 120, her name had always seemed overly grandiose.
At level 120, a boss wasn’t even considered mid-tier. No wonder players referred to such bosses as “rookies.”
Just as Seong was piecing it all together, a series of system messages appeared before him.
[You have defeated the Hidden Raid Boss, 『Mistress of Illusions Mirage Ne』.]
[You have acquired the keyword, 『Mistress of Illusions』.]
[Level up!] ×4
[You have reached level 122.]
[By reaching level 120, a new skill for the 『Overlord』 class has been unlocked.]
[You have acquired the Legendary-grade skill, 『Tome of Ruin』.]
[Upon reaching a level multiple of 10, the Almighty-grade item, 『Overlord’s Codex』, has been activated.]
[Contribution was attributed to a single user.]
[This was classified as a solo raid.]
[Raid completed solo. Rewards will be enhanced.]
[First defeat. Rewards will be enhanced.]
[As this was a solo raid, all rewards are granted to user 『Seong』.]
[Defeat rewards include the Legendary-grade item, 『Thousand-Year Fang』.]
[Defeat rewards include the Legendary-grade skill book, 『Skillbook – Venomous Breath』.]
[Defeat rewards include the Legendary-grade material, 『Core of Illusions』.]
[You have achieved the first defeat of the Hidden Raid Boss, 『Mistress of Illusions Mirage Ne』.]
[You have acquired the title, 『Slayer of Mirage Ne』.]
[As the first to clear this Hidden Raid, you may choose to disclose its information.]
[Disclosing this information will grant enhanced rewards from dungeon clears for 3 months.]
[You may choose when to disclose this information.]
New n𝙤vel chapters are published on freeweɓnøvel.com.
[If another raid party clears the dungeon before disclosure, this option will no longer be available.]