The greatsword and the twin daggers clashed, sending a cascade of bright sparks flying.
Despite blocking a massive greatsword with only two daggers, Shivren’s feet were buried into the ground, creating a massive crater as the earth beneath him caved in from the force.
If this battle was purely a contest of strength, then Valtar, wielding his greatsword, should have had the advantage.
But that wasn’t entirely the case.
Kagagagagak—!!!
A shrill noise rang out as the daggers and the greatsword ground against each other.
Then, suddenly—the noise vanished.
And so did Shivren.
With his target gone, Valtar’s greatsword immediately followed through and tore into the ground.
Kwaaaaang—!!!
A crimson arc of energy slashed across the floor, carving a deep wound into the sewer’s stonework.
Shivren had used the sound of destruction as cover.
Disguised by the explosion, he moved behind Valtar and slashed in a crisscross pattern, aiming for the back of his neck.
The twin daggers cut through the air so swiftly that it was completely silent.
A deadly, imperceptible strike.
But before the daggers could reach Valtar—
Fiora appeared.
One of her arms shifted into a shield, while the other transformed into a spear.
Raising her shielded hand, she blocked both daggers.
KAGAGAGAGAGA—!!!
Shivren, who ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ had no idea when Fiora had placed the Merchant Overseer in a safe location, simply stared at her with blank, emotionless eyes.
No irritation.
No anger.
Simply nothing.
His hands flicked back, pulling his daggers close to his body as he kicked off against Fiora’s shield and retreated.
Almost instantly, Fiora’s spear-arm lunged forward, attempting to pierce through his previous position.
Shivren registered the attack and jumped back.
Then, he prepared to lunge forward again.
However.
A sense of impending doom filled the air.
Without even looking, Shivren immediately abandoned his attack and rolled away.
And then—
BOOOOOM!!!
The space where he had just been standing was obliterated.
A crimson beam of moonlight rained down and scorched the earth.
Had he taken a direct hit from that—
Even his toughest scales wouldn’t have saved him.
It was enough to make any normal person tremble.
But Shivren did not react.
Instead, he swiftly darted away, trying to identify the source of the attack.
But before he could—
BOOOOM!!!
Valtar shot forward like a missile.
Seeing Valtar’s charge, Shivren remained as expressionless as ever.
He moved to dodge.
But suddenly.
From the ground—
A hand shot out.
Unlike the Abyssal Grasp from earlier, this was different.
A rock-like hand.
Shivren immediately swung his daggers.
Shhk! Shhk!
A sharp slicing sound echoed as the stone fingers split apart into dozens of pieces.
Shivren broke free from the rocky grasp.
But just as he prepared to retreat—
Valtar was faster.
KWAAGAGAGAGAGAK!!!
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His enormous greatsword came crashing down.
The sheer weight of the attack crushed everything in its path.
Even the air itself trembled.
Shivren raised his daggers in response.
Tang! Tang!
A single block.
A second block.
He barely managed to deflect the attacks.
But it wasn’t enough.
Shivren activated one of his skills.
And slashed again.
Tang! Tang! Tang! Tang!
A third strike.
A fourth strike.
A fifth.
A sixth.
It didn’t stop.
TATATATATATATATATA—!!!
An endless flurry of dagger strikes crashed into Valtar’s greatsword.
Even with his immense strength, Valtar was slowly pushed back.
As he gritted his teeth and increased his force—
KRAAAAAAAAAH—!!!
Shivren accelerated.
The speed of his attacks increased like shifting into higher gear.
TATATATATATATATATA—!!!
A relentless storm of dagger strikes.
And finally—
Even Valtar was forced back.
His feet, which had been firmly planted, were now sliding.
Long trenches formed on the ground where his feet dragged.
Seeing his opponent weaken, Shivren pushed forward.
Valtar’s greatsword had been knocked into the air.
If Shivren continued his combo, Valtar would be helpless.
And so.
He lunged.
But at that moment—
Valtar did something unexpected.
Despite the momentum against him—
He caught his greatsword with both hands.
And blocked the attack.
TANGTATATATATATATATA!!!
At the same time.
Fiora emerged from behind Valtar.
Shivren’s eyes widened—just slightly.
His combo had already started.
Which meant—
He couldn’t stop.
He had to choose.
Either break his own combo to defend against Fiora.
Or continue attacking and risk a counter from Valtar.
A split-second decision.
Shivren made his choice.
"Getting hit by Fiora is better than getting countered by Valtar."
And so, he did not stop.
But.
The moment he saw Fiora’s body shift—
A chill ran down his spine.
Her spear and shield disappeared.
Her entire form twisted.
And in that instant.
Fiora transformed.
Into a dragon.
A small dragon.
But unmistakably a dragon.
Shivren realized his mistake.
He tried to change direction.
But it was too late.
Fiora’s jaws opened.
A small but concentrated breath attack shot forth.
KWAHHHHHH—!!!
A blast of pure, destructive energy engulfed Shivren.
Valtar, sensing the incoming attack, jumped back.
The blast pierced through the sewer wall.
It went so deep that it exposed the mountain behind it.
A violent quake shook the entire area.
KRRRRRRRRRR—!!!
A breeze gently wrapped around Fiora’s exhausted body, pulling her back.
And once again.
Valtar stepped forward.
At this point, Shivren should not have been able to stand.
But no one let their guard down.
Because from the mountain beyond the shattered wall—
A shadow moved.
Valtar immediately raised his greatsword.
A crimson aura flared around him.
And then—
KWAANG!!!
Something rushed forward.
Valtar barely managed to block.
The impact shook the entire battlefield.
From within the black smoke—
Shivren emerged.
He was far from unscathed.
Most of his scales had been either ripped off or melted.
His body was covered in wounds.
His arms were practically destroyed.
Yet.
Even in that crippled state—
He attacked.
Kahahaha! That was a solid hit!!! Valtar laughed loudly.
Despite being forced to fight alone until Fiora recovered—
Valtar showed no concern.
He was thrilled.
Meanwhile.
Shivren narrowed his eyes.
"If this continues... I won’t win."
With that realization.
Shivren made a decision.
He formed a hand sign.
A ninjutsu technique.
It was time to fight at full power.
The moment he completed the sign—
Seong moved to activate a skill.
But then.
His body froze.
There was only one explanation for this phenomenon.
[Hidden Raid Boss 『Basilica’s Spy, Shivren』 is transforming.]
[Hidden Raid Boss 『Basilica’s Spy, Shivren』 has entered Phase 2.]
Warning:
A grotesque tearing sound echoed from Shivren’s body.
Crack! Crack!
Crunch! Crack—!
Shhhhhhkkk—!!!
At first, the sound of flesh and muscle twisting.
Then, bones snapping and shifting.
Finally, the ripping of skin and sinew as Shivren’s form began to change.
The beastman, who had previously been human-sized, suddenly expanded—his entire body morphing into that of a massive serpent.
Only his arms remained.
His legs were gone, replaced by a long, muscular tail.
A humanoid upper body with snake-like features, towering over the battlefield.
It was a grotesque and unnatural sight.
Was this what it meant to be a Hidden Raid Boss?
Seong had expected difficulty.
But not this.
Kahahaha!!! So in the end, you're still just a beast!!!
Valtar let out a boisterous laugh.
Yet Shivren did not respond.
He simply stared at Valtar with cold, emotionless eyes.
The twin daggers he wielded had also changed—growing to match his new massive size.
What were once ordinary daggers were now larger than Valtar’s own greatsword.
Then—
Shivren swung them.
Despite his increased size, he had not slowed down much.
He was still dangerously fast.
Valtar’s greatsword flared with crimson aura as he prepared to block.
Or at least—
He tried.
BOOOOOM!!!
A deafening shockwave blasted through the sewer.
The moment Shivren’s daggers clashed against Valtar’s sword—
Valtar was blown away like a cannonball.
Kuhh—!
Blood spewed from his mouth as he slammed into the sewer wall.
His body trembled from the impact, his organs rattling from the sheer force.
Yet, he instantly pushed off, ready to launch a counterattack.
But Shivren—
Was faster.
Without hesitation, he turned toward the source of the crimson moonlight that had attacked him earlier.
Then—
SHHHHHHHHHK—!!!
He vomited a wave of venomous acid into the sewer.
A massive surge of poison flooded the corridor, swallowing everything in its path.
However—
CHUK! CHUK! CHUK!
Walls of earth suddenly rose to block the flood.
Three layers, formed instantly.
But even they were not enough.
The venom melted through all three walls.
The acid surged forward, about to consume everything in its path—
Until.
A voice, filled with irritation, echoed through the tunnel.
"Ugh. This is so disgusting."
A violent gust of wind erupted.
The weakened acid wave was blasted back, swirling into a raging storm.
Shivren turned sharply toward the voice, preparing to lunge.
But at that moment—
From the ceiling, countless lances of light appeared.
A voice followed.
"Did you just try to attack my Seong?"
SHAAAAAAA!!!
The lances of light rained down like divine judgment.
A storm of blinding spears, falling in a deadly cascade.
Recognizing the danger, Shivren reacted immediately.
He prepared to use the same rapid combo technique he had used against Valtar—
But before he could—
A laugh echoed behind him.
A low, eerie chuckle.
Hehehehehe...
[Under 『Lord’s Silence』, your skills are sealed for 5 seconds.]
[Hidden Raid Boss 『Basilica’s Spy, Shivren』 is resisting.]
[Duration reduced to 2 seconds.]
A massive witch had appeared, sewing Shivren’s mouth shut with a glowing turquoise needle.
And in that instant—
Shivren felt it.
His skills were gone.
Every attempt to activate his abilities failed.
He had to retreat.
But his massive body slowed him down.
SHHHHHK—!!!
The light lances pierced through his massive frame.
Pain flared through his body, but he endured it and prepared to move.
Yet before he could—
A shadow blade suddenly rose from below.
SHUNK!!!
A massive blade of darkness pierced through his abdomen.
A direct hit.
Caught off guard, Shivren instinctively slashed with his daggers—
Cutting through the shadow blade to free himself.
At the same time—
Valtar lunged forward again.
Despite the damage, Shivren swung his dagger toward him.
It was the best he could do without his skills.
But—
BOOOOM!!!
His attack was met with equal force.
Valtar’s crimson aura-coated greatsword clashed with Shivren’s dagger.
Neither weapon broke.
Instead, they simply bounced off each other.
And at that moment—
A crimson moon appeared above Shivren’s head.
And from below—
Abyssal hands began to rise.
Shivren realized it.
This battle—
It was no longer about subduing the enemy for information.
He had only one option left.
"I have to escape."
But was escaping even possible at this point?