Chapter 183 …
“Kyaahahahaha! You’re dodging pretty well like a little rat! Let’s see how long you can keep running!”
‘Of course… so much for this being easy.’
That thought vanished not long after the battle began.
As expected of a raid, the difficulty was tremendous.
And Luidra was unpredictable in every way.
The Ruler of Nightmares, the Witch of Dreams.
Judging from the title alone, one might expect a witch specializing in dream-related magic—but her main specialty was actually close-quarters combat.
Whoosh—! Shraaaak!
Every time the gigantic scythe—over two meters long—sliced through the air, the atmosphere itself tore apart with a terrifying ripping sound.
It was truly a single decisive strike.
If even one direct hit landed, it would undoubtedly slice a person clean in half.
Whoosh! Whum!
Shraaaak—! Shraak!
And those lethal blows rained down endlessly.
They came at impossible speeds and from angles no human body should be able to produce.
The sight of the madwoman laughing chillingly as she swung her weapon was enough to make anyone’s spine crawl.
As for Luidra’s dream-related magic—she used it strictly as support.
But was it really just magical support?
Half yes, half no.
[Hidden Raid Boss Luidra uses “Lucid Dream.”]
[Luidra’s senses become extremely sharp.]
[Hidden Raid Boss Luidra uses “Fairy’s Dream.”]
[Luidra’s body becomes lighter and all speeds increase.]
…
[Hidden Raid Boss Luidra uses “Butterfly Dream.”]
[Luidra’s resonance with her weapon increases dramatically. She reaches a state of unity with it.]
Every dream-related skill she had was essentially a buff that boosted her melee combat power.
And that wasn’t all.
[Due to the unique effect of the Swamp of Nightmares, all of Luidra’s stats increase while she remains here.]
Simply being here gave her a stat boost.
A raid boss that was already powerful was now wrapped in countless buffs—she was basically a destructive tank.
Crackle—
‘Even using Thunder Dragon Descent… this isn’t easy.’
How destructive was she?
Even while fighting under Thunder Dragon Descent, Dohyun was losing in both speed and strength.
The only reason the fight was even was because of his parries and control.
If it were purely a matter of stats, he should have been crushed long ago.
‘At this point, shouldn’t she be called the Witch of the Scythe instead of the Witch of Dreams?’
Dohyun seriously wondered if her title was wrong.
Clicking his tongue, he pushed away the blade he had been locking against.
Using the force, he leapt backward to create distance.
A golem he bumped into looked down at him with a confused grunt.
Slash—!
“My lord, are you unharmed?!”
Charlie, who had cut down the golem, asked while swinging his sword again.
“Graaagh—!”
Slash!
“They revive endlessly, these insignificant creatures! I will not allow them to approach my lord!”
“Rizaa!”
“My lord, leave this place to us! Hup!”
KWAANG! CLANG!
Heavy metallic explosions echoed as iron clashed against iron.
And those sounds weren’t coming from just one place.
“Argh! Someone save me! Everyone circle around me!”
Clack… clack-clack.
“Did you just shake your head? Want to do another round of duck-walking?”
Clack? Clack-clack.
“Oh really? You’re denying it—AAAGH! Just get over here first!”
Jihad was running away from dozens of golems.
Around him, Pain and the undead formed a protective circle.
BOOM! CRUNCH! BANG!
“Graaah—!”
Among them, Pain stood out the most.
As if proving that nearly killing Dohyun in the past hadn’t been luck, Pain twisted, broke, and smashed incoming golems in dazzling close combat.
Clack-clack!
Clack!
Pain rampaged against multiple enemies at once, while the outlaw undead perfectly covered his blind spots.
The ghost soldiers’ momentum forced the golems back, allowing the other undead to swarm them and stab viciously with their weapons.
Once they caught prey, they never let go—a persistence bordering on obsession.
“Nice shot!”
Jihad cheered enthusiastically for the undead.
On the opposite side, silver spider webs were flying through the air.
Fwip—! Slash!
“Rizaa!”
“Mm! Well done. Let’s coordinate again this time.”
“Riza!”
When Eliza spat webs to slow the golems, Charlie easily sliced through them as he passed.
While Jihad’s undead army blocked the golems overall, the two of them roamed like midfielders, coordinating to hunt them down.
Thanks to that, a small circle formed inside their defense where no interference could enter.
Step.
That circle was the stage where Dohyun and Luidra fought.
In the black-and-white battlefield where fighting erupted everywhere, the structure was simple:
The enchanting woman with a scythe—Luidra—and Dohyun clashing fiercely.
[Death Golems sleeping in the Swamp of Nightmares awaken.]
She dragged a single opponent into the room, yet summoned an entire army herself.
Her lack of fairness was truly shameless.
“Ugh, here we go again. Pain, you can handle it, right? If you can’t, it’s 500 laps of duck-walking.”
…Clack-clack.
“Let’s muster our strength again. Trust in us, my lord!”
“Rizaa!”
Well, fine. A raid boss leading an army—that was understandable.
But an army that revived endlessly no matter how many times it died?
That was too much.
Amid the chaotic, repetitive fighting, Dohyun let out a sigh.
‘It’s a mess here too.’
He hadn’t expected much, but the way things were going, this wouldn’t be easy either.
Actually, it was worse.
Unlike the endlessly reviving enemy army, his side had a limit: mana.
[Luidra’s HP has fallen below 20%.]
[Phase 2 activates.]
Meanwhile, Dohyun himself was already below 50% HP, while Luidra was only at 20% remaining loss.
Technically his HP number was higher—but in terms of damage taken, he had lost far more.
Half his health was gone, while she had barely lost ten percent.
Mana wasn’t much different.
[Remaining mana below 50%.]
[Usable “Lightning Movement” charges: 1.]
All his skills consumed enormous mana.
He had been waiting for the right moment to unleash his full power, merely observing patterns—but even that had already consumed half.
Since this was a solo raid with no prior information, he had watched the boss patterns briefly.
‘This should be enough.’
That ended now.
Aside from the power of her unique space and army, Luidra was clearly a pure melee fighter.
He had already seen all her patterns.
There was no need to stall any longer.
“Now it’s my turn.”
Dohyun raised the corner of his mouth as he muttered.
Luidra paused and frowned.
“…You’re smiling? Have you gone mad, Apostle of Prophecy?”
“I can finally beat the hell out of you properly. Of course I’m smiling.”
“How pitiful Pratel’s fate is. Their only hope—the Apostle of Prophecy—is so weak he doesn’t even realize he’s being toyed with.”
Instead of answering her mockery, Dohyun activated the skills he had been holding back.
[Sword Aura activated.]
[Striking activated.]
[Mana consumed per second.]
Sword Aura increased the attack power and cutting ability of all sword strikes.
Striking boosted physical attack power.
[Sword Aura is affected by Dark Cloak and gains the Darkness attribute.]
[Additional Dark attribute effects applied.]
[Ice Flow activated.]
[Consumes mana per second and lowers the temperature within a certain radius.]
Dark Cloak granted stealth and defense-reduction effects.
Ice Flow chilled the surrounding air.
Crackle—
[Thunder Dragon Descent duration remaining: 40 seconds.]
This was Dohyun’s full power.
White hair fluttered.
Sparks crackled around him.
The temperature dropped sharply.
His sword overflowed with dark energy.
“You have quite an interesting set of tricks. It seems beyond what a single apostle should possess.”
“You’re one to talk.”
The moment he stacked all his buffs, his mana drained rapidly.
Without wasting another second, Dohyun rushed forward.
There was no time for conversation.
Jihad and Charlie, fighting the golems, were already below 50% mana too.
[Lightning Movement activated.]
Crackle—
Dohyun’s body vanished like a bolt of lightning.
“…!”
Feeling electricity behind her, Luidra instinctively spun and swung her scythe.
CLANG!
Sword and scythe collided, sparks flying.
Even with every buff active, Dohyun’s blade was pushed back by her strength.
But he used that force to spin like a top and launch a back kick.
An unpredictable strike.
Yet Luidra calmly blocked it with the handle of her scythe.
Whirl— Slash!
She brought the scythe down destructively.
[Due to Ice Flow, Luidra’s movement slows.]
[Target resists due to higher rank.]
[Movement slightly slowed.]
Instead of resisting the power, Dohyun redirected it to the ground and slipped inside her guard.
Even the slight delay from Ice Flow made it easier.
In his hand was a black thread.
By the time he rolled past Luidra’s chest to the opposite side, her scythe and leg were wrapped in it.
[Fuse – Thread attached.]
[Fuse – Detonate.]
—!!!
A silent black explosion followed.
He had saved the Fuse skill for this exact moment.
“Kgh…!? What is this?!”
‘As expected, the first Fuse always works.’
Just like when fighting Pain before, intelligent bosses always panicked the first time they encountered this thread.
After all, Luidra was a hidden raid boss.
How often would she encounter Dohyun’s strange skill set?
She would never expect a sword-based fighter to suddenly use Fuse.
Stagger—
As Luidra reeled from the unexpected strike, Dohyun grinned and raised his sword high.
[Ferocious Strike activated.]
[The sword is filled with the power of Ferocity.]
Then the sword strikes rained down.
First strike.
Second.
Third.
Fourth…
Like beating a dog on a scorching summer day, Luidra was pounded and rolled across the ground.
“Kgh…!”
Each slash carried a strange force that shoved her backward, making it hard to regain her stance.
Whoosh—!
Finally regaining her senses, Luidra swung her scythe—
Step.
But Dohyun stopped advancing.
He halted at a precise distance where the blade passed right in front of him.
One of his specialties: Stop-moving.
Once, during his days in Demrock, someone had asked in an interview:
“How do you always avoid hits and land guaranteed attacks?”
His answer had been simple:
Any enemy becomes defenseless while swinging and missing.
You dodge, and attack at that moment.
Slash!
Just like now.
Bait the enemy attack.
Dodge.
Counter.
That was Dohyun’s method against stronger opponents.
[Luidra suffers frostbite from prolonged exposure to Ice Flow.]
[Target resists due to higher rank.]
[Minor frostbite applied.]
Since part of her body was stiffened by the cold, her slowed attacks were even easier to handle.
Dohyun could repeat this several more times.
But there was no need.
Against intelligent humanoid bosses, such tricks worked once or twice at most.
‘Once is enough.’
One opportunity was more than sufficient.
He had already analyzed all her patterns.
That single chance was enough to unleash everything.
“I told you. Now it’s my turn.”
“Ah…”
A man standing with his sword raised high.
A raid boss kneeling awkwardly before him.
“…Ah?”
By the time Luidra realized their positions seemed reversed—
the strange light coating Dohyun’s sword had already deepened into something far more threatening.
[Five-Strike stack active.]
[Ferocity intensifies—stun time and knockback increase.]
[Damage amplified.]
‘It’s been a while… maybe I’ll give you a good beating.’
Dohyun took a deep breath.
Then he brought the sword crashing down.
