Chapter 109 – The Monarch (３)

Flash—

The great Spear — ten Fireballs fused into one — pierced straight through the Monarch’s body.

Krrrboom! Kwaaah!

The great Spear kept burning inside her, refusing to go out.

“K-keugh! Kyaaaaaaah!”

The Monarch screamed without stopping.

She tried to pull the Spear out, but it wouldn’t budge.

Even then, the Monarch’s Magi drained at breakneck speed.

Her entire body was ablaze.

The Light of the Seeker was devouring her Magi.

“Stop! Stooop! Stooooo-op!”

Painful howls erupted endlessly as her body began to twist.

And then, right now,

Kwaaaang!

the great Spear exploded.

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

Once more, the Monarch’s scream hammered the air.

When the explosion faded,

“Kuh-uk… Keeeuh-uk….”

the Monarch coughed blood.

A massive hole gaped in her abdomen, and the rest of her body was already a wreck.

Her Armor was shattered in patches; the skin beneath those breaks had long since melted away.

She was no longer the Monarch she had been at the start.

His face was barely recognizable, and his arms and legs were grotesquely twisted—a sight so horrific it made one wince just to look at him.

[Do not let your guard down.]

Then Libre’s voice came through.

Gijun nodded.

The Monarch was clearly gravely wounded, her Magi severely drained.

But it wasn’t over yet.

Gijun knew better than anyone—never let your guard down until it’s truly finished.

And then it happened.

Crunch— Crack—

The Monarch’s already mangled body twisted.

Then it began to swell slowly.

“….”

Gijun slipped back into a combat stance.

He unleashed a torrent of Fireballs at her.

But—

Boom-boom-boom-boom-blast!

The Fireballs were intercepted midair.

A barrier of dense Magi had formed around the Monarch, blocking the attack.

Krrr… Kurreer…

From her lips poured a spine-chilling sound, its meaning unknowable.

At the same time, her bloated form began to shift.

Her body swelled larger, and her twisted limbs grew along with it.

In an instant, her size more than tripled.

Then the Monarch’s new form fully revealed itself.

A black panther.

A panther of immense size.

“….”

Gijun narrowed his eyes.

The wounds that had covered her body moments ago were gone without a trace.

Her Magi raged out of control, rampaging beyond containment.

‘So a Monarch is a Monarch, after all.’

The pressure she exuded made their fight until now feel like child’s play.

‘Right. Ending in Phase One was too much to hope for.’

Even in reality, boss monsters above Level 7 always have at least two phases.

To expect a Monarch’s fight to end in a single phase was absurd.

[Speak when the time comes.]

Besides, Gijun hadn’t played all his cards yet.

Libre’s Strength still remained.

Libre had stored up enough of her Strength for this fight against the Monarch.

If Gijun needed it, she was ready to hand her power over to him at any moment.

With Libre’s Strength added in, I can secure a sure advantage.

He’d felt firsthand how terrifyingly powerful her Strength was when they brought down the Red Dragon.

And now Libre was even stronger than she’d been back then.

So her Strength should be able to land a crippling blow on the Monarch too.

But I can’t use it recklessly.

Libre’s Strength was the strongest card Gijun held.

That was exactly why he planned to save it for the moment he drove in the final nail.

For now, figuring out his full strength comes first.

So his priority was scouting out the changes in the Monarch’s second phase.

In that moment—

Crack!

“…?!”

Gijun’s eyes went wide.

The moment the Lord stomped its paw down, that enormous leopard’s face was suddenly right in front of Gijun’s eyes.

‘What the—’

Fast.

The Lord had gotten faster.

Its body had more than tripled in size, but its movement had leaped to an entirely new dimension all over again.

Crack!

The Lord’s forepaw slammed into Gijun’s body.

In that split second, he barely managed to block it with Strong Wind and his staff, but—

Boom-boom-boom-CRASH!

Dodging the Lord’s attacks completely, like he had until now, was impossible.

Gijun took the blow full-force, his body flying into the wall and smashing through it.

‘…’

In that instant, Gijun felt it.

‘This is no joke.’

This fight was going to be on a completely different level from everything before.

*

[So what the hell’s happening?!]

[I rushed over the second the stream went up and I can’t see anything?]

The ViewTubers were broadcasting the Lord’s Tower live right now.

Of course, viewers were flooding in fast.

A fight with the Lord — there was no way they wouldn’t be curious.

And with Players entering Tartaros, everyone’s curiosity about the Lord was only growing.

But the problem was, there was nothing to see.

A fight was definitely happening.

You could hear the massive roars from far away, after all.

But these people hadn’t gathered just to listen.

What they wanted to see wasn’t sound — it was the battle itself.

And then…

Booom!

Another explosion erupted from one side of the Tower.

The summit, naturally.

That moment…

[Huh?]

[What’s that?]

As the explosion ripped through the Tower’s peak, something came into view.

[Can’t really see it…]

[Zooming in — looks like a leopard?]

[A leopard?!]

What had appeared at the Tower’s summit was, unmistakably, a leopard.

[A black leopard!]

[And it’s huge!]

[But where the hell did a leopard come from?]

The viewers couldn’t help but wonder.

Why would a leopard suddenly pop out of the Tower?

And then.

[Huh?]

[That’s—]

[Isn’t that the mage?]

It had been too far to see clearly.

But someone was falling, growing larger as they plummeted toward the ground.

It was the mage viewers had been waiting and waiting for.

Rooaaar—!

The leopard roared.

Its massive forepaw shot toward the mage.

And the mage answered with a torrent of Fireballs.

Boom-boom-boom-CRASH!

Fireballs that triggered massive explosions.

In an instant, they engulfed the leopard’s entire body.

Someone watching pounded their keyboard.

[Did we get it?]

[Don’t talk shit, seriously]

[It’s not dead, you jinxed it!]

Not that the words would keep him from dying, of course.

The leopard engulfed in flames was completely unharmed.

It hadn’t so much as blinked.

Gyaaaaah—!

The leopard roared again.

The leopard and the mage plummeted toward the ground at breakneck speed.

Even in that moment, the mage’s Fireball kept pouring toward the leopard without pause.

Midair, the leopard batted away those Fireballs with its massive forepaws, defending itself.

[In all my years, I never thought I’d see an aerial battle in Real Spirit.]

[But why isn’t that leopard dying?]

[Doesn’t seem like a trash mob, does it?]

With that, the viewers too began to sense something was off.

The leopard simply wouldn’t die.

Far from dying, it didn’t even take significant Damage from the relentless magic.

Finally, they realized.

[No way….]

[That’s a Lord.]

[Huh?]

[That’s right, it’s a Lord!]

[It’s a Lord!]

That very leopard was the Lord.

*

“How the hell did this happen?”

Klaim stared up at the sky, his face dark with gravity.

“Looks like he’s entered Phase Two.”

Hera answered after a moment.

She had witnessed the Lord’s form with her own eyes the last time.

Back then, it had looked nothing like it did now.

Which meant Gijun had just pushed into the second phase.

“Phase Two…”

Klaim swallowed hard.

“Remarkable. It hasn’t even been a full hour since the fight started.”

“Yes. He’s an incredible man.”

Genuine admiration colored both their voices.

Gijun’s Level still hadn’t even cracked the rankings.

And yet he was trading blows with the Lord — possibly Tartaros’s final boss — in a way that defied imagination.

And now…

Boom!

The Lord and Gijun slammed back down to the ground.

The Lord landed perfectly, as if nothing had happened.

And Gijun did the same.

He had used Strong Wind just right, cushioning as much of the impact as he could.

But the problem was the look on Gijun’s face — it wasn’t bright at all.

“…Seems like it won’t be easy.”

“Yes. Master Jun’s Equipment is heavily damaged.”

The gear Gijun had equipped was battered.

Which meant he’d let the Lord land a blow.

“What should we do?”

Klaim asked.

“Just say the word, and I’ll support you immediately.”

Klaim had already tensed, ready to draw his sword at any moment.

But Hera shook her head.

“That won’t do.”

“….”

“This is Master Jun’s fight. Unless he asks for it, we shouldn’t interfere.”

“…Understood.”

Klaim chewed his lip and pulled his hand away from the hilt.

He wanted to support Gijun right then and there, but when he thought about it, Hera was right.

This was a Quest Jun was undertaking.

And as such, they couldn’t step in midway.

Outside interference could easily change the outcome of the Quest, after all.

“And probably… we won’t even be able to fight. Not without that sword Jun made. First, we need to secure the perimeter—”

That instant.

“Hell yeah, easy money!”

“It’s mine!”

“Give it here—!”

Just as Hera was about to ask them to control the surroundings.

The players who had been watching from the sidelines charged toward the Lord.

Greed had gotten the better of them—they wanted to cut in on this Quest and snatch a share of the reward.

But their hopes turned to ash in an instant.

Crackling—

The moment sparks erupted around the Lord, engulfing their bodies like a wave.

BOOM— CRACKLE CRACKLE CRACKLE KABOOM!

“The fuck…?”

A message flashed before their eyes.

[You are unworthy to approach this being.]

[Your paltry rank is crushed beneath the majesty of a Great Existence.]

And with that, his body simply evaporated.

[You have died.]

Just getting close—that alone had killed him.

“….”

“…Good thing we didn’t interfere.”

Klaim muttered as he watched.

Then, along with the Knight Order members around him, he began to control the players.

“You cannot approach this area!”

Not that they needed his control anymore—the players no longer even dared to think of getting near the Lord.

They’d just seen it with their own eyes, hadn’t they?

How simply approaching had made a player drop their items and log out, dead on the spot.

*

Even Gijun hadn’t seen this coming.

After its transformation, the Lord had completely lost its reason, gone into full-on rampage mode.

It had smashed the tower attacking him, forcing its way out into the open.

‘This got messy.’

But when he thought about it, this wasn’t all bad.

Having that many people watch him shine? Not a bad thing at all.

‘Well, it would’ve been a problem a few minutes ago.’

The Lord in Phase 2 was strong.

Strong enough that no matter how he thought about it, Gijun couldn’t figure out a way to win.

But things were different now.

‘I’ve got a new weapon.’

Literally.

He’d just gained one.

[Fireball’s Proficiency has increased!]

It was Fireball.

Fireball with boosted Proficiency.

‘Finally—A.’

That was the moment his Fireball, formerly Grade B, jumped up a tier to Grade A.