“This is the end.”

I said, tapping my coffee cup with slight anxiety.

(Kaelvor, The Dragonic’s Bane)

(Kaelvor was once celebrated as a hero, a knight who rid the land of dragonic tyrants, bringing peace to countless kingdoms. But his thirst for power drove him to unimaginable lengths. By bathing in the blood of the dragons he slew and wearing their bones as armor, Kaelvor transcended human limits, but the corruption in the ancient blood consumed him. Now fallen to undead curse, he waits for warriors who can put him to his eternal rest.)

(6 people may enter.)

“So, he was a dragon slayer. This will be difficult,” Artemeni muttered, wiping his mouth after devouring a large chunk of meat.

“It’s not like we haven’t slain dragonics ourselves,” Aurora replied, her tone measured as she took a long sip of her coffee.

After killing the Voidborne Tyrant, both Blanche and I were spent. So before we took on the last boss of the War God’s Battle Area, we decided to rest as much as possible.

“I can’t even imagine what bathing in dragon blood would do to someone,” Thalia said, frowning in thought. “Wouldn’t it kill a human outright?”

“Possibly,” Aurora replied, setting down her cup. “Dragons are the pinnacle of magical species. They are more mana than flesh. Even lower dragonkin have blood so saturated with mana it would be like drinking molten magma.”

Artemeni grunted, crossing his arms. “Yet Kaelvor survived it. Maybe not as a man, but still standing. If nothing else, it proves how dangerous he is. We need to be ready.”

“Hmm. There was a hero who said to bathed in dragon blood in back Earth too.”

I didn’t think that Kaelvor had the same weakness as Siegfried but it was worth to mention.

“I thought dragons didn’t exist in your world, Champion.”

Aurora asked with raised eyebrows.

“It was just a legend. It is said that he slain an evil dragon and bathed in its blood to gain invulnerability except for a small leaf-sized area on his back. It was caused by a leaf falling there while bathing.”

Thalia tilted her head, intrigued. “Do you think Kaelvor has a similar weakness?”

“Doubtful,” I said. “But it’s worth keeping in mind. If nothing else, it’s a reminder that even invincible legends have their flaws. Hmm. Speaking of it. Every hero with invulnerability died in their legends. Achielles, Karna, Siegfried and even Heracles. They all had some kind of immortality yet all died. It was probably our way of teaching no one was above dying. ”

Our group fall silent after that with the exception of Gökbörü gnawing on the bones.

…

Artemeni and I were the first ones to enter the boss area. Heavy mana pressed down on my shoulders as soon as I stepped into the area. He had more mana than Voidborne Tyrant, hold shit!

The chamber was massive, its walls carved from blackened stone that seemed to shimmer faintly with residual dragonic energy. At its center sat Kaelvor, a towering figure clad in jagged bone armor despite his hunched-down state. His skull-like helmet glowed faintly with a baleful red light, and the massive sword resting on his shoulder hummed with energy despite him not channeling mana into it. Growls and meaningless murmurs emanated from him, deep and hollow.

Artemeni slowly approached him, her shield ready to block his attacks and halberd ready to strike. I slowly moved to the opposite side of her. By doing that we would surround him from the front. Blanche was just in behind me, ready to move behind Kaelvor as soon as we distracted him. Thalia murmured prayers behind her, buffing us. Aurora was beside her, ready to blast Kaelvor with spells.

I changed my grip on Luminous Willblade, slowly channeling mana and Armor Collapsing on it. Despite us slowly approaching him with our weapons drawn, Kaelvor didn’t move. It kept growling and murmuring at the same tone and same volume.

As we inched closer, Kaelvor’s murmurs grew clearer, though no less haunting. The guttural sounds twisted into fragmented words, like a shattered prayer:

“...justice… penance… burn…”

The air grew colder, each step toward him stealing warmth from our bodies. My breath misted in front of me, the mana-saturated atmosphere biting at my skin through my armor. For a moment, there was nothing—no reaction, no sign that he even heard her.

Then, with an ear-splitting crack, Kaelvor’s massive sword slammed into the ground beside him. Dust and shards of stone flew into the air, the ground trembling beneath our feet.

Slowly, agonizingly, he rose.

Kaelvor’s full height was monstrous—easily twice mine, more than I originally estimated. His jagged bone armor seemed to shift and pulse with a life of its own, glowing faintly with the residual energy of the dragons it was forged from. The baleful red light in his skull-like helmet intensified, and his murmurs turned into a guttural roar that echoed through the chamber.

“YOU… DARE?”

The sheer force of his voice was enough to make me stagger, a wave of raw mana rippling outward. I tightened my grip on the Luminous Willblade, forcing my feet to stay planted.

Blanche moved swiftly, darting to position behind him as planned. Thalia’s prayers intensified, golden light spilling from her hands to fortify our bodies and minds. Aurora raised her staff, her eyes narrowing as she began weaving her first spell.

Kaelvor didn’t wait.

With an inhuman burst of speed, he surged forward, swinging his massive blade in a deadly arc toward Artemeni. She raised her shield just in time, the impact creating a deafening boom. The force sent her skidding back several feet, her boots leaving grooves in the stone floor.

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I took the opening, lunging at Kaelvor’s exposed side. The Luminous Willblade flared with energy as I struck, aiming for the joints of his bone armor. The blow landed, sending a shockwave rippling through the chamber, but it barely dented the jagged plating.

Kaelvor twisted with unnatural fluidity, his glowing eyes locking onto me. Before I could retreat, he lashed out with his gauntleted fist. I barely managed to dodge, the air screaming as his strike passed mere inches from my head.

Blanche seized the moment, leaping onto Kaelvor’s back. Her rapier glowed with lightning as she drove them into the base of his neck but before her blade could reach him massive bones coated with a wicked energy popped out of nowhere, blocking her strike and piercing my arm.

“Champion!”

Thalia cried out behind me as I pulled my arm back, blood spilling to the ground. Kaelvor’s baleful red eyes flared with fury as he unleashed a guttural roar. The amount of mana the roar carried pushed me back.

(You resisted Dragonic Fear.)

(You resisted Dragonic Fear.)

(You resisted Dragonic Fear.)

The sound was deafening, the sheer force of it threatening to shatter our focus. The oppressive aura of Dragonic Fear rippled out like a tidal wave, freezing Aurora mid-spell and forcing Thalia to stumble, her prayers faltering.

“Stand strong!” I bellowed, releasing the Roar of War Goddess to clear the effects of Dragonic Fear and further strengthen our power. The oppressive weight of Dragonic Fear shattered under my Roar of the War Goddess, and I felt our team's resolve solidify. Aurora’s magic flared back to life, her fingers weaving arcane patterns as her spell resumed. Thalia’s voice rang out, clear and commanding, as her prayers restored our focus and replenished my bleeding arm with a golden glow.

Kaelvor turned toward me, his glowing red eyes narrowing with malevolence. His massive sword, more fang than a blade, hummed with sinister energy as he dragged it through the air in a wide arc. I sidestepped, barely dodging the attack, but the wind pressure alone sent a jarring impact through my body.

“Don’t cluster!” I shouted. “Spread out, and keep moving!”

Blanche leaped off Kaelvor’s back, landing gracefully beside Aurora. “He's focusing on you now, Champion,” she said, her rapier crackling with residual lightning. “Let’s keep it that way.”

Artemeni roared as she charged back into the fray, her shield raised high. She slammed into Kaelvor’s side, forcing his attention to split. Her halberd swung down in a deadly arc, but Kaelvor’s jagged bone armor flared with a dark light, and her blade bounced harmlessly off it.

The next moment, Kaelvor unleashed a devastating attack. His massive sword glowed with crimson energy as he swung it downward in a cleaving strike.

The ground erupted where his blade struck, shards of bone flying in every direction. One grazed my shoulder, drawing a thin line of blood, while others ricocheted toward Aurora and Thalia.

"Barrier up!" Thalia cried, casting a shimmering dome of golden light around herself and Aurora. The bone shards disintegrated upon contact, but the strain on Thalia was evident.

“Aurora, pin him down with gravity magic!”

Aurora nodded, her staff glowing with a brilliant blue light as she began channeling a gravity spell. The air around Kaelvor shimmered and distorted as a gravitational field took hold, pulling him down with immense force. His movements slowed, the jagged armor creaking under the oppressive pressure.

But even restrained, Kaelvor was relentless. His baleful eyes flared as he slammed his massive sword into the ground. A shockwave of dark energy rippled outward, momentarily disrupting the gravity field and forcing all of us to brace ourselves.

Aurora gritted her teeth and redoubled her efforts, the shimmering field intensifying around Kaelvor. “It won’t hold forever! Strike now!”

Artemeni surged forward, her shield and halberd glowing with scarlet aura. The increased defense allowed her to withstand Kaelvor’s retaliatory blows as she locked him into a deadly dance of strikes and blocks. Her halberd struck true this time, chipping away at the glowing bone armor.

I darted to Kaelvor’s opposite side, aiming for the weaker joints in his armor. With Armor Collapsing Claw activated, my sword flared with energy as it sliced into his side. This time, the jagged plating cracked, and a faint glow of corrupted energy seeped from the wound.

Kaelvor roared, his corrupted mana surging outward. A spectral dragon’s claw materialized, swiping at me with terrifying speed. I rolled out of the way, barely avoiding the ethereal strike.

“What the shit!”

Blanche, undeterred, flanked Kaelvor once more, her lightning-infused rapier stabbing into the cracks my attack had made. Sparks flew as her blade pierced deeper, and Kaelvor staggered slightly under the combined assault.

But then it happened.

Kaelvor’s body pulsed with dark energy, and the temperature in the room plummeted. Spectral dragons began to materialize around him—soul shards infused with the remnants of the dragons he had slain. Their forms flickered with elemental energy, and they lunged at us with terrifying speed.

“Watch out!” Thalia cried, casting a protective spell that shielded us from the first wave of attacks. Even so, one of the spectral dragons broke through, slamming into Artemeni and knocking her back.

“He has summons too?”

“I’ve got them!” Aurora shouted, redirecting her magic to target the soul shards. Arcs of violet energy shot from her staff, striking the spectral forms and dispelling some of them. But more kept appearing, their roars echoing through the chamber.

Kaelvor took advantage of the chaos, breaking free from the gravity field entirely. His massive sword hummed with crimson energy as he brought it down toward me in a devastating arc.

I had no choice. Channeling everything into a desperate counter, I raised the Luminous Willblade and activated Mana Erupt. The blade flared with radiant energy, meeting his strike head-on. The collision sent a shockwave rippling through the room, and I felt the impact reverberate through my bones.