Season 4: Chapter 57. Natural Disaster (3)
This was the final chapter and ultimate battle in Ghostwo Busters.
“Let’s gooooo! Cult leader Jin Myung-Soo!!”
“Yaaaaah! Time to show them what we’ve got!!”
Everything was on the line in this battle. The Kim duo had stopped trying to delude themselves with, “Almond is gonna die because of this or that.”
They faced it head-on now and put their faith in the game’s difficulty. The developers had put their blood, sweat, and tears into this.
“This isn’t something just anyone can beat!!”
“Exactly!”
At this point, it was no longer about whether the ad campaign would run long or short. This was the studio’s pride and a salaryman’s war.
“W-Wait... Why isn’t it moving...?”
Their brave stand was already teetering from the beginning.
***
The cult leader, frozen in a cutscene, took a massive blow from Bubblegum.
BOOOM!
After the monk’s attack connected, the boss transformed.
[Cult Leader of Evil – Thought-Form]
Of all things, it had become a Thought-Form.
Pop!
Almond instantly closed in with Dimensional Step and activated his Shadow Clone Technique, multiplying into six identical bodies. All six Almonds simultaneously drew their swords and slashed.
SLASH SLASH SLASH SLASH SLASH!!
Every clone attacked in perfect sync for a burst of overwhelming damage.
[HP: 65%]
— omg
— That clone control tho
— Sick
— HOW is he moving them all that cleanly??
Usually, any kind of multi-control setup was bound to get messy. However, Almond’s clones moved with flawless precision as if each one were a real player.
“DIEEEEEE!!”
The cult leader retaliated with a huge blast of dark energy, but Almond’s clones scattered to the sides with impeccable timing.
KA-BOOM!
The boss’s furious energy explosion only struck the ground.
‘One more time.’
Almond’s eyes gleamed at another opening.
CLANG CLANG CLANG!!
Another round of attacks rained down.
[HP: 43%]
The boss’s health was reduced to less than half in mere seconds.
— WTF
— Again?!
— No breathing, just pure DPS
— BRO’S GOING OFF
Even Almond was surprised by the speed of the relentless assault. After all, this was the final boss. However, Phase Two was already collapsing.
‘That was fast...’
Still, it wouldn’t be Ghostwo Busters without a twist.
[Cult Leader of Evil – Wraith]
‘Wait... huh?’
BOOOOOM!
As the boss transformed again, black mist exploded outward in all directions. This instant field-wide AoE was unavoidable by design.
[HP: 82%]
Even Almond couldn’t avoid it. His clones vanished instantly since clones could only take one hit.
‘Oh no.’
It didn’t end there.
SHHHHHH...
[Haunting]
The boss used a signature Wraith ability where he melted into the floor.
Almond tightly gripped his sword while scanning the area. He wasn’t the target.
“Uh-oh?!”
The Wraith boss was targeting Bubblegum. A ghostly hand burst up from beneath and grabbed him.
[Drain]
“AAAAHHHH!! NOOO!!”
Pulse... pulse...
The Wraith’s arm began twitching as its HP regenerated.
[HP: 97%]
— what
— It’s healing?!
— This boss is busted
— WTF lmao
— That’s a full refill with one grab!
Even Almond’s face darkened. The boss had clearly been designed to have great regeneration to balance its relatively fragile health.
‘This won’t be easy...’
It would be a tough opponent since Su-Yeon, the NPC, was the only one who could actually counter Wraiths.
“DIE, JIN MYUNG-SOO!!”
CRACKLE!
Su-Yeon charged in with lightning crackling along her spear.
WHOOSH!
Her attack missed completely.
[Haunting]
The boss disappeared again into the ground.
“Ugh...”
Bubblegum collapsed to the ground with his HP drained.
Su-Yeon glanced around, trying to find the boss. “Where is he?!”
SLASH!
The boss appeared right beside her and swung his giant scythe.
CRASH!!
She blocked with her shield just in time, but her health still dropped.
“Guh...”
[HP: 93%]
She lashed out in frustration.
Swoosh.
Again, the boss slipped back into the ground.
‘This isn’t working.’
Almond realized that they needed a better strategy. He pulled out a few talismans.
‘Next time it pops out...’
SWOOSH—
The Wraith surfaced again by Su-Yeon and swung hard. It was fast, but Almond hurled a talisman.
WHIP!
The talisman flew straight toward the boss. No matter how good Almond’s aim was, he couldn’t change the speed of a thrown object. The boss dodged it easily without even vanishing underground.
However, Almond never expected it to hit anyway.
[Dimensional Step]
POP!
He appeared right next to the Wraith and slapped a talisman directly on it.
SMACK!
[Binding]
CRACKLE!!
The talisman glowed red and pinned the boss in place. Su-Yeon saw her chance and took it.
Thwack!
Her spear plunged straight into the Wraith’s torso.
“RAAAAHHH!!”
[HP: 83%]
The Wraith screeched and morphed again after taking more damage.
ZAP!
[Cult Leader of Evil – Thought-Form]
It transformed back into a Thought-Form again. The type changes seemed to be random. Fortunately, it benefited Almond this time as he dashed in again and swung his sword.
CLANG!
He clashed with the boss’s dark counterstrike, but went in again.
CLANG!
The boss blocked again.
‘Wait...’
Then, the boss’s hand extended.
KA-BOOM!!
A massive explosion erupted from the hand. Almond managed to dodge the off-beat attack, but his balance faltered. Immediately, another blast of demonic energy surged forth from the cult leader’s eyes. Each strike was off-beat in rhythm, perfectly timed, or fired without any warning.
No patterns existed, only chaos. The boss was growing stronger. Each time it changed types, it adapted to the players’ patterns and countered accordingly.
FWOOOOSH!
The cult leader unleashed a crushing blow with his demonic claws stretched forward.
‘This is getting harder.’
Even Almond, now off-balance, realized he had nowhere to dodge. His Dimensional Step was still on cooldown by a sliver.
“Oppa!!”
SWISH!
Su-Yeon dashed in front of him, and the attack disappeared.
[Full Counter]
She had activated her spirit ability. The cult leader’s demonic energy vanished momentarily, only to be reflected at full force.
KAAA-BOOOOM!!
A tremendous blast roared toward the cult leader.
[HP: 83%]
However, its health bar didn’t budge.
— huh??
— No damage?
— Wasn’t that a counter?
— Is it because Su-Yeon cast it?
— Doesn’t work on Thought-Form type??
Although she had reflected the attack, it counted as an attack from her and didn’t register any damage. Still, it bought Almond enough time.
[Dimensional Step]
WHOOSH!
Almond blinked behind the cult leader and launched a flurry of slashes.
SLASH SLASH SLASH!
[HP: 69%]
Immediately, the cult leader transformed again.
[Cult Leader of Evil – Wraith]
He turned into a Wraith again and vanished into the ground with a slithering hiss.
Everything grew quiet.
“Haa... Haa... You okay, oppa?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Su-Yeon stood back-to-back with Almond.
“It’s the Wraith type. We never know where it’ll strike from.”
“Right.”
Almond scanned the area. This fight was only getting harder. They had to finish it fast.
— Dude, this is wild
— This boss is insane
— Why does it feel like only Almond and Su-Yeon are doing everything??
— Almond + Su-Yeon = Ghostwo Busters
— Bubblegum is like the pet NPC
***
Meanwhile, it wasn’t that Bubblegum didn’t want to help. He just couldn’t afford to. His main skill, Wind Bubble, was a certified chaos grenade.
— Bro, what are you even doing? LOL
— At least pretend to help
— Do something Bubblegum!
“N-Now? Wait, no. Not now. Now!? No, wait, now?”
He couldn’t just recklessly aim, especially not while Almond and Su-Yeon were zipping around in an intense high-speed battle against the boss.
CRASH!
BOOM!
SLASH!
Their positions kept changing every second. Trying to land a shot without hitting his allies was practically impossible, at least for Bubblegum.
DING!
[CornDog has donated 10,000 won.]
[Currently flirting with Wind Bubble~]
— LOL this is too accurate
— He’s not aiming, he’s wooing
— Bubblegum x Wind Bubble OTP
— This man is DATING his skill
It seemed like he was just wasting time to viewers, but Bubblegum had his reasons.
“Guys, come on. Put yourselves in my shoes. Would YOU cast this now? Huh? Do you NOT remember what happens when I use this skill??”
— Okay fair
— Actually yeah LOL
— Last time he used it, Almond flew into a toilet
— Never forget the Bidet Boss warp bug
— Yeah, maybe DON’T cast it
Disaster always followed whenever he misused Wind Bubble. He had blasted a boss into the sky, flung Almond into a toilet portal, and literally became a Wind God that vaporized an entire room of demons.
“I wanna be useful too, okay?! But that boss isn’t even a Yokai type right now. It’s a Wraith! And it just tried to—wait?” Bubblegum suddenly paused.
When the boss turned into a Wraith, it went straight for him. Was that just a coincidence? Or did it recognize the weakest link to feed on?
‘Crap...’
With rising dread, Bubblegum tried to back away.
THUMP.
He was too late. A massive ghostly hand snatched his shiny bald head.
The Wraith had already appeared behind him.
“AAAAAAH! LET ME GOOO!”
Gurgle... Gurgle...
The cult leader began draining Bubblegum’s health again.
— LMFAOOO
— Bubblegum = free juice box
— He’s the boss’s Capri Sun
— Screaming support type
WHOOSH!
Once he had drained him dry, the boss casually flung him away.
SMACK!
— LMAOO
— He got tossed like a soda can
— Bald and bruised
“Ugh, dammit...”
Bubblegum blinked through the dust, trying to regain his bearings.
[HP: 24%]
He didn’t have much health left. Almond and Su-Yeon were still deep in the fight.
‘Am I really... gonna finish this game without doing anything?’
— Bubblegum = Decorative NPC
— Just don’t move. Please.
— If the boss never turns into a Yokai, we’re fine
— Walking HP donation center
The chat wasn’t being too kind to him. Bubblegum clenched his teeth.
‘No. I have to do something.’
“Okay. You know what? Hey chat, you guys are the ones crossing the line. Huh?”
— Oh no, incoming bans
— Brace yourselves
— He’s gonna nuke the arena
— Here comes the legendary Glitch Burst
“Ban? Nah, I’ll show you.”
Bubblegum stood up, brushed himself off, and raised his staff again.
— DANGER
— Everyone, cover your eyes!
— Do NOT watch this in fullscreen
— WIND GOD RETURNS
“I’ll become the Wind GOD again. If he turns into a Yokai, he’s dead.”
Bubblegum planned on intentionally triggering the same exploit that once blended a previous boss into digital soup.
— Did he just say he’s planning to use a bug??
— Bubblegum said, “Time to break the game!”
— We’re witnessing a dev’s nightmare in real time
“It’s not a bug. It’s a feature.”
CRACKLE!
[Cult Leader of Evil – Yokai]
The boss transformed into a Yokai as Bubblegum took off sprinting.
“Su-Yeon! FULL COUNTER!!”
“?”