The complete Gorgon's rock carapace not only possessed overwhelming physical resistance but also had an insane magical defense trait that reduced the effects of the opponent's magic by more than half.
Moreover, being entirely made of stone, as long as there were rocks and dirt around, it could recover from any damage.
In short, it was damn hard and could recover quickly too.
It was undoubtedly a tough opponent to defeat with straightforward methods.
‘It’s one of the most challenging named monsters in the latter part of the game.’
Such a creature had invaded while our main force was away.
This game is played so dirtily!
‘Naturally, it’s too much for just Lucas and Evangeline to handle.’
No matter how endgame their specs are, this knight duo is essentially a straightforward vanguard class.
To defeat such a gimmick-laden boss monster, we also need to use every dirty and cunning trick in the book.
And now that the rest of our main force is back, we have all those dirty and cunning tricks at our disposal!
"We end this in one swift strike!"
Dragging out the fight would only be advantageous for Medusa, who could regenerate with stone.
Quick and decisive!
We need to strike with full force and finish it in the blink of an eye!
"Junior!"
As I commanded, Junior, who had finished casting and was waiting, raised his staff.
Tzing-!
A brilliant halo rose in the sky, and space shattered as Junior's ultimate skill unfolded.
[Elemental Disassembly].
This ultimate debuff skill against bosses, cutting down the opponent's magic and grinding away magical defense and possessed magic, hit Medusa squarely.
"Kuk?!"
But even though it hit precisely, Junior frowned as if something was not right.
"There must be some special protective function... The effect and duration are only about half of what they usually are."
"That's enough!"
Kwagwang! Kwagwagwang-!
Medusa broke through the magic barrier I had set up and tried to leap into the air.
But by then, my heroes had already closed in on Medusa.
To the girl with long black hair, wearing a silver crown at the forefront - Dusk Bringar - I shouted.
"Capture her in mid-air-!"
"I was going to do that anyway!"
Taht-!
The small-footed Dragon Lady leaped off the ground, crossing the air, and grabbed Medusa's shoulders just as she spread her wings to take off.
For a moment, Dusk Bringar and Medusa's eyes met.
Even under the protection of the spirit, fearless of the petrifying evil eye, Dusk Bringar smiled wickedly.
"Pleased to meet you, monster of myth! I too carry the blood of that era!"
"You, a half-breed lizard, dare to compare yourself to me...!"
Ha-hat- Bursting into a ringing laugh, Dusk Bringar, with her pointed small mouth wide open,
"Isn't it the same for both of us, mixed-breed monsters?!"
Flash-!
She unleashed her breath.
The power of her dragon kind was fully unleashed.
Terrible heat and light spread in all directions.
"Kyaaaak?!"
The primitive energy unleashed by the Dragon Lady melted away the monster's rocky carapace without hesitation.
Even Medusa, the terror of the world, let out a pain-filled scream.
Dusk Bringar cleverly weakened Medusa's carapace while also burning her wings.
After finishing her breath attack, Dusk Bringar smiled, spewing flames from her mouth.
"...That's me running on empty, Ash."
Puhuk-!
Immediately after, Dusk Bringar was struck by one of Medusa's tails and sent flying far away, rolling on the ground.
Great job!
"Kuuuh, uhuhuh...!"
Even a half-dragon is still a dragon. The power of their might is real.
With its magical defense severely reduced by [Elemental Disassembly], and having taken a direct hit from the dragon breath at close range, Medusa was in a terrible state.
Swept by high heat, its entire body was glowing red hot.
‘Now, what process does a rock undergo to become soil or sand?’
Simply put, it's weathering and erosion.
Heated by the sun, swept by rain and stream water, and pushed downwards, rocks that are beaten by the forces of nature gradually break into smaller pieces.
The same principle can be applied to break the rocky carapace of the rock monster Medusa.
"Now that it’s heated up... it's time to douse it with cold water!"
I gestured to Junior once more.
"Come on, Junior! Let's push even harder to celebrate your recovery!"
"Is it right to work me this hard right after I've recovered...?!"
Even while catching his breath, Junior cast the next spell.
After all, a mage is a crucial strategic weapon and is naturally destined to be overworked!
But don't worry, I'll take good care of you during non-combat times!
"Haat!"
Junior's staff tip flashed with blue light, and the next moment, dark clouds gathered above Medusa's head, and then-
Sssaaaah!
A water bomb was released.
The rainwater in the swirling dark clouds came together under high pressure, creating a literal water bomb.
The cold water bomb, falling precisely on Medusa's heated body, cooled it down instantly while its massive weight slammed the monster to the ground.
Medusa, trying to fly even with its damaged wings, ended up not just kneeling on the ground but also having its head smashed into the earth.
How do you like the newly opened water park!
Whisk- Puk!
And now, seizing the opportunity with Medusa down, a small dagger flew towards it, and then,
Flash!
Immediately after grabbing the handle of that dagger, Verdandi, with her long green hair fluttering, teleported next to Medusa.
[Blink Knife].
Commonly known as the Flash Dagger.
Using this dagger that teleports the user to its thrown location, Verdandi, who had approached Medusa from behind, drew two more daggers in each hand and then,
Chaaaak-!
Cross-sliced them.
Medusa's hair - the mass of snakes.
The artistic sword strikes left blue trails in the air, and the snakes, entangled like a single creature, were cut apart, spraying purple venom as they fell.
"Kuk!"
It was a fatal strike for Verdandi too, as the daggers she used broke, and blood gushed from her torn hands.
"You, insolent elf...!"
The water stream soon ceased, and Medusa, staggering to her feet, opened her mouth to unleash a sonic wave.
Verdandi twisted her body to dodge but couldn't completely avoid it and was flung backward.
‘Well done, Verdandi!’
The complete Gorgon, once it loses a certain amount of health, uses the snakes on its head for a 360-degree petrifying evil eye barrage pattern.
And that's a key gimmick in its next phase.
‘You think I don’t know about your phase transition!’
Therefore, it was essential to remove it before that phase transition, and Verdandi successfully achieved that by destroying the part.
"Huff, huff..."
Medusa, drained of magic, hit by the breath, the water bomb, and now having its snake hair cut off, looked disoriented.
But what a pity, the real fight starts now!
Toohak-!
With a loud noise of hitting the ground, a muscular man charged towards Medusa's side.
The red-maned martial artist.
The leader of the Punishment Squad, chief of the Leaf Wolf tribe, and now should be called the Beast King, Kuilan.
‘We've melted the rock with heat and eroded it with water.’
So what should we use to shatter this now frail rock?
"Of course! A physical attack with impact properties!"
And undoubtedly, our best striker is Kuilan, who has completed his King's training!
Chaaaaak!
"Huup!"
With a fierce step, Kuilan closed in on Medusa and fired his fists like cannonballs.
Puck! Puck! Pukk! Kwajik-!
Kuilan's violent combination relentlessly struck Medusa's entire body.
Body blow, hook, uppercut, jab, straight-
With each hit, Kuilan's fists sent shockwaves in all directions upon impact with the monster's body.
Kwajik! Kwajijijik!
The rocky carapace, already weakened by the Dragon Lady's breath and Junior's water bomb, began to shatter hopelessly.
"Yiek!"
Medusa, trying to shake off Kuilan, swung its massive tail and limbs wrapped in enormous strength.
But Kuilan smoothly stepped and dodged, ducking and weaving, narrowly avoiding all the attacks.
"This rat-like thing...!"
"Quite a big rat, aren't I?"
Kuilan, wryly smiling and flicking his eyebrows, provoked Medusa, who was charging her petrifying evil eye.
Kiiiiing!
However,
Kugugugung!
I'll block that.
I created a magic barrier first, protecting Kuilan from Medusa's evil eye.
The petrifying evil eye is powerful.
The complete Gorgon activates it rapidly.
However, due to its immense power, there's a noticeable delay before activation - what's called 'pre-delay', and my barrier creation could fit right into that gap.
Kiiing! Kiiiiing!
Medusa, like having a seizure, kept grinding out the petrifying evil eye, but I blocked all those attacks with my barrier creation.
After all, the evil eye is just a linear skill that works where the sight reaches.
Block the sight, and it becomes useless...!
"Phew! Thanks, boss!"
While I was blocking the evil eye like this, Kuilan behind the barrier gathered his strength and-
"Secret technique."
Unleashed his special move.
"Heart-Piercing Wind Wolf-!"
Cheeak-!
Seizing the gap between the evil eye barrages, Kuilan lunged forward, delivering a powerful punch, and his ultimate move exploded right in the center of Medusa's chest.
Cheejejejejeck!
"Kyaaaak...?!"
Starting from the chest, the rock carapace covering the monster's body cracked vividly.
And,
"-I see it."
Beside me, the strongest cheat character, Damien, had been waiting quietly.
Damien was aiming his rifle at Medusa all this while, waiting for the moment when the monster's core, usually protected by layers of rocky carapace, was exposed.
And then, in an instant.
As Kuilan's ultimate move exploded and the rocky carapace was momentarily neutralized, Damien caught sight of it.
The enemy monster's weak point.
Emitting a white flash from his round brown eyes, Damien didn't hesitate to pull the trigger.
Tookang-!
In his hand, the Nightmare Slayer, [Black Queen], spat out tremendous muzzle flames.
The bullet shot straight into Medusa's neck and chest.
The thick rock carapace shattered, scattering dust in all directions.
The complete Gorgon's rock carapace took Damien's shot.
But for a moment, as the carapace shattered, even I could see clearly.
A core resembling three overlapping circles, like a Venn diagram, was ominously flickering inside.
"...!"
And Medusa, or rather the other two sisters she absorbed, tried to regenerate their carapace instinctively to block the bullet.
Kkudeuk, Kkudeudeuk...!
With a gruesome sound, the rock carapace from all over its body gathered around the monster's chest.
But Damien was relentless.
Tookang! Tookang! Tookang-!
Unyielding, sharp sniping continued to pierce Medusa's chest.
The rock carapace was holding on somehow, but with constant regeneration and destruction, it became thinner and more fragile.
And Damien continued to hit its center with unerring aim and shooting.
"Don't, don't laugh...!"
Its entire carapace stripped off, snake hair cut off, and wings and tail tattered.
"Would I, carrying my sisters' lives, fall in such a place...?!"
Refusing to give up, Medusa attempted to fly away, seemingly trying to escape the situation.
Taht!
Medusa leaped off the ground and soared into the sky.
I was about to take urgent measures to stop the monster's flight, but it wasn't necessary.
"...!"
This is the southern plains of Crossroad.
And suddenly, on the southern wall, the regular soldiers of Crossroad were densely lined up, aiming their cannons at us.
Our eyes met with the soldiers.
They nodded, and I, smiling faintly, energetically swung my hand down and shouted.
"Fire-! Show it the crossfire of Crossroad!"
Bang! Pabababang!
Cannons fired from the wall as if they were waiting for the command.
We could have been caught in the bombardment since we were in the southern plains, but I wasn't worried.
I knew and trusted my artillerymen's shooting skills more than anyone, having faced monsters for the past two years!
Kwagwagwang-!
Incredibly precise cannonballs hit Medusa in mid-air.
"Kyaaaak!"
Medusa screamed in agony, completely engulfed in flames.
The rock carapace, except for its chest, had been mostly destroyed.
The crossfire exploding on its back finally succeeded in inflicting damage on the monster-
As Medusa writhed in pain in the air, it was nothing but a stationary target for Damien.
"Last shot."
Tookwaang-!
Damien fired the last, seventh bullet from [Black Queen].
The bullets of this Nightmare Slayer grow stronger as the magazine empties.
And this final seventh bullet was immensely powerful, capable of piercing through anything.
Medusa, desperately extending its hands to block, was too late. The bullet, like a beam of light, pierced through those hands and-
Pwook...!
Pierced through the monster's chest and shattered its core.
--TL Notes--
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