Chapter 253: The Silver-Moon Pack, Nocturnal Apex

The colossal, blindingly white wolf standing at the front of the pack didn’t possess a standard Dark Demon tag.

[Zone Boss Spawn: Fenrir Emperor]

[Tier: Celestial]

[Level: 60]

[HP: 5,000,000 / 5,000,000]

A Level 60 Celestial Boss. Five million base health. And because of the night cycle buff, its actual effective health pool and damage output were mathematically doubled.

"Ten million effective health," Dante calculated quietly, adjusting his grip on the [Dawn-Breaker Blade]. "And I can’t stun them."

He couldn’t rely on [Phantom Dash] to lock them down with sonic booms. The immunity buffs would completely ignore the crowd control. If he tried to use [Cyclone of Ruin] to sweep the pack away, the massive, doubled physical stats of the wolves would likely allow them to power through the Zenith-tier wind and maul him inside the vortex.

He couldn’t use [Asura’s Descent] to drop his defense to zero and burst them down. Against forty incredibly fast, highly agile predators with doubled attack power, he would be instantly vaporized by overlapping chip damage before he could finish a swing, even with his massive health pool.

He needed to control the engagement. He needed to dictate the pace of the fight.

"Seren," Dante ordered, not taking his eyes off the Fenrir Emperor. "Do not step outside the starlight dome. If a wolf gets close, do not try to run. Aura’s shield will absorb the first hit. I will handle the rest."

Seren nodded frantically, clutching the fabric of her tattered silver dress.

The Fenrir Emperor didn’t roar. It didn’t posture or attempt to intimidate the tiny human standing in its territory.

It simply lowered its massive, glowing white head and let out a low, incredibly deep, localized growl that vibrated the frozen mud beneath Dante’s boots.

It was a command.

The forty Silver-Moon Fenrirs moved instantly.

They didn’t charge in a chaotic, disorganized mob like the corrupted hounds in the Wyrmrest Caverns. They moved with terrifying, flawless pack tactics.

They split into four distinct groups of ten. One group charged directly at Dante’s front. The other three groups blurred into the dark shadows of the tree line, rapidly flanking him from the left, right, and rear, intending to completely overwhelm his defensive guard in a perfectly synchronized, 360-degree assault.

"They’re flanking!" Seren shrieked, pointing at the glowing silver eyes rapidly circling them in the dark.

"I see them," Dante said.

He didn’t panic. He didn’t try to activate [Meteor Stride] to escape the encirclement. He needed to protect the Princess, and teleporting away would leave her completely exposed.

He sheathed the [Dawn-Breaker Blade].

A standard Gold-tier sword wasn’t going to cut it against doubled defensive stats and absolute CC immunity. He needed something that bypassed the systemic rules entirely.

Dante held out his right hand.

The black brand on his wrist didn’t just flare; it violently burned. The thick, glowing white veins of the [Source Code Fragment] pulsed aggressively against his skin.

Thick, light-absorbing black smoke erupted from his palm, instantly condensing into the massive, jagged shape of [Voidsever].

The primordial greatsword let out a high-pitched, predatory scream as it materialized, actively devouring the dim, ambient light of the swamp.

The charging wolves didn’t slow down. Their Gold-tier AI didn’t recognize the cosmic weight of the weapon.

"You think you’re immune to crowd control?" Dante whispered, raising the massive black blade.

He didn’t swing it. He didn’t activate an attack skill.

He opened his system interface, navigating to the newly unlocked, active skills tied to the primordial weapon.

He had absorbed the [Primal Earth Core] to unlock [Calamity - Wrath].

But before that, he had executed the massive, sleeping bear in the crater of Mount Daqing. He had absorbed the localized essence of a primordial sin.

He targeted the massive, blindingly white Fenrir Emperor standing at the edge of the clearing.

[Skill Executed: Calamity - Sloth]

The jagged black blade of Voidsever didn’t glow. It didn’t release a massive, flashy projectile.

A localized, completely invisible wave of absolute, primordial lethargy pulsed outward from the sword. The wave didn’t travel slowly; it expanded instantly, washing completely over the entire one-mile radius of the frozen swamp.

The Zenith Protocol’s combat engine didn’t bother calculating resistance checks. It didn’t check the wolves’ massive, night-cycle immunity buffs.

The Calamity skills embedded in [Voidsever] operated on absolute, cosmic/admin priority. They were fundamental, system-breaking overrides.

[Passive Triggered: Absolute Sleep.]

[Warning: This effect bypasses all systemic immunities, level scaling, and localized buffs. Duration: 30 Seconds.]

The effect was instantaneous and absolutely flawless.

The ten Silver-Moon Fenrirs charging directly at Dante didn’t stagger. They didn’t slow down gracefully.

They simply went completely, utterly limp in mid-air.

Their massive, heavily muscled bodies crashed heavily onto the solid permafrost, sliding to a halt just inches from Dante’s iron boots. Their glowing silver eyes snapped shut. Their aggressive, panting breaths instantly slowed to deep, rhythmic, localized snoring.

The thirty wolves flanking through the dark tree line suffered the exact same fate. The sounds of cracking branches and rustling leaves abruptly ceased, replaced by the heavy thuds of massive beasts collapsing into the frozen mud, instantly fast asleep.

At the edge of the clearing, the massive, Level 60 Celestial Fenrir Emperor didn’t even have time to roar in confusion.

The towering boss’s legs buckled. It crashed heavily onto its side, its blinding white fur dimming slightly as it fell into an immediate, unbreakable coma.

The entire clearing was dead silent, save for the soft, synchronized snoring of forty-one massive apex predators.

Seren stared at the sleeping wolves surrounding the starlight dome. Her jaw was hanging completely open.

"What... what just happened?" the Princess whispered in absolute, unfiltered disbelief. "They had absolute immunity to crowd control. They are the apex of the night cycle."

"The system gave them immunity," Dante corrected her smoothly, resting the massive black blade of Voidsever on his shoulder. "My sword ignores the system."

He checked the localized timer on his system interface.

[Calamity - Sloth Duration: 00:00:28]

"Twenty-eight seconds," Dante noted. "That’s plenty of time."

He didn’t wait for the timer to tick down. He needed to clear the trash mobs before focusing on the Emperor.

He didn’t activate [Asura’s Descent]. He didn’t want the defense penalty if the boss miraculously woke up early. He didn’t need the massive 900% damage boost for sleeping targets.

He needed volume, not burst.

He raised his free left hand.

[Skill Executed: Aether-Blade Storm]

Because of his [Chrono-Shift] talent, the Zenith-tier defensive skill had zero casting time and zero mana cost.

One hundred glowing, silver broadswords instantly materialized in the air around him. They formed a massive, swirling metallic halo, humming aggressively in the silent, frozen swamp.

Dante didn’t leave them hovering defensively. He pointed his dark purple gauntlet at the sleeping wolves scattered around the clearing.

"Execute," Dante commanded.

The hundred phantom swords didn’t hesitate. They actively sought out the nearest hostile entities.

The silver blades shot outward like localized, targeted missiles. They slammed into the sleeping Silver-Moon Fenrirs.

Upon contact, the phantom swords violently exploded.

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

The explosions dealt 1,000% True Damage directly to the attackers. Because the wolves were asleep, they couldn’t mitigate or evade the strikes.

The True Damage completely bypassed their doubled, night-cycle defensive stats.

[-150,000! OVERKILL!]

[-150,000! OVERKILL!]

The Level 60 Dark Demon wolves didn’t even twitch before they died. Their massive health pools were instantly vaporized by the sheer, unmitigated kinetic force of the exploding phantom blades.

They shattered into massive clouds of blue and silver polygons, instantly deleted from the server without ever waking up.

Dante relentlessly spammed the skill. Because [Chrono-Shift] removed the cooldown, the destroyed phantom swords instantly regenerated, maintaining the perfect, impenetrable swirling halo.

He walked slowly across the frozen mud, directing waves of exploding silver swords into the tree line, systematically, effortlessly deleting the thirty flanking wolves while they slept.

In less than ten seconds, the entire pack of forty elite predators was completely eradicated.

[Target Eliminated: Silver-Moon Fenrir x40]

[Experience Gained.]

The clearing was empty, save for the massive, towering form of the sleeping Fenrir Emperor and a mountain of dropped loot.

Dante dismissed the [Aether-Blade Storm]. The remaining silver swords dissolved into harmless light.

He checked the timer.

[Calamity - Sloth Duration: 00:00:15]

Fifteen seconds remaining on the sleep debuff.

Dante walked over to the massive, sleeping Celestial boss. The Emperor’s white fur practically glowed in the dark, the creature’s chest rising and falling in deep, slow breaths.

"Your turn," Dante whispered.

He gripped the dark bone hilt of Voidsever with both hands. He didn’t want to use [Abyssal Cleave]. He didn’t want a massive spatial fracture to accidentally shatter the permafrost and drop them back into the gravity mud.

He needed a clean, surgical execution.

He opened his localized pet interface.

"Erebus," Dante commanded quietly.

He didn’t summon the little girl physically. He didn’t need her reality-warping commands for this.

He accessed the absolute, lore-breaking passive ability he had inherited through their Master-Servant contract.

[Skill Activated: Death’s Duel]