Chapter 12: The Dark Spirit Dungeon Boss

The Dark Spirit didn’t give them time to make a plan. Its body suddenly dissolved into black smoke.

Chris immediately looked around, trying to locate it, but the smoke seemed to disappear into the darkness of the cavern.

"Stay close!"

Azreon moved toward him, both of them watching their surroundings.

A faint movement suddenly came from behind.

Chris turned around.

The Dark Spirit emerged from the smoke directly behind Azreon, its claw already swinging toward the dragon.

"Azreon!"

Azreon twisted his body and raised one claw.

*CLANG!*

The Dark Spirit’s claw struck his scales, leaving several deep scratches before Azreon managed to push it away.

The monster immediately disappeared again.

Chris gritted his teeth.

’That smoke ability is going to be troublesome.’

They had already seen how the Dark Spirits could use it, but this Level 40 monster was on another level. It could disappear almost instantly and reappear wherever it wanted.

Before Chris could think of a way to counter it, the Dark Spirit appeared across the cavern.

Dark energy gathered around its body, and several black daggers formed in the air around it.

Chris’s expression changed.

"Azreon, watch out!"

The daggers shot toward them.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Chris and Azreon immediately moved in different directions.

The daggers struck the stone floor and walls, leaving deep cracks wherever they hit.

One passed directly beside Chris’s face, and another tore through his armor at the shoulder.

*Rip!*

Pain shot through his body, but he kept moving.

"Fire!"

Azreon opened his mouth and released a powerful stream of flames.

The fire spread across the cavern, destroying several of the dark daggers before they reached them.

The remaining ones curved around the flames and continued toward Chris.

He ducked beneath one and rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding another.

’They can change direction.’

That made the ability even more dangerous.

The Dark Spirit raised its hand again, and more daggers appeared.

Chris realized they couldn’t simply keep dodging them.

"Azreon, burn everything around us!"

The dragon roared.

A wide wave of flames spread outward, covering the area around them.

The incoming daggers were destroyed by the fire before they could reach them.

For a moment, the Dark Spirit didn’t attack.

’It seems that his fire is our only advantage...’

The Dark Spirit suddenly turned into smoke again.

Chris didn’t move.

"Keep the flames around us!"

Azreon continued releasing fire while Chris watched the smoke.

The dark mist moved around them, searching for an opening.

Then it suddenly appeared above Chris.

He immediately raised his sword.

The Dark Spirit’s claw struck the blade instead of his head.

*Clang!*

The force of the attack pushed Chris backward.

Before the monster could follow up, Azreon’s flames swept across its body.

The Dark Spirit turned into smoke again to escape, but Chris didn’t let the opportunity go to waste.

He rushed through the flames and swung his sword toward the smoke.

But the blade passed through harmlessly, and the monster reappeared several meters away.

Chris frowned.

’We need to force it to stay solid.’

He looked at Azreon.

"Don’t stop using your fire. If it turns into smoke, burn the area around it!"

Azreon roared in response.

They changed their strategy. Instead of chasing the Dark Spirit, they controlled the battlefield with Azreon’s flames.

Whenever the monster turned into smoke, Azreon’s fire forced it to move or reappear somewhere else.

Whenever it became solid, Chris attacked.

It wasn’t enough to overpower the monster, but it prevented it from attacking them freely.

The Dark Spirit suddenly appeared at Chris’s side.

He barely managed to turn around.

*Rip!*

Its claw tore across his stomach, cutting through his armor and leaving another bleeding wound.

Chris gritted his teeth and swung his sword.

But the Dark Spirit disappeared before the blade could reach it, and a moment later, several dark daggers appeared above him.

Chris looked up.

"Shit!"

Daggers rained down.

He immediately ran toward Azreon’s flames.

Several daggers struck the ground behind him, while one cut across his thigh.

He stumbled but managed to remain standing.

Azreon roared and released another burst of fire, destroying the remaining daggers.

Chris glanced down at his wounds.

His chest, shoulder, stomach, and thigh were already bleeding.

’This is going to get ugly.’

The Dark Spirit appeared again.

This time, Chris didn’t retreat.

"Azreon!"

The dragon immediately understood.

He flew toward the monster from above while Chris charged from the opposite direction.

The Dark Spirit created another group of daggers and sent them toward Chris.

He blocked one with his sword and avoided another, but a third sliced across his arm.

He ignored the pain and kept moving.

Azreon reached the monster first, and the Dark Spirit started turning into smoke again.

Azreon immediately released fire directly into the black mist, and the smoke twisted violently.

The monster was forced to reappear right when Chris attacked.

He swung his sword.

*Slash!*

The blade cut across the Dark Spirit’s shoulder, and dark blood spilled from the wound.

The monster staggered.

Azreon followed immediately with a claw strike.

*Boom!*

The Dark Spirit was thrown several meters away.

Chris’s eyes widened.

’We can do this.’

For the first time, they had managed to attack the monster in perfect coordination.

The Dark Spirit stood again.

It looked furious.

Chris and Azreon didn’t give it time to recover.

Azreon attacked from above while Chris rushed forward from the ground.

The Dark Spirit blocked Chris’s sword with one claw and tried to disappear, but Azreon’s flames immediately surrounded it.

The monster was forced to remain solid.

Chris twisted his sword and struck again.

The Dark Spirit blocked the attack, but Azreon hit it from the side.

The monster stumbled.

Chris quickly attacked again, and this time, his sword cut across its side.

The Dark Spirit retreated. Its movements had become more desperate.

Chris could see it clearly now.

They were slowly overwhelming it.

"Don’t let it escape!"

Azreon roared and charged, and Chris followed.

The Dark Spirit suddenly created another group of dark daggers. Dozens of them formed around its body.

Chris immediately raised his sword.

"Fire!"

Azreon unleashed his flames.

The cavern was illuminated by fire as the dark daggers collided with the flames and disappeared one after another.

The Dark Spirit tried to use the opportunity to turn into smoke, but Chris was already moving.

He rushed directly toward it.

The moment the monster reappeared, his sword struck its arm, and the Dark Spirit screamed.

Azreon immediately attacked from the other side.

The dragon’s claws slammed into its body, sending it crashing to the ground.

Chris stood over it, breathing heavily. Blood covered his body.

His armor was torn in several places, and bleeding scratches covered most of his body.[

Azreon wasn’t in much better condition. His scales were covered in scratches, but thankfully, there were no signs of internal damage.

The Dark Spirit slowly stood again.

Chris tightened his grip around his sword.

"Just a little more..."

But then he noticed something.

The Dark Spirit wasn’t attacking. Dark energy was beginning to gather around its body.

At first, it was only a thin layer. Then more and more energy appeared, until the monster’s entire body became surrounded by black energy.

Chris’s expression changed.

"Azreon!"

The dragon looked toward him.

"Carry me up! Fly toward the top of the cave!"

Azreon immediately rushed toward Chris.

Chris grabbed onto him as Azreon spread his wings and flew upward. They rapidly gained altitude.

Below them, the Dark Spirit remained completely still.

The dark energy surrounding it continued growing.

"What is this thing doing?"

Chris’s instincts screamed that something terrible was about to happen.

"Keep going!"

Azreon flew higher.

Then the Dark Spirit suddenly roared loudly and released all of the gathered energy.

*BOOOOOOM!*

A massive explosion erupted from its body.

The entire cavern shook.

The ground around the monster was destroyed instantly as a wave of dark energy expanded in every direction.

Huge chunks of stone were thrown into the air.

The explosion raced toward the walls and ceiling, destroying everything in its path.

Azreon desperately climbed higher, and the destructive wave passed beneath them.

Chris felt the force of the explosion even from above.

"Keep going!"

Azreon roared and pushed himself even harder.

For a moment, Chris thought they wouldn’t make it, but the wave finally passed.

The cavern became filled with dust and falling debris.

Chris looked down, and his eyes widened.

A huge pit had been created where the Dark Spirit had stood, and the entire floor around it had been destroyed.

The monster was still there, but it looked different.

Its body was trembling, and the dark energy around its body had disappeared.

Chris immediately understood.

’That attack must have exhausted it.’

The Dark Spirit had sacrificed almost all of its energy for that single attack.

It was weakened.

Chris looked at Azreon.

"Now!"

Azreon immediately began descending.

Chris held onto him as they flew toward the center of the cavern.

The Dark Spirit looked up.

Azreon opened his mouth, and a powerful stream of fire shot downward.

The monster was instantly engulfed in flames.

Chris released his grip, and he jumped from Azreon towards the monster.

His body dropped through the air.

He held his sword with both hands, pointing the blade toward the monster below.

"Die!"

He plunged downward with all his remaining strength.

*BOOM!*

The sword pierced directly through the Dark Spirit’s chest.

The monster let out a roar, but it was still alive.

Its claw immediately grabbed the sword.

Chris’s eyes widened.

The Dark Spirit tightened its grip.

*Crack!*

The sword shattered in its hand.

Chris’s heart sank.

’My sword!’

The monster raised its other claw. It was about to strike him.

Chris had no weapon left and was too close to dodge.

"Not good!"

*ROAR!*

Azreon came crashing down from above, and his jaws clamped around the Dark Spirit’s head.

The monster struggled and tried to turn into smoke, but it was already too weak.

Azreon tightened his jaws.

With a powerful jerk of his head...

*CRACK!*

The Dark Spirit’s head was ripped from its body.

Its body collapsed, and the dark energy around it vanished completely.

The cavern became silent.

Chris landed heavily beside the monster’s body. His legs gave out almost immediately, and he slumped onto the ground.

He was breathing heavily. His entire body was covered in bleeding scratches, and blood was dripping from several wounds.

Azreon landed beside him.

The dragon was covered in scratches as well, but his scales had protected him from serious internal damage.

Chris looked at him and managed a tired smile.

"We finally did it..."

Azreon lowered his head beside him.

Chris let out a weak laugh.

"We actually killed a Level 40 monster."

A system notification suddenly appeared.

[Congratulations! Dungeon cleared.]

[Distributing Rewards.]

[Received: 1x Rare Chest, 2x Uncommon Health Potion, 2x Uncommon Mana Potion.]

Chris stared at the notification. He remained silent for a few seconds.

Then his mouth twitched.

"...That’s it!?"

He looked around the destroyed cavern.

They had nearly died, his sword had been destroyed, his entire body was covered in wounds.

Azreon was covered in scratches.

And their reward was...

"Just a single rare chest and a few uncommon potions?"

Chris laughed in exasperation.

"Hahaha... We almost died for this?"

Azreon gave a tired roar.

Chris shook his head. At least they had survived.

"And at least we managed to increase our level rapidly inside of this dungeon. It was worth it..."

He slowly pushed himself up and looked around the cavern. He was a bout to approache the Dark Spirit to take out its beast core.

Suddenly, a strange light had appeared in the middle of the cave. The light grew brighter until it formed a large circular portal.

Chris stared at it.

"That should be the exit..."