"Graaaaa!!!"
I immediately left the room and killed the other three intruders near me after I heard a loud growl from the party hall. They were laughing eerily, knowing their plan had succeeded.
It was bad. This was the worst situation that I could imagine, but also the best one to get Queen Eve's favor.
While Tris was there, she couldn't protect all the guests. I saw Cleric also engaged against Cerberus as Tris followed Queen Eve and Duke Blacktomb. Mafula and the others exited the room, guiding the panicked guests.
As for the Grand Marshal, they also returned to the Queen's side as the intruders ran away. They would be dealt with by Emilia and Beatrice, so I wasn't worried.
'This is really troublesome.'
My position was a bit away from the party hall; it took me a few seconds at full speed before I could arrive and assist Cleric.
When I burst into the hall, only Cleric and Cerberus remained. The hall was pretty much destroyed, with a purple fire burning here and there.
The walls cracked, and some ground gouged out and had traces of getting cut. On one of the walls, Cleric's pathetic figure hung in the crack with a bitter smile. A golden sword was in his hand, but apparently, he couldn't move.
As proof, he didn't do anything when Cerberus raised its paw and was about to claw him.
To save him, I moved immediately.
"<Blink>"
Appearing beside Cerberus, I heard Cleric's voice.
"I'll leave this one to you, Arthur."
Just as he said that, he lost consciousness and fell to the ground; the sword in his hand disappeared, returning to wherever he took it from. How convenient.
Still… I answered him.
"Yeah, sure."
I kicked the giant dog with full strength, sending it flying. It crashed against some pillars, destroying them in the process before it stopped by the wall. A small crater was formed when it fell to the ground, and it growled at me in anger.
"Play with me next, doggie." I taunted with a smirk and made a motion with my hand. While doing so, I put <Holy Barrier> around this place so no one could enter and get involved in this fight.
[Caliburn] in my hand hummed to answer me as I injected MP and activated various buffs, including <Limit Break>, to finish this faster.
If I delayed my fight any longer, this Royal Castle might be destroyed. For the same reason, I couldn't use <Sonic Sword> or <Dimensional Breaker>. Not even <Mountain Cleaver> could be used unless I wanted to destroy this beautiful hall.
'How troublesome.' I sighed in exasperation. 'Still… This Boss-rank monster is a solo-type raid boss. At least it's not as strong as Scylla.'
The destruction the fight between Cleric and Cerberus caused was too small for it to be a raid-type Boss. The area around the giant Hell Gate in the middle of the party hall was also somehow unharmed as if a barrier protected it.
"Graa!"
Just as I was lost in my thoughts, Cerberus' three heads opened their mouths and spewed a torrent of purple flames toward me.
I couldn't avoid it as Cleric was unconscious behind me. So I raised [Caliburn] and met the giant fireball, created from merging the flames, head-on.
"<Sword Breaker>." I activated a skill, and my blade glowed blue, humming slightly. Moving my hand slowly, I cut the fireball in two.
Every Skill evolved once they reached the Max Lv. And as a part of my <Swordsmanship> skill, <Sword Breaker> wasn't only able to break a sword but also that of skill lower level than 5. The flames sent by Cerberus earlier were equivalent to Lv 4 skill, so I was able to cut it cleanly.
Still… Wasn't this monster underestimating me too much?
I saw another fireball coming just right behind the one I cut. It was bigger than before, and the flame was condensed tightly. If I cut this one, it might explode and damage me.
But… It was also useless.
"Scylla."
I called out to my second pet.
Hearing my call, Scylla jumped from my back and turned as big as Cerberus. She stood in front of me and raised her tentacles.
"<Water Shield>"
Water gushes out from the ground, destroying it and creating a large wall in front of us. An explosion occurred when the fireball collided with the water wall created by Scylla.
Boom!
Hot steam rose and filled the room immediately. Normal people wouldn't be able to survive inside this room anymore, and the sight became limited due to how thick the white vapor was.
Still, it was no problem for me. I heightened my senses and tracked Cerberus. The monster stood in front of the Hell Gate, growling loudly and causing the room to shake.
What was strange was that the wound in its body began to heal when the purple fog touched it.
"Regeneration?" I muttered as my eyes widened. "I can't allow that. Protect Cleric, Scylla."
"Understood…"
I lowered my stance and dashed forward between Scylla's tentacles, rushing toward where Cerberus was. As I ran, I brought my sword back and activated another skill.
"<Pierce>!"
A sharp light flew as I thrust my sword forward. Even a simple <Pierce> could destroy a Boss-rank monster's head once I used all kinds of buffs available.
Getting caught off guard, Cerberus tried to avoid my strike but was too late. My sword pierced its left head cleanly, and I severed it with a single stroke.
Purple blood gushed out like a fountain from the severed head as the fire dimmed.
Thud!
The severed head fell to the floor, cracking it. It should put a large amount of damage on this monster.
"Agarrr!!"
"GRUuuurur!!"
Two heads glared at me with their purple flames and spewed torrents of flame in my direction. I dodged by jumping back and landed a bit away from Cerberus.
Just as I landed, I was about to attack it again but halted on my track. A purple fog that seeped out from the gate turned thicker, turning into a formless hand, and carefully attached the severed head before going back to its place.
I immediately used <Appraisal> on Cerberus once again.
Cerberus
Level 95
HP: 25710/26000
MP: 5905/6500
A monster that guarded the gate of Hell. It was a hellhound with three burning heads and skeleton-like limbs. The Hellfire is burning endlessly on its eye sockets. Whenever the gate of Hell appears, this monster shall guard it. Whoever is killed by this guard dog will be dragged to Hell.
Extra Note: It can regenerate its wound using miasma from Hell
It was fucking unfair. I hated a monster like this.
'Not even [Caliburn] can stop its regeneration with its passive effect that imbues <Holy Magic> to the sword. Should I try using <Holy Magic> directly?'
"<Purification>"
I aimed my skill at Cerberus. Its giant body was covered in a bright, golden light. And then… It cried loudly.
"Grrrrrar!!!!"
"Rawwwrr!!"
"Gurrrr…"
It seemed painful. When I checked with <Appraisal> once again, I saw his HP was chipped off.
As expected, it was weak against <Holy Magic>. Once again, I applied the buff I hadn't used yet onto [Caliburn].
"<Holy Enhancement>."
Noticing the danger I could pose to it, Cerberus ran toward me at full speed, thinking it could stop me from using the enhancement.
When it got close, I lowered my stance and swung my sword upward.
"<Whirlwind>"
Fury blade of winds created from my simple movement, each was imbued with <Holy Magic>, turning the usually green-colored skill into golden wind blades.
Cerberus' body was cut here and there without it being able to defend against the attack. Purple blood spurted and covered the ground as it cried loudly, staggering back before jumping to dodge my skill.
That was a bad move. It was in the air, unable to dodge anything. And currently, no one was on the higher floors of Royal Castle, so any attack was okay.
"Sorry, Queen Eve. There is no other way. I will pay for the reconstruction fee."
After muttering that, I extended my open palm toward Cerberus and exclaimed.
"<Holy Ray>"
A large light beam shot from my palm like a laser. The beam's diameter was 10 meters wide, and it engulfed the large dog's whole body without sparing any inch.
Inside, I could see its body disintegrate due to the sheer amount of MP and power I put in this skill. It wasn't called the ultimate magic from Max Lv <Holy Magic> without any backup. Any monsters with weaknesses against <Holy Magic> would be injured greatly with this skill.
And combined with my ridiculous status and passive effect from [Caliburn], it could even be called a one-hit skill.
Ka-boom, I said.
The ray of light pierced through the ceiling, creating a large hole extending to the sky. The cloudy sky was visible, and when the light ray passed through, the cloud disappeared and showed me a beautiful crescent moon.
Cerberus was nowhere to be seen. It completely disintegrated inside the <Holy Ray> without leaving any bones.
"Perfect." I nodded in satisfaction as I saw the big red dot disappearing from my radar. But I couldn't rest easily yet.
Turning into the ominous door that kept spewing curses and eerie purple fog, I sighed. There was no clue on how to deal with this kind of stuff. The dictionary or Holy Book didn't even say anything about Hell Gate!
So, I was left with one choice. And that was…
"My Goddess… Please do something about this gate."
… Let other people deal with it for me.
