S-Rank Tower, Golden Gate Bridge.
The boss of this place is unknown.
No one has ever reached the boss room, so while there is information about the entrance of the Tower, no one knows what awaits beyond.
Even with the full force of the United States’ intelligence network, information about this extradimensional Tower remained elusive.
So, what should one do upon entering the boss room?
The only option is to confront it directly and find out.
[Kihahahahahah!!]
A monstrous bird’s laughter echoed across the vast ocean.
It couldn’t speak human language, yet its beady eyes and twisted beak seemed capable of mimicking human expressions. Over 40 meters in size, the black beast flapped its six massive wings, mockingly watching a lone figure running across the sea.
Just how long could she keep running, draining her mana like that?
With such an expression, the monstrous bird sneered at the figure sprinting tirelessly across the water—Elaine.
“Tsk.”
Boom!
Elaine kicked off the ocean’s surface, propelling herself high into the air.
Channeling mana beneath her feet as if the sea were solid ground, she leapt skyward. Her sword was already drawn, and with a powerful swing, she sent a deadly slash toward the flying beast.
Swish!
Like a flash of light, the blade sliced through the air.
Sensing danger, the monstrous bird instinctively folded its wings and twisted its body.
Slash.
Several black feathers scattered, floating down toward the sea.
The blade had barely missed—a situation akin to a few strands of hair being shaved off by the edge of a sword. But the beast wasted no time; it spread its wings wide and opened its beak.
[Kakakakakaka!!]
Elaine, suspended in midair.
Though her wings spread behind her, they weren’t true wings—they were gliders, designed to slow her descent rather than let her soar freely.
Had she possessed something that allowed unrestricted flight, she would have pursued the beast immediately.
But Elaine had no such ability.
She had reached the peak of human skill, but she had not yet transcended beyond human limitations.
Splash!
Elaine plunged into the ocean.
Instead of trying to land with mana, she had judged that diving into the water would be the better option.
[Kiiiiiiiiek!!]
The monstrous bird spread its six wings.
From each wing, multiple violet spheres began to form, pulsating with raw magical energy, ready to explode at any moment. They streaked down toward the spot where Elaine had disappeared.
Boom! Boom! BOOM!
The moment she hit the water, the spheres detonated one by one.
A chain of powerful explosions sent massive pillars of water shooting into the sky. The beast raised its head triumphantly, scanning below for any trace of Elaine in the chaos of water and fire.
For any sign of a human shadow.
[Kiiiiiik?!]
A dark figure moved beneath the surface.
A shadow, cutting through the ocean at an alarming speed, darted toward the monster from below.
The beast, sensing the movement, instinctively aimed at it—
[Kik?]
The moment it questioned, “A shadow?”, its gaze shot upward.
Swoooosh!
Elaine, dripping wet, was descending from above—far higher than the beast itself.
At first, it seemed like she had teleported.
But as the droplets of water fell from her body, and the lingering force of the explosion rippled through the air, the monster quickly realized how she had positioned herself above it.
She had ridden the water pillar.
She had hurled herself into the sky using the force of the explosions.
Clang!
In an instant, all six wings moved to shield the beast’s face.
Mana surged through the feathers, turning them as hard as steel, just in time to intercept Elaine’s descending strike.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Feathers were shredded, slashed apart by the relentless blade.
The six wings, once pristine, were now tattered as if their hair had been cleanly shaved off.
“Tsk…!”
But despite her relentless assault, the feathers were tougher than expected.
The last layer of the lowest wing only partially severed before stopping her blade’s momentum.
With nothing to hold her in the air, Elaine began to plummet.
Flap!
The monstrous bird quickly ascended.
Though its wingtips were severed, its wing bones remained intact. Desperately flapping, it soared higher, widening the distance between them.
[KIIIIIIIIIIEK!!]
The monstrous bird let out a scream, its shriek filled with frustration and fury.
Its front feathers had been severed, fully exposing its forehead, as if a person’s bangs had been cut too short, revealing their entire brow.
Yet, even through its enraged cry, its gaze remained fixed on Elaine as she plummeted—its expression full of mockery.
The laughter of a winged being, looking down on a human who could never reach the sky.
But in response, Elaine simply smirked.
“Did you really think you won?”
For a moment, the monstrous bird hesitated.
She was still falling—unable to fly, her wings nothing more than gliders that could only slow her descent.
And yet, despite her imminent drop, the human dared to mock it.
“Sorry, but I have my Master here.”
Elaine’s body vanished downward, as if being transported elsewhere.
She was heading toward the teleportation zone at the entrance of the boss room.
The monstrous bird internally scoffed, considering her retreat as an escape—relieved that the human had chosen to flee.
But then—
Rumble.
Suddenly, the teleportation zone flickered, and a deep mechanical noise filled the air.
Rumble.
Four massive propellers began spinning, and a dark machine emerged.
One drone.
Then three.
Then dozens.
Each drone, larger than a child’s body, hovered in formation.
Long cables dangled from them, and Elaine, mid-fall, reached out—grabbing hold of the cables as she flipped her body.
Grab.
“Hmph.”
As she caught onto the cables, she landed in the arms of a man who had arrived from the drones.
She curled one side of her lips into a smirk—
A smirk that told the monstrous bird that its death was imminent.
* * *
‘What the h*ll.’
Had the fight been more intense than expected?
I hadn’t seen the battle while moving through the teleportation zone, but looking at Elaine, it was clear—this had been a brutal fight.
“Elaine, are you alright?”
“Yes, Master. You arrived at just the right moment.”
The spinning drones were loud, making it hard to hear.
But Elaine had pressed herself against me, speaking directly into my chest, ensuring her voice reached me clearly.
Her wet body clinging to me was… a bit distracting.
Still, I wrapped one arm around her waist and pointed upward.
“It’s dangerous. I’ll handle this immediately.”
The cables from the drones wrapped around my body like parachute straps.
Meaning—if the drones were destroyed, I’d fall.
And—
SCREEEEEEEECH!!
As if to confirm its role as the boss of the Golden Gate Bridge S-Rank Tower, the monstrous bird, now missing parts of its six wings, began forming glowing spheres of magic.
A ranged bombardment.
If those beams struck, the drones floating like balloons in the sky would be obliterated.
Which meant I needed a landing platform—fast.
Correction.
“Summon.”
I called forth my fourth summon.
BOOOOOM!!
A massive surge of water erupted from below.
And rising from the waves, its bow soaring high, was the Illinois.
Just as it had first appeared in Jeju, the mighty battleship revealed itself with overwhelming force.
SCREEEEEEEEE?!
The monstrous bird shrieked in sheer panic.
The world had seen the Illinois appear countless times—billions of views on video feeds worldwide.
But nothing compared to witnessing it firsthand.
A ship suddenly bursting forth from the ocean, landing with a deafening crash onto the water.
Rumble.
The dungeon’s seawater spilled off its deck, and following the pre-programmed data, the drones guided me down to the ship’s surface.
“Thank you, Commander. But these drones…?”
[Oh my, are you planning to stay attached to him forever? Just how long do you intend to keep clinging?]
“…Drei? Are you inside the drones?”
[Correct! Though technically, I’m an AI designed to support the Commander even during reverse summoning. Let’s call me a… battlefield fairy?]
“I’ll summon you properly now.”
Along with Illinois, I summoned Kiharu and Drei.
“Mmm, indeed, this form is preferable.”
Appearing in his usual feline form, Kiharu gracefully perched on my shoulder.
Meanwhile, Drei, now in her android body, clutched onto a drone’s cable and ascended into the air.
“Rest and recover your mana for a moment. We can handle things on our end.”
Rumble.
Drei grasped a cable with one hand and shot into the sky.
The latest-generation drones, directly deployed from the U.S. Air Force, immediately began ascending under Drei’s command, closing in on the monstrous bird.
Tat-tat-tat-tat!
Drei raised her handgun and pulled the trigger.
Against an S-Rank Tower boss, normal bullets would be useless—but Drei’s weapon was no ordinary handgun.
“Since I’m a summon too, of course I can fight with mana.”
SCREEEEECH!!
The monstrous bird locked onto Drei, channeling its magic spheres into a precise energy blast.
Rather than attacking multiple targets at once, it was focusing entirely on the closest enemy—showing a surprising lack of tactical foresight for a boss-class entity.
“Elaine.”
I opened the system interface, checking the boss’s status.
“Unfortunately, this thing’s still at full HP, so we’re far from a finishing blow.”
The name displayed was [Raisvelguir].
I’d look into the name later, but its combat behavior was already irritating enough.
FLASH!
Raisvelguir unleashed a pinpoint barrage—not a sweeping area attack, but a concentrated, cylindrical laser aimed solely at Drei.
“Hmph.”
Even as the blinding beam closed in, Drei remained still, merely tugging on the cable connected to the drones.
FWOOOOSH!
The drones accelerated instantly, dodging the attack.
Every drone in the line scattered at high speed, leaving the beam to pierce empty space.
“Too slow.”
SCREEEEEEEECH!!
The monstrous bird shrieked in frustration and lunged after Drei, but the drones maneuvered like a matador, deftly avoiding its advances.
Even so, no matter how advanced these drones were, they weren’t designed for prolonged combat against an S-Rank boss.
Their battery life had limits.
“Elaine, want to team up with Drei for a coordinated attack?”
“Just give the order. What’s the plan?”
“Drei will clear a path straight to the bird.”
I gestured toward Illinois, and Elaine grinned, shaking off the water dripping from her hair.
“As long as I can get close enough to cut, I’ll carve through anything in Master’s way.”
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
I began configuring Illinois’ targeting systems.
This wasn’t auto-combat mode—I was personally selecting the weapons and directing them at Raisvelguir.
Click.
The moment my thumb pressed the fire command, Elaine had already sprinted toward the ship’s railing, kicking off into the air.
BOOOOM!
A missile launched—
And Elaine soared through the explosion’s wake, sword drawn.
SCREEECH!!
Raisvelguir folded its wings, diving downward to evade the missile.
Spreading them wide again, it locked its gaze onto me—its eyes gleaming with recognition.
I could tell exactly what it was thinking.
‘So you’re the real threat.’
It had finally realized who it needed to eliminate first.
“Took you long enough.”
I raised my right hand and pointed.
“And you really are just a birdbrain.”
Raisvelguir’s eye followed my gesture.
BANG!
Drei’s bullet struck its left eye dead center.
CRACK!
With a sound like shattering glass, its eye ruptured from within.
But the boss still flew, now glaring at me with its remaining eye—
And then—
SWOOOSH!
A missile curved in from above.
Riding the descending projectile, Elaine had already taken position—her blade aimed at Raisvelguir’s throat.
“Compared to you—”
SWISH!
A flash of blue light.
“The bosses in Korea were much stronger.”
RUMBLE.
The sea quaked.
Raisvelguir’s severed head and body plummeted.
And the world itself began to crumble.
