The 2nd Arc’s final boss, Richard Pierce.
An entity you could never defeat head-on with skill alone.
But Ian boasted he knew most of his patterns. It was possible, given how many times he’d died in the game.
‘…Though I’ve never actually beaten him.’
Richard Pierce.
His presence was beyond what any player could assess.
Not only was he the best in the north, but he had also defeated members of the Bloodstone Cult.
In fact, Richard’s true power had never been properly measured.
‘But.’
Now the situation was clearly different from the game.
Richard’s own dantian prison was destroyed.
Even his connection with Sharon Pierce, who often supported him, was severed.
‘I have to defeat him.’
It has to be here. This opportunity won’t come again.
If left unchecked, Grand Duke Richard Pierce’s influence in future scenarios is absolute.
Especially now that conflict with him is inevitable, Ian is essentially walking into hell.
Especially considering the insane difficulty spike in scenarios following this. This crazy game almost guarantees a bad ending.
And now, Richard Pierce’s anger is added on top of that.
‘In that case, dying might be preferable.’
On the other hand, if he defeats him here.
‘It could lead to a positive outcome.’
It could change the flow of the story.
It could create a new atmosphere focused on the Third Princess.
It could find a way to restrain the power of the first and second princesses and the prince, including the Bloodstone Cult.
It could buy time to prepare for ‘them’ in the long run.
The conclusion is clear.
‘Even if I have to take the risk, I’ll defeat Richard here.’
How?
By making the most of knowing his patterns.
First, provoke him into attacking and then exploit the opening.
That’s why Ian continuously provoked Richard, gesturing to Yerina.
“Seems like being a Bloodstone Cultist makes you clueless about human emotions. You couldn’t even stop your precious prison from being walked all over.”
“…Do you truly seek death?”
“Try me. Without your base, just once.”
Richard was irritated by Ian’s constant provocation.
— Kwaaaaang!
With a thunderous roar, Richard charges.
It’s as if a giant horned beast is ramming its body into him.
A straight-line attack filled with immense weight.
— Plop!
Ian made earth rise along his path. Since he couldn’t properly manipulate magic, it would disrupt his spells.
“Murdah!”
But Richard, without flinching, approaches with eerie steps.
— Kaaaang!
Once again, Ian blocks Richard’s sword with his staff-turned-shield, hitting the earthen wall again to neutralize the force.
His wrist feels like it’s going to break. Despite all the obstacles he’s thrown at him, it’s not enough.
But this isn’t the end of this pattern.
Soon, ice spears shoot from Richard’s hand.
Just as a master swordsman fights, Richard’s specialty is throwing unexpected daggers even amidst a sword fight.
Ian rolls on the ground to avoid it. He anticipated it, and Richard’s power was diminished without his base.
“!”
Richard, somewhat surprised.
Ian doesn’t miss this chance.
“Yerina!”
— Paaaaang!
Yerina, who had floated up into the air, strikes with immense force with her mace.
— Kuuuuung!
The ground shakes like an earthquake.
As the settled dust clears, Yerina’s enlarged mace comes into view.
And beneath it, Richard, reaching out with his sword.
“Yerina, still fighting in such a primitive manner.”
With utter calm, he defends against her weapon with his sword.
“Damn it.”
Is that really a human who lost his dantian?
— Kka-ga-ga-gang!
Richard’s sword begins to move like a dance.
From the start, Richard is a master swordsman.
Even without his prison, he’s not an easy opponent.
Yerina, who had been blocking his sword with the chain part of her mace, is gradually pushed into a corner.
As Richard Pierce, seizing the advantage, lifted his foot to swing his sword with force.
— Papababat!
A massive stone chunk, prepared with chemical traps activated by Ian around him, erupts like an explosion.
“Gah!”
Richard, for the first time, roughly loses his balance.
Ian, slamming the ground, initiates a maximum output leap.
— Paaaang!
A rough explosion echoes out. Normally, he’d decelerate his speed by exerting magnetism at the point of impact.
“Ugh!”
Ian reinforces his entire body with a deep breath. Then, his fist, surrounded by Lunar, extends towards Richard.
The physics force generated from unbelievable speed directly hits Richard.
Though Richard tries to use Frost to protect himself, blocking with his sword against Yerina’s mace, he couldn’t prevent it entirely.
— Kwaddudeuk!
With the sound of ice shattering, Ian’s fist connects with Richard’s side.
The moment of impact, Ian sensed it.
‘Let’s not do this attack again.’
Despite all his reinforcements, the sensation of his fist crumpling and his arm breaking numbs his upper body.
— Quaaaaaaang!
Well, thanks to that, Richard was also thrown against the wall. A round, cracked wall surrounding Richard reflects the damage he received.
Meaningful damage dealt to the final boss for the first time.
“Cough!”
He coughs, spitting out blood.
But there’s no time to watch.
“Yerina!”
“Of course!”
With tremendous momentum, Yerina charges towards Richard.
Her mace, reinforced with frost, gleaming white.
The incredible blow of a 5-Star hero directly hits Richard.
For a moment, there’s silence.
The surroundings fill with stillness and dust.
Prepared for such an eventuality, Yerina’s and Ian’s plan aligns perfectly.
“Haah.”
Ian exhales, half immobilized by his right arm.
Yerina, pulling her mace from the wall, murmurs.
“… Is it over?”
Wait a second.
The moment Ian couldn’t even say anything.
— Sasasasasak!
Yerina’s figure is cut.
Blood sprays from her fallen arms and legs.
A figure crosses over the completely disarmed Yerina.
“…Damn it.”
Ian muttered.
As the dust settles.
There stands Richard.
His head and eyes completely dyed red, resembling a true Bloodstone Cultist.
“… Monster.”
Ian muttered without realizing.
“… Having two phases is just overkill.”
Was he even interested in the meaning of those words?
— Sseik.
Silently, Richard’s mouth curled up.
Partially revealed by the blow of the mace, his gums are vampire-like.
With the speed Richard could manipulate, he lunged towards Ian.
Ian immediately raised Lunar.
Kaaang!
He blocked the first blow, but…
“…Damn.”
Curses involuntarily spewed from Ian’s mouth.
Almost simultaneously, there was no way to block the onslaught of his ice pillars.
The world before him quickly darkens.
— Quaaaaaaang!
“Iaaaan!”
Yerina, who had fallen, screamed in agony.
Kwaddudeuk.
A sound of something crumpling is heard.
Ian, who was floating in the air, fell as if he were a puppet with its strings cut.
◆
Sharon ran towards the mansion as if possessed.
She couldn’t understand why she was doing this.
Her mind and heart were too complex to be defined by just one thing.
Mother.
For Sharon, who had walked solely for her, it was an unimaginable change.
But the reason for this change was clear.
Ian.
“…Ian.”
She muttered the name she had so despised.
— Quaaaaaaang!
Once again, an explosion was heard from the mansion.
When did she walk out so far from the mansion?
A blizzard rages.
Suddenly.
Sharon felt it.
This situation right now.
It resembled the day her mother left.
The incessant snowstorm.
The snow piled up on the ground.
The roar heard beyond the snow.
“…No.”
Sharon murmured. She didn’t know what was wrong, but she murmured.
Her already running footsteps quickened.
She ran at full speed.
Her body had already suffered considerable injuries from forcibly severing the shared potion spell, but that wasn’t important in this situation.
Familiar scenery comes into view.
But the building that should be there is gone.
Where there was a building just moments ago, there were now rubble and snow.
Many people lay on the ground.
But one person lying down stood out.
In a field of pure white snow.
The cold snow that seemed to cover everything.
There, it was full of red blood.
Red blood, like a pool of water, pooled as if to melt the cold snow.
Steam rises.
…It’s that scene.
That day ten years ago.
It’s the scene she saw back then.
Only the person lying there has changed.
Jet-black hair. Deep dark circles that seem to bear all the worries of the world. Pale lips that don’t feel alive.
“…Ian.”
Sharon’s lips trembled.
Her knees, which had sunk, began to stain red with blood.
