C225
'Fair fight.'
Statistics and abilities are not disabled exclusively for heroes; monsters are also affected.
As the Beast King said, this battle will be decided solely by physical strength and skill.
[Monster Wave!]
[Round 3.]
[Corrupted Human Soldier Lv.53] X 29
[Corrupted Human Knight Lv.61] X 6
I looked back.
Jenna, armed with a dagger, swiftly took down the soldiers.
Beside her, Belkist dealt with the enemies Jenna left behind. Meanwhile, on the other flank, the sand Golems summoned by Katio tore through the soldiers. The three of them, forming a triangle, moved in coordination, blocking attacks and closing any gaps.
Kishasha and I were not in a different situation.
The Beast King, having lost his powers, was simply a fighter with some strength.
He was undoubtedly a strong and ferocious fist.
If he hit you correctly, your head could completely disappear.
However, it wasn't the first time I faced a fist like this.
Boom!
Kishasha caught the Beast King's fist with the palm of her hand.
Though the ground beneath her sank, Kishasha didn't falter.
Then, my sword aimed at the enemy's neck.
Splat.
Blood finally gushed out.
It was the first wound the Beast King received.
"Hahaha!"
The Beast King, laughing heartily, threw another punch.
"Don't even dream!"
Kishasha extended her elbow.
Boom!
Kishasha's body slid backward, but again, she wasn't thrown off.
I lunged forward, ducking my body under Kishasha's.
'If Kishasha takes the hit...'
Kishasha's martial arts skills had already reached an extreme level.
Therefore, in terms of strength and agility, she was far superior to me.
If we only consider combat ability, Kishasha had reached a 5-star level, beyond 4 stars.
Crack!
Kishasha blocked another kick from the Beast King.
At that moment, I struck with my sword.
'I counterattack.'
It was a simple tactic, but we both had to be perfectly synchronized.
"Well done!"
The wounds on the Beast King's body increased one after another.
The defense team was repelling the monsters lunging toward the goddess statue without leaving any gaps.
[The divine energy level of the goddess statue has increased to 62%!]
[The blessing of glory is granted!]
[Buff applied to all areas of the Chaos Abyss!]
[Buff applied: 10% increase in all hero statistics]
The light emitted by the goddess statue intensified.
"Han, we've passed zone 4!"
"Keep going."
In the top right corner of my field of vision, the map showed Taonier's fleet's position deepening into the forest.
[Current progress: 039 / 100]
We're not far from the goal.
There's no need to force ourselves to deal with the Beast King.
We just need to hold on and increase the divine energy level so that the main group handles the objective.
"Indeed! You've trained hard for a long time. What an impressive combination of blows!"
The Beast King looked at the back of his hand.
Blood flowed from the wound I had inflicted on the top of his hand.
<It seems like this is too much.>
"I'd like to enjoy a bit more. Can't I?"
<His Majesty seems bored.>
"Then it can't be helped."
Kiadni smirked maliciously.
'He's planning something else.'
It seems we've passed the first phase of the boss battle.
I took a deep breath.
I still have enough energy.
'Whatever the case, I must stay calm.'
I've traversed the missions of Niflheim and Taonier as a master and hero.
This doesn't compare to a crisis.
[The Right Eye Devouring the Earth]
In the sky above the arena, a purple iris on the opposite side.
A new orange iris appeared.
Once again, a fiery gaze swept the arena.
"Hahaha! Show your fighting spirit!"
Kiadni clenched his fist.
And then stomped the ground.
Kiadni was charging.
The tactic didn't change.
Kishasha defends, I attack.
But Kishasha remained motionless in her place.
'...?'
There was no responsive movement.
Kishasha looked puzzled, groping the air.
"Kishasha?"
Kishasha looked at me.
The light had vanished from her eyes.
'This is...'
I hurriedly rushed toward her.
Kiadni's fist was rapidly approaching Kishasha's face.
"Ugh!"
I forcefully intercepted the fist with the edge of my sword.
Forced position.
Crack. An ominous sound as if the joint of my right arm had bent in the opposite direction.
"What are you doing!"
"I can't see... I can't see!"
You can't see?
I quickly stepped back, carrying Kishasha on my waist.
Excruciating pain emanated from my right arm.
'My right arm...'
It's broken.
Damn it.
I switched the sword to my left hand.
[The divine energy level of the goddess statue has descended to 43%!]
[The Blessing of Glory and the Prayer of Purification have been canceled.]
[A debuff has been applied to all areas of the Chaos Abyss.]
The defense team was also in chaos.
Taking advantage of the moment when Katio's magic barrier broke, three soldiers infiltrated the goddess statue.
'Why did this happen?'
I quickly checked the team members.
They were all moving differently than usual.
'...'
My eyes widened.
I could see clearly. My vision was normal.
I could also hear.
"What's not working is..."
I bit my tongue lightly.
I felt a bitter sensation in my mind, but I couldn't taste the blood.
The acrid smell of blood didn't reach my nose either.
"I've figured it out."
I set Kishasha down on the ground.
Kishasha, lying in the sand, began to crawl.
Meanwhile, Kiadni had approached.
"Among you, those who can still see, come to me!" I shouted to my team members.
"What are you suddenly talking about?" Jenna, who was stringing her bow, looked at me.
"Come here!"
Jenna stored her bow and ran towards me.
"You'll face this guy with me."
"And Kishasha?"
"She can't."
I looked towards Belkist.
Belkist was mechanically cutting down monsters, but he didn't look at me when I shouted.
"He can't hear anything."
Belkist frowned.
'The Right Eye Devouring Earth.'
A hero ability that steals 'sensations.'
Kishasha had lost her sight and hearing.
That left her unable to respond to Kiadni's attack.
'It seems two senses are randomly chosen to steal.'
I lost my sense of smell and taste.
'Is Katio blind too?'
But it seems he can hear.
Since he looked in this direction.
'Two of the five senses are stolen.'
I thought quickly.
There's no time for calm considerations.
"Katio, the saint's second ability is to steal senses."
"Is that so?"
"Write on Kishasha and Belkist's skin with magic. Both are deaf. We'll switch defense and offense roles now. Those who can't see will retreat to defense. Those who can see will go on the attack and fight the Beast King."
"But, if they can't see, how...?"
"That's..."
I shut up and ran.
Bang! The Beast King's fist struck where I had been.
"How relaxed."
There was no time to talk.
Kiadni relentlessly attacked me.
I dodged what I could and counterattacked what I could while backing away.
Ping!
Taking advantage of a moment, Jenna's arrow aimed at Kiadni's forehead.
Crack!
Kiadni opened his mouth and chewed the arrow flying towards him.
"It's ridiculous."
Jenna clicked her tongue.
Kiadni spat out the broken arrow and laughed.
"Your combination with that girl was impressive. I'm not sure how it'll be this time!"
Kiadni lunged towards Jenna.
Jenna quickly drew a dagger and faced Kiadni.
'Not a good combination.'
The Beast King's skin was as tough as stone.
So much so that the blade won't enter if you don't cut in the right position.
Clang! Clang!
Kiadni successively deflected Jenna's dagger blade and threw a punch.
Jenna jumped high, but Kiadni also pursued Jenna with a firm step.
'Not enough.'
I leaped as if flying and repeatedly stabbed Kiadni with my sword.
[The divine energy level of the goddess statue has dropped to 34%!]
[The debuff applied to all areas of the Abyss of Chaos has strengthened.]
Belkist couldn't block all directions alone.
Soldiers from various places rushed towards the goddess statue.
[The airship Frang Ho has been partially destroyed.]
The partial destruction message of the Frang Ho, the fifth airship, appeared.
Then followed the death notifications of the heroes.
The hundred mark had already been surpassed.
[Current progress: 042/100]
No matter how much training accumulates, without senses, one cannot fight properly.
Furthermore, reliance on sight is absolute.
'Damn pattern.'
After sealing the heroes' abilities and Grimoires, he also steals their senses.
Furthermore, in this state, we must fight the boss and defend the goddess statue from the approaching monsters.
'But...'
There's still a way to overcome this.
"I got it!"
Kishasha jumped up.
Katio had transmitted my words onto her skin with magic.
The same for Belkist.
"Graaaargh!"
Kishasha roared and leaped on all fours towards the group of soldiers.
By waving her claws, the flesh and blood of the soldiers scattered mercilessly.
'You don't need to see.'
Kishasha has a developed sense of smell.
She was precisely locating and massacring enemies with her claws.
Although it was difficult to fight the Beast King without sight, she could easily handle the subordinates.
I stood shoulder to shoulder with Jenna.
"We'll hold out until the roles switch."
To effectively fight the Beast King, we needed Kishasha.
We had to hold out until her sight returned.
"Understood. That's easy!"
Jenna twirled her dagger.
And once again, the Beast King lunged towards us.
"Don't clash with his punch! Fight by focusing on evasion!"
Jenna made an agile somersault.
The Beast King's fist continuously passed underneath her. I crouched and sought an opening.
Using only my left arm, mainly focusing on blocking.
"You adapt quickly."
Kiadni smirked sardonically.
And then...
[The Right Eye Devouring Earth]
The orange iris swept the sand again.
In that instant, everything turned dark.
'Now it's my turn.'
In the darkness.
Nothing is visible.
I ran backward, quickly verifying my senses.
'I've lost sight and taste.'
That's fine.
Reaching behind, the smooth texture of the goddess statue clung to my fingers.
"This time it's me!"
"It's my turn."
Battlefront change.
Belkist and Kishasha, who could see, advanced.
Belkist could take my place, so it was a good combination.
"I can't see either."
"It's not like you can't shoot just because you can't see."
I could hear the enemies' footsteps.
Moreover,
'It smells.'
A unique and potent aroma, hard to describe.
Of course, soon I knew what it was. It was an aroma created by Katio's magic.
Katio spread magically created aroma where the enemies were. With that kind of aroma, even without a sense of smell as sharp as Kishasha's, we could easily locate the enemies' position.
"I can cover the right side."
Katio murmured.
Without being told, he found the right method to face the situation.
"Understood."
I smiled and lowered my sword.
The source of the aroma was right in front of me. The sound of metal boots treading the sand echoed.
Ping! Ping! Ping!
The sound of arrows cutting through the wind.
"Arg!"
Screams followed.
I aimed my sword forward.
Whoosh!
A heavy sound resonated.
I moved a step to the side. The blade of a spear grazed by.
Turning, I slashed forcefully, and the sensation of cutting flesh reached my fingers.
'The smell and the sound.'
I opened my eyes.
It was still dark in front of me.
"Let's go for it."
"Graaaah!"
Soldiers and knights roared ferociously.
'I've got it all under control.'
I focused my attention on my ears.
That was the sound of a lance being thrust.
That was the sound of an axe being swung.
[The divine energy level of the goddess statue has increased to 42%!]
[Current progress: 045/100]
Slowly,
In the darkness, the trajectory of the weapons began to emerge.