As soon as Saphire opened the large door, the entire room—once shrouded in darkness—was suddenly illuminated by the blue flames of torches lining the walls. The flickering blue light cast eerie shadows throughout the space, intensifying the ominous atmosphere.
In the center of the room stood a massive altar fashioned from black stone and adorned with ancient symbols. A potent magical aura radiated from it, making the air around feel noticeably heavier.
Cautiously, Saphire—a determined young woman—stepped forward, her eyes meticulously scanning every corner of the room. However, just as she ventured a few steps inside, a rumbling sound echoed behind her. She turned around, only to witness the large door she had just opened slam shut by itself, followed by a clicking noise that confirmed it was now securely locked.
"Hmm... if I want to get out of here, I have to defeat this floor-one boss," she murmured, her gaze remaining fixed on the altar.
Not long after the door closed, the altar began to tremble. A deep, otherworldly voice echoed through the chamber, and something started to rise from the altar. Slowly, a towering figure emerged—a creature clad in thick black armor exuding a suffocating aura of death. The most striking detail, however, was the absence of a head atop its shoulders.
Saphire narrowed her eyes. "Dullahan, huh..." she murmured.
The creature's right hand clutched a large sword that appeared to have been corroded by time, yet still emanated a dangerous aura. With heavy, deliberate steps, it descended from the altar and stood upright, facing Saphire.
Reacting instantly, Saphire gripped the katana she had already unsheathed. She could feel the tension in the air—this battle was not going to be easy.
With swift precision, she hurled the torch still clutched in her left hand to the ground, letting it roll until it settled in a corner. The blue glow from the torches along the walls was ample to light the area. Replacing the torch, she held the katana's sheath in her left hand, while her right hand maintained a firm grip on the hilt of her unsheathed katana.
Dullahan, the headless warrior, began to move. Its heavy steps were measured and resolute. The large sword in its right hand was slightly raised, as if daring Saphire to approach.
Meeting that challenge, Saphire advanced slowly toward her foe. The atmosphere thickened with tension, making each second feel drawn out.
When the distance between them narrowed to roughly 100 meters, Saphire surged forward with incredible speed. In an instant, she was directly in front of Dullahan, swinging her katana upward at the foe's right arm—her aim to sever the arm that gripped the massive sword.
But her strike did not unfold as planned.
CLANG!
Dullahan swiftly maneuvered his large sword, parrying Saphire's attack with startling precision. The collision of the katana and the massive blade sent tiny sparks flaring through the air.
Saphire furrowed her brow. "Quick reflexes..." she thought.
Not only did Dullahan block her strike, but he also countered immediately. His massive sword swung from the side with enough force to split a huge boulder.
As the counterattack swung wildly, Saphire activated her Instant Move, teleporting in the blink of an eye to her previous position. In the split second after she evaded, Dullahan's sword slashed through empty air—but the impact was immense. The resulting shockwave stirred a miniature storm, tossing dust about and causing the stone floor to tremble. The gust was so powerful that it even whipped Saphire's hair about.
Squinting, she assessed her opponent. In that single exchange, she noted his quick reflexes contrasted with his somewhat sluggish movements. Glancing at a wall now cracked from the shockwave, she mused, "His reflexes are fast, but his movements are slow… And that attack—I'm not sure I can parry it with this katana. It's too risky to take his full force head-on."
Recalling how Dullahan had parried her earlier strike, she acknowledged that although his massive sword was formidable, it was not invincible.
"My attack can pierce his armor, that's for sure. But I must remain cautious… If that's all he's got, I might defeat him quickly. Yet if he has a more dangerous technique than a simple sword swing… I must be ready."
Her grip on the katana tightened, and her gaze never wavered from the steadfast enemy.
Dullahan then began moving again, this time sprinting with even greater speed. His massive sword was raised, ready to strike from above. What was even more unsettling was his left hand—it moved as if grasping something invisible in the air.
Saphire noticed the anomaly just before something dark emerged from Dullahan's hand—a shadowy hand that shot toward her at high speed.
Her eyes widened. "This… is a ranged attack?!" she thought.
Her instincts kicked in. With another Instant Move, she teleported behind Dullahan, landing near the altar. In that instant, the shadowy hand halted, unable to reach her new position.
Squinting, Saphire gauged the reach of that shadowy appendage. She quickly deduced, "It seems that shadow hand can only extend about 20 meters. As long as I stay beyond that, I'm safe."
Dullahan paused for a moment, then slowly turned back to face her. Though its expressionless visage (after all, it had no head) betrayed nothing, its movements indicated it now regarded Saphire as a serious threat.
A slight smile curved Saphire's lips as she formulated her strategy. "If I can exploit the range of his attacks and his weaknesses, I might win without a prolonged battle."
She began sidestepping and activated her Shadow Step. In an instant, her body melded with the floor's shadows, moving silently as if vanishing from sight.
The room, with its numerous blue torches casting shifting shadows, was the perfect battleground to maximize her stealth ability. Moving swiftly in the darkness, Saphire circled Dullahan unseen.
"Although this skill has a rather long cooldown, when combined with the right environment and other techniques, it becomes a deadly weapon," she thought.
Meanwhile, Dullahan stood motionless, swinging his massive sword through the air as if trying to detect her presence. Yet the ever-moving shadows confounded him, making it nearly impossible to pinpoint his target.
Even though Saphire was within 20 meters of Dullahan, the enemy couldn't target her with that shadow hand as long as she remained concealed. "Just as I suspected, that shadowy hand can only strike what Dullahan sees. If I stay in the shadows, he won't be able to touch me."
Growing increasingly agitated, Dullahan stamped his foot on the ground, sending small tremors through the floor, and began swinging his massive sword erratically, desperate to force Saphire out of hiding.
But Saphire stayed calm. "I must wait for the right moment," she resolved.
While Dullahan, disoriented, swung his sword wildly, Saphire suddenly emerged from the shadows behind him. With astonishing speed, she swung her katana upward, aiming for Dullahan's right arm that clutched his enormous sword.
Just as her katana neared its target, Dullahan reacted with a swift twist of his body. Though Saphire was momentarily taken aback, she maintained her focus. Dullahan's massive sword sliced at her from the side with tremendous force.
"His reaction is fast too!" she thought, realizing that Dullahan relied not just on brute strength, but also on sharp combat instincts.
Gripping the katana's sheath tighter with her left hand, Saphire unleashed a fully coordinated, powerful counterattack. As Dullahan's massive sword was about to strike her, she quickly redirected her own attack. Her katana's sheath met the edge of Dullahan's sword with a resounding clang that sent sparks flying in every direction. Rather than merely blocking, she twisted the sheath and forced Dullahan's sword tip down onto the ground with smooth, calculated precision.
Then, activating Instant Move Phase 2, Saphire dashed behind Dullahan in an instant. Without giving her enemy a chance to respond, she stood tall, staring at the now-exposed back of Dullahan. "Forgive me... A scar on a knight's back is a disgrace, isn't it? But to survive in this world, I'll do whatever it takes—even if it means fighting dirty."
With resolute determination, Saphire focused all her strength and speed into her next series of attacks. Her sword sliced through the air with deadly precision. Each strike came like a flash of lightning, and soon Dullahan's tough armor began to split apart, its pieces falling to the ground. With one final decisive blow, Saphire shattered the armor completely, and Dullahan's once formidable body collapsed onto the stone floor.
As Dullahan lay defeated, the large gate at the far end of the room slowly swung open, allowing a gentle light to filter into the now-quiet chamber. A staircase emerged in front of the altar, leading down into even deeper darkness. Saphire paused for a moment, exhaling deeply after the grueling battle. "Floor one is complete... but this journey has only just begun."