Callum's eyes burned with fury as he stared at Lira, who had already fallen to the stone floor, groaning in pain, but she remained conscious.
"Arghh!"
Her friends quickly caught her before she could fall flat on the floor, and Alexa immediately clutched the wound with her hands, trying to stop the bleeding.
Callum rushed toward her, his eyes wide with panic.
"Lira... Lira... Stay with us. You are fine," Callum said with a breaking voice.
"We have to treat her!" Alexa said urgently.
"Okay...! You and Jon should take her away from here. I'll finish the job," Callum told them as he turned to the approaching Ghoul Knight.
"No, Cal... You can't..."
"I can. Just take her away before it's too late," Callum insisted.
They both nodded with hesitant expressions and carried Lira up the steps...
Alexa turned to him after a few steps and shook her head.
"Don't die, Callum," she said with a pleading look on her face.
"I won't," Callum nodded without hesitation and quickly turned away.
Before he could even realize it, the Ghoul Lord had already dashed forward with the last Ghoul Knight the moment Alexa, Jon, and Lira were out of sight.
Callum nodded. "Perfect timing, huh? Let's do this."
Taller than the others. Wreathed in bone-plated armor that shimmered with strange blood runes. Its eyes weren't just glowing... They blazed with intelligence and malevolence. A massive, obsidian war scythe hung in its hands, its curved blade dripping with dark mist.
"You will feed me..."
The Ghoul Lord actually spoke. It was able to talk, unlike the rest, and that was one of the rarest characteristics of Ordinary Monsters.
Callum nodded.
"Right. You can. But not without a fight," Callum said as he gripped his sword tightly, ready for a battle of survival.
The Ghoul Knight launched itself at Callum, swinging those long, nightmarish claws. Callum dodged lightly and slashed with his sword, but the Ghoul Knight was just as fast.
Three consecutive attacks were exchanged without either side landing a hit, and it didn't take long before the Ghoul Lord attacked as well.
Callum was now cornered in the dark stone room by A-rank and S-rank monsters trying to take him down to use his body for meat.
However, the young man didn't panic. He stood firm with his sword and the energizing aura of Crimson Severance.
With no other choice, he struck with a crimson arc, trying to take down the Ghoul Knight who was always guarding the Ghoul Lord, even as it attacked him.
The Ghoul Knight was a versatile combatant for a monster, and it was clear it was the best among the Ghoul Knights in the cavern.
This was definitely why the Ghoul Lord had kept him back while the others attacked initially.
Apart from being skilled, it was sly.
Callum only came to realize this after countless strikes, none of which made successful contact.
"Crap!"
The Ghoul Knight dodged every blow, even the ones Callum had empowered with mana.
And just before he realized it, his mana was exhausted in the middle of the battle.
Callum's jaw dropped at that realization as he stared at the Ghouls, who had clearly noticed his weakening guard.
It was then that the Ghoul Knight began launching clean attacks.
SHIIIN!
CACK!
SLASH!!
Callum had to defend himself with the sword, even though he knew that just physical damage would take almost forever to end the life of such tyrannical monsters.
Alexa and Jon were gone, and it was clear they wouldn't be coming back anytime soon, they had to remove the spear lodged in Lira's shoulder.
Plus, this part of the cavern was too far inside. Even if they wanted to come back, whatever outcome this battle held would've already happened by then.
The Ghoul Lord also joined the assault, thrusting its scythe at Callum.
Callum, wasting no time, dived away from the Ghoul Knight's attack and slashed his sword at the main threat—
The Ghoul Lord.
CLANG!
The Ghoul Lord twisted unnaturally, parrying mid-turn, but Callum's sword was already coming around the other side. This time it bit flesh, slicing a chunk of decayed shoulder.
Dark mist bled from the wound. The Ghoul Lord screeched and retaliated with a brutal slam of its scythe. The sheer force sent Callum flying across the chamber, tumbling over debris before skidding to a stop.
He groaned, wiped blood from his lip, and stood again, a smile crossing his face.
"You're gonna need more than that," Callum said boldly as the Ghoul Knight and the Ghoul Lord charged in unison.
It was then that a thought crossed his mind, a sudden remembrance.
With a smile, Callum called forth his soul-crafted weapon...
Bonecrush Tyrant Axe.
CRACK!!!
With a single strike, the Ghoul Knight stumbled and slammed against the stone wall, dark-red mist gushing from its head as it slumped...
Dead.
The Ghoul Lord suddenly froze—but it was too late to retreat. Callum, switching to his sword in his left hand, quickly slashed another chunk from its shoulder.
"I told you... You'd need more than this to take me down..." Callum said and stared at the bone axe.
------------
Name: [Bonecrush Tyrant Axe]
Rank: [A]
Effect:
-Unleashes a devastating cleave empowered by the wrath of the Goblin King. Deals 100% damage to monsters below A-rank, 50% damage to A-rank monsters, and increases in rank when striking bone-traited monsters.
-Increases damage by 10% when paired with a sword-type weapon.
Durability: [7 days]
Mana Required: [0] (Soul-crafted weapons do not require mana)
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It was the first time he had used this weapon, and he couldn't have been more amazed by its power.
After observing the effect, he understood why the Ghoul Knight died instantly after the strike.
Since the Ghouls were bone-traited monsters, the rank of the Bonecrush Tyrant Axe had increased from A to S, allowing it to deal 100% critical damage.
Now, the Ghoul Lord, who was S-rank,would only need two strikes to be taken down, judging by a clear estimation.
Callum smiled.
"One of us has to die..." he muttered.
"You need my meat. I need your soul."
This time, the Ghoul Lord didn't charge.
Callum did.
As the Territory Boss that it was, it fought back, but it was clear Callum wouldn't miss every strike—even if not all of them landed consecutively.
WHACK!
It only took a few seconds before Callum landed two successful strikes with the Bonecrush Tyrant Axe, finally beheading the Ghoul Lord of Dreadfang Cavern.
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[You have slain an S-rank Ordinary Monster, Ghoul Lord of Dreadfang Cavern. +1100 EXP.]
[You have defeated a Territory Boss! The second in your name!]
[You have gained 15 Stat Points.]
[Ghoul Lord has dropped a Loot!]
[Loot Name: Ghoul Lord Super-corrupted Armor.]
[You have leveled up to Level 10!]
[You have successfully gathered 10 Gacha Scrolls and can now make your first Pull!]
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Callum smiled as he stared at the interface, then looked down at the body of the dead Ghoul Lord.
With a short thought, he bit his lip and sighed.
"First Pull... I'll try to summon Grandma…"