While Leon was being trashed by the Undead King, the others were facing a quite depressing situation.
Although the undead army were numerous, they were weak. After a few attacks, they crumbled into bone fragments. However, they easily reformed, making them simple immortals.
"Damn goodness! This feels irritating."
Jayden scowled as he watched an undead skeleton he'd killed rise again and almost literally backstab him.
"As if it's any easier her—Oh shit, is that a lich?"
Jones groaned, pushing a bone sword aside as he watched runes light up from the hands of an undead.
"Hell!"
Shouting, Daddy Ye threw his battered shield at the lich. At the same time, the lich finally completed its attack and shot a fireball.
Boom!
The fireball hit the shield, sending it flying through the air. Fortunately, that delay was enough for the targeted evolved to dodge. Seeing the scorched ground, Jayden felt his hair stand on end. If that attack had met anyone with full power, they'd surely get burnt to death.
'When the hell are these things finally going to die?'
He thought, looking around. Everyone was clearly struggling and frustrated. Not because their enemies were strong, but because they kept reviving instantly.
Shiver-!
Suddenly, his body quivered and he felt his blood run cold. Something is wrong. He frowned. His eyes met the other evolved around him. They looked equally disturbed. Then, their gazes were drawn to Leon's fight.
Right before Leon, the Undead King was frozen. It wasn't able to carry out its intended action because of its hindered movement. The sword in its ribcage groaned, almost bending from the strain. However, it remained durable and resilient, contending against the bones of the Undead King.
Naturally, it wasn't unintelligent. Immediately it noticed the problem, it began to move back and then remove the sword stuck in its body. Unfortunately…
"How can I let you?"
Leon's hollow laugh would have made its skin crawl if it had. The white-haired young man stepped forward, ignoring the pale green flames dancing in its eyes. The Undead King's gaze was locked on him, seemingly curious of his actions. He had no weapon. What was he going to do?
Standing before the boss monster, Leon placed a hand on its face, his grip firm. It wasn't something he planned to do, but something primal, instinctive.
"Extract."
The air hummed in response, a soft trembling to a mysterious resonance. Unseen to others except Leon and the Undead King itself, pale grey energy slithered out of its body and was absorbed into Leon. The absorption didn't fuel him with power, but with something raw—essence.
In the background, the apocalypse system's monotone voice echoed.
[User has come in contact with Death Energy]
[User's constitution is incompatible with Death Energy]
[Initiating automatic energy conversion]
[Death Energy → Undead Energy]
Leon's eyes body shuddered, then pulsed. His heart throbbed. Not to breathe, but to support the conversion. The process continued for almost a minute before the Undead King's efforts bore fruit.
It finally escaped from Leon's grasp, staggering back. Swiftly, it removed the sword lodged between its ribs and discarded it.
Raising its sword again, it attacked the enemy before it. To others, its attacks remained frightening.
To Leon, it was barely a shell of its former glory. Leon's right hand turned silver and he caught the blade. It dug into his skin slightly, but stopped. Even if it was sharp, the force behind it wasn't enough to harm him.
'I see. It has gotten weaker after losing most of its energy.'
Leon realized with a nod. The energy he'd siphoned off was the source of this Undead's power and strength. Unfortunately, it had been drained heavily during their one-minute-contact.
"Let's end this charade, shall we?"
Dashing to the side, he picked up his blades from the ground and attacked the Undead King.
Clang! Clang!
The boss monster blocked, but staggered, nearly falling. It took a moment to stabilize itself, then glared at Leon apprehensively. The flames in its eye sockets burned brighter.
Unfortunately, that didn't change anything.
Over the next few minutes, Leon repeatedly pummeled the Undead King, even going as far as to use his fists sometimes.
The other evolved watching couldn't hide their shock. Wasn't this situation a bit too reversed?! In the beginning, Leon was being tossed around, but now… now, the Undead King was being tossed around instead.
Even Anna, who had confidence in Leon couldn't help but be surprised. She hadn't expected this turn of events at all and it threw her off guard. In the end, she could only shake her head with a faint smile.
'What am I surprised about? It's obviously Leon.'
Minutes later, he Undead King's impenetrable defense faltered under Leon's relentless assault.
Crack!
Its elbows cracked, then broke. The arms holding the sword fell to the ground, clattering. With nothing to resist any longer, Leon's blade cleaved the neck. It resisted briefly, but succumbed to the sharpness of the blade.
As soon as the lights in its eye sockets faded, the remaining undead army clattered to the ground. No one needed to tell that they were 'dead'.
Silence reigned in the vast room until it was broken by Little Tiger's joyous shout.
"Woohoo! We cleared a dungeon! Booyeah!"
Slowly, everyone broke into relieved smiles. The strain from the raid had really tested their limits to the brink, almost breaking them. Thankfully, no one died.
"In the end, I won." Cassie whispered to her friend.
"Won what?" Anna turned with a confused frown.
"Hehe. You didn't know? I killed more skeletons than you."
"Tch. Why should I care?"
"Did I ask you to care?"
Everyone unilaterally ignored their bickering and took time to tend to their wounds. Finally, the system made an announcement to them all.
[You have become the first team to clear a dungeon in your world]
[Your rewards are now available]
On the Undead King's empty throne, a golden box appeared, glowing with mystical radiance. This was the reward for clearing the dungeon.