Debuff Master

Chapter 753

While Siegfried was locked in combat with the Savior, Hamchi found himself squaring off against King Frederick.

“You filthy rodent!”

As a chimera imbued with monstrous strength, King Frederick launched powerful attacks at Hamchi. Unfortunately, regardless of his strength, he was still no match for Hamchi, a Great Spirit.

“Kyuuu! Who are you calling a rodent?!” Hamchi retorted, swinging his enlarged paw and swatting the king.

Bam!

With a single blow, King Frederick was blasted several meters away, and he ended up coughing and gasping from the pain.

He possessed monstrous power that could easily crush a human, yet he found himself helpless before the gigantic hamster’s strength.

“Go on, say it again. I dare you! Kyuuuu!” Hamchi threatened, stomping his way toward him. Then, he mounted the king and pummeled him with his massive paws.

“A-Arghhh!”

“Who’s the rodent now?! Kyuuu!”

“S-Stop! Ack!”

“Say it again! I dare you! Kyuuu!”

The bruised and badly beaten King Frederick could only cower under Hamchi’s relentless assault. The Great Spirit of the Forest, Hamchi, possessed strength capable of easily beating a normal adult human to death, just like the king with his newly modified body.

It was then...

“Frederick! You scoundrel!”

“You are a disgrace to the royal bloodline!”

“Are you not ashamed of yourself?!”

“How dare you call yourself a king of the mighty Zavala Kingdom?!”

“You’re not worthy of being our descendant!”

The spirits of past kings appeared and rushed at King Frederick. Even his own father, King Margrete, was among them.

“You’re no son of mine, Frederick! How could my son stoop so low as to slay your own brothers just to seize the throne?! Not only that, you even killed me! Me! Your father! How can you claim to be a true heir?! You’re worse than a beast!” King Margrete fumed and charged directly at Frederick.

“A-Ah! F-Father!” Frederick cried out, terrified by his father’s vengeful spirit. He almost lost his mind in a fit of panic.

“Kyuuu...?” Hamchi tilted his head in confusion, unsure of what to do.

Siegfried had asked him to capture Frederick, but he hadn't said anything about killing him. Also, he made it clear that he wanted to get information regarding the Church of Osric from Frederick.

Hamchi felt conflicted about whether he ought to let the spirits handle things or protect Frederick.

“Kyuu...? What should Hamchi do? Should I go ask owner punk?”

While he was pondering, Frederick, consumed by terror, crawled over and clung to Hamchi’s furry leg.

“S-Save me! I’ll tell you everything! Everything you wanna know! Just please help me!”

“You’re a disgrace to the legacy of our forefathers! To think that I brought such an ingrate into this world! That is my biggest mistake! Alas, I shall put an end to you and fix my mistake, even if it’s from beyond the grave! Frederick!” King Margarete shouted with flames of fury blazing in his eyes.

And he was not alone...

“Shame on you!”

“Scoundrel!”

“Shame! Shame!”

“How can you ruin the legacy of our dynasty that has spanned for centuries?!”

The spirits of the former kings all roared in unison, and their wrath was magnified as they charged toward Frederick.

“Kyuuu! Oh, what the hell! Hamchi will protect you, Frederick—for now!” Hamchi exclaimed. He sprang into action and fended off the vengeful spirits without any further hesitation. After all, Siegfried wanted to obtain information regarding the Church of Osric from King Frederick.

***

“Damn it...” Siegfried cursed under his breath.

The wraiths reappeared and swarmed around him once again.

But amidst the tension, a thought popped up in his mind.

‘Wait, is this really a bad thing? Isn’t this actually a blessing in disguise?’ he wondered.

He recalled how he leveled up from defeating the wraiths just a while ago. If taking them down again meant obtaining Experience Points, then this battle could turn out to be a golden opportunity for him to grow rapidly.

‘Alright, let’s go at it again,’ he thought with a smirk.

It was then.

“Wraiths! Seek your revenge!” the Savior’s voice resounded.

Ding!

A notification popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Alert: The Wraiths are enraged!]

[Alert: All Wraiths stats have increased by 200%!]

[Alert: Their Attack Speed and Movement speed have increased by 500%!]

The sudden buff left him reeling.

‘T-Too fast!’

Siegfried instinctively placed down Shadow Hell to slow them down, followed by Wave of Truth to purge all of the buffs cast on them. Wave of Truth was the perfect counter that would allow him to strip them down and beat them to a pulp, just like earlier.

Rumble!

However, he realized something was wrong the moment the Wave of Truth surged past the wraiths.

‘Huh? It didn’t work?’ Siegfried was taken aback after seeing that the skill had no effect whatsoever. It seemed that the wraiths were buffed not from a buff but from their own innate strength. It was like they were simply channeling their own fury to enhance their stats and were not relying on any external forces to become stronger.

“Damn it!” Siegfried cussed.

Despite the setback, he managed to get away from the charging wraiths thanks to the effects of Shadow Hell, and then he unleashed a series of debuffs before using Splitting Heaven and Earth once again.

Krwaaaang!

Explosions rippled throughout the area around him.

[Alert: You have gained 1 Experience Point!]

[Alert: You have gained 1 Experience Point!]

[Alert: You have gained 1 Experience Point!]

[Alert: You have gained 1 Experience Point!]

(omitted...)

[Alert: You have gained 1 experience point!]

A flurry of notifications popped up in front of his eyes, but these were not the ones he had hoped to see.

‘Tsk... It’s not profitable at all,’ Siegfried grumbled inwardly, clicking his tongue.

Although disappointed, he didn't lose focus.

‘If physical attacks and light-attribute attacks don’t work... what will work? Absolute Zero?’ Siegfried stared at the Savior and pondered about how to overcome a seemingly invulnerable opponent.

His most powerful skills, Torrential Flower Rain, Touch of Death, and Absolute Zero, were still available, and he also had his buff skills, Overclocking and Grand Duel.

Unfortunately, he could not use them recklessly, as there was a chance that those skills were useless against the Savior, and he'd be left completely exposed once those skills were cast.

A moment of weakness was enough for him to lose everything.

“Why dig your own grave, Siegfried van Proa?” the Savior asked in a taunting tone as if sensing Siegfried's dilemma.

“What?”

“I warned you, did I not? Your sins will never disappear.”

“What nonsense is that—” Siegfried was about to retort, but he was interrupted.

Gwuuoooh...!

“I’ll tear your soul to shreds!”

“Vengeance! I will not stop until I have my vengeance!”

“I will haunt you until the day you die...!”

The wraiths reappeared and surrounded him once again. This time, their HP bars were longer, and they looked larger than before. On top of the buff they received earlier, their stats seemed to have increased by at least fifty percent as well.

“You gotta be kidding me...” Siegfried muttered.

For a moment, he felt the urge to just log out of the game, as the situation was so frustrating and unfair. The idea of losing seemed far more appealing than this utter mess.

However, he refused to give up.

‘No, there’s a way through this. There has to be one.’

Determined, Siegfried fought off the empowered wraiths while racking his brain for any possible solution against the Savior.

‘There’s no such thing as unbeatable bosses. Think... Think... There’s got to be a way out of this mess. That bastard isn’t meant to be taken down by brute force. It’s got to be...’

It was then.

Ding!

A quest window popped up in front of his eyes.

[Alert: A new quest has appeared!]

[Alert: You have received the Quest – Protect the King of the Fallen Kingdom!]

The quest details popped up after the notifications.

[Protect the King of the Fallen Kingdom!]

[Locate King Frederick and protect him from the vengeful spirits of his predecessors and obtain crucial information needed to defeat the Savior.]

[Quest Type: Defense Quest]

[Progress: 0% (0/1)]

[Reward: Essential Information]

[Warning: This quest will fail if King Frederick dies. Act quickly!]

‘Ah! King Frederick! He’s the key!’ Siegfried exclaimed inwardly. A wave of relief washed over him after realizing that he would have lost his chance to discover the Savior’s weakness if he had killed King Frederick earlier.

He cast Shadow Hell once again as soon as it went off cooldown, and then he used Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance to pinpoint King Frederick’s location. Then, without hesitation, he ran as fast as he could in that direction, leaving behind the Savior and the wraiths.

***

Siegfried made a beeline for King Frederick, leaving behind the Savior and the wraiths.

Baaam!

Meanwhile, Yong Seol-Hwa was busy relentlessly hammering away at the barrier around the Iron Palace with her +10 Colossus Fist. Each strike of the hammer carried her resolve to break down the barrier, and thunderous reverberations filled the air.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

How many times had she struck the barrier by now? She had already lost count, but she continued without wavering.

C-Crack... Crack...!

At long last, a massive crack formed on the barrier’s surface.

‘Just a little bit more! I’m almost there!’ Yong Seol-Hwa gritted her teeth and swung her +10 Colossus Fist with renewed vigor after seeing the crack.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Baaam!

The +10 Colossus Fist struck the barrier, causing a web of cracks, and finally...

Claaang!

A hole was finally made in the barrier. The hole was just big enough for one person to slip through, but it was definitely a hole.

‘Alright!’ Yong Seol-Hwa rejoined inwardly, beaming at the sight. Her hands, however, were trembling uncontrollably, and her fingers were swollen and flushed red. Her attempt to break the barrier had taken a toll on her arms and hands, and every single one of her muscles was throbbing in pain.

However, she couldn't care less about the pain.

‘Now I can go help oppa!’ n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

The excitement at the thought of finally being able to go help Siegfried was so overwhelming that it overshadowed the pain.

“Let’s go!” Yong Seol-Hwa shouted, rallying the others. Then, she squeezed herself through the opening in the barrier and entered the Iron Palace ahead of everyone else.

“Seol-Hwa! Wait for us! Don’t go rushing in alone!” Gosran called while rushing in after her.

Seung-Gu and the Head Crusher Guild members rushed into the gap in the barrier, following the two ladies in the Iron Palace in a single file.