Sensing the intruders, the shadows on the face of the Silent Penitent flickered violently.
In the next moment, it moved.
There was no sound of footsteps, no whistle of wind.
Its figure suddenly blurred and fragmented where it stood, like smoke being scattered, only to instantly re-coalesce in another position ten meters away!
The shattered ritual scepter in its hand, carrying a heavy, dull force, swept toward Silvia, who was closest to it!
It was fast—and completely silent. There had been no indication of its approach!
Silvia's pupils shrank. Thanks to the 【Light Shield】 she had cast in advance and her constant vigilance, she retreated sharply to the side and rear, acting almost entirely on combat instinct. At the same time, she pointed her staff forward, and a more solid shield of light instantly expanded before her.
Thud!
A silent impact.
The light shield rippled violently, fine cracks spreading across its surface.
Silvia staggered back from the sheer force of the blow.
Although she wasn't directly injured, the power of that single strike was enough to show them the strength of their opponent.
After failing to land a hit, the Silent Penitent's form fragmented again, vanishing from the spot. It instantly reappeared behind Victoria, who was struggling to maintain the charge for 【Flame Storm】. The broken tip of the scepter, like a venomous stinger, lunged straight for her back!
As expected, it knew to target the backline first!
Greg's eyes sharpened.
The moment the Silent Penitent vanished, he had already charged toward Victoria's general direction.
With a flick of his right hand, a pre-prepared LV2 Fireball shot out. He didn't aim for where the Silent Penitent might appear, but rather at the open space behind Victoria to exert area pressure.
Sizzle—
The Fireball exploded, sending a wave of heat outward.
The newly manifested Silent Penitent was momentarily hindered by the flames, its stabbing motion slowing by half a beat.
In that split second of delay, Greg reached her. He used his left arm, partially covered by the Bracers of Darkness, to block the scepter tip aimed at Victoria, while his right fist gathered strength and smashed toward the shadow-covered face of the entity.
The Silent Penitent's form vanished again, only to suddenly appear behind Greg, swinging its staff in a heavy blow.
LV2 Blunt Resistance!
Greg let out a muffled groan, tanking the hit head-on.
Just as the Silent Penitent prepared to attack again, Silvia's support arrived.
A searing 【Holy Light Arrow】 shot silently toward the Silent Penitent. Although the entity dodged the strike, it was forced to abandon its pursuit of Greg.
Greg took the opportunity to regroup, throwing a grateful glance toward Silvia.
Against an enemy capable of teleportation, the key was to find an opening to use the Strong Paralysis Venom Gland to cripple its high mobility.
Greg made a split-second decision.
He began to move constantly, using LV2 Fireball and LV3 Water Gun to disrupt the Silent Penitent's rhythm while searching for an opening.
However, the Silent Penitent's attacks were fierce and erratic, its teleportation following no discernible pattern. No matter how careful he was, new wounds continued to appear on Greg's body.
If not for Silvia's continuous light shields and healing, combined with Greg's own LV2 Blunt Resistance, he likely would have been unable to hold out by now.
The stone chamber remained deathly silent, save for the air vibrating from the surge of mana. The atmosphere was oppressive to the extreme.
After another evasion, the Silent Penitent predicted Greg's movement. It teleported to his flank, the shattered scepter tip glowing with dense shadow energy as it lunged at a treacherous, lethal angle toward Greg's ribs!
This strike was far faster than the previous ones, clearly a long-premeditated killing blow!
But Greg saw an opportunity in this attack.
Just as the scepter tip, glowing with an ominous light, was about to touch Greg's body—
LV1 Insubstantiality activated!
His body instantly became translucent, as if merging with the dim light of the room.
The fatal thrust passed through his insubstantial ribs without resistance, as if piercing a phantom!
The Silent Penitent's certain-kill strike hit nothing but air, and the momentum of the failed attack left it in a brief moment of recovery lag.
It seemed momentarily stunned by the unexpected turn of events, the flickering shadows on its face freezing for a heartbeat.
Greg naturally wouldn't let this once-in-a-lifetime chance slip away. He used his thumb to pop the cap off the small crystal vial of Strong Paralysis Venom Gland and smashed it hard against the Silent Penitent's chest, which was leaning forward from the attack!
The vial shattered, and the thick, deep purple liquid of the Strong Paralysis Venom Gland splashed across the target.
The Silent Penitent's movements instantly seized up!
The twisting shadows on its face flickered violently, as if it were letting out a silent roar.
It tried to teleport again, but its form only blurred without scattering. When it re-solidified, its movements were visibly sluggish, like a rusted machine.
"It's just as effective as the guides said!"
Greg retreated rapidly while making a clear hand signal to Silvia.
Silvia understood immediately and changed her strategy.
She no longer focused solely on passive defense and healing, but began casting spells to interfere.
【Light Shield】 barriers appeared directly to the left and right of the Silent Penitent, sandwiching the slowed entity before it could escape.
"Now!"
Greg lunged forward, his right hand spread wide, aimed at the sluggish Silent Penitent.
"Entangle!"
Five pitch-black, resilient mana tentacles shot out, instantly wrapping around its legs, torso, and the arm holding the scepter!
The strong binding force of LV3 Tentacle Entanglement, combined with the effects of the paralysis toxin, firmly locked it in place.
Victoria, who had been monitoring the battle out of the corner of her eye, finally felt the mana within her reach its peak!
The moment she saw the Silent Penitent bound by the tentacles, she knew the opening Greg had promised had arrived!
She poured the surging fire-attribute mana from her entire body without reservation into the complex spell model she had already constructed.
Flame Storm!
Boom—!!!
Though there was no sound, the violent eruption of mana created a visible shockwave!
With Victoria as the center, a raging torrent of crimson flames, like a roaring beast, instantly consumed the area ahead, completely swallowing the struggling Silent Penitent!
The extreme heat distorted the air, causing the moss on the stone walls to char instantly. Even the eerie symbols seemed to wail within the fire.
The flames burned for several seconds before slowly dissipating.
In the center of the stone chamber, where the Silent Penitent had stood, only a few drifting ashes remained, along with a scroll slowly floating down.
The original body of the bound Silent Penitent had completely vanished.
The battle was over.
Hidden Boss: Silent Penitent, successfully subjugated!
Greg breathed a sigh of relief, dispelling the tentacles. He staggered slightly as a sharp pain radiated from the wounds on his shoulder.
"After taking so many hits, it really is... wait, I can speak again."
"Senior Greg!"
Silvia hurried over, her hands glowing with the white light of healing as she began to treat Greg's injuries.
Victoria used her staff to support herself, panting heavily. Her face was pale from exhaustion, but her eyes were bright.
"We... we did it... As expected of me!"
"Yeah, the three of us are pretty strong."
Once his injuries had eased slightly, Greg walked over to the scroll on the ground and picked it up.
This was his primary reason for specifically targeting this hidden boss.
【Silent Covenant】: A special magic item. Upon use, all units within a 50-meter radius of the user enter a state of absolute silence. Duration: 15 seconds. Cooldown: 24 hours.
"With this thing, fighting the Area Lord will be much easier!"
Greg thought this was the greatest reward of the trip, but he soon noticed a system notification in his mind:
【Successfully killed the Silent Penitent. Obtained skill: Shadow-Step LV1.】
(Shadow-Step LV1: Consumes a certain amount of mana to greatly increase the user's speed for the next short-distance movement—no more than 10 meters—leaving an afterimage on the path for 1 second. Has a certain deceptive effect. Daily uses: 3.)
Although it wasn't true spatial movement, looking cool was a lifelong pursuit!
Greg felt exceptionally satisfied.
Rate on N.U.
