Bang bang bang—!
The relentless explosions rained down like divine retribution. In an instant, the world consisted of nothing but roaring flames and the shockwaves tearing through the air.
This barrage, akin to an aerial bombardment, would mercilessly inflict the agony of ruptured eardrums on anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in it. But that was hardly the worst of it—the shockwaves and shards of debris were enough to flay the skin from any poor soul’s bones. And the true despair went far beyond even that.
“Splashing water everywhere is far harder than reeling it back in. I suppressed sixteen blast sites—that’s my limit,” Leia said, suddenly appearing behind Xuefei and patting her shoulder.
The female boss thudded to the floor, clamping her hands over her ears. The carnage outside the door was beyond what any civilian unscarred by war could endure. She couldn’t even muster a sound; every ounce of her focus went into blocking out the deafening ringing.
“Wait!”
Xuefei’s eyes flew open wide. She bolted through the door onto the street, still trembling from the blast’s aftershocks. Chunks of brick hurtled through the air like artillery shells, but they disintegrated into powder the moment they struck her.
This wasn’t the first time she’d faced something like this.
“Help—!!”
The main city district had devolved into an unrecognizable wasteland, with the bombardment rippling outward like waves in the distance.
Xuefei traced the cry for help and thrust out her hand. Her white robe billowed in the wind alongside her silver-white hair. Holding little back from the Evil Dragon’s power, she swiftly raised a barrier, shielding the elves who still clung to life from the endless cascade of rubble that would otherwise crush them to pulp. Even so, countless elves perished beneath the collapsing stones.
Here and there, powerful Soul Tier elves were attempting the same desperate feats, only to be consumed by another blaze right before Xuefei’s eyes, joining the swelling ranks of the wounded. In this hellscape, cries for help were drowned out almost entirely by the explosions…
And yet Xuefei kept shouting that name.
“Isabella!!!”
Her pupils sharpened into diamonds as she scanned the surroundings with frantic speed. Afraid of harming the other elves, she refrained from upending the earth like flipping a wok. She continued channeling her power to rescue survivors, but that petite figure never appeared in her line of sight.
“Damn it.”
~~~
“3, 2, 1… click!!”
The echoes of the blasts faded into the distance. Perched atop a towering spire, the lean man opened his eyes wide with exhilaration, drinking in the sight of the world crumbling into ruins below. A sound of pure satisfaction escaped his lips.
The man appeared to be in his early thirties, but he bore no resemblance to the sharp-eared elves who populated the city. He was clearly of another race, one steeped in enigma. He was clad in a tailcoat with his pale hair swept back into a wolf’s tail, and anyone with a keen eye for character could spot the word ‘wild’ etched plainly in his pupils.
A yawning abyss stretched beneath his feet—a single gust of wind could hurl his slight frame into the depths below. Yet he paid it no mind, idly swinging a gleaming pendant from one hand. In truth, it was a communication device, and the next moment, it served its true purpose:
“Complete the mission, and you can come down, Rakudo.”
The voice belonged to a woman, though it carried a neutral, steady timbre.
“Hold on, hold on—my artwork isn’t finished yet. You think this is over?”
“It’s meant to draw that one’s attention, but don’t get carried away, or you’ll invite your own doom.”
“Come on…”
The man raised his hands, forming a camera frame with his thumbs and index fingers, and aimed it down at the city belching thick plumes of smoke—the corner that had yet to erupt in Blazing Flame.
“Click!”
Bang—
Another fireworks display.
“Against my Bombardment Zone, resistance is futile. Not even the Elf Queen can stand against it. Keep struggling, you arrogant elves.”
Bang bang bang—!
Rakudo swept his hand once more, wielding it like a conductor’s baton. The explosions answered in perfect symphony—or so Klaus believed. This time, entire buildings were hurled a hundred meters into the sky before plummeting back down like fragments of a meteor shower.
“Excellent. That ought to grab those fools’ attention, unless they’re complete idiots.”
“Come down now, Klaus,” the woman’s voice returned, laced with impatience.
“What’s there to worry about? With you and old man Klaus on our side, we’re invincible, aren’t we?”
“Besides, aren’t you the Hero? A hero’s got to be brave—ruthless, even—to chase their ideals, right?”
Silence greeted him from the other end.
Not out of agreement with Rakudo, but sheer exasperation.
The so-called Bombardment Zone was precisely Rakudo’s ultimate technique, unleashing endless explosions across the area he had designated. If he so desired, this city would already have been reduced to a merciless meat grinder. Yet without the presence of life, there could be no spread of despair. He knew full well that slaughtering every last elf would render their strategy of luring the enemy deeper utterly unfeasible.
“Orman is faster than us—he’s almost achieved his goal. We have no time left,” the woman’s calm, composed voice rang out once more. “Moti is standing by. She’ll use her Barrier Shield to protect you, and Mr. Klaus will provide cover. Whatever happens, pull back fast…”
Rakudo finally caught a whiff of something off in the hero’s words.
“Hey, Miss Hero, the usual you wouldn’t be this panicked. And now Moti’s in on it too… What the hell did you see?”
The Hero Party was typically a sprawling group, but its core—its true backbone—consisted of just five members.
Old man Klaus, Moti, himself, and the hero herself: without question, the four strongest among them. This was the very heart of the Hero Party’s power. So why was Miss Hero so visibly distraught?!
“Rakudo, have you ever heard of a Hidden Boss? You know, the kind that pops up in adventure tales—something you don’t even have to fight, but it’s way stronger than any of us. A total freak, tucked away in the shadows of the plot just to ramp up the game’s fun and deliver that thrill of surprise.”
“Nope,” Rakudo said, shaking his head. He had no intention of climbing down from the tower.
“You get what a ‘surprise’ is, right?”
“Fine, fine. Sorry for making you nag. I’ll come down right now…”
Whoosh…
The rush of wind.
Rakudo’s eyes flew wide. He knew that sound—the howl of wind and rushing air that made his heart stutter to a halt in an instant.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been nothing more than a shockwave from one of his explosions. But why did it fill him with dread? No… it was outright terror.
By the time the realization hit him with crystal clarity, it was already too late.
High in the sky, a black shadow hurtled toward him at a speed that defied all reason. He wanted to do something—anything—but his limbs refused to obey.
“Oh god, you sure this is a ‘surprise’ and not a ‘scare’, Miss Hero?!”
