Rondark, the evil god, Jaila's fourteen disciple. The evil god had bestowed his power onto him, both monsterizing him and giving him access to four arms.

He was currently attacking Kang Oh with his two bronze arms, as well as his sword.

What about his whip?

Whoosh!

Asu quickly evaded the incoming thorn laden whip.

Bam!

The whip struck the ground. Then, Asu acted like she’d rush in and attack.

Rondark quickly pulled back its whip and prepared another attack.

Asu didn't approach, instead choosing to assess the situation.

Whoosh!

The whip came for her once more. She was completely focused on the whip, allowing her to dodge the whip without much issue.

After that, the same sequence of events repeated over and over again.

Asu acted like she'd approach, causing Rondark to withdraw his whip. Then, she'd stop and the whip would come flying at her once more.

'It's going just as planned.'

There was a simple reason that Rondark was lashing his whip at her.

Distance.

They were at a far enough distance to make his whip the most effective means of attack. The two were neither too close nor too far.

Whenever Rondark missed, she would act like she'd rush in.

As a result, Rondark continuously attacked her to keep her away.

Rondark thought he was keeping her at bay, but Asu was doing this on purpose; she was keeping Rondark's whip from targeting Kang Oh!

This was the best she could do.

With her help, Kang Oh was able to find more weak spots.

Like right now.

Stab.

Normally, Rondark would've blocked it with his left arm, but he was otherwise occupied by Asu.

"Lord Jaila, please grant me more power!" Rondark yelled.

Then, black energy rose from his bronze fist. His sword, which had a tongue attached to the end of it, as well as his whip, which resembled a thorny vine, were fraught with the same black energy.

Pain Bestowed by the Evil God!

To put it simply, it was an overpowered ability that doubled one's damage.

Now, he couldn't afford to make mistakes or act recklessly. If he showed an opening, then it'd be game over.

Despite that, Kang Oh grinned.

Bad news often came with good news.

'That means his HP has dropped below half.'

Rondark would only use this ability when his HP dropped below half.

'It won't be long before he's dead! Gluttony won't last much longer either!'

He couldn't get cold feet now; now was the time to press his offensive.

Kang Oh forcefully swung his sword.

Tempest Tiger!

Shadow Ubist trailed behind the tiger.

* * *

Offense was his only option!

Kang Oh, who'd unleashed his second Tempest Tiger, continuously attacked thereafter.

"Haahp!"

Whack. Whack. Swish. Swoosh.

The damage he dealt far exceeded Rondark's regenerative abilities.

Rondark opened his mouth, countering with a fireball, and also swung his fist and sword.

Not only that, but he was gradually becoming stronger; the more time passed, the more power he received from the evil god, further increasing his strength.

However...!

He still wasn't a match for Kang Oh at full power.

'It's easier than I thought it would be.'

To Kang Oh, who'd felled countless bosses since his Warlord days, this boss wasn't anything special.

But Rondark couldn't be beaten unless one used a healing debuff, or dealt damage that far exceeded his healing abilities.

After experiencing the '1 hour hell' for himself, he felt like the rumors were widely exaggerated.

Then again, this was just his personal opinion. To many players, Rondark was still a nightmare to deal with.

The more time passed, the more powerful he would become; not only did Rondark possess tremendous regenerative capabilities, but could attack from close, mid-range, and long-range.

It didn't matter though; Kang Oh was still too powerful.

'I don't have much time left on Gluttony, so I gotta use another Tempest Tiger before its time is up.'

Kang Oh counted how much time he had left, and kept up his storm-like assault.

Shadow Ubist seemed to agree with its master, as it pounced with even greater ferocity.

"Y-You bastard!"

Forced onto the defensive, Rondark yelled angrily and swung his bronze fist in a wide arc; the black energy around his bronze fist glimmered.

Kang Oh briefly retreated.

Rondark, believing that this was his chance, opened his mouth and raised his head.

Puff, puff, puff, puff!

Countless fireballs filled the air.

Then, they fell!

The fireballs hit the ground, causing fire to ignite throughout the giant hall.

Roar!

The fire wouldn't go out.

With this, Kang Oh and Asu's movements were limited. If they touched the flames, then they'd take fire damage.

Kang Oh's eyes gleamed.

'It's about time to finish this.'

Rondark would only use this ability when the end was near; in other words, he didn't have much HP left!

Kang Oh swung his sword horizontally.

Tempest Tiger!

Gluttony ran out while the golden aura pounced onto Rondark.

Kang Oh landed onto the floor.

Bam!

After the aura swept through Rondark, Kang Oh rushed forward and crazily swung his sword.

Slash, Abyss Aura!

The resulting shards of light were noticeably smaller than before as Gluttony had worn off.

'You have to work with what you have!'

The number of his attacks had decreased.

Darkness Strike or Fang Bearing Blade. It'd be nice if either of those activated!

"Jaila!"

Rondark haphazardly swung his bronze fists, sword, and whip.

Then...

"Kyaahk!"

Asu screamed.

Kang Oh turned his head. Asu had been struck by the whip, causing a large shard of light to burst from her body.

The flames had limited her movement, resulting in her getting hit by Rondark's haphazard attacks.

Kang Oh gritted his teeth.

He saw her quickly take out and drink an HP potion. Despite that, she didn't look like she was in good condition.

If she got hit one more time, then she'd die no matter what.

However, he couldn't rush over to her.

If he did, then he'd given Rondark time to heal himself.

Then, their mission would end in failure. Either he took a huge risk or they failed.

'I'm finishing him!'

He attacked even more fiercely than before!

Kang Oh swung his sword.

Whack!

His attack ignored Rondark's defenses. As soon as he saw the black shards, he put even more effort into his attacks.

'Just a little more!'

At some point, his concentration had reached its peak.

What was the best way to describe it? It felt like his sword was an extension of his body, and swinging it felt so natural!

Not only that, but...!

Everything seemed so clear.

He could see the fear of death and his longing for the evil god within Rondark's eyes. Kang Oh could also see that slight shake in his bronze fist, the shape of the swaying fireballs, the grooves in the ground, and even the small rolling rocks.

Kang Oh had experienced this once before.

It had happened during his battle with Baramut, and he'd also felt it when he fought against 1,000 guild members in his Warlord days.

He'd also felt this against opponents that could match him in Warlord.

Whatever the case, Kang Oh rid himself of any unnecessary movements and moved in the most effective way to defeat his opponent.

Plus, his Hyper Intuition, which warned him of danger and pointed out weak spots, became clearer than ever!

Therefore, Kang Oh just barely dodged each of Rondark's attacks and unhesitatingly attacked his vitals.

Thud.

Rondark fell to his knees.

Kuaah!

Despite that, Rondark attempted to shoot out another fireball.

This was its last act of desperation!

Hellfire Dedicated to Jaila!

His eyes seemingly said, 'I'll burn everything with my final attack!'.

However...!

Swish.

Kang Oh had sliced him in two.

Rondark suddenly stopped moving. The fire that had gathered within his mouth died down as well.

"J-Jaila..."

Rondark's body fell to the ground in two pieces.

[You have defeated Jaila's Fourteen Disciple, Rondark.]

Clink.

The key fell to the floor with a light 'clink'.

Kang quickly picked up the key and yelled, "Let's get out of here!"

Asu rushed over. She had a sliver of HP left.

"I'm coming!"

Kang Oh and Asu ran towards the exit. Once he placed the key in, the door opened with a 'screech'.

Iridescent light came through the opening like a blessing!

The two simultaneously ran through the light.

* * *

Tae Gyu dodged Rondark's bronze fist and scowled.

'This is really tough.'

This was his first time fighting against the monsterized Rondark. After fighting him in person, he realized that Rondark truly was a tough boss.

Rondark constantly attacked with his four arms while spitting out fireballs.

Not only that, but the more time passed, the stronger he would become!

'But there's no way I'll lose with these items!'

Red roots sprouted on Rondark's navel.

He'd hit him with Malak's Sword of Annihilation, so Rondark's regenerative abilities were sealed.

Tae Gyu had taken care of his tremendous healing abilities, so he could easily defeat him with his abilities and equipment.

'The problem is time...'

Tae Gyu thought that it'd take more time to defeat the boss than expected.

He checked how much time had elapsed.

[23:32]

'I won't be able to clear it in 30 minutes... Oh well.'

Tae Gyu decided not to rush; he'd rather take his time and safely defeat the boss than shave off a few minutes by being reckless.

Tae Gyu and Rondark engaged in an intense battle, with Se Hwa healing Tae Gyu from afar. That was the best she could do for him.

In any case, Rondark's healing abilities were sealed and Tae Gyu's skills weren't so shabby, so Rondark's HP gradually went down.

"Lord Jaila, please grant me more power!"

Pain Bestowed by the Evil God!

Rondark's attacks became even fiercer.

His attacks would deal twice the damage, so Tae Gyu was forced to move even more carefully than before.

Clang!

Bam!

Whack!

They quickly exchanged attacks.

[You have taken damage.]

[You have taken damage.]

Tae Gyu was skilled, but he didn't possess Kang Oh's ridiculous evasion. Moreover, Rodark was using all four of his arms to attack him.

Thus, Tae Gyu couldn't dodge all of Rodark's attacks.

Pop.

Gulp.

Tae Gyu, like other players, pulled out an HP potion and drank it down.

Then, they exchanged attacks once more!

Septuple Slash!

Tae Gyu instantly swung his sword seven times.

Then, Rondark opened his mouth and shot out a fireball.

Tae Gyu used his necklace's Magic Reflect, causing the spell to reverse course.

Rondark lashed with his whip as if to say, 'Then how about this!?'.

Tae Gyu revealed his glove, which looked like a beast's hand; the glove created a shield made of light.

Whack!

Once the whip struck his shield, Tae Gyu countered with his sword.

Clang!

Rondark parried Tae Gyu's blade with his bronze fist.

They continued to clash in this manner, but Tae Gyu held the advantage.

Rondark's healing abilities had been sealed, so his HP slowly went down; whereas Tae Gyu's HP was replenished via his HP potions and Se Hwa's healing spells.

At some point...

Rondark spat fireballs into the air.

Then, they plummeted to the ground!

The hall became hell on earth, forcing Se Hwa to move.

'Just a little bit longer!'

Tae Gyu obviously knew what this meant. This sea of flames was a clear indication that the end was near.

'Let's finish this.'

Tae Gyu's eyes glinted.

"Haahp!"

He used his full power.

In the end...

Rondark fell to his knees.

"Hoo, hoo. It's over."

Tae Gyu briefly let down his guard. He should've finished him quicker.

However...!

Right before he finished him off, Rondark unleashed his final flame.

Hellfire Dedicated to Jaila!

"T-This is...!"

Tae Gyu quickly ducked.