"They’re back already?" one of the analysts inside the military van said as she noticed the heat signatures of the ten awakeners coming out of the gate.

"Nobody’s hurt, right?" another analyst asked while focusing on the screen in front of her.

"Yeah... It doesn’t even seem like they had a serious fight."

"Well, as expected of the C-Rank awakeners."

"But I don’t think that’s the case..." the analyst muttered to herself.

***

"Give me a rundown of what took place," Captain Morgan said as she looked at the awakeners now standing before her.

She was also surprised they had returned so quickly. Then again, they were C-Rank awakeners. However, unstable gates were unpredictable. This particular gate had already evolved once, and there was no guarantee what monstrosity could be in there.

That was precisely why ten awakeners had been dispatched instead of the usual five.

The team leader stepped forward and saluted Captain Morgan before giving a brief rundown of what had happened.

When she reached the part about the Boss Room, her tone grew more serious.

"When we got there, the Boss Room was a mess. It was clear that a fight had taken place there," the leader said.

"What do you mean by a fight having taken place there?" Captain Morgan asked, surprised.

"Well, Captain, the room was in ruins, and the corpse of the Dungeon Boss lay on the ground. We were lucky we found it before it disappeared. Both the Dungeon Core and Monster Core were gone."

Captain Morgan’s expression darkened.

"A dead Boss Monster...?"

"Yes, Captain." The team leader nodded. "The corpse had suffered extensive damage. Judging from the state of the room, the battle was also intense."

Silence fell over the area. The nearby analysts exchanged uneasy glances. That shouldn’t have been possible. The gate had remained sealed until the military arrived.

Captain Morgan folded her arms.

"What rank did you estimate the Boss Monster to be?"

The team leader hesitated for a moment.

"...From what we could tell, it should have been a low C-Rank monster, but not quite. Something around the peak of D-Rank, Captain."

The atmosphere instantly shifted. Several analysts froze.

A peak D-Rank monster that was close to reaching C-Rank wasn’t something that could be casually dealt with.

"And you’re telling me someone killed it before your team arrived?"

"That is our current assumption."

Captain Morgan’s eyes narrowed.

"What about traces?"

"Very few," the team leader said. "Most of the evidence was destroyed during the battle. However..." She paused.

"However?"

"There appeared to be signs of a second battlefield inside a cave in the dungeon."

Captain Morgan’s gaze sharpened.

"A second battlefield?"

"Yes." The team leader nodded. "It looked like whoever entered there fought a powerful monster before their final confrontation with the Dungeon Boss."

The surrounding personnel fell silent. For some reason, the situation felt far more disturbing than an ordinary gate clear.

Captain Morgan slowly looked toward the unstable gate. For the first time since arriving, she felt slightly uneasy.

"Someone entered that gate before us."

Nobody spoke. Because if that was true, then the question wasn’t who killed the Boss Monster.

The real question was: How had they entered in the first place? And how had they left without anyone noticing?

Captain Morgan remembered a similar situation not long ago.

’It couldn’t be possible. A person can only awaken once, and their rank is permanent. So I don’t think it has to be that person.’

Her eyes narrowed as she turned to the female soldier standing beside her.

"Get me that adventurer who helped evacuate the residents around here. And bring out all nearby security footage."

"Yes, Captain!" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

RUMBLE!

At the same time, the Gate suddenly trembled. Everyone immediately turned toward it.

"The Gate is collapsing!"

"Everybody move back!"

Several soldiers shouted.

Cracks rapidly spread across the Gate’s surface.

Captain Morgan watched silently. A strange feeling settled in her chest. It felt as though this wouldn’t be the end.

BOOM!

The Gate shattered into countless fragments of light before disappearing completely.

***

Meanwhile, deep inside the Undead King’s Palace, the cave fell silent.

’If not for Detect Presence, I wouldn’t have known he was here. And he’s no weaker than the Dungeon Boss... maybe even stronger.’

Reiji thought to himself.

"So what do you want?" Reiji asked in a sharp tone.

"What do I want? Hahaha... You are asking me what I want in my own palace?" the Undead King asked, amused by this little human’s bravado.

"Yeah, so what?"

The Undead King’s gaze turned cold.

"You trespassed into my palace, killed my workers, and you’re still acting tough. Get on your knees and beg for mercy, or I’ll kill you."

The Velsra, sensing the Undead King’s power, was terrified. Thinking he intended to kill Reiji, it quickly rushed forward and grabbed his leg.

"Oh, Your Grace! It was this bad man! I never wanted to help him, but he forced me with that terrifying dagger! Please finish him off, Your Grace!"

The undead skeleton stared at the Velsra clinging to his leg and kicked it away.

"Insolent worm..."

The Velsra struggled to its feet and clutched its head in pain.

"What the hell..."

Reiji equipped the Knight Sword and held the Soul Torture Blade in his right hand.

The Undead King stared at him.

The human he wanted to fight.

He could sense that the human’s body wasn’t at its peak because of the many injuries covering it, but he still wanted to face him.

The Undead King couldn’t help but feel amused.

"Neither your blade nor any treasure or skill will save you."

Then his gaze fell upon Reiji’s arm.

"Huh? You have the guts to make a cheap replica of the Laktham Ring!"

The Undead King’s hollow eyes, which held flickering blue flames, suddenly turned cold, and the blue flames shifted to crimson red.

He removed his robe, revealing sleek black armor engraved with intricate blue designs.

"Since you don’t want to beg, then I’ll kill you."

Reiji was confused about what he had said about a ring but couldn’t be bothered with it and activated the Sword Dancer skill.

They stared at each other. The air turned silent and heavy. Even the Velsra didn’t dare breathe. Only the sound of the waterfall filled the cave.

BOOM!

Both of them shot forward from where they stood, the ground beneath their feet cracking.

The Velsra’s eyes widened in shock.

The man was stronger than he looked.

CLANG!

Reiji’s sword and dagger collided with the Undead King’s arms.

"I never thought you could block it despite your body being weak compared to your strength. And tell me, was that a skill just now?"

"You talk too much."

Reiji swung a kick at the Undead King’s face, but he caught it easily and threw his leg aside.

Reiji staggered backward.

The Undead King was strong, and he was also right.

His body was weak compared to his strength.

’I didn’t expect him to be a combat-type fighter. I really need to be careful. Though some of the wounds from the Tribe Leader Ogre fight had healed, the rest hadn’t.’

Reiji activated Shadow Step again, activated Strength of the Overlord, and used Mana Manipulation to boost his mana by two times.

Then he vanished from where he stood.

CLANG!

The Soul Torture Blade and Knight Sword carved across the Undead King’s chest.

Sparks erupted from the armor.

The Undead King slid several meters backward.

The Velsra’s jaw dropped.

"He actually pushed His Majesty back..."

Reiji didn’t waste the opportunity and used Shadow Step again.

His figure vanished, then appeared behind the Undead King.

SLASH!

Another long mark appeared on the armor, then another, then another.

The Undead King’s armor gradually became riddled with cuts.

For the first time, surprise appeared in the burning red flames within his eye sockets.

"You are stronger than I expected, human."

Reiji smirked.

"You’re slower than I expected."

BOOM!

He kicked the Undead King in the chest and sent him crashing through a stone pillar. The entire cave shook violently, and dust filled the air.

The Velsra stared with wide eyes.

"He’s actually overwhelming His Majesty..."

Silence followed.

Then a low laugh echoed through the cave.

"Hehe..."

A laugh echoed through the silence. Then it gradually grew louder.

"Hehehehahahaha..."

The rubble exploded apart.

BOOOOOOM!!!

A terrifying pressure erupted from the Undead King’s body.

The Velsra immediately collapsed onto its knees.

Reiji’s smile slowly disappeared.

The Undead King stepped out of the dust.

Not a single scratch remained on his armor.

His crimson eyes burned brighter than before.

"You’ve entertained me enough."

The king rolled his shoulders. The sound of cracking bones echoed throughout the cave.

"Now..." His gaze locked onto Reiji. "Let us begin properly."

Reiji’s instincts screamed danger.

BOOM!

The Undead King vanished.

In the next moment...

BAM!!!

A fist slammed into Reiji’s stomach.

Reiji’s pupils contracted, his vision blurred, and his body shot through three pillars before crashing into the far wall.

Reiji coughed up blood and fell to the ground as he lost consciousness.

An oppressive silence descended upon the cave.

The Velsra trembled.

’One attack. Just one attack. And the battle had completely changed.’

The Undead King calmly walked forward.

"Here I was praising you, and just one hit knocked you down? Pathetic."

SHIING!

The Undead King suddenly drew a long sword out of nowhere, the tip scraping against the ground and sending sparks flying.