I Ascend Alone-Chapter 93: SSS-Rank Dungeon Part XV

My boots crunched over the fractured stone as I walked forward—slow, deliberate steps. I could feel the tension in the air rise with each movement, the faint whine of shifting shadows curling around me like living threads.

Korthar glared at me through the smoke, his massive chest heaving, his body cracked but still burning with abyssal fury. I didn't flinch. I just smiled.

A flicker in the corner of my perception.

CRASH!

The air behind me erupted with force as something massive—no, two somethings—manifested in perfect synchronization.

BOOM!

The first was a hulking figure clad in void-forged armor, standing taller than any human-built construct. Every step it took left craters in the ground, as if the world itself rejected its presence.

Tharog, the Warden of Ruin.

His sword was more like a cleaver—a jagged slab of abyssal steel taller than a house. His body was chiseled from darkness itself, carved into the form of a knight, and yet he bore no insignia of honor. Just ruin. His helmet was a closed maw of iron fangs, glowing red lines pulsing from the cracks in his armor like blood veins.

And then, Maerion, the Watcher in Silence.

He didn't walk. He hovered, gliding forward on silent winds as if reality bent to avoid him. A cloak of living fog wrapped his entire form, coiling around him like smoke escaping a shattered mirror. Fragments of chain dragged behind him, scraping the floor with an eerie, melodic grind.

A fractured mask covered his face—cracked down the middle—revealing a single, flickering eye behind the void.

WHAM!

A heavy blow slammed into my back from Tharog's blade, sending me hurtling forward—but Phantom Tyrant activated instantly, instinct and teleportation merging mid-air to stabilize my movement. I twisted with the momentum, skidding across the cracked floor as shadow wrapped around my shoulders like armor.

Maerion followed in absolute silence, appearing behind me mid-teleport with a ghostly hand extended.

I vanished again.

CRACK!

I reappeared on a nearby ledge, panting lightly as my body recalibrated from the twin assault.

"Well," I muttered, glancing from one to the other. "This escalated."

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Korthar slowly laughed from across the battlefield, blood dripping from his jaw.

"You thought this was about me?" he growled, his voice ragged. "I was never meant to be the Monarch's strongest guardian."

He raised one trembling arm toward the twin horrors behind me.

"We were."

Raiden raised both hands, storm mana crackling across his forearms. "We need to regroup. Fast."

Outside the dungeon, even through the live drone feed, Darius Vaughn's voice dropped into a whisper. "What are those things...?"

Christa Vaughn, watching from behind, whispered the name as it appeared in the system logs.

[ ???: Warden of Ruin – Tharog (SS-Rank)][ ???: Watcher in Silence – Maerion (SS-Rank)]

Alastair Crowe's eyes widened. "Two SS-Ranks... at once?"

Back inside the dungeon, I dropped low, Abyss Monarch Daggers materializing once more in both hands, while Nox'Thalos was placed in my system's inventory.

"Alright," I muttered under my breath.

"Let's see how long you last... before you break."

Shadow danced under my heels as I surged forward again.

Phantom Tyrant activated—this time not to dodge, but to hunt.

I blinked just past Maerion's outstretched grasp, the flickering eye behind his fractured mask twitching as I reappeared right at his blind side. My right dagger curved in, guided by instinct sharpened through blood and battle.

CLANG!

Chains lashed out from Maerion's cloak, intercepting the strike mid-air. They didn't just block—they absorbed the impact, dispersing the force as if the attack had never existed.

I grinned.

"Alright," I whispered, breath fogging in the cold air that wrapped around Maerion's presence. "Let's see how far this power really goes."

Phantom Tyrant surged to its peak, my instincts snapping taut as time slowed to a crawl. Every movement, every breath, every shift in their aggression painted like brushstrokes across my vision.

They moved in perfect sync.

Korthar charged from the front, his molten fist pulled back like a comet ready to fall.Tharog took the flank, stepping with mechanical precision, his cleaver glowing with corrupt ruin.Maerion disappeared completely—his presence dissipated into mist.

I flickered sideways, just barely avoiding Korthar's burning fist. The impact shattered the ground, a shockwave blasting outward.

BOOM!

Tharog's cleaver came down. I parried with a dagger, but the force— the sheer weight behind it—drove me backward like a meteor through rubble.

CLANG! SCRAAAAPE!

I crashed through a jagged wall of abyssal crystal, skidding to my feet with a gasp. My ribs ached. Shadows burst from my spine, holding me upright as Phantom Tyrant's passive flow corrected my stance.

Chains coiled around my ankle. Maerion.

I growled, yanking upward with abyssal force—Shadow Break detonated from the ground beneath me, severing the chains before they could drag me under.

He reappeared behind me mid-motion.

I spun, but too late.

A ghostly palm struck my chest.

[Void Grasp – Maerion]

BZZZRRRTTT!!!

Agony tore through my veins as my mana surged uncontrollably. My vision fractured.

But even as my body screamed, my mind was already reacting—Phantom Tyrant's combat instinct override activated, dragging my body into a dodge on sheer reflex.

I hit the ground and rolled. Maerion hovered back, his mask cracking further.

Korthar was back in front of me, roaring like a war god, flames pouring from his mouth.

Tharog loomed behind me again. Trapping me.

They were coordinating.

Three monsters. Three angles. No escape.

I stood as my chest burned, my arms shook, but my daggers never left my grip.

"Not bad," I muttered, letting a thin stream of blood trail down my chin. "But I'm not here to run."

And then, I summoned my shadows mid-battle with a blink-thought.

"Go"

The shadows around me rippled—then exploded outward.

From them emerged Fenrir, eyes blazing as it howled into the dark.

Six Elite Orcs roared to life behind him, armored in abyssal plate and wielding jagged cleavers.

Dusk Reaver a knight who wield greatsword with shadows imbedded in it.

They didn't wait for orders.

They charged.

Korthar met them with a snarl. Maerion vanished again into fog while Tharog's blade cleaved downward, aiming straight for me, but I didn't dodge. Instead, I reached out caught it.

I looked up at him through the blood on my face.

"You think you're the only ones built to destroy?"

From the shadows beneath me, Nox'Thalos glowed faintly in the inventory space.

I didn't summon it yet as I wanted them to see how far I'd go without needing it.