The Grade One monster Cryptid’s skill: [Harbinger of Corruption].

Once afflicted by this skill, one of your skills is sealed—permanently. It can never be removed, no matter how much you pay at the temple.

Put simply, whatever skill is selected becomes corrupted, and you are forced to treat it as a graduation skill.

Please, not Storm Gush...

I prayed it wouldn’t land on the only disposable essence I had—Storm Gush—but truthfully, even if it didn’t, I couldn’t relax.

Sometimes, [Harbinger of Corruption] produces a unique side effect.

The odds were around 10%, right...?

Roughly once in ten casts, the selected essence undergoes a random transformation.

Whether it’s a stat, a passive, or a skill—one of the three changes at random. Sometimes for the worse... but sometimes even for the better.

Ah, not that that’s any comfort.

Like, if the Grade 5 skill [Giant Form] gets “upgraded” to the Grade 3 skill [Gigantify], that’s not an upgrade for me.

In that case, I’d have to throw away all my equipment.

Because [Gigantify] doesn’t qualify for the [Unification] modifier—

WHHHHHHRRRM—!

Just as my thoughts reached that point, a dark crimson glow began to radiate from my body.

The telltale effect of corruption beginning.

There’s no way to stop it. All I can do is pray.

Please, please, please...

Among the many threads linking me to my past monsters, one began to change color—bleeding from red to black.

I quickly traced the thread to its source.

“Ah...”

Thank Behell—Storm Gush was spared.

It also wasn’t that messy hybrid monster I assumed housed [Giant Form].

“The Essence of Bayon is corrupted.”

“This Essence cannot be used for 180 days and cannot be removed afterward.”

Bayon’s essence—could’ve been worse.

[Transcendence] is technically a graduation-tier skill, but in terms of immediate combat, losing it doesn’t cripple me.

The real problem was—

“Shit. This is bad.”

As the thread turned pitch black and reached Bayon, a hideous shriek rang out.

[...KAAAAAAAAAAAARGH—!!]

It sounded like organs being twisted apart.

Only one effect causes that reaction.

“The Abyss calls to you.”

“Bayon’s Essence is deeply corrupted.”

The 10% chance triggered.

***

“Passive Skill [Transcendence] has permanently ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) changed.”

“[Transcendence] no longer enhances all passive skill performance.”

“Active Skill [Transcendence] has permanently changed.”

“From now on, when [Transcendence] is used...”

***

I hit the 10% jackpot.

But damned if I know what actually changed.

Stat? Passive? Active?

Hell, maybe all three.

[Harbinger of Corruption] is that kind of skill.

Completely unpredictable.

I’d once tried to use it deliberately to enhance a fully built character—but the risks and combinations were too insane. I gave up pretty fast.

Anyway.

This isn’t the time to be thinking about that.

I’ll figure out what happened to [Transcendence] later—

“Yandel...!”

Snapping back to reality, I raise my shield just in time to block the incoming blow.

“Block successful.”

“Aegis Barrier absorbs all incoming damage.”

I’d briefly been lost in that mental realm, but my body’s condition is still... wretched.

“Character is suffering from Poison (Extreme).”

My body’s so saturated with venom, I can literally smell my organs rotting through my nose.

“Sven Parab casts [Prayer of Protection].”

“30% of all damage taken is converted into divine power...”

“...”

Even with real-time healing and buffs flooding in—

“Sniktura has cast [Fatal Poisoning].”

“Character HP is below 20%. Poison effects are increased by 8x.”

I can’t stop this body from marching toward death.

But—

“Elwen Fornaci di Tersia is casting [Focused Shot].”

Time continues its steady march.

How long has it been now...?

Not sure.

But I’m certain it’s been over ten minutes since Elwen began casting [Focused Shot]...

“Yandel!”

I hear Raven shout behind me.

“I get what you’re doing! But isn’t it enough already?! We’re all at our limits!”

To be honest, I felt the same.

I knew exactly what she meant...

“...Not yet.”

Not yet. Absolutely not.

If this one shot goes wrong—we’ll never recover.

So...

“What? You’ll die like this! Not just you—”

“I’ll be fine.”

I can endure.

***

How long’s it been since Raven called out? I don’t know. But the setup hasn’t changed.

BOOOOOOM—!

I’m still getting pummeled, inching closer to death.

“Elwen Fornaci di Tersia is casting [Focused Shot].”

Elwen holds her focus.

Only difference now—

“B-Bjorn...! Enough already!”

Not just Raven. Other team members start joining the chorus.

Even Elwen.

“U-Uncle! Isn’t this enough?”

...Am I really in that bad shape?

Weird. I don’t feel pain anymore.

Just kind of heavy.

“Damn it... Punish me later if you want! I can’t just sit and watch anymore!”

“Same here!”

Even the frontliners I’d ordered to stay back ignore my command and rejoin the front line.

Not that they last long.

“Ainard Prnelin casts [Crouch].”

“Meland Kaislan casts [Iron Will]...”

Maybe two minutes?

But I don’t belittle their effort.

Two minutes is a long time.

“Beheeeell—RAAAAAAH!!”

As I watch Ainard rise with a twisted arm and see Kaislan passed out, I make the call.

Okay. This is it.

Any longer, and someone will die.

Even if I can take it, they can’t.

So the moment that thought solidifies—

“Fire, Elwen.”

No confirmation needed.

As if she’d been waiting for it, Elwen ends her concentration and releases the string.

“......”

I don’t know how long she charged that shot, but the effect wasn’t flashy.

No—calling it “flashy” would be misleading.

Because we couldn’t see anything.

Except the blinding white light that filled the entire chamber.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━!!!

Not even the sound of it breaking the sound barrier came through.

But the shockwave brushing my skin told me everything I needed to know.

“This damage was dealt by a bonded ally.”

“The Light of Trust protects the character from this damage.”

If not for No.12’s Trust effect, I doubt my half-dead body would’ve survived.

A shiver runs down my spine.

But—

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM—!!

No matter how powerful the shot, admiration is pointless right now.

There’s only one thing that matters:

Was it enough to kill Sniktura in a single blow?

We soon got our answer.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━!!

The ringing in my ears—a sharp, crushing tinnitus—slowly fades.

My vision returns, and I see the aftermath.

CRACKLE, ZZTZTZT—!

Machines sparking and sizzling.

CHHHHHHHHHHHH—!

Steam rising like a geyser.

And through the haze—

THUD—!

Sniktura. Lying on the floor with a massive hole blown through its throat.

“......”

I processed the scene before me.

No, more precisely—I recalled the earlier conversation.

[Bill Ironred.]

[If I remember correctly, he changed his name once.]

[It was a very common name.]

Yeah... ominous hunches are never wrong.

It really was Hans, huh...?

Because instead of dissolving into shimmering light like other monsters—

“Goddammit.”

Its tail was still twitching.

“Sniktura’s HP is below 10%.”

“[Final Radiance] has activated.”

The gamble had failed.

***

Sniktura’s second passive: [Final Radiance], following [All-Poison Physiology].

This skill activates automatically when its HP falls below 10%.

Its effects are brutally simple.

“All of Sniktura’s stats are doubled.”

“Sniktura gains complete immunity to all status effects.”

“Sniktura gains damage immunity bonuses...”

Utterly broken.

Oh, there are a few handicaps, sure.

“Sniktura’s movement is restricted temporarily.”

It can’t act for 60 seconds after activation.

Then again, calling that a “handicap” is generous.

The other downside is more useful.

“While [Final Radiance] is active, HP drains rapidly.”

So even though it’s immune to damage, it still loses HP over time.

Meaning you don’t have to do anything—just wait, and it’ll die on its own.

And it can’t cancel the skill either.

The battle won’t end until either it dies or we do.

If I remember right, draining that last 10% takes about five minutes.

Five minutes.

Depending on perspective, it could be long... or short.

But relying on old memory, I make a decision.

If this were under Yacharul rules, with all skills sealed, maybe it’d be doable.

But with infinite MP like now...

One minute.

That’s all it’ll take for Sniktura to rip us all to pieces.

Thump—!

No matter how I try to stay optimistic, only despair fills my mind.

There’s only one option left.

BANG BANG—!

I turn away from Sniktura and pound my fist on the sealed entrance.

“Arta! Isn’t it enough already?! Open the goddamn door!”

[...]

“If we die, that thing dies too—you know that!”

[...]

“Arta! ARTA!!”

I shout in desperation, but there’s no reply.

I knew the speakers were broken, but... could it be that even Arta can’t see what’s happening in here?

Shit.

“U-Uncle?”

“What’s going on, Yandel?”

“We need to finish it now—it can’t even move—!”

My comrades speak, not understanding my behavior—but their words don’t register.

For the first time in a long, long time—

I was in despair.

I’d always held onto logic, always clung to the hope of survival, no matter how bad things got.

But not this time.

“It’s over.”

“Eh...?”

“I’m sorry. Because of my miscalculation, I’ve doomed us all.”

“What are you saying...?”

“Soon that thing will move. And when it does... we’re done. I’m sorry. Truly.”

Maybe my face showed how serious I was.

Because the others started to change too.

“If there’s anything you want to say, say it now. Soon, you won’t get another chance.”

I said it to them—but also to myself.

On this long journey, I’ve witnessed countless deaths.

People grow astonishingly strong in their final moments—but also, profoundly vulnerable.

All the layers we wrapped ourselves in get stripped away, and our rawest selves come out.

Just like me, right now.

Even though Amelia isn’t here...

“Elwen. Misha. Listen carefully.”

If I die, I have to say this first.

“The truth is—”

Just as I began to speak—

“S-Stellar...!”

“...Huh?”

“[Agent of the Star]!”

A sacred light bursts out from somewhere.

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—! 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

A warm, awe-inspiring silver radiance so pure it freezes you in place.

“Sven Parab has cast the Zero-Rank divine spell [Agent of the Star].”

.

.

.

.

“Casting requirements met.”

“Star Goddess Reatlas descends into this world through the body of Sven Parab.”