Debuff Master-Chapter 879

The +18 Trinity Force, the final magnum opus that Quandt had crafted, possessed stats that rendered Siegfried speechless.

Quandt was one of the best blacksmiths of his era, and knowing that this weapon was the last of his masterpieces created before meeting his end held great meaning.

“Stay out of this, Mother. It won’t end with just you being locked away if you get in my way. I don’t want you to get hurt, so don’t make me do this,” Verdandi warned sternly. Then, she shrugged and added, “After all, you’re a victim too.”

“I cannot do that,” Brunhilde replied firmly, shaking her head. Then, she picked up a half-shattered sword lying on the ground and said, “As your mother, it is my duty to discipline you.”

Brunhilde’s resolve was clear. She was going to stop her rampaging daughter no matter what the cost was.

“Hah! With that pathetic skill of yours?” Verdandi scoffed and sneered, openly mocking her mother.

Verdandi was Level 400, so Brunhilde was nothing more than an ant in her eyes.

“You really are a foolish woman. To think you’re still infatuated with that pathetic man until the very end,” Verdandi spat out, disdain clear in her voice.

“Watch your words, child,” Brunhilde warned.

“Really now? Who do you think should be watching their words here?” Verdandi sneered once again. Then, her expression suddenly turned serious as powerful mana surged from her.

‘I’m dead the moment I let my guard down,’ Siegfried thought, tightening his grip on his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp.

Verdandi was strong, more versatile, and entirely unpredictable in combat. A single mistake against an opponent like her would send him on an express train to hell.

“Don’t worry. I’ll send both of you together to the afterlife. It’s the least I can do, right?” Verdandi said with a chilling, sadistic grin.

‘I have to strike first and put her on the defensive,’ Siegfried thought.

He immediately activated Embrace of Despair and lunged toward Verdandi.

In the blink of an eye—

Flash!

Verdandi teleported directly beside him.

“You’re too slow.”

Before her words could even fall.

Sukeok!

The +18 Trinity Force slashed cleanly across Siegfried’s side.

Splash!

Blood sprayed out from his open wound and tainted the ground.

“Argh!”

Even as blood gushed out from his side, Siegfried swung his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp toward Verdandi. Unfortunately, she had already teleported away by then, widening the gap once more.

She struck and retreated before the Embrace of Despair’s debuff effects could even reach her.

“Darling! Are you all right?!” Brunhilde shrieked in horror and rushed over to Siegfried, helping him stay on his feet.

“I’m fine. This is nothing,” Siegfried replied, pouring a potion over his wound.

‘Damn it... A melee fighter with the ability to teleport? That’s completely broken!’ he groaned inwardly.

Gosran was already a nightmare to handle, and Verdandi actually had the same abilities as the former? She was an even more hellish nightmare, as she was on an entirely different level compared to Gosran in every aspect.

“Why do I feel so repulsed seeing the two of you together?” Verdandi sneered with a twisted grin as she swung her +18 Trinity Force once more.

Whoosh!

Blazing fireballs hurled toward Siegfried and Brunhilde. These were Flames of Annihilation, and these flames would not be extinguished until their targets were completely incinerated.

But the real problem was the sheer number of these fireballs. There was not just one or two of them. Each time Verdandi swung her +18 Trinity Force, dozens of fireballs would shoot forth, blanketing the battlefield.

A single one of these fireballs would have pushed most mages to their limits, yet Verdandi was unleashing hundreds of them like nothing.

At this moment, she was basically a human artillery shooting out a bombardment of fireballs capable of wreaking massive havoc.

“Get back!” Siegfried shouted, transforming his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp into a shield and bracing himself to block the inferno.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The fiery orbs pounded against his shield relentlessly.

“Argh!” Siegfried gritted his teeth and held his shield while planting his feet into the ground.

“Oh? You’re holding out?” Verdandi mocked with a smirk. Then, she began casting an even more powerful spell, one that would blow both of her targets away.

However, Siegfried was not about to stand idly by.

Shwiiiiik!

Verdandi’s eyes widened as radiant swords made of aura began raining down from the sky.

The Transcendent Torrential Flower Rain.

Flash! Flash! Flash!

Verdandi was forced to teleport repeatedly, narrowly avoiding the rain of aura blades.

Meanwhile...

Boom!

Siegfried destroyed the last of the Flames of Annihilation with his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp in hammer form.

“Let’s go!” Siegfried said, balancing back at Brunhilde.

“Yes, dear,” Brunhilde replied.

The husband and wife seized the moment and charged toward Verdandi, who was still busy dodging the rain of aura swords.

***

The battle intensified, Siegfried and Brunhilde showed off their synergy as a couple, mounting immense pressure on Verdandi. Surprisingly, Verdandi struggled to fend off the combined assault of her father and mother.

The difference was evident. Siegfried and Brunhilde honed their skills through countless battles where they risked their lives.

In contrast, Verdandi grew purely through innate talent, but she had little real combat experience.

Thus, the gap between them in terms of experience was undeniable.

Flash!

Verdandi teleported and aimed for one of Siegfried’s vital points.

‘Sacrifice the bone to carve the flesh!’

As Verdandi’s +18 Trinity Sword sliced through Siegfried’s thigh, he made his move.

At that moment, Absolute Zero was activated.

Flash!

A wave of cold energy shot out from Siegfried.

“...!”

Verdandi found herself caught off guard and fully exposed to the skill as she attempted to retreat. Although her higher level prevented her from being frozen completely, the brief moment she was stunned was all Siegfried needed to seize the opportunity.

‘Now!’

Siegfried gathered his mana to amplify the effects of his debuff skill, Embrace of Despair.

Hands shot out from the darkness and bound Verdandi’s arms, legs, shoulders, neck, and ankles.

‘Shred her defenses!’

Siegfried unleashed Eternal Flames, scorching her.

What came next?

‘Time for a beating!’

Siegfried let go of his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp and clenched his fists tightly. Instead of attacking with his weapon, he chose to beat Verdandi using the martial arts techniques he had learned from Leonid.

His goal was not to kill her but to subdue her, so he refrained from delivering any lethal blows.

Brunhilde also abandoned her sword and joined in to restrain Verdandi.

“Grrr!”

Caught by a barrage of debuffs, Verdandi was beaten by her parents until not even a dust fell from her body.

She was immensely talented, but she could not overcome the immense gap in terms of experience. After all, her parents were seasoned veterans who fought with their lives on the line for many years.

[Verdandi van Proa]

[HP: ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜]

Half of her HP disappeared in mere moments.

“You people... You just made a huge mistake,” Verdandi growled.

Just then, the hands binding her transformed into black tentacles.

Alchemy.

She used her ability to transmute matter.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The dark tentacles turned around and shot forward, ensnaring both Siegfried and Brunhilde.

“...!”

“...!”

Neither of them could react in time, as Verdandi’s alchemy was far too unpredictable. The inherently erratic nature of alchemy made it extremely hard to predict, and even those who were on their guard were bound to fall victim to it.

Flash!

Verdandi teleported to escape from the debilitating slowing effects of Embrace of Despair.

“Just die together,” she said with disdain.

Wooong...!

She channeled her mana and unleashed a full-scale bombardment of magic on both Siegfried and Brunhilde, who were currently bound.

***

Even while being ensnared by the black tentacles, Siegfried tried his best to shield Brunhilde from the incoming bombardment.

Boom! Boom!

Meanwhile, Verdandi’s magical bombardment mercilessly rained down on them.

‘Damn it... Should I have just finished this back then?’ Siegfried regretted.

He had the chance to kill Verdandi outright but hesitated at the last second.

This was not reality, so he could just kill her, the dungeon’s boss monster. However, he opted to subdue her instead, as he was still uncertain of the dungeon’s clear conditions.

‘Should I just end it this time?’

It was then.

Ding!

A quest message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Alert: You have triggered a new Quest — Father’s Apology!]

The details were as follows...

[Father’s Apology]

[Apologize to Verdandi sincerely and embrace her once her HP falls below 5%.]

[Type: Quest]

[Reward: Dungeon Clear]

[Progress: 0%]

‘I knew it,’ Siegfried smiled, realizing his hunch was correct.

How many dungeons had he cleared by now? He knew from experience that killing the boss monster was not always the clear condition.

A dungeon’s clear condition could vary depending on its type and would often be unusual methods, just like now.

‘Let’s take this slow and steady until the right moment,’ he thought. freёnovelkiss.com

He decided to bide his time and focus on defense while waiting for an opening.

However, Verdandi inherited Siegfried’s sharp instincts on top of her innate intelligence, so she refused to engage in close combat. Instead, she relied solely on long-range magic attacks while keeping her distance.

Even so, Siegfried was not the type to just continue taking a beating.

Wooong!

Siegfried unleashed the Wave of Annihilation at Verdandi. At the same time, he unfurled his +10 Black Crow Wingsuit and sped forward.

“Help me, Hamchi!”

“Kyuuu! You got it!”

Hamchi, who was tending to Oscar and Michele, immediately responded to Siegfried’s call.

He took in a deep breath before unleashing his signature laser beam attack at Verdandi.

Meanwhile, Siegfried relentlessly pursued Verdandi, who kept teleporting away to evade him.

However, she could not run forever.

‘Now!’

The moment Verdandi went berserk, Siegfried poured ten times the usual mana into his Embrace of Despair.

Woooong!

The skill’s area of effect expanded exponentially and enveloped Verdandi despite her attempts to flee.

‘Good! I have to close the gap now!’

Siegfried closed the distance between them.

“It’s futile,” Verdandi said.

She used alchemy to transmute the dark hands from Embrace of Despair into something else.

But this time, Siegfried was a step ahead of her.

Rumble!

Space and time distorted around Siegfried, and moments later, a sudden burst of darkness swallowed Verdandi whole.

“...!”

Verdandi’s eyes widened when she realized that she had been transported to an entirely different dimension.

Flash!

She attempted to teleport away to safety, but it was futile.

Why?

It was all because escape was impossible in this realm, the World of Despair.

The Lord of Despair ruled this void realm, and there were only two ways to escape—live until the skill’s duration was over or die.

As soon as Verdandi was trapped, Siegfried transformed his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp into a club. He knew it was impossible to subdue such a formidable opponent with just his bare hands, so he was forced to use his weapon.

Of course, Siegfried didn't condone punishing children physically in any way.

‘Let’s wrap this up quickly.’

Siegfried charged toward Verdandi and unleashed a merciless onslaught.

“Argh!”

Despite her level advantage, she was being overwhelmed. The World of Despair completely nullified her advantages and even left her at a massive disadvantage.

Moreover, the gap in their combat experience was insurmountable.

She might be incredibly talented and gifted, but she was like a flower growing in a greenhouse. Therefore, there was no way she could rival Siegfried, who was a wildflower that survived various life and death scenarios.

‘This isn’t real! It’s just a dungeon! Just a dungeon!’

Siegfried gritted his teeth and swung his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp with all of his strength.

Thwack! Thwack!

The beating was too brutal to watch, but he had no other choice. Going astray was one thing, but Verdandi had already gone far too astray.

Sometimes, the only cure for a tyrannical daughter was a good beating.

Thus, Siegfried shut his eyes and mercilessly beat until Verdandi’s HP hit rock bottom.

‘I’m sorry! I’m really sorryyy!’

The only thing he could do was scream his heartfelt apology while the abuse—no, the assault continued.