‘MemoryoftheApocalypse.’

AhiddenfieldaccessiblethroughSkullsland.

riginally,thisplacewasjustwhereyoukilledthe“Beast,”thebossoftheislandcalledApocalypsesland,andthatwasit.Butifyoudiscoveredthehiddenelement,youcouldenjoyextracontent.

Forexample...

eavetheislandandgotoArta’ssecretbase,and◈оvеlіgһт◈(Continuereading)youcandotheSnikturaraid.

hen,takethenextquest,gobackandkillthe“Beast”onApocalypsesland,andyoucangetanextrareward.

Andifyourefusethatextrareward,youunlocktherealboss—theMechanicalBehemothArtaraid.

‘wasn’tplanningondoingtheArtaraidanyway,sodon’tneedtothinkaboutit.’

npractice,theonlythingleftformeonthisislandwasthesecondstage—killingtheBeastandclaimingtheextrareward.

Well,that’sifthisguyweren’there.

“m.Atfirst,thoughtitwasjustadifferenceinmanadensity,butnowseetheverynatureofthemanaintheairisunusual.hissortofarrangementusuallyonlyformsartificially...”

Whatthehellisthisguy?

CouldtherehavebeenahiddenchapterbeyondthefinalfightwiththeMechanicalBehemothArta?

Mygamer’sintuitiontoldmetheoddswerehigh.

Andbecauseofthat...

“’llhavetoreturntotheoriginaltimelineandfindthisislandatthesecoordinatestobesure.ftheoriginalislandhasthesamearrangement,thenitmightjustbeanaturaltraitoftheislanditself.”

Sincedidn’tknow,madesuretolistencarefullytoeverylinethatcameoutofhim.

Youknowhowitis—mosthiddencontentingamesstartsfromsomethrowawayPCremark.

‘otthatactuallyunderstandadamnthinghe’ssaying.’

Manathis,arrangementthat,density...’mnomage,sothere’snowaycouldfollowit.

Still,knewonethingforsure—therightroutewastodraghimalongandcleartheBeastraidfirst.

hereasoningwassimple.

“othecenter!Wehavetogettothecenter!needtoobserveitif’mgoingtocomparethedifferencewhenwereturn—”

Yeah.ekepttryingtosendusthere.

“Don’tbesopushy.oingtothecenterdoesn’tmeanit’lljustshowup.”

“What?”

“Just—”

Keepthatinmind,wasabouttosay,when—

[U——!]

heBeast’showlrolledovertheentireisland.

techoedfromeverydirection,somuchsothatitwasmeaninglesstoeventrypinpointingwhereitcamefrom.

“Yourcharacterhasenteredtheradiusof[SongoftheApocalypse].”

quicklystoppedmovingandshouted.

twashappeningsoonerthan’dexpected.

“Battlestations!!”

thadappeared.

***

hebossofApocalypsesland—theBeast.

hemethodtosummonitwassimple.

Stayinitsterritorylongenough,anditappearsnaturally.

Asfarasthegamewent,therewerenootherwaystosummonit.

“Formation...!!”

venaswehurriedtogetintobattleformation,doubtcreptin.

‘...t’sappearingthemomentwestepinside?’

veninthegame,thathadneverhappened.omatterhowfastitwas,you’dhavetoroamtheareaforanhourortwobeforeitshowedup.

Butthistime,westeppedin,andboom—summoned.

“h...!Don’ttellmeit’sactuallyhere?”

So...wasitbecauseofhim?

Whatever.hiswasn’tthetimetothinkaboutit.

“Yeah.Fromhereonout,staybackthere.”

“Yes,understood!”

First,sentArtatoasafepositionintherear.

hump—!

Mybody,heatedfromtheanticipationofbattle,surgedforwardtothevanguard.

Andthen...

“oo...”

Asalways,steadiedmybreathingbeforethefight.

twaslikearitualathletesdobeforeamatch.xhalingslowlymademefeeljustalittlecalmer...

Creak—

Andbelievedthatcalm—evenifonlyalittle—wouldraisemyoddsofvictory.

Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble—!

“t’scoming...!”

hegroundheavedlikewaves,andfromitburstlava.

Fromwithinthatblaze,the“Beast”emerged.

Kwoooooooaaaaaaaahhhhhh—!

Fromnowon,everysecondmattered.

Afterall,itsauraskill,[SongoftheApocalypse],hadaveryspecialeffect.

“Alltimeisaccelerated.”

t’sonlyaone-linedescription,butasanyonewho’sreadabattlemangaknows,thesimplertheexplanation,themorebrokentheability.

And[SongoftheApocalypse]wasnoexception.

“imeremaininguntildeath:22:50:43.”

Fromnowon,theremainingtimeonthe[erminal]statuswouldstarttickingdownseveraltimesfaster.

“Characterstakecontinuousfiredamage,whichincreasesovertime.”

hefieldeffect,[ternalBlaze],workedthesameway.

venthe“rbofFire”thathalveddamagewouldn’tholdoutforlong—thebreakingpointwouldcomemuchfaster.

hat’swhy,inmyoriginalexplorationplan,theraidtimeforthisthingwasfixed.

‘hirtyminutes.’

hirtyminutesmax.Anylongerandwe’dcallitafailure,turnaround,andrunwithoutlookingback.

‘...otthatit’slikelytocometothat.’

heBeastwastough,butitwasstilleasierthantheSerpentoftheApocalypse,Sniktura—assumingyouknewthestrategy.

“h...Bjorn!!hat’stheone?!”

Ainard’svoicerangout,oddlyexcitedatthesightoftheBeast.She’dbeenpesteringmeeversinceSkullsland,sayingshewantedtokillitafterseeingitsbones.uessshewasn’tkidding.

‘Still,thoughtshe’dbealittleintimidatedseeingitinperson.’

activated[iantForm],raisedmyshieldtocovermyupperbody,andlookedatthecreaturebeyond.

tstoodaroundninemeterstall—enoughtoqualifyas“ultra-large”bymonsterclassification.

tsbuildwasabitliketheChaosordiakis—bipedal,withamassivetail.

Fromamodernhumanperspective,itlookedalmostlikeadinosaur.

[U——!]

thuncheditstorsoandroared.

hevibrationintheairwasstrongenoughtofeelonmyskin.hiswasn’tjustaroar—itwasaskillinitsownright.

“heAncientBeasthascast[Ultimatum].”

“Forfiveminutes,allphysicalstatsofcharacterswithinrangewillsteadilydecrease.”

nitsown,thewide-areadebuffwasn’tthatthreatening—thestatreductionwassmall,andthefive-minutelimitkeptitmanageable.

Butwhencombinedwiththe“alltimeisaccelerated”effectof[SongoftheApocalypse]...

“Urgh...!Mystrength’sdraining...!Andkeephearingweirdsounds...!”

Whatwouldnormallytakefiveminutestomaxoutnowtookbarelyone.Andwithnocooldown,itcouldkeeptheeffectgoingfortheentirefight.

otthatcameunprepared.

“Urgh...wehavetofightlikethis?”

hisguyagain.’dexplainedallthisinthebriefing.

“Raven!”

Atmycall,AruaRavencastherpreparedmagic.

“AruaRavencastsRank5CurseMagic[Whiteone].”

“Characters’hearingistemporarilyparalyzed.”

hemomentittookeffect,itwaslikeputtinginearplugsinasilentroom—totalstillness.

oteventherustleofmyclothesorthesoundofmyownbreathingremained.

Andthereasonforusingitwassimple.

“[Ultimatum]hasbeendispelled.”

hismagiccouldclearthedebuff—somethingnomagicitem,consumable,holyspell,orpurificationabilitycoulddo.

Asforwhyitworked...

“...”

hadnoidea.

amersdon’tcareaboutthewhy—onlytheefficiency.fitworks,youuseit.

‘Anditworksinrealitytoo.’

nthegame,’ddiscovereditbyaccidentandthoughtitwasabug.Butaftercountlessexplorationsinafdonia,learned—therewerenobugsinthatgame.

‘Still,feelsgoodtoseeitconfirmed.’

fithadn’tworked,would’veabortedtheraidimmediately.

Slide.

Withthemagicactive,weswitchedtohandsignalsasagreed.

ikethis:

“heAncientBeasthascast[KnotofRuin].”

“Damagetakenisgreatlyreducedforasetduration;whenitends,statsincreaseinproportiontodamagetaken...”

Clenchfistandraiseit—stopDPS.

“heAncientBeasthascast[Devour].”

penhand,waveforwardandback—everyonebutmeevades.

“BelegShusiadiersiacasts[ornofSouls].”

“Summonsdealbonusdamagewhenhittingthesametarget.”

Raiseindexfinger—rangedonlyattack.

“AinardPrnelincasts[SingleargetFocus].”

“lwenFornacidiersiacasts[Rend]...”

Raiseindexandmiddlefingerstogether—bothmeleeandrangedattack.

Andthen...

Slidemiddlefingerupward—

———————————————!!!!

———!!———!!———!!

————————!!

veryoneunleashedtheirstrongestfinishersatonce.

hough...

‘Feelsabitunderwhelmingwithoutthesound.’

Still,theraidprogressedsmoothly.

“heAncientBeasthascast[remor].”

Phase1ended.

“heAncientBeasthascast[ornoftheApocalypse].”

Phase2,whereitsummonedahordelikeanarmy,passedwithoutincident.

“heAncientBeasthascast[hostReturn].”

venPhase3wentfine—theonlyclosecallwasAinardgettingstunnedbylightning.

‘ighteenminutestohere—we’refine.’

ighteenminutesin,wereachedthefinalPhase4.

“heAncientBeast’sPisbelow20%.”

“raduallyregaininglostAuthority.”

hephasehadtwokeytraits:first,itslowlyregainedsealedpowersovertime;second...

“heAncientBeastcasts‘AuthorityofAnnihilation.’”

hefirstAuthorityitusedwasalwaysfixedonthe“Cursedne.”

‘...Wow,startingwithAnnihilation?’

hestrongestAuthority,rightoffthebat.ocasttime,unavoidable,targetedinstantkill.

———————!

AshapelessmistrosefromtheBeast’sbodyanddriftedsilentlytowarditstarget.

Andas’dsaid—thetargetwaspredetermined.

nSkullsland,theonewhogotthelasthitonthebossandearnedthe“Cursedne”titlewas...uildmasterliaAdnus.

hadn’tplannedtheraidjusttosacrificetheuildmaster—’mnotthatkindofbarbarian.

Besides,initsweakenedstate,thefirstAuthoritywasn’tlethal.tjusterasedsomethingfromthetarget.

Whatthat“something”was...varied.

“......?”

Whatwoulditbethistime?Regenerablebodypart?quipment?Maybesomeessence?

turnedquicklytocheck—andcouldn’thelpbutletoutasoundlessgasp.

‘Ah...’

Withthelava,meteors,andlightningprovidingplentyoflight,thereflectionwasobvious.

‘Sothatcanhappentoo...’

ishairhadbeenannihilated.