The Lustful Time Lord's Revenge

It wasn't just Ruth and me fighting in that area. A handful of other Hunters were trying to hold the line, but the number of monsters pouring out of the Dungeon Gate was completely overwhelming. Screams, clashing steel, and dying cries blended together into a suffocating chaos.

Even so… Ruth stood out among all of them. She was clearly holding back, hiding most of her real power. Yet even while suppressing herself, she was like a storm sweeping away anything that dared to stand in her path.

The hoverboard under her feet shot forward, cutting through the air and leaving a trail of blue light behind. With a single swing of the hammer that appeared in her right hand, a Lizardman the size of a bus exploded like a balloon filled with blood. Thick green liquid splattered everywhere, painting the asphalt.

She kept pushing forward toward the source of all this madness: the Dungeon Gate.

A Rank B Dungeon.

That gate should have been a neat circular shape with a cloudy sapphire glow. Instead, it looked like a jagged tear in reality, towering ten meters high. The edges shivered like torn cloth forced open. Monsters marched out without end, their reptilian footsteps and feral roars shaking the air.

Then the world seemed to tremble.

A massive creature stepped out of the portal, standing five meters tall with glossy black scales. Twisted obsidian horns curved from its skull, and blood–red crystals jutted along its spine. Every step rumbled like a miniature earthquake.

Lizardman Overlord. A Rank A monster. And without a doubt… the Dungeon Boss.

Its eyes burned like embers as it glared at the intruder standing alone before it. The pressure pouring out of the monster was enough to make nearby Hunters collapse to their knees.

Ruth never slowed down. Her hoverboard raced along the slope of broken buildings, launching her airborne at an impossible angle. She climbed even higher. The wind whipped her long blue hair behind her, making her look like a thunder knight about to tear open the sky.

Then she jumped.

The hoverboard spun backward, left floating aimlessly. Ruth dove with her hammer raised. The weapon suddenly expanded into a colossal mass of steel, as large as a pillar. Blue lightning shot across the air around it, roaring like thunder falling straight from the heavens.

The monster lifted its arm to block, releasing a hateful roar that shook the ruins.

Too late.

BAAAAANG!!!

The impact was like a meteor slamming into Earth. The Overlord's massive arm shattered, scales and bone exploding outward. The hammer kept driving down into its chest, slamming its body into the ground with a force that could kill mountains.

BRRRAAAAKK!!!

The street split open, asphalt rising in violent waves. The monster was pinned deep into a crater, its body crushed beyond recognition. There was no final roar. No resistance. Only blood and dust erupting into the sky.

Done.

Ruth stood at the center of the new crater. Black dust drifted around her. The giant hammer shrank back to its normal size in the blink of an eye. Her breathing was steady. As if that entire battle hadn't drained her in the slightest.

The remaining monsters watched their king die.

Fear instantly clouded their reptilian eyes.

Some still tried to attack.

That was the worst mistake of their lives.

Ruth moved without sound. Only the flash of her hammer and the crunch of breaking bones marked her presence. Each strike was an execution. Even the ones that tried to flee did not make it far. Within seconds, dozens of Lizardmen were scattered across the ruins, blood pooling beneath their lifeless bodies.

The survivors… finally broke. They scattered in panic, desperation twisting their movements.

They didn't get far.

The Dungeon Gate began to convulse. The rip in space shrank, folding into itself like wet fabric being wrung tight by invisible hands.

In a matter of seconds…

It vanished entirely.

The Dungeon Break was over.

I was still stuck far behind the main battlefield. From behind the cracked façade of a half–collapsed building, I could only catch flashes of blue lightning and hear the distant thunder of Ruth's hammer crushing something I could not see. Her power felt like a monster in human skin, and even without seeing her directly, my heart hammered in my chest.

But I didn't have the luxury of awe.

Five Lizardmen noticed the bodies scattered around me and launched themselves forward, their screeches ripping through the air. They came at once, claws aiming to tear me apart like fresh meat left out for wolves.

"Please work…" I hissed while slamming my hand against the Aegis Pendant.

A burst of yellow light erupted around me, forming a dome of shimmering energy. The monsters crashed into it in a single violent wave.

BRAAANG!

The shock popped their skulls against the barrier, teeth snapping and crooked snouts smashing flat. Green blood sprayed across the transparent wall as they stumbled back in confusion.

I stared at the glowing shield around me.

"So it does work… Why the hell did it refuse earlier? Does it only activate manually?" I cursed inwardly.

No time to think.

While they were still stunned, I stepped forward.

Mindrender slid into my grip like it had been waiting for the taste of flesh.

I drove the blade through the first one's throat before it could lift its head. Hot green blood splashed across my cheek, sizzling on the skin like acid. The sword vibrated… like it was laughing.

The second monster tried to crawl away, screeching low like a dying snake. My boot crashed into its knee. Bone snapped backward with a gut–twisting crack. As it collapsed, Mindrender plunged through its chest and out the other side.

The third attempted to retreat, panic twisting its movements. Too late. One swift slash opened its belly. Guts spilled onto the shattered asphalt with a wet, slapping sound. It kicked weakly… then went still.

Two left.

They rose again, eyes burning with rage and stupidity. They sprinted toward me at once, claws tearing up the ground.

I rolled between them, feeling claws slice through the air just inches from my face. Before my body even stopped moving, Mindrender thrust upward. The blade punched into the fourth monster's eye and shattered through its skull.

A humid snarl hit the back of my neck.

The fifth was already behind me, breath dripping with hunger. I stepped to the side, pivoting with the monster's own momentum. Mindrender swept across its throat. The roar died as its voice box split apart. It collapsed with a choked hiss.

One by one.

Dead.

Notifications flickered in front of my eyes: