The end of the long corridor came into view. The chamber beyond was the dungeon's original cavern, untouched by the forest environment he had created earlier. The Crystal Sphere, floating serenely in the air, confirmed it was the final room. His remaining soldiers stood guard before it, all of them in poor condition from the battle in the ninth room. A lone woman—Riel—moved among them, casting healing spells in a desperate last stand.

"So that bitch is why the soldiers had buffs on them," Rexner sneered. "To think he'd even mobilize his Supporter. He must be clinging to the last shred of hope."

"Lower your voice, Sir Rexner," one of his men cautioned. "One mistake and they could overhear us."

"Fine. There's no harm in being careful," Rexner conceded with a satisfied smile. It felt like toying with a cornered rat.

'I need to make him face reality,' he thought. 'Eventually, he'll be on his knees begging for his life, just like all the others.'

He could already picture it. The raid party assumed their battle stances opposite the beleaguered soldiers. They couldn't use their buffs again so soon, but it didn't matter. Even with debuffs, as long as he had Time Freeze, the dungeon was as good as conquered.

"Watch out for those two Guardians," Rexner ordered. "If we mistime the barrier, it'll be a nuisance."

"Understood," his men replied in unison.

He could see the fairy drawing her bowstring and the orc glaring at them, sword held ready. As long as they deployed their shields at the right moment, the two Guardians would be rendered useless. Rexner melted into the group of comrades who had saved their shield skills.

With a unified roar, the soldiers charged, and the final battle began. The Holy Knights surged forward with Rexner at their center.

"I won't let you use it this time!" Grai bellowed.

"AHHHH!" Mederia screamed, loosing a volley of magic.

The two Guardians attacked in concert with the shield-bearing soldiers. Explosions rocked the cavern as Mederia's magic bullets found their marks, followed immediately by the devastating sweep of Grai's sword. The raiders took the hits, but their defensive barriers shimmered into existence. Dozens of layers of energy unfolded, and Rexner began to cast Time Freeze. A wave of blue magic washed over the battlefield, and time slowly ground to a halt.

Up to this point, everything was proceeding exactly as it had in the previous room.

'Struggle all you want, nothing will change,' Rexner thought with cold amusement. 'I'll show you exactly what it feels like to be slowly, inevitably conquered.'

His primary targets were the medium-sized monsters. He drew his greatsword and lunged toward a troll.

---

"I won't let you use it this time!"

"Haaaaa!"

Grai and Mederia launched their attack alongside the soldiers. The raiders absorbed the damage from the magic bullets while casting their defensive barriers. It was an exact repeat of the last engagement.

[C-rank Holy Knight Raider Rexner is casting Time Freeze.]

The familiar blue magic surged and spread. Kinjo stomped his feet, wringing his hands.

"It's-it's that special ability again, sir!" he cried.

Taehyun remained silent.

"Master Taehyun, at this rate, we'll be beaten again!" Kinjo panicked. "What are we going to do?!"

He was right. If Time Freeze was activated, his soldiers would be annihilated. Rexner was systematically targeting his shield-bearers first. If the trolls and minotaurs fell, the line would collapse, and his other soldiers—and even his Guardians—would be picked off with ease.

But Taehyun simply watched the scene unfold.

"Oh no, Master Taehyun! We're going to be conquered, sir! We have to do something!"

"I've already made my move," Taehyun said calmly.

"Huh?"

"Now, all we have to do is wait."

The world on the screen froze. Taehyun watched, silently counting down in his head.

'Three… two…'

Suddenly, the screen flickered back to life. Time had resumed before three seconds had passed. A bewildered Kinjo stared at the monitor. Amidst the scorched earth from an explosion, a minotaur lay dead. On the other side of the battlefield, a raider was clutching his abdomen, writhing in pain.

"Wh-what in the world just happened, sir?!" Kinjo demanded, utterly confused.

"I used suicide bombs," Taehyun stated flatly.

"D-don't tell me…?!"

"That's right. They're planted on every single soldier. To catch a cat in hiding, you have to be willing to go to such lengths."

His soldiers would die, but it was a worthy sacrifice if it meant catching Rexner. Taehyun's gaze drifted to the communication device on his table.

"Ah, of course we do," Lugo's voice echoed in his memory. "If you look here, we have everything from suicide bombs…"

Lugo, the demon merchant from the Gronz Company, had visited right after Mihye Han. At the time, his wares had seemed useless for dungeon defense. But after witnessing Rexner's Time Freeze, everything had changed. It was all because of the suicide bombs he had briefly glimpsed in Lugo's catalog. Taehyun had immediately contacted the merchant and had the bombs delivered via teleportation. He had armed every last one of his soldiers, creating this very situation.

'To catch you, I bet everything on my soldiers. This is my final move.'

Taehyun used his True Identity card on the raider convulsing on the ground.

[You have used True Identity on C-rank Raider Rexner.]

[All of Rexner's disguises and transformations are dispelled.]

The illusion shattered, revealing the man beneath. A massive greatsword, golden plate armor, and long, black hair. It was him. The Player raider, Rexner.

'Finally found you, Rexner!'

With the help of his comrades, Rexner staggered to his feet. Priests were casting healing spells, but the damage was too severe to be mended instantly. Realizing his defensive barrier was still active, he tried to cast Time Freeze again.

'Grai, Mederia, get out of range.'

Taehyun quickly ordered his two Guardians to move beyond the three-second blast radius.

Once more, time froze, and the screen stopped. But this time, Taehyun counted down with cold confidence.

'Three… two… boom!'

He didn't even need to get to one. The screen had already returned to normal, and Rexner was on the ground again.

'Cough. Cough.'

The item that had been silencing his voice must have worn off, as Rexner's ragged coughs echoed through the cavern. His plate armor had protected him from the burns, but the concussive force had clearly taken its toll. He had lost another minotaur, but in exchange, Time Freeze was now effectively sealed.

'Your Time Freeze won't work anymore,' Taehyun thought, a grim smile on his face. 'The moment that barrier falls, your precious raid party is going to die.'

With two Guardians still standing, a raid party stripped of its ultimate weapon was easy prey. Just like that, the tables had turned. Now, it was his turn to watch Rexner's desperate, final struggle.

---

'This can't be happening!'

He had swung his sword while time was stopped, just as he always had. He'd been certain he could finish off the minotaur. But the moment his greatsword pierced its abdomen, his vision exploded in a flash of white. The monster had detonated.

"This is impossible," Rexner gasped, his voice raw. "There's no way my Time Freeze wouldn't work."

The plate armor had minimized the physical damage, but his mind was reeling. He struggled to his feet, trying to deny the reality before him.

"Don't get cocky just because you figured out I'm the real one, Dungeon Master!" he roared, his pride wounded. He cast Time Freeze again. The soldiers stood frozen in place, their stillness mocking him. He bit his lip in frustration. When time froze for a third time, he targeted a different soldier.

'If the big ones don't work, I'll just kill the others!'

It was obvious he had been focusing on the medium-sized monsters. He swung his greatsword at the neck of a nearby goblin.

'It worked!'

This time felt different. The blade bit deep into flesh. But in that same instant, another explosion erupted from within the goblin. Rexner was thrown to the floor again, his insides twisting in agony.

"Impossible…" he choked out.

Until now, any dungeon had been conquerable.

"I said it's impossible!"

No Dungeon Master had ever broken his Time Freeze.

"This is impossible!"

His Rexner Raid Party was invincible. Yet here he was, collapsed pathetically on the floor, the Crystal Sphere just within reach. His comrades gathered around, their faces masks of disbelief.

"Don't look at me like that," he snarled.

After he'd gained his ability, they had all believed in him. They had never doubted him. They had believed he was invincible. But now, his so-called comrades were looking at him with anxiety and suspicion. Their hands reached out to help, but their eyes were filled with distrust, just like the glares he'd received when he first became a raider.

"Those without talent get abandoned, you useless bastard," the voices of his past taunted him. "How could we ever trust you?"

"Don't look at me like that!" Rexner screamed, gritting his teeth as he forced himself up and cast Time Freeze again. The soldiers didn't even flinch. They just watched.

"Dungeon Master!" he howled.

Time stopped. He swung his sword at another soldier, but it was useless.

'BOOM!'

The soldier exploded, and Rexner was thrown to the ground again. He didn't give up. He kept getting up.

"Aaahh!"

'BOOM!'

"Gaaaaah!"

'BOOM!'

"Damn iiiiiit!"

'BOOM!'

He used Time Freeze again and again, attacking the soldiers, but with each attempt, the damage only piled up.

'Thud.'

"This… can't be… happening…"

Rexner collapsed one last time. He looked at his comrades, denying reality until the very end.

"N-no way!" one of them stammered. "You said that ability was invincible, Sir Rexner!"

"I've been following you, putting on that annoying fake act all this time!" another shouted. "What is this crap? You tricked us!"

"Damn it! I joined this raid party because you guaranteed success, but now it's all for nothing!" a third spat. "Invincible, my ass! Is committing suicide with your precious Time Freeze what you call invincible?!"

They were no longer comrades. They were strangers. Rexner whimpered, desperately reaching out a hand.

"D-don't abandon me."

"We're all going to die because of you, you son of a bitch!"

"I… I'm…"

His consciousness began to fade. He had lost too much blood. His body was giving out. The last thing Rexner saw before the world went dark was the sight of his raiders backing away from him.

---

"D-don't abandon me."

"We're all going to die because of you, you son of a bitch!"

"I… I'm…"

On the screen, Rexner lost consciousness. His raiders backed away, preparing to flee. They had clearly been relying solely on Time Freeze. Taehyun ordered his remaining soldiers to surround them. The raiders, realizing the futility of their situation now that they knew about the suicide bombs, threw their hands in the air and surrendered. With just one man taken out, the entire raid party had lost its will to fight.

"What are your orders, Master Taehyun?" Kinjo asked.

"I was planning on capturing raiders soon anyway, so this worked out perfectly," Taehyun said coldly. "Imprison as many as the jail can hold. Kill the rest."

"Understood, sir!"

Raiders were useful assets. He could torture them for information or, if he played his cards right, even recruit them. As long as he was aiming to build a territory, the more pawns he had, the better.

"Damn it. I shouldn't have trusted that bastard Rexner and joined this raid party. To think it would all fall apart like this!"

"I shouldn't have come on this raid. This is what happens when you don't bring proper items. I used up all the ones I had at the beginning. Damn it."

"I knew it from the start. A talentless hack acting high and mighty just because of one ability. I knew this would happen."

Some of the disarmed raiders being dragged away were still muttering resentfully—the very same men who had followed him so loyally until now.

"Kinjo," Taehyun said, his voice flat. "Kill all the ones who just spoke."

"Ah, yes. Yes, sir!"

On the screen, Grai's sword flashed. Three men collapsed, dead before they hit the ground. The other raiders trembled and fell silent.

And so, the Rexner Raid Party was captured in its entirety. Taehyun watched the unconscious form of Rexner, a thoughtful, dangerous glint in his eyes.

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