---
The night was suffocating.
The cold wind carried whispers — faint, bone-chilling sounds, almost like laughter.
The survivors huddled inside the ruined cathedral, strengthening their weak barriers with debris and enchantments.
The firelight flickered low.
And beyond their sight... something massive was moving.
---
Scouting the Threat
---
Lian, Jayce, and Demist stood just outside the crumbled gate.
Ahead, the darkness twisted unnaturally.
Jayce peered through his binoculars. His hands trembled slightly.
"What the hell is that...?"
At first, it looked like a shifting mist.
But then two enormous crimson eyes opened within it — wide, inhuman, filled with pure malice.
The Abyss Warden.
Its body was invisible under a veil of shadow.
Only the glowing chains wrapped around its limbs could be seen — dragging along the ground with an eerie metallic screech.
---
System Alert
> [ Abyss Warden ] Rank: Tier 3 — Corrupted Predator
Weaknesses: [Sealed] (requires special condition to reveal)
Special Traits:
Mark of the Abyss: Randomly marks targets every 15 minutes. Marked targets cannot hide and suffer increasing weakness.
Dimension Drag: After 12 hours, drags a marked target into the Abyss permanently.
Chain Severance Immunity: Regular attacks cannot sever its chains.
---
Jayce cursed under his breath.
"So basically, it cheats."
Demist tightened the grip on his battle axe.
"We can't kill it the normal way. We have to find the condition to reveal its core."
Lian's mind raced.
They had no information, no preparation — and Elric was still unconscious.
Worse... the Warden was approaching fast.
---
The First Mark
---
Without warning, a black rune burst into existence on Jayce's left arm.
System prompt appeared:
> [ Warning! Jayce has been Marked. ]
Jayce looked down, pale.
"...Uh, guys? I think I'm screwed."
Demist growled, "If we let it drag you, the Oath kills us all."
Elyra joined them, breathing hard.
She was drained but determined.
"We'll fight. No matter what."
Lian nodded sharply.
"Get ready."
The ground shook.
Chains rattled.
The Abyss Warden had begun its hunt.
---
First Assault: Shadow Chains
---
The Warden struck first — chains shot from the darkness like spears.
Lian yanked Jayce aside just in time, feeling the chain slice a lock of his hair.
Demist charged, swinging his axe.
Sparks flew as his weapon clanged against the chain — but the Warden barely flinched.
Jayce pulled out his enchanted slingshot and fired an explosive seed.
The impact lit up the battlefield for a split second.
It revealed the Warden's real form:
A monstrous canine beast, half-flesh, half-void.
Its chest was hollow — and inside the hollow floated a single, bright shard.
The Core.
Lian's eyes widened.
"There! Inside the chest! That's the weakness!"
Elyra yelled from the back:
"I'll cast Revealing Light! Buy me thirty seconds!"
Thirty seconds against an unstoppable predator?
It might as well be eternity.
---
Battle for Survival
---
Lian dodged another whip of chains, counterattacking with precise strikes.
He knew he couldn't damage the Warden — but he could slow it.
Demist roared, using his defensive skills to tank the frontal assaults.
Jayce ran interference, using his incredible luck to somehow dodge attacks that should've hit him dead-on.
Every second was brutal.
Every movement carried the risk of death.
At the fifteen-minute mark — the next Mark was cast.
This time, Demist was hit.
> [ Warning! Demist has been Marked. ]
Two marks now.
Two chances for death.
Lian's breathing became ragged.
They couldn't hold on for twelve hours at this rate.
---
Elyra's Gambit
---
Elyra finished her spell.
A column of pure white light exploded from the ground, shattering the Warden's veil.
Its true form was fully exposed.
And now, they had a target.
Lian shouted: "Aim for the core!"
Demist charged forward recklessly, covering Lian.
Jayce, despite the chaos, cracked a stupid grin.
"Time to gamble big!"
He loaded his slingshot with a special explosive — a Lucky Starseed — one of his rarest items.
He fired.
The Starseed arced beautifully...
...then slammed into the Warden's core.
A massive explosion rocked the cathedral ruins.
---
Critical Hit!
---
The Warden let out an ear-piercing shriek.
Chains shattered.
Its body began collapsing into black mist.
But it wasn't dead yet.
> [ Warning: Final Struggle Engaged ]
In a berserk frenzy, the Warden unleashed a Mark Storm — casting Marks onto everyone, including Lian.
> [ Warning! Lian has been Marked. ]
Their time limit was now minutes, not hours.
They had to finish this.
Now or never.
---
Final Strike
---
Lian activated everything he had:
Coin Multiplier's Combat Boost: +50% Attack for 1 minute.
Emergency Burst Skill: +100% Speed for 10 seconds.
He raced forward faster than the eye could follow, weaving between falling chains.
The Core, exposed and flickering, floated inches in front of him.
Demist roared, throwing his entire weight behind a devastating axe swing that knocked the Warden off-balance.
Jayce tossed a handful of stun bombs.
Elyra summoned magic chains to lock the Warden's limbs.
And Lian —
with a final shout —
plunged his weapon straight into the Core.
---
[ Abyss Warden Defeated ]
---
The Warden's body exploded into fragments of black mist.
The Marks vanished.
The oppressive darkness lifted.
The group collapsed to their knees, gasping, bleeding, but alive.
---
Rewards
> +50,000 Coins
+5 Talent Shards
Abyssal Chain Relic (can be fused with a Vehicle)
Abyss Key Fragment (1/3)
---
Aftermath
---
They didn't speak for a long time.
They didn't have the energy.
Finally, Jayce broke the silence.
"...I think I peed a little."
Laughter — raw, exhausted — burst out from everyone.
Even Elyra smiled faintly.
They had survived.
Barely.
But the hunt for the World Key had just begun.
And the demons of Inferna were only getting started.
---
End of Chapter 33
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