The Healing Solaris Cleric-Chapter 266: The Vampire King, Desmond (2)

“Kuugh!”

Shardan’s massive two-meter frame staggered backward as if he were dancing, and clinging tightly near his chest, like a lover, was a small woman. However, the two were not engaged in a loving dance. In fact, it was the complete opposite.

Crunch.

Yoo Ha-Rin’s sword, embedded in Shardan’s heart, twisted about ninety degrees. At the same time, blood spurted out from Shardan’s mouth.

“Khaaagh!”

They were locked in a battle for survival.

“How dare a mere human!”

Shardan let out a furious roar and swung his arms. Though his severed wrists made the attack non-threatening, it was enough to pry Yoo Ha-Rin off him.

“Kugh... Krrgh...” Shardan groaned in pain.

Then, bubbles boiled up from his severed wrists, and in an instant, fully intact hands emerged.

Regenerating his hands is costing him health.

Having sacrificed a portion of his health to restore his hands, Shardan glared at Yoo Ha-Rin and Kai with a bloodthirsty, gleaming gaze.

“It’s been so long since I had such amusing prey.”

“Ha-Rin, be careful of his claws. They have deadly poison.”

“This is fun... Truly entertaining.”

“You find this situation fun? When you’re about to die? That’s some twisted taste.”

“Die? Are you talking about me?” Shardan let out a low chuckle.

He wondered what this human was so confident about.

Well, I’ll give him credit for noticing the poison on my claws.

Moreover, the adventurers before him were faster and stronger than any knight he had ever faced.

But that’s all there is to it.

Shardan began exhaling in a strange rhythm. “Huff, huff... Haa... Haa...”

At the same time, his expression was filled with pain. His once-normal body began to twist grotesquely. From his gaping mouth, moans and saliva dripped continuously. Shardan's eyes rolled back in agony as his arms, legs, and body twisted.

“... What is he doing?”

Feeling an unexplainable sense of ominousness, Kai shouted toward Yoo Ha-Rin, “Ha-Rin!”

She nodded in response. Understanding his command perfectly, she accelerated once more. If Kai’s movements resembled a top-tier sports car, Yoo Ha-Rin was a high-end luxury sedan—swift yet astonishingly smooth. She moved at incredible speed, yet what stood out was not her velocity, but the fluidity of her movements.

But within that fluidity lies immense power.

Boosted by Kai’s buffs, Yoo Ha-Rin moved with even better movement than usual.

“Heup!”

Her sword slashed upward, cutting through the air at a very precise angle. It was the exact same strike that had pierced Shardan’s heart just moments ago. But this time, the result was completely different.

Clang!

It sounded as if her blade had struck solid steel rather than flesh. Yoo Ha-Rin was slightly taken aback as her attack failed. Her sword drifted aimlessly in the vast sea of empty air, like a ship that had lost its course.

“Hehehe,” Shardan, who had been hunched over with a rounded back, chuckled.

His steel-like back split open, revealing bone blades even harder than his skin. And that wasn’t all. Sharp bones erupted from his arms, legs, and even his knees. His forehead split apart as well, and from within emerged a hardened, pointy horn.

“... Transformation?” Yoo Ha-Rin muttered in disbelief.

Transformation was known to be a trait exclusive to massive raid monsters like Aosa and Zatan. Yet for the first time, a small, humanoid monster had demonstrated it.

Straightening his spine and proudly spreading his shoulders, Shardan exhaled in a lazy manner. His height had increased by nearly a meter, reaching around three meters in total. However, he no longer had the overwhelming bulk of exaggerated muscles from before. Instead, his frame had become leaner.

“It’s been a while since I’ve taken this form.”

Shardan’s voice was no longer crude. It now held the commanding charisma and weight befitting the King of Ghouls. With eyes that seemed to have seen and understood everything, he looked at Kai and Yoo Ha-Rin.

“Who you are and where you come from does not matter. Now that you have dared to bare your fangs at me, only death awaits you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Shardan launched forward, kicking off the ground. Then came a lightning-fast knee strike. The sharp bone protruding from his knee lunged toward Yoo Ha-Rin like a drill.

She let out a small yelp as she swung her sword. Her animalistic reflexes had taken over, making her react instinctively.

Claaang!

Fortunately, her blade intercepted the knee strike, causing it to fail. However, her expression didn’t seem relieved.

On the other hand, Shardan laughed. “Girl, you’re quite quick.”

Even from just a single exchange, they both felt the difference in their abilities.

I’m faster and stronger.

Shardan was certain of it.

I am superior.

With that confidence, he began to move more aggressively. His two arms and legs, each now a lethal weapon, rained down upon Yoo Ha-Rin. His attacks came so fast that faint afterimages trailed behind them.

Clang! Clang! Claaang!

Yoo Ha-Rin, however, countered brilliantly. She managed to parry Shardan’s sharp, rapid attacks a staggering fifteen times. Moreover, her occasional counterattacks were so impressive that they proved why she was ranked second.

“Hmm. So this is all you’ve got?”

Fifteen attacks, fifteen defenses. During that exchange, Shardan had finished analyzing Yoo Ha-Rin.

Then he muttered, “Is this the extent of your strength?”

Yoo Ha-Rin couldn’t respond.

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Seeing this, Shardan nodded. “I see. It was such a brief amusement that I couldn't even enjoy it. Now, die.”

Shardan’s palm suddenly shot forward.

Yoo Ha-Rin hurriedly swung her sword, but Shardan ignored it and tightly grabbed the blade. The deadly poison seeping from Shardan’s hand rapidly corroded Yoo Ha-Rin’s sword. The weapon she had meticulously maintained during every rest period melted away in just two seconds.

“A human without a weapon is weak.” Shardan smirked. “Like an insect.”

He flicked his fingers toward Yoo Ha-Rin as if playfully tapping a lover’s forehead in a punishment game—slowly, almost gently. But the result was far from ordinary.

Booooom!

A powerful shockwave burst through the air, slamming into Yoo Ha-Rin.

“Ahhhhh!”

Her body was flung into the air.

Watching in silence, Shardan prepared another knee strike. He intended to skewer her midair and end her life.

That woman pierced my heart earlier. I’ll make you a decoration for my knee.

Shardan turned his head, thinking that if Yoo Ha-Rin had heard his thoughts, she would have screamed.

There are five intruders in total. Among them, the two fighting me are the strongest.

As for the other three, he was confident he could defeat them with just a single finger. In the end, the only real threats were the man who severed his wrists and the woman before him.

The woman will die from this attack. That means the next target is that man over there...

Then, Shardan, lost in thought, stopped and blinked.

“Hmm?”

The man he had just been watching had vanished like a ghost.

I lost track of his movements?

That was impossible. He was the King of Ghouls, and right now, he was wielding his full power. The overwhelming strength he had accumulated over two-hundred years as an undead, ghoul. And yet, he lost sight of a mere adventurer’s movement?

“That can’t be...”

“What is?”

The moment a voice whispered in his ear, Shardan’s spine tingled with a creeping chill. More than anything, what truly horrified him was the fact that he hadn’t even sensed his opponent’s presence.

“H-how dare you!”

Bewildered, Shardan roared and swung his arm backward. The fierce energy unleashed from his claws carved a massive scar across one side of the clearing's wall. A wide-range attack powerful enough to send shivers down the spine of anyone who witnessed it.

But...

His fingertips didn’t feel the sensation of striking an enemy. He scowled and clenched his fist tightly. Or rather, he tried to.

“Hm...?”

Sensing something was off, he instinctively lowered his gaze. Then, he was struck with shock.

“W-what?!”

The reason he hadn’t felt the sensation of his opponent at his fingertips was obvious because below his wrists there was nothing.

W-when did this happen?

He hadn’t even reacted to the moment his wrists were severed.

As he stood there in shock, a voice reached his ears once again. “Is this how you do it?”

Shardan hurriedly turned his head, and his vision was instantly filled by a single finger. A finger flying straight toward him at high speed. It struck the horn protruding from his forehead.

Crack!

The flick struck Shardan’s forehead, completely shattering his horn.

***

[You have defeated the first-floor dungeon boss, Shardan.]

[The door to the second floor has opened.]

[The location of the door has been marked on the map.]

[Level increased.]

[Acquired 5 stat points.]

Wearing a refreshed expression, Kai stretched his body. Perhaps because he went all out in that battle, he felt incredibly refreshed.

That was my first time coordinating with Ha-Rin alone, and it was pretty good.

Fighting Shardan after he had been half-stunned by Kai’s flick had been easy. Once Yoo Ha-Rin regained her senses, she pulled out a spare sword and rejoined the fight. The two of them, with their seamless tag-team play, forced Shardan to his knees in the end.

“Let’s take a break since we’ve cleared the first floor.”

The party took the time to distribute the loot dropped by Shardan. For a level 390 boss monster, he had dropped surprisingly little. At best, his loot consisted of his skin, claws, and a Unique skill book called Persistence. Persistence was a passive skill that drastically enhanced regeneration.

“Hm.” Kai picked up the skill book and thought for a moment. Then, noticing Balter staring at it with an envious look, he tossed it to him. “You use it.”

“Huh?” Balter caught the skill book instinctively, his face filled with confusion.

Kai repeated himself, “Use it.”

“But... why? How come?”

“What do you mean, why? You’re this party’s tank. Persistence is a skill exclusive to Guardian Knights.”

“Well, that’s true, but...”

It was a Unique skill book. On top of that, the skill itself was excellent, likely worth at least 30 million won. And yet, Kai was giving it to him just because he was a tank?

I don’t even remember receiving anything like this when raiding dungeons with my guild.

After all, a guild was a group formed for mutual benefit. Of course, the members of Rush guild were friendly and close. But even they weren’t generous enough to simply hand over a skill book worth tens of millions.

“Hurry up and learn it. If the tank goes down, clearing the dungeon becomes a hassle.”

“Still...”

“I agree. Without a tank, the last battle would have been much harder,” Seol Eun-Yeong added.

Yoo Ha-Rin also nodded in agreement.

With Seol Eun-Yeong and Yoo Ha-Rin’s agreement, Balter opened the skill book with a nervous expression. Successfully acquiring the skill, he slowly opened his eyes and looked around at his party members.

“This favor... I swear, I’ll raise my shield to repay it even if my arms break.”

“What favor? Just buy us some chicken,” Kai replied.

“You’re loaded, and you’re asking me to buy...?” Balter grumbled, but deep down, he made a firm resolve.

I’ll buy ten, even a hundred chickens for them.

Feeling a sting at the tip of his nose from the kindness of his friends, Balter quickly changed the subject. “What about the remaining materials? Oh, of course, I’m more than satisfied with the skill book.”

“We should distribute them based on contribution.”

As Kai suggested, the rest of the materials were fairly divided according to their contributions.

“Ha-Rin, is your sword okay?”

Yoo Ha-Rin shook her spare sword and nodded.

“Then let’s not drag this out and move to the next floor.”

Fortunately, after resting near the Spring of Restoration, the party was in peak condition.

After locating the door to the second floor on the map, Kai went up the stairs without hesitation. As they climbed the long staircase, a faint light gradually grew brighter. And when they finally reached the top and stepped outside, Kai furrowed his brows and stayed quiet.

“Bro, what’s up? On stairs, you gotta move so the people behind you can pass.” Not understanding the situation, Michael glanced at Kai’s face before following his gaze forward. “Huh...?”

Michael scratched his cheek with an awkward expression. “Hmm... you know, bro. I’ve edited almost a thousand videos so far, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dungeon like this before.”

“There’s a reason for that,” Seol Eun-Yeong said in a calm voice and stepped forward, looking ahead.

A towering ceiling so high it seemed endless, a round, blue moon casting its light over the entire area, and most decisively, a massive fortress stood before them.

“We’re probably the first in the world to discover this type of dungeon.”

As if confirming her statement, a notification window popped up before them.

Ding!

[You have discovered a new type of dungeon.]

[The type of the discovered dungeon is City.]

[Eliminate all the city’s residents to clear the dungeon.]

“... What did I say? I told you this dungeon was shit,” Balter muttered in a gloomy voice.