Debuff Master

Chapter 780

Chapter 780

[Heaven’s Eye: Command Center]

A message showing his current location popped up in front of his eyes as soon as he walked past the heavy iron gates.

Rumble!

He activated Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance to scan the castle interior.

[Boss: Immortal Alchemist Acheron]

The scan pinpointed the location of the Church of Osric’s leader, Acheron, on the map, which was at the very heart of the castle.

“This way,” Siegfried said, motioning to Deus, Hamchi, and Inzaghi.

Ding!

While he was making his way to the command center, a quest window popped up in front of his eyes.

[Alert: You have received a new Quest – Pursuit and Annihilation!]

[Alert: Do you accept the quest?]

[Pursuit and Annihilation]

[Make your way to the command center and kill the Leader of the Church of Osric, Immortal Alchemist Acheron.]

[Type: Time Attack Quest]

[Time Remaining: 60 minutes]

[Progress: 0% (0/1)]

[Rewards: Emerald Tablet, Almighty Soul, Ignite Soul, Void Soul, Requiem Soul]

[Warning: Failure to defeat Acheron within 60 minutes from the time of acceptance of this quest will result in the Fusion Ritual being successful, unleashing catastrophic calamities upon the world.]

There was no reason to hesitate.

[Yes!]

[Alert: You have accepted the Quest – Pursuit and Annihilation!]

[Alert: 59 minutes and 59 seconds remaining!]

[Alert: 59 minutes and 58 seconds remaining!]

Without missing a beat, Siegfried dashed toward the heart of the castle, where Acheron awaited him.

‘Fusion Ritual? Don’t tell me that lunatic is actually planning to do that...?!’

Siegfried was struck by a bolt of realization. If Acheron had obtained all of the Soul Fragments of Apocalius, then she'd be able to summon the eldritch entity from another dimension, Apocalius.

However, Acheron couldn't obtain all the fragments, so what was she going to do now?

‘That maniac is planning on merging with the soul fragments!’@@@@

Siegfried immediately understood that Acheron sought to fuse herself with the four fragments, transcending mortality to become an absolute existence.

The memories of the battle against Count Arial flashed in Siegfried's mind. The madman had embedded the Almighty Soul into his Third Eye, giving him near-godlike powers. If someone as trivial as Count Arial managed to pull that off, what could an individual like Acheron achieve then?

‘The Demon King will be born...!’

The ramifications were staggering. If Acheron succeeded in the Fusion Ritual, she'd emerge as an omnipotent force beyond imagination.

‘I have to stop it no matter what...!’

Determination blazed in Siegfried's eyes as he ran as fast as he could to his destination. He was about to catch up to Deus when their path was suddenly blocked by gigantic stone golems.

Of course, the sudden appearance of the guardians was hardly surprising, as this place had already become the Church of Osric’s stronghold, and the Fusion Ritual was underway.

[Alchemic Golem]

[A golem forged through advanced alchemy techniques. It is unlike ordinary golems and is closer to chimeras. It boasts incredible versatility and devastating combat power.]

[Type: Chimera]

[Rank: Champion Monster]

[Level: 299]

[Class: Ultimate Guardian]

[Warning: This golem is near-impossible to kill, and it has a complex attack pattern.]

Siegfried wasted no time and hurled his +15 Vanquisher’s Grasp at the Alchemic Golems. He used Flying Sword to hit the golem at the helm.

Whoosh!

The +15 Vanquisher’s Grasp streaked through the air like a bolt of lightning and struck the golem.

Thunk!

However, something felt off.

[Alert: 55 minutes and 9 seconds remaining!]

The timer for the quest "Pursuit and Annihilation" was ticking away, and the countdown only served to give Siegfried even more pressure.

It was then.

“Hey!” Deus called out to him.

Like Siegfried, Deus was struggling against the Alchemic Golems. None of his attacks seemed to be working against them. Rather than feeling pressured, however, he seemed to be experimenting with different approaches while leisurely dodging their attacks.

“Hey! You! Do that thing! That thing!”

“Huh?”

“Do the thing!”

“What thing?!”

“You know, the one you used when fighting the whitey a while ago! That wave thing!” Deus exclaimed while slapping away a charging golem.

‘The whitey...? Oh! Seraph! If it’s the skill I used against Seraph, then it must be...!’ Siegfried immediately activated Wave of Truth, but it had no effect.

“Not that one! The other one!” Deus shouted again, sounding annoyed.

“Ah! That one!” Siegfried exclaimed and unleashed Wave of Oppression upon realizing what Deus was talking about.

“Huh?!” Siegfried exclaimed in astonishment.

The Alchemic Golems transformation had slowed down visibly.

“Alchemy changes the chemical properties of matter through magic! But it relies on a specific flow of mana! Interrupt that flow!” Deus yelled out advice while releasing his own mana to disrupt the golems’ unique mana wavelength.

He managed to mimic Siegfried’s Wave of Oppression upon seeing it just a few times.

This marked the turning point of the battle.

Wooong!

Siegfried unleashed Absolute Zero on the Alchemic Golems affected by Wave of Oppression.

Flash!

A dazzling white light erupted, freezing the golems in place before they could transform to protect themselves.

Everything went swimmingly from there on.

Swoosh!

Siegfried hurled his +15 Vanquisher’s Grasp at the frozen golems, shattering them one by one. On the other hand, Deus used the mimicked version of Wave of Oppression to effortlessly destroy the remaining golems in the blink of an eye.

“This is what makes alchemy so terrifying. Changing the very nature of matter makes it nearly impossible to counter, so it’s ridiculously troublesome,” Deus grumbled, frowning as he gazed at the remains of the Alchemic Golems.

“Yes, I agree,” Siegfried replied, wiping a trickle of blood from his nose.

“Tsk... That damned Acheron. Should I just kill him[1] when I get back?” Deus grumbled.

Siegfried’s eyes shot wide open in shock as he asked, “W-Wait, do you know who Acheron is?”

“Huh? Of course, I do. There’s this guy named Sieghart, and you’ve probably heard of him, right?”

“Yes, I have heard of Great Sage Sieghart.”

“Ha! Great Sage, my ass,” Deus scoffed, his tone dripping with sarcasm. Then, he asked, “Anyway, who do you think made that so-called Third Eye embedded on his forehead?”

“Huh?”

“Do you think implanting an artifact into a human body is simple? Not really. It’s impossible without an incredibly advanced alchemy knowledge.”

“Ah, I see...”

“Personally, I never really liked Acheron.”

“Why not?”

“He’s unsettling and impossible to read. And considering how skilled he is in human transmutation... he’s probably done plenty of experiments on living beings and creatures—”

Before Deus could finish his sentence.

Thud, thud, thud!

Footsteps echoed as knights clad in the Guardians' uniform appeared in the distance.

“What the hell...?” Siegfried muttered, and his eyes widened in disbelief upon seeing their levels.

There were roughly fifty knights in the distance.

Their levels?

Each of them was a staggering Level 450.

1. this is not a mistake. revealed in the next chapter. ☜