The strategy was proceeding in an orderly manner.
With the raid team's steady and methodical approach, after about an hour, Aghyeller's HP finally reached its last bar.
During the first five HP bars, Aghyeller's attack patterns mainly consisted of Intimidating Gaze, forelimb strikes, and tail sweeps, so as long as the team stayed alert, there weren't any major issues.
Although when its HP dropped to half, it began using erratic breath attacks that caused most players to lose a significant portion of their HP, the clear division of roles and precise command helped the team quickly regain control.
Now, with only one HP bar remaining, Aghyeller lifted its head and let out a sharp screech.
Its tail lashed violently at the already shattered walls and floors surrounding it.
"Everyone! Watch out — it's changing attack patterns!"
Upon hearing Kibaou's command, the players quickly moved behind the tanks, while Akimi, Agil, and the others raised their weapons, ready to activate their sword skills at any moment.
Not long after, Aghyeller suddenly stopped screeching and spread its wings wide — with a wingspan of over ten meters, it looked utterly terrifying.
"It's Intimidating Gaze again! It might be enhanced in this berserk phase! Lower your heads! Even those over level 20!"
Seeing Aghyeller spread its wings, Kibaou instantly anticipated Intimidating Gaze and gave the order.
Just to be safe, Akimi and the other players above level 20 quickly lowered their heads too.
But several seconds passed without the usual red glowing effect of Intimidating Gaze, and everyone began to sense something was wrong.
Amid the whoosh, whoosh of the massive wings cutting through the air, the team slowly looked up with stiff necks — only to see the boss, Aghyeller, flapping its wings and hovering more than fifteen meters above the ground.
"You… you've got to be kidding…"
"The BOSS can fly?! Wh-what do we do now?!"
The raid team stared helplessly at the airborne Aghyeller, voices filled with unease and disbelief.
Because they currently had no effective means of attacking an airborne enemy—after all, since the first floor, there hadn't been any monsters capable of flying at such altitudes.
"Hey! Blackie! Weren't you a beta tester?! Use all that experience of yours and think of something!"
Kibaou shouted in a panic at Kirito.
But even in this situation, Kirito himself had no ideas—there had been no flying monsters during the beta test either!
Just as everyone was racking their brains for a countermeasure, Aghyeller's eyes suddenly glowed red without warning—this time, it was the real Intimidating Gaze.
"What?!"
"Crap! Get do—!"
But there was no time for the raid team to react.
Everyone had been staring up at Aghyeller, trying to find a solution to their predicament.
And with the gaze being instant-cast this time, nearly the entire team was caught in it.
Though the Intimidating Gaze wasn't powered up, most of the raid players were only around level 17.
The stun effect would only last for three seconds, but those three seconds were enough to throw everyone into despair.
"It's going to breathe fire!"
Aghyeller's throat began to swell, and an orange-red glow started shining from deep within it.
Then it opened its jaws wide and unleashed a massive fireball at least four meters in diameter.
"No! Protect Nirrnir!"
Seeing the blindingly bright fireball, Kirito suddenly remembered—Kio and Nirrnir were still near the entrance of the boss room.
Although they were more than ten meters away, judging by the fireball's sheer size, the entire boss chamber was likely within its blast radius.
Given the fireball's speed, only Kirito—being the closest to Nirrnir—could possibly reach the doorway in time.
Akimi and the others were behind Aghyeller, too far to make it.
Just before the fireball struck the ground, Kirito reached Kio and Nirrnir, shielding them with his body.
A massive explosion roared through the room, and the shockwave—fueled by searing flames—rushed outward.
Despite Kirito bracing himself with all his strength, he was still hurled away by the force.
Nirrnir, having lost the ability to move and with only one-tenth of her HP remaining, would have been instantly killed had she taken the hit directly.
At the very last moment, Kio held Nirrnir tightly, shielding her from the brunt of the explosion's aftershock.
She turned her body with effort, using herself as a human shield to absorb most of the damage.
Thanks to that, Nirrnir's HP only dropped by five percent—but it left Kio stunned and incapacitated.
The powerful blast had hurled all the players toward the surrounding walls.
Now, the average HP of the entire raid party was down to just thirty percent, with quite a few players hanging on by a sliver of health.
"Rooaaarrr—!!"
Aghyeller let out a triumphant roar in midair, as if it had already won.
Slowly, it turned its neck, surveying the players who were sprawled across the battlefield.
A mocking glint flickered in its eyes.
Akimi and the others gathered at the doorway, trying to figure out what to do next—should they continue the battle, or retreat and regroup?
But if they retreated now, Nirrnir would be in real danger.
"Kirito, help me up."
A calm, commanding voice rang out from behind them—it was Nirrnir.
"Hurry."
Nirrnir slowly raised her head, her wine-red eyes fixed calmly on Kirito as she urged him forward.
Kirito quickly stepped over and helped the weakened Nirrnir to her feet.
Under the astonished gazes of the others, Nirrnir said softly, "Give me that sword."
As she spoke, she extended her right hand.
Her pale, almost sickly-looking wrist emerged from her sleeve, the bluish-green veins beneath her skin clearly visible.
After a moment's hesitation, Kirito retrieved Volupta's Sword from his inventory.
Nirrnir's slender fingers wrapped around the hilt, which was covered in red leather, and with a sharp motion she drew the sword from its sheath.
As the blade left its scabbard, a sudden gust of wind swept through the sealed room, causing Nirrnir's golden hair and black dress to whip and flutter wildly.
The silvery-white blade of Volupta's Sword gleamed with radiant light, and the red gemstone on the hilt shimmered brightly.
Then, a black mist began to spread from the hilt toward the tip of the sword.
What once looked like a blade of pure silver now transformed into a semi-transparent black.
Nirrnir raised the sword high, crimson light gathering along its edge—and without hesitation, she brought it down in a single powerful swing.
"Haahh!!!" (Excalibur!)
With the sound of the air itself being torn apart, a crimson blade of light—dozens of meters long—slashed toward Aghyeller with devastating force.
Sensing danger, Aghyeller quickly dodged to the side, but its left wing and left arm were still sliced off cleanly like tofu.
With one wing lost, Aghyeller plummeted from the air and crashed to the ground, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
Its sixth HP bar also began to rapidly drop—70%, 60%, 50%... 20%—then stopped at the final 20%.
"…A miss?"
Nirrnir whispered softly as she watched Aghyeller rise back to its feet.
Then, her own HP started to decline—4%… 3%…
"Kirito! Asuna! Hurry! We have at most one minute left!"
Akimi shouted loudly, and Asuna immediately charged forward alongside him.
Kirito suppressed his worry, picked up the fallen Volupta's Sword, and also rushed toward Aghyeller.
"Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux!"
"Doleful Nocturne!"
"Meteor!"
But just as the three attacks were about to strike Aghyeller, its remaining right claw swung fiercely toward Akimi and the others with a loud whoosh.
"Damn it!"
All three of them had dangerously low HP—only around 40–50%.
If they were hit by Aghyeller's claw, death was almost certain.
But if they backed off to dodge, Nirrnir's final chance would be lost.
"All units! Move freely! Intercept the boss's attacks! Give Team H a clear shot!"
At that moment, a booming Kansai-accented voice rang out from nearby.
Then, Kibaou, Lind, Agil, and others descended like divine reinforcements, blocking Aghyeller's attack with their weapons.
"Beautiful work!"
Kirito shouted in excitement.
Then, the black longsword name 「Doleful Noe」, glowing with red light, slashed Aghyeller's neck from the left.
From the right, the blue Nichirin blade, entwined with a blue water dragon, struck down fiercely at its neck.
At the same time, a slender rapier shimmering with a greenish light flashed silver as it thrust directly into the reverse scale on Aghyeller's throat.
The longsword and the Nichirin blade severed Aghyeller's long neck, while the rapier shattered the unique scale.
The combined force of all three attacks slowly brought Aghyeller's final HP bar down… until it vanished completely.
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