Doom Bringer stood still, silently looking around, assessing its current situation.
Kael couldn't miss this chance to finish it off.
[Authority of Gluttony.]
The darkness released from his palm, aiming straight for a single target - Doom Bringer.
However, even though the Boss had been significantly weakened, it was still a Tower Creature capable of destroying most of the Rankers and obliterating the entire 20th floor.
Its senses were extremely sharp.
So, the moment his darkness was only a few centimeters away from Doom Bringer, the Tower Creature had completely disappeared.
No, to be more precise, it had accelerated, so fast that no one could catch up.
The first attack had failed.
Realizing that fact, Kael instantly jumped back dozens of steps, trying to keep as much distance from Doom Bringer as possible.
Then, he shouted, letting Hans do all the rest:
"Hans, attack it! But don't kill it, just let it be injured to the point where it can't move anymore!"
***
"Tsk, why do you always give me such difficult tasks?" He grumbled.
But despite saying that, Hans had already started to speed up, trying to catch up with Doom Bringer.
Unfortunately, no matter how much stamina or speed he used, Hans at the moment was completely incapable of catching up with his opponent.
Meanwhile, on the other hand, the Boss had already begun to prepare its first attack.
A sinister smile appeared on the Tower Creature's face, as dark as night, and following that, dozens of daggers were born from nowhere.
The protagonist stopped.
"As expected, you're not Caster."
Not a single word came out of Doom Bringer's mouth, but those daggers still rushed straight towards Hans Varun.
Just like pre-programmed robots.
"Because Caster will never have a disgusting smile like you, Doom Bringer!"
In a way that no one could have expected, Hans closed his eyes.
Accepting himself to be blind for a short period of time, accepting that he wouldn't be able to observe the daggers in front of him.
But in exchange, his senses would be enhanced far beyond normal.
The protagonist's strength and speed might not be comparable to Doom Bringer's, but if it came to experience, no one was worthy of being his opponent.
'I can feel those weapons.'
Hans gripped the hilt of his sword even tighter, and then…
Clang, Cleng, Cling, Clang, Cleng, Cling, …
Not a single wound appeared on his body.
All the daggers thrown by the Boss were blocked by Hans' slashes, which were even more beautiful than paintings.
More than 30 daggers were thrown.
And the result?
10 missed, and 20 were blocked by the protagonist's sharp blade.
Doom Bringer was amazed.
But very quickly, that emotion was overwhelmed by another emotion called fear.
Cold sweat broke out on the Tower Creature's back.
It was clearly fighting a lowly human, but for some reason…
…It felt as if it was fighting a god of war.
Or perhaps an existence that was even more so.
Something was wrong.
Its head could be cut off at any moment.
The Boss needed to run away if it wanted to live.
Deciding so, it spread its wings, preparing to fly high into the sky - where no one could reach.
Of course, if someone like Kael could figure out its plan, then there was no way Hans couldn't recognize it.
But the question was - could his speed be faster than Doom Bringer?
"Hans, cut off its wings!" Kael, who was standing far away, shouted.
The protagonist did not reply, only curled his lips, as if everything was within his expectations.
The answer to the question just now was obvious.
He lowered his body, entering a preparatory stance.
The stance that athletes would take before sprinting, pushing their speed to the limit.
And then.
[Faster than Light.]
That was not Hans' Ability.
It was the Ability of a Ranker whose name he did not remember, and he used [Authority of Envy] to copy it.
Hans' breathing could no longer be heard. It had paused completely.
Time seemed to freeze, at least for this moment.
Just like its name, his speed had become even faster than light.
Easily approaching Doom Bringer as it was about to fly into the air in the blink of an eye.
Suddenly, the Boss lost focus.
"You fool, in a battle, if you let your guard down for even a minute…"
The protagonist raised his sword high.
"That's the moment you die!"
The protagonist slashed down.
A cruel glint flashed in his eyes.
This was no longer the Caster he knew, so Hans didn't need to feel guilty or anything.
Thud!
The slash was truly smooth, without any hesitation. It was like cutting through butter.
One of the Boss's two wings fell to the ground, turning into a useless thing.
But, it was not completely injured.
He retracted his sword, only to deliver another fierce slash to its stomach.
This time, Doom Bringer was definitely unable to move.
***
Like a drunkard, the Boss staggered, and eventually fell straight to the ground.
Blood continuously flowed from the two wounds created by Hans Varun himself.
It was red.
"...Oh, your blood is red?"
"..."
"That's really special. Human blood is red too, but you're a Tower Creature. No, you used to be a human, am I right?"
Hans muttered to himself, glaring at the Boss with disdain.
"How is it, Hans?" Kael ran to his side.
"As you ordered, I've made it unable to move."
The protagonist handed him the sword that still had red blood on the blade.
"But I still don't understand, why did you want to finish it off yourself? Is there any difference?"
Kael gave him a faint smile.
"You won't understand, Hans. Just think of it as a duty I have to fulfill."
Suddenly, a voice that couldn't be more familiar rang out, interrupting the conversation between the two of them.
"Kael, Hans, it's me. So please spare me! It hurts! Don't kill me!"
The two of them stopped at the same time, then wordlessly turned towards the source.
There, instead of the Boss, was Caster.
The kid was lying on the ground, holding his still bleeding wound, looking at the two of them with pleading eyes.
He seemed really pitiful.
But unfortunately, Kael and Hans didn't feel any sympathy at all.
Well, to be frank, for just a moment, they felt moved, but that was all.
He steadily approached it, then lowered his center of gravity, and said in a volume that only the two of them could hear:
"You're good at acting. But the real Caster would never say such words."
Thud…
[Congratulations, you have received 3 Experiences from defeating a Monster rank Tower Creature - Doom Bringer.]
[Congratulations! The 20th floor quest has been completed!]
[Ranking the most meritorious people.]
[Top 1: Climber - Kael Draven.]
[Top 2: Climber - Hans Varun.]
…
[Since you have completed the 20th floor quest, you will receive 100 Experience.]
[And since you are the MVP, the Experience you receive will be multiplied by 4.]
[Congratulations, you have received 400 Experience!]
"..."
Kael just stood there silently, like a statue.
He did not have much emotion when he heard or read the congratulatory messages from the system.
To be more precise, Kael did not care about them at all.
His heart was extremely heavy.
It was strange.
Doom Bringer was defeated, there were zero casualties, not a single house was destroyed, the hellish scene in the game did not occur.
This was a great result, nothing more could be expected.
Kael had done his job too well.
But why... did he not feel happy at all?
"Don't be so sad, Kael. Caster won't like it if you keep moping around like that." The main character's hand rested on his shoulder.
"...Thank you, Hans, for everything."
"No problem."