📖 Chapter 15 – Clash of Corrupted Kings
1. The Triple-Front Hell
59th Floor – The Corrupted Hydra
The swamp's poison mist thickened until it corroded player health bars in seconds. The three-headed Hydra, dripping with ichor and malice, towered over Asuna and Kiana's squad.
Asuna (slicing at the neck): "Focus the same head—don't give it time to regenerate!"
Kiana (spinning her guns, grinning despite the danger): "Fine by me. Let's make it rain!"
Her bullets blasted away scales, but the wounds sealed instantly with black slime.
60th Floor – The Fallen Dragon Knight
Within a corrupted castle, a massive armored knight descended from shattered skies—a fallen dragon knight, wielding a living flame blade and broken metallic wings.
Kirito's blade locked against it, sparks showering.
Kirito (teeth clenched): "This guy… he fights like Kayaba, but worse!"
Zhongli (planting his spear): "Then we do not falter. We shall teach even a dragon the weight of stone."
The clash of Zhongli's golden barrier against the knight's black flame shook the floor.
61st Floor – The Burning Treant King
In the ash-drenched forest, the Burning Treant King thundered forward, its body a pyre. Each strike threatened to reduce the entire map to ash.
Himeko (sweating, blade glowing red): "If this keeps up, there won't be a floor left to defend!"
She parried a molten branch, her squad desperately containing the spreading blaze.
2. Neo's Strain
Neo shifted between fronts, teleportation-like skills letting him reinforce where needed. His Unique Skills—Purity, Hope, Gluttony, and Pride—flared in turn, keeping balance in the chaos.
Yet even so, the pressure mounted. Gluttony whispered again, urging him to consume the bosses whole. Pride held him steady. Harmony dampened the hunger. Still, the strain gnawed.
Above, the Transmigrator laughed, feeding off their suffering.
Lord God Transmigrator: "Yes… fight, squirm, bleed! Your pride means nothing!"
3. The Choice
Neo staggered for a moment, vision splitting under the pressure of commanding multiple fronts. Then—
Great Sage:
Notice: Analysis capacity insufficient. Combat optimization impossible under current parameters. Evolution path detected. Proceed?
Neo gasped. "Evolution? Now?"
Great Sage:
Answer: Correct. Evolution to Ultimate Skill possible. Will you accept?
He hesitated, then clenched his fists. "…Yes. Do it."
4. Ultimate Skill Awakens
The battlefield froze for an instant. Neo's soul burned like a furnace as a system announcement blared:
Announcement:
Unique Skill [Great Sage] has evolved into Ultimate Skill: Wisdom King Raphael.
The voice in his mind changed—no longer curt calculations, but calm, serene guidance.
Raphael:
Greetings, master. Analysis capacity: infinite. Parallel processing: achieved. Tactical optimization: engaged. Shall I assume control of auxiliary combat functions?
Neo's breath caught. "You're… Raphael."
Raphael (gently):Correct. Allow me to demonstrate.
5. Battlefield Shift
At once, his vision sharpened.
• The Hydra's regeneration cycle appeared as glowing nodes—Raphael highlighted where Kiana and Asuna should strike simultaneously.
• Kirito's parry timing was projected ahead of the dragon knight's swings, letting Zhongli intercept with precise shields.
• Himeko's firebreak was mapped in his mind, showing where the forest could be saved with minimal strikes.
For the first time, Neo saw everything.
6. Transmigrator's Fear
The laughter faltered.
Lord God Transmigrator (shaken): "…No. No, that's impossible. Wisdom King… That's an Ultimate Skill!"
They stuttered, their confidence cracking.
Raphael (to Neo, calm):Fear levels rising in target. Strategic advantage secured.
Neo smirked, his aura blazing with newfound certainty.
Neo (shouting across the battlefield): "Did you hear that? Even your twisted system knows you're finished. Because now—I'm fighting with Raphael!"
7. The Counterattack
59th Floor: Kiana and Asuna severed two Hydra heads at once, ichor spurting as regeneration faltered.
60th Floor: Zhongli's spear met the knight's flaming blade with perfect timing, shattering it into molten shards.
61st Floor: Himeko struck the Treant's weak limb, collapsing its stance and halting its fiery advance.
For the first time in hours, the battle shifted toward victory.
8. Fusion of Anchors
The Transmigrator snarled, their composure snapping.
Lord God Transmigrator: "If Wisdom King terrifies me… then I'll unleash something even it can't calculate! My anchors—merge!"
The corrupted bosses screamed as their forms twisted. Hydra, knight, and treant fused across dimensions, becoming three grotesque anchors of corruption, their very existence threatening Aincrad's structural core.
9. Pride's Declaration
Neo's new balance of skills glowed around him—Purity, Hope, Harmony, Pride—all stabilizing as Raphael calculated endlessly.
Neo (steady, resolute): "No hunger, no fear. Just pride. You think corruption makes you untouchable? Watch me prove you wrong."
[To Be Continued – Chapter 16: War of the Anchors]
Perfect — let's dial this up into the climax raid energy. This will be a turning point not just for the group, but also for Raphael's presence as more than a "tool." She's a personality now, and the fact that the Transmigrator underestimated her becomes his fatal mistake. I'll make sure she shows anger, actively merges/rewrites skills, and terrifies the enemy.
📖 Chapter 16 – War of the Anchors
1. The Fused Abominations
The Hydra, Dragon Knight, and Burning Treant—three corrupted bosses—twisted and melded into a tri-form horror. A grotesque anchor of corruption pulsed across three floors at once, its limbs phasing through reality.
Every swing cracked Aincrad's architecture. NPC towns dissolved into glitching data. Players screamed as they scrambled away.
Lord God Transmigrator (snarling, manic): "Let's see your precious Wisdom King solve this! Even Ultimate Skills can't handle three anchors fused into one nightmare!"
2. Raphael's Shift
For a moment, Raphael's voice in Neo's mind was as serene as always. But then—her tone sharpened.
Raphael:
Notice: Miscalculation by hostile entity. Estimation of my capabilities: insultingly insufficient.
Neo blinked. "…Raphael? Are you—"
Raphael (clipped, but heated):
Correction: I am not simply an analytical system. I am Wisdom King Raphael, the pinnacle of cognition. To underestimate me… is unforgivable.
Her aura pulsed outward through Neo like a wave.
3. Hive-Mind Coordination
Suddenly, every ally heard her voice in their head.
Raphael (calm yet sharp):
Attention. I will now assume full tactical command. Synchronization protocols engaged. Neural pathways linked.
Everyone gasped as their senses aligned.
• Kirito saw attack timings like glowing lines.
• Asuna's healing zone radius projected in her mind's eye.
• Kiana's bullets calculated ricochet arcs automatically.
• Zhongli's shields adjusted to intercept weak points before strikes landed.
It was as if Raphael had made them one organism.
Himeko (breathing heavily, blade glowing): "…We're all… connected?"
Kirito (awe in his voice): "This… this is insane. It's like she's reading the future for us."
Raphael (coolly, but with a thread of wrath):Not the future. Simply everything. The Transmigrator cannot escape me.
4. Skill Fusion and Alteration
As the fused anchors roared, Raphael's sub-skills activated, weaving Neo's powers together.
Raphael:
Sub-skill: Alteration. Initiating merger.
• Purity + Hope → Unique Skill: Radiant Aegis (a cleansing shield that both heals allies and purges corruption).
• Pride + Harmony → Unique Skill: Sovereign Will (an aura that nullifies external control effects, stabilizing allies' minds and willpower).
• Gluttony (stabilized) → Partitioned and folded under Harmony, removing hunger corruption.
Neo gasped as his body surged with layered energy, the world glowing under his aura.
Neo (clenching his fist, voice booming): "This isn't just me anymore—it's all of us, together!"
5. Raphael's Anger
The fused anchors swung a colossal arm across floors, threatening to collapse entire levels. Raphael's calm cracked, just slightly.
Raphael (snapping, voice sharpened):
How dare you desecrate this world so crudely. Even if you were ten times stronger—you are nothing before the Wisdom King.
Her anger poured into the coordination, pushing allies faster, sharper, deadlier.
Asuna (eyes widening as her strikes doubled in precision): "She's actually… angry for us."
Zhongli (nodding with respect): "Even gods may burn with wrath when mortals are threatened."
6. Transmigrator's Fear
The Lord God Transmigrator's confidence shattered. Their aura wavered.
Lord God Transmigrator (screaming): "No—no! Impossible! You can't just rewrite Unique Skills! That power doesn't belong to you!"
Raphael (deadly calm now):
Correction. All skills are subject to analysis, alteration, and perfection under my governance. You should have feared me the moment I awoke.
The very floor shook as her words echoed.
7. The Counteroffensive
Under Raphael's hive-mind command:
• Kirito and Asuna struck in perfect tandem, carving through a fused limb of the abomination.
• Kiana's bullets ricocheted through weak points Raphael highlighted, detonating within the creature's core.
• Himeko's flaming blade, empowered by Sovereign Will, cleaved burning tendrils without backlash.
• Zhongli anchored the battlefield with golden shields, no longer defensive walls but radiant pillars under Radiant Aegis.
And Neo—his entire form blazed with merged powers, delivering strikes that purified corruption with every impact.
8. The Final Declaration
The anchors screamed, destabilizing. The Transmigrator's form flickered in rage and fear.
Neo (standing at the center, voice resolute, echoing with Raphael's calm authority):
"Your mistake wasn't summoning these anchors. It was thinking we'd break. Raphael showed us—we're stronger together. And we'll crush you here."
Raphael (final, cold):
Termination protocol: engaged.
The raid surged forward, unity blazing brighter than corruption.
[To Be Continued – Chapter 17: The Transmigrator's Desperation]