CHAPTER 20: [KILLER ROAR]

"Fuck!" Eli cried out as pain tore through his head like a blade. He clamped his hands over his ears, staggering, his entire body vibrating with the force of the roar that split the air.

The leader of the ogres wasn’t just loud. It was lethal.

The ground beneath Eli’s feet quaked violently, throwing chunks of pavement into the air.

Even Kairo—unshakable, terrifying Kairo—had to fall back, his stance breaking as the sonic wave blasted through him.

"RAAUGHHHHHH!!"

Another roar thundered through the city like an earthquake. Windows exploded. Glass rained down from buildings and shattered car windshields, shrieking as metal bent and warped from the vibrations.

Eli stumbled backward and fell to his knees, arms still locked around his ears.

’It’s like the whole world is screaming.’

"What... is this?!" he screamed, but his voice was eaten alive by the next wave of sound.

It wasn’t just noise. It was something deeper. Something primordial.

And Eli’s danger sense—once helpful—now betrayed him.

It was going haywire. Alarms blared in every corner of his mind. Red, blinding warnings filled his senses.

His skin crawled like ants were crawling beneath it. His limbs wouldn’t move, paralyzed between fear and overstimulation.

’It’s starting to fucking hurt.’

It was too much.

He couldn’t tell where the threat was coming from anymore.

Because it was everywhere.

Then—

Ding.

A soft chime cut through the chaos.

A screen appeared before him, barely legible through the blurring in his vision.

[⚠ SYSTEM WARNING ⚠]

ALERT: S-Class Dungeon Boss has entered rampage state.

Classification: S-Class BOSS

Current Location: Approx. 0.5 km from Player

Player Classification: B-Class – Immediate danger detected.

Eli stared at the words, brain struggling to register them.

’S-Class Boss...? The leader...?’

His heart dropped. Goosebumps raced across his arms and neck.

’That thing’s not just the leader of the ogres. It’s the actual dungeon boss?!’

Ding.

Another window snapped open.

[ADDITIONAL MISSION ASSIGNED]

Mission: SURVIVE.

Status: Active

Duration: Until threat is neutralized or player has escaped vicinity.

Eli gaped.

"Survive? That’s the mission now?"

It sounded ridiculous. Obvious. Why wouldn’t he want to survive?

’It’s unnecessary to make something so obvious a mission.’

But the fact that the system had to state it out loud...

That terrified him.

’Is it warning me because Kairo can’t handle this? No—Kairo’s here. He’s already killed S-Class bosses before. There’s only one ogre left besides the boss. He has blood. He has weapons. He can win this—right?’

But doubt was forming. Fast.

Another roar ripped through the battlefield, this one even louder than the last.

"RAUGHHH!!"

Eli forced himself to lift his head, his body trembling from shock and pressure.

His vision blurred for a second—but then he saw it.

The ogre.

Not the boss.

The last surviving one.

It was moving. Again.

It had flinched before. It had backed away before.

But now—it was stepping forward.

Toward Kairo.

Even after everything.

Eli’s eyes widened.

’That thing was terrified just moments ago... why is it suddenly bold enough to attack again?’

And the boss... it was still roaring.

Nonstop.

Kairo, now back on his feet, had covered his ears with hardened blood—smart, tactical. His expression remained composed, but Eli could see the tension in his jaw.

He was watching the ogre carefully.

Ready.

But Eli... Eli was not.

’Something’s wrong.’

Something was very off with everything.

Eli clenched his fists, trying to calm his rattled senses.

That last ogre should’ve been too scared to move. And the boss? Still roaring without pause, like it was building something up.

Kairo’s hand rose with calculated calm, fingers dripping crimson. With a flick of his wrist, the blood sprayed outward—small, glimmering droplets slicing through the air like dying stars.

They didn’t fall.

They hovered.

Unnaturally still. Suspended midair like they’d been caught in time itself, slowly orbiting the approaching ogre in tight, deliberate spirals.

Eli’s eyes widened in sharp recognition, heart lurching in his chest.

’That’s—Pulse Burst.’

A high-tier technique. Rarely used. Ruthless when deployed. Kairo could command his blood to explode at will, not like fire or flame—but a controlled blast.

A concussive surge strong enough to rupture steel, shear through armor, shatter bones.

It wasn’t elegant like his other skills, but it wasn’t meant to be.

It was meant to end things.

And with how close the ogre was inching toward Kairo—

’He’s going to blow it apart. He’s baiting it into the blast radius.’

The ogre snarled, heavy steps shaking the broken pavement. It didn’t hesitate this time. It wasn’t backing down.

Kairo, standing still with quiet authority, lowered his arm slightly. Waiting. Watching. His eyes burned like embers beneath his lashes.

Then—

"RAAUGHHHHHH!!"

The Ogre boss howled again.

And this time, the roar wasn’t just loud—it was directed. Focused like a weapon. A sonic blade that cut through the battlefield.

Kairo’s eyes narrowed, but even he flinched. Just barely. A twitch. A shift in stance.

But it was enough.

The blood droplets wavered midair. Lost their tension. The pulse stalled.

’No—he interrupted it!’

Eli’s danger sense surged again—this time not like a warning, but a full mental collapse. It overloaded. His head throbbed. His lungs locked up.

And then—

The regular ogre roared.

But not in pain.

It was something else.

"ROAAAAAAAAAUGHHRR!!!"

Its voice didn’t sound beastly—it was unnatural, warped, vibrating with energy. Not like a monster.

Like a spell.

Then—its eyes.

They lit up.

Blinding yellow. So bright they looked like twin suns embedded in its skull. Energy crackled around its thick arms like static.

Eli staggered back, hands trembling.

"What the hell is happening to it?!"

The ogre’s body seized violently. It buckled, spasmed—and then convulsed with unnatural force. Its scream grew distorted as it bent backwards, vertebrae pushing against its skin like writhing serpents beneath the flesh.

Then—

CRACK.

A sickening, bone-deep snap echoed out.

Its back split down the middle.

Muscle tore. Skin ruptured.

From its sides, two more arms exploded outward, twitching and malformed—until the bones set with a thunderous POP and they locked into place.

It didn’t stop there.

The ogre’s entire body began to grow. Bulging. Expanding. Muscles overlaid with more muscles. Its skin stretched tight like it was seconds from tearing again.

Steam hissed from its shoulders.

Its breath became labored, shallow—but filled with strength.

It was mutating.

Right before their eyes.

’That’s not supposed to be possible.’

Ogres were brute-class monsters. Strong, stupid, predictable.

Not adaptive.

Not like this.

Eli’s pulse screamed through his veins as he watched in horror.

’Ogres can’t evolve. Not unless they’re corrupted. Not unless... something’s giving them power.’

Unless they were monsters with magic.

Demons. Elves. Transformed beasts.

But this wasn’t any of that.

This was raw. Chaotic. Forced.

Then—

THUD. THUD. THUD. THUD.

Four clubs—each larger than the last—manifested in the creature’s now four massive hands. They looked like they were made of jagged rock and obsidian, dripping with cursed energy, vibrating with power.

Each one longer than Eli’s body.

The mutated ogre raised them with ease, snarling as thick black veins webbed across its skin.

Eli’s stomach twisted.

But he couldn’t look away.

’It... evolved mid-fight?’ Because of the boss’ roar?

Kairo’s eyes narrowed, his expression unreadable—but Eli could tell he was stunned. Not afraid. Just... processing.

The sudden transformation. The grotesque new limbs. The sheer size.

But Kairo didn’t back down.

His stance adjusted, heels digging into the cracked pavement. His grip on the blood-forged blade tightened. Constructs hovered behind him, twitching like wolves held on leashes.

He was still ready.

Still Kairo.

’He can still do this. So what if it grew a few limbs?’ Eli thought, teeth gritted as he tried to calm the panic bubbling in his chest. ’It’s still just an ogre. And Kairo’s killed monsters ten times worse.’

But then something shifted.

It wasn’t the ogre.

It wasn’t even the boss.

It was the air.

A strange vibration. Like the atmosphere itself had suddenly tilted.

Eli blinked.

’Huh?’

And Kairo—Kairo was no longer looking at the ogre.

He was looking at him.

Eyes wide. Alarmed.

Eli’s breath caught.

’Why is he looking at me like that—?’

Then, slowly, like an eclipse swallowing sunlight, a massive shadow stretched over Eli.

And it moved.

He turned his head.

Then his body.

Then looked up.

A sickening chill slid down his spine as he realized what it was.

The building behind him—half-demolished from the roar, its top floors cracked and leaning—was falling.

Steel groaned. Concrete split. Glass rained from above.

Right over him.

His eyes went wide.

"Ah. Fuck."