As blood surged and the souls of the departed were harnessed, Seong''s dual-cast ability came to life.

    A crimson storm erupted immediately where Crescendra stood, obscuring its vision completely.

    Amid the chaos, a turquoise spear shot through the obscured field of sight.

    Though both attacks triggered simultaneously, the precise timing secured the success of the strike.

    "I wasn’t sure it’d work with Phase 2... but it did."

    Seong initially doubted if such an extraordinary entity like Crescendra would be affected.

    But it worked.

    Three seconds.

    A remarkably short span of time, yet enough to create an opening.

    It was time bought by Seong.

    And that invaluable time ignited the fierce determination in the eyes of Valtar and Fiora.

    Valtar’s eyes burned with a dark crimson glow.

    Fiora’s radiated a deep navy blaze.

    The two distinct glows intertwined, hurtling toward Crescendra in unison.

    Yet, at that very moment, Crescendra, seemingly deprived of all senses, began to move—or attempted to.

    It raised its arm, preparing for something.

    Seong, observing closely, immediately recognized what it was.

    "A skill?"

    Though its senses were sealed, its skills were not.

    Acknowledging this, Seong swiftly brought his index finger to his lips.

    The skill, Command of Silence, was activated.

    Even without its senses, Crescendra couldn’t have anticipated what came next.

    From behind, an enormous witch appeared, laughing maniacally, her massive hand threading a glowing turquoise needle through Crescendra''s mouth, sealing it shut.

    The witch mirrored Seong’s motion, pressing a finger to her lips as she hissed:

    "Shh..."

    In a voice that echoed like a banshee’s wail, the witch vanished into the void.

    [Crescendra has been silenced by Command of Silence for 5 seconds.]

    [Hidden Raid Boss: Ancient Kingdom’s Guardian Golem Crescendra resists the effect.]

    [Duration reduced to 2 seconds.]

    Two more precious seconds.

    Sweat dripped from Seong’s brow as he assessed the battlefield.

    Valtar, crouching low with his massive crimson greatsword in both hands, drew a deep breath as he charged forward.

    With the blade lowered, he carved a glowing red path across the crystal floor, the friction etching a searing groove into the ground.

    The greatsword, now radiating an intense, storm-like crimson aura, roared as Valtar unleashed his ultimate strike.

    Fiora, crossing paths with Valtar, prepared her own devastating attack. Her axe-arm, now grotesquely enlarged, rivaled Crescendra’s size.

    As Fiora swung the massive axe, a chilling blue aura wrapped around it, sharpening the edge to a supernatural degree.

    The two attacks struck Crescendra simultaneously—a storm of crimson and blue energy colliding against its core.

    Behind this destructive onslaught, a spectral wraith emerged, delivering yet another devastating blow with its scythe, embodying death itself.

    Shing! Slash! Thud!

    The scythe fell not once, but six times, each swing more final than the last.

    As the grim reaper faded into the shadows, the crystalline palace trembled violently. Cracks spiderwebbed across the floor, scaling walls and spreading to the ceiling.

    The seemingly invincible structure was finally reaching its limit.

    Yet Crescendra, though riddled with cracks and emitting a sharp grinding noise, still stood.

    Its shattered form, now shedding shards of crystal, exuded an aura so menacing that even Seong’s strongest summoned allies—Valtar, Fiora, Barfur, and Kalisha—froze momentarily.

    Seong, observing from a distance, muttered:

    "This is insane."

    Could this truly be a level 70 raid boss?

    No, Crescendra was far beyond that.

    Even the strongest level 60 raid boss Seong had faced—Anemore—felt trivial in comparison.

    "I can’t win like this."

    Seong knew that his Creeping Darkness, a legion buff skill, was useless here. It required a massive enemy force to activate.

    Instead, he turned to the potions gifted by Plinky, consuming them one after another.

    "Our Lord foresaw this...!"

    "Y-Yes, truly incredible!"

    "To think this is our master...!"

    "Kyaaaah! (What a genius strategy!)"

    "Piiieee! (A terrifyingly precise plan!)"

    With the frost settled, the summons returned to the ground, resuming their assault on Crescendra.

    The towering golem reclaimed its crystalline greatsword, charging forward with a renewed fury.

    Valtar and Fiora intercepted, clashing against their foe with unyielding determination.

    For countless exchanges, they battled, Crescendra’s amplified strength in Phase 2 evident with every strike.

    But the combined might of Seong’s five summons held firm.

    Amid the chaos, Seong’s attacks darted through any opening, his precision forcing Crescendra to dodge the emerald spears that carried a deadly aura.

    Dodging these attacks, however, left Crescendra vulnerable to the relentless assaults of the summons.

    Every few strikes, a shadowy figure emerged—the grim reaper—delivering devastating slashes to Crescendra’s crystalline body.

    Slash!

    With each blow, Crescendra’s strength visibly waned.

    Kneeling on one knee, the golem growled in pain, the agony of severed souls coursing through its form.

    Yet Crescendra refused to fall, quickly recovering and retaliating with a vengeance.

    It parried Valtar’s greatsword, deflected Fiora’s axe, and countered Barfur’s spectral grasp with overwhelming force.

    Kalisha and Anemore dove in together, balancing the scales, their combined efforts nearly matching Crescendra’s ferocity.

    But Crescendra’s eyes began to glow—a signal of something catastrophic.

    "Kyaaaaah! (What’s happening!?)"

    "Piiieee! (We must stop it!)"

    "Master! Retreat immediately!" Barfur screamed, sensing the danger.

    Seong, however, stood his ground.

    He opened the Gates of the Underworld, recalling his five most powerful summons and replacing them with 20 empty-shell Null Ghouls.

    At the same time, he activated Poisoned Doom, infusing the ghouls with a sickly, glowing green toxin.

    Crescendra, seeing the ominous light emanating from the ghouls, involuntarily shuddered.

    For the first time, fear flickered in its gaze.

    Yet it roared defiantly:

    "You plan to self-destruct? Too late!!!"

    With its crystalline body surging with energy, Crescendra teleported directly in front of Seong, its greatsword blazing with radiant light.

    It swung the sword downward, aiming to cleave Seong in two—a blow no dark mage could possibly block.

    But Seong drew his own blade.

    A simple, unassuming weapon—yet it held its ground.

    CRACK! BOOM!

    The impact shattered the ground beneath Seong, creating a deep crater, but his sword withstood the strike.

    Crescendra’s glowing eyes widened in disbelief.

    "H-How...?"

    Seong smirked, his calm voice cutting through the tension:

    "Got you."

    The green toxin coursing through the Null Ghouls ignited, triggering an explosion that consumed Crescendra entirely.

    "Wretched...!" Crescendra roared as it realized its fate.

    Seong vanished into shadow just before the blast, using Shadow Transference to escape the epicenter.

    [You have used Shadow Transference.]

    [You are invincible for 1 second.]

    [A Blood Veil surrounds you.]

    Even with the invincibility, the ensuing shockwave shattered the ground and vaporized the surrounding crystals.

    The Blood Veil, meant to shield Seong, disintegrated in an instant.

    As the heat from the explosion reached him, Seong grimaced, his body scorched by the residual flames.

    "Not... enough."

    The fire spread across his limbs and torso, threatening to consume him entirely.

    [You take extreme damage!]

    [HP reduced to 0.]

    [The effect of 『Unbound by Shackles』 activates.]

    [You are revived with 50% maximum HP.]

    [Invincibility granted for 5 seconds.]

    Revived by the unique effect, Seong stood amidst the chaos.

    As the explosion subsided, the battlefield came into focus.

    [Hidden Raid Boss: 『Guardian Golem of the Ancient Kingdom, Crescendra』 has been defeated.]

    Seong exhaled deeply, exhaustion setting in as the system notification echoed in his mind.

    "I won!"