Debuff Master

Chapter 752

After the Savior summoned the vengeful wraiths to attack Siegfried, darkness enveloped the Iron Palace. It was as if the sun had abruptly set, leaving no trace of light. The temperature plummeted until it was eerily cold, and a dense fog settled within the palace, making it impossible to see even an inch ahead.

The entire place transformed as if the palace had been swapped with a palace from Hell itself.

But that was not the end of it...

Across the Iron Palace, malevolent spirits emerged in droves.

Kyaaah!

Kieeee!

Aaaaagh!

Ooooh...!

The spirits unleashed ear-piercing shrikes as they darted frantically throughout the palace. The statues and various works of art adorning the Iron Palace were possessed, transforming into monsters. And even the dead soldiers, officers, and attendants of the Zavala Kingdom rose again as ghastly ghouls before rushing madly through the halls.

And then...

“Revenge...! Vengeance for the royal family...!”

“Where are you, Frederick? You disgraceful runt!”

“Who dares defile the grand palace of Zavala?”

“You scoundrel! How dare you ruin a kingdom built over centuries?!”

The former kings of the Zavala Kingdom appeared as wraiths, and they began searching for King Frederick with unmistakable fury. Their anger was only natural, as the Zavala Kingdom had become the mightiest nation in the north thanks to the blood and sweat of their forefathers.

They bled for these lands and toiled endlessly to establish this great kingdom.

However, King Frederick had brought their kingdom to ruin in just a single day.

Thus, the Iron Palace became a vast dungeon overrun by both wraiths and spirits. This chaos forced the Proatine knights and soldiers to fight not only the remaining Zavala troops but also the relentless spirits.

Even the Zavala troops that were engaged in combat with the Proatine knights and soldiers found themselves attacked by vengeful spirits.

The palace instantly turned into a chaotic frenzied battlefield where humans and spirits were indiscriminately killing each other.

***

Meanwhile, Seung-Gu and the Head Crusher Guild members repeatedly attempted to enter the Iron Palace, but their path was blocked.

[Alert: Entry is restricted!]

[Alert: Entry is restricted!]

[Alert: Entry is restricted!]

No matter how many times they tried, their characters were locked out of the palace, unable to advance past the entrance. It seemed that the transformation of the palace into a dungeon had triggered some sort of barrier that prevented outsiders from entering it.

“Hyung-nim...” Seung-Gu muttered. He could not help but be worried about Siegfried, who was likely trapped inside.

It was not that he doubted Siegfried’s capabilities, but he just wanted to help. He was not only an ally but also a brother, so the feeling of helplessness was something that did not sit well with him.

With no way into the Iron Palace, however, aiding Siegfried was impossible.

It was then.

“Wait a moment. I’ll try contacting him,” Yong Seol-Hwa said, stepping forward.

“How?” Gosran asked.

“I have a way, unni,” Yong Seol-Hwa replied, holding up her Whistle: Weaver Girl❤♀.

“What’s that?” Gosran asked with a confused look.

“It’s something I made,” Yong Seol-Hwa replied with a smile.

“Ah, I see...”

“Give me a moment.”

With steady hands, Yong Seol-Hwa used the Whistle: Weaver Girl❤♀ to attempt contact with Siegfried.

‘I want one, too...’ Gosran thought.

She felt a bit envious of Yong Seol-Hwa’s unique connection to Siegfried, but she kept her feelings to herself. This was the nature of their friendship; they needed to respect each other’s space without stirring up trouble.

Ironically, this only made Siegfried, who was blissfully unaware, assume that the two were getting along pretty well and were great friends. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Wooong... Wooong...!

Yong Seol-Hwa poured her mana and attempted to connect with Siegfried, but there was no response from him.

“It seems things are rough inside. It’s either he’s too busy to answer, or the barrier’s blocking the signal,” Yong Seol-Hwa said.

“So what do we do now?” Gosran asked, looking visibly worried.

“We will have to break our way in.”

“Break in? How?”

“By force.”

“What?”

“Just a moment, unni,” Yong Seol-Hwa said before proceeding to rummage through her inventory. Then, she pulled out an enormous hammer named +10 Colossus Fist. It was a massive weapon made of metal, over two meters long, with a fist-shaped head as large as a small tank.

“What’s that...?” Gosran asked, stunned.

“It’s called the Colossus Fist. It’s specifically designed for breaking down barriers,” Yong Seol-Hwa replied.

“Huh?”

“I made it myself,” she said proudly. Then, she readied the hammer and said, “Here goes nothing.”

Heup!

She swung the hammer with all of her strength at the Iron Palace’s entrance.

Clang!

A tremendous echo rang out, and a barely visible hairline crack appeared along the barrier.

“Whoa!”

“Where did she get that?”

“That’s awesome!”

The Head Crusher Guild members marveled at Yong Seol-Hwa’s weapon, as they could not believe there was a weapon capable of shattering barriers.

“Hmm... This barrier is stronger than expected. Normally, one hit would be enough, but I only managed to crack it a bit. This is tougher than I thought,” Yong Seol-Hwa murmured, looking slightly taken aback.

“Then what do we do?”

“If I keep hitting it, it’ll break eventually. So I guess I’ll just keep going and hit for as long as I can.”

With that, Yong Seol-Hwa resumed swinging her +10 Colossus Fist at the barrier.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The barrier resisted stubbornly. Even though the crack was growing larger and larger, it seemed like it wasn't going to shatter.

‘Let’s see who gives in first. I’ll make sure I’ll destroy you,’ Yong Seol-Hwa thought, gritting her teeth with fire blazing in her eyes.

She continued her relentless assault at the barrier, showing no signs of slowing down or stopping anytime soon. Her determination was burning, and she was set on destroying this barrier one way or another.

Why?

It was all because Siegfried was inside.

As long as he was trapped inside the Iron Palace, she wasn't going to give up on her attempt to break the barrier.

***

Meanwhile, Siegfried was fully absorbed in the battle raging around him, completely unaware of the dark changes occurring throughout the Iron Palace.

The Whistle: Cowherd❤♂ he was carrying remained silent, as the barrier surrounding the palace was blocking the signal from its counterpart. Even if it had activated, Siegfried was so deeply immersed in battle that he likely wouldn't have noticed it. His focus was locked on the endless waves of wraiths rushing at him.

‘How are there so many of them?’ Siegfried thought, baffled.

Before him was a sea of wraiths numbering in what seemed like millions. Each wraith clawed its way toward him while unleashing vengeful intent.

Not only were they overwhelming in numbers, but their forms ranged from minor beasts like mutated deers to formidable enemies he once defeated, like the Green Dragon.

Even the kings and nobles of the Bayerische Kingdom, whom he had assassinated with his radioactive concoction, had come here to haunt him.

Every single life Siegfried had taken, from the smallest to the grandest, was in the form of shadows, haunting him.

“Guuu Oohh...”

“You’ll pay for what you did to me!”

“Siegfried van Proa!”

“Vengeance!”

“I want my revenge!”

One after another, the wraiths hurled themselves at him with rage. They were hellbent on settling the grudge they held in the last moments of their lives.

‘Damn it!’ Siegfried cursed and placed down Shadow Hell, causing a powerful slowing effect on the wraiths.

“Hiss...! Hiss...!”

The Frost Hydras emerged from the shadow on the ground, and they spewed their icy breaths at the wraiths, chilling them down to their very cores.

This brought Siegfried enough time to set up his defenses. He used the opportunity to summon the Night Stalkers as well to form a shadow barricade in front of him, protecting him from the endless waves of wraiths.

‘Time to set the field.’

With the wraiths’ movements severely hampered, Siegfried widened the distance and placed down Blaze Field almost immediately.

Fwaaaah! Fwaaa!

The wraiths suffered from the debuff as the flames from the ground licked their figures.

“Hiss! Hiss!”

The Blaze Hydras emerged this time and unleashed their fiery breaths that massively debuffed the wraiths. As if that was not enough, Siegfried stacked Elemental Shower on the wraiths, completely stripping them of whatever elemental resistance they had.

Still, the wraiths clawed forward despite the layers of debuff magic being cast on them.

‘Time to wipe them out,’ Siegfried thought as he infused light attribute energy into his +13 Vanquisher’s grasp and used Splitting Heaven and Earth.

Krwaaaang!

The floor erupted in a massive fan-shaped blast that sent marble tiles scattering in all directions and the wraiths flying off the ground.

However, he wasn't done yet...

A blinding flash of light illuminated the halls as fierce bolts of lightning struck the airborne wraiths, reducing them to ash.

‘Perfect!’

The combo was executed so flawlessly that none of the wraiths remained.

[Alert: You have gained experience points!]

[Alert: You have leveled up!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 285!]

After a long period of stagnation, Siegfried’s level finally rose. This was the first time his level rose after completing that quest in the Arctic Pangea.

***

‘There’s no time to waste!’

Siegfried, fueled by the thrill of leveling up, directed his attention to his next target, the Savior.

“Blaze Hydras! Frost Hydras!”

In response to his command, his hydras exhaled their breaths, lacing the Savior with a series of debuffs.

‘One more!’ Siegfried cast Elemental Shower as soon as it went off cooldown to reduce the Savior’s elemental resistance even further.

Then, he unleashed a massive cloud of radioactive energy with the Eraser Swarm, sending waves of radioactive microbes at the Savior. Lastly, he infused light attribute energy into his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp and charged forward.

Krwaaang!

The entire chamber was illuminated with flashes of intense energy as the +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp made its way toward the Savior. Upon impact, Siegfried immediately followed up by launching a relentless barrage of strikes with Machine Gun Smash; the bolts of energy from each strike scorched the walls and blackened the floor.

But...

‘He’s still standing?!’ Siegfried was shocked to see that the Savior was still standing despite the barrage of attacks he had unleashed just now.

The voice of the figure beneath the hood sounded extremely cold as he said, “You will never defeat me, Siegfried van Proa.”

“You monsters...”

“Nor will your sins ever be erased.”

“What?”

The Savior spread out his arms wide and commanded, “Arise, vengeful spirits.”

Kyaaah!

Kikikiki!

“Siegfried...! Siegfried...!”

“I will not rest until I’ve dragged you to the depths of hell!”

“Come with me!”

“Revenge! I want revenge!”

The wraiths that Siegfried had vanquished just moments ago reappeared one by one, and they closed in on him once again.

“...!”

Seeing the legion of wraiths before him, Siegfried’s heart sank. The Savior wielded power beyond anything Siegfried had faced or could have imagined, even in his wildest dreams.