The True Gate Boss [Part 2]

The Shadowfang Wyvern was supposed to be dead. I had seen it fall, heard the wet, sickening crunch of its massive body hitting the ground, watched as its blood pooled like black ink against the cavern floor.

And yet—

It twitched.

Not a slow, struggling shudder like a dying beast taking its last breath. No, this was something else entirely. Something unnatural.

The wyvern's body convulsed as if unseen hands were pulling at it, twisting it like a broken puppet, forcing movement where there should have been none. Shadows slithered over its wounds, sewing its flesh back together with dark tendrils, sinking into the cracks in its scales, merging with it like living parasites.

And its eyes.

They weren't its eyes anymore.

The molten amber glow from before had been replaced by something infinitely worse—swirling voids, like tiny black holes threatening to swallow everything they touched.

I barely had time to process the sheer wrongness of it before a sensation slammed into me.

A pulse.

A vibration that wasn't sound but something deeper, something that hummed through my very bones. My chest tightened as a familiar, unwelcome presence stirred inside me.

It didn't surge with power or offer me anything useful. Instead, it shuddered.

Not in excitement.

In fear.

[WARNING! UNKNOWN ENTITY DETECTED. SYSTEM ANALYSIS IN PROGRESS…]

Oh. That was new.

Then, like ice crawling up my spine, I heard it.

A voice.

But not in the cavern.

Not in the air.

In my head.

"You… are like me."

I flinched so hard my grip nearly slipped on my weapon. My breath came in sharp, ragged bursts, my mind scrambling for an explanation. Had the wyvern just spoken?

No. Not spoken.

It had whispered. Directly into my skull.

The system flared again—only this time, the message was sharper, more urgent, almost panicked.

[ERROR! ENTITY CLASSIFIED AS A NIGHTMARE-TIER ABERRATION. RECOMMENDED COURSE OF ACTION: ESCAPE.]

…Escape?

I glanced at the cavern entrance—at the bloodied corpses of the Rifters who had tried to turn on me, their bodies still warm, the metallic scent of their spilled lives clinging to the air.

I had fought for my survival.

For my right to be here.

And the system wanted me to run?

No.

No.

I wouldn't run.

The wyvern moved.

Not like before.

Not a charge. Not a lunge.

It vanished.

One second, it was standing there, the next—gone.

A flicker of shadow. A blur of motion.

And then—

Right behind me.

[DANGER!]

I barely had time to twist before jagged claws slashed through the air where my head had been.

The sheer force of the missed strike alone sent shards of stone flying from the cavern wall. My reflexes screamed, my body already reacting—rolling, twisting, evading—but even with every enhancement the system had given me, I was too slow.

It was too fast.

[NEW THREAT ANALYSIS COMPLETE. UPDATING COMBAT RECOMMENDATIONS…]

[NEW OBJECTIVE: OUTLAST, ADAPT, STRIKE.]

No time to breathe.

The wyvern was already moving again.

Its tail snapped out—a whip of serrated bone, cutting through the air like a reaper's scythe.

I twisted—too slow.

The impact exploded across my ribs like I'd just been hit by a freight train. I was airborne before I even registered the pain.

Then—

CRASH.

I slammed into the cavern wall, stone shattering around me. My vision flickered. Every nerve screamed in agony.

[HP: 87% → 63%]

I sucked in a breath—ragged, sharp, burning.

That was with my enhanced endurance. If I had been normal, that hit would have snapped me in half.

The wyvern watched me.

It didn't pounce. Didn't rush in for the kill.

It was waiting. Studying me.

"You are weak," the voice slithered into my head again.

I gritted my teeth.

I reached into my inventory.

[ITEM EQUIPPED: VORPAL DAGGER [RARE]]

The dagger materialized in my grip, curved obsidian glinting under the cavern's eerie light. A weapon I had taken from a past kill—a rare drop with a nasty ability.

The wyvern moved.

I was ready.

I dashed forward, pushing my speed to its absolute limit.

Claws tore through the air—a blur of slashes designed to rip me apart. I twisted, barely ducking beneath a strike that would have taken my head clean off.

Close. Too close.

I stepped inside its guard.

And struck.

The Vorpal Dagger plunged into its side.

For a heartbeat—nothing.

Then—

BOOM.

The dagger's effect activated.

[EFFECT: VOID RUPTURE – CAUSES INTERNAL DETONATION ON SUCCESSFUL STAB.]

A pulse of mana detonated inside the wound, cracks splintering across its flesh. The wyvern howled, its body recoiling, shadows writhing in distress.

I didn't let up.

I twisted the blade deeper and slammed my palm against its wound.

[SKILL ACTIVATED: MANA DISRUPTION [LVL 2]]

A shockwave of unstable mana rippled through its body. The wyvern staggered, its movements faltering for a split second—

Enough time to strike again.

I lunged for its throat—dagger flashing—

And then—

[SKILL INTERRUPTED!]

A spike of darkness erupted from the ground, spearing into my leg.

I gasped as agony lanced through my body.

The wyvern's shadows had anticipated me.

It was learning.

"Good," it whispered. "Then I can feast."

[WARNING! ENTITY INTELLIGENCE RANK: ADAPTIVE. STRATEGY CHANGE REQUIRED.]

Oh, for fuck's sake.

The shadows around me moved—massive spiked tendrilsbwhipping toward me from every direction.

I kicked off the stone, twisting mid-air.

[SKILL ACTIVATED: SHADOWSTEP [LVL 3]]

My body vanished into the darkness, shifting—reappearing behind the wyvern.

I slashed.

The wyvern's wing tore open.

Black ichor splattered the ground.

It snarled.

I grinned.

"Survive first. Talk later."

Then I lunged again—faster, stronger. My dagger flashed, carving into its exposed flesh.

The wyvern lashed out, but this time—I was in control.

Dodge. Strike. Cut.

[SKILL ACTIVATED: TEMPEST STRIKES [LVL 2]]

A flurry of five dagger slashes—each one laced with wind mana—ripped across the wyvern's side.

It screeched, stumbling back.

It tried to grab me.

[SKILL ACTIVATED: ARCANE SHIELD [LVL 2]]

A translucent barrier flickered to life, deflecting the tendrils.

I saw my opening.

I dashed up the cavern wall, using the momentum to launch myself high above the wyvern.

Then—

[NEW SYSTEM FEATURE UNLOCKED: CRITICAL SKILL CHAINING.]

I let go.

[CRITICAL STRIKE UNLEASHED: VOIDFANG LANCE.]

A spear of pure abyssal energy manifested in my hands.

The wyvern's empty eyes locked onto me.

I saw fear.

Too late.

I hurled the spear.

The void pierced its skull.

For a moment—silence.

Then—

BOOM.

The wyvern's head detonated.

[GATE BOSS DEFEATED.]

Shit!

I barely noticed.

I had won.