Mid-Dungeon Boss: Bladewraith

A Monstrous Sight

The labyrinth changed.

Leon didn't need the system to warn him. The air thickened, the blood-slick stone beneath his boots turned warm, and the dim red glow that had guided his path began to pulse like a heartbeat.

He'd entered something's lair.

The chamber opened into a dome of decaying grandeur—pillars of bone wrapped in sinew, archways made from ribcages, and walls that breathed in shallow, wet rhythms.

The smell struck first.

Not rot.

Something worse.

The scent of dying souls.

The Sorcerer's aura flickered with resistance, while the Warrior Zombie instinctively stepped closer, its cleaver raised. Even they could feel the pressure pressing in on their bones.

Then—

The light dimmed.

And something stepped forward.

It didn't lumber.

It walked.

Graceful. Measured.

A tall figure emerged from the black fog at the far end of the chamber. Thin, wrapped in living shadow. Bone-armor covered its limbs—angled, jagged, grown like an exoskeleton. In each hand, it carried a long cleaver, curved like a butcher's blade.

It wore no helmet.

Its skull was exposed, but fused with black iron. And where eyes should've burned, there were only twin gashes of flickering blue flame.

[System Alert: Mid-Dungeon Boss Encounter – Bladewraith, Soul-Eater of the Veins]Threat Level: Deadly

Leon didn't flinch.

He raised his weapon slowly.

"So this is what the dungeon was hiding."

First Strike – Dancing With Death

The moment the system fell silent, Bladewraith vanished.

Not blinked.

Not dashed.

It became motion.

Leon's instincts screamed.

"Intercept!"

The Warrior Zombie lunged just as a black cleaver carved through the air where Leon's throat had been. Sparks burst across the chamber as steel clashed with bone.

Bladewraith's second blade whipped around—

The Sorcerer warped, narrowly dodging the strike.

Leon rolled left, gun raised, and fired.

Bang.

The bullet tore toward the boss—but Bladewraith was already gone, sliding sideways like smoke with form.

Leon cursed inwardly.

This wasn't a brute.

This was a killer.

And it was reading him.

Tactical Breakdown

Bladewraith reappeared near the ceiling—clinging to the flesh-covered wall like a spider. Its blades scraped downward, leaving burning trails in the air.

Then it dropped.

Leon stepped back, commanding without a shout.

"Sorcerer—Barrage."

[Soulfire Barrage]

Five arcane bolts launched toward the falling shadow.

Bladewraith twisted midair, dodging three, allowing two to slam into its armor. Black fire ignited across its chest.

It howled.

A sound like steel dragged across bone.

Leon saw it now.

The fire didn't just burn the body.

It damaged the soul.

The only thing that could work.

"Focus essence damage," Leon muttered. "Everything else is a waste."

But Bladewraith adapted.

It dropped smoke from its rib vents—thick, consuming—and vanished again.

A System Evolution

Leon's breath slowed.

He could feel something watching him—closer than before. Not Bladewraith. The dungeon.

His system pinged. Not a warning. A notification.

[New Potential Detected – Enemy Entity Contains Soul Intelligence]Unlock evolution?→ [Enable Soul Conversion Ritual – Bind intelligent undead permanently]

Leon didn't hesitate.

[Confirmed: Soulbind Ritual Unlocked – Target: Bladewraith (Eligible)]

The system pulsed.

[To bind a soul, it must be weakened by spirit flame, then struck at its origin.]

Leon smirked faintly.

"Got it."

The Counterattack

"Force it out."

The Warrior Zombie stepped forward, sword raised.

"Sorcerer—flank left."

They moved as a unit.

Bladewraith appeared again, striking low. The Warrior caught the first blade.

Leon fired twice—one shot to the knee, one to the hip.

The Sorcerer looped behind it—then raised both arms.

[Soulfire Barrage – Full Focused Form]

All five bolts launched in a single line—directly into the back of Bladewraith's ribcage.

It screamed.

Its blades clattered.

Its form began to unravel—shadows peeling away, exposing the flickering core of its essence: a heart-shaped knot of soul-energy nested in a cage of black marrow.

Leon stepped forward.

The gun already charged.

[Necrotic Conversion Round Loaded]

He fired.

The shot struck the core—and the light inside Bladewraith shattered outward like glass under pressure.

The chamber went still.

Becoming the Third Summon

Bladewraith didn't die.

It fell.

The bones collapsed, the shadows leaking upward into a swirling storm of soul energy.

Then—

The system locked on.

[Soul Integrity Captured – Entity Eligible for Command Conversion]

[Would you like to bind: Bladewraith – Soul-Eater of the Veins?]

Leon raised his hand, palm glowing with cold, pale light.

"Yes."

[Confirmed – Bladewraith Now Bound]

The storm shrank, condensed—

Then coalesced into a rune.

A third summon rune.

Leon exhaled slowly.

And as the last of the smoke faded—

Bladewraith reappeared.

Reformed.

Reforged.

It knelt before him.

Awaiting command.

Aftermath

[Dungeon Mid-Boss Defeated: Bladewraith]Experience Gained: +14,200Loot Acquired: [Cursed Bone Fragment], [Shadowsteel Carving]

Leon reloaded his weapon, gaze already on the deeper hallway ahead.

His summons stood behind him.

Three now.

The Sorcerer.

The Warrior.

And Bladewraith—his blade phantom.

Whatever came next, he wouldn't face it alone.

And for the first time in this cursed place, the dungeon fell silent.

As if it, too, was thinking twice.