As soon as she heard word of their raid team's defeat, she immediately returned to headquarters.

Han Seol stormed into the guildmaster's room and asked, "What happened?"

Their guildmaster, Spear King Hernandez (ranked 8th amongst the Numbers), furrowed his brow and then sighed. "It's as you heard. Our guild's elite raid team, Blood Storm, was crushed."

"The raid boss was that strong?"

Blood Storm was made up of only the best hunters. This marked their second defeat; the first coming from the Great Forest's Wukong!

"Have you ever heard of Krishan?" Hernandez asked.

"Krishan?" Han Seol shook her head.

"You've been in the north for so long that you don't know what's going on."

"Who is Krishan?"

"A never-before-seen church appeared on the continent some time ago. Apparently, they're called the Church of Death, and they worship the Goddess of Death, Deborah. They came all this way from Despia in search of Krishan."

Hernandez shared the quest, 'Find Krishan', which could be obtained from any Adventurer Guild across the continent.

[Find Krishan]

Name: Krishan.

She is a beautiful woman with large white wings, red hair, and jade eyes. Vines are wrapped around her arms and legs. She is a member of an unknown ancient tribe.

If you find her, report her location to the Adventurer Guild immediately!

Warning: You only need to find her; killing her is not necessary. She is an extremely powerful being, so please do not fight her!

Minimum Requirements: Apprentice Adventurers cannot accept this quest.

Reward: Mithril (small quantity), a meeting with the Church of Death.

After looking over the quest, Han Seol said, "An extremely powerful member of an ancient tribe... Do you think this raid boss is Krishan?"

"I do. Our raid team assumed it was a plant-type monster, but when they opened the flower bud, a beautiful woman with wings like an angel popped out and slaughtered them. When they saw her, they got a system message that stated it was Krishan."

"Are you going to report it to the Adventurer Guild?"

"No. The mithril isn't worth it. After all, we lost so many men." Hernandez's eyes became vicious.

"Then?"

"I'll face her myself."

"Mm."

Hernandez's strength was tremendous; so much so that his place in the Numbers was undeniable. There was a reason he was called the 'Spear King'.

"I'm taking my elite guard and all of the guild's high rankers too."

"I'm going too, I assume?"

"Of course."

This team, which consisted of Hernandez, his elite guard, Han Seol, and their guild's high rankers, was the most powerful force they could muster.

"I'll make the preparations."

"Yeah, I'm counting on you."

* * *

A week later...

Hernandez and his elite team faced off against Krishan on the snowy white fields; her left arm and wing, which had been torn off by Ubist, had somewhat healed.

The atmosphere was tense. Hernandez stepped forward and declared war.

"You'll pay for messing with the Storm Guild!"

Then, he tightly gripped his SS-rank spear, the Parsus Spear of Ruin, and charged.

"Uwaaaaaah!"

"Let's go!"

"Let's play!"

The Storm Guild's elites were right behind him.

"Mere bugs... You dare!?" Krishan arrogantly yelled, and gathered energy in her hands.

Her left hand pinky was still missing. She hadn't fully recovered from her fight with Ubist.

"Die!"

Boom, boom, boom!

Her energy blasts exploded, resulting in loud 'booms' that resounded throughout the snowy fields. However, the Storm Guild didn't just sit there and take it.

Spear of Ruin!

Hernandez lunged, and his spear released black energy that took the form of a giant snake.

Grouse's Arrow!

Han Seol was a Lighting Hunter, an archer that could wield lightning. Her arrow transformed into a giant bird and flew through the azure sky. The 'bird' sparked as it flew.

The high rankers unleashed their own flashy skills/magic from beside them.

Frozen Hell!

Earth Slash!

Divine Judgment!

Storm Aura!

Krishan swung her right arm, which swelled with green energy.

Hammer of Arrogance!

The giant energy blast devoured the Storm Guild's attacks.

"Taste this!" Hernandez closed in and quickly thrust his spear.

The vines surrounding Krishan's left arm grew, protecting her. At the same time, the green energy amassed in her right hand took shape.

Spear of Arrogance!

Hernandez turned his body to the side.

Whoosh!

While clearly powerful, the green spear merely grazed Hernandez. He wasn't ranked 8th for nothing. He immediately counterattacked.

Infinite Thrust!

This skill would increase the speed of subsequent thrusts. The 2nd would become faster than the 1st, the 3rd would become faster than the 2nd, etc.

The suddenness of his attack forced her to flap her wings and retreat. Her left wing wasn't fully healed, so she slightly lost her balance as she did.

Hernandez paused and licked his lips to lessen his disappointment. Both Hernandez and Krishan were well aware that they'd both been just feeling each other out.

A short while later...

"Die, you worm!"

"You first!"

With Hernandez at the head, he and the rest of the Storm Guild's elites attacked Krishan. The brutal battle continued.

* * *

Hernandez's elite guard, which were the least skilled of their group, began to die one or two at a time. At some point, the high rankers began to die too.

However, the Storm Guild would be victorious. They made some sacrifices, but the Storm Guild's forces were powerful, and they'd been steadily reducing Krishan's HP.

"She only has 20% of her HP left," one of their mages said. The mage in question had created magic glasses that allowed them to see a monster's HP.

"Good. Don't let down your guard till the very end!"

"You worms!" Krishan furiously unleashed all sorts of skills. Her anger had reached its peak.

The Storm Guild was powerful, but she also wasn't at full strength. Her body wasn't at 100% yet. Moreover, she couldn't use the God of Creation's power either.

Belief was required to use divine power. However, the Mayanes didn't have any followers, forcing them to capture humans and use their life energy to fuel the divine power.

However, she didn't have access to that fuel right now.

After all, the life energy she'd been draining in Yuki-Onna's Paradise had been used to restore her body. Despite that, she still wasn't fully healed.

Getting wounded by these worms enraged her.

"Die, die, die!"

Ultimately, Krishan went on a rampage like a madwoman. However, that only served as an opportunity for the Storm Guild.

"Stay calm!" Hernandez's eyes gleamed. 'We can win this.' He was sure of it.

How much time had passed?

Stab!

Hernandez's spear pierced through Krishan's heart.

"0%!" the mage who'd kept checking her HP yelled.

"Hoo." Hernandez pulled out his spear and sighed in relief.

'We finally won!'

He took a look around. Only five of them were left standing. Twenty of their best guild members had died to Krishan.

'Krishan, you were crazy strong!'

"But in the end, we won..." Hernandez tried to raise his spear.

However...!

All of a sudden, something was choking his neck. It was Krishan's hand.

"What?" Hernandez was taken aback by the sudden turn of events.

'What's going on? She was definitely dead.'

The others had the same reaction.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo." Krishan laughed derisively. "I was wondering whether you had that sword, but it looks like you don't have it."

Krishan could clearly remember the jet-black blade that killed Mayanes Diabol, another one of her kind that had been trapped in the Goddess's Land! Plus, she was almost eaten by the beast that was sealed within it!

"You bitch!" He couldn't help but curse, and swung his spear.

However, Krishan's arm, which was wrapped around Hernandez's neck, unleashed a blast of energy first.

Hammer of Arrogance!

Boom!

Hernandez was dead!

"Aah."

"This is impossible! Her HP is at 0%. It's a bug!"

The remaining members fell into despair and panicked. Seeing that, Krishan felt so much better.

"Hahahaha, yes, despair! And know this. That I, an immortal, was playing around with you this entire time!" Krishan stretched out her arms.

The vines around her arms grew and wrapped around the surviving players. Then, she began draining them of their life force.

With this, the Storm Guild had met their end fighting Krishan once more. This truly was a tragedy!

'Just a little bit more! I just need a little bit more before I'm fully restored. Then, I can leave here, capture a ton of people, and supplant the gods! I'll make sure to kill that guy too.'

Krishan gritted her teeth at the thought of Kang Oh, and returned to her cave.

Whoosh.

A raging blizzard covered the battlefield. It was as if nothing had ever happened here...

* * *

The Storm Guild's headquarters.

Bam!

Hernandez forcefully slammed his hands onto the desk.

He got a game over, and re-logged with a 10% debuff to all of his abilities.

The debuff wasn't a huge issue, as it'd disappear within a week, but getting a game over cost him some levels and a ton of proficiency, which was a huge problem.

Moreover, all of the Storm Guild's elites faced the same issue. It was a huge loss on their part! It would take a long take to recoup their strength.

They'd taken so many losses, yet they had nothing to prove for it! This was driving him crazy.

"Immortal!" His eyes were downright murderous.

"Apparently," Han Seol replied, clearly annoyed.

"What the hell were the developers thinking making a monster like that!? Do you think it's a bug?" Hernandez yelled.

"I sent a formal complaint to the developers, but they told me that it wasn't a bug or an error. Krishan truly is immortal."

"Haa!" Hernandez could do nothing but sigh.

It felt like he'd lost all of his money at a casino. Fighting an immortal being like Krishan was like gambling away your money on a game you couldn't win. But after you lost your money, the casino tells you that there weren't any tricks involved.

"What will you do now?" Han Seol asked.

"What do you mean? We have to find a way to beat her."

"A way to bypass her immortality?"

"You said it yourself. That's not a bug or an error. The developers aren't stupid enough to create a completely imbalanced monster without any weaknesses. We just have to find out what it is."

"The Church of Death probably knows. They're looking for her precisely because they're confident that they can kill her. Or perhaps they have a way of sealing her away," Han Seol said.

"Mm. We'll have to get in contact with them."

"I already made an appointment. We'll meet them tomorrow at 6:00 (1800) at Altein's northern Adventurer Guild."

"You sure are good at your work."

Seeing her take the initiative cooled his anger slightly.

"You should be thankful that someone like me works for you!"

"You know I am!"