They were still a good distance away from whatever monster was emitting that strong presence, but it was so oppressive that they had to back away while they prepared for battle.

They didn’t know exactly what was waiting for them, so they tried to get every advantage the could. After buffing themselves up to the point they were jumping up and down from all the energy they had, James prepared a Razorice Saw in advance.

His saws didn’t last very long, but this time around he knew when and where the fight was going to take place. It would have been foolish not to prepare something beforehand.

With the preparations ready, the three rushed into the boss room.

James didn’t wait for even a second. He barely even saw the thing with his peripheral vision, and he sent the Razorice Saw flying in that direction with all his might. He put so much mana into the throw that his hand hurt from the force of the motion.

He threw the saw so quickly that he didn’t even have time to think. He really wanted to have the advantage of a good first strike. But as the saw was flying towards the monster, he realized the futility of his attack.

From the presence it was emitting, James was expecting a huge monster, an easy target for the incredibly powerful Razorice Saw.

Instead, all that was waiting for them was a shadowy figure. Almost transparent, like a collection of shadows twisting in the shape of a man. If not for its oppressive aura, it would be hard to even see if there was anything there at all.

The saw hit it dead on, but it didn’t do any damage. It didn’t even encounter any resistance. The saw passed through the figure as if it hit air.

The figure took the shape of a man, but it didn’t have any flesh or any other kind of body to speak of.

“What the hell is that thing?” James asked.

Helios didn’t answer, but the frown on his face told James all he needed to know.

Lunaris was the more knowledgeable of the group, so she spoke up.

“I can’t be entirely sure, so all I can give you is an educated guess. But if I had to put my money on it, I’d say this is all the leftover Darkness that didn’t find a monster to be its host. The agent who tainted the Soul Grinder with Darkness must’ve poured an insane amount inside, and this is the coalescence of whatever didn’t infect and empower monsters or block xp. But still, this amount is absolutely insane, this entire room is just oozing Darkness.”

“Luckily for us, it’s blocking the way to the elevator to boot. Hurray.” Helios added with a grim expression.

“What’s the black that’s all over the walls?” Seeing as the dark figure wasn’t attacking them yet, James took a look around the room.

“My god. It’s the Darkness. It’s gotten so thick it’s actually solidifying into some tar-like substance.” Lunaris answered.

Seemingly reacting to their presence, the shadows began stirring. The dark figure shook uncontrollably, shifting between corporealness and translucence.

Lunaris seemed to notice an opportunity and struck with a wave of holy magic, conjuring a stream of burning light that struck the figure in an instant.

But the attack didn’t seem to even scratch it.

Lunaris immediately switched back to supporting the other two. Her attacks were powerful, but her support was even more vital. If Helios’s attack power couldn’t deal with it, then her attacks certainly wouldn’t be able to. But her support was irreplaceable, so she made a tactical decision to focus on supporting. Who knew what weapons this thing was hiding? Especially with James cursed, Lunaris had to make sure they wouldn’t die from a random attack.

She did it right just at the right time, because the next second the figure lunged at them. It attacked Helios, but James’s SARM activated and made him dodge anyway. He was so on edge that he jumped the second the thing moved.

The dark figure was lightning fast, but Helios’s speed was not something to be underestimated, especially now that he was undampened.

James took Lunaris and they moved out of the room, watching Helios from the doorway. Lunaris would be able to support him safely from this distance, while James would try any and all spells in his arsenal, in hopes that at least one of them would hurt the thing instead of just passing through it.

Even with Helios’s speed, it seemed like he was just barely able to dodge. The figure seemed to almost be vanishing in and out of reality, taking shape and dissipating every other moment. The whole room was covered in a cloud of swirling shadows, and the figure seemed to be one with them.

Its attacks were fast, but more problematic than their speed was their vagueness. James didn’t know if he could dodge if that was him instead of Helios. As the figure was attacking Helios, it seemed to be shifting in size and shape, sometimes it seemed to triple in size, and sometimes it split into several figures just half the size of the original one, only to dissipate back into the cloud the next moment.

It was like fighting the waves of the sea. As soon as Helios tried to strike at the figure, it vanished back into the cloud, only to come at him from another direction. It didn’t even feel like fighting a monster.

James was going through every spell he had, from saws to bullets to bolts of all elements.

It was like having a fight in a dream, where you try to punch but your hand just won’t move. It was just as frustrating, because no matter where they tried punching, it was like hitting a cloud.

The only reason Helios was able to dodge was his speed, which allowed him to react immediately. No matter how unpredictable the figure was with all the shifting and transforming, Helios was able to avoid its attack and keep the figure focused on him.

James didn’t like watching Helios dodge at incredibly narrow margins, he wanted to jump in and help him. But that wouldn’t do any good, so he kept throwing everything he could think of. He had been itching for a good fight, but now he was regretting that sentiment. The sentiment quickly turned into frustration.

James stopped attacking for a few seconds to build up a big attack. He was amassing saws, readying them for a huge chain of explosions, without shrapnel as to not hit Helios. Perhaps attacks under a certain threshold wouldn’t damage it, so James wanted to try something extremely damaging.

He had been wondering if the figure was actually sentient, but he didn’t have to wonder for long. As soon as James tried to conjure his army of exploding saws, another, smaller figure attacked him.

It wasn’t exactly another figure, it was connected through the cloud to what was attacking Helios.

James managed to dodge it thanks to SARM, but he now had to enter the fray, to avoid putting Lunaris in danger, who was continuously casting buffs and shields on them. Helios was quick, but perhaps the reason he was able to dodge so flawlessly was Lunaris, who had ben making sure to keep his speed buffed up, and to not let even a trace of exhaustion be felt by him.

A big, shadowy, illusory figure was chasing after Helios, and a smaller one chased after James. It didn’t even feel like fighting a monster. It reminded James of a bad dream in yet another way. It was like a nightmare where you are chased by a vague, dark shape that seemed to always be on your heels no matter where you went.

The two being chased couldn’t stop to think about just how surreal and weird the experience was, but as Lunaris was supporting from afar, her mind was filled with questions.

Initially, she joined James because she wanted to study the Darkness. She already had a certain degree of expertise on it. But she never actually experienced something quite like this. James’s reckless training ventures were terrifying, but nowhere else could she live out such experiences. Her mind wouldn’t stop racing, she had so many theories about what was happening. This entire trip to the Soul Grinder had been so weird, entirely different from what she had expected.

As surreal as it was, she had to focus hard on supporting her friends, her buffs could literally be the difference between life and death.

A smaller figure tried to emerge from the cloud and attack Lunaris, but she was able to dodge and strike it down immediately. It seems attacking Helios and James was its limit, it couldn’t handle chasing Lunaris while it was busy with the guys.

But the two of them couldn’t just keep dodging forever, that was basically just waiting to eventually be struck.

Before his saws could dissipate, James waited for an opportunity where both him and Helios were near each other, so he could detonated them all on the other side of the room, hopefully managing to damage the cloud of shadows where the figure was emerging from.

“Buckle up!” James shouted at Helios.

Helios reacted immediately, and then the saws exploded.

Half the enormous room was charred and in flames, the stone walls and floor were cracked. But the dark figure. didn’t seem to be damaged at all.

James’s many spells were quite an arsenal. But this time around, the situation called for veteran expertise that could only be gained through years of experience.

Helios got into a guarded stance, and immediately retrieved another set of equipment from his ring. He now had a giant shield in one hand, and a greatsword in the other. The mere sight of the immense sword held in just one hand made James want to start working out as well, he probably wouldn’t be able to lift that greatsword even if he enhanced his arms with all his mana.

But Helios wasn’t doing it to show off.

A good part of this world was already taken by the Darkness. But that didn’t mean all was lost. The people have learned of ways to fight back.

Helios’s shield and sword were glowing with fire, and with each passing second they seemed to be getting hotter and hotter.

A few seconds later, Helios was seemingly holding two white hot pieces of metal. James had seen this before, but this time around it was even more insane. Mere flesh shouldn’t be able to hold something so hot, but Helios was doing it without showing the slightest hint of pain. He really did seem immune to his own fire.

“All right, listen up James. You’ve noticed how your saws did nothing. Most of my attacks wouldn’t do anything either. And I have no idea what this thing’s weaknesses are. But I do know one thing.”

Helios stopped and crouched. The figure seemed to react, doubling its attacks toward James, but for some reason it didn’t attack Helios anymore.

Helios stopped to warn James. “James, stand back with Lunaris. Try to think of a plan B from safety.”

The whole room then seemed to grow silent. Even as James was loudly dodging, weaving and trying to get away, there still seemed to be an eerie, overwhelming silence setting upon the room.

Suddenly, a low growl could be heard. James almost thought Helios was hit, but then a huge burst of wind exploded from Helios. His presence seemed to explode as well. Instead of feeling the dark figure’s presence, James could now feel his friend’s aura all around the room.

Helios turned around and looked towards the figure. His eyes were like two balls of fire.

“There is only one solution I can think of, James. When the enemy seems to have no weaknesses, the only answer is overwhelming strength.”

James understood what he meant. He had the same idea before, but he didn’t have enough power. He could feel it in the aura, even in Helios’s attitude. The only way out was to absolutely erase this figure from existence through overpowering might.

James felt a stirring in his soul, and he couldn't stop thinking of his Chaos Javelin. While he still hadn't fully recovered from using it in the first place, he had a feeling that this fight wouldn't end until he brought forth the powers of chaos once more.