The Boss took another step out of the Rift.
Three and a half meters of gnarled muscle under skin the color of dark ash. Humanoid, but everything about it was wrong. The proportions were all off. Arms hanging too low, nearly to the knees. Shoulders too broad, uneven. The head tilted slightly to one side, like the neck was broken—but those scarlet eyes.
Borin studied it.
"Serin, status!"
Static crackled in his earpiece. Then his vice-captain's voice, breathless. "Sensors… down. Visual estimate… S-class confirmed. Maybe S+."
"Perfect."
Borin raised his hammer. Around him, Ironveil hunters struggled back to their feet. Draven spat blood, forcing himself upright. The archer beside him groaned, cradling a dislocated arm.
"First and second lines, tactical retreat!" Borin ordered without taking his eyes off the Boss. "Focus on the secondary nemesis. Do not engage the Boss. He's mine."
Grunts of acknowledgment came over the comms.
The Boss took another step. The ground cracked under its weight.
Behind it, the Rift spewed a fresh wave of nemesis. The creatures poured out, scattering in every direction.
"Clover, Jaeger, nemesis are spilling over!" Serin shouted.
"We see them," Vanpelt's calm voice answered on the shared channel. "Clover engaging."
No word from Jaeger.
Borin didn't care. His world had narrowed to one thing: the creature in front of him.
The Boss stopped twenty meters away.
It tilted its head, as if studying Borin. Then its lips—too thin, too long—stretched into something like a smile.
"Can you understand me?" Borin called out.
No answer. Just that smile.
"Doesn't matter."
Borin charged.
His legs exploded forward. The ground split beneath him. In two seconds he closed the gap, hammer already swinging in a killing arc toward the Boss's skull.
The creature raised an arm.
The impact was deafening.
The hammer slammed into its forearm. The shockwave tore up clods of earth and rock around them.
The Boss didn't move.
Borin grunted, leaped back, landing ten meters away. He scanned his opponent. The Boss's arm showed no mark.
"You've got some serious physical resistance," Borin muttered. "Interesting."
The Boss slowly lowered its arm.
Borin smiled. "My turn."
He raised his free hand.
Ether erupted from his body, swirling visibly in the air. Then, beside him, a figure materialized.
A double.
Identical to Borin. Same armor. Same hammer. Same smile.
Then a second.
Then a third.
Four Borins now faced the Boss.
They charged as one.
Four masses of metal and muscle crashed into the Boss. Hammers came down in sequence, each targeting a different spot. Head. Chest. Legs. Side.
The Boss reacted.
Its arms blurred, blocking three strikes at once. The fourth landed in the ribs. A crack rang out.
The Boss slid backward ten meters before stopping.
Borin and his doubles didn't let up. They circled, hammering relentlessly. Each blow shook the air.
The Boss took it.
It blocked some. Dodged others. But it didn't fight back.
Draven watched from the rear, mouth hanging open. "He's… dominating it."
One double struck the Boss's knee. The creature staggered, dropping to one knee. Borin himself leaped, hammer raised high.
"TAKE THIS!"
The hammer crashed down.
The Boss raised both arms.
The impact was apocalyptic. A shockwave swept the clearing, hurling nearby nemesis away like straw. Ironveil hunters braced to keep from being blown off their feet.
The Boss caught the hammer.
Its hands gripped the haft just below the head. Its arms trembled slightly—but it held.
Borin growled, pushing with everything he had. His doubles moved in, pounding the Boss's sides, back, head.
Then the Boss moved.
It twisted the hammer.
Borin felt the shift, tried to counter—but too late. The Boss yanked hard, ripping Borin off his feet and hurling him through the air like a rag.
Borin hit the ground twenty meters away, tumbling before springing back up.
He spat. No blood—just saliva.
"Good."
The Boss rose slowly. Its eyes never left Borin.
This time, it moved faster.
Just a quickened stride. But each step covered three meters.
Borin's doubles threw themselves at it. The first was swatted aside with a backhand, dissolving into ether smoke. The second swung at its legs, but the Boss leaped—an inhuman bound—and landed on the double, crushing it into the dirt.
The third managed to hit its flank, spinning the Boss slightly.
Borin seized the opening. He charged again, hammer driving straight into the exposed chest.
It landed.
The hammer sank into the ribs with a satisfying crack. The Boss flew backward, skidding across the ground.
Borin gave it no breathing room. He leaped, last double at his side, and they struck together.
The Boss raised an arm to block.
This time the arm gave.
A sharp snap. Bone shattered under the combined blow. The Boss growled—the first sound it made—and staggered back.
Borin grinned. "Starting to feel it, huh?"
The Boss looked down at its broken arm. Bone protruded through gray skin. Black blood oozed slowly.
Then it raised its head.
Its scarlet eyes flared brighter.
Borin felt the shift.
The air grew heavier.
The Boss extended its injured arm.
Ether exploded from its body.
A visible, tangible wave—like an aura of black flame. It wrapped around the Boss, swirling.
Borin took a step back. "What…"
The broken arm straightened. Bone slid back into flesh. Skin sealed.
In three seconds, the arm was whole.
"Ether regeneration," Serin whispered over comms, horrified. "That's…"
The Boss stepped forward.
This time it didn't walk.
Its feet barely touched the ground, hovering inches above it.
Borin clenched his jaw. "Change of plan."
He raised his hand.
The Boss vanished.
Borin blinked.
One moment it was ten meters away. The next it was right in front of him.
The Boss's fist drove into Borin's gut.
Air exploded from his lungs. His armor cracked. He flew backward, crashing through three trees before slamming into a fourth.
The last double charged from behind.
The Boss spun, palm out.
Ether shot from its hand, forming a black spear. It pierced the double, dissolving it instantly.
Borin hauled himself up, coughing blood this time. He felt ribs shifting in ways they shouldn't.
"Shit."
The Boss advanced.
Borin summoned two new doubles. They took position between him and the creature.
The Boss raised both hands.
Ether erupted again—this time as dozens of black spears. They streaked forward, spearing the doubles before they could move.
The doubles vanished.
Borin was alone.
He gripped his hammer, ignoring the fire in his chest. "All right. You want to go hard already? We only just met."
The Boss stopped five meters away.
It tilted its head again. Then raised one hand, palm open toward Borin.
Ether swirled, condensing into a single point. A dense black sphere, pulsing with crushing energy.
Borin planted his hammer in the ground.
A wall of golden light flared in front of him.
The Boss closed its fist.
The sphere detonated.
The blast swept everything. Borin's barrier held half a second before cracking. Then it shattered.
Borin was hurled backward, bouncing across the ground until he slammed into the wreckage of the command tent.
Serin crawled toward him. "Captain!"
Borin didn't answer right away. His ears rang. Vision blurred.
He turned his head toward the Boss.
The creature stood motionless in the ruined clearing.
Still smiling.
"He…" Borin coughed, blood running from his mouth. "He was toying with me."
Serin grabbed his arm. "Captain, we have to fall back. We can't—"
"No."
Borin pushed himself up, using his hammer like a crutch.
"Who do you think I am, Serin."
"Captain…"
"I'll admit I'm outmatched right now."
He took a step forward.
"But…"
The Boss raised its hand again.
"I'm the one who'll be left standing in the end."