The mont we lifted the items from their pedestals, the place reacted instantly. Violent cracks spiderwebbed across the remaining pedestals, and a surge of violet light erupted outward as though the dungeon itself were purging everything we hadn’t claid. In the blink of an eye, the rest of the treasures disintegrated into fine ash, consud by the trap’s built-in failsafe. Had any of us been caught within that radius, we would’ve suffered grievous injuries—if not been outright annihilated.
I took the flute from my clone’s hand before dismissing him. The construct dissolved into motes of golden dust that floated through the air, then faded completely.
With our spoils secured, there was nothing left for us here. Our next destination lay deeper inside, the chamber where the dusa replica guarded the divine weapon’s fragnt. That fragnt had been one of the main reasons I ca to this place in my previous excursion, and just thinking about it stirred a faint thrill in . This ti, however, I was going to get my hands on it.
We advanced deeper toward the far end of the chamber and slipped into the narrow passage ahead, barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Before long, it widened into a vast hall supported by towering pillars. Just as I rembered, the walls were lined with carvings depicting serpentine beings bowing before a crowned figure—yet once again, the face of that figure had been deliberately chiseled away, erased from history.
“We’re here,” I said.
At the center, atop the highest pedestal and encircled by broken angelic statues, rested the fragnt of a divine weapon. Only half a blade remained, but the faint trace of divinity clinging to it was unmistakable. Its power had long since faded, sealed or broken beyond repair, but even in its incomplete state, it was a relic once wielded by a being far beyond mortal comprehension.
Soon, a heavy scraping noise echoed through the hall. Not far from the pedestal, a massive serpentine tail slithered forth, scraping against the stone floor. A familiar towering figure followed—half woman, half snake. Its upper body was eerily human, with flawless features marred by a faint grayish pallor, while its hair writhed with petrified snakes that twitched sluggishly, each one cracked as though carved from ancient marble.
[Gorgon Replica, dusa – Lv.175]
A synthetic guardian modeled after the legendary mythical beast, the true dusa. Created through lost secret thods, this imitation retains fragnts of the original’s petrification power and serpentine curse. It was once used to defend the sacred relics of King Amun. Though only an imperfect replica, its strength is extraordinary, and its gaze can turn lesser beings to stone within monts.
Threat Level: Extrely High
I noticed that almost everyone except Boris gulped at the sight of the monster. It was only natural, as even I could feel my hands tremble ever so slightly. Last ti, I had almost used everything at my disposal just to get past it and reach the deepest chamber. But now, I wasn’t alone, and I intended to hunt it down this ti.
The dusa replica hissed, but it hadn’t spotted us yet since we were still concealed within the narrow passage.
“This thing can petrify you instantly if you et its eyes… But even without direct eye contact, its gaze can still partially petrify you. Make sure you keep moving and never stay within its line of sight for more than a second,” I warned in a low voice. “If you were to be partially petrified, imdiately back away and use mid-quality or higher potions.”
I wasn’t entirely sure if a mid-quality potion could fully reverse the petrification, but it should at least stop it from spreading. I still had three high-quality potions in my inventory, and those might cure it outright, but I needed to reserve them for absolute ergencies. Once soone turned fully into stone, perhaps only sothing on the level of an Elixir of Life could bring them back… and none of us had that.
“Maxim, you seem to know a lot about this monster,” Michelle comnted.
“Let’s just say my ho world had myths about creatures like this,” I answered, lying through my teeth. “Anyway, I’ll be using my Echo Construct skill to summon my look-alike to draw its attention. While it’s distracted, the rest of you spread out and attack from multiple angles. Never let its gaze line up more than one of us at a ti.”
Everyone nodded in agreent, and we began with the plan. I activated Echo Construct, and a translucent haze condensed beside , forming into my double. The clone glanced silently at , awaiting orders.
“Go,” I said.
The construct sprinted forward, deliberately making noise as it burst into the chamber. The dusa replica’s head snapped toward it instantly, marble snakes rising with a grinding hiss.
“Move out!”
We scattered from the passage. Michelle slipped left, right behind a half-crumbled pillar, drawing her bow the best she could. Lucian flew right, mana gathering sharply at his palms. Tuilë crouched low, adjusting the handles on her hand cannon as she aid upward for a clear shot. anwhile, Boris marched straight down the center with the confidence of a man who believed fear was for other people.
“Gahaha! Finally, a worthy opponent!” he exclaid, grinning widely.
The monster first lunged toward the clone, and its eyes flashed with deadly gray light. The clone quickly stiffened, its legs already turning to stone.
“Attack, now!” I shouted.
Michelle fired first. Her arrow, wrapped in spiraling green light, shot straight for the joint beneath the creature’s arm. At the sa ti, Lucian unleashed a barrage of {Mana Arrows}, each projectile whistling through the air with compressed force. Tuilë squeezed the trigger, her cannon erupting with a concentrated mana beam that carved a blazing streak across the chamber.
I followed up imdiately, casting Cryo Magic and channeling Weapon Manifestation. I summoned a barrage of icy spears, dozens of them. With a gesture, I hurled them forward toward the monster. The dusa replica screeched, twisting violently as the barrage of attacks struck it from multiple directions, cracking scales and chipping stone from its serpentine form.
The construct has been destroyed.
As the construct was completely petrified and shattered into stone dust, dusa’s eyes flashed again with murderous intent.
“Careful!” I shouted.
A pulse of grayish light rippled across the floor toward Boris—by far the closest target. Without hesitation, Boris raised his arm to shield himself. The petrifying aura struck his steel skin, splashing across it like water hitting a solid wall before dispersing harmlessly into the air.
I was imdiately hit with a realization. Now that I thought about it, Boris’s steel form functioned like a dull, non-reflective mirror. dusa’s petrifying attack would be completely nullified by it, and the right angle and brightness… he might even be able to rebound that attack back at it.
“{Mana Lance}!” Lucian chanted, completing a magic circle overhead. A spear of condensed blue mana shot forward, tearing through the air and striking dusa square in the chest. The impact sparked across its stone-coated scales—only for the energy to bend, redirect, and disperse along the carved patterns of its outer shell.
Not good. Its magic resistance is off the charts…
The dusa replica recoiled from the barrage, then whipped its serpentine tail across the chamber, shattering a column and sending stone fragnts flying toward us like shrapnel.
“Spread out! Don’t let it focus on a single target!” I commanded while activating Echo Construct once more. A second clone shimred into existence beside , already sprinting forward as a distraction.
“Everyone, listen closely!” I barked, zigzagging between the serpent’s coils as I slashed at its back and tail. My blade bit into the scales but left only shallow marks. “We need to make it petrify itself. Tuilë, prepare a flash charge. Michelle, Lucian, be ready to fire the mont it flinches. Boris, brace for close combat!”
“Roger!” Tuilë shouted.
The dusa replica hissed furiously, its cracked stone hair writhing like a nest of awakened serpents. It lunged toward my clone again, but Boris stepped directly into its path, still in his steel form.
“Co, snake!” Boris taunted, punching her incoming strike aside with a clang that echoed like colliding anvils.
“Tuilë!” I called.
“On it!” She pulled a compact sphere from her inventory. “It’s a flash grenade! A prototype I’ve been working on. Don’t look directly!”
She hurled it upward. The grenade burst midair with a blinding eruption of white light that illuminated every crack, scale, pillar, and shadow in the chamber.
The dusa replica reflexively snapped its gaze toward the brightest point, but the only thing reflecting back was the tallic surface of Boris’s forearm that had transford into a smooth, mirror-like surface. This caused the petrifying beam to rebound instantly, striking her full in the face.
The effect was instantaneous as cracks began spiderwebbing across its marble-like features, and its defenses—once impossibly solid—dulled as the petrification partially worked against its own body.
“Now! Hit it with everything!” I shouted.
Everyone quickly unleashed their strongest attack on dusa. Michelle’s explosive arrow streaked forward, wrapped in a spiraling pulse of green force that detonated into thornlike vines upon impact. Lucian invoked {Mana Burst}, launching a concentrated blast of mana that hamred into its cracked torso. Tuilë’s cannon fired a piercing beam that carved a burning line across its scales. I followed up with {Gravity Field} and {Mass Alteration}, increasing its weight to six tis normal and forcing its battered form to slam hard against the stone floor.
As the combined assault struck her all at once, it shrieked, its form buckling as large chunks of its serpentine tail fractured and collapsed. Yet even with half its body shattered, it still refused to die.
“Lucian, Michelle, cover !” I instructed, switching to the teorite Spear. “Boris, hold her attention!”
He laughed. “Gladly!”
I activated Wind Rush, feeling the damp air warping around as I circled toward the creature’s flank.
“Let’s see how you handle this,” I muttered, channeling mana into the spear to unleash Falling Star. The spearhead ignited with crushing force, forming a swirling mass of compressed impact energy that distorted the air like a collapsing star.
The dusa’s cold, empty eyes snapped toward in alarm, and a gray beam of petrifying light shot forth at the exact mont I unleashed Falling Star.
The two forces collided midair in a violent explosion. Cracks of light, mana, and pulverized stone erupted outward, shaking the chamber violently. The petrifying beam shattered under the overwhelming pressure of the teor-force thrust, and the spear’s impact wave tore through it completely and slamd into the dusa replica with unstoppable montum.
The blast ripped its torso open in an instant, and its petrified face crumbled under the force, scattering fragnts like powdered marble. The remaining length of its tail shattered soon after. At last, the dusa replica disintegrated entirely into a rain of stone fragnts and dust that clattered lifelessly across the chamber floor.
You have hunted [Gorgon Replica, dusa – Lv.175].
You have gained 590 EXP.
Gravity Magic has leveled up.
Interdiate Spearmanship has leveled up.
You have earned a new title: Serpent Slayer.
You have earned a new title: Stonecurse Vanquisher.
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