One SSS Affix per Level: My Novice Club Can Slay Gods!

"That year, the gates of the Dark Realm opened completely. We ’monsters’ marched into human territory with our armies behind us."

Rosaline spoke casually, though a faint trace of mockery lingered in her voice.

"We advanced without resistance. One city after another fell, and your defensive lines were torn apart like paper."

"Those so-called knights, mages, and holy practitioners of yours were nothing more than prey that took slightly longer to kill."

She raised her eyes and glanced at John, the corners of her lips curling slightly.

"Even a place like Sunset City, hidden safely behind the front lines, was trampled beneath our feet."

"Back then, we truly believed the war was already over."

She paused and lightly tapped the rim of her cup with one finger.

"But just when everyone believed victory was already in our grasp—"

Her voice suddenly dropped.

"He appeared."

A complicated expression surfaced in Rosaline’s eyes.

"A human."

"A man who called himself..."

"A Voidwalker."

She chuckled softly, yet there was not the slightest trace of amusement in the sound.

"You know, at first, none of us even took him seriously."

"After all, no matter how powerful a single person was, how strong could he possibly be?"

She shook her head.

"But later, we realized just how terribly wrong we had been."

"That man seemed to have walked directly out of the Void itself."

"No one knew where his limits were."

"Alone, he tore open our battle lines."

"Alone, he slaughtered an entire army."

"Alone, he forcibly overturned a war that had already tilted completely in our favor."

Her voice gradually became calm.

"From that moment onward, the Dark Realm began to retreat."

"One city."

"One defensive line."

"One army after another..."

"Piece by piece, everything was reclaimed by him and the rest of humanity."

"We Twelve Witches also fell one after another."

She sighed softly, as though recounting something that had nothing to do with her.

"Some died."

"Some were crippled."

"Some even had their souls completely erased."

She raised her eyes toward John, and a smile once again appeared on her face.

"In the end, I was the only one who survived in a relatively ’complete’ state."

She shrugged.

"But—"

"Don’t misunderstand."

"It wasn’t because I was stronger than the others."

"My magic was simply rather unusual."

Rosaline raised one finger.

A black-and-crimson thorned flower bloomed above its tip.

"I divided my soul into six fragments."

"As long as even one fragment continues to exist, the others will gradually revive."

"Once all six fragments reunite, I can reconstruct my physical body."

"In a sense, that makes me immortal."

"The only way to truly kill me is to destroy all six soul fragments at the exact same time."

"But humanity found another solution."

Rosaline glanced around the chamber.

"They didn’t kill me."

"Instead, they used a forbidden spell to imprison one of my soul fragments here."

"As long as this fragment cannot return, my physical body can never be revived."

John asked,

"What is the price of maintaining the seal?"

Rosaline’s smile deepened.

"You’re clever."

"Of course there is a price for sustaining a seal like this."

"The bishop who sealed me here was required to use his own body as the core of the formation, continuously supplying Mana to the underground cathedral."

"The white magic practiced by humanity can only consume the power already contained within the caster."

"It cannot draw Mana from other dimensions like the black magic of the Dark Realm."

"No matter how powerful a bishop might be, his reserves will eventually run dry."

"And so, he began searching for a new way to replenish them."

The moment Rosaline finished speaking—

Boom!

The doors to the domed chamber were smashed open from the outside.

A towering figure slowly walked into the room.

He wore a bishop’s robe that had long since rotted and turned black.

Crimson light radiated from his eyes.

In his right hand, he carried a longsword formed entirely from crystallized magical power.

In his left hand, he held a person.

Lorne.

At that moment, Lorne looked exactly like the members of the Investigation Team outside.

His body had completely withered.

His HP had fallen to zero.

The bishop casually tossed the corpse onto the ground.

Rosaline raised an eyebrow.

"See?"

"Now you know who killed them."

John tightened his grip around the staff.

[Ancient Bishop—Sever]

[Level: Lv.30.]

[Rank: Ten-Thousand-Player-Tier Boss.]

[Status: Corrupted Soul; Sanity Lost; Core of the Sealing Formation.]

[HP: 500,000/500,000.]

[MP: 480,000/480,000.]

[Physical Attack: 7,600.]

[Spell Power: 12,800.]

[Physical Defense: 6,500.]

[Magic Defense: 8,200.]

[Skills: Holy Crystal Judgment, Life Drain, Crimson Holy Light, Bishop’s Oppression.]

[Description: The bishop tasked with guarding the soul of the Thorn Witch a hundred years ago. Maintaining the seal for an extended period exhausted his Mana, eventually forcing him to devour life force in order to sustain it. He has now completely lost his sanity.]

Five hundred thousand HP.

Combined defenses exceeding ten thousand.

How the hell was John supposed to fight that?

He turned toward Rosaline.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"What exactly do you want?"

Rosaline’s crimson lips curved upward.

"To make a deal with you."

"Make it quick."

"I’ll help you deal with him."

"Afterward, you set me free."

John’s thoughts moved rapidly.

Sever would never willingly kill Rosaline.

Destroying this fragment of her soul would be the same as personally releasing the seal.

That meant the bishop’s only possible target was John.

A witch with two hundred thousand HP.

A bishop with five hundred thousand HP.

Together, that was seven hundred thousand HP.

There truly was no second option.

"Deal."

Rosaline raised one finger.

Black-and-crimson light shot from its tip and instantly entered John’s chest.

Boom!

A surge of power unlike anything he had ever experienced erupted within his body.

[You have obtained the Special Buff: Blessing of the Thorn Witch!]

[All core attributes temporarily increased to 1,000% of their original values!]

[Duration: 3 minutes!]

John felt his attributes skyrocket and could not help looking at Rosaline.

"If you have a buff like this, why don’t you use it on yourself?"

"Buffs don’t work on soul forms."

Rosaline spread her hands helplessly.

"Otherwise, why would I be waiting for you?"

At that moment, Sever released a roar like a wild beast.

Boom!

The ground beneath his feet exploded.

His entire body instantly appeared in front of John.

The crystallized longsword swept horizontally toward him.

He was too fast.

There was no time to cast a spell.

John directly summoned the Novice Club and brought it down head-on.

Bang!

The longsword and wooden club collided violently.

[-10,980!]

[True Damage!]

The next instant—

Cleave erupted.

Boom—!

[-32,940!]

Sever was blasted backward by the shock wave, smashing through several crystal pillars behind him.

A single swing.

More than forty thousand damage.

Even the Ancient Bishop seemed stunned by the blow.

He rose from the debris, and for the first time, a trace of hesitation appeared within his crimson eyes.

John gave him no time to recover.

The Fire Crystal Staff instantly appeared in his hand.

[Binding Chains!]

Clatter!

Black-and-crimson chains erupted from beneath the circular platform and tightly wrapped around Sever’s body.

[Double Bind activated!]

[Chains of Silence activated!]

[Control Duration: 5 seconds!]

John raised the staff.

"Fire Serpent!"