Summoned with an SSS-Rank Portal Skill-Chapter 249: One Last Resort

The power of that creature had increased significantly, and now William had no idea what to expect from the fight. But at least he was out of the arena and could now rely on Rena and the adventurer for support.

"Let's work together to kill it," he said. "Rena, prepare your spells."

Rena didn't look as confident about the fight as she had earlier. The time she spent battling the other boss—the one that looked like a mage—had left her feeling discouraged.

She had hit it with her spells, but they hadn't done any damage. The mage had a type of barrier around his body that blocked everything she threw at him.

That experience had shaken her confidence. What if her spells didn't work again? Rena was afraid she was just getting in William's way.

It didn't take much to realize she was hesitating. William snapped her out of it.

"Focus, Rena. I need you to help me win this fight, or we're all going to die here."

His voice brought her back to the task at hand. The adventurer with them wished he could run, but instead chose to step forward and support William in close combat.

The transformation—the demonic transformation—was still active, and the enhancement spells were holding too, but they wouldn't last forever. William had to end this fight before they ran out.

With Asura in hand and a tremendous power emanating from his body, he dashed forward.

"I'm not afraid of you," he said, trying to boost his own confidence.

He had just won the arena fight against one of the bosses. So why should he be afraid now, even if their powers had merged? They had grown stronger, sure—but so had he.

The creature moved forward as well, heading straight for William. It no longer wielded its massive sword, now relying instead on its claws—deadlier-looking, surprisingly, than its previous weapon.

William swung his blade, the creature slashed with its claws. Their weapons collided.

The impact pushed the boss backward. Not William—the boss. That meant William's Strength was higher, and that gave him even more confidence.

He attacked again, this time channeling more of his demonic energy into his blade. The slash flared with dark fire, powerful enough to burn if it connected.

It didn't.

The boss flapped its four wings and dodged the attack with ease—then suddenly vanished, reappearing at the other end of the throne room, right next to the adventurer.

"What?" the man gasped.

Everything happened so fast that he couldn't react. The boss slashed him with its claws, tearing across his chest and sending him flying, a massive gash opening across his torso.

Blood gushed from the wound, flowing like a river. William looked back, and even from a distance, he saw something dripping from the creature's claws.

"The claws are poisoned!" he shouted. "Stay out of the fight!"

With just one hit, the adventurer was done. He couldn't continue—not without risking the poison spreading even faster.

Not that William particularly cared for the man, but he had fought beside him. William would do his best to keep him alive.

But the poison wasn't the only thing he noticed. The boss was slowing down. It wasn't moving like before. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

That could only mean one thing: the teleport had drained it!

William didn't know how long that fatigue would last, but he knew one thing—he had to use this window.

The problem? The boss was on the other side of the throne room. He'd never reach it in time—unless he had a way to close the distance instantly.

He scanned through his mental list of spells—especially the ones he had gained with his demonic transformation—and found one that could work.

He cast it.

"Demonic Cut of the Shadow King!"

The world shifted.

Everything around him seemed to slow for a few seconds. In that space between moments, he moved—crossing the vast room in an instant.

It wasn't just teleportation—it was a flash of wrath made flesh, followed by a devastating slash.

The power surprised William. It seemed that every new attack he unleashed was stronger than the last.

When his sword struck the boss's back, it severed three of its wings and opened a massive wound, from which black liquid flowed. William guessed it was the creature's blood.

Rena blinked a few times, still trying to process how William had appeared and attacked the boss. A second ago, he had been on the other side of the room!

As for the adventurer, well, he was on the ground, doing his best to stay alive. He wasn't seeing any of this.

"Attack it now!" William yelled. "The creature is weak!"

That was the perfect opportunity for Rena. She cast a fire-element spell, as fire seemed quite effective against the boss.

The spell formed a fire whip, which flew rapidly and lashed around the creature's neck, melting its flesh and dealing a heavy blow.

William wasn't about to stand still, though. Seizing the chance, he charged forward, slashing with his sword at every exposed part of the creature's body. This time, he wasn't using any of his new special abilities from his demonic transformation.

His demonic energy was running low, so he couldn't rely on those powerful attacks anymore.

It wasn't just his demonic energy that was running out. The enhancement spells were also about to wear off, and his demonic transformation wouldn't last forever. He needed to end the fight quickly, or things would get ugly for him.

It was in that moment that the creature screamed in fury and decided to strike back. William was the closest target, and it was coming for him.

The creature's speed increased drastically, something William hadn't expected. It made it difficult for him to dodge the attack.

The creature's claws slashed through his shoulder and torso. While his body was more resistant — much more than the adventurer's — it wasn't enough to block the creature's claws.

The hit was strong, and the toxin entered his body. At first, he only felt the pain from the cut, not noticing any venom. But after a few seconds, he started feeling his body stiffen, unable to move at his usual speed.

The reason the adventurer was on the ground was the same: the toxin in the creature's claws caused a severe paralysis. William managed to stay on his feet thanks to his extremely strong body and the enhancement spells that made him even more powerful.

But it wouldn't last forever. The first spells to wear off were the physical enhancement ones, followed by his demonic transformation.

When that happened, he felt his body grow heavier, to the point where he had to kneel and support himself with his sword.

After that attack, the boss jumped away. The creature was also very weak and seemed to want to avoid direct combat. It kept its distance to avoid Rena's attacks and waited for William to grow too weak to fight.

It seemed like the creature knew he was running out of strength, that his magic was fading. The boss wanted to let him suffer from the toxin in his claws, biding its time until it could strike again, when it was safe. It was doing the same thing it had done with the other adventurer.

Rena wanted to attack the boss with more of her spells, but the creature had jumped far away, now on the other side of the throne room. The distance was too great, making it hard for her to land her attacks.

She decided to run and stand next to William. "Are you okay?" she asked, kneeling beside him.

It was a stupid question. Anyone could see that William was far from okay. He'd taken a deadly blow, and with his spells gone, he was much weaker than before.

In fact, the situation was so dire that William honestly thought they wouldn't win. Rena was starting to feel the same way.

"I-I'm fine," he said.

She knew it wasn't true, but didn't say anything. Someone else did, though. Throughout all this, the boss had been able to speak.

The hoarse, chilling voice came from the other side of the room.

"You will all die today," the boss said, laughing. "It feels so good."

William was pissed. It was one thing to lose a battle, but another to lose and then have to listen to the enemy talk trash.

There was no honor in that, and William wasn't the kind of person to let anyone talk shit about him, especially some stupid boss in a damn dungeon.

With effort, he slowly got up, accepting Rena's help. "What did you say?" he spat, glaring at the boss.

"I said you'll all die today. The toxin is slowly killing you, and I have all the time in the world to just run away and let you die."

The creature was smart. William had to give it credit for that. He took a deep breath. There was one thing he could still do to turn the fight around. His last resort.

"I wouldn't be so sure about winning this fight, you ugly-ass creature," William shot back.

He began walking toward the creature, barely able to move. Rena, clearly worried, called out to him.

"Stop!" she said. "You can't win. Let me fight it!"

William turned to face her and smiled. "Relax, Rena. I always win."

That's when he activated an ability he'd only used a few times before.

[Hero's Limit Activated]