Walfred immediately kicked off the ground.

"Frozen Weapon!"

An ice axe formed in an instant.

With an axe in each hand, Walfred reached the Corpse Lord in the blink of an eye. Then he poured every bit of the strength he’d been saving into the axes.

And swung them straight down.

Splooorch!

A ferocious strike bored mercilessly into its belly.

Having lost its frost resistance, the Corpse Lord was nothing more than a thick lump of meat. As if to prove it, the axe blade tore through the hide and sank in deep.

In that instant.

Riiiiip!

The belly split open lengthwise.

And out poured all the corpse fragments, entrails, and assorted debris the Corpse Lord had swallowed, cascading down like sewage.

A horrific stench stabbed at his nose, but he didn’t spare it so much as a glance.

Instead, he stared intently into the inside of the belly.

[Support: Sharp Eye Activated]

[Identifying the target’s weak point.]

Sharp Eye, which kicked in right on cue.

Beyond his vision, now switched to black and white, he could see the mana stone shining brilliant white. Without hesitation, Walfred pried his way into the Corpse Lord’s belly.

Splat!

Blood, rotted flesh, and all manner of entrail fragments poured down over his face, but he paid them no mind. The only thing he was after was the Corpse Lord’s mana stone.

Meanwhile, had it realized Walfred had gotten inside its belly? The Corpse Lord retched violently and thrashed like a madman, trying to spit him back out.

Thud! Thud-thud! Boom-crash!

Every time the creature flailed, the entire corridor shook as if it might collapse. The more it did, the tighter Walfred gripped its entrails to keep his balance.

All the while, he rummaged through its insides every which way.

And finally.

"...Found it."

He reached the Corpse Lord’s mana stone.

The moment [Sharp Eye] let him pin down the mana stone’s exact location, Walfred swung the ice axes in both hands and savagely battered the Corpse Lord’s mana stone.

Splooorch! Splorch!

Was it only now feeling the danger?

The Corpse Lord opened its mouth wide and began spewing out words in some unidentifiable language.

[⏣⎔⌖⎎_⚸⸄⟁⧌─!]

And a moment later.

Pitch-black smoke seeped out from all around and coiled around Walfred’s body. The instant he saw it, he felt like he knew exactly what it was.

’Is this a curse?’

His instincts told him so.

After all, the Corpse Lord’s most threatening skill was supposed to be its curse. It was probably pouring on a curse to spit him back out.

A pointless effort, of course.

[Curse Defense successful.]

[Curse Defense successful.]

[Curse Defense success...]

Thanks to having eaten the Bone Drake’s Bone Powder.

Walfred, immune to every curse of A-rank or below, blocked the Corpse Lord’s curses entirely. Then, as repayment for the curse, he unleashed a barrage of ferocious blows.

Splorch! Splat! Kraboom!

An offensive whirling toward the mana stone.

Thanks to the [Ice Shatter] mark, combined with several full-power strikes slamming into the mana stone, cracks slowly began to spread across it.

’I’ll smash it just like this!’

Victory was right at his fingertips!

Walfred put even more force behind it and swung the ice axe toward the mana stone.

But in that instant.

Shlrrrk! Whip!

Bundles of entrails suddenly spilled out from the inner lining of the Corpse Lord’s chest. They wrapped tightly around the mana stone in a flash and yanked it upward.

The mana stone moving along the inner walls of its organs.

Walfred’s eyes went wide.

’...It can move the mana stone’s location?’

Nobody told me about this.

But his surprise lasted only a moment, and Walfred’s gaze flashed sharp again as if it had never wavered.

’I’m not losing it!’

Just before the mana stone slipped out of sight.

Walfred tossed one of the ice axes aside.

A moment later, he clamped the other one in his mouth and stretched out both freed hands to seize the bundle of entrails.

Clench! Shlrrrk!

The moment he was hauled up along with them toward the Corpse Lord’s chest, Walfred drove both feet into the inner walls of the entrails and took the axe back in hand.

After that, he carved through the entrails with the ice axe, doggedly hunting for the mana stone’s location.

In the middle of it, the duration of [Ice Shatter] ran out, but there was no need to worry.

[Blessing of the Frost Dragon: ’Ice Shatter’ mark applied]

[Duration: 30 seconds]

Because, like a lie, [Ice Shatter] triggered again.

And with it, the mana stone revealed itself once more amid the shredded, tattered entrails.

’This time I’m finishing it for good!’

Just as he was about to swing the ice axe.

Lumps of the Corpse Lord’s flesh, sprouting up like pus, blocked the way as if to shield the mana stone.

Then a bizarre phenomenon occurred.

All the lumps of flesh writhed before transforming one by one into the shapes of human faces.

And in that instant.

"D-Daddy..."

A vivid whisper crept into his ears.

The voice of a sobbing little child.

Soon the sounds of children weeping for their parents filled the inside of the Corpse Lord’s belly.

"Mommy... Daddy..."

"Teacher... Please save me..."

"It’s dark. I’m so scared..."

"It hurts, please get me out. Please..."

The little children’s faces, sprouting from every direction, wept tears of blood and pleaded with Walfred.

The creature’s intent was obvious.

It was a ploy to weaken the human heart and hide the mana stone in the moment of hesitation.

But.

"..."

Walfred didn’t waver.

Because he wasn’t a member of this shelter.

He didn’t know the faces or the voices of the children the Corpse Lord had conjured. And yet, all of that aside, it left a foul taste in his mouth.

"This damn son of a bitch..."

Walfred’s face crumpled with fury.

Gripping the ice axe tight, he swung it wildly, pouring his rage into the blade.

What followed was a frenzied assault.

He tore apart, sliced through, and pulverized every last lump of flesh shaped like a child’s face. After that, the mana stone hidden behind them revealed itself.

Whoosh! Splooorch! Splorch!

Walfred poured all of his rage into the mana stone.

The mana stone, already cracked, began to fracture even faster, and a few seconds before [Ice Shatter] ran out, it split wide open with a massive crack.

And finally.

Crack! Shatter!

The Corpse Lord’s mana stone broke apart.

The mana stone splintered into pieces with a bursting sound like a windowpane being smashed. In that instant, a horrific death cry rang out from the Corpse Lord’s mouth.

[Graaaaaaaaaagh!]

A scream that felt like it would rupture his eardrums.

With that as its last act, the Corpse Lord’s body slowly began to collapse. The corpses and fragments of flesh that had made up its body slid down to the floor.

Then the familiar notification appeared.

[Level up.]

[Level up.]

[Level u...]

Ding!

-----

[Extermination successful.]

[Elite: Corpse Lord]

[Rank]: B

[Reward]: 25,000 coins

Skill Book - Random, Fragment of Decay, Mark of One-Versus-a-Hundred

-----

Another successful solo extermination.

And he’d gained seven levels along with it.

Walfred carelessly stuffed the loot scattered near the broken mana stone into his pockets. Then, the moment he climbed out of the Corpse Lord’s body.

"Kyahaaaa!"

"Grrk! Graaaah!"

A rampaging zombie horde greeted him.

With the chain of command broken, they’d slipped out of control and were running wild. Walfred roughly wiped the blood off his face and smiled coldly.

"Perfect timing."

He’d been needing something to take his frustration out on.

He decided to dump the foul mood he’d felt while fighting the Corpse Lord onto the zombies.

After forming an ice axe in each hand again.

"Burst."

Walfred shot forward fast as lightning.

Arriving at the dead center of the horde in an instant, he spun in place, building rotational force. All the while, he swung his axes like a madman.

With enough momentum to grind everything around him to dust.