Debuff Master-Chapter 880

Swoosh!

The World of Despair dissipated.

“V-Verdandi!”

Brunhilde was the first to rush forward to help Verdandi, who was completely battered.

“...”

“Are you all right, child?” Brunhilde asked, her eyes brimming with tears while holding her daughter tightly in her arms.

F-Fuck off,” Verdandi growled, refusing to face Brunhilde even in her current condition.

Brunhilde looked at Siegfried with sorrow in her eyes, “D-Darling...”

Siegfried realized this was the right time and approached Verdandi.

“Verdandi,” he said, gently grabbing her hand.

“Let go!” Verdandi lashed out and tried to pull her hand back.

Surprisingly, it looked as if she did not dislike his touch at all.

“I’m sorry. I am really sorry. I didn’t mean to disappear, but stuff happened,” Siegfried apologized sincerely.

"Shut up.”

“I’m really sorry I couldn’t protect our family. And I couldn’t look after you properly.”

After saying those words, Siegfried hugged both Brunhilde and Verdandi.

Ding!

Then, a message popped up in front of his eyes.

[Alert: You have cleared the Quest — Father’s Apology!]

His surroundings slowly started to change. The ruined royal palace disappeared along with everything else, and both Verdandi and Brunhilde, whom he was holding in his arms, dissipated like a mirage.

[Alert: You have successfully quelled the rampaging Eastern Great Rift!]

A system message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

Swoosh!

His surroundings spun like a whirlwind before turning into nothingness, just like outer space.

“Huh?”

He looked around his surroundings, dumbfounded, after everything had disappeared.

A portal that would take him outside whenever a dungeon was cleared should usually appear, and it was extremely rare for the map to change like this.

Hamchi ran up to him and exclaimed, “Kyuuu! Something’s off, owner punk!”

“Yeah, I know. There’s no portal, and I can sense that something’s off,” Siegfried said, glaring at their surroundings.

“Kyuuu! Me too!”

“I’m certain we cleared the dungeon, but—”

It was then.

“Who dares...”

A deep voice suddenly reverberated.

“To disturb my descent?”

Siegfried suddenly turned to where the voice came from, and there it was, a lone black knight on a black horse.

‘Is that the Black Knight of Famine?’ Siegfried wondered and flashed his Rune of Insight.

[Black Knight of Famine: Mengistu the Starved]

[A catastrophic entity once imprisoned in the prison of the Celestial Realm.]

[As the father of all famines, Mengistu had once unleashed a famine so devastating it massacred most living creatures on the Nurburg Continent.]

[Type: NPC]

[Race: Transcendent]

[Level: 350]

[Class: Starved King]

[Note 1: Mengistu grows stronger for every living creature that dies from hunger.]

[Note 2: Anyone starved by Mengistu will have their strength sapped by him.]

‘What? I managed to clear the dungeon in time, yet he still made his appearance?’ Siegfried was surprised by the sudden appearance of the Black Knight of Famine.

One fortunate fact was that Mengistu did not ascend onto the Nurburg Continent.

However, the fact that he appeared was quite a serious matter in itself.

This could only mean...

‘Does this mean those bastards at the north and south will still appear even though the dungeon was cleared?’

Unfortunately, Siegfried did not have the time to dwell on it for longer.

“The four of us are no different from nature itself, so why are you trying to stop us, mortal?” Mengistu asked nonchalantly.

“Who knows?” Siegfried replied with a shrug. Then, he grinned and sneered, “But what about you guys? Why not just stay cooped up in your cell? Why bother coming out to the world when you know you’re just gonna get your ass handed to you?”

“How foolish... No world can exist without hunger. A poor harvest, famine, and starvation. These are all a part of nature, and I am the embodiment of those things. So why should I have a reason to go out into the world?”

“Well, I guess you have a point,” Siegfried agreed with a nod. Then, he said, “But I don’t like the idea of you walking around freely out in the world.”

“You will pay the price for this insolence.”

“Nah, you’ll be the one paying the price for crawling out of your cell.”

It was then.

Boom!

Siegfried shot forward like a bullet and launched himself toward Mengistu, closing the distance between them in an instant.

***

Siegfried was in a rush.

‘I have to kill this guy quickly and go help at the other rifts.’

There was no telling whether the other apocalypses would appear in the other Great Rifts just like Mengistu did here, so every second counted for Siegfried.

On top of that, he already knew from experience that these apocalypses were the weakest when they were just fresh out of the oven.

In other words, this was Siegfried’s best chance to kill Mengistu.

“Die from starvation, mortal!” Mengistu shouted and unleashed his aura.

[Alert: Status Ailment!]

Then, a string of messages popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Alert: You have been afflicted by Starvation!]

[Alert: Your character is starving!]

[Alert: Your caloric requirements have explosively increased!]

[Alert: Your body is burning fat faster than usual!]

[Alert: Your muscle mass will start decreasing once most of your fat reserves have been depleted!]

Mengistu’s aura was called Aura of Famine, and it was a debuff.

‘What kind of debuff is this?!’ Siegfried was in sheer disbelief as he found the debuff to be absurd. First, he faced the Pirate King’s Curse, which caused scurvy, and now he had to deal with a debuff that made the target starve to death.

However, just because it sounded absurd to him didn't mean that it was ineffective.

Growl...!

Siegfried felt hungry all of a sudden, and he could not shake off the feeling of ravenous hunger. He really wanted to eat something this instant.

But that was not all...

[Alert: Your Stamina has been reduced!]

[Alert: Your Stamina has been reduced!]

[Alert: Your Stamina has been reduced!]

His Stamina plummeted drastically right after he started feeling hungry.

[Alert: Your strength has reduced due to loss of muscle mass!]

[Alert: Your strength has reduced due to loss of muscle mass!]

[Alert: Your strength has reduced due to loss of muscle mass!]

His strength plummeted due to the fact that he was rapidly losing muscle mass.

The Aura of Famine was truly powerful.

Surprisingly, that was not the only thing that was shocking about it...

“Oh! You are truly a powerful mortal! But your strength will soon become my nourishment!” Mengistu roared, sounding far more invigorated than before.

It seemed that he absorbed the Stamina and Strength that Siegfried had lost to the Aura of Famine and turned it into his own.

“Kyuuu! Hang in there, owner punk!” Hamchi cried out while running on his magical wheel to place buffs on Siegfried.

Unfortunately, the Aura of Famine was not something that could be countered with buffs.

[Alert: Aura of Famine Stacks x 2]

[Alert: Aura of Famine Stacks x 3]

[Alert: Aura of Famine Stacks x 4]

Just like the Pirate King’s Curse, the Aura of Famine debuff cast by Mengistu had its effect stack over time, weakening Siegfried even more.

“Argh!”

Mengistu went on the offensive, driving Siegfried into a corner. Hamchi’s buff did nothing to help Siegfried, as he could not even attempt to counterattack and was forced to defend from the barrage of attacks unleashed by the Black Knight of Famine.

The only silver lining was that the Embrace of Despair slowed Mengistu down enough, forcing the Black Knight of Famine to struggle with each attack, too.

‘I’ll have to keep him back with my radioactive energy!’ Siegfried decided.

He widened the distance between them and unleashed his Eraser Swarm.

Sseuuu...!

“It’s futile!” Mengistu roared.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the Black Knight of Famine was immune to radioactive energy.

‘W-What?!’

Siegfried was stunned after seeing Mengistu walk through the Eraser Swarm and toward him even while being encumbered by the slowing effects of Embrace of Despair.

The Black Knight of Famine was walking extremely slowly due to the debilitating slowing debuff, but he was still walking toward Siegfried.

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A bright light flashed and crippling freezing energy gripped Mengistu after Siegfried activated Absolute Zero.

“A-Argh...! T-These petty tricks of yours...!” Mengistu roared in anger.

The Black Knight of Famine might not have been completely frozen solid, but it was difficult even for someone of his caliber to resist the freezing energy. Absolute Zero was effective, and it was proven by how Mengistu couldn't take even a single step toward Siegfried even while roaring at him in anger.

The combined effects of Absolute Zero and Embrace of Despair caused Mengistu to be rooted on his spot, unable to take another step forward.

‘Now’s my chance,’ Siegfried cast the Eternal Flame to reduce the Black Knight of Famine’s defenses and prepared to unleash all of his powerful offensive skills.

‘I’ll use Wave of Annihilation first and—’

It was then.

“Huh?”

Siegfried suddenly felt his vision spin, and his Wave of Annihilation was interrupted.

Thud!

His knees buckled, and he landed on his butt.

“Kyuuu! What’s wrong, owner punk?! Get up!” Hamchi shouted while still running on his magical wheel.

“I... I have no strength in me... I just have to attack him and get... this over with but...” Siegfried replied, his voice sounding hoarse. All he had to do was attack Mengistu, who was no different from a sandbag right now. In other words, the stage was set for Siegfried, and all he had to do was finish off his enemy.

However, Siegfried’s condition was worse than that of Mengistu, and there was a good reason for that.

[Alert: Your blood sugar level has dropped!]

[Alert: You will go into shock from hypoglycemia!]

[Alert: 10 seconds remaining!]

[Alert: 9 seconds remaining!

[Alert: 8 seconds remaining!]

The Aura of Famine had stacked up quite a bit, making Siegfried feel the effects of hypoglycemia.

Siegfried was feeling dizzy and couldn't use his skills. It was also not certain whether he could hit Mengistu even if he somehow forced himself to use his skill.

“I... have to... attack...”

“Kyuuu! Get up, owner punk!”

“I must...”

“Kyuuu!”

“Argh!”

Siegfried was helped to his feet by Hamchi, but his legs now lacked the strength to keep him on his feet.

[Alert: 7 seconds remaining!]

[Alert: 6 seconds remaining!]

[Alert: 5 seconds remaining!]

[Alert: 4 seconds remaining!]

It was then.

“Open your mouth, owner punk! Kyuuu!”

“Ugh...”

“Hurry! Open your mouth!”

Hamchi suddenly took out a pot of honey and a funnel from his pouch. Then, he shoved the funnel in Siegfried’s mouth and poured the whole pot of honey in, forcing it down his throat.

***

‘What the hell is this punk doing...?’

Siegfried was at a loss of what was happening. He could not understand why Hamchi had suddenly taken out a pot of honey and started forcing it down his throat.

Still, he decided to trust him and gulped down the honey he was being fed.

‘Euk!’

He could feel his tongue becoming numb from the sweetness of the honey, but he endured it and continued gulping everything down.

Then, something surprising happened.

[Alert: Your blood sugar level has risen!]

[Alert: You have gained much-needed calories!]

Honey was a liquid rich in calories that the body could easily absorb quickly, and it was the perfect food to stop Siegfried from suffering the devastating effects of hypoglycemic shock.

But that was not all....

[Alert: Aura of Famine Stacks x 5]

[Alert: Aura of Famine Stacks x 4]

[Alert: Aura of Famine Stacks x 3]

The stacks of Aura of Famine were somehow disappearing.

‘Ah!’ Siegfried finally realized why Hamchi was feeding him honey.

The Aura of Famine was a debuff that starved its target to death.

Then, what was the best way to counter it?

It was none other than to fight while replenishing one’s calories.

This was truly a simple yet extremely effective counter to the Black Knight of Famine’s debilitating debuff skill.

Ironically, Siegfried overcame the scurvy caused by the Pirate King’s Curse by ingesting something, too.

“Hey, you little rascal! Good job! I knew I could count on you, Hamchi!” Siegfried exclaimed, sparing no praises.

“Kyuuu! Hamchi is smart! Remember this, owner punk! Also, remember to keep eating! You can’t let your blood sugar level drop!” Hamchi exclaimed in response. Then, he grew in size and shouted, “Kyuuu! Hamchi is a spirit, so Hamchi will not starve! Hamchi will buy you time, so eat something, owner punk!”

“All right!”

“Don’t bully my owner punk, you bastard! Kyaaaah!” Hamchi roared and threw a dropkick at Mengistu, who was still frozen in place.

“Kuheok!”

Mengistu fell off his black steed after getting hit by Hamchi’s dropkick.

‘Now’s my chance!’ Siegfried thought and quickly opened his inventory.

Munch! Munch!

He looked for high-calorie and easy-to-digest food in his Inventory before proceeding to shove them down his throat one after another. The only way he could win against the Black Knight of Famine was to eat as much as he could to avoid starving to death.