Marvel: Shadow Monarch

I watched Nemesis stalk toward me through the dissipating smoke, each footstep deliberate and threatening.

The explosion had done some damage—half its face was charred black, the skin peeling away to reveal gray muscle underneath—but the creature was still very much alive. And very much pissed off.

My chest felt like it was on fire where its fist had connected.

Every breath sent sharp spikes of pain through my ribs, and I could taste copper in my mouth where I'd bitten my tongue during the impact.

The wall behind me had actual cracks in it from where my body had hit.

Need to check how bad the damage is.

I pulled up my status screen, hoping the numbers wouldn't be as bad as I felt.

Name: Lucien Reynolds

Job: None

Level: 7

Fatigue: 69

HP: 310/400

MP: 40/40

Strength: 40

Health: 40

Agility: 40

Perception: 26

Mana: 4

Stat Points: 30

Gold: 0

90 damage in a single hit, huh? Well, if I get hit a few more times by it, then it's game over for me.

I still had thirty stat points unspent.

I'd deliberately saved them as backup after allocating the points before entering this room, figuring I might need them for an emergency.

Right now, it definitely qualifies as an emergency.

Nemesis's agility stat was at 44, and with the 15 percent increase from its Dash skill, its agility would spike to around fifty.

My current agility of forty wouldn't be enough to keep up, let alone stay ahead.

Time to cash in that backup plan.

Without hesitation, I slammed fifteen points into Strength and fifteen into Agility.

The changes hit me immediately—power flooded through my muscles like liquid lightning, and suddenly the world seemed to slow down around me.

My new Strength sat at fifty-five, my Agility at the same. Numbers that should put me on par with, or even above, Nemesis when it wasn't using skills.

I looked up at the approaching bioweapon and felt my lips curve into a genuine smirk for the first time since entering this room.

This entire ordeal was risky as hell, but... It's strangely exciting... thrilling even

"You think you have me?" I said, pushing myself off the cracked wall.

Nemesis paused mid-step, tilting its massive head slightly.

The gesture was almost curious, like it was trying to figure out why its prey was suddenly showing confidence instead of fear. For the first time since I'd entered this boss room, the creature looked uncertain.

I moved.

Even this small increase in agility was enough to make me considerably faster than my previous self.

One moment, I was slumped against the wall like a broken doll; the next, I was standing several meters behind Nemesis, my remaining dagger spinning casually in my hand.

The transition felt effortless, like I'd simply pushed myself from the wall to this place

"Too slow," I called out, unable to keep the satisfaction out of my voice.

Nemesis spun around with that mechanical precision, but even though it had activated its skill, I was still faster than it.

Feels good now that the tables have turned.

The creature let out a roar of frustration and became a blur of gray skin and black leather as its speed increased.

But I was faster.

We came together in the center of the room like two forces of nature colliding.

Nemesis swung its massive fist in a haymaker that would have caved in my skull, but I was already gone by the time it reached where I'd been standing.

My blade opened a deep gash across its ribs as I passed, dark blood spraying across the stone floor.

The creature's blood was thick and viscous, almost black in the dim light. It didn't smell like human blood either—there was something chemical about it, like motor oil mixed with decay.

Nemesis spun with surprising grace for something so large, trying to catch me with a backhand that displaced enough air to ruffle my hair.

Instead of connecting with my head, it caught nothing but empty space as I ducked low and dragged my dagger across the back of its knee in a move that would have crippled a normal person.

Another roar, this one tinged with pain. Good. It could feel pain.

I started to move in earnest then, using my speed advantage to dance around the creature like it was standing still.

A slash across its shoulder that went deep enough to scrape bone.

Another across its back that opened up a line from the shoulder blade to the spine. A precise cut along its forearm that severed something important, making its left hand spasm and twitch.

Nemesis was fast—even without its skill active, it was faster than any normal human had a right to be—but I was operating on a completely different level now.

Every time it thought it had me cornered, I was somewhere else, my blade finding new weak points in what had seemed like an impervious hide.

The creature's movements became more desperate, more wild. It was clearly used to being the apex predator, the thing that monsters checked their closets for. Having the tables turned so completely was throwing it off balance in more ways than one.

I opened a particularly deep gash across its chest, cutting through the remains of its leather coat and into the muscle beneath.

Nemesis stumbled backward, dark blood streaming down its torso like oil from a cracked engine block. For the first time since I'd seen it, the bioweapon looked... mortal.

That's when I felt it—a subtle shift in the air pressure, a change in the rhythm of the fight. Nemesis's movements were becoming more sluggish, more predictable. The blur effect around its form was fading.

Its Dash skill is wearing off.

The realization came with perfect clarity. Skills had duration limits—I'd learned that from games, and apparently it applied here too.

Nemesis had been burning through its speed boost for the entire fight, and now it was running on fumes. Back to its base stats, which, while still impressive, weren't enough to match my current agility.

I stepped back, putting some distance between us, and met that baleful one-eyed gaze with my steady stare. The creature was breathing hard now, dark blood streaming from dozens of cuts across its body. It looked like it had gone through a blender.

"My turn," I said quietly.

I moved faster than I ever had before, faster than I'd thought possible, even with my enhanced stats. Nemesis tried to react, tried to bring its hands up to block or grab me, but it might as well have been moving through thick molasses.

My dagger found its target, the blade slicing clean through the creature's neck in one fluid motion.

There was surprisingly little resistance—for all its enhanced durability, Nemesis's neck was still just flesh and bone when you got down to it.

For a moment that seemed to stretch into eternity, Nemesis just stood there, its massive body swaying slightly like a tree in a breeze. Then its head slid sideways with a wet, tearing sound and hit the floor with a heavy thud that echoed through the chamber.

The body followed a second later, collapsing like a marionette with severed strings. Dark blood pooled around the corpse, spreading across the stone floor in an ever-widening circle.

[You have Leveled Up!]

[You have Leveled Up!]

[You have Leveled Up!]

[Rewards Granted!]

I stood over the remains, breathing hard and watching the blood creep toward my feet.

The chamber was utterly silent now after all the explosions and roaring, and combat. Even the echoes had faded away, leaving only the sound of my own heartbeat in my ears.

I actually killed Nemesis. The thing that gave me nightmares as a kid.

This feat actually made me feel euphoric. The only thing that bothered me was the speed at which I got used to the bloodshed, but that's probably something I would have to go through a lot from now on, so let's not think much about it.

With my current strength, I can easily get out of that crappy place.

But first, I needed to see what rewards this boss fight had earned me.

.....

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