Solo Leveling: Forceborn

"Not all battles are meant to be won. Some are meant to break you."

The boss room loomed before us like the maw of a sleeping beast. The air was thick with something primal, something suffocating. My gut twisted in warning. This was no ordinary foe.

Then, we saw it.

At the very heart of the cavern, sat a throne made from bones. Its structure, formed from twisted spines, shattered skulls, and ribs large enough to wrap around a man's torso, was grotesque. And draped in a tattered black cloak sat upon this throne, the Tyrant of the Abyss.

Its body was humanoid but stretched beyond mortal proportions—standing at least ten feet tall, with obsidian armor fused into its flesh. Hollow eyes burned with violet malice, and from its back, jagged spines pulsed with raw energy. Its fingers, elongated into razor-like claws, rested idly on the armrests, each twitch sending a ripple through the mana-drenched air.

It was waiting.

Allen exhaled sharply. "That. is not a B-rank boss."

We never had a chance to argue. As soon as we stepped forward, the Tyrant moved.

A blur of shadow and steel.

I didn't even have a chance to raise my sword before a wave of force slammed me into the cavern wall. My ribs screamed in protest. Blood pooled in my mouth.

Nora was the first to fall.

She cast a shield, but the Tyrant was moving too fast for her. One clawed hand speared straight through her chest, silencing her cry of pain before she even hit the ground. A spatter of blood across the floor, then her body curled up lifelessly.

"No!"

I forced my mana to wake up, shifting the gravity where I stood; the Tyrant stumbled for only a split of a second.

Then it fixated on me.

The next thing I knew, I was airborne. The impact of its fist sent me skidding across the stone floor, my body barely registering the pain anymore.

"Get up!" Allen roared.

I struggled to my feet. We were losing. Miserably.

Allen gritted his teeth, his eyes burning with something desperate. Then his mana surged. The air around him cracked. His body glowed, his veins illuminated with raw power.

I felt it. A shift.

Allen's mana flared to the next rank. A rank.

Blue lightning arced across his blade as he stepped forward, his every being radiating an overwhelming force. "I was saving this," he muttered, gripping his sword tight. "Let's see if it's enough."

The Tyrant lunged.

Allen met it head on.

His battle with the Tyrant was apocalyptic. With every stroke of Allen's sword, shockwaves resonated throughout the hollow. He became a blur, then quicker, sharper, more defined. His blade cut deeper, and his strikes sent the Tyrant backing. For the first time, the monster snarled with a guttural growl.

But that was insufficient.

The Tyrant counterattacked with one blow that left Allen on the ground. I saw how the blood was dropping down from his mouth.

"Alle— "

He didn't answer. He just grinned, eyes burning with defiance.

This was our only chance.

I gathered every ounce of mana I had left. The ground beneath me trembled. I twisted gravity itself, making it heavier around the Tyrant, slowing its movements.

"Now!" I roared.

Allen surged forward, blade humming with lightning. With a final, deafening roar, he drove his sword straight into the Tyrant's chest.

The world seemed to freeze.

Then, an explosive burst of energy.

The Tyrant howled as its body cracked apart, violet light spilling from the wounds. It went staggering on clawing at the chest but Allen twisted the blade to send another, long flow of power through it.

The monster's body convulsed.

Then, it fell.

The cavern became silent.

I fell to my knees, my lungs on fire. My vision would lock in and out of focus. Allen stood over the body, his breathing ragged, blood dripping from countless wounds.

We had won.

But we were the only ones left.

I turned to the bodies of our fallen comrade, Nora. 

They were all gone, Sara, Alan, and now Nora. All gone.

Allen reached out to touch my shoulder. "We did what we had to," he croaked. "They didn't die for nothing."

I swallowed a lump in my throat.

Then, at the far end of the chamber, I caught a shimmering light.

A gate.

A path forward.

A path to leave this forsaken place.

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AN: Since its my day of birth, I will be uploading another chapter later in the afternoon after my class.