Chapter 305: Meeting the Boss

So that is him.That is the portal boss, Han thought, staring at the small figure sitting casually on the throne. Four red eyes glowed behind the visor of that slightly golden skull.

If the skull and that aura were not enough to reveal who he was, the suffocating pressure flooding the entire area the second they arrived erased all doubt.

Just looking at him made Han’s entire body shudder. Violently.

He felt his life could slip away if he stared too long.

What kind of power does he hold?

What kind of deadly force makes my whole existence tremble like this?

Han’s heart beat like a war drum in his chest. This one might even be on the same level as the Dark Emissary. No, stronger. Far stronger. The thought alone made Han tremble again. If he hadn’t used the ultimate skill of his armor during that battle, he would have died to her. But the aura pouring from this small knull was brutal on a completely different scale. More vicious, more domineering than any Dark Emissary.

Even with all the dread pressing into his bones, Han’s mind stayed sharp. He knew exactly what needed to be done. They had already wasted too much time in this portal. Maybe one hour left. Maybe two. If the portal breaks, all the knulls, the mighty ones, and the leader himself will escape into Earth and tear it apart.

Their mission had not changed since the moment they stepped inside.

Kill him.

Kill the portal boss.

Kill the Knull King.

End everything here.

Han locked his gaze on the red eyed knull. The creature stared back in silence, never moving, never speaking. That quiet stillness made him even more eerie, more dangerous.

The mind link pulsed to life with everyone, even those who had only just regained consciousness.

Listen, everyone. There is only one way out of here, Han transmitted to all the heroes.

Little One and the rest tensed at once. Nothing here favored them. Eight mighty knulls stood nearby, and that small one radiated enough dread to crush hope before it even formed. Survival felt like a joke.

Speak up, Fire God. What are your plans? Balor sent through the link.

Han didn’t answer. Little One did.

Why bother asking? Everyone from the Tryst Guild is already halfway insane, and the Fire God leads them. What reply do you expect if not something crazy like, I’m going to kill the boss and tear the dark palace apart, Little One said with a dry chuckle.

Before the chuckle faded, Han finally spoke.

Little One is right. I am going to kill the portal boss. Not because I’m crazy, like he said, but because that is the only way. The only way to close the portal is to get rid of him.

Han’s voice dropped, rough with urgency. "And let me warn you all. If you still don’t get it, we don’t have time. Just a few hours before this portal breaks. Everything we fought for will be erased. The portal must be sealed on time. And for that to happen, we kill the portal boss. There is no other way."

His gaze never left the throne.

The portal boss still sat there, unmoving, staring at them through that golden skull helm, four red eyes watching without a flicker of emotion. Or maybe there was emotion, but that mask buried everything.

A thick but sharp voice cut into the mind-link. Jay. "Hey now, we all know you’re the king of lunatics, just like Little One said. You might be a hero or a madman, doesn’t matter to me. Your goal is the same. But you’re ignoring the real problem. The main problem."

Jay’s attention locked on the Knull King. "How exactly are we supposed to kill the portal boss? Look at us. We’re tied down at both legs and arms. We’re outmatched, outnumbered, surrounded. So tell me, Fire God. Tell me how you plan to pull off your glorious idea and kill the boss."

His frustration bled through every word, and none of it was misplaced. With their current state, even surviving would take a miracle. Killing the portal boss? That sounded like begging death to hurry up.

Han didn’t move. Didn’t blink. He kept staring at the small Knull on the throne.

Then something shifted.

A deep voice, smooth yet heavy, rumbled across the entire chamber. The pressure that followed smashed into the group, worsening the pain already twisting through their battered bodies.

The Knull Lord had finally spoken.

"Tell me, humans. What are you seeking in my world."

Han and the others exchanged quick, stunned looks. That was the last thing they expected. What kind of question was that? Their actions alone should have made their intentions obvious.

The Knull Lord didn’t seem bothered by their silence. His voice rolled out again, calm but soaked in authority. "It has been five hundred years since the treaty was formed. Five hundred years, and we Knulls have not broken it, unlike the red giants or the dark goblins. So why do you still hunt us."

Aiden and the others froze.

Five hundred years?

That made no sense.

Humanity had only awakened supernatural powers a little over three hundred years ago. That was when portals began appearing, when monsters spilled into the world. The existence of Knulls was known only after that.

But if they stepped back and considered the Knull Lord’s words from another angle, the possibility hit them.

During the early Golden Age, the monster war, the Sendok Calamity... not once had the Knull race appeared.

Not once.

So maybe... maybe he wasn’t lying.

Maybe the Knulls had kept the treaty.

Maybe humanity didn’t even know the truth of what they were fighting.

If they looked at the Knull lord’s claim from the other side, it almost made sense. During the early crisis of the Golden Age and the Monster War, even during the Sendok Calamity, the Knull race had never appeared. Not once.

So maybe, just maybe, his claim about honoring some ancient peaceful treaty held a shred of truth.

Han’s face tightened. He didn’t doubt the Knull’s words completely. What the Knull lord said matched the carvings Han studied in that prison chamber.

Even if not everything was true, most of it had to be. But then why... why was there no record of any treaty? Why had humanity never heard of it? None of it made sense.

The Knull lord’s voice cut in again, no longer calm. Anger brewed under every syllable.

"Since you humans are here, it means only one thing. They have broken the peace treaty."

His tone dropped, cold enough to freeze bone.

"Tell me, are you with them? With those white guardians? Were you sent by those white haired guardians?"

His four blazing eyes locked onto Han and the others. They stared back in complete confusion. White guardians? They had no idea what he was talking about. But two of them felt a small jolt of recognition.

Wait. Could he be talking about the figures carved on the prison wall? Han wondered.

At that same moment, Ronan remembered the Dreadlord’s dying words. He had mentioned white guardians too. Was there some connection between these so called guardians, Earth, and the monster races? None of them knew. None of them even had a clue.

"So you are not going to speak?" the Knull lord asked. Lava light churned in his skull as his gaze sharpened.

Han and the others stayed silent. What were they supposed to say? They had no idea about a peace treaty or white guardians. And telling the truth would only lead straight back to the real problem. They were here to kill him.

Silence stretched. Thick. Heavy.

"Hey... should we maybe say something here?" Aiden whispered through the mind link.

No one replied. They were still scrambling for any excuse that could ease the tension.

"Maybe we just tell him we stumbled in here by accident and don’t know what a white guardian is. He might spare us." Aiden offered.

Han considered it. The others did too. It was weak, but it was something. They all gave a subtle nod.

Aiden smiled, raised his hand like a student about to answer a question.

His arm didn’t make it halfway. A Knull grabbed him and slammed him into the ground with brutal force.

Aiden gasped and spat, "You bastard, let me go. I was trying to say something!"

The Knull’s eyes burned with murderous frenzy. It looked ready to tear Aiden’s head off. But then the Knull lord spoke, his voice echoing like a command carved into stone.

"Leave him be."

The Knull hesitated, then released Aiden and stepped back into position. Aiden glared up at him.

"If it wasn’t for your lord, I’d rip your head off," he snarled.

The Knull’s skeletal fist tightened, green flames flaring in its skull, rage rising. But before Aiden could push any further, the air shifted.

A deep, crushing presence fell over him, over all of them, like a siege of pure darkness swallowing the world.

Aiden felt his heart froze over.

To be continued.....