As soon as they entered the boss zone, everything changed.

A thick abyssal frost mist spread everywhere. The black, icy fog blocked almost all vision, making it hard to see even a few meters ahead. The air was extremely cold, attacking both the body and mana. The chill was so intense it felt like it could freeze a person from the inside.

All around them were frozen statues.

They weren't decorations or sculptures.

They were monsters.

Creatures of all kinds had been frozen in place—some running, some attacking, others trying to escape. Every one of them had been turned into black-and-ice crystal, their expressions locked in fear. Even monsters that naturally lived in cold environments had been frozen solid.

It was obvious what had happened.

This mist could instantly freeze any living being, ignoring strength, resistance, or endurance.

"…Now I understand why you came here," Jace said, staring into the fog as his skull faintly glowed.

Something moved in the mist ahead—a vague shape, slow and watching.

"This boss specializes in control," Jace explained. "It uses debuffs, domains, and the environment itself to kill intruders."

He chuckled.

"Undead aren't affected by those things. Effects that target life, blood, temperature, or breathing don't work on us."

Mike nodded. "That makes things easy."

He looked at Shadow. "Summon as many Death Lords as you can. With your mana pool, sustaining them won't be an issue."

Shadow nodded. "Got it."

"And," Mike added, "try summoning a Lich for yourself too."

Jace laughed. "Kekeke! With Dual Existence, this just gets more interesting. Having another Mythical Lich around sounds fun."

He tilted his head. "I might even get brother from another mother for myself...kekekeke."

Mike ignored the maniacs comment.

Shadow stepped forward and raised his hand.

"Death Lord Creation."

Dark mana spread outward.

The frozen statues around them began to crack. One after another, the crystal bodies shattered, releasing black mist instead of debris. The remains were pulled together by Shadow's power and reshaped.

Bones formed.

Flesh reconstructed.

Souls were forced back into servitude.

The monsters rose again—not alive, but as Death Lords.

Only one body was needed.

Because the monster had been Rank 4, it was enough to create a Rank 2 Death Lord.

From the remains, a towering Death Lord emerged. It wore black armor made of crystallized bone—though it now looked closer to dark metal than bone. Its presence alone distorted the surrounding mist.

In total, six Rank 2 Peak Death Lords now stood beneath Shadow's command.

Shadow looked around at the countless frozen monsters.

"Six is the limit," he said. "If I want to summon and sustain a Mythical Lich as well."

Mike nodded. "No wonder necromancers aren't considered that powerful unless they have absurd amounts of mana. If someone like Lily had been a necromancer…" He paused. "She would've been unstoppable."

Shadow nodded in agreement. "But she's a water mage—and already powerful enough."

He then activated another skill.

"Mythical Lich Summoning."

This time, a red-and-black summoning circle formed. Even Jace focused on it, curious about what would appear next.

Another Lich rose from the circle.

It looked similar to Jace, but its robes were red and black instead of black and violet. Its staff resembled molten lava, radiating heat and shadow.

"Kekeke… not a pure necromancer," Jace said with interest. "A Pyro Lich Lord. A former Flame Archmage who turned into a Lich."

Mike and Shadow watched as the new Lich finished forming. Its gaze settled on them calmly.

"…Interesting," it said simply, as a contract formed between it and Shadow.

"So," the Pyro Lich asked, "why have you summoned me?"

Shadow pointed toward the black mist ahead. Within it, a massive winged figure could be seen flying slowly.

"We're going to fight that," Shadow said.

The Pyro Lich nodded after observing the creature. "We have an advantage against its type."

Then it glanced at Shadow again. "I thought I was summoned by a reckless fool—fighting a Rank 4 boss while only Rank 2. But instead, you have a brain… and an army."

Its gaze shifted briefly to the massive dragon resting nearby, eyes closed as if completely uninterested. Then it looked at Jace and the Death Lords.

"Well then," it said. "What are we waiting for?"

"Kekeke… not so fast, hothead," Jace interrupted. "We need a plan."

Mike and Shadow exchanged a look.

…This crazy guy knows how to plan?

"Hm… you're right," the Pyro Lich said, looking at Jace. "Even with the advantage and this impressive army, we still need a plan against a Rank 4 boss."

"Oh?" Jace turned his skull toward him. "What are you implying?"

"I'm saying the opposite," the Pyro Lich replied calmly. "That thing—the Abyssal Mist Fly—doesn't have attacks powerful enough to truly harm us. To undead like us, it's nothing more than a slow, flying pile of meat waiting to be eaten."

"Why do we even need a plan?" it asked.

Mike chose this dungeon precisely because of the boss.

The Abyssal Mist Fly was extremely powerful as a control-type enemy. Against living opponents, it was a nightmare. It possessed over ten different skills dedicated purely to debuffs—freezing, paralysis, fear, mana drain, sensory suppression—followed by execution-type abilities that killed targets slowly and painfully.

But none of that worked on undead.

Debuffs that targeted life, pain, nerves, blood, or body temperature were meaningless to beings like Jace and the Death Lords.

That was exactly why Mike had selected this dungeon after carefully reviewing the information.

Against the Abyssal Mist Fly, undead were its natural counter.

"Kekeke… you're right. But even we can be frozen. What will we do then?" Jace asked.

The Pyro Lich replied calmly, "I was a powerful flame magus in my prime. After turning myself into an undead, I have only grown stronger."

He raised his staff and pointed toward a nearby statue. Flames erupted, instantly defrosting the crystallized remains.

"I will protect us all," he said confidently.

"Kekeke… then we have a plan," Jace said, nodding. "You keep us covered from its instant-freezing skills. They might not kill us, but they can still stop us."

"And while you do that," he continued, "we'll kill that big, disgusting fly."

"Alright then. Let's go," Shadow said.

Mike stayed back, remaining outside the battlefield atop the dragon Mydra, watching calmly as the undead army advanced.

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