Villain MMORPG: Almighty Devil Emperor and His Seven Demonic Wives - Chapter 1479

Chapter 1479: The Cursed Atrium [Part 1]
Villain Ch 1479. The Cursed Atrium [Part 1]

“Let’s go,” he said calmly, voice firm, controlled. “We still have work to do.”

The giant doors groaned open with a deep, ominous creak that echoed throughout the stone hall like a warning. The group stepped into the Cursed Atrium, and immediately, the shift in atmosphere was undeniable. Cold. Heavy. Wrong in a way that made the skin crawl. It wasn’t loud or filled with growls like the corridors before. No, this place was quiet. Unnaturally so.

The atrium was massive, circular, built with crumbling obsidian walls that stretched so high, they vanished into a ceiling of swirling shadow. In the center of the floor sat a wide, glowing dark formation—an arcane circle pulsing faintly with purplish-red energy. Tendrils of shadow writhed around it, slow and lazy like they were sleeping. Waiting.

Allen narrowed his eyes. “Looks like the spawn point.”

The air was stagnant. No enemies. No traps. No movement at all aside from the flickering circle and the subtle hum beneath their boots.

“I don’t like this,” Bella murmured, her ears twitching slightly. “This place screams bad idea.”

Zoe walked past her, peering around the edges of the atrium. “We bolted here as fast as possible. Do you think we were too early? Maybe we have to clean something out or trigger a quest to make it appear?”

“It doesn’t seem like it,” Bella replied, folding her arms. “Not all dungeons have lore. Some just exist. Like… the game wants to kill you for no reason.”

Jane knelt down near the arcane circle, her gloveless fingers hovering just above the surface. “This formation is too advanced to be a simple timer,” she said. “It’s reactive. It’s waiting on something.”

“Could be a time-based spawn,” Alice added, floating lazily on her broom. “Or a proximity trigger. We might be standing right on top of it and just not setting it off.”

“Let’s give it a minute,” Allen said. “We got here faster than usual. Might just not be time yet.”

They spread out across the room, keeping a wide berth from the glowing formation at the center, while still staying within striking distance. The silence was thick. They could almost hear their own blood pumping.

“I’ve always wondered,” Vivian said suddenly, flicking her whip idly at the floor, “why is this dungeon so damn popular anyway?”

“Because it’s terrifying,” Larissa said dryly. “And people love pain.”

“It’s the EXP,” Zoe added. “No matter how painful it is, the mobs here drop ridiculous amounts of it. Even the low-tier ones give you better rates than some field bosses.”

“Yeah, but have you noticed it’s never good loot?” Shea said, sitting on the edge of a broken statue with her harp resting on her lap. “We’ve cleared this place five times now and I still haven’t gotten anything worth showing off.”

“No joke,” Bella said. “Last run I got a purple dagger… with a strength modifier. Like what am I even supposed to do with that?”

“I got a cursed ring that deletes HP every time I cast a spell,” Alice muttered, rolling her eyes. “Very useful. Thanks, RNGesus.”

Allen smirked faintly. “I got a pair of boots with +2 to fishing.”

Zoe choked. “Seriously?”

“Dead serious.”

“Trash loot, good EXP,” Larissa summarized. “Sounds like a treadmill disguised as a nightmare.”

“Pretty much,” Vivian said with a sigh. “But the boss, though. If we get a real drop from the Overlord this time, maybe something exclusive…”

“Yeah, maybe,” Allen murmured. He reached into his system panel and checked his status screen. His EXP bar was nearly full—just a sliver left before the next level.

“I just need a bit more,” he said aloud, tone neutral. “This boss should be enough to push me over.”

Jane glanced over. “About time. You’ve been hovering near cap for a while now.”

“Yeah, well, the gap between levels is getting ridiculous,” Allen replied. “Every run gives a chunk, but not quite enough.”

“I need, like, two more runs after this,” Zoe said, pulling up her own status screen. “Three if the boss doesn’t drop good EXP.”

“Same,” Shea muttered. “And I’ve been grinding more than any of you.”

“We know,” Bella said.

A faint pulse came from the center of the room. The arcane formation flickered brighter, then dimmed again.

Everyone froze.

“Was that—?” Shea started.

Allen raised a hand. “Shh.”

Another pulse. Stronger this time. Shadows coiled tighter around the glowing sigils. The floor rumbled slightly beneath them.

Vivian readied her whip. “Okay, I think that’s our cue.”

“No doubt about it,” Alice muttered, floating down from her broom, her eyes glowing faintly. “It’s coming.”

“I’ll buff defense,” Jane said, raising her hands and activating a Barrier over the group.

“Positions,” Allen ordered. “Same formation. Don’t assume it’ll have attack patterns.”

Everyone nodded, spreading out across the room. The silence was gone now—replaced by a building hum, a resonance that echoed in their bones.

The arcane formation lit up completely, blazing red and black as the runes spun faster and faster. Cracks formed in the center of the stone floor. Shadow poured out, thick and choking.

Then—

A guttural shriek.

And the Overlord Shade began to rise.

The stone floor at the center of the atrium cracked open like a mouth forced wide, and from the glowing abyss, a monstrous shape emerged—slow at first, dragging itself upward with sharp, scraping sounds that made everyone flinch. Shadows twisted unnaturally around its form, pulled inward like they were being consumed.

The Overlord Shade stood nearly three times Allen’s height, an amalgamation of rusted weapons and mangled armor, fused together with pulsing veins of dark energy. Swords pierced through its back like a broken crown, spears jutted from its shoulders, and its torso was encased in jagged shields warped beyond recognition. One of its arms was a flail that dripped with black liquid, the other a massive halberd permanently grafted to a muscular stump of shadow.

Its face—or what passed for one—was hidden beneath a cracked iron helmet, but what could be seen underneath was worse: dozens of glowing red eyes, blinking out of sync, watching in every direction.

Overlord Shade (Boss monster) <Lv. 235>

Its arrival shook the room, a low tremor that vibrated through their boots. Then it let out a shriek.