"And that's the last Demon Crawler," Ellie said, checking off her list. She watched as the gigantic demon spider covered head to toe in spikes and corrupt iron charged into the lines of the warriors of the Great Spirit.
After ripping through a dozen spirit soldiers the huge spider lay a blazing red egg. Slashing claws and spitting electrical webs she slowed down or destroyed the endless swarm of spirit warriors and stone golems.
Egg reaching its critical mass, the Demon Crawler turned tail and fled, leaving the lessor demons to fight to the death around the egg before it exploded. The shockwave tore a gaping hole in the Great Spirit's lines before elemental spiders made of demonic electricity made their debut to cause further damage throughout the spirit ranks.
"Do you see that everyone?" Ellie shouted, pointing at the demon crawlers backside. The great spider was heavily armoured, yet it's backside was vibrant red around where she lay the egg, wild crimson energy pulsing within. "The backside is it's weakness, so we need to draw her attention to the side. No retreating either unless the egg is lain, she's too fast and would web us if we tried. Give your all everybody!"
A cheer, before the watching adventurers got to work. Trading in the 'spirit coins' they had collected so far they assembles potions, spell scrolls and what few spirit weapons and armour they could afford.
As always it was the frontline fighters that were geared first and foremost, Dwargon a moving tank of spirit steel and glowing with dozens of lines. The Sundrakes had similarly been outfitted with healing staves, that allowed them to cast low level healing spells when wielded.
Arriving in their prearranged positions, Ellie waited for the Demon Crawlers next charge. The Raid team withstood attacks from demon spawn and demon warriors in the meanwhile, but with spirit soldiers and spirit golems tanking the worst of it the Raid team could focus on the objective.
"It comes!" Fial shouted from his hill, and pointed in the direction of a great rumbling. Comets of hellflame roared overhead to crash into the ground, while a tide of demon spawn crashed into their lines.
Through the mayhem emmerged the Demon Crawler, yet with bronze motifs etched along its plate and a pair of turrets it's front. Twin blasts of flame gushed out to wipe away the spirit soldiers in an instant, fiery webs blasted out to sticky those golems on route to help.
"A rare spawn!" Master Kenji shouted as Dana, and already began raising the demonic corpses with [Mass summon] to fight again. "Should we retreat?"
Ellie knew he was testing her. No doubt the Grand Guildmaster knew of a way towards victory, and grinning Ellie caught onto just how.
"Tanks, draw her attention to the golems, get them fighting. Archers aim for the pipes behind the turrets!" they moved immediately to obey, Ellie watching as Dwargon used [Taunt] to get the huge creature to follow, while powerful bow shots slammed into the pipes right behind the magical turrets. Fire gushed forth, a Sundrake wind blast diverting the river of hell flame.
More shots into the pipes and the whole thing began to spurt and shudder. As explosions sent walls of liquid fury rushing down either side of the Demon Crawler, it shook it's harness free.
Screeching the demon crawler lost its great bundle of armour, revealing a fairy black body. Lowering its abdomen, the demon crawlers body flared with red hell flame.
"Disrupt it, don't let it lay that egg!" Ellie yelled, blasts of magic shoving the Demon Crawler aside. From behind it appeared Rams, who with a great sweep of her blade cut deeply into the Demon Crawler's weak point.
The Demon Crawler screeched, then arose. No egg was laid, although the Demon Crawler now seemed royally pissed off.
"To the golems, hurry!" Ellie shouted, Dwargon reactivating [Taunt] to pull the Crawlers attention from Rams and back to him.
"Come get me you big hairy beastie!" Dwargon shouted, causing Ellie to grin.
"You're not usually one to talk Dwargon, don't tell me you've fallen for the thing?" Ellie said as she used the Butcher's Blade to slice a demon spawn ear to ear. With the Butcher's smock. her agility had been enhanced too and leading those in charge of stopping the other demons getting involved.left three more demons dead in moments.
"Hah! I'll show her my tender side to be sure, is that right you big beauty?" smashing his mace rhythmically against his shield, Dwargon drew the Crawler closer and closer to the golems.
Another wave of webbed flame spat out, and was again pushed aside - a stray ice blast missed the web entirely and covered the crawlers head in frost.
"Armen, watch it!" Ellie growled.
"Sorry," Armen said building up his next shot, yet the Crawler has already turned its ugly head at him.
"Run Armen-"
Blazing hot web spat at Armen, his wall of cold only removing the fire element from the web as it crashed into him and stuck him to the ground. Not just Armen, strands of the web had caught two of the Sundrakes too, rendering all three rooted to the ground as the Crawler came crashing towards them.
Spirit warriors and demonic ghouls threw themselves in the way with no effect, and sighing, Ellie supposed she'd have to do something herself. Rushing forward she hopped on one big hairy leg and launched her way onto the Crawler's head.
Her footing was good, but the speed of the thing nearly through her right off.
Rams and several of the Bloodhorn charged the Crawler from the side, hacking into its limbs. The rest were busy holding back the tide to demon spawn, leaving the key moment to Ellie.
The Crawler turned to the adventurers attacking its side and built up a great glob of the fiery web. Ellie slid down it's back as the Crawler built up that horrible attack and slid her razer sharp Butcher's Blade down its pulsing abdomen as she did so. Hellfire exploded after her, barely touching the ground before she rolled beneath the Crawler to avoid being melted by fiery web. It screams caused her world to shake, and yet while under the Crawler she cut again and again into the furred ceiling, globs of purple blood caking her while the Crawler screamed again.
As its legs arched she dove out from underneath, just as the Crawler slammed its torso against the ground. "Use the spells now!" Ellie yelled, a blizzard of ice, storm of wind and a lazy bolt of lightning reacting to her call and slamming right into the Crawler's abdomen.
Screaming horrible, the Crawler's backside exploded, it's body turning into energy and screaming as it was sucked away and through the portals were its kind had originated.
In its place remained a purple chest with eight eyes and spiders painted along it appeared before them in a burst of violet light. Limping over, Ellie brushed away the Sundrakes healing spells, others more wounded than she.
"Ellie, practically no one but you is heart," Taki said curtly, and began using his druidic power to rejuvenated her scorches body, "you're lucky no lasting damage will come from this. What you did was reckless and you know it."
Elli just smiled and threw open the chest, the Grand Guildmaster appearing by her side with a twinkle in his eyes.
Inside was a skill book for the spell [Hellfire Web], a thick demon steel shield with anti-Hellflame runes on it, black boots that could activate [Wall Walk] and a spider in a vial. The spider had a teeny tiny crown, it's a little fuzzy body rather cute in comparison and upon touching it Ellie felt violently sick.
'Release me...and I shall grant one wish...' the thing hissed in her mind, a great evil emanating around her like the foul aura of the Plague King. 'Let me free...and everthing you've ever wanted will be yous...'
Ellie pulled her fingers away from one at a time and sank to the ground when it was done. Heaving heavy breathes, the compulsion to obey still stung at her deeply while the Grand Master gave her a concerned look.
"That thing, it is cursed," Ellie concluded. Without another word, the Grand Master made the vial vanish, and put a hand on her shoulder.
"We'll get you checked them. Taki can you do anything for curses?"
"That was no curse," Taki murmured, "but the influence of a great evil. We should not let that vial fall into the wrong hands, there is no telling what it could do. You did well Raid leader, I don't think there are many who could have resisted such a potent mental attack as well as you."
"Thank you Taki. Here Grand Guildmaster, the other items."
The Grand Guildmaster quickly doled out the shield to Dwargon, the spell to the Sundrakes and the boots to Ellie.
"They're meant for a rogue, and I've seen how you've looked at them too. Not to mention you were the integral force in defeating the beast, best you get rewarded for it eh?"
"Thank you Grand Master," Ellie mumbled and received her shining black boots in hand. Up close she could feel the power in them, trace the little red lines that formed the pictures of spiders and webs. Putting them on they felt comfortable on her feet, contorting to fit, and the skill [Wall Walk] now felt as natural in her mind as if she had trained with it for years.
"Let's get going already," Ellie said standing tall, "I've had enough of this blasted floor. With this, we'll have the last Captain's favour, and can pass on unopposed."
"You sure we shouldn't fight him? The boss is guaranteed to drop a chest too," the Grand Master said. Ellie stared, trying to figure out what this test was about.
"Indeed. But Bazza said that by garnering a relationship with the boss of this floor we can farm equipment here effectively. Kill him even once, and that possibility goes up in smoke."
The Grand Master paused and nodded.
"I wise decision then."
Sighing, Ellie felt relieved she had passed. He always asked such strange things, sometimes insightful, sometimes such stupidly greedy statements it would throw her off. Ellie always feared those trick questions, coming up with the right answer a difficult one when she didn't know whether he was serious or not.
"When we're done being healed we'll go to the shattered throne again, I think that's where Bazza has been too. Chatting with the boss there like an old frient."
Peering to the crumbling citadel, the Grand Master nodded. So unphased by the war all around them, always looking to the next step, no doubt having thought so far ahead in his plans that Ellie could only barely catch up to the present with all her mind. How did he do it, this strategic genius?
Ellie shivered at the thought of just how deep his plans went, how far his strategems were cast. Perhaps with him as he teacher she could excel further, although the prospect of playing these mind games endlessly was a daunting task. Yet it was his challenging of her that had allowed her to think in new ways, and for her to look after her party so well in the last week.
"Please continue to teach me, Grand Master. I think I speak for us all when I saw we look forward to your instruction," Ellie bowed as they moved away from the battlefront, the other adventures doing the same. They had too, for the Grand Master's power was such he could have likely accomplished this Raid by himself, they were sure.
If they didn't want to be left behind on this Legendary tale, they would have to continue to give their all. The Grand Master increased his pace, as if he wanted to press them harder as yet another test.
Eagerly Ellie matched it.