In hindsight, maybe it was a bit rash to run in and kill all the demons without having any context on the village's situation. Still...
"Calm down, everyone," I said to the panicking villagers.
They didn't hear me. It seemed that they were sure they would die.
Finally, I raised my voice and said, "My party members and I came to kill the archdemon, Enzo."
Everyone became silent.
After a few seconds, a child spoke up. "Are you crazy?!"
"Yes. That's right. I'm crazy. That's why I'm certain that the archdemon will fall today!"
The villagers were still not convinced.
"You have my word," I said, "that you will all be safe once Enzo is no more."
More silence.
I sighed.
"Marigold," I said. "Let's head up Mount Candoskr now."
"Understood."
Once Sakimi and I got on Vortigern, Marigold snapped the reins, and we headed out. As we left, the villagers simply stared at us, not even giving any words of encouragement. They had already accepted defeat, certain that I would fail in my quest.
That was a great way to get my spirits down.
Sakimi tapped my arm and said, "Don't worry about them. We got this."
The girl wore a toothy grin that instantly calmed my nerves.
"Yeah," I replied.
Even still, the anticipation was killing me.
It took about half of the day until we reached the palace, which was built on a plateau just below the peak. A long white road led toward the entrance of the dark red-brick building.
As opposed to the base game, there were no guards stationed in the front. It was as if Enzo himself were giving us an invitation to enter the Gates of Hell.
The heavy, ominous air reduced everyone's enthusiasm to nill, and a sign above the palace's entrance read, "All hope abandon, ye who enter here."
Once Vortigern reached the massive front doors, they automatically opened, disturbing a coating of dust on the adjacent surfaces. Once we entered, the doors closed behind us, having been locked by a magic seal.
Enzo's palace was one single boss room. The fight took place in a grand hallway with a long balcony lining the left and the right, supported by ornate columns. A floor-to-ceiling stained-glass window stood at the far end of the room, depicting an angel falling from the clouds, surrounded by cherubim playing trumpets.
In front of the window, a single individual sat on a silver throne. It was Enzo. He was sitting in a slouched position while resting his head on his right hand.
The archdemon stood upon our arrival, expanding his bone wings which had been stripped of feathers. Two minuscule horns protruded from his head, barely noticeable amidst the long, shaggy hair. Above those horns, a fiery halo crackled.
Enzo was dressed in a black suit with a red tie, and he wore a gold necklace that a singular rune attached to the end. As for facial features, he was pale-white like snow, and his gloomy eyes were black with orange irises. Despite his menacing appearance, archdemons were considered to be the manifestations of beauty, and Enzo was no exception.
"So you've come, Hierophant," Enzo said with a soothing yet palpable allure. "I've been waiting for you."
Enzo stepped down from his throne and walked toward us, but a beam of ice flew in his direction.
"You're a bit too eager to start a fight," he said.
The archdemon didn't even react to the projectile. Instead, he let Sakimi's spell continue flying until it hit a translucent force field made of flames.
This was one of Enzo's abilities: Fire Shield. When not active, it became invisible, but it could nullify all spells and projectiles.
"Keep firing," I said to Sakimi. "The only way to break it is to bring its health zero."
"Alright. Frozen Beam!"
Sakimi kept shooting her spell, but it only took down the shield's health by four percent every hit.
Enzo sighed. "I guess I'll have to kill you all, now."
With a wave of his hand, he materialized a wand and sent a fireball in our direction. Luckily, Vortigern had plenty of time to dodge.
A split second later, a summoning circle appeared on the floor, and a platoon of demon soldiers emerged. Each demon carried a spear and, they were all head-to-toe in black armor.
I activated Skyfire, incinerating the entire platoon in one hit. Meanwhile, Enzo kept shooting fireballs, forcing Vortigern to dodge constantly. When I checked on the Fire Shield's health, it was at about seventy percent now. We just had to keep up our pace.
After about five seconds, another group of demon soldiers emerged from the ground. Skyfire's cooldown was exactly five seconds, so I was able to obliterate them again. Unfortunately, I missed a few stragglers, but I took care of them by using Chromius.
The cycle repeated, with Sakimi whittling down the Fire Shield, Vortigern dodging the fire, and me taking care of the summoned demons. This was the perfect strategy to shut down Enzo.
I could already taste the rewards I was gonna get from this fight: a massive boost in experience points, tons of cash, and the Fire Shield rune.
"Vortigern's starting to get tired," Marigold said.
Sakimi reassured us, saying, "Just a few more shots!"
The Fire Shield was at twelve percent.
Eight percent.
Four percent.
Zero.
The rune on Enzo's necklace cracked, and the forcefield shattered into a glitter.
I handed Marigold my helmet and said, "Take care of the demons. If I ever activate my teleportation rune, you three will need to escape too."
Marigold nodded, and I jumped off our spinebear. Then, I sprinted straight for the archdemon, firing Chromius as I ran. Even now, he only wore an annoyed expression on his face as if I were nothing but a mere fly.
"Know your place, scum!" Enzo yelled, turning his wand into a serrated naginata to deflect my magic.
That's a different weapon!
When I neared melee range, my attack missed by a mile due to my surprise, and Enzo managed to land a stab, bringing my health to seventy-five percent.
In the base game, Enzo fought with a sword, not a naginata. It wasn't too much of a difference, but I would have to readjust my fighting style.
"You didn't expect this, did you?" Enzo asked. "I'm more comfortable with pole weapons than swords."
In the heat of the battle, I ignored the archdemon's line.
I should have paid more attention to the ramifications.
Instead, I rushed forward, but Enzo kept his weapon's blade pointed in my direction, denying any chance of approaching.
I took a gamble and recklessly lunged, taking a hit on my side that brought my health down to fifty-two percent. This gambit allowed me to knock aside the naginata's shaft, and I activated Lightbringer. Then, I approach with my own slash, landing a powerful hit that took down Enzo's health to seventy percent.
Even still, Enzo was in the lead. If I made any more sacrifices to my health, I would soon die.
I tilted my head to the left, checking on Marigold and Sakimi. It seemed that they were doing fine, but the demon horde was spawning at a faster rate, forcing the girls to hurl projectiles. It didn't seem like they had any opportunities to back me up.
"Don't look away from a fight!" Enzo said.
The archdemon stabbed his weapon's blade into my face. It was too fast to dodge. The attack knocked me backward and brought my health down to twenty percent. I used a Medium Healing Potion, restoring myself to seventy percent. I only had three more left.
I activated Angelic Blaze, sending the low-angle energy wave. I expected Enzo to jump, but he sliced the blast in half instead. Still, this gave me the opportunity to rush in, taking advantage of my increased speed from my weapon and my skill upgrades.
The window was large enough that I managed to land two slashes on Enzo, bringing his health down to forty-six percent. I went in for a third strike, but the archdemon blocked it with his naginata's shaft and pushed me back.
Enzo then unleashed a rapid succession of strikes, forcing me to dodge backward. Unfortunately, I stepped in the middle of a summoning circle, and after a second, dozens of demons surrounded me.
Luckily, I still had Cleansing Inferno. I didn't want to use that ability right now, but I couldn't let myself get outnumbered. Margold wouldn't be able to use Skyfire since it would do more damage to me than my own skill.
Using twenty-five percent of my health, Cleansing Inferno engulfed every demon around me in holy flames, burning them to a crisp. Next, I used another Medium Healing Potion to top-up my health to ninety-five percent.
"Heart Skewer!" Enzo yelled.
His naginata went flying, impaling my chest and taking my HP down to forty percent. I was too distracted with using Cleansing Inferno that I momentarily took my eyes away from the boss again.
I can't let him catch me off-guard anymore.
But before I could recover from the attack's impact, Enzo dashed forward with immense speed, throwing a punch that sent me flying into the wall. The archdemon then retrieved his naginata, landing another piercing strike on me.
This time, I quickly recovered from the attack and tried to run away. The entire sequence brought my health down to thirteen percent.
In a panic, I took out my teleportation rune from my inventory. It looks like I wasn't ready for this fight after all.
Unfortunately, with the rune in hand, it gave me a false sense of security.
"No running away," Enzo said, thrusting his weapon.
The blade struck the teleportation rune with pinpoint accuracy, eliminating my only chance at safe escape.