Lei Su died on impact with the lava. Nevertheless, he managed to block Drakuru's attack and had bought Black Hell a precious few extra seconds.
Drakuru wanted to charge toward Black Hell. But after taking two steps, he was pulled back by the chains.
Drakuru let out a roar before firing out a pillar of fire from his mouth.
Paladin Lafus quickly raised his sword and chanted an incantation, erecting a large screen of light in front of Black Hell.
BOOOM! The attack collided into the light screen before dissipating.
Drakuru then tried to silence Black Hell. However, Dark Requiem had put a protective barrier around Black Hell that shielded him from all negative status effects.
Black Hell finished chanting after five sets of syllables. Generally, single target Forbidden Magic took much less time to cast compared to their AoE counterparts.
Radiance Edge!
An enormous blade of holy light materialized out of thin air. BOOOOOM! It cleaved into Drakuru, shaving away close to 5% of his health. Though this attack paled in comparison with Seraphim's Reckoning, it still dealt over 14,000,000 damage.
Drakuru only had a tiny sliver of health left. It wouldn't be long before he was dead!
"He only has 500,000 health left! We're almost there! Kill him!" Nie Yan shouted.
The casters let loose with a dense shower of spells. If they all struck him, he would be dead for sure!
They felt the tension in their bodies alleviate somewhat. Victory was within their grasp! But at this moment, Drakuru protected himself with a shield. BANG! BANG! BANG! The spells only dealt at average 2,000 damage.
"Don't relax yet. It's still not over. Keep attacking!"
These words shook the casters awake. They hurriedly got back to going all out, when suddenly Drakuru let out a deafening roar as he underwent an intense transformation. His skin turned black, and two fleshy wings erupted from his back.
Nie Yan rushed up in an attempt to finish Drakuru off, only to find his feet glued to the ground. He glanced back to see Tang Yao, Xie Yao, and the others also frozen like statues, unable to cast magic or do anything else but watch.
"Boss, I'm stuck!"
"Me too! I can't move!"
"What do we do!?"
Are we really going to fail here…? No, I won't accept this! Nie Yan gnashed his teeth.
A pair of sharp horns sprouted from Drakuru's forehead. He now had all the key features of a genuine devil.
"That bastard is about to completely transform into a demon!"
Ominous red clouds coalesced in the air, as everyone felt a stifling pressure. Suddenly, flaming meteors started raining down on the entire chamber. This spell was as powerful as Forbidden Magic!
Wave after wave of meteors crashed into the lava river, sending lava splashing everywhere. Eventually, a meteor fell toward the team members on the bridge. BOOOOM! They immediately transformed into five rays of light.
Young Sparrow Hawk has died.
Yao Yao has died.
...
Notifications popped up one after another. Nie Yan's team members were dropping like flies. Paladin Lafus was struck head-on by a meteor and instantly killed.
Were they going to wipe?
Nie Yan struggled to raise his head and saw a giant meteor crashing towards him. The scorching heat assailed his face, threatening to roast him alive.
In the face of death, Nie Yan activated Frozen Fortress from Paternoster's Warhammer. The temperature around him plummeted. Frost energy gathered around him, instantly transforming into an enormous block of ice which sealed him within.
BANG! The meteor collided into the block of ice and split into fragments which scattered all over the bridge.
Meteors continued raining down mercilessly, with lava raining upwards. It was like a scene taken straight out of hell.
Like a frozen statue, Nie Yan gazed blankly at the destruction around him. Nothing escaped his eyes. Not his teammates dying horrifying deaths, nor Drakuru gaining in power with every second that passed. Yet he could do nothing but watch, completely aware of everything transpiring outside his casing of ice.
Drakuru roared and thrashed about violently within the flames. KLANK! He broke one of the chains binding his arm. He let out a crazed laughter. "HAHAHAHA! MORPHEST, YOU CAN NO LONGER BIND ME! YOU'RE DEAD! BUT I WILL LIVE FOREVER!"
KLANG! This time Drakuru broke the chain binding his leg.
Drakuru's health was slowly starting to recover. It had already reached back to 1,000,000.
If Drakuru were to completely break free of the chains, Nie Yan could only imagine what the consequences would be.
If Nie Yan were to dispel the Frozen Fortress at this very moment, he would die without a doubt. If Drakuru didn't kill him, the falling meteors would.
Nie Yan glanced at his skill window. He was at the end of the road. There was only one possibility, one opportunity left, and that was to go all out!
Frozen Fortress, dispel!
The ice around Nie Yan rapidly melted. He was free to move again.
As soon as Nie Yan unsealed himself from the ice, Drakuru pointed a finger forward and called down three meteors on him.
Gale Step!
Nie Yan suddenly disappeared, transforming into a blur as he sped across the stone bridge and rapidly closed in on Drakuru. When he was only a step away, he raised Zennarde's Sword and leaped high into the air.
Annihilation Slash!
10 enormous sword silhouettes merged into one, then came cleaving down with unrivalled might.
KLANK! KLANK! Drakuru finally broke free from the last of his chains. When he looked up, an enormous sword was already cleaving down on him. He raised his arms to block.
Miss!
Nie Yan's eyes widened in shock. Was the boss invincible?
At this moment, even his most powerful attack was completely useless against Drakuru!
Drakuru laughed boisterously. "Foolish human! I've already obtained eternal life! Unless you're a god and capable of destroying my origin, you'll never defeat me! I shall offer you one more deal. Submit to me, become my servant, and I'll let you become like me. You can wield this strength too, you can also obtain an undying soul!"
The faint shred of hope in his heart was shattered just like that. Nie Yan despaired.
"My unwavering conviction is my belief in the light. May it be eternal!" Nie Yan shouted, recalling the teaching of the Temple of Light. At this moment, he was a pious follower of the light.
Battle Angel Kalenna waved her staff, giving Nie Yan several blessings as well as a powerful shield. "Accursed demon! He's too powerful now. He's already become a true god."
Even if Kalenna intervened, Nie Yan was still no match for Drakuru.
Just as Nie Yan was about to give up, Paternoster's Warhammer shone with a dazzling brilliance as streaks of lightning as thick as his arm danced around it like dragons.
The meteors falling down on Nie Yan were immediately shattered into pieces.
"Damned Orc King! Your loathed Paternoster's Warhammer...!" A hint of panic and fear resounded in Drakuru's voice.
A light bulb lit up in Nie Yan's head. Paternoster's Warhammer was a quest item for the Assassin's Heart. It was the key to clearing this quest! How could he have forgotten!?
Only Paternoster's Warhammer could defeat Drakuru!
As Drakuru retreated in fear, Nie Yan leaped into the air and smashed down with Paternoster's Warhammer.
Nie Yan was wrapped around in lightning, like the incarnation of a thunder god.
Nie Yan sensed the all-consuming fury of the spirit residing within Paternoster's Warhammer.
BOOOOOM! An enormous pillar of lightning obliterated the ceiling of the chamber and came crashing down on Drakuru.
"NOOOOOOO!!!" Drakuru cried out in agony as his health fell to zero. He lost control of his body as the lightning fried him from the inside out, causing him to float in the air and dissolve into ashes.
Drakuru was dead! Truly dead!
Nie Yan glanced at Paternoster's Warhammer. The lightning around it gradually calmed down.
Two items fell down from the sky. Drakuru's drops! Nie Yan leaped up and caught them both in his hands.
"Nice, I got them!" Nie Yan's eyes lit up in elation. Suddenly, he received a notification.
Adventurer, you have proved your courage and obtained the Assassin's Heart.
Nie Yan's heart trembled. He had finally completed Paternoster's Warhammer's quest and obtained the Assassin's heart!
Ding dong! Ding dong! Nie Yan's body lit up consecutively with a dazzling radiance. Looking at this character status, he had directly levelled up to Level 149, 32%!
If the experience from a Level 180 Demonified Lord were divided up between all team members, everyone would level up at least once. However, since Nie Yan was the only one left alive, all the experience from Drakuru went to him!
Nie Yan was extremely excited. After so long, he was once again the highest level player in the game.
The battle ended, but the shower of meteors hadn't yet. Nie Yan dodged around frantically. The scorching hot lava below was also splashing everywhere, some of which landed on him. He heard a sizzling sound as he felt his skin burning.
Just as Nie Yan was about to give up on leaving this place alive, the obelisk that was originally binding Drakuru lit up with a brilliant light and formed a red portal leading to who knew where.
This portal was likely the way out. Nie Yan rushed forward and dove straight in. After which his vision went black. He wondered what was going on before losing consciousness.