Seeing the enemies surrounding them, Apophis's group was in shock! …Not to mention exhausted after completing the Dungeon.
But their feelings didn't really matter. Nothing would change the fact that there was a small army in front of them and waiting to strike.
Most of the players from Hyrule were LvL 14 or 15, equipped with Rare and Epic Federation-style military equipment. No matter whether you looked at their Skills or gear, these were truly elite players at the top of the game!
A LvL 15 Warrior named Ganon walked towards their party, cautious and surprised at Apophis's demonic appearance. But, blinded by his arrogance because of the numerical superiority of the Hyrule players, Ganon stood arrogantly before Apophis and said, "Hello, Mr. Apophis! I'm Ganon, Lieutenant of the Hyrule guild. I've been charged by my guild leader to put you under arrest! Please follow us without resisting."
All the gathered players knew the consequences of dying in PvP—losing a whole level, as well as GC and a piece of equipment. Now that they were so far along in the game, a single level was extremely hard to gain back!
So, all the Hyrule players thought, their sheer numbers would surely intimidate such a pathetically small guild and force them to obey. No more running away!
Apophis didn't bother answering.
He materialized a sword of black flame three meters long and planted it in Ganon's torso, incinerating him on the spot.
In less than a second, all that remained was an Epic item that fell to the ground where Ganon had once stood.
The entire Hyrule army was stunned! Every one of them was fascinated by the impressive and lightning-fast attack… even so, Apophis was the enemy, and Hyrule still had the numbers advantage!
Both sides quickly formed into battle lines, summoning pets and charging up Skills—
Apophis ignored his party and simply spread his dark wings, leaping dozens of meters into the sky! He stretched out his arms and a hundred black fireballs appeared, which rained upon the battlefield like falling stars.
Half the Hyrule players died in an instant, but Apophis wasn't done! He swooped down and unleashed savage attacks with his three-meter flame sword, massacring the enemy and completely dominating them with his raw power and aggression.
For the few moments they remained alive, the elite Hyrule players could only think about how Apophis looked more like a demonic Dungeon boss than a mere player.
Hyrule's remaining players were completely disorganized, panicking at seeing their leaders and healers dying all around them. Their terror actually kept many of them alive as they ran in different directions and so evaded some of Apophis's AoEs that targeted their allies.
Of course, Apophis wasn't the only terrifying danger. All the other members of Eclipse were far more powerful than their attackers, using unique Skills nobody had ever seen before and killing Hyrule players almost without effort, despite being exhausted from completing an IronMan Dungeon!
To Eclipse, who had just endured incredible difficulty and extreme anxiety, a few hundred players of LvL 15 were nothing. They were ten levels higher—except for Apophis, who was even stronger—and none of the Hyrule players were as scary as a horde of nagas.
So, with their leaders gone and trying desperately to regroup, Hyrule's remaining members retreated.
But just when the Eclipse players thought they'd get some respite, five corvettes bearing the Hyrule guild emblem flew overhead and bombarded them with anti-personnel missiles!
It seemed hopeless. Even LvL 25 players simply couldn't compete with spacecraft arsenals.
Except for Apophis.
He activated ~Susanoo~, guarding his allies against the attack with sweeping midair strikes of his skeletal arms. He managed to intercept the whole swarm of missiles, but the force of the resulting explosions was so great that only Apophis's new Energy reserves were enough to bolster ~Susanoo~ enough to protect him!
The corvettes made another pass across the sky, sending another missile salvo down. Apophis defended again, but ~Susanoo~ finally shattered. Apophis smashed down into the ground with the force of the midair explosion. He tried to rise, but then fell to one knee, heavily wounded.
But just as the corvettes turned for one last bombing run, the MK.1 burst into the atmosphere at high speed and unleashed its weapons into one corvette!
The other four Hyrule ships swung in different directions, breaking out of their bombing runs to engage the MK.1 in an aerial battle.
Things seemed hopeless once more. But the MK.1 was not alone! Three other corvettes appeared in its wake, each bearing the Federation military insignia. The military was here to support their agents against an assault by a rogue player faction!
The fight turned quickly, since The Hyrule players were still learning how to maneuver their ships in atmospheric flight. It was one thing to fly in a straight line and use a computer to fire targeted missiles, but to dogfight against skilled Federation pilots was a completely different matter!
The Federation corvettes were so dominant that the Hyrule ships retreated into space, and then the battle was over.
The MK.1 landed near Apophis and the other Eclipse members, its engine exhaust sending clouds of hot sand billowing through the air. Colonel Ralfot and Antanria soon exited the ship and trudged through the scorched and bloody sand to stand before Apophis.
Apophis respectfully shook hands with Colonel Ralfot and said, "Thank you for your efficiency, Colonel! Your mission was successful."
After evading Hyrule in the Lizardman station, Apophis had realized that they would probably catch up to the MK.1 eventually. So, he'd asked Colonel Ralfot to requisition some reinforcements as soon as the landing party stepped foot in the Dungeon. As it turned out, that had been a wise decision.
The colonel answered, "You're welcome, Apophis! Please note that there was a complication. These men are special forces, as it would have been impossible to get ordinary troops into non-Federation space on such short notice. The Grand Admiral considered it a special favor, which he's calling in immediately. We are officially summoned to report to him for a mission." His voice sounded mildly apologetic.
Well, if Apophis was going to owe a favor to such a calculating man as Azerof, he supposed it was for the best to get it out of the way immediately. Far better than to have it hanging over him until Azerof called the favor in as an unpleasant surprise!
While the other players collected the items which the Hyrule attackers had dropped after their deaths, Apophis turned to Antanria and hugged her affectionately.
This surprised Antanria, as Apophis hadn't exactly been very tender before now! And now, he looked like a horrific demon, rather than looking like a Zetark, just like her!
However, neither Ralfot nor Antanria were terribly alarmed by his new appearance. They both understood that Eternals were strange, alien beings with innate Ascensionist powers. The fact that they could occasionally change their appearance was not much stranger than the way Apophis could summon ~Susanoo~, after all.
However, as Antanria hugged Apophis, she felt a strange sensation trembling deep inside her brain. It was as though she could hear dark, rushing water from the other side of a wall as hard as diamond… deadly water that called for her to dip a hand into it and drink it.
Antanria shivered with dread—and then the sensation almost completely vanished, though she felt that there was still some dark, impassable wall surrounding her on every side.
But she took a deep breath and pushed this feeling away. Surely the events of their adventure were causing her mental strain. She simply needed to rest, and then she'd be fine.
However, she mentioned none of this to anyone. If Apophis felt that she was weak in the head, he might leave her behind.
For his part, Apophis was oblivious to Antanria's uncomfortable reaction. His thoughts were only about his hardship during the Dungeon. He'd been forced to sacrifice his humanity in order to return in one piece.
Rather than being afraid of losing people close to him, and so avoiding getting attached to anyone, Apophis would simply grow strong enough that he never would lose them.
He would live his life to the fullest, even if it meant embracing the darkness.