"Skeleton Warrior, go!" Lux ordered as he hastily carried Helen in a princess carry.
The Skeleton Warrior, on the other hand, grabbed Andy and Axel, carrying them like sacks over its shoulders.
Matty had somehow recovered his wits and ran alongside them. Only when all the children were at the edge of the room, with their backs against the Bronze Gate, did Lux finally breathe a sigh of relief.
He then watched as Diablo and the Dark Draugr fought an intense one-on-one battle.
The Dark Draugr's twin blades glowed as it prepared to use its Slash against the Black Knight in front of it.
Diablo didn't back down as he, too, prepared to unleash his own Slash Skill as well.
When the two attacks met, the Dark Draugr took a step back, while Diablo skidded a few meters away. Even so, the golden embers that glowed brightly on the Black Knight's helmet never wavered.
Diablo lunged towards the Dark Draugr, and thrust it sword forward. The latter deflected it to the side and counter-attacked with a stab of its own, but it was blocked by Diablo's round shield.
The two Undead exchanged several blows against each other, with Diablo being pushed back most of the time. Even so, Lux's Named Creature had successfully activated his Parry Skill several times, dealing damage to the enemy in front of him.
After watching the battle, the children had somewhat recovered their composure and were able to think clearly. All of them were surprised that the skeleton that had fought alongside them during the Monster Outbreak had become so strong.
They couldn't believe that in the short period of time that they hadn't seen Diablo, the latter was now able to stand up against a Rank 1 Monster by himself.
"A-Amazing," Matty stuttered. "Despite the difference in strength, Diablo is able to fight back."
"Do you think Diablo can win?" Helen asked.
"No," Lux replied. "The Dark Draugr is stronger than Diablo right now, so he can't win by himself. However, he is not alone. All of you stay here, I'll help Diablo. Skeleton Warrior, protect the children."
Lux didn't wait for any of their replies and charged at the battlefield pointing his finger at their adversary.
"Dark Arrow!"
An arrow of darkness shot out from Lux's finger and hit the Dark Draugr's face. Unfortunately, it didn't trigger the Blind Effect that he was hoping for.
The Dark Draugr glanced at Lux's direction in annoyance, but before it could even attack the red-headed boy, a shield slammed into its body, sending it skidding several meters away.
Just as the Dark Draugr was about to counter attack, the Forest Wolf jumped and clawed the Undead's face once before running away.
Ever since the battle had started, the Forest Wolf was doing hit and run tactics following Diablo's will. It was weaker than the Dark Draugr and would instantly die if the latter slashed it once. However, Diablo used it effectively and only ordered it to attack whenever the Rank 1 Monster couldn't retaliate.
"Dark Arrow!"
Another arrow of darkness landed on the Dark Draugr's head. This skill dealt no damage since its sole purpose was to blind its targets. Unfortunately, the Blind Effect didn't trigger, which made Lux wonder if their enemy was immune to Blind Spells.
This time around the Dark Draugr was truly mad. Three enemies were attacking it at the same time in quick succession, and it was having trouble deciding who among them it was going to attack first.
Diablo had kept close proximity to the Draugr, ready to react to whatever kind of action it might take. The Named Creature's defenses and stats had been upgraded, so only a third of its Health Points had been shaved off by the enemy during their intense exchange earlier.
Lux was also starting to familiarize himself with the Boss Monster's attack pattern. He was only waiting for an opportunity to strike and deal it a devastating blow.
The Dark Draugr howled as it once again activated its slash Skill. Diablo received it with practiced defense, mitigating the damage he received.
At the same time, the Forest Wolf and Lux charged at the Draugr from its left and right sides.
"Slash!" Lux roared as Oathbreaker shone in a crimson glow. Its blade slashed the Undead's body, shaving off a tenth of its Health Points in a single blow.
The Forest Wolf once again swiped its claws on the Draugr's head, dealing very little damage.
The Dark Draugr took a step back, due to the force behind Lux's blow and raised both of its swords to a defensive position.
Lux immediately backed away because he didn't want to continue attacking the Draugr that had opted to defend itself from further attacks. However, the Half-Elf didn't forget to fire a Dark Arrow on the immobile Undead to try his luck.
This time around, the Blind Effect triggered and a black mist oozed out of the Dark Draugr's eyes.
"Andy! Axel! Attack it now!" Lux shouted which brought the two Dwarf Mages back to their senses.
"T-That's right. We came here to fight, not to watch," Andy muttered as he raised his staff and aimed it at the Undead that was suffering from blindness. After saying a short incantation, a ball of flames the size of a tennis ball appeared at the tip of his staff.
"Fire Bullet!"
Just like Andy, Axel had also cast his own offensive spell and fired it at the same time his friend did.
"Water Bullet!"
The two spells pushed the Dark Draugr another two steps from where it stood, making the two mages regain their confidence.
"We can do this!" Lux shouted. "This is not a one-on-one battle! This is an eight versus one battle! We got the upper hand. There's no need to be scared. Diablo and I will protect all of you! So fight!"
Colette, Matty, and Helen gripped their weapons firmly. After hearing Lux's encouragement and seeing Andy's and Axel's attacks land on their enemy, their courage had once again been reignited.
"Charge!" Colette ordered as she ran towards the Dark Draugr with her mace ready to strike.
Matty ran alongside Colette because there was no way he would let her fight alone. Holding his sword in a firm grip, he rushed ahead of her and slashed at the Draugr that was wildly swinging its weapon around itself, in an attempt to hit something.
As soon as Matty felt his sword hit the monster's body, his blood started to boil for battle. He no longer felt afraid and timed his attacks, alongside his companions.
"Holy Smite!" Colette shouted as she smashed her mace against the Dark Draugr's right leg, forcing it to lose its balance.
Helen, the Cleric of the group chanted and an arrow of light shot out from the tip of her staff, flying towards the Undead that had haunted her dreams for the past few days.
"Holy Arrow!"
The arrow of light hit the Undead's chest and made it shriek in pain. Holy and Life Magic were the bane of the Undead, which made Colette's and Helen's attack deal significant damage to it.
Suddenly, the Dark Draugr roared and a red mist oozed out of its body. The Blind Effect had also lost its effect, which allowed the Rank 1 Monster to finally see the insects that were ganging up on it.
"Careful, it went berserk!" Lux shouted. "Colette, Matty, back away! Let Diablo handle the aggro first! Andy, Axel, Helen, stop firing spells and wait for my signal!"
The children obeyed Lux's orders without any complaints and allowed Diablo to fight the Draugr head-on.
They didn't realize that they had started to recognize Lux as the leader of the party instead of Colette. The Dwarves listened to his orders as they reorganized their formation.
Although he couldn't see their enemy's Health Bar, Lux was sure that the damage that they had dealt had surpassed half of the Dark Draugr's Health Points, which forced it into a Berserked State.