Earlier, Diablo was forced in a passive position where it had no choice but to block, dodge, and parry the Dark Draugr's strengthened attacks, which slowly depleted its Health Points.
"Summon Diablo!" Lux shouted before his partner's life was reduced to zero.
The first thing that Diablo did after being respawned was to use Shield Bash against its enemy in order to prevent it from targeting the children. After a short delay, three spells flew side by side and blasted the Dark Draugr's several meters away from where it stood.
"Dark Arrow!" Lux shouted for the umpteenth time in the hope that it would once again trigger the Blind Effect. Unfortunately, nothing happened, which forced the Half-Elf to use his other skill.
"Mana Drain!"
After using spell after spell, the Half-Elf's mana had decreased a considerable amount. Lux used Mana Drain after the skill's cooldown was over in order to replenish his dwindling mana reserves.
Ten minutes passed as this intense battle continued. Diablo had been killed four times during that time, but it had successfully fended off all attacks aimed at the children.
Soon, the red mists surrounding the Dark Draugr faded. Lux and Diablo immediately closed the distance to deliver devastating blows, while their enemy entered a weakened state.
"Slash!"
Diablo swung his sword on the Draugr's left arm, while Lux's slashed its right, successfully cutting them off their enemy's body.
"Now! Do it!" Lux shouted as he grabbed what remained of the Draugr's right arm, and Diablo did the same with their enemy's left arm.
After doing so, Colette and Matty unleashed devastating attacks on the Undead's body as if they were injected with chicken blood.
Andy, Axel, and Helen watched this scene with complicated expressions on their faces.
From their perspective, Diablo and Lux were like two Big Brothers who were pinning down a bully that had bullied their younger brother and sister.
The two Dwarven children attacked without mercy as if venting out all of their frustrations on the person that bullied them, while their Big Brothers ensured that the Big Bad Bully couldn't fight back.
The other three watched the one-sided beating and glanced at each other. Soon, they also ran towards the Dark Draugr like little Gremlins shouting war cries.
Half a minute later, five little children were hacking, slashing, and bashing the pitiful Undead who could only passively accept their beating.
The two mages and Cleric smashed their staffs on the Draugr's face, while Colette and Matty bashed and hacked its body.
Since the Dark Draugr was already at a weakened state, Diablo and Lux were able to hold it in place due to their stats that hovered near the Apostle Rank.
Lux could have ended the Draugr's life faster if he worked together with Diablo. However, he didn't do that for a simple reason.
He wanted the children to overcome the trauma that had started to grow in their hearts. The only way for them to do that was to face their fears head on and overcome it.
This was a very common occurrence for those that suffered in driving accidents. Once those people sat behind the wheel again, they would have a distinct fear gripping their hearts. The best way to cure this feeling was to resume driving as soon as possible.
If they delayed it, the trauma would just grow. It would make it harder for them to return to and regain their confidence in driving cars.
Lux didn't want the children to suffer, so he decided to nip the problem in the bud, while it still hadn't fully grown.
After five excruciating minutes, the Dark Draugr's body shattered into a pile of bones before turning into particles of light.
It left behind a Beast Core as well as one of the Dark Swords it had wielded earlier.
"W-We did it!" Colette raised her weapon in excitement. "We won!"
Matty clenched his fist in triumph before giving Colette a High Five.
The other children also cheered and hugged each other for a job well done.
Lux watched the young Dwarves with satisfied expressions plastered on their faces as they realized they had succeeded in defeating the Boss Monster. It was also at that moment that a series of notifications appeared in front of him which made the smile on his face widen.
—--
< Achievement Unlocked! >
< Clearing Bronze Crypt Normal Mode >
< Rewards >
– 5 Free Stats Points
– 5 Body Constitution Points
– 5 Skill Points
—--
Lux didn't expect that he would get additional rewards for clearing the dungeon. Although the rewards weren't much, he was still happy to receive them.
"Big Brother, we did it!" Colette happily jumped up and down like a little kid that had won a competition.
"Yes, you did well," Lux gave Colette a high five which made the adorable girl giggle.
The Half-Elf raised his hand to also give the other children a high five, which they gave happily. Even Matty returned Lux's gesture, which proved that the Dwarf boy was in a good mood.
"Now, it's time to divide the loot," Colette said after calming down.
All the Dwarves looked at the Beast Core and the sword lying on the ground and exchanged a glance with each other.
"I don't want it," Matty said.
"Me, either," Axel stated.
"Me, either." Helen giggled.
Colette smiled as she looked at Lux. "Big Brother, you can have the Beast Core and the Black Sword. I also don't want it."
Lux nodded his head in understanding. "Alright. I will gratefully accept your wishes."
All the Dwarves looked up at him with smiles on their faces. They knew that if Lux wasn't there with them, all of them would have been killed by the Dark Draugr.
The seed of fear and doubt that had started to grow in their hearts could have also grown bigger and haunted them for the rest of their lives. Fortunately, they had already managed to break free from its hold, and overcome their fears.
Right now, all of them had the confidence that if they were to meet Draugr's in the future, their bodies would no longer freeze up like scared children that were waiting for themselves to be killed.
"Big Brother, do you have a moment?" Colette grabbed Lux's hand after their party had exited the Dungeon.
"What's wrong?" Lux replied with a smile.
"Nothing much. I just want to tell you that I have a beautiful older sister that is of the same age as you," Colette stated. "I guarantee that she is a good person. Although you're not a Dwarf, I can play matchmaker and let the two of you meet. What do you say?"
Lux blinked his eyes once then twice as he stared at the adorable girl that was looking back at him with the "leave everything to me" expression.
"I will think about it," Lux replied.
Colette pouted. "Big Brother, my Big Sister is very popular, you know? If you don't act fast you will miss the opportunity of a lifetime. My Big Sister is that good!"
Lux didn't know whether he should laugh or cry at Colette's attempt to play matchmaker. In the end, the little girl was able to make the Half-Elf promise that he would meet her sister, Aina, once he left Leaf Village.
After accomplishing her goal, Colette and her friends walked towards the village, while chattering happily. Lux walked behind them with a helpless smile on his face.
For some reason, he was looking forward to his adventures with this little band of merry Dwarf children, while waiting for the day when he could leave Leaf Village without any regrets.