At just that moment, Aldran came flying in with his sword over his head. The gryphon that was protecting him had both claws on Aldran's shoulder, making it look like Aldran had a pair of white wings that kept him adrift.
"Zero! Move!" Aldran yelled. He swung his sword downwards with all his strength, hurling it towards Lilith's heart, with Agnis's arrow as his marker.
Aldran's sword seemed like it was caught on fire, and it sped towards Lilith's heart, gaining momentum. With a crushing impact, the sword sank deeply into Lilith's heart. Her ear-splitting wail was so powerful that it blew all the surrounding fighters backwards, where they lay cowering with their hands on their ears.
Aldran too was thrown onto the ground, while Zero and Agnis could barely move. Their ears rang from the cry.
In a final burst of energy, Lilith spewed out clouds of black molten lava. It was different from her usual lava attacks. Its gurgling and bubbling form gave off an acidic smell, and it ate everything it touched, save Lilith's own skin.
Zero had to hop around, trying to avoid the harsh black lava. It hissed and blew out a noxious gas that made him dizzy. He took short breaks so he wouldn't inhale too much of the noxious gas, but this merely left him light-headed.
"Zero, we need to pierce the sword deeper. That's our chance!" Agnis yelled over Lilith's roars. Another spray of nasty black tarlike ooze fell like rain upon the surroundings. It sizzled wherever it fell, including on fighters who howled as their armor melted away.
Zero tried his best to dodge the rainfall of black tar, while Agnis began to chant magic. Swirls of blue fire appeared, coming from the side where she housed an ancient blue flame. Both of her hands were surrounded heavily by the blue flames. She waved her hand above her head, disintegrating the black tar that would have fallen on them.
Agnis reached over to the sword embedded in Lilith's heart. Dark ooze slipped from beneath the sword and spilled outwards. The moment she touched the sword a burst of light consumed the sword and turned it fiery blue. The black ooze smothered and hissed when it touched the flames, burning cleanly away. More and more black ooze sprayed outwards around them, and half of the monsters disappeared into nothingness.
Lilith roared in anguish, and Agnis snatched her hand back. It was burned red from the hot metal sword. "I can't grasp it." She held her hand close to her body.
"Hold on!" Zero yelled. He reached over with both claws and wrapped around the sword tightly. The blue flames licked against his hands, but he felt no heat. It did not even sting him.
In that moment, Zero pushed downward hard, using all of his and Agnis's body weight to drive the sword deeper. 'Sylph's curses meant nothing in the face of his determination and adrenaline.
20% critical attack added to 1000 attack. You have lost 15 health points.
Zero backed up and pounded hard one again and again like a sledge hammer.
35% critical attack added to 1790 attack. You have lost 50 health points.
45% critical attack added to 2500 attack. You have lost 103 health points.
63% critical attack added to 2500 attack. You have lost 200 health points.
The added bonus continued to increase, and the flames grew in size. Agnis chanted her magic while holding tightly onto his neck. Lilith thrashed and screamed until both her arms came loose from Freya's chains. Hercules guild members were casting their spells to lower Lilith's health as much as possible, and more players streamed in to help try and hold her down.
Like a homing missile Lilith's hand came towards them in a flash. Zero ducked, but he was too slow. Lilith's hand hit Agnis hard. She flew backwards and hit the ground a good few feet away from Lilith's body.
"Agnis!" Zero turned around sharply, ready to bolt towards her, but instead was stopped short by the same hand that sent Agnis flying.
"There no time for this," Zero cursed under his breath. He bolted towards the sword once again. The black ooze had left behind puddles that formed into small humanoid monsters. He wasn't sure if he should attack. The black tar did cause erosion that he did not want to get affected by.
Instead, he weaved between tarlike monsters and arrived at Aldran's sword. The blue flames did not die out like his regular red flame, but instead grew stronger.
Sylph's blessing Absorption has been activated. This skill weakens the owner for duration of time till the countdown is complete. The skill will be activated for the next five minutes.
The message blinded him for a moment as he struggled to read it. The blue flames erupted brightly into a small torrent of fire and wrapped around him like a blanket. All the humanoid monsters were incinerated. The flames danced around him like fairies and swirled around him wildly.
His instinct took over and he inhaled deeply, sucking in the torrent of fire into his belly. Not a single flame escaped as it entered his body. His stomach gurgled, and he burped in satisfaction.
New skill has been learned because of your natural element affinity to it.
Holy Flames.A special flame that is endowed with a holy element. All undead and demon creatures are heavily damaged by it. Any light element creatures and monsters will not be harmed by its flames.
Zero had no time to finish reading the message, and instead he blew a circle of flames around him like a shield. The humaoid monsters fell like flies upon contact. He smiled, satisfied at his outcome.
Standing on his hind legs, Zero pounded down upon Aldran's blade. Each strike chipped away Lilith's health. He spewed out his holy flames after each pound, making the fire stronger and stronger. The fire grew to a blazing inferno, such that people had to move back and cover their eyes from the bright light.
With every ounce of strength he could muster, his final strike pierced Lilith's heart. A tornado of blue fire shot upwards into the sky. She screamed and screamed and screamed to the point her voice became like a whisper. Blue flames covered her from head to toe. Amongst the fire, Zero stood on his hind legs, panting furiously. His arms felt like jello and he could barely move.
People watched with awe, their eyes glued to his majestic stature. This small, reptilian, doglike creature standing upon its mighty but defeated foe reminded all who watched of David and Goliath. In mere moments, Lilith's body disintegrated into black ashes and disappeared in the wind, creating a black snow.
Not too far from the battle with Lilith, the battle with thee undead land sharks finally came to its conclusion. Jergorien blew his horn, disrupting the apparitions that invaded the dead bodies. They screamed in agony as they clawed their heads trying to get the sound out of their ears. They phased in and out, becoming solid beings and giving the players a chance to destroy them.
Every time the sound of the horn faded out, the black apparitions attacked back in frenzy, especially the holder of the horn. But the ring of guild members protected Jergorien so he could blow his horn every few minutes.
When Lilith fell, the players shifted their heads and looked towards her. They felt the rumbling of the fall, making some lose their footing. The rest of the players rushed to fight the apparitions, and soon enough, the battle became one-sided. Fewer players died from the apparitions and instead more players ganged up on them.
With the last undead creatures defeated at the hands of the players, a blazing blue inferno shot upwards, signaling Lilith's death. A flood of messages appeared before the players, congratulating them for their completion of the quest.
Special Hidden Quest Alpha has been completed.
All rewards will be sent to your personal storage box, and the accumulated points contributing to the quest will be sent to the players and NPCs personally. The curse has been lifted, but there is still some unusual energy similar to a curse still in effect. It does not affect the everyday lives of the people.
1/4th of the population has been lost in both cities. The cries of the mourners will increase for the next few weeks.
2/3rds of the city army has been lost in the City of Diadem and 1/3rd has been lost in the City of Elements. Incidents of theft have risen.
50% of the morale of the people has risen exponentially. They have begun to call the players Adventurers. The name Adventurer no longer carries a stigma. Throughout the land, players who participated in the Quest will be welcomed in all human cities.
The smell of the dead is overwhelming, making the residents sick. Disease has increased in the city.
Crops around the eastern part of the city are contaminated. The harvest for this year will decrease by a half. Starvation of the people is high during the winter time.
Tax has increased by 7% by the order of the King. The division between poor and the rich has increased exponentially.
Monster attacks on the eastern side of the city wall have increased till the completion of the renovation.
Large increases in new quests and jobs have opened up to Adventurers.
For his reward, Zero received twin sets of daggers name Ecurion. He was very pleased.
Ecurion
A twin set of daggers that are made from a holy element. The famous adventurer Lamia has personally wielded this weapon. Over time she enchanted her light magic into the blades, making the daggers more powerful.
5% increase in light element magic
Has a blinding effect that temporarily stuns low-level monsters for five seconds.
1% increase in experience points when killing dark element monsters and undead.
+10 leadership
+10 strength
A massive cheer erupted from the players and NPCs. Some fell backwards and lay down exhausted upon the ground, while others began to move around searching for their comrades. Tattered banners of guilds were still standing amongst the people. It was a heartwarming scene to see, especially for the guild members that stared upon it with pride.
The raid was finally over. No more would the undead land sharks attack the city. The last of them perished like clouds and disappeared for all eternity. The surviving players and people could finally rest without having to look over their shoulders.
The city was partially in ruins. The majority of the right side of the City of Terra had been broken or demolished by Lilith. Hardened lava was still left behind, and piles of the dead were littered everywhere like flowers, making an unappealing scene. NPCs lost their homes, but players were looked upon as heroes. The people were not dissatisfied by the outcome; instead they were jubilant for their future prospects.
Already swarms of players and NPCs were harvesting their spoils of war and selling them in the town square. They were already cleaning up the streets and burying the dead. Even Zero and Agnis helped to clean up the mess, especially since it helped them look for the spoils of war. Small easy quests popped up like wildfire, asking for players to help clean up and rebuild the city walls.
Zero had one level to go before he hit the necessary 150. This raid had given him an egregious boost in level upgrades; a world quest like this could be considered a hot pot for experience points.
You know, this is the best time for us to get to know each other, stated Sylph.
"I don't think so," Zero replied as he searched the ground for any loot.
You can't mean that. Are you going to be happier that you have a set of daggers than someone like me? Sylph's voice sounded a bit sad.
"Comparing you to the twin dagger is like heaven and earth. You drained my magic in the middle of battle."
Lies.
"Truth."
Hmph, Sylph said grumpily and then stayed silent.
"Were you saying something?" Agnis asked. She was helping out the nearest group of people in decomposing monster's bodies and gathering materials from the dead monsters.
"No. Nothing."
"Oh, okay." She turned back around and continued on her work.
While Zero was busily helping move the bodies out from the interior of the city buildings, Garrett rushed over yelling at the top of his lungs.
"Zero! Zero!" Garrett waved him down.
Zero stopped and turned towards him. "What are you doing here? This is not the best time to be here right now." He looked at the senile old rabbit as if he was crazy. He wondered what was so important that needed his attention.
Garrett panted from exhaustion. Even for the short run, his age felt like it was catching up to him. "I've got…" He panted heavily. "Something important…to tell you."
"That is?"
"It's about your crystal gem, or should I say, you're Krustallos," Garrett excitedly stated. He pulled out the crystal that Zero had given him a few days ago at the library. The last time he remembered it was the size of a small almond, but now it was the size of a large peach. How it grew he did not know.
"Is that really mine?" asked Zero. Garrett carefully handed it to him.
The Krustallos glowed with power. He could feel it pulsate with the rhythm of his heart. Its soft glow of white and black light danced around him. Something was strange about this particular crystal: it felt completely alive.
"It is. The Krustallos has been growing since you gave it to me. I have never seen something like this before," Garrett said, enthralled. He bounced around with excitement. "Let me check if you have another one." He reached over to see Zero's chest like a hawk that caught its prey. A shiver ran down Zero's back.