Annie fought very close to her father and mother, even though she had reached level 20 and was one of the strongest in the city they didn't want to let her out of their sight. That was loving and cute, but it wasn't beneficial for them to do that in the situation they were in.
Annie was fighting an undead creature; she didn't know what it was when it was alive but judging from the size of its skeleton it was definitely at least a Rank Three Beast when it was alive. Normally she had no fighting a Rank Three Beast, but the undead version was a pain in the neck. Because she couldn't reach the Soul Flame she couldn't kill it, and unlike the other undead the flames had the ability to heal it. It was fast and vicious; its claws could reach her in the blink of an eye and it did sneak attacks with its tail.
But what bothered her the most was the corrosiveness of its flames, it continuously spilled from its body and it could blast flames out from every crevice in its skeletal body, Annie had learned to read the warning signs just before that happened. It could also blast corrosive flame balls from its mouth, Annie was constantly on the move and could only attack it with [Multiple Rapier Thrusts].
She did have an attack that could completely destroy the undead, but she couldn't use it with her parents so close to her. She had tried to lead the undead away but her parents, in their worry, followed her.
The undead shot out another fireball which Annie quickly dodged, she traced its trajectory and her heart almost stopped when it almost grazed her father. Before her heartrate could go back to normal, she snapped at him.
"Please, stay back!" She screamed, "Please, just stay back!"
With a huge leap, she crossed her arms in front of her and bashed the undead backwards, along with herself. She heard her parents scream her name but she didn't look back, if she wanted to keep them safe then she needed to take care of the enemy fast. She pushed the undead as far as she could, but she saw the flame in its ribs churn violently, a clear indicator that it was about to use its flame burst attack so she jumped backwards before it did.
While its body was obscured by its flames Annie took a quick glance around and saw there were no humans around her, she could finally use her full power without worry. A bright light bloomed from her chest and a corresponding light shone on her Soul Weapon, when her rapier was fully charged, she activated the skill [Rapier Wave]. With a wave of her sword, what looked like a pool of water made of light but was actually a collection of tiny rapiers appeared revolving around her. She controlled the wave to spin wider and wider, creating a sharp field around her. The tiny rapiers tore into the undead, slicing of pieces of their bones without much hindrance.
When she canceled the skill every undead around her had been cut to pieces.
Annie exhaled when she finished, she felt like she had released the strong emotions that had been bottled up inside her chest. She heard footsteps behind her, she knew who they belonged to even before she turned around. Her and her parents stared at each other in silence, but their expressions were loud.
Boom!
A flash of red-orange light illuminated an area beside them, after that a strong blast of hot air hit them. A large fire had started in the midst of the undead there, the heat of the flames was so strong that even the skeleton near there showed signs of melting. There was a figure dashing around unaffected in flames, the flames seemed to follow them as they moved.
Annie gasped when she saw the person in the flames, wasn't that Morgana?! When could she do that?!
She then recalled a vague memory of Morgana telling her about her self-created skill she named [Inferno], she hadn't demonstrated it in front of her but seeing this scene made Annie realize why she named it that. It was an inferno alright, an infernal hell. The circle of flames spanned for at least ten meters, thankfully the undead weren't combustible.
Annie knew that such an attack would take a lot, if not all, of Morgana's magic power. Not only that, since Morgana herself was surrounded in flames, although they wouldn't hurt her, they would still burn off her clothes, so Annie had to be ready to cover her up when the flames eventually stopped.
…
Logan felt like clawing his eyes out, he had never felt a rage like this before. Why? Why did it become like this? He had spent years planning and searching for power to take back the throne, all for him to be defeated at every turn. Even now he couldn't defeat fifty-odd people. His undead were almost wiped out, even the Greater Undead had been taken care of.
This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to win. He was promised…
Logan quickly controlled the Skeleton Dragon to dive down and dodge the Dragon Flames, he aimed an attack on the dragon but it was blocked by a projection of a golden castle. Logan was absolutely perplexed by the magic of the dragon rider used, the golden light he summoned contained incomparable power, if he wasn't the fact that Logan was stronger than he was, he would have long been defeated.
Not to mention, the dragon rider was much more experienced in fighting mid-air than he was, since he was also controlling the Skeleton Dragon Logan's movement was clanky while the dragon's had more fluidity. Almost none of his attacks made contact.
The dragon rider sent two attacks, that curved and attacked Logan on both sides. When Logan moved to block the attacks, the golden dragon attacked the Skeleton Dragon, but this time instead of breathing out flames it breathed out large amounts of golden dust.
'Is it trying to obscure my vision?' Logan thought. His curiosity became his downfall, literally. The gold dust glittered around the Skeleton Dragon, and when flecks touched its bones, those parts transmuted into gold. They spread too fast for Logan to be able to do anything, after they covered half of its skeletal figure the Skeleton Dragon began to drop. Logan's stomach flipped as it plummeted to the ground, it took only a few seconds for it to hit the ground.
Because of the gold underneath – and because the Skeleton Dragon was a Greater Undead – its bones didn't shatter upon impact. Logan hissed in pain as his ribs slammed into the Skeleton Dragon's spine, he would have rested a bit if he didn't notice that the gold was still spreading all over the Skeleton Dragon's body. He quickly jumped to the ground, twisting his body so he wouldn't land on his back where the baby was kept.
As Logan wheezed, he watched as the gold slowly covered the Skeleton Dragon until every part of its bones became encased in gold, when that happened Logan immediately lost his connection with it. He laid there in a daze, even when he heard the golden dragon drop to the ground, even when the wind it created when it flapped its winds sent small stones and leaves at his face, he still didn't take his eyes off the Skeleton Dragon.
He couldn't say he had an attachment to the Skeleton Dragon, but to what it symbolized. It symbolized his hard work, his sweat and his grit. He remembered the pain and time he spent on the Skeleton Dragon; he tore bits of his soul and kept them in it because he had hope that he would achieve his goals. It was his greatest achievement, no matter how distressed or frustrated he had felt that day, his grip on the sturdy bones reassured him that he could still achieve his goals, he could still get the throne, and kill everyone who had looked down on him. But now it was gone.
He slowly sat up and looked at the dragon rider, he was sitting high on the dragon so he was directly staring down at him. It was then that Logan realized their positions, he tattered, sprawled on the ground, while the dragon rider sat on his majestic dragon as he looked down on him.
His daze look slowly morphed into that of rage, "How dare you?! How dare you judge me?!" He screamed as hot tears pooled in his eyes, in his blurry vision the dragon rider looked oddly like his father, which made him feel even more incensed.
'How dare you?' Logan thought as he seethed, 'You were not a saint! I'm vicious? I'm wicked? I learned that from you!'
His knees shook as he slowly he slowly rose to his feet, his magical energy turned bone chilling. He opened his mouth and began chanting a forbidden incantation, the language he spoke wasn't the Common Tongue, it sounded indecent and invading. The dragon rider seemed to have noticed that something was wrong and ordered his dragon to attack, it spat out a stream of flame but they were stopped by an invisible spatial energy. Logan stared at him with chill rage as he finished his incantation.
"Al'athurus, Being of Rot, I use my soul as a conduit for your arrival."
…
"W-what is this?"
Pascal stared at the creature that had appeared with undisguised disgust. When he felt something wrong when he sensed his opponent's magical energy surge and wanted to take him out before whatever he was planning happened, but he didn't know he was going to summon… that.
The creature was a sludge-like being and was almost five feet tall, its 'flesh' was a dark green and viscous. It had four limbs and stood on two of them like a human, its neck was elongated but without a head, it just flailed around like a worm. Bubbles would pop occasionally on its body, covering the area with a rotten stench.
Pascal covered his nose with his elbow and stared at the creature vigilantly, he knew it was summoned to cause mayhem so he carefully watched any signs of attacking it would show. The creature's neck wriggled disgustingly, a slit appeared on its chest then widened into a horrid mouth. After a deep inhale the creature bellowed, its noise invoking a sense of fear in Pascal.
'It's going to attack!' Pascal's body tensed as he readied himself for the attack, but even then, his reaction wasn't fast enough. The creature stretched its arm which elongated and grabbed Zahir in a split second. Zahir roared and flapped its wings rapidly but it couldn't escape, it was like the sludge was stuck to his body.
"Zahir, attack!" Pascal yelled frantically as he buckled on Zahir's back. Zahir spat out its Dragon Flames on the sludge, it wriggled like it had been hurt before receding a bit. Zahir used that opportunity to escape, it flapped its wings desperately until it broke free and flew to safe distance above.
Pascal looked at Zahir's body and frowned, some of its scales had peeled off and it was bleeding. Pascal rubbed his palm on Zahir's shivering body, this was the first time it had ever gotten injured and restricted so it was a bit shaken. Zahir sent an intent to Pascal, telling him he would like to keep his distance from the creature, which was understandable. Zahir was still a child after all, and even Pascal was frightened by the creature.
The creature roared at them from below, it seemed irritated that they got away from it. It crouched down and bent its knees, but just when it was about to jump it was enclosed by a golden barrier that was locked with four swords, an audible thump sounded as it collided against the barrier. Pascal recognized Sarah's [Uriel's Cage] and looked for her, she was flying towards him with a look of disgust on her face. Her arms were outstretched and were trembling a bit as she tried to contain the creature.
"I can't hold this thing for long!" Sarah yelled.
Pascal stared at her and the cage anxiously, he didn't know what to do. He chewed on his and tried to calm himself down but couldn't. He was afraid, but mostly for his people, he needed to protect them but he couldn't think of a way to defeat that thing in a short while.
The creature broke out of the cage with a bang, he heard Sarah groan as her magic was forcefully broken through. The creature's long neck flailed and it roared, showing its vigor, then an [Exploding Arrow] hit it right in its grotesque mouth.
Pascal gasped and looked behind him, then he was filled with relief. Mary, Veronica, Henry, David and George were rushing towards the creature in their fastest speed. Because of them, Pascal was able to gather his courage.
"Sarah, take me down there." Pascal said. Sarah nodded and created a golden platform beside Zahir, he stepped onto it and she gently descended him. By the time he reached the ground Mary and the rest had already reached his side.
"Ugh, what an ugly monster!" Goerge curled his lips.
"It doesn't look like an undead." David said.
"It isn't, it was summoned here by that guy." Pascal pointed at the man who was standing, unmoving behind the creature. His eyes were closed and his skin was turning greyer by the second.
"That guy…" Henry said with barely concealed shock.
"How are we going to defeat that?" George asked.
"By beating it till it stops moving, that's how." Said Veronica.
"But we all can rush at it together, so we'll do it this way. Me, Veronica and Henry will be the main attackers, although this doesn't mean that the other shouldn't attack when they have the chance. Like Mary for example, anytime you see a clear shot, take it. George, you and David, protect us from attacks." Pascal gave everyone their roles, then he brought out his shield, "Let's move!"
They immediately ran towards the creature, with Pascal, Veronica and Henry at the vanguard. Henry attacked first; he sent a [Splice] at the creature. The attack parted its sludgy body in half but it soon conjoined itself. But Henry didn't stop, Pascal also joined him, attacking with [Resplendent Light], trying to prohibit the creature's thinking but also giving Veronica a chance to prepare her skill.
When they were close enough, Veronica unleashed [Ice Storm] and [Ice Hail] simultaneously. Clouds appeared above the creature and icy wind began blowing around them, as the hail fell, they gradually became bigger and thicker. The heavy [Ice Hail] pelted the creature, it roared in irritation before emitting a dark green mist, the stench coming off it grew stronger as the mist grew thicker. The green mist spread across the [Ice Storm] domain and began disrupting its environmental influence. Pascal and the rest could feel a moist heat covering them, the mist also made their eyes sting and watery.
"[Snowstorm]!" But Veronica didn't back down, instead she used a stronger version of [Ice Storm]. Thick clouds reappeared in the sky and began raining down snow, that plus the frigid wind brought back the cold and overrode the steamy mist.
The creature roared in anger and took daunting steps forward, but he didn't reach far before its mouth was pelted with [Exploding Arrows]. Its headless neck flailed comically as it stumbled backwards, the earth rose next to its leg, tripping it, then its body got squashed by Henry's [Space Press].
But that didn't kill it, and they knew it. The creature got back to its feet and its body became plump again, it raised its arms and they convulsed before splitting into numerous ribbons. In a flash the ribbons elongated and attacked Pascal and the rest from different angles.
"Careful!" Pascal yelled, knocking away a ribbon. The rest moved accordingly. Mary was the fastest, dodging numerous ribbons with [Quick Steps], Goerge rose five earth walls in front of him, the ribbons tore through three before stopping. Henry warped the space around him, causing the ribbons to miss, David teleported behind George and shrugged after being glared at. Veronica was in her elemental zone, and with a thought froze the ribbons in ice. But the ribbons didn't freeze completely and were advancing forward bit by bit, the power of the creature seemed to be her nemesis.
[You have received the High Priestess Blessing!]
A shower of golden light fell on Pascal and the rest, the lights conjoined into tiny clumps and floated around them like dancing fairies. They could feel their magic power strengthen and replenish at a fast rate. After that a huge ball of Dragon Flame landed on the creature, setting it ablaze. The creature shrieked and recalled its ribbons back to its body, it then secreted a liquid out of its body that doused out the flames.
The creature's body convulsed once more, thick balls of sludge detached from its body and floated around it. The balls glowed green and menacing, and although they were taken from its body the creature's form stayed exactly the same.
"David, footholds!" Mary jumped high, then used [Air Step] to jump higher, then she landed on the [Forcefield] David had created for her. From there, she began bombarding the creature with [Exploding Arrows], with Sarah's enhancement her arrows packed a stronger force. The creature growled and began sending the green balls at Mary, but Mary didn't stay in one place. David had created many footholds for her, and even when they were destroyed, he would just make more.
After Mary had successfully drawn the creature's attention, the others attacked. Veronica used [Unstable Frost], a frost ball appeared in her palm and she threw it at the creature, it sailed across the air like a blue comet and hit it squarely on the chest. The creature was covered in an explosion of frost that grew with every passing moment, it tried to melt it but this was where the [Snowstorm] showed its true effect. The skill [Snowstorm] worked better when it was able to gather enough frost and snow. The coldness it had gathered further strengthened the growing frost.
The creature used its brute strength to break some parts of the ice but it just grew back, Mary didn't let it rest shot an arrow straight to its flailing neck. When the arrow hit its neck, the creature let out an ungodly shriek, its screech was so loud it was basically a sound attack that made everyone disoriented. Seeing this, David quickly covered the creature with numerous [Forcefields], effectively stopping the sound waves from reaching them. But the vibrations from the sound were chipping away the ice on its body at a fast rate, and soon it was able to break its arms free.
It stopped screaming and began attacking the ice on its chest, it was reaching closer to the source of the frost which was the frost ball that Veronica threw at it.
"David, bring down the forcefields!" Sarah said, and at the same time Pascal spoke to Henry, "Henry, get me close, quickly!" he said.
Before the creature could grab the source of the frost, Sarah cast [Divine Shackles] on it. Golden chains bound its neck and arms, then nailed themselves to the ground behind it. No matter how hard the creature pulled or stretched it couldn't release itself, at least not quickly.
Just then, Henry and Pascal came out of a spatial passage that opened right beside the creature, and without missing a beat Pascal plunged his sword into its side.
"[Divine Illumination]!" Pascal said. The light from his attack flooded in the creature uncontrollably, from the creature's opened mouth a bright light shot out, its entire body shook and vibrated before ballooning. Pascal roared lowly as he unloaded his entire magic power into the creature, as he used his skill, he suddenly felt the urge to say something.
So he spoke, "In the name of the God of Origins, I banish you from this realm!"
Then, with an aggrieved roar, the creature exploded. The light that its body fought so hard to contain ripped its body to pieces, then burnt those pieces into oblivion.
Pascal stopped the skill and huffed, the snow around him had melted and evaporated because of the heat of the light. Henry and the rest walked up to him with smiles, George ran towards him and sighed in contention, "Thank god, it was becoming unbearably cold." He turned his head to glare at Veronica, "Shouldn't you stop your skill already, the monster's gone."
"I've done that already." Veronica rolled her eyes.
"What about him?" Sarah said after she floated down.
They all followed her gaze to see a kneeling corpse not too far from them, they were quite surprised to see it but were more shocked when they realized that it was still breathing.
"Has he become an undead?" Sarah asked.
"No." Pascal said, "No I don't think he dead yet."
"So… what do we do with him? Do we just wait for him to die – huh? Henry?" George looked at Henry who walked by him, but Henry didn't respond, he just stared at the man menacingly.
When he arrived with the rest Henry had noticed the man, but it wasn't after seeing the golden Skeleton Dragon did he then realize that he was the same man who had killed Jolene. As he got closer to the man his eye lids trembled, then opened.
With great effort, Logan opened his eyes, and as he did his eyelids peeled off and fell to the ground. The sunlight stung his eyes and it took a while for him to get used to the light. When he did, he saw that he was surrounded by children, but didn't see Al'athurus. He realized then that it had been destroyed, and he had finally, thoroughly lost. He had been defeated by mere children.
He looked at the boy who was walking towards him with eyes filled with murder and knew what was going to happen next, so, with the little bit of strength he had left, he removed the bag from his back and dropped it to the side. As he moved, his skin fell off, and when he dropped the bag down his left arm snapped and fell to the ground.
Logan felt anything but peace, his body was too weak to hold his emotions and he swayed.
Everyone watched with horror as Henry waved his hand, and sliced Logan in half.