After descending several more floors and fighting through a literal army of undead, I could feel something incredibly powerful nearby.
The tunnels we were currently walking through had a dark red aesthetic to them.
The lanterns on the walls had an eerie glow in the dim light.
Eventually Akari and I, along with my small-but-potent army of undead, approached a set of massive double doors.
I could feel a vast amount of magic behind them...
Akari also looked somewhat afraid. The compass was leading us straight to these very doors.
Somewhere on the other side, Isabella was being held... And the lich, Nevarius, was likely there as well.
I prepared myself for battle and kicked the doors as hard as I could.
They flew open and I walked straight into the massive room.
What I saw was quite astonishing.
The room was enormous. There were strange carvings all along the walls everywhere.
I could see lights shining from the walls, ceiling, and floor to keep the room lit perfectly.
There was a set of two ornate thrones in the back of the room and Isabella sat on one of them.
She had her hands out and a dark blue orb floated between them. She was concentrating on it from what I could tell. There was a translucent barrier all around her. It appeared that she was trapped inside of it, on top of wearing a white dress...
Just near the throne, I could see a hooded figure holding a strange lantern.
"NEVARIUS!!!" I yelled angrily.
He looked over at me.
I could see his bony face and glowing cyan eyes. One of them blazed far brighter than the other.
"You...? No...you need to leave right now," Nevarius said.
"I'll leave after I'm finished dealing with you and getting my wife back!" I said.
There she is! I have to save her! Isabella...please be okay!
"No. The situation has changed. I have no quarrel with you. Begone!" he said.
"Fine then. Give me Isabella and I'll consider sparing you."
Isabella! I'm here for you!
"That is not possible." Nevarius said.
Not possible...? Then...I'll kill you. I'll erase you!
"If you won't give her back...then I have to kill you. I'll kill everyone if I have to...I'll burn everything to the ground!" I said.
I stepped forward and changed Vengeance into a pair of bladed shotguns.
Nevarius drfted over in front of Isabella to protect her. His lantern began glowing more brightly.
"I do not wish to fight you, Mizik. Perhaps we can avoid conflict?" He said.
"If you wanted to avoid conflict, maybe you should give me a reason not to kill you. You've done nothing but attack us and play with our minds since we arrived here. Lastly, you abducted my wife, you sick bastard!" I said angrily.
I could almost feel my blood boiling as I glared at this monster.
At the same time, my head was pounding...
All I could think about was killing everything in this abominable mansion and burning it to the ground.
"If you wish to fight, then so be it! I am Aldaril Nevarius, Avatar of Death. I will be your undoing!"
"Mizik Iratus, Prince of Albatross in Avernia, Enforcer seat 5. The Warmage. And also...YOUR EXECUTIONER!" I said.
"Umm...Mizik? I think I'll sit this one out... I'll see if I can't get Isabella free, okay?" Akari said.
"Do what you have to do, Akari. I'll handle this Aldaril guy."
Akari disappeared in a flash of pale light and Aldaril raised his lantern. It changed shape to one that focuses all of the light through a hole in the front. A bullseye lantern.
My Warlord reflexes kicked in and I dodged to the side as it flashed.
The ground I had been standing on was enveloped in a twisted and cursed light.
I shot straight towards Aldaril and fired both weapons simultaneously. Aldarill raised a magic barrier and blocked them.
Then his lantern changed shape again to one that was open on all sides. It flashed and I was blown backward.
What the hell is that thing!?
Aldaril raised his lantern and I heard a chime sound in my ears. I started feeling tired...
"You will sleep...then all will be made clear," he said.
"Like hell..." I said.
I pointed my shotguns at Aldaril and all of my undead began attacking in rapid succession.
"Really? Undead? Do you actually think that will work on me!?"
Truthfully, I was well aware that they would have little to no effect at all. But they made for a great distraction.
And while Aldaril was dodging their attacks, I summoned a black skeletal dragon.
It rose slowly from the ground with a glowing haze surrounding its charred bones. Its eyes glowed with a red and vengeful hatred.
It spread out its bony wings.
"GRRRRROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!!"
"That's...unexpected... Are you also a lich? Mortals shouldn't be able to summon that..." Aldaril said as he looked on.
Without answering his question, I pointed my shotguns at him and changed them to a couple of plasma blasters.
"FUSILLADE!!! BLAST BARRAGE!!!" I shouted.
My two skills combined together to send a barrage of explosive plasma bolts straight at him.
At the same time, my dragon began breathing spectral flames at him.
Aldaril tried to raise another barrier, but it was destroyed immediately. He took heavy damage from the attacks and teleported into the air above.
It seemed like he could melt into the shadows and place himself wherever he wanted.
"FINE THEN!!! IF YOU WANT UNDEAD, I'LL GIVE THEM TO YOU!!!" Aldaril shouted.
His lantern hovered out from his body and he held his hands out. He raised them up and the ground began shaking beneath my feet.
Suddenly, an army of skeletal knights began rising from the shadows on the ground. Most of them were likely to be at least death knights.
I stomped my foot and covered the ground in ice beneath all of their feet... Freezing them in place. Then I raised my blasters and icicles shot up from beneath all of the knights...skewering them all.
"Hmm...your magical ability is impressive. But still, you will fall here," Aldaril said.
"We'll see about that, won't we!?" I said angrily.
Kill him...I'LL KILL HIM!!! I'LL KILL THEM ALL!!! HOW DARE YOU HARM ISABELLA!!!!
I ordered my undead to attack again and Aldaril teleported back to the ground.
His lantern flashed and all of the ice was blown away in a shockwave... At the same time, every one of my undead soldiers crumbled to dust...
His lantern flashed again and hundreds of spectral fireballs appeared all around him...just before flying straight at me.
It was too much to dodge. Many of them hit me and I was covered in burns.
Before he could summon another volley, I changed my weapons back into shotguns and leaped towards Aldaril.
"VENGEANCE DEATH CURSE!!! WRATH!!!" I shouted.
I pulled the triggers and fired out the lethal purple haze that impacted him instantly.
Aldaril was stunned for a moment as he looked at his hands.
At the same time, I was filled with rage and my combat prowess greatly increased.
"What is this...? Some kind of curse!?" He said.
He didn't notice that I had already gotten too close.
I slashed rapidly at him and inflicted several deep scratches on his body.
"FLAMES OF RAGE!!!" I shouted.
My shotguns were enveloped in intense emerald flames that repeatedly burned Aldaril all over his body.
Before had could send me away with his cursed lantern, I pulled the triggers and shot him at point-blank while also sending a blast of explosive emerald flames into his face.
He was sent flying back and slammed into the ground at the foot of the throne.
Then I saw Isabella open her eyes.
She looked down at Aldaril. She seemed worried...
Then she looked at me and just stared in confusion.
"ISABELLA!!! I'M HERE TO GET YOU!!!" I shouted.
She shook her head and mouthed something at me...but I couldn't hear her...
Did that bastard already take her...? No...NO! I'LL DESTROY HIM!!!
The thought of it filled me with even more rage.
I felt a dark, all-consuming anger boil up within me as I gritted my teeth at Aldaril.
He slowly stood up and shook himself off.
"Alright. I was hoping to not have to use this, but it seems conventional methods won't be effective against someone like you," Aldaril said.
Aldaril held his hands out in front of him and his lantern levitated in place.
It began to shine brightly just before changing shape again.
This time, It formed a spear instead of a different type of lantern.
"THANATOS! I, THE AVATAR OF DEATH, COMMAND YOU TO LEND ME YOUR FULL POWER!!! BECOME THE SPEAR THAT COMMANDS THE DEAD!!!" He said.
Pure magical energy exploded all around him as he flew close to the ground.
The spear he held in his hand was dark gray with a pitch-black blade.
It had engravings on it that glowed intensely and was adorned with skulls.
There were four small skulls surrounding the blade at its base... All with slots in their eyes. The shaft was simple and had the slight decorative appearance of bones interlocking..
I could see a virulent miasma faintly wrapping around the blade of that spear.
I knew for a fact that if it touched me, it would do serious damage...
KILL THEM ALL!!!! BURN IT DOWN!!!!
He raised his spear as several clusters of shadowy spikes appeared around him and launched themselves at me.
I jumped backward to dodge and instinctively spun in the air to catch his blade as one of the shadows manifested into Aldaril.
From what I could tell, it also increased the amount of armor he had on his body.
Aldaril rapidly tried to stab me with his spear, but I dodged his attacks easily.
As soon as I found a rhythm, I began attacking with my shotgun blasts in between his strikes.
Aldaril drew back quickly and stabbed his spear into the floor. It channeled energy into the ground as a wave of bone spikes and gnashing teeth erupted towards me.
At the same time, I saw Aldaril breathe in deeply and then exhale.
There was a cold chill in the air and a dark green haze enveloped the area.
I backed further away because I knew it was poison.
I also glanced at Isabella and she looked concerned.
Dammit! I'll save you! I just have to kill him!!!
I took a moment to focus my Archmage Aspect and Aldaril ceased his assault.
"Giving up? Good. I'll put you to sleep then!" He said angrily.
I took a deep breath and gazed quickly into the chasm of magic.
I needed something to help me generate large amounts of magic all at the same time...
I found a spell to forcefully absorb all of the magic in the surrounding area...at the cost of a lot of my own health...
It would put me near deaths door, but I had no other choice.
I made the spell and activated it.
"ARCANE VOID!!!" I shouted.
Immediately, I felt all of the magic in the surrounding area pouring into my body.
Aldaril fell to the ground as his magic was completely depleted. At the same time, his spear returned to its lantern form.
"WHAT!? WHAT IS THIS!?" Aldaril shouted.
I felt searing pain throughout my body as the magic flooded into me.
I also began charging another spell...
I planned to focus an ether strike into Aldaril's specific location. I didn't want to cause collateral damage, so I would have to narrowly channel it into him through a longer period of time.
I wasn't sure if I could do this, but...I didn't think Exterminatus would kill him either.
Immediately, the barrier holding Isabella hostage fell and I saw Akari standing next to it. She had been trying to break it while remaining invisible.
The dark blue orb she was focusing on shook and she transferred it to her inventory as she stood up and looked over at me.
"MIZIK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" She shouted.
SAVING YOU, DAMMIT!
I could detect a hint of annoyance in her voice.
I began focusing all of the magic I had gathered and manifested several complex magic circles.
Once I had enough to shoot, I directed a powerful, yet smaller blast of energy above the helpless Aldaril.
"ETHER STREAM!!!" I shouted.
I brought down an intense beam of pure magical energy from the ceiling at Aldaril.
It impacted something hard and I continued the channel for a few seconds.
Moments later, I dropped to one knee.
Isabella was standing there with her shield up...and Aldaril was unharmed.
"Damn it all..." I said helplessly.
Isabella stood ready to defend Aldaril.
"Isabella...? Why...?" I asked.
I felt my hope leave me...
She simply looked on at me sadly.
"Please...don't hurt him! He isn't our enemy!" She said