The cavern echoed with the impact of each clash as Amukelo, his body battered and bruised, fought desperately against the Leviathan's relentless attacks. With each maneuver, the distance between survival and defeat narrowed alarmingly. The skeletal colossus, reveling in the challenge, seemed to grow more formidable with every strike, its movements both terrifyingly swift and brutally precise.
Amukelo's breaths came in ragged gasps, his focus laser-sharp as he parried a particularly vicious swipe. The series of attacks overwhelmed Amukelo. As another attack from Leviathan came, Amukelo sensed another attack from his side. He didn't have a choice and had to block both attacks with his swords. The force of the impact sent him reeling back, his boots scraping against the stony floor as he hit the stone wall again.
However, before the Leviathan capitalized on its advantage, it paused, turning its ghastly head towards Oxius and his followers with a menacing glare. "Do not dare to interrupt me," it bellowed, its voice echoing ominously through the vast chamber. "I have slumbered for millennia. Should you spoil my return, none shall escape my wrath." Oxius's group, struck by the raw power of the creature they had unleashed, nodded mutely, too terrified to respond.
This brief distraction provided Amukelo with a crucial moment to catch his breath and reassess his strategy. He knew he was outmatched in raw power, so he had to come up with another plan to defeat this walking disaster. He steadied himself, preparing for the next onslaught, but his injuries were taking their toll, slowing his reactions and clouding his judgment.
Leviathan assaulted him again with a series of attacks. This time due to another impact Amukelo dodges gave him less room to work with. Just as the Leviathan was about to deliver a finishing blow, the ground beneath it erupted without warning. A pillar of earth shot up, aiming to impale the beast. The Leviathan twisted away with astonishing agility, avoiding the attack by mere inches. But before it realized what had happened, a sudden explosion of flame engulfed its skull-like face, the heat intense enough to scorch the bone.
Following the fire, a torrent of water surged, coiling around the Leviathan's limbs like serpentine chains. Amukelo, still catching his breath, looked up to see Eliss standing with outstretched arms, her face set in a fierce expression of determination. Her aura was expansive, glowing with a fierce intensity as she channeled her magic with unprecedented speed and precision.
"Eliss!" Amukelo called out, relief and admiration flooding his voice. Despite her earlier fear, she was here, fighting alongside him with every ounce of her considerable power.
The Leviathan roared in frustration, struggling against the magical restraints. Its eyes burned with malice as it glared at Eliss, who continued to cast spell after spell, each one more potent than the last. Her focus was unyielding, her spells weaving around Amukelo to strike at the Leviathan, supporting him in regaining his footing.
As Eliss faced the Leviathan, her previous fear momentarily subsided, replaced by a fierce resolve that shone in her eyes. "We need to slay this monster," she declared, her voice steady and determined. "We can't let it destroy any more lives!" Her stance was firm, her magical energy crackling with intensity as she prepared to launch another barrage of spells.
The Leviathan, embodying the essence of envy, fixed its void-like, malevolent eyes on Eliss. It tilted its ghastly skull, the corners of its mouth twisting into a grotesque grin that sent chills down the spine of anyone who dared meet its gaze. "I remember you," it hissed, its voice echoing like the whisper of death. The air grew colder as it spoke, "But I don't remember from what."
Then, with a slow, menacing chuckle that resonated through the cavern, it continued, "Ah, yes. You were one of those frail beings trying to seal me away when I nearly freed myself last time. How delightful it is to see you again." Its laughter grew louder, filling the space with a sound as harrowing as the cries of the damned.
"I recall how you screamed, how you begged for mercy for your friends." The Leviathan's grin widened. "Oops... It seems it was all in vain. But can you really blame me? You were the one that left them for certain death. You left to safety as I was shredding their bodies. You left them. It's your fault. Hahaha..." Its words were like daggers, each syllable designed to cut through Eliss's courage and resurrect the horrors of her past.
Eliss's initial determination crumbled under the weight of the Leviathan's cruel taunts. The memories of that day—of her friends' screams, of her own helpless terror—flooded back, overwhelming her with grief and guilt. Tears welled up in her eyes, her body trembling as the Leviathan's laughter echoed around her.
From the sidelines, Amukelo, witnessing the sudden change in Eliss, shouted in an attempt to reach her through her despair. "Eliss, don't let him manipulate you!" he called out, his voice a beacon in the dark. "I'm certain you made the only logical decision back then. He's trying to break your spirit!"
But the Leviathan, reveling in the emotional turmoil he had stirred, prepared to strike. With a swift, fluid motion that belied the bulk of its skeletal frame, it lunged towards Eliss, who stood frozen in place, paralyzed by her resurfacing trauma.
As the monstrous form of the Leviathan surged forward, its tail whipping through the air and its claws poised to strike, the air was thick with tension. Eliss, caught in the grip of her past horrors, seemed lost to despair, her magical defenses momentarily forgotten in the face of her overwhelming fear.