As the priest lowered his staff, the ball of fire slowly descended, its intense heat growing more oppressive with every passing moment. Time seemed to stretch out for Amukelo. He lay there, helpless, his broken body barely able to move. In his mind, a vision of Pao emerged, her figure slowly fading into a cloud. Her voice, gentle and kind, echoed in his mind.
"Amukelo... you can't come yet..." she said, her voice distant, yet so familiar. "You still have things to do... do you remember what you wanted to do all along?"
Amukelo's heart ached as he reached out for her, his mind screaming. "Wait... Pao... don't leave me... What do you mean? What do I have to do?" Desperation gripped him, his mind racing, trying to grasp onto her fading presence. He didn't understand, but her words triggered something deep within him, stirring memories buried under layers of pain and exhaustion.
Then, like a thunderclap, the memory of Neclord came flooding back—the cruel smirk, the mocking laughter, the hatred and rage that burned in Amukelo's heart when he faced him. That monstrous man, the one responsible for everything. The one he swore to kill. The one he needed to kill.
"I can't die here," Amukelo yelled, his voice hoarse, the fireball still looming above him. "I have to kill him! I can't die until Neclord breathes his last breath!"
He struggled to push himself up, gritting his teeth, his muscles trembling with effort. But his body refused to obey him, too battered, too broken. He glanced up, the inferno descending upon him, and for a brief moment, he thought it was truly the end.
But just as the death seemed inevitable, a gentle yet powerful wind swept over his body, and in an instant, Amukelo was no longer where he had been lying moments before. His body shot through the air with incredible speed, and he landed softly beside Eliss, who was standing nearby with her hands glowing faintly. Just as Amukelo escaped, the fireball crashed down, creating a violent, swirling sphere of flame where he had been. The sheer intensity of the heat left a raging inferno in its wake, reducing everything in its immediate path to ash.
The priest, his smug grin gone, looked toward where Amukelo had landed, his face twisted with fury. "You will not escape me!" he shouted, his voice panicked, unhinged. Without hesitation, he unleashed a torrent of spells—fireballs, dark energy blasts, earthen spikes, and more. It was an endless assault, each spell tearing through the air with deadly intent.
Before the deadly barrage could reach them, Eliss raised her hands. A shimmering magical sphere enveloped them, a protective barrier against the priest's unrelenting fury. The spells struck the sphere, exploding harmlessly against its surface, but the strain of maintaining the barrier was clear on Eliss's face. Her hand glowed with a soft green light, her brows furrowed in concentration.
As the torrent of spells continued to batter the protective sphere, Eliss began to chant softly, holding the sphere with one hand, and casting with the second. A gentle warmth spread through Amukelo's body, and he felt his strength slowly returning. The pain in his limbs dulled, his vision cleared, and his breathing steadied. Eliss had cast a healing spell, and though it wasn't enough to fully restore him, it gave him the strength to stand once more.
"Can you fight?" Eliss asked, her voice trembling slightly from the effort of maintaining the barrier.
Amukelo nodded, his voice rough but determined. "Y-Yes... thank you."
He rose to his feet, his body still aching but functional. He glanced at the furious assault raging outside the sphere—the fireballs, the earth spikes, the blasts of dark magic crashing against Eliss's protective shield. It was clear the priest was throwing everything he had at them, but Amukelo knew that it wouldn't last forever.
"How long will this hold?" Amukelo asked, his eyes never leaving the onslaught outside.
Eliss shook her head, her face pale from the strain. "Not long. A protective sphere like this drains an enormous amount of mana to sustain. But..." she paused, her eyes narrowing as she focused on the priest's relentless attacks, "he can't keep this up either. He'll have to stop for at least a moment. And when he does, we'll have our chance."
Amukelo and Eliss stood tense within the shimmering sphere, watching as cracks continued to form under the relentless barrage of spells. The magical shield flickered, struggling to hold under the immense pressure. Sweat dripped down Eliss's forehead, her breathing labored from the strain of sustaining the barrier for so long. Her hands trembled, but she kept the magic flowing, knowing that the moment the shield failed, they would be exposed to the full fury of the priest's spells.
Amukelo watched the cracks spreading across the surface of the shield, his mind racing. They had only moments left before it shattered completely. "How long can you hold it?" he asked, his voice steady despite the chaos outside.
Eliss's eyes remained fixed on the cracking sphere as she replied, "Not much longer… but he should be running out of mana soon too… I hope." She gritted her teeth, fighting to maintain control. "But… how much mana does he have? That's insane."
Amukelo could see the strain on her face. He knew their time was running out, and if they didn't act soon, it would all be over. Taking a deep breath, he made his decision. He walked toward the back of the sphere, positioning himself to minimize the impact of any blast that might break through. "I'm going to draw his attention," he said quietly, his tone resolute. "When he's focused on me, that's your chance. Finish him."
Eliss's eyes widened. "Wait, what are you doing? That's too dangerous—"
But before she could finish her sentence, Amukelo had already sprinted out of the protective barrier, avoiding the priests' deadly assault in an arc. The priest, still firing relentless waves of magic, wasn't sure whether his spells had killed them or not. A thick cloud of dust hung in the air from his barrage, obscuring his vision.
Then, out of the side of the swirling dust, the figure of Amukelo emerged, running toward him with purpose. His sword gleamed in the faint light as he cut through the air, his eyes locked on the priest.
The priest's expression twisted into one of shock and then pure rage. "YOU!!" he bellowed, directing his fury toward Amukelo. The relentless barrage of spells changed to faster, more precise attacks. He hurled fireballs, wind blades, and shadow bolts, each one aimed directly at Amukelo's path. Then the priest conjured a small army of imps to hinder Amukelo's advance.
The imps swarmed toward Amukelo, some darting toward Eliss and the remaining soldiers, others heading straight for him. Amukelo, undeterred, cut them down swiftly, his blade a blur as he sliced through the creatures with ease. But the sheer number of them slowed his progress. He dodged and weaved, evading the spells hurled at him by the priest, all while cutting through the waves of imps that sought to block his path.
Closer and closer, he fought his way toward the priest, the distance between them shrinking with every step. But as Amukelo closed in, the priest's lips curled into a sinister smile.
"You fool," the priest sneered. "You've fallen into my trap."
With a flick of his staff, a fiery whip lashed out from its tip, cracking through the air with terrifying speed. Amukelo instinctively raised his sword to block it, but the whip curved around his blade and struck him across the back. Pain exploded through his body as the whip left a deep, burning gash along his spine. He staggered, gritting his teeth against the agony, but he refused to fall. He pressed on, determined to reach the priest.
The imps continued to swarm him, their sharp claws slashing at his armor, as they overwhelmed him. The priest, confident in his victory, raised his hand once more, preparing to strike Amukelo down with another devastating blow. A twisted grin spread across his face as he relished the thought of his enemy writhing in pain.
Then, out of nowhere, the priest froze, his eyes widening in shock. He felt a sudden, sharp coldness piercing through his skull, followed by a torrent of stinging pain. Then an assault of water bullets rained down upon him from behind, each one hitting with the force of a hammer. The bullets tore through his body, ripping through flesh and bone in rapid succession. He gasped, the fireball he had been conjuring flickering out as his concentration shattered.
The priest fell to his knees, his blood mixing with the water that had pierced him. His eyes now showed only disbelief as his body collapsed to the ground, lifeless. His staff rolled from his hand, clattering onto the stone floor. His summoned imps and the demon vanished in an instant, their grotesque forms dissolving into thin air as if they had never existed.