At the other side of the vast garden, the spiky-haired warrior backpedaled as he used his own halberd to guard against rapid strikes incoming from the hostile player in front of him. Dressed in all-black fabric, with only their blue eyes uncovered, they wielded a crimson-feathered shortsword, engulfed in flames, continuing to attack relentlessly.
Vangrave deflected the incoming strike, using his left leg to kick against the swordsman's abdomen to knock him back.
"C'mon, ya' fuckin' cowards!" Vangrave shouted.
Another player came in from the left, rushing him with a spear, "Hyraaaah–!"
The spear-user stepped in with a supernatural dash, blitzing by as the warrior found the edge of the weapon slashing against his unprotected side.
"Damnit–!" Vangrave growled in pain.
'The pain sensors–they're turned on?! When the hell did that happen?!' The warrior-class player thought.
Pushing through the unexpected pain that flooded his body, the warrior stomped down with mighty force, knocking the two players near him back.
["Domain of War"]
A rigged, spiky sphere of scarlet light surrounded Vangrave as he held his halberd in both hands, readied in a stance of his own.
"Come and get me!" Vangrave provoked with a sharp yell.
The spear user, a man with pale skin dressed in abundant, black fabric called out in response with a laugh, "Like hell! We're not stupid, that barrier around you will shred us!"
"Yeah, dumbass! You think we're bots?!" The player with the flaming shortsword yelled.
Though the warrior hoped the two players who ambushed him would fall for the trick, it's not like he expected them to. It wasn't an optimal situation; Vangrave was encircled by the two players, both of whom he knew were a similar level to himself.
'That last attack I took wiped out half of my health. Bastard nailed me with a skill when I had no defenses up—this ain't good, but…' Vangrave thought.
"…This is perfect," he said with a smile, displaying his sharp teeth.
That hesitation he created; the space given to him by the cautious players who attacked him—it was the opening he was waiting for.
Without warning, the spiky-haired man lunged across the scarlet tiles like an apex predator with its sights set on prey. The sudden burst of speed took the player with the flame-enchanted sword by surprise, who stumbled back without raising his weapon.
"What the–he's not backing down!" The swordsman cried out.
Vangrave yelled with a smile, leaping up as he reared his halberd back, "The hell I am!"
["Serpent's Kiss of Death"]
A blackened construct of a snake manifested, coiling around the right arm of the warrior before wrapping around his halberd. As he swung it downward upon the swordsman, its fangs lashed out, latching onto the player's forehead.
"Aegh–!" The player screamed, dropping his sword as the bite of the snake infused black blood into his veins.
"Samuel!" The spear-user called out, rushing over.
It was too late for any aid as the swordsman–"Samuel"--shattered into particles after receiving the singular attack.
["Serpent's Kiss of Death": A PVP-only skill. An attack-enhancement skill that when an attack should bring the enemy down to 30% of their HP or lower, it will provide an instant-kill effect.]
Vangrave landed back down with a smirk, catching his breath as he hunched over while wielding his halberd like a beast looming over the spoils of the hunt.
"Always a fuckin' thrill! Crushing a player…Can't get enough of it!" Vangrave claimed as he shot his gaze up at the partner of the slain swordsman.
The spear user raised his weapon, gulping as he called out, "Y-you got lucky, that's all! If you didn't get a critical hit, Samuel wouldn't have gone down like that, so don't get cocky!"
"Are ya an idiot, or what?"
"Huh…?" The spear-user responded.
Vangrave smirked as he flipped his bone-forged halberd around, causing the cape descending from his shoulders to flutter among the crimson flowers, "That first attack you got me with put me just a sliver below half my health."
"Yeah, what about it?!"
"Ever heard of the skill [Berserker Trance]?" Vangrave asked slyly.
The mention of the ability seemed to finally connect the dots in the head of the spear user, who looked as if he had seen a ghost as his complexion became pale as a ghost.
"That's right. Once I'm below half health, all of my attacks become critical hits!" Vangrave revealed, pointing the end of his halberd at his foe.
"You…Nobody specks into that! Playing at low health–that's not viable in Abyss!" The spear-wielding player retorted.
The warrior laughed at the remark, "Not viable? Your friend must think it is!"
Like a starved beast, the spiky-haired man dashed forward while remaining low to the ground; moving almost sloppily if about to fall over, running from one side to the other–it confused the enemy player.
As a result of the unique skill—[Berserker Trance]—a side-effect occurred; the mind of Vangrave was flooded with serotonin, resulting in an almost carefree, wild style manifesting itself.
The enemy player began backing away, wrapped in fearful thoughts, 'A single attack–he wiped Samuel out in one hit. If he lands an attack on me like that, I'll be eliminated too…!'
"—S-screw this!" The spear-wielding player nervously yelled as he began sprinting in the opposite direction.
"Come here! Let me turn you into EXP in front of the whole world!" Vangrave shouted.
–
The crimson garden had turned into a battlefield of its own; Zero followed the sounds of battle in hopes of reuniting with his companion, traversing the blinding veil of twisted flowers. A march of rapid steps and stomps of boots resounded against his ears, coming from every angle as he brought himself to a stop.
"--" He stayed still, glancing around.
Though he had yet to see a single player through the abundance of scarlet flowers that occupied the courtyard of the domain, he knew full well he was already surrounded.
"...Twelve, no, fifteen…" Zero muttered to himself, counting as he closed his eyes, focusing on his enhanced sense of hearing.
Using his index finger to point around as he countered, the parade of steps closed in as the darkly-dressed members of the hostile guild came in from the nearby hallways.
"Fifteen, this might actually be a good opportunity to test my abilities," Zero remarked quietly to himself with a smile as he rubbed his chin.
Standing across from him was a woman with pale skin and black-and-silver hair that ended in a braid, which cascaded down her left shoulder. She wore black lipstick, looking at him with her platinum irises with a sly smile of her own.
"You're surrounded, Zero," the woman said, folding her arms over her respectably plump chest, standing with the other members that enclosed around the singular player.
["Sleuth"]
[Yumeko] [Level: 94] [Class: Blade Bard] [Affiliation: Black Moon Assassins]