"What's wrong? Not going to help your friend? That's pretty messed up, if you ask me," Zero said, looking towards the trembling players to the left of the leader, a pair of black-cloaked mages.
The coaxing words seemed to penetrate the veil of fear around the duo mages of the group.
["Sleuth"]
[Killawot] [Level: 87] [Class: Black Mage] [Affiliation: Black Moon Assassins]
[Desm0nd] [Level: 89] [Class: Black Mage] [Affiliation: Black Moon Assassins]
Each was a respectable level, enough for Zero to recognize. The two mages finally took action, finally responding by raising their mystical staffs in unison.
["Spite of The Divine!"] ["Emerald Bullet Storm of Fire"]
Each of the mages shouted out their incantations before their commands flourished into magecraft, prompting Zero to react as he looked up: a miniature stormcloud was created just below the ceiling of the garden.
'Spite of The Divine–that's an infamous spell used in PvP. It has auto-tracking and is considered too fast to dodge. It also packs a hell of a punch if the player is built right. "Emerald Bullet Storm of Fire"--that's a nasty one. I need to create a debuff-immunity barrier; don't want to risk what happens if one of those hits,' Zero tactically thought.
As thunder roared from the mystical, black cloud, the player below quickly activated a skill of his own as his shoulders slumped as if he lost consciousness while standing.
"Strike!" The hooded mage on the left with shining, amethyst eyes commanded, activating the storming spell.
A quick succession of lightning bolts began to rain down in tandem with the other mages' spell as emerald fireballs shot forward with wind-breaking speed.
It was a two-front attack, combining an overwhelming quantity of attacks with their naturally fast strikes, yet—the lonesome player moved his body with his arms hanging limp, avoiding the touch of the erratic bolt.
["Agility Burst EX"] ["Autonomous Evasion"]
"He dodged it–?" Killawot, the lightning-wielding mage expressed in disbelief.
The compression of the air; the sharpness of the lightning as sparks danced in the air–it electrified the solo player's senses as his body continued to automatically move its way out of the repeated attacks.
A burst of three, bright-green fireballs shot towards Zero, forcing him to contort his body as he jumped up, turning sideways as he flipped to avoid being caught.
'That's four now. There's seven total from one casting,' Zero counted.
The gloomy cloud above rumbled as it flashed; the player landed on both of his hands, using his upper body strength to push himself out of the way as another bolt crashed down.
From behind the guild members who had yet to surrender, the disheartened leader watched as the unison attack from the mages continued, though not a single attack yet landing on Zero.
Yumeko slowly picked herself up, adjusting her black-fabric skirt as she lifted her weapon, allowing the microphone to briefly brush against her lips.
The bandana-wearing player beside her noticed as his expression lit up, "Miss Yumeko…? Are you–"
Without replying directly, Yumeko sucked a breath of oxygen into her lungs, puffing her chest out before shouting into her microphone-sword, "Shine bright and strike my enemies down, my Moons—!"
The motivating yell echoed out, bursting with amplified volume as a shock wave that rippled through the crimson garden. It was as if a concert was born there on the spot; the once dreary, eerily silent courtyard was suddenly overflowing with theatrics as black-and-purple roses blossomed into the air. Vibrant sparks fluttered, flourishing and encircling the remaining members of the guild.
The duo mages of the Black Moon Assassins were caressed by the bard's blessing, their hoods knocked away by the harmony in the wind; the eyes of the mages sparkled, their irises turned into stars.
"I feel it–!"
"This is it–! Miss Yumeko's gift…!"
Zero sensed it in that moment, activating ["Ultimate Sleuth"] to confirm it with his own two eyes as he looked at the mages after flipping away from another combination of lightning strikes and fireballs.
[MAG: 45,000]
[MAG: 47,000]
The stats of the mages skyrocketed as the very nature of their spells changed entirely. Zero looked up as he witnessed the cloud from the active spell expand, roaring with increased intensity before–
ZAP–ZAP–ZAP–ZAP–ZAP
The agility of the solo player was put to the test as an onslaught of azure lightning bolts crashed down at the same time, consecutively, all curving towards him. Like meteors piercing through the sky, the once small, emerald fireballs became large and ferocious, burrowing towards Zero as the air quickly heated up.
"Shield!" Zero called out, holding his hand in front of him.
A stygian barrier manifested before him just in time as the fireball crashed into it, exploding into vibrant, green fireworks.
"Hyrah!"
–Defending against the magical attacks, Zero found himself pressed by the bandana-wearing player with gauntlets, who slammed his fist towards him. The wild punch from the short, but muscle-bound player was coated in a blazing-red aura, howling with strength.
["Red Hot Fist"]
Zero raised one arm to block the incoming strike, relying solely on his base defense stat to endure it.
[HP: -5450] [29550/35000]
["Expel Force"]
Using the quick-release skill, an unseen force boomed from his body, knocking the melee-player back.
'A pugilist? He's stacked with buffs–that guild leader is becoming problematic,' Zero thought.
Just as Zero freed himself from the offense of the close-range striker, another lightning bolt touched down, striking him directly in the back with a glow of azure.
[HP: -8500] [21550/35000]
"That one landed!"
The fire-wielding mage pumped his staff into the air excitedly as his cerulean eyes dazzled with belief, "It hurt him for sure! We can do this!"
From afar, the drones streamed it all; the battle was broadcast to countless phones, televisions, and computers across the outside world.
"Damn, is Zero about to bite it already? That's disappointing," a student remarked while walking on the sidewalk.
"I placed two bands on this guy! He better not fuckin' croak this early!" A disgruntled man waved his phone around in frustration.
However, rather than look pressed by the successful attacks launched against himself, Zero instead only looked determined; there was no worry placed in his eyes. A green flush of energy coated his body as his health bar refilled itself smoothly.
[HP: 35000/35000]
[Regeneration EX expired.]
Zero planted his blade into the ground, bringing both of his hands together before spreading them, looking towards the mages, "Want to see what real spells look like?"
"Wha–?"
"Hurry up! Start casting again!" The fire-wielding mage hurriedly said, moving his staff.
—Their reaction was too late as Zero had already began casting his counterattack:
["Dogma of The Void"]