The sound of footsteps echoed within a grand hall as a figure approached a black steel gate.
The figure had long, messy, unkempt black hair, a body free of scars, and a pair of azure eyes, as still as an untouched lake.
Amon still looked like a fresh seventeen-year-old, yet the momentum of each his steps was otherworldly.
Behind him, a single spear could be seen. Over the years, he had given up his three-spear style—mainly because he had learned martial arts from the ground up from a true master.
'Oh lord…an apple pie sounds like heaven right now.'
[Father, focus. We're this close to finishing.]
Ignoring Mordred's berating words, he continued to dream.
'Aiya, how strange it is to walk toward certain death…'
[Father!]
'What? Am I lying?'
He chuckled and, before he knew it, he was standing in front of the gates.
With a tap of his finger, the gates slammed open, and just as he expected, he saw three floating skulls in the middle of a grand hall, illuminated by a white orb.
"I knew it. He's always so predictable." Amon shook his head. "Could've made it more cinematic, no?" he spoke out loud.
Hearing no answer from the man of stone, he laughed and walked in.
Just like all those years ago, the skulls fused, and slowly, a skeleton of dark flames began to manifest.
Flames of emerald filled the Lich's eyes, and soon, its mind returned.
Seeing Amon's figure standing before her, she smiled. For her, it had merely been a second since she died on the first floor.
Seeing the twisted smile that bloomed on her face, Amon laughed.
"Oh lord. Back then, I thought you'd allowed me to win because of your good heart or maybe because living as a Lich was too much suffering. I came up with quite a few theories, and they all were more heroic than the last." He shook his head and sighed. "But to think you'd end up being a sadistic little Lich? Ah!"
He reached for his spear.
"You allowed me to kill you because you hoped I'd reach this floor so you could tear me apart with your full power, eh?"
A scythe of golden flames formed in the Lich's hands as she waved her other hand and summoned her army of undead.
This time, they entirely filled the hall and, terrifyingly enough, each exuded an aura no less fearsome than the monster Amon had faced on the previous floor, where he had nearly died.
Seeing this, he sucked in a cold breath, and despite his easy-going expression, he felt the pressure.
But strangely enough, despite being aware that this was a battle he was meant to lose, he smiled.
"Let me guess, my body was being primed as a vessel for that warlock fella, hm?"
The Lich began to cackle as she swung her hands and sent her armies charging forward.
"Haha!"
Not bothered by them, Amon jumped into the air and suddenly, a platform of atmospheric aether formed. Using it, he launched himself at her.
CLANK!
Sparks flew as Amelia, the Lich, parried Amon's cleave, breaking his defenses as she cackled and swung again, tearing a massive gash into his chest and sending him flying into the sea of undead, where they began to bite and claw at his flesh.
"Ah!"
With a low shout, Amon pushed them all away using his aether control, and with a wave of his hand, he cleared his surroundings, all around him decayed to nothingness.
"Dear! Won't you even talk to me?!" Amon teased as he shot at her once more, ignoring the warm blood trickling down his chest to cover his legs.
Amelia frowned at this and, without care, gathered a terrifying amount of chaotic aether within her hand before launching it at the incoming Amon.
BOOM!
A terrifying explosion occurred, a cloud of aether forming, but in the next instant, Amon soared out of it, all his skin burned off.
Despite this, he laughed and smiled just as much as he arrived before her and swung down, barely scratching one of Amelia's ribs of fire.
With a swipe of her hand, she sent him crashing into one of the hall's walls.
BANG!
Upon impact, Amon immediately soared back toward her, his skin already regrown.
Amelia was shocked by this, causing her focus to falter for just a moment, allowing Amon's cleave to come crashing down onto her skull.
CRACK!
"Haha-"
Just as he began to laugh once more, a bony fist dug into his gut and sent him flying again.
Rage flickered within Amelia's pupils of fire as a wand appeared in her other hand.
Instantly, dozens of spell circles formed, and ruthlessly, she poured her aether into them, sending a wave of elemental attacks toward Amon.
BANG! BOOM!
She screamed out in rage as she sent more and more spells toward him.
To Liches, one's skull was their most prized and intimate part. To touch it without consent was an insult and transgression of the highest level, and to crack it, let alone shatter it, was a form of blasphemy that had no name.
This was the second time Amon had managed to crack her skull.
"DIE!"
BOOOOOOOM!
Aether chaotically coalesced into runes and spells as an endless cacophony of explosions echoed, everything in Amelia's path being turned to ashes.
Despite this, the echo of a carefree laugh sounded, and just like before, Amon soared out of the cloud of explosions, his previously tranquil gaze a reflection of pure madness as he swung.
Amelia's scythe moved, attempting to parry the coming attack, but Amon's stance suddenly shifted, and a platform appeared below his feet. Using it as a launching point, he jumped and front-flipped, landing behind her as he then moved to sweep her leg.
"You-"
Her balance broke, and without being able to do anything, she fell into his rising knee.
CRACK!
"BASTARD!"
"Hahaha!"