Silver Blade squinted her eyes staring at the whirlpool surrounding Reylar. With each puppet absorbed it grew higher and higher, emitting a power which began to shake the room.
"Is the skill not over yet?"
"What evil is brewing over there?"
"This skill looks quite fierce…"
Everyone felt the air getting heavy.
Suddenly dust fell from the ceiling. Watchful Eye frowned as his instincts tingled, directing his gaze upwards.
"Guys, the ceiling is breaking!"
Just as the tall man spoke, irregular outlines appeared on the floor. With their experience so far, the party understood that those marked danger.
But it was still difficult to react quickly.
A rumble echoed through the room as large bricks, as tall as a dwarf's height, crashed from the ceiling.
The party was forced to scatter, some throwing their bodies to the floor in an effort to evade.
"Ouh!"
Fortune groaned as a boulder landed on her leg. Fortunately, the game allowed her to pull her leg out, but the damage was considerable.
[-120!]
A few seconds later the room stabilized. The party members let out sighs of relive. But suddenly Silver Blade spoke in an anxious voice:
"Guys, the boss is not done yet! Watch out!"
"Hide behind the boulders!", advised Liam hastily.
At this moment the whirlpool surrounding Reylar suddenly exploded. Black liquid splashed in all directions.
Most of the party took cover behind one of the boulders. But Bloody Edge had dodged too hastily earlier. He was too far from the boulders, getting hit directly.
[Player Bloody Edge has died!]
"So quick?"
"My friend, you were too young to die!"
The party didn't harp long on the thief's death as Reylar came into view again, panting heavily. A quick check showed that he was in a weakened state.
"Great! Let's attack!"
Moving rapidly, the party got in two rounds of attacks, taking almost one thousand HP.
When Reylar recovered, his eyes contained an ever-increasing coldness, staring at the party with hatred.
"I see clearly now! You can't understand my aspirations! You don't comprehend the power of light and darkness!"
The nephilim spoke with a twisted voice, his spear swinging at Radiant Shield.
[-76!]
Only a moment later he waved his other hand. Silver Blade recognized this move, noticing the dark liquid separating from Reylar's palm.
But Radiant Shield stood too close. The two tanks couldn't change places in time, forcing Radiant Shield to suffer.
[-50!] x8
Balm drew a sharp breath as she watched her tank losing HP at an alarming rate. She hastily casted another [Heal].
Radiant Shield wiped the sweat from his forehead after being back at full health.
A few more seconds passed before Reylar slammed his saber onto the floor, causing a shockwave which pushed everyone back, unable to resist.
"Revel in the beauty of darkness!"
As the nephilim spoke, the black color on his body wiggled, showing signs of growing along his white wing, but not yet succeeding.
Meanwhile, the party was forced to dodge again as patches of black liquid were attracted back to Reylar.
Multiple people were hit unprepared. Quickstep and Watchful Eye lost huge chunks of HP.
[Player Cyclone died.]
[Player Silent Acacia died.]
"What? Why so suddenly?"
"Babe…"
The party was shocked as they lost two strong damage dealers.
"Should we end the fight?", asked Silver Blade with a sigh.
The others had varying opinions. Some wanted to fight to the end, some wanted to restart.
Liam hastily intercepted:
"Let's observe this skill before restarting."
The others agreed, watching Reylar who prepared a large amount of black liquid above his hand. It swayed left and right, gradually separating into two groups.
One of them suddenly turned into fiercely burning black flames while the other turned into bone-chilling, cold, black ice.
"Huh, you can do this?", asked Balm jokingly, less tense since the decision had been made.
Unfortunately, Reylar wasn't in the mood to talk to her, raising his hand slowly.
Projectiles of ice and fire separated, shooting in high arcs, covering the whole room.
The party didn't move, discussing the skill.
"Do you notice something?", asked Liam calmly.
"The attacks are denser behind the boulders.", said Watchful Eye.
"Right!"
Liam was pleasantly surprised, glancing at the tall bodyguard. He might have to reevaluate the man. An eye for detail was a quality trait to have in a party.
With Watchful Eye's reminder the others noticed this fact as well. They subtly moved towards those dense attacks, suiciding one by one.
When Reylar's skill ended only the two tanks and Liam remained. But they didn't resist much longer and were sent back to the dungeon entrance as well.
Once more the party gathered in the small room. Fortunately no one appeared disheartened, discussing the boss fight calmly.
They dissected Reylar's skills, arguing how to position themselves in each case.
After a few minutes the conversation died down. Everyone was ready to take on the nephilim again. But at this moment, Silver Blade suddenly turned towards Bleary Mirage.
"Mirage, I think it's time for you to work for your money."
Liam raised his brows. Although Silver Blade spoke in a joking voice, a serious undertone could be heard.
Thus, Liam answered calmly:
"What do you have in mind?"
"I want you to lead us this time. I want to beat the boss."
"I can naturally lead. But it's also beneficial for you guys to get familiar with dungeon mechanics."
"We can do so another time. This dungeon is too important for me."
"Alright. You're the boss."
Liam stopped arguing. He adjusted his mindset, taking it as a challenge to lead a few rookies through a boss fight.
The veteran took a deep breath, straightening his back.
The others could perceive a change in demeanor looking at him. Suddenly a faint aura came from Bleary Mirage. It originated from his unshakable confidence, from being an undefeatable king.
The room quieted down instinctively as everyone watched Bleary Mirage.
"You heard Silver Blade, guys. If we want to kill the boss, listen to my commands.
In a serious raid, you follow the leader to a tee. If I say jump, you jump! Understood?"
"Understood!"
The others answered solemnly, but the atmosphere was destroyed when a low thud was heard. It was Cyclone who jumped on the spot.
Noticing the others looking at her the blond woman had obvious difficulties with suppressing her laughter.
Liam's eye twitched. He had experienced people being fired for such pulling such stunts. Fortunately, they were no professional team.
He glossed over it, signaling the party to leave.
At this point the party could finish the way up to the boss with closed eyes, even without Liam's lead.
Soon, they crossed the door, finding Reylar back in a cocoon hanging from the ceiling.
The cocoon cracked slowly.
"Ranged fighters, scatter through the room. Melees, encircle Reylar.
Ranged, stagger your attacks and call out before destroying a blob. Keep Reylar occupied. Melees, attack freely and keep an ear on the calls, be sure to dodge!"
Everyone felt the brewing tension as they made sure to follow instructions.
A moment later Reylar dropped from the ceiling. He gave a short speech before the fight began.
"I attack!"
Cyclone's shout came first from the left. An explosion shook the room. When Reylar raised his spears covered in dark energy, Quickstep realized that she stood in the way, hastily evading.
A wave of black energy travelled along the floor. But with this much time, Cyclone was able to dodge leisurely.
"Nicely done!"
The party praised Cyclone and Quickstep as they set a positive example.
But this time Liam didn't let them off:
"Less talking, more attacking! Why are you being lazy? We are missing out on damage!"
Instantly the party shut up as the melee fighters swung their weapons.
"From the back!"
Silent Acacia called out his position before destroying the next blob.
Reylar's next attack already played in Liam's mind. He knew that it would be Bloody Edge's and Radiant Shield's turn to dodge.
He reminded them as a precaution:
"Edge, dodge left! Shield, dodge right!"
With their leader's order the two men showed no hesitation as they dodged, allowing Reylar's attack to travel into the distance.
A second later the boss gritted his teeth, staring angrily at the pesky flies around him. He raised his spears high.
"Where is the next attack?! Hurry up!"
Balm flinched as Liam's serious voice reached her.
"F… from the back!"
Fortunately, just before Reylar could bring his spears down, Balm destroyed the next blob, distracting the boss.
This phase of the fight went on for a short while. Liam kept vigilant at all times, directing his party's moves meticulously. Blob after blob got destroyed until Reylar eventually lost all connections.
Silver Blade was surprised when she checked out the boss a moment later.
[Reylar, the devilish nephilim
Rank: Boss
Level: 9
HP: 9.142/10.000]
"So the damage done remains…"
The others smiled wryly, feeling foolish for not considering this.
"No time to speak! Attack!"
Liam's stern shout woke them up. They flinched, swinging their weapons quickly.