The boss was gargantuan as well as quick. Just like Nick had been far too fast for the Nephilim Fallen to perceive him, Ethos almost seemed to do the same to Nick.
If it wasn't for his [Farseeing Eyes] accurately showing him the boss's strikes, Nick knew he would've been dead from the first punch.
Even with such a powerful boon, Ethos seemed insurmountable. The only part of its body that wasn't a blur was its wide smile. He seemed to be having the time of his life as he sent an infinite array of barrages at the young liege.
Nick parried the strikes with his sword as he looked for an opening to use [Evisceration] and [Shadow Step]. At the moment, it seemed like Ethos was only planning to use hack-and-slash tactics, so all he had to do was persevere.
This boss was nothing like others in games he played, where he'd spend hours learning their patterns to prevail. Ethos was going to die. His party was going to live.
'Send me all the attacks you need to! I only need one of my own to kill you!'
Ethos left no opening for Nick. His 6 arms moved in a perfect tandem, a strict rhythm of strikes that required every ounce of Nick's attention just to deflect.
Countless eons of experience fought against Nick's newfound strength, refusing to yield. With every deflection shockwaves destroyed the land, uprooting graves and creating waves on the surface of the Mizukai's lake.
Good. Your defense so far is impeccable!
Nick narrowed his eyes at the backhanded compliment. He pushed into another gear at the same time Ethos became even more precise in his strikes.
It was a perfect collision between mechanical perfection and brute force. Nick was too fast and strong for Ethos to land even a single hit, but at the same time, Ethos was sending blows with such a precise force Nick couldn't even imagine a single opening.
He knew he would have to take a risk then.
Nick cast aside 2 of Ethos' strikes with ease as 2 more came from underneath him and 2 from above. Instead of deflecting the attacks, he maneuvered himself so that the bottom attacks would hit him but the ones from above would miss him completely.
Ethos smiled in admiration as Nick took the full brunt of his attack, flying up into the air. The Apostle wondered what Nick would do from there, as his liege couldn't yet control himself while in the air.
If it wasn't for the force of his own strikes keeping Nick airborne, he would've fallen to the ground and then attacked Ethos from his base. His defense would've been weak there.
Now that Nick was high in the air, he raised his arms to either side of him to catch as much air as possible. Thinking at the speed of light, he studied the Apostle and then thought about his own skills.
The Apostle himself was a decent range away from him, having used its long arms to maintain a distance. However, he was also huge–essentially, a 30-foot-tall target.
Even if the Apostle was far more skilled than Nick, even that advantage would be useless against an enemy he couldn't see. This made [Shadow Step] very powerful in this situation. Additionally, by using [Evisceration] at the same time, he could greatly increase his damage.
Such an attack would essentially drain him of all of his mana, but as long as the attack connected that wouldn't matter. After killing the Apostle, all he needed was enough energy to carry Juliana and Amelia out of the dungeon.
Also, there was the possibility that he would just level up after killing the boss and regain his energy then.
Yes, this was the best course of action.
[Shadow Step]
[You are completely hidden from the world. Destruction itself waits for your command.]
A strange ethereal glow surrounded Nick. The entire world became shaded in his view like he had just put on the world's darkest sunglasses. Nick looked down at his body and watched as this soft aura melded with his body.
Curious, Nick tested manipulating the aura so that it would cover his Fang. It worked just the same as the other aura he had manipulated during the tutorial boss, when he had first used Emperor's Will.
His hunch was proven correct: he could further hide his attack by expanding his aura to cover the weapon.
[Evisceration]
The stark increase in his power was easily noticeable. Although the effect itself specified damage, Nick felt as though he held so much energy his own body was tearing at the seams.
In order to increase the Fang's damage, he focused his aura from [Emperor's Will] into the weapon. It was now buffed by multiple skills, the epitome of his power so far. If an attack like this couldn't kill the boss, then nothing he had could.
Air itself crackled and broke apart from the aura emanating from Finality. Nick looked Ethos directly in the eye as he fell back to eye level. Then he threw the Fang, waiting for the triumphant scream of pain as Nick landed on the ground.
Nothing could've ever dodged such an attack, not even an Apostle. It had no marker, no way to determine its path. Even if it wasn't filled to the brim with energies of destruction, it still would've been impossible to defend.
This fact rang true as the Fang collided with the Apostle's head. Heaven and Earth and Hell and the Fallen and the Remembered all cried as pure destruction found its latest victim.
Even if the Apostle was 10, no, 100 times stronger, it would've never been able to survive such a strike. Ethos knew this fact, and even more than that he welcomed it. A smile crossed his face as this avatar was erased from existence.
Nick huffed from exhaustion as he waited for the message telling him he had slayed the dungeon boss. No shockwave came from the gargantuan body returning to its eternal home, as the body no longer existed.
Only the victorious remained– Amelia, Juliana, Nick.
A soft, small smile crept across Nick's face as he walked toward Juliana. She was lying still on the ground, but able to move enough to stroke her neck, rubbing the irritating skin.
Amelia was lying by her, still in awful shape. Nick's smile dropped as he walked with a purpose. Now that the boss was dead, he could properly care for her until the dungeon closed. Then he'd take her to a real healer.
He ripped off another piece of his tunic with his Fang, and then another. It probably wouldn't do much with how badly she was bleeding, but it was worth a shot. There wasn't much else he could do for a giant hole in a stomach at this moment.
When he got closer he realized the situation was even worse than he had thought. Her breathing was beyond shallow, more of a suggestion than anything else. The blue of her skin was so prominent it almost matched the hue of her aqua hair.
After the dungeon closed, she would need a healer in minutes–
Crack!
'What the hell?'
Energy cracked apart the space in front of him, creating an endless rift between him and Amelia.
[Boss: Stage 2]
Ethos stood between them with a smile. A soft yellow energy flowed into him as he laughed, shaking his head with glee. "Ahh, Nick. That was quite interesting. However, our playtime is over."
He flicked his wrist and in a quick movement Juliana was telepathically swung into his hand. Nick barely perceived the closing fist of the Apostle as it thrust through Juliana's chest.
"She's going to die soon, my liege. I already used up one of the last 2 Nephilim to heal myself. That leaves 1 left, so who are you going to heal? Amelia or Juliana?"