"57?"
"The boss doesn't seem weak."
"Perhaps it's only his physical resistance…"
Cyclone couldn't quite believe it. She immediately waved her wand, sending a spere of magic at the boss.
[-108!]
Compared to Silent Acacia's attack the damage almost doubled. However, with the boss's HP it would take Cyclone a long time to kill the devil's clone. Fortunately, she was not alone.
A second later the boss finally came close enough for the melee players to reach him. Instantly a golden brilliance covered the sky above Misortnimn. Liam activated [Heavenly Sky] without delay. His figure fell from the sky, bathed in golden light. His celestial appearance would be perfect if his basilisk Reen didn't comically flap his wings. Fortunately, appearance didn't matter when it came to striking an enemy.
Liam landed on the ground, spreading a brilliant wave of holy magic in all directions. The devil shuddered slightly, clearly detesting the holy magic. It didn't take a genius to figure out that holy magic would be the most useful against the boss, while using dark magic in front of a devil was like a child with a knife confronting an adult swordsman.
While Liam started his attack, Silver Blade and Radiant Shield had their expressions change starkly. This was too impulsive. Liam didn't even allow the tanks to secure the boss's aggro. It could only be said that he trusted their capabilities too much.
Since the boss's earlier skills dealt magic damage, Silver Blade took the lead this time. She urgently arrived next to the boss, her trusty basilisk confronting the devil with a body slam. Misortnimn snorted but didn't yet move his eyes away from Liam. Silver Blade swiftly followed with a skill. As no one else was watching she gladly revealed her newest skill [Unavoidable Bulwark].
An incredibly heavy feeling suddenly overcame Silver Blade. It was as if her body turned into a statue forged from the hardest material of the universe. She found it unable to move even one more step under her own weight. Simultaneously an incredibly domineering aura spread from her, provoking all enemies. 'You have to overcome me before you can threaten my friends', was what Silver Blade expressed without words.
Finally, the devil turned his head towards the tank. His eyes carried a never disappearing sadness. As if he blamed his bad luck for not being able to finish off the warrior who dared to strike him with holy magic.
"If this is what you want…"
Misortnimn swirled around, the bells hanging from his clothes ringing with every movement. In his hand appeared an unusual weapon. It was a sturdy umbrella, coloured in black and white stripes. The devil pointed his umbrella at Silver Blade, and it suddenly flicked open.
A storm appeared out of nowhere, threads of dark magic drifting within it. The storm instantly reached Silver Blade in front of the devil. However, it wasn't condensed in a small area. Fortune and Cyclone who stood at a safe distance behind the tank felt their stomachs sink. Before they could react to the unexpected attack, the storm slammed into their bodies, sending them staggering backwards.
[-3497!]
[-11.029!]
[-10.912!]
"So much damage!"
"That was such an underhanded move!"
Liam watched the scene and decided not to say anything. During the dungeon run they were in a rush, so Liam had taken the lead, giving his friends information about the bosses. But he didn't want them to get complacent because of it. He was even somewhat worried that his friends' skill declined should they start to depend too much on his leadership again.
Meanwhile Fortune and Cyclone didn't think so much. They only blamed themselves for not having seen it coming. And Silver Blade felt something similar. She realized that her [Unavoidable Bulwark] made her completely immobile, which also made it impossible for her to block. Thus, the skill was better suited to confront multiple weaker enemies than one strong boss. But now it was already too late.
The rest of the group naturally noticed everything that was happening. However, they focused on their own situation for now. Bloody Edge, having already taken a lot of damage earlier, didn't need to prepare for anything. He entered stealth only to reach the devil's back the next moment.
"Give me your blood!"
With a cringe-worthy shout the thief reappeared. His daggers poised to strike. Red, bloody light erupted as the daggers took the image of deadly fangs. Bloody Edge's [Deadly Bite] struck the boss's back. Multiple effects overlaid to push the damage higher and higher. However, compared to the powerful boss, the thief didn't sting any more than a blood sucking mosquito.
[-182!]
Of course, Bloody Edge was not done after a single attack. His daggers kept slashing, the moves blending together. One could see the harsh training over the last few weeks paying off. His movements were incredibly fluid, and even Liam praised him inwardly.
Yet the devil was no easy enemy. Surprisingly agile, Misortnimn made it difficult for Bloody Edge to hit him. One successful hit followed a successful dodge. Bloody Edge narrowed his eyes. Despite the dodge, his normal attack seamlessly flowed into a [Bloody Flurry]. His daggers shot forward in quick succession.
He carefully observed the boss's movement. The first strike aimed for Misortnimn's right side. The devil lightly tipped the ground and managed to evade elegantly. However, Bloody Edge didn't show any sing of destress. No, he was already prepared. The second dagger was already waiting for the boss. It was almost as if The Unfortunate Jester voluntarily ran into it. And yet this was not all that Bloody Edge had prepared.
As soon as his attack landed, his thoughts changed and [Boiling Blood] followed. The thief's daggers were coated in viscous red light, like a disgusting poison. As his dagger was already close to the devil's waist, it only took a flick of the wrist. The dagger tip pricked the devil, and the skill landed successfully.
[-128!]
[-0!]
[-0!]
[-156!]
[-169!]
Misortnimn shivered. The white of his eyes quickly turned red. Yet even then his eternally sad expression didn't change. The devil's mind became dizzy as he suddenly waved his umbrella in a random direction. A black wind was unleashed, affecting a limited area. Quickstep would have almost been hit but the Hurricane Sword was constantly moving, thus she managed to narrowly avoid the damage.
Staring at the rampaging boss, Bloody Edge drew back a few steps. He was quite satisfied with his own performance. Perhaps the two misses could have been avoided. But the boss indeed proved to be quite skilled at combat.
However, the thief's friends were not entirely happy. The rampaging boss was too unpredictable. Everyone had to be constantly on guard not to fall victim to the storms conjured by Misortnimn.
Even Liam had to focus closely. He stuck to the boss's back, reacting to every move of the boss, avoiding the umbrella, while releasing his own attacks. One big advantage to the boss's mindless state was that he didn't consciously dodge anything coming at him, making it quite easy for the players.
Liam slashed with his sword, yet he avoided using his off-hand. He aimed to stack five Holy Marks. He crossed his weapons in front of his chest which erupted with a brilliant white and dark light. His swords moved in a flash. A cross of light cut into the boss's back. The skill acted according to Liam's intentions, adding another Holy Mark.
The light had not even dissipated yet when Liam activated [Triple Holy Slash]. Left, right, left, swords empowered by holy magic collided with the devil's sturdy magical protection. White and dark sparks erupted incessantly, creating beautiful fireworks. Without any delay Liam conjured three piercing swords created from radiant holy magic behind his back. The next moment these swords stabbed forward, finally triggering all the Holy Marks, covering the devil in a frightening explosion of holy light.
[-98!]
[-147!]
[-45!]
[-909!]x3
[-88!]x3
[-132!]
[-454!]
[-45!]
[-1977!]
"Ahh, damn you, using the power of gods!"
The boss let out a raging bellow, the brutal strikes even able to clear his mind somewhat. His body shivered as he stared at Liam with venomous eyes.
Unfortunately, no one cared for the boss's anger. The party was already much too used to it. Instead, they would rather focus on Liam's damage. Obviously, the holy magic was highly effective. It was quite a loss that Liam was the only one capably of wielding it.
Two pairs of eyes met. Liam was not the least intimidated by the devil's stare. Even as Misortnimn raised his weapon to strike, the veteran didn't care. After all, even a devil had to adhere to the game's rules. This, Misortnimn could only snort. He turned abruptly and waved his umbrella in Silver Blade's direction.
Another burst of wind was unleashed. Everyone else had long taken their distance from Silver Blade. Thus, the poor tank had to face the devil's attack all by herself. At least the lingering effect of Bloody Edge's [Boiling Blood] reduced the damage somewhat.
[-3135!]