Boss-level kitsune monsters were always tricky to battle. Kitsune had the ability to manipulate illusions and foxfire. By becoming a boss and being touched by an entity from the other side, their ability to hunt, create false sights, and control deadly flames all greatly leveled up.
All boss-level kitsune monsters possessed the ability to manipulate matter in subtle ways, allowing them to generate a new form of mass and space, which they could then weave an image onto, thus allowing them to effectively create clones.
Captain Crow was one of the best-studied on these sorts of monsters and had even learned to mimic several of their powers with the help of his magic and knight gear.
It was he who wrote the book on how to hunt kitsunes, and his biggest point was to overwhelm them with sheer numbers. The clones were always slightly weaker, but since each clone could make clones as well, it meant that the boss would be able to generate its own mini army, thus making it very hard to beat unless you either had large numbers that could kill the clones faster than they were made or you were skilled enough to take out the original fox.
Whisper had planned to leave the Phoenix Flight guild behind. She didn't particularly hate any of them or dislike them as other members of her guild did, but she also didn't respect them all that much and was afraid they'd mostly get in the way.
In her opinion, it would have been better for them to take on the fox and then catch up with her group when they were done.
Now that she was watching Vlad in action, she was willing to eat her words.
The Phoenix Flight guild member was truly spectacular. Vlad's cloak kept flowing up and down, and he'd weave in and out of attacks with ease, cutting away at the foxes and getting closer and closer to the real fox, which tried to hide in the back.
Each strike of his blade and the way he parried was flawless. Attacks would just barely miss him as he took the smallest amount of movement possible to slide out of the way, and he'd throw himself into the fray without a care. If she didn't know any better, she'd have thought he could see the future or something, with how easy it all seemed to be.
Vlad was truly an amazing Knight, one wasted in such a trashy guild as Phoenix Flight, and she found herself wondering if it'd be possible to steal him away. Someone of his talent would do better in a place that was actually able to lift its members up.
Then again, the curse of Phoenix Flight would have already been carved into his Core, so Vlad most likely didn't have very long to live. Truly a shame.
"Well," Whisper's thoughts were scrambled, and she turned away and looked to Ragna, who spoke up. "What are we waiting for? Vlad's got this. We should go on ahead, and he'll catch up when he finishes up."
Whisper nodded. "Yeah. Alright, let's move out, but just in case, I'll leave some of my weaker members behind. Our numbers should be fine." She muttered a spell and used an illusion to hide their group, allowing them to slip past Vlad and the monster. A few members of the Pantheon remained behind. Most of them were just the randos.
That battle would likely be going on for a while. Even if Vlad were skilled and strong, he'd have his work cut out for him taking on the boss all by himself.
The bridge to the castle was done, and their sizeable group quickly made their way inside. None of the guards were around still, despite the fact that several should still have been present. It became clear why.
"Damn it," Sunny cursed.
The front room of the castle was an absolute mess. Pillars were torn down, all the paintings had been sliced into, the roof above and the floor were cracked, and destroyed golems and dead Licht-Fulk littered the ground. In the center, there was a sizeable pile of the dead, and sat upon that was the greatest invader this dungeon had known.
Rage stared down at the group, seeing through the illusions instantly. Blood dripped down his gums, which quivered as his eyes lazily roamed over each Knight.
"No. No, no, no, no." The horse began to pant, and his fist started to strike out at the pile of bodies he sat upon, sending guts and rubble flying with every strike. "I thought three of the seven would be here. Why do I only see one?" Rage's glare was focused only on Sieg, and he began to scratch at his neck with his other hand, cutting into his flesh. "Tik would kill me if I slaughtered you, but why do we need to play stupid Adam's game? Lonely Adam, depressed Adam, foolish Adam. I'm so close to getting what I want. I've already killed one, I just need the other six, and I can bring it back."
"He's completely mad, huh?" Whisper dropped the illusion since it wasn't needed anymore, and she reached for her belt, drawing a sword. The other Knights also all got ready. "Why don't we just get to the point, big guy?" She called out. "Clearly, you can see that you're surrounded, right? Just go ahead and give up and-"
Whisper felt pain explode through her body, and she slammed into the wall of the castle as Rage back-handed her.
No one even had time to process the fact that he was in front of them now. He didn't even bother to glance her way and instead kept his gaze completely focused on Sieg, staring at the red oni mask he wore.
Sieg also silently stared back at him.
"You," Rage growled out and spat up blood. "Seven. Seven enemies of the lost worlds. Seven beings who must die. Seven stories that should have never gone on. You who have inherited his body. You will be slain by-" Battery drew his sword and swung out, slamming it into Rage's neck, and the horse-like monster didn't even budge. "-my hands. I, Rage, ruler of a lost world, God of the Sea, Lord of the Ocean and the Depths, declare you dead. Face the wrath of a Lordian."
"Oh shit." Battery cursed when he saw his swing had no effect.
Rage clasped his hands together, and the mana that surged out of him exploded, throwing everyone back. The entire room shook, and water started to gush out of various scales that ran along his body.
"He threw us back just by charging his aura up?" Ragna sounded both amazed and terrified. "This might be harder than we thought."
Whisper ripped her way out of the wall. "We still outnumber him. His defense won't hold up forever! Let's attack in formation and-"
A bolt of blood and an arrow of wind slammed into Rage, barely doing anything, save for a mild sizzle at the spot the blood touched. Before anyone could even come up with a plan, two Knights had already stepped forward, throwing all forms of ambition and planning out the window.
Both Olivia and Ash glared at the monster that stood before them with pure hate. They both recalled Snow's dying words. The thing that had killed him had been a powerful being that looked like a cross between a fish and a horse. Without a doubt, Rage was that very same being. The one who destroyed their village, killed everyone they knew, and hurt them so much.
At last, they could have their revenge.
"Row Blood Scythe!" Olivia screamed and swung her weapon toward the monster who had killed her father. Flashes of Rosco soared through her mind as she put all of her power into the strike, but this was a being on par with the Captains.
Rage blocked the strike with his arm, the weapon unable to slice into his flesh, but once again his skin burnt slightly and began to blacken as the blade touched him, which actually made him hiss out in pain. He threw a strike toward her head, ready to kill her in a single punch, but the attack never landed as Ragna tackled Olivia to the ground, causing it to barely miss.
Ash jumped toward Rage and launched another series of arrows, and the horse-monster muttered a spell, his water forming into a whip. He spun around and slashed it out, cutting the room in two, and would have sliced Ash in half, but Battery appeared in front of him and blocked with his two swords.
The rest of the Knights all scrambled, several members of the Phoenix Flight guild jumping behind Gormay, who was so sturdy the whip bounced off him, while members of the Pantheon guild weren't so lucky and found themselves torn apart by the whip.
"Stay out of my way," Rage grunted. "I only want one of you. The rest of you should just hurry up and kill yourself."
"Vil Moonlit Slash!" Whisper's blade ignited in a wave of silver light, and she sliced it out toward Rage as hard as she could. Several members of her guild also launched their own attacks.
"Vil Imaginary Fist!" Battery called out, creating a giant hand of blue energy that dropped toward Rage.
"Vil Flame-Ice Blast!" Cinder's aura shifted to black as she donned her Core Mask and pointed both her guns, sending out a wave of ice and fire.
"Vil Wind Spear!" Sky pointed her hand out toward the monster and launched her own strike.
All four Vil spells struck out but never reached their target. Rage's aura was so dense and thick that it actually flowed around him like some sort of force field. He wasn't just enhancing his body to superhuman levels; he was legitimately shunting the space around him and making a layer of energy that could block even Vil-level attacks. Such a thing would require an enormous amount of mana and should have been impossible, yet here Rage was, doing that.
"H-He has more mana than Captain Myth?" Whisper stuttered in shock.
"Not just Myth." Battery spat out. "I think he has more mana than freaking Holy Saint herself. Don't tell me this fucker has a Golden Core!"
Normally, the amount of mana a mage had wasn't a deciding factor in battles. It could help, but just like with stamina, a person with better skills could take someone out who had more stamina than them. Golden Cores were an exception to this rule, however. Comparing a normal Core and a Golden Core would be the equivalent of comparing a drop of rainwater to the ocean.
When two mages fought, they'd weave mana into their attacks and defense. The amount they could weave was decided by how much mana they had, and if they wanted to successfully block an attack, they'd need to weave twice as much mana as was in that attack. Most mages would only put small portions of mana into defense since it was better to partially block an attack rather than waste a huge amount of mana to fully block, since that would, in turn, lower their total attack down, but with Rage, he had so much that he was casually throwing out waves of mana so thick they completely negated all attacks.
If they wanted to hurt him, they'd have to chip away until his shield ran out. This just became a battle of endurance.
Whisper struck out again with her sword, being followed by Battery. Their attacks slightly cracked Rage's dome, but they couldn't fully get through the attack, and all they truly managed to do was piss the monster off.
"I said, 'Kill yourselves.'" Rage punched Battery hard enough to dislocate the man's shoulder, and then he kicked Whisper, sending her flying through another wall.
While everyone else was scrambling and trying to figure out what to do, Ash and Olivia launched their attacks at Rage again. Ash's arrows got caught in the mana barrier, but Olivia's scythe went through it and actually managed to nick Rage's skin.
Rage swung his water whip out for a second time, but this time Ragna blocked it, Greenie turning into his halberd. "Olivia! Stop being reckless!"
"He needs to die!" She screamed back.
"And he will! But we have to make sure we survive-"
Rage grabbed Ragna by the face and smashed his head into the ground. He went to crush the man's skull, but Battery and Cinder launched two large strikes out toward him, which the monster backhanded away. That gave Ragna the chance to roll out from under him, and he stabbed out with his glaive, but it bounced off Rage's mana barrier.
"All of you are annoying!" Rage screamed, and his mana flickered. "Row Liquid Barrage!" Droplets of water swirling in the air and launched out so fast they could shatter boulders.
"Row Conversion Aura!" Clause yelled out just in time. A bright yellowish glow exploded off him, and all the droplets of water shifted into small elastic bullets. They still hurt like hell, a shocking fact since everyone was decked out in armor of some kind, but no one got a hole blasted through them. "Row Conversion Strike!" Clause twirled around a massive war hammer, and he swung it through the air, which rippled and exploded since he had coated it with a very flammable substance by changing the properties of the air. The blast rippled into Rage's aura, and the horse sneered as his barrier suddenly began to bubble and the mana changed into smoke, being converted into a new form. "So much for your shield!" Clause slammed his hammer along Rage's snout, and the monster finally recoiled for the first time since the battle began.
"Alright, Clause!" Falco cheered. "I forgot how powerful Conversion magic is! He can basically change the properties of stuff and even shift matter!"
"You still got it, Clause." Whisper grinned, and Mana stepped toward Rage. "Let's see how you do now that you don't have that annoying barrier! Once more! Vil Moonlit Beam!" The tip of her sword ignited with a beam of white fire, which she stabbed directly into Rage's spine.
"Vil Imaginary X-Slash!" Battery pressed his blades together until they started to glow and then slashed them out in the shape of an 'X,' sending out a wave of intense energy.
"Vil Wind Bomb!" Sky called out, the wind exploding out as a bubble of pure force.
Finally, there was Cinder, who raised both her guns up into the air and pulled the trigger. "Vil Flame-Ice Greatsword!" A swirling beam of blue and red energy launched out of both her barrels and twisted together into the shape of a sword, which she slashed down into Rage.
Unlike before, all the attacks actually landed, and the sea monster grunted as the force of the attacks hurt him slightly. "Fine." Rage reached back and grabbed Whisper by her arm and squeezed down until the bones in it snapped. "No more mister nice guy." He twisted and swung the vice captain as if she were a weapon! He slammed her into Battery so hard that both Whisper's and Battery's ribs shattered, and the swordsman was sent flying. After that, he threw Whisper headfirst into Sky, nearly snapping Sky's neck and completely breaking Whisper's back from how hard she was hurled. Finally, before Cinder could even blink, Rage appeared in front of her and slammed a finger into her stomach, piercing through her all the way. When he tore it out, a fountain of blood emerged, and he turned around, letting her drop to her knees and clutch at her guts, which came spilling out.
"P-Pantheon lost?" Princess Ever said in horror. She was still near the gate, Sunny doing his best to keep her safe from all the debris that kept flying. Several other members of Pantheon had already fled once they saw their vice captain get manhandled so easily, leaving just the Phoenix Flight guild left to fight this monster.
Well, actually, there was one Pantheon member left standing.
Ash ran forward with a cry of anger and sorrow at seeing his team be defeated so easily, and he slammed a fist directly into Rage's stomach, white and black mana swirling out as he performed a mana strike.
"Not bad." Rage barely budged and slapped the side of Ash's stomach, ripping it open. "Most mages your age can't do that."
"Ash!" Olivia screamed.
Ash dropped to the ground, and Rage came stomping down, about to crush his head, but before the foot could land, Miranda slid under it and held her hands up, catching it. She gritted her teeth so hard they began to crack, and her legs threatened to give out. "Y-You fucking owe me, big time, kid!"
Ragna and Clause both used a mana step and appeared on either side of Rage. White and black mana swirled around both their weapons as they also performed their own mana strikes, and that managed to shove Rage back. As soon as he was no longer on her, Miranda collapsed and began to breathe heavily. "K-Ken!"
"Already on it!" Ken was already in her transformed state and lined all the injured Pantheon members up and was rapidly casting healing spells and using the acupuncture technique Ragna taught her to heal their wounds more quickly. While she did that, Miranda dragged Ash's body over so he could also be healed.
Ragna and Clause went to strike Rage again, but the horse-man was faster and rammed a fist into each of their stomachs. He hit both men so hard that they were lifted off the ground and sent into the air, smashing through the roof above and landing on another floor entirely.
"Vil Liquid Bomb." Rage grunted, and the liquid in the room swirled into a glob that was about to explode. "All of you, die." At the last second before the bomb could detonate, Gormay jumped forward and swallowed it whole! It erupted, and for a second, his belly expanded, and he let out a fat fart, but besides that, it was mostly fine.
Gormay burped and rubbed his stomach. "Tasty. Your mana is good. Gimmie more."
"My turn!" Falco ran forward with his saber. "Vil Inferno Blade!" He swung his sword out, sending an arch of fire, but Rage easily side-stepped it and flew past him, completely ignoring him. "Hey! Fight me!"
Rage went straight for Gormay and punched out with a fist, but the strike only made the large man's belly jiggle. Gormay grinned and opened his mouth as wide as he could. "Vil Burger Beam!" A wave of steaming hot ketchup came vomiting out of his mouth and poured all over Rage's eyes, causing the horseman to roar in pain. "Vil Burger Golem!" Behind Rage, Gormay's mana swirled and created a massive golem made out of meat and other hamburger parts.
Together, both Gormay and his burger pulled their fists back and struck out as hard as they could, punching Rage and sandwiching his head between their fists.
Rage slammed an elbow back and splattered the golem, and then he smashed his palm into Gormay's stomach and sent the fat mutant rolling away.
"Take this!" Falco appeared above Rage and dropped down with his saber, but again, he missed as Rage dodged it without even looking.
Rage's attention then turned to Ghost, who gave him a smile. He struck out with a backhand, and his attack phased through her completely. He grunted in mild annoyance when he saw that thick ice now covered his hand. "Annoying. Row Liquid Ball." An orb of liquid slammed into Ghost, but it also phased through her, and she casually drew her knife and struck out. Her blade wasn't able to harm Rage's flesh, and before she could hit him again, he used his remaining arm and stabbed it into the ground, ripping up a section of the floor she was standing on.
"Wait-" Ghost said sheepishly, but she was cut off when he chucked her and the rubble away.
"Vil Inferno Claw!" Falco struck out with three slashes of fire, but they were blocked by Rage's mana bubble, which finally managed to return. He went to strike again, but Rage mana stepped away when he noticed Ken healing the others.
Ken looked up just in time to see Rage throwing a sucker punch at her with his frozen hand, but before the attack reached her, Mama Hearta jumped in the way. She took off the large chef hat she always wore, and it opened up, swallowing Rage's fist. The monster's strike instantly stopped, and Mama Hearta wrapped her arms around his trapped limb, and shockingly, she picked him up and tossed him into the pile of corpses he had been sitting on earlier.
"Dear, why don't we trade places?" Mama Hearta asked, slipping her hat back on as she smiled down at Ken. "I'm not suited to fighting. I'll heal them while you join the battle."
Ken blinked, a little caught off guard. "Sure?" She left the others in Mama Hearta's hands and appeared next to Olivia's side, healing the girl up a bit. "Wanna do a combo attack?"
"Will it hurt that fucker?"
"Probably."
"Then let's do it."
More guts and shards of golems were sent flying into the air as Rage tore his way out of the pile. "Okay, this time you notice me!" Falco appeared directly in front of him and prepared another attack. "Take this! My ultimate move-"
"Out of the way, Falco!" Ken kicked into Falco's side and sent him flying. Once he was out of the way, Rage glared down at both her and Olivia, but they didn't give the monster a moment to act. "Vil Flame Dragon!"
"Vil Blood Cerberus!"
Their two attacks rammed into Rage, and he was knocked off his feet and carried through the room, smashing through several walls. The entire castle shook and began to break apart and melt due to the sheer heat of their attacks. Once Rage was out of sight, Olivia collapsed and vomited. Thanks to Ken's healing, she had gotten a spell use back, but using Vil took her remaining two up. Luckily, she still had Polymorph.
Ken breathed heavily and wiped her brow. "Oh yeah, that hurt him. Maybe he didn't die, but we sure as hell burned him up."
"W-Why aren't you doing that weird finger mode?" Olivia weakly stood back up and leaned on Ken.
"You saw that?"
"A bit."
Ken hummed. "Well, I'd love to, but I'm actually kind of stuck between either using it or Yujin. I can't do both at once. I like Yujin a bit more because, while it's not as strong, I get enhanced senses and a crazy healing factor. Plus my fire spells."
"That makes sense to me."
By now, Clause and Ragna managed to make their way down, and Mama Hearta finished healing the Pantheon members. Ash looked around a bit dazed. "He's still alive, right?"
"Yeah." Miranda nodded. "Get up, everyone. We're still pounding away at this guy."
"Who put you in charge?" Whisper muttered as she stood up.
"Not sure if you noticed, but my guild just saved your life," Miranda growled. "Also, half your people ran off like bitches."
"Can we just focus?" Sky called out. "He's coming back."
Everyone grouped up right as Rage came sprinting through the hole he had been blasted through. They had definitely done some damage. His scales were turning black, and red blood was dripping down gashes and cuts into his flesh, but he didn't look that bad, all things considered, something that was deeply worrying.
"Let's take him out." Ragna declared.
"Vil Moonlit Blades." Whisper waved her sword through the air and created several ghostly silver swords, which struck out and cracked Rage's barrier. She then ran forward and struck out with her sword, stalling him and giving the rest of her team time to act.
"Vil Imaginary Blast." Battery appeared next to Rage thanks to a mana step, and an orb of energy formed between his swords, which he held out as if they were guns. It erupted into a mighty blue explosion, which shattered the rest of Rage's barrier, allowing Whisper's sword barrage to actually hurt him.
"Row Wind Spear!"
"Vil Wind Spear!" Both Ash and Sky combined their use of wind magic, casting the spell together, and they launched a strong bolt of swirling air directly into Rage's face.
"Vil Flame Bullet!" Cinder fired a flaming shot and then aimed her second gun. "Vil Flame-Ice Bullet!" The two elements combined and swirled along the air current Ash and Sky created, ramming into Rage's eyes.
Ragna sliced Greenie through the air rapidly, unleashing strike after strike, cutting into Rage's flesh and using the blunt end of his glaive to crack his bones. Every now and then, his mana would glow and twist, letting out bursts of mana strikes.
Clause turned his massive hammer upside down, and the front of it had the symbol of a golden clock carved into it. The hands began to spin rapidly, and suddenly, Clause looked slightly older. His hair grew a tiny bit and became even grayer, and his flesh lost some color to it, but when he struck out with his weapon, the force of the blow was so mighty it tore the sound barrier apart and rippled through everyone's ears, cracking several of Rage's ribs. His strength and attack power had skyrocketed.
Mama Hearta stepped forward along with Miranda, the two entering a boxing stance, and they then began to rapidly beat on Rage, punching him in the sides over and over again as hard as they could.
While they did that, Gormay ran forward, and with a sucker punch of his own, he rammed his fist straight into Rage's throat as hard as he could. Ghost was riding his back and smashed her knife in between his exposed teeth, ripping a tooth out.
On the other side of the room, Sunny and Ever watched in awe. "They're actually doing it. They're beating him down."
"Time for the final blow!" Falco called out. "Get ready for my epic attack! Ril Inferno-"
"Falco, stop getting in the way!" Ken kicked Falco across the room again. "Alright, Olivia! Let's do it again!" She had used another series of healing spells, getting Olivia back to full health, so the girl could save her Polymorph for another time.
"Yeah." Olivia nodded and aimed her wand. Everyone near Rage jumped back as both her and Ken's mana reached their peak. "Vil Blood Cerberus!"
"Vil Flame Dragon!"
Their attacks swirled, even larger than before, and this time, Rage had no barrier to block it. Both girls put all their mana into it, and they sent the attack flying with everything they had!
"Row Shadow Vault." Black hands appeared in front of Rage and wrapped around the attack, tugging it inside and banishing it. Everyone froze in shock, and Rage held his hand out and spoke again. "Row Shadow Vault." Something began to pull its way out of the Vault, and he grasped it.
"S-Shadow Vault?" Ken asked in confusion, and then, before she could react, a massive trident stabbed through her.
"Ken!" Olivia screamed in rage and horror, barely processing what just happened.
Rage lifted her off the ground and gave her a cold look, holding a silver trident from a world that no longer existed.
"H-How!" Whisper screamed. "I thought he had Liquid magic! What the hell is this BS!"
Rage threw Ken off the trident and sent her smashing into a wall, and then he rammed the end of it into Whisper's throat. She wasn't the only one, either. Rage flickered around the room in a series of mana steps and impaled everyone, including Ghost. In less than a second, all of them were sent to the ground, ripped apart by a series of jagged holes, some missing limbs. Olivia stared in numb horror at her left arm, which had been torn off.
What was going on? Rage had Shadow Magic? Not just Shadow Magic, but the same spell Davi used? But what of Liquid Magic? Could the trident be what gave him access to the second magic type? Was it like Knight Gear? The thoughts flooded her brain, numbing the pain down, and she weakly grabbed her severed arm.
Rage glanced at her, his eyes narrowed, and he was about to run her through again but stopped suddenly when a bolt of lightning slammed into him. Glaring up, Rage's eyes went wide when he saw Sieg.
The masked man hadn't even gotten into the fight and instead hung back next to Ever and Sunny. He was now wearing golden armor and raised his mask up, showing an angelic face that had a shit-eating grin on it.
"Hey, big guy. You want me, right?" Sieg turned and then ran.
Rage panted as slobber and blood dripped down his chin. "Seven, seven, seven, I will kill the members of the seven!" He screamed and then took off after Sieg, who was being closely followed by Sunny and Ever.
***
"Alright," Davi announced. "The plan should be pretty simple. We're going to go up top, find that horse dude, beat his ass, then get all the Licht-Fulk down here so we can keep them safe while my captain goes and gets the Saint lady. Then, she can kill the demon, and we'll do it up top so no one down here gets affected. I can use a Vow to then make it impossible for the king to ever get into my vault, and the Licht-Fulk can live down here, grow food, and do whatever else they need, and with the help of people a lot smarter than me, they can figure out how to terraform this place."
"It does have soil." Bolem hummed and patted the snowy ground. "If you're able to bring a ton of the Underworld stuff down here, then that'll add more layers to the survivability. It's cold but nowhere near as bad as it is down in the Underworld, so the people will be a lot better off. Shame we don't have any meat."
"I could maybe throw some animals down here," Davi hummed. "Get a whole ecosystem going."
"I'm still shocked you just have an entire world down here." Olem looked around in pure bafflement. "Davi, I say this with all love and care, but seriously, you're fucking weird."
"Thanks." Davi stood up and stretched slightly. "Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of time to act, now do we?" He glanced toward someone and grinned. "Ready, Himvel?"
Himvel stared down at his hand, which was no longer red. In fact, none of him was red anymore. All the radiation had left his form. The elder elf chuckled weakly. "I don't really get it, but sure. Okay. I've decided to follow you on your plan. Let's do it."
"Yeah. Let's get that happy ending." High declared, standing next to Himvel. The two beings who had been one had been split again.