Brutus, the stoic knight, stood his ground as the Behemoth's massive fist sent Liriel flying. The ground trembled as Liriel's body, a broken mess of shattered armor, slammed into a gnarled tree. The tree groaned and snapped in half, its ancient wood splintering with a deafening crack.
Brutus slowly walked over to him, his heavy boots crunching on the shattered rock. He knelt beside the groaning pile of armor and poked it with the tip of his sword.
"You dead?" Brutus asked, his voice a low, gravelly rumble.
A muffled voice, filled with pain and indignation, came from the heap. "As if, dumbass. Just a little bruised."
Rohan, still bound by the binding spell, watched in utter disbelief. Liriel's body was a twisted mess, yet he was alive. A new piece of information, a new line of code, flickered in Rohan's mind. It was a fragment of a lost in-game lore entry, a hidden cheat he had never found.
The hero cannot die. His soul is bound to the world, to the very fabric of this game. He can be defeated, but he can never truly be killed. His existence is an unbreakable loop. He will respawn, but the suffering, the loss, the failure… that is his to bear.
Rohan was a programmer. He understood this code. Liriel didn't just have one overpowered skill; he had two. The Void Strike had been nerfed in this world, no longer a guaranteed one-hit kill. The second, the Unkillable Hero, was not a blessing but a curse.
The Behemoth let out a roar, its two eyes glowing with a terrifying, malevolent light. It fixed its gaze on Liriel, a cold, chilling laugh echoing through the clearing.
"COCKROACH....DIE."
Liriel, now on his feet, staggered forward, his body bruised and broken. He looked at the Behemoth, and for the first time, Rohan saw a flicker of genuine fear in his eyes.
"As always, Brutus," Liriel said, his voice a broken whisper as he wiped blood from his lips.
The ground trembled as the newly-evolved Behemoth rose from the shattered remains of the Golem. Its two burning eyes, cold and calculating, fixed on Liriel. Brutus, ever the silent knight, stood his ground, a deep sense of tension etched in his face. Rohan could see the fear in his knuckles as he gripped his shield.
While Brutus was engaged, Liriel moved. He was a force of nature, a player who lived for the thrill of the fight. He dodged the Behemoth's blows, weaving in and out, his blade leaving a trail of fire in its wake. He activated Meteor Blade, a high-level attack that allowed him to strike with the speed of a comet. He landed hit after hit on the Behemoth, his blade searing the creature's rocky hide.
The Behemoth, enraged by their teamwork, turned its attention to Liriel. It was a calculated move, one designed to break their rhythm. Brutus saw it. He knew what was coming. The ground beneath him, which had been his bulwark, suddenly felt as fleeting as sand. A high-pitched hum filled the air, and he saw the Behemoth's chest begin to glow with a searing, white-hot energy.
This was not a physical attack. This was pure annihilation.
Brutus didn't move. He stood his ground, guarding Liriel, a grim acceptance on his face. He knew his armor, his shield, his very body, couldn't stop it. But he still stood his ground for his friends, he knew that if Liriel dies and respawns, no one could stop behemoth right now. He would respawn but Lyra and Rohan would probably die, even him.
The beam erupted from the Behemoth's chest, a blinding ray of pure light that swept across the clearing. It was as fast as a beam should be, as if it were light itself. It was a silent, sudden climax after a long, drawn-out battle.
Rohan watched in horror. The beam was heading straight for Liriel. But just as it was about to hit him, Brutus, a man who had faced down gods and monsters, stood his ground. The beam hit him head-on, and he was consumed in a flash of light. His skin, his armor, his shield—they were all gone.
But his body… his body was still there. A lifeless corpse, burned to a crisp but still standing its ground. It was an image of unwavering loyalty, of a sacrifice made without a second thought.
Rohan, still bound by the binding spell, watched something he couldn't comprehend. The first thing that was human about the hero. A single tear, hot and defiant, ran down Liriel's cheek. He wasn't crying because he was in pain. He was crying because he had just witnessed a friend's sacrifice. He wasn't crying for himself. He was crying for Brutus.
Liriel's arrogance, his dismissive nature, was a mask. He was a player who had lost a friend. And he was sad.
Liriel's sword, which had been glowing with a faint, otherworldly light, now flared with a blinding, furious energy. It was the Void Strike, a move so powerful it could defeat the strongest boss in a single blow. It was a skill that should have taken out the Golem in a single hit.
Liriel looked at the Behemoth, his eyes burning with rage and his face a mask of determination.
"You want to dance, let's dance."