Interesting...
I never accounted for invulnerability, though in hindsight, it may have been obvious. If some force enabled a person to get stronger by mere wishing, resistance or invulnerability to stronger forces was to be expected.
The young man who shouted everyone to get down was still moving. The young man didn't have any special equipment, nor was he under any special buffs that I could sense. However, there was something peculiar about his aura.
Especially the one emanating from his chest.
A barely perceptible cloud of dense miasma covered the young man. It was the telltale signs of dark or shadow magic. Most users of it are either magic-casting assassins or stealth-based high damage builds.
"Zoom."
I focused my glance on the young man. He wore a well-polished butler's suit with a whip on his waist. Also, his heart was truly something else. A black mass, or rather a black raging fire, was currently enveloping his beating heart.
A curse, it looked like. A powerful one at that. Was it the cause of his immunity? Well, whatever, a question for another day. It didn't look like he was able to do anything about the stopped time. Right now, he was merely a fish swimming aimlessly in murky waters. He can be dealt with later.
I glided below me, facing the Sung-bastard who caused Nazarick a lot of strife. His furious expression frozen in time. I agree to the theory that this bastard can resurrect. He was a necromancer, and all necromancers possessed the unique ability to resurrect, even across worlds; that truth would always remain.
But, it was a gamble.
My father was cautious of sudden power-ups or revanchist effects upon death. My father gave me the go ahead to do what was needed depending on how the battlefield progressed. Assessing and absorbing danger was my job.
A soft whirr purred behind me; someone had teleported. I turned around and found Albedo, donning her combat armor and halberd again.
Cocytus appeared too, also hovering. His massive floating armored frame appeared somewhat comical, though the gravity of the situation left no room for chuckles.
"We. Apologize. For. Being. Late." Cocytus said as he wheezed some cold gust.
"How's the situation?" Albedo asked.
"I am taking initiative. I think this is the best course." I replied. The opportunity was here, the targets locked in place. A chance to deliver real damage. My father, who wanted overwhelming victory, also instructed me to seize the initiative whenever it presented itself.
A lousy win was better than a grinding victory. My father murmured to me.
"Delay Magic: True Death."
This one, aimed at the Sung-bastard. Seeing the face of this target really makes my blood boil. A quick, painless death wouldn't suit him, but for now, the true death spell will have to do. Plenty of time for experimentation and planning later. This was risky because the maids might be irrecoverable if he really truly died.
"Delay Magic: True Death."
This one, aimed at Reinhard-knight. He was just going to resurrect the moment this spell takes effect instantly. Still, he might be disoriented for a moment.
Time returned.
Sung, the bastard, flew forward for a few seconds due to the momentum of his leap before plateauing and crashing straight to the ground. However, the most surprising of all was this Reinhard-knight. He didn't even die; his expression winced for a moment, but he pushed through the instant death spell.
This guy, he became immune to it?
Reinhard then saw the three of us. Albedo, Cocytus, and I. Then, he immediately shifted gears and changed direction mid-air. He surged forward straight at me, sending me crashing to the ground. A loud crashing impact blasted throughout the city, sending a huge dust cloud.
"This one really stings." I said as I grappled with Reinhard, it was now a contest of strength. The two floating guardians were now observing the shadow summons.
The Sung-bastard's shadows, as expected, persisted. They were surprised by their master's death and immediately went on the offensive. Albedo and Cocytus, their classes and strengths built for superior enemy numbers (tanks), relished at the situation.
"You will pay for this! You despot!" Reinhard roared.
"Greater Target Knockback!"
I activated. Reinhard, who was grappling me, was immediately sent back, but not as far as I had hoped. The bastard was adapting to my repertoire of spells. The longer this battle goes on, the more powerful he becomes.
I hoped that Demiurge, who was watching from afar, was able to spot the connection between this Reinhard and his patron. Severing it was one of our alternative goals.
Also, the shadow summons, as theorized by Demiurge, were anchored by Sung-bastard's mana and something else. Demiurge used [Guidance] and every intelligence- or wisdom-boosting spells and items.
He theorized that the Sung-bastard also had a patron. His abilities, powerful as they were, weren't truly his. The bastard necromancer didn't act like he grew with the power, nor did he had a long experience with it. He merely got chanced upon it and became lethal with it.
Still, that was just a theory.
The shadows, acting on borrowed time or mana, became extremely aggressive. Their spells and projectiles were flying everywhere, half of them contributing to destroying the whole city. The giant ogre was especially extremely aggressive. Sung-bastard's body should have remained on the ground, but to my surprise, it was already gone.
Albedo was supposed to study and acquire it, but the tenacity of the shadows, especially the Dragon and the Ant Insectoid, was proving especially difficult to handle. Anyway, the only possible suspect for the disappearance of Sung-bastard's body was that summoner, Megumi.
"Hound Sense." "Boost Sense." "Rabbit Ears." "Eagle Eye."
The body remained missing. I couldn't find any trace of it. A horde of undead instantly rained from above, providing me with some backup. The undead horde immediately engaged Reinhard and marched into every home or crevice, looking for the body and that summoner.
However, Reinhard maintained his fighting tempo, boosted by the death of his friend. The undead horde vanished with each swing of his arm.
"What a goddamned pain in the ass. No matter how many we throw, this guy keeps coming." I messaged both Albedo and Cocytus.
"I always come back." Reinhard said...?
"Huh?
I muttered. No, it cannot be.
Can he pierce or intercept our message spells? Well, whatever, I am done playing with this knight. My father loosely permitted me to take the initiative, and his will is my command.
Suppose there was an opportunity to kill and erase all our problems. An opportunity to cut our losses and just kill the enemy. He trusted me to take it but be mindful of the consequences.
Well, I saw the opportunity and ignored the consequences. Father, forgive me, but I no longer cared about the three maids. Albedo and I had a conversation earlier, we agreed to take the ultimate initiative. The unfair deaths of the maids will be avenged but not corrected.
Sung-bastard's corpse was gone, but it was likely nearby and most likely being tended to. The usual PVP tactics taught to shouldn't apply here. The tactically lose twice and win once was the standard but this situation was the golden exception.
Demiurge may strongly disagree, but that was his problem. My father may or may not punish me, yet I will do everything for Nazarick, even if I am hated. This was it, and Albedo quietly agreed with my initiative earlier, sensing my decision.
"Skill: The Goal of All Life is Death. Widen Penetrate Magic: Cry of the Banshee!"
A deaf, penetrating scream echoed in front of me, moving forward with deathly ambition: the ultimate skill and the ultimate spell. This was the ultimate death spell, if Reinhard survived. Then, he will survive.
A dead city and a hero who still lives. A massive strategic failure for him, a massive tactical victory for us. By now the entire half of the city must've been affected by the spell. Reinhard, sharp as he was, immediately sensed something horrible and picked up his pace, heading straight towards me.
The sword on his waist was finally unsheathed. The brilliant luminosity was blinding. This was it, the endgame.
The TGOALID had a timer. Once the twelve seconds had passed, everyone would die. They were literally on borrowed time.
"1 second has passed."
"2 seconds have passed."
"3 seconds have passed."
(The next chapter is a return to the old form. Temporarily.)