As I looked at the flickering light beyond the narrow space, the tingling of my Dangersense intensified. I couldn’t help the sinking feeling that we were heading into more trouble than we could handle. Still, it wasn’t like I had much choice in the matter.
Nihilator would not accept failure.
15 – Who’s the Boss?
We walked carefully through the dark cavern. The ground was uneven, forcing us to choose our steps carefully. Fortunately, we were all able to see in the dark to varying degrees, so there was no need to carry a light source that would give away our presence.
“Hold on, I need to check something,” I whispered to the others and dismounted Tempest.
It was something crumbled, pressed between the rocks. Putting my hand inside the fissure, I pulled out a piece of cloth. It was a drawing of a skull with two axes lodged in it. I recognized the symbol. It was another armband of the Cracked Skull Clan. Barska’s clan. More evidence of his past dealings with this, seemingly extinct, Ogre clan. Looking back at the fissure, I saw something else. Another armband?
“What’cha got there?” Malkyr whispered hoarsely.
“It’s a note.” I straightened the crumpled piece of paper.
Crumpled Note
To Jawbreaker, Ogre Chieftain,
As we agreed, for lending me your Ogre warriors, I’m sending you a gift of great power.
In this package, you will find a chalice and a blueprint for a shrine.
Build the shrine in a dark location, then place the chalice on top and fill it with your blood.
This will summon a demon of great power that will grant you strength beyond your wildest dreams.
–Barska Demon Eye
That chalice thing sounded familiar. I took out the Book of the Damned and leafed through it until I found the page I was looking for. It was a description for conducting a demonic summoning ritual. According to the text, an enchanted chalice had to be filled with the blood of a victim. A demon would then appear and offer his services to the one who performed the ceremony while consuming the victim’s soul.
I shook my head. That was how Barska rewarded those who helped him, tricking them into losing their souls. Devious even after his death.
I informed the others of my conclusion.
“That explains why the place is overrun with demons,” Hoshisu said softly. “A botched summoning ritual. They killed all the Ogres and took over the fort. Interesting. I’ve never encountered such an extreme change of monster populace before.”
“Wow, they weren’t kidding when they said this world was a living, breathing thing,” Malkyr added. “Still, it sounds like a standard dungeon dive; find the demon boss, kill it, and all the others will disappear. Easy, right?”
Well, he was glib, but he wasn’t wrong. “I guess so. Let’s keep going.”
Ahead of us, two large pillars bordered a section of the cave. The entrance was easily a couple dozen meters high. The light from the green flames was coming from within. I paused for a moment and summoned my mastiffs.
As we approached, we could see clearly inside. A shrine stood at the center, and a golden chalice sat atop it. Green flames shone out of the chalice, illuminating the place with an ominous glare. As we watched, a silvery mist manifested out of the shrine and floated upward, disappearing in the ceiling above us. It appeared we’d found the source of the Ogres’ possession.
“Careful now, lads,” Kuzai whispered. “There surely be demons nearby.”
“YOU ARE QUITE ASTUTE, DWARF.”
It was the terrible voice from my vision. The ground shook as the creature appeared, manifesting behind the shrine, bathed in green light. He had the general shape of an Ogre, though much larger – five meters tall at least. His bulky, massive body looked blackened and desiccated with cracks spread all over him. Green flames erupted from those cracks. Two-meter-long horns extended from his forehead and were shrouded in green flames as well. This was a creature of nightmares.
Jawbreaker, Sentinel Demon [possessed]
Level: 42 (0%)
Type: Boss Tier 1 [Sentinel]
HP: 1,268, MP: 732
Attributes: P: 56, M: 12, S: 2
Skills: Burn Soul 52, Punch 52, Suffocating Flames 22, Retribution 22
Traits: Demonic, Guard Zone (blocks specific target), Regeneration 20
Resistances: Fire 100%, Armor 184, Mental 70%, Spell 50%, Cold -50%, Holy -50%, Poison Immunity
Description: Sentinel demons specialize in barring access to specific locations. They are patient beings and can lay in wait for decades. They’re cunning and ferocious and have an impressive arsenal of devastating combat abilities.
That was … baffling. I’d expected a unique description of the final boss. After all, this creature used to be the Ogre chief. He had obviously gone through some dramatic changes. It was strange that the description did not reflect that.
Still, the damned thing looked incredibly strong. Its resistances were significant; breaking through its armor wasn’t going to be easy. Add to that his thousand-plus HP and possessed Master-ranked combat skills meant we were in for a tough fight.
“WELCOME, INTRUDERS. YOU HAVE BEEN EXPECTED. ONCE I HAVE FEASTED ON YOUR SOULS, I WILL BE ABLE TO BREAK THE SHACKLES AND ….”
“Jeesh, villains and their monologues, give me a break,” Malkyr said. He tossed away an empty potion bottle of Ogre’s Might, hoisted his axe and charged at Jawbreaker.
The massive demon paused mid-sentence and looked comically surprised at being interrupted.
Adding his running momentum to his swing, Malkyr struck hard at the creature’s thigh. The axe bit into the tough, blackened flesh, inflicting only 28 points of damage. Uncharged, Malkyr’s axe was no match against the demon’s tough hide. In response, a jet of green flames erupted from the small wound, scorching the big man.
Hoshisu sighed. “I guess it’s on.” She withdrew her enchanted Chainsaw Belt and threw it at the creature. Not to be outdone, I shot my drilling arrows, ordered the mastiffs to attack, and launched my dagger. Bek added his own two spinning arrows to the onslaught.
Jawbreaker just stood there, taking all the punishment. Hoshisu’s belt rotated and screeched, but the inner sharpened saws couldn’t penetrate its armor. Likewise, the mastiffs pounced on him, doing little to no damage. My dagger scored only a shallow scratch. The six drilling arrows fared a little better; despite the creature’s spell resistance that reduced their full potential, they inflicted 42 points of damage in total.
Holding his amulet and invoking his deity’s name, Kuzai created a radiant golden ball and launched it at Jawbreaker. The sphere of light soared through the air, illuminating the entire area. It hit the demon on his chest, doing 75 points of damage. The demon bellowed a howl filled with fury. Pieces of black flesh withered and fell from the point of impact, leaving behind gaping holes filled with green flames.
We had all given our best on this first round and had barely reduced the monster’s health by ten percent.
The creature ceased his howling and started laughing. “PATHETIC. YOU WILL HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN THAT, WORMS.”
His regeneration ability kicked in, gradually filling up his health bar. He arched backward and his chest expanded, enlarging the fissures covering his body. The green flames coming out of him intensified and burst in all directions, covering the entire area and shrouding us all in flames and ash. Malkyr held up his gauntleted hand, but the flames just washed over him. The gauntlet couldn’t absorb this strange green fire.
The flames inflicted 42 points of damage to all of us and the ash remained, filling our lungs and obscuring our view. Everyone started coughing and rubbing their eyes. Tempest alone was unaffected by the attack. Being a demon had its advantages when fighting one.
Half choked and coughing, I called out, “Bek – hack – hack – get back!” Our little mobile healing platform was no
t built to take damage like the rest of us.
Stubbornly, Malkyr continued to chop at Jawbreaker, his repeated hits making shallow marks on the creature’s tough exterior. Every time he struck, a small jet of flames erupted out, searing him for a small amount of damage. This was not going well.
Time to bring out the big guns. I took out the Fire Rod and loaded it with a level 20 void crystal. “Malkyr – hand!”
The big man took my meaning immediately. While fighting off a cough, he released one hand from his axe and held it out to me. I activated the rod, releasing a gust of flames at him, reducing its durability by 20 points. The flames were sucked in by the gauntlet and the axe’s rune lit up. Placing his free hand back on the hilt, the axe blazed even brighter. It then began to vibrate, displacing the air around it in what I now recognized as Malkyr’s Concussive Strike skill. He was going all out too.
His Greataxe struck true, shattering the demon’s tough armor-like skin, sending ripples of shockwaves directly into its body and forcing the creature to take a step back to steady itself.
Despite the awesome blow, it only caused 50 points of damage, and Malkyr was sprayed with another gust of flame, bringing his health down to 60 percent.
It took the demon only a second to recuperate from the shockwave. He straightened and bellowed a thunderous chuckle. “BETTER, WORM, BUT STILL – NOT ENOUGH!”
The creature raised both hands high above Malkyr’s head. His fists ignited with hot, green flames. Malkyr was in trouble.
“No!” Hoshisu cried, charging forward while coughing. Her daggers scrapped at the demon’s side, doing little damage. I couldn’t cast another spell for a few seconds, so I tried using Freeze. The effort took 102 of my MP. The creature gave off only the slightest indication of being impeded. Two globes of energy – one golden, one green – hit Malkyr, as our two healers targeted him, raising his health to 90 percent.
Then the fists came crashing down together. Malkyr tried to block with his axe, but he had no chance against that behemoth. The two blazing, rock-like fists descended on the man, flattening him against the rocks. I heard the audible crack of bones. The fists lifted and Malkyr’s body appeared, looking all wrong, broken, and misshapen. He was still alive though, with about 20 percent of his health remaining. He couldn’t survive another hit.
“Shadow-crap!” I cast Shadow Web, sent my dagger zooming at the demon, and ordered Tempest to attack. The web sizzled and withered in the green flames. Hoshisu rushed at her brother and tried to pull him away from the enemy. Jawbreaker wasn’t about to let her get away with that and raised his two flaming fists again. Then Tempest charged in. Coming from behind, the large Demon Wolf jumped on the possessed Ogre, its teeth sinking deep into the creature’s shoulder and clamping hard, interrupting the next attack and buying us a few seconds.
I could sense both Kuzai and Bek casting their healing spells over Malkyr. No one was facing Jawbreaker directly. I knew what that meant. “Time to go play the goblin tank again,” I grunted, stepping forward to stand before the huge creature and activating Mana Shield.
Bellowing a roar, the enraged Ogre grabbed Tempest with two hands, ripped him off his shoulder and hurled him across the chamber. Poor Tempest struck a stone column, hard, then slid to the ground where he remained, whimpering. Jawbreaker straightened, puffing his chest again.
“Shit, another wave – get ready!” I managed to yell before the green fire and ash exploded out of the demon’s body again, washing the area all around us. I was protected by my shield and wasn’t damaged, but the others were scattered and they each got their share. Luckily, the healers managed to get their restorative magic into Malkyr, or else the blast would have ended him. Everyone was injured to various degrees.
I launched a volley of drilling arrows straight into Jawbreaker’s face, doing 30 damage. That got his attention. The demon reached down to me with one arm, green flames dancing between his fingers. His palm was stopped by my shield, hovering a few centimeters away from my face. I breathed a little easier. I could sense him activating his Burn Soul skill. I wasn’t keen on discovering firsthand what that ominous-sounding skill actually did.
Then something unexpected happened.
Break Enchantment hits Mana Shield
Mana Shield spell will be unusable for one minute.
My shield shattered around me and the burning palm reached in and grabbed me. I screamed as the flames cooked my body and boiled my blood. My health plummeted; I was losing 42 HP per second. The others were still recovering from their wounds and couldn’t help. I lost precious seconds and large chunks of health as I writhed in agony before willing myself to act through the pain. I tried using Shadow Teleport, but for the first time, it failed.
You cannot teleport while being restrained.
The flames continued to cook me alive and I was reduced to 50 percent of my health. However, with nearly 300 points of damage inflicted, my Blood Wrath ability kicked in. I channeled the raw rage brought on by the pain, blasting it out around me as a pushing force. Triple-charged, the blast was strong enough to pry open the fist around me. I fell to the hard ground, losing a few more HP. I managed to stand and look up in time to see the two flaming fists descend on me.
Nihilator’s Sanction triggered.
Due to receiving a fatal amount of damage, you have transformed into a being of shadow for one minute. You are completely undetectable and invulnerable for the duration and may move freely. Once the duration is over, you will return to the material plane, fully healed. Mana regenerates at the normal rate.
This ability will not be usable again for the next 24 hours.
Well, damn. That demon basically killed me. I was saved by my boss tier 2 trump card, ‘Nihilator's Sanction.’ The surrounding shadows were drawn to me like a magnet, bringing me back to full health.
It was obvious now; our enemy was too strong for us. We couldn’t hope to defeat him in a straight up fight. We had to change our tactics. I had nearly a minute to figure out what to do next. I just hoped the others would survive that long. The Shadow Hounds didn’t; that second blast of fire had taken them all out.
For the moment, Jawbreaker seemed content to secure his position over the shrine. The others maintained their distance and concentrated on healing themselves.
I looked up at the ceiling. Almost every book I read that dealt with defeating an overwhelmingly powerful monster underground ended with the resourceful hero causing a stalagmite to fall on said monster, winning the day. Alas, there were no such conveniently placed stone spears in the area above us.
Well, that only left one other possibility. I inspected the shrine carefully. Now that I was invulnerable, I could ignore the imminent danger long enough to concentrate. Luckily, despite being officially on a different plane of existence, I could still ‘read’ the streams of information coming from the material plane.
The shrine exuded darkness, no surprise there. Black-green ribbons extended out of it, stretching all over. I could sense each ribbon connected to a creature, binding him. Most of the ribbons went upward. That made sense; most demons we encountered were higher up in the fort. A single ribbon went sideways, but to my surprise, it didn’t connect with Jawbreaker. Instead, it disappeared into a dark area even I couldn’t see into. That was weird. Jawbreaker did have a black and green ribbon tethered to it, but that one, like the others from the shrine, was going upward. Yep, weird.
The other party members finally came up with a battle plan. Holding up his amulet, Kuzai cast a spell. A wave of light pushed back the ash and lit up the place. A glitter of light remained on each party member. I snorted. Great, now he remembers to use his buff spells.
Tempest remained behind, still recovering, while the group advanced. Their healing spells were probably ineffective on a demon.
This time, moving together, the twins advanced on Jawbreaker in their usual stance. Kuzai wielded his maul and moved away from them. It looked like they were trying to flank the demon. Bek remained far
behind, at the edge of his heal range. I had to admit it was not a bad plan. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t work. Jawbreaker was too powerful for us. His regeneration had already fully healed him. My party members stood no chance against him. Not on their own. With a few seconds remaining on the clock, I watched the melee fighters flanking the demon, who was unwilling to move away from the shrine. The fighters lunged forward, the twins with axe and daggers, the dwarf swinging his heavy maul. Before any weapon could connect, the demon chuckled and activated his Suffocating Flames spell. Fire erupted from his body, pushing everyone away, breaking their momentum. At least Kuzai’s glittering buff seemed effective at repelling the ash.
Still invisible to the demon, I moved next to the shrine, placing it between us. I crouched and hid behind the small structure. A second later I reappeared back in the material plane, fully healed.
The sounds of fighting continued. Still crouching, I took out the Book of the Damned and leafed through it. The book had proved to be invaluable in this adventure. Based on the ribbons I saw, I guessed Ka-De came from the lone, deserted pool we encountered in the great hall above us. I already I knew how to activate the pools. Now I was looking for a way to reverse the effect. Hopefully targeting the demon directly – instead of the pool it came from – would work.
There. Plain and simple. I just had to reverse the mana fluctuation and the pool gate would close. Without the open gateway to sustain it, the demon would be weakened and quickly ‘run out of gas.’ This approach would not have helped us fight the hordes of demons above since the guardian Pyrolith would have simply reactivated the pools. But now that the guardian was dealt with, it should work.
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