Attack, attack, attack. Block. Thrust. Dice roll in the head. Fail. Parry and retreat. Attack again. In full concentration, Klein, on the brink of his strength, struggled to simply survive in the unceasing whirlwind of movements the cursed vampire had drawn him into. The battle seemed to last an eternity, and the paladin was exhausted but couldn't afford to be distracted for a second, risking exposing his comrades to a blow.
Isabella, representing the greatest danger among the trio of adventurers standing on their feet, had long been incapacitated. The incredible vitality of the werewolf allowed her not to die, but her body was riddled with dozens of bloodless wounds, and only the eyes of the beast, burning with rage and hatred, followed the bloodsucker who had done this to her. Sooner or later, she would regenerate, but such extensive damage would take hours, if not days, to heal, and Klein already felt each breath coming with pain.
Anya, clutching the edges of her cut abdomen, stubbornly crawled toward the other unconscious comrades, seeking protection behind the paladin, who was unceasingly approaching his death with each new scratch. There was no help to be expected. Isabella looked more like a corpse than a living creature, and Anya could now be killed even by a newborn kitten.
And Klein fought. He knew he wouldn't win. He understood he would die here and now. But he didn't want to give up. Viktor rightly noted that he had lived for so many centuries not just for nothing, and Klein, though not for as long, lived not to die in a crypt forgotten by the gods. At least not just like that. And the young man resisted.
Attack. And again, attack, attack, attack. Take the slashing blow on the shield, letting the enemy's blade slide across the smooth steel, and deliver a counter thrust. Return to the defensive stance, leaving no vulnerable openings. And still, this damned ghoul finds them. Ignore the pain from a new wound on the shoulder, ignore the dizziness from anemia. Ignore the nausea from the lack of mana. Strike, parry, and strike again, then dodge.
Entering a state of flow, Klein seemed to go into a trance. The whole world was blurred, and his mind was empty and clear. No emotions, no extraneous thoughts, just complete focus on the enemy. Perhaps never before in his life had the young paladin fought so skillfully. He did not analyze, did not plan, did not cast spells. His body simply knew what to do and did it without direct human control. Suddenly, Anya's voice brought the young man out of this state, causing him to stagger and take a powerful blow to the chest.
A rib cracked, piercing the lung, and the boy coughed. This significantly worsened the human's position, and the undead prepared to end the duel. The pain helped Klein come to his senses to understand what the girl was saying to him.
- ...You idiotic jerk, stop ignoring me and catch!
The audacious girl had crawled to her comrades not just to seek protection but with a specific goal: to take and use their equipment. Reaching Robert, she removed his rings and threw one to the paladin. Reflexively catching it, Klein immediately realized what it was. The Ring of Eternal Mana. Despite its grandiose name, it gave only one additional unit of mana per day. A treasure for a mage whose spells cost equally, but a trinket for a paladin whose healing or light beam required two mana...
- Do something already, you dumb blockhead! - The little assassin screamed in frenzy, putting on the second ring of their leader and activating it - [Stone Ring]!
A stone projectile burst from the ring, forming and growing along the way. Not expecting this, Viktor didn't have time to dodge, and the projectile hit the vampire's shoulder, shattering bones and causing him to drop the sword from his hand. Howling in pain and rage, the dungeon master abandoned the sword and his humanity, rushing at Klein with his fangs bared. He intended to devour the human like a monster, not kill him like a human, albeit a former one. It was obvious that Viktor feared the unknown ring his enemy had received.
Time seemed to stop, and Klein extracted that meager unit of mana from the ring. Yes, it was incredibly little, but it was all he had, and with a first-circle miracle, the young man would somehow have to turn the whole battle around. Using [Examination] was pointless. [Cleansing] could harm the undead somewhat, but if multiple second-circle [Beams of Light] didn't bring victory, what to say about a single lower-level miracle? [Light] would blind the opponent, but what good would that do? [First Aid] isn't even considered healing. It won't heal wounds, only help to fight, ignoring them for a while. Having no better option, he had to use it.
However, at the last moment, an idea struck Klein, and he extended his hands towards Isabella:
- [First Aid]!
And the werewolf instantly sprang into action, slamming the vampire into the wall. Isabella, a manifestation of rage and beastly power, shredded the bloodsucker with full dedication, and he responded in kind. Flesh, fur, and blood flew as two monsters clashed in combat, discarding everything that made them human-like.
Klein had a moment to catch his breath, but he knew Isabella wouldn't last long; he hadn't healed her, only given her some strength and relieved her pain, and she couldn't defeat the enemy even in her best form. Time was literally running out; Klein bet she wouldn't last even half a minute. He had to act, and he mentally reviewed the list of his comrades' items and abilities, finding what he needed, and shouted to Anya:
- Robert's potion! Give it here!
Without unnecessary words, the assassin's nimble fingers pulled a small vial from the mage's bag and threw it to the paladin. The Renewal Potion. Able to remove all negative effects, restore health and mana to the maximum. But only once. And its time had come. The young man opened the cap and prepared to drink the potion when his gaze fell on the sleeping comrades.
This potion could bring one of them into the fight. Someone more suitable... But who? Robert? His magic has physical impact, and he's more of a support fighter. Glen? He could fight on par with Isabella, maybe even more effectively, but like the werewolf, the dwarf wouldn't be able to deal fatal damage to the immortal undead. Vasily? The same but worse. Yes, he has magic arrows, but he can only activate a maximum of three, which is unlikely to be enough. Lia? Klein wanted very much to heal her, but he feared she would freeze again, not having time to defeat the enemy. And a single spell would clearly not be enough to defeat him.
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- How little damage we have... - the paladin thought bitterly. A huge amount of support and survivability, but significantly lacking damage, especially against such problematic opponents. And Klein would have to bear the brunt of it now. He brought the potion to his lips.
There was a crash, and stones fell from the ceiling. The young man turned and saw Viktor, all bloody, sending Isabella's body flying with a blow, and now it hung lifelessly from the ceiling, its limbs dangling limply. The ceiling partially collapsed, and the werewolf fell down, crushed by several blocks of stone from above. Klein watched in horror as the fur retracted and the bones reset. The girl was taking her human form. The werewolf had lost. She didn't last even five seconds.
The lovely, emaciated face of Isabella peered out from under the rubble, and only a beam of sunlight, breaking through the fallen ceiling, danced on her face. A breath of fresh air poured into the crypt, disrupting the established silence and stillness.
Viktor turned to Klein. Rage and bloodlust burned in his eyes. Staggering, the vampire moved toward the last standing human. The fight had taken a heavy toll on him; one of his legs was severely damaged, a hole gaped in his chest, and his lower jaw was completely missing. In his fury, the former noble aristocrat ignored his wounds, cherishing his main goal: to kill the enemy faster. And Klein ran.
Leaving Robert behind, Anya looking at him like the last scoundrel, Glen and Vasily with Isabella, he ran away from the bloody horror with his last strength. And it inexorably approached, ignoring the lying bodies. They wouldn't escape. No need to hurry. Klein stumbled and fell, nearly crushing Lia who was nearby. And Viktor loomed over them:
- Your time has come.
- N-no! - Klein pleaded, lying on his stomach. - Please! Stop! I'll do anything, just don't kill!
- Anything? - The monster sneered. - Then feed me your blood and die. And your friends will become my food supply for decades to come. It's time to die. Goodbye.
- Y... Yes. Break everything here! - Klein shouted, turning over and shielding himself with his shield from Viktor's finishing blow.
The latter frowned, not understanding the sharp change in the enemy's behavior, and heard the words:
- Uranus, Lord of the Skies, look down upon the wretched mortals and send us your blessing, your death, your star...
Victor's face twisted when he saw the elf girl lying under the paladin. She looked at him with an unblinking gaze, focused on casting a spell, and the vampire couldn't let her finish. He realized that all the young man's behavior was aimed at reaching the sorceress and pouring the potion into her, awakening her from sleep. And when he lay there begging for mercy – he was actually hiding the fact that he was healing his comrade! The vampire growled and pointed his finger at the girl, intending to put her back to sleep. He spent his last mana, saved for such a moment:
- [Illusion]! [Illusion]! [Illusion]! Fall asleep and die already!
Lia's face twitched as the magic affected her, slowing her speech, but she tried to finish the spell, knowing her comrades believed in her. When the girl woke up, it took her a few seconds to understand the approximate situation by looking at Klein's face, who was bent over her, and listening to the dialogue he was having. And now she couldn't let them down.
The undead's claw rushed toward Lia's chest, bringing death, but Klein's shield, timely interposed, saved her from death.
- When will you die already!? - the vampire growled fiercely and kicked the shield. It didn't harm Klein but sent him flying a few meters, opening the path to the sorceress.
And when the boss was ready to finish off the elf girl, a vial flew into his back, breaking and spilling its contents on the vampire's exposed innards. His muscles began to contract involuntarily, and he fell to his side. Barely turning, Victor saw Anya, who, with trembling hands, was trying to crush some leaf to make a new potion. That cursed girl had taken advantage of the fact that the vampire wasn't watching her and had sat down to make potions! And worst of all, it was enough for the elf to finish the spell!
- ...Sow chaos and death! [Comet]!
Victor braced himself for something terrible, but seconds passed, and nothing changed. And the sorceress didn't start casting a new spell. Looking at her, the boss saw only the glazed look of someone trapped in illusions and unable to escape. And the vampire himself slowly came to his senses, struggling to get to his feet. He laughed with relief:
- Ahaha! Gods! What a nightmare! I... I was so scared! That was clearly a high-level spell! And it didn't work! Ahaha! All your efforts are in vain! What a horror, phew. You're out of luck.
- Didn't work? - Klein asked, circling the enemy and moving toward Anya and the others. - Don't you hear the sound?
- Hmm? Sound?
Listening, Victor indeed heard some kind of hum. However, it was completely unclear where it came from. But judging by the sound, the source was... approaching.
The dungeon master looked at Klein, who was covering himself with a shield and closing his eyes, and, realizing it, said:
- Damn it.
A moment later, a deafening crash sounded, and a cosmic body of ice and gas fell to the ground, shattering the ceiling and walls of the hall. The earth shook, and a shockwave spread in all directions, raising tons of dust. Victor fell to the floor, puzzled, trying to understand what had happened. Seeing the comet itself, he realized that it had missed by about ten meters. It was an incredible destructive force, but it seemed to have trouble hitting the target. And the gods protected the vampire, who remained alive and unharmed even after that. From behind the mountain of dust, the young man's voice was heard:
- Thank you, Lia. You really are a genius.
- You missed, idiots. - The aristocrat shouted into the void. He had long since discarded politeness, manners, and other trappings, remaining who he truly was. And now he did not hold back from insults.
- We weren't aiming at you. Glory to the Lord. Otherwise, we would have died ourselves. The target was the building itself.
- What?
A gust of wind blew the dust away, revealing the full picture. The vampire's eyes saw the remains of an ancient structure, broken and destroyed. One of the walls had completely collapsed, and the second threatened to follow soon, the ceiling covered barely a tenth of its former size. All the paintings, carpets, and exquisite furniture were irretrievably lost. And around, it was a beautiful day with wonderful weather. The breeze pleasantly caressed those gathered, birds sang somewhere in the distance, and the warm rays of the sun calmed and soothed.
Sun rays. Only now did Victor realize that his body itched not from wounds and the assassin girl's potion. It was the sun's rays barely penetrating through the thick veil of dust. However, now the dust was gone, carried away by the wind.
- But I... I did nothing yet...
These were the last words of the vampire Victor von Geir, the dungeon master under the watchful eye of the Nameless Lich Askelatak. And the last thing Klein heard before losing consciousness. Only Anya was able to move. She looked around, seeing the unconscious bodies of her comrades and the ashes with clothing left from their enemy. The girl sighed heavily, discarded the previously prepared ingredients, took a few new herbs from her pouch, and began creating a new potion.