This is bad. Those three words were on a repeat in my mind's blackout as the big skull began its descent onto the battlefield, its visage like a boss encounter.

This was easily the strongest of the undead we've faced by far. But it wasn't due to its stat pool. Those were atleast not as threatening to see. Outside its Magicka and Spirit scores being an even 300, the others were at a static 100 value but its Luck at a 0 value. And for its 50 levels, its HP sphere did not seem to be that high. It was just everything else encompassing this Element Skull.

The first was seeing it have a 'Spectral' meter of a sort, like a third resource bar. Second was the numerous passive buffs surrounding it: one was an [Elemental Aura] that granted it four separate bonuses related to the prime elements, one was [Unholy Power] giving it a damage boost, one was [Unholy Armor] to increase its defenses, one was [Absorb Elements] which blocked then converted 'elemental' damages into MP, and the last could only be read as foreign characters by my [Scan]. I think that last one was tied to the swirling mass shining above it, my best guess being some sort of 'Wave' buffing mechanic. So there's no telling what that bonus effect granted it.

And it didn't stop there. Third came the plethora of passive bonus feats that were marked. [Empowered Undead], [Heightened Magic], [Elemental Boost], [Improved Caster Level], [Minor Spell Mastery], and a host of defensive factors like [Heavy Resistance], [Elemental Armor], and [Low Tier Immunity]. It even had specific resistances to 'Slashing' and 'Piercing' attacks, and protections against some status effects and critical hits.

Lastly was seeing its large move pool of four Element typings, along with [Consume Magic], [Drain Life], [Drain Mana], and [Recharge] as skills. This monster was like a high level elementalist with some necromancer abilities.

Again those words echoed in my head - this is bad. The only silver lining here was my [Scan] did reveal it had particular vulnerability to Holy damages. But what to do... the Element Skull was hovering a couple stories above us now.

In the corner of my eye, I could see the three shield-bearing Holy Knights rally to Elisha's side just as Andrek came to mine.

"We need to get you out of here," the Guildmaster immediately spoke to me in a low voice as to not attract the monster's attention. The undead's one-eyed gaze was trained on Elisha's group as it turned on their trained formation.

My reply was just as prompt, "This is a powerful monster, Guildmaster," and felt his tug on my arm, but I didn't budge off the frozen ground. I then shook my head to him to openly state-

"I don't think they can win without me." The Holy Knights had the advantage in numbers and perhaps the plus side on a type matchup, but that thing's one [Blizzard] spell took out atleast a third of their brigade and left the rest in a downed state. I really wanted to run away but seeing that elf beauty I had met facing down this horrifying creature seemed to give me the courage to step up.

A dim red light shone from her helm to cover the floating skull. [Scan] showed my target was 'taunted'. What came next was its distant screech from God knows where and started preparing a [Pyroblast] to cast: a piece of molten rock being conjured in midair. I could tell this was going to be a huge damage spell, especially how it consumed a sizeable chunk of its mana to activate.

I had less than three seconds to act and shouted, "[Shackle]," in a casting as an ethereal link of chains instantly coiled around the Element Skull and just in time to freeze its spellcast. I heard the Guildmaster gasp behind me, but my little intervention was short-lived as a second later its [Consume Magic] skill activated to literally eat the CC effect and even refreshed a portion of the enemy's MP bar on its removal.

That move must be its 'dispelling' mechanic, but I saw from my [Scan] that that particular icon was put on a timed cooldown period. The Element Skull then spun around to fix its gaze upon me and quick casted [Call Thunder]. The speed of it was too fast to even think of interrupting as a blue light flashed from above.

I looked up to see the faint markings of a cloud above me and Andrek's position. The old uncle had some pretty damn fast reflexes as he dove out the way as a bolt of lightning literally crashed onto me.

The pain was intense as my entire body went stiff to the sensations of an electrical shock and brought me to my knees. Thankfully the combination of [Earth Shield] with [Shell] greatly reduced the damage I suffered as I let out a soundless gasp upon its release. My eyes went right back to my undead target to see it had already casted [Shockwave] after it.

"Rikku!" I could barely hear Andrek scream my name as this time my body was blasted backwards by the force of this spell. Again - my HP loss was low, but my body still riddled with the shocking effects of its spell... and the aches of rolling on the cold ground. My mind was put into a 'dazed' state that lasted a handful of seconds. I then staggered back to my feet and noticed that somewhere during my electrocutions, my [Will-o-wisp] had been destroyed by one of the bolts.

The battle was on as the Element Skull had turned its attention back to the knights and was crashing spell upon spell onto their shielded formation. I stretched my body out, my [Regen] spell refreshing the wounds pinching my body and realized that somehow during my tumble, I had managed to hold onto my weapon.

I felt another tug at my back. It was the Guildmaster dragging me backwards, but I wanted to stand my ground.

"It is too risky," came Andrek's voice. "We need you safe." Three more defenders rushed past us to join the fray. Two were archers who loosed skill enhanced arrows as the mage used a fire spell upon the undead caster. The two arrows merely 'bounced' off their target, and the mage's flames were added to its MP. The Element Skull didn't even register those attacks as a threat and kept flashing spells into the line of knights.

I cried out to the mage, "Don't use any elemental magic. That thing just absorbs it." The mage turned his head back to me with an even whiter face, his whole body trembling to my announcement. I managed to shake off the Guildmaster to look at him with a serious expression while pointing outward.

"They are not going to hold out for long," my words referring to how each of the Element Skull's spells was literally shattering the [Holy Barrier] technique the four knights employed. Each cast cracked it more and more, with one knight collapsing to a bolt that pierced through. It was a helluva bind.

The real problem was the knights had no way to counterattack their opponent who was high enough in the air to launch spells with impunity. And the three extras did nothing to change the situation as their attacks could not even affect this undead.

Then something more appalling happened. The Element Skull's MP bar was nearly depleted after another six continuous casts, but it channeled its [Recharge] skill to regain most of its mana back. Though I did notice it consumed a portion of its 'Spectral' meter to do so. So not even the plan to hold out until its mana was gone was a viable one. We'll all be long dead before then as its spectral power was atleast double its HP and MP spheres combined.

I told Andrek what I just learned about our opponent who replied back, "All the more reason to get you out of here. This battle's lost." It was hard hearing those words to give up, but I couldn't accept it after seeing Elisha's backline get blasted backwards by the Element Skull's next spell, [Air Slash] - its propeller-like blade cutting right through their defenses. The next spellcast will hit her un-shielded.

I raised my Curved Rod high and shouted, "[Holy Aura]," as I felt its glow cover my body and fill me with a surge of power. The 'light' then spread out in a radius around me - some 30 feet - as my inner eye picked up on its multiple effect. This aura, coupled with the four bonus ranks, should give me an edge over my opponent here. The Element Skull must have sensed my casting for its eye turned back around. I instinctively moved from my current position, hoping to isolate myself as its next spell's only target.

As I ran, I turned my head back to see the Guildmaster aiming the other three defenders away from our previous spot. I quickly casted [Shackle] again to see it get bound in a silvery link, but it broke free a couple seconds later with another [Consume Magic] use, putting its skill on cooldown again. But those seconds were a precious few as the Holy Knights (minus one) managed to regain their footing.

I was slammed with another [Shockwave] spell, but this time I was not hurled backwards as I now had another layer of protection granted by my [Holy Aura]. The pain barely registered with the spell this time with the feeling being more of a hit by a crashing wave. I barely lost my footing to the attack and was even able to resist the 'dazed' effect from said magic.

I recasted [Shell] and [Haste] as I ran before my body was consumed in a pillar of flame, [Flamestrike]. I saw the cast coming, so I had prepared myself to feel a scorching heat... but the pain was nothing like I imagined. It felt like a hot poker searing every inch of my skin.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

I bit down hard to muffle my screams, but I could only wait until these flames subsided. It was an agonizing eight seconds, and the ground was caked in ash after the spell was done. My body was smoking, and I could even feel my hairs singed. Thankfully [Regen] was still active, so my drop in HP was being restored, although it did little to relieve the lingering pain.

Though I managed to power through here, my undead opponent hardly waited to press its advantage. A pool of swirling lights was around it... for it had been channeling some kind of magic power that my [Scan] could only register as question marks, and it was but two seconds away from its casting.

In a counter move to prevent the Element Skull from unleashing this spell - I used [Stone], hoping its CC effect would go through the undead's defenses, and it worked. My target began to freeze over in a gray petrification, until the weight of it fell from the sky to plant in the ground below. It was almost laughable how its skullhead thudded at that side tilt, but it remained unmoving to give us some time.

I let out a huge moan and collapse to a knee as my body went to shivering from the aftereffects of being burned alive. It was amazing I could still see straight with my eyes as wet as they were. I took a few seconds to recast my [Regen] spell then cast [Light Healing] to bring my HP to full. The 'Refresh' effect from the latter did alleviate most of the pain I felt, but the battle was hardly over.

"NO," I cried out as I saw the knights move towards our opponent with their main weapons raised. "Don't..." my voice was in a panic as I screamed not to do any damage to its current state, explaining we probably had less than a minute until my control spell broke and any direct attack could release it prematurely.

The knights heeded my call and rushed over to my side instead. Andrek too.

"Are you okay," came Elisha's voice a second later. She was a bit muffled, but I could hear the elf's concern behind her heavy plate. I'm sure the appearance of myself being blasted directly with a lightning bolt and that [Flamestrike] must have looked pretty 'bad'.

"I'll be fine." I didn't know how else to answer her. Despite it all, my HP was back to full with my MP bar still over half capacity. I took in a deep breath to stand back up to gauge the Element Skull. Its form was 'twitchy', but its movements were still encased in stone. I noticed its [Consume Magic] skill would soon be off its cooldown in another 10 seconds.

I then went over some strategy with the four around me, "We only have about 10 seconds before it will likely break free. Can you guys form that shield wall around me?" Two of the knights were in agreement as they raised their shields and began chanting. It was pretty disheartened to watch possibly the flimisest magic barrier form around us, but it was better than nothing I guess.

Elisha then spoke, "Our mana is nearly spent, Rikku-dono. Do you have a spell to end this battle quick?" The tension in her voice was rising due to the Element Skull's stone form now cracking open.

"No," as I shook my head. "Our only chance is to hit it with our strongest attacks when its defenses are down. But we are a long way from there." The Element Skull then broke free of its binding, shaking the dirt off its rainbow shine, and began levitating back up. I could feel its enmity on me as it rose higher in the air. A distant cry echoed behind it.

My own MP was well over 60% now, and I immediately went to casting a [Smite] on the undead to measure the damage to be done... with its grenade of white light doing nothing to the opponent's HP sphere and leaving behind only the visual of a dark purple shimmering around it. That was almost enough to just sag in defeat before spotting its Spectral meter had a considerable enough drop. That was when I realized the defense mechanic at play here. This Element Skull had a low HP sphere, but it was more than made up for by this third bar. I wanted to tell my discovery to the others but-

"Brace yourselves," Elisha cried out as the undead launched an [Air Slash] on our gathered position. A small magic shield sprung out of thin air to block the blade of wind before it could cut through the barrier covering us.

"I won't be able to do that again." The elf had used some sort of combo ability of [Aegis] and [Intercept] to collide with the enemy spell and break its effect.

"This... thing has some sort of Spectral power," in explaining what I learned to the others. "We have to exhaust 'that' first, before we can even kill it."

"Elisha, spread out!" This was from Andrek as the undead was preparing another [Shockwave] spell. The two just barely managed to dodge the electric wave as it slammed into our shielded formation, but it was just enough to make us budge backwards through our defense.

"[Shackle]!" I casted this again and finally got it to hold in its 'imprison' effect. That [Consume Magic] icon was showing another 20 seconds for its cooldown to be over, giving us some added time here.

"Listen..." I cried after. "I'm going to start casting spells to weakening it, but I will likely have nothing left to finish it off." This time I directed my speech to the two knights before me-

"I'm going to need you to hold this barrier as long as you can." The two knights shouted "Hai!" with their shields out in a tense stance and aimed my next words to Elisha and Andrek a few yards off our flanks, "You'll only have a second, maybe two, to strike it with your best attack."

Elisha on our left raised her sword lance and shouted, "And the signal?" Of course, I had no idea how to answer that back but said-

"I'll say when. Just try to conserve your strength until then." I then started using magic upon my shackled foe while I hoping I had enough MP to finish this in the coming battle phase. I started with [Dispel]. The first cast was lucky and removed the Element Skull's [Unholy Armor], but the next three were resisted. My fifth managed to get down its [Unholy Power], but I couldn't waste any more mana in trying to remove its other two buffs.

[Consume Magic] was but 5 seconds from refreshing when I prepared to use [Slow], but I had to time this particular debuff to run consecutively after its imprisonment. Seconds later, the Element Skull broke free while I casted [Slow] at that exact moment. The timing could not have been any more precise as the sigil of a clock in reverse took hold over the undead on my first use of it. This spell effect would only last up to 40 seconds, but its movement and action speeds would suffer a 75% debuff. The air even looked hazy around it.

Next, I went for a [Holy Fire] to see my target erupt in a golden flame. But despite its visual, the damage it did was not high, but I was hoping the residual damages of its 'burning' effect would help dwindle the undead's Spectral meter. Those flaming ticks also had a side bonus of increasing the target's vulnerability to Holy magic and skills.

Then I called out [Smite] in rapid succession. Together, the MP drain was hefty as each consecutive cast of white light blasted my target to take roughly a 10% value off its Spectral meter. Meanwhile the Element Skull fired off two spells of its own - [Call Thunder] and [Ice Beam] - but each got delayed long enough for the knights to maintain their barrier through each hit. And just so, I wasn't sure if their shield could withstand another of its spells. The two were practically screaming in effort at this point in trying to maintain it through all the shattering.

After another four [Smite]s, my mana was nearly depleted but my last cast had removed its Spectral bar to put a small dent in the Element Skull's health pool. It was hardly enough to cripple it per say, but its resources were dropped for the chance of a kill shot to succeed. That was until it used [Drain Life] - a green tether leeching onto me as it reduced my health to restore its own, enough to overbalance the continuous effect of my [Holy Fire] spell... and then to start refilling the Spectral meter I just spent the last twenty seconds to remove. This link went right through the knights' [Holy Barrier] technique.

I cried out in frustration as I waved my Curved Rod before it trying to break the effect, before realizing how futile of an action that was. But I had no mana left to interrupt this move, so I started to channel [Meditate] myself to atleast prepare myself for a Round Two.

However, my eye caught Andrek jumping in at a blurring speed as his great blade arced in a wide slash that cut the connection between us. In that same moment, he literally bounced off the air and flipped towards the Element Skull with a battle cry-

"HIYAAH!" An intake of air rushed my lungs as I watched the Guildmaster's flying form reach the undead some 20 feet in the air, the edge of his greatsword making contact between its horned crown. Another roar and a flash of light from his sword skill [Heavy Slash], and the Element Skull was hurling towards the ground at a high speed from that 'crushing' blow. My [Scan] showed its Spectral bar was gone, and the undead's HP sphere being opened up once again.

I was about to call out to strike it now, but Elisha's voice howled true, "Imada!" She came out of her stance already charging at full speed, her sword lance enveloped in a burning light I recognized as the [Sword Smite] attack. This may have been prudent... but our best chance, so I cancelled my [Meditate] to shout [Might] with her set as my target. The red buff glowed hot around the holy knight just as she got in range to yell out in a furious stroke.

DNNGGG... The clash of her blade to target was pitch and picture perfect - a straight slash of white flame that left a trail behind her as the impact of her swing rung like a bell as it cleaved through and through. The Element Skull cracked then ricocheted off her attack like a topsy turvy before landing flat on its back... never to move again. Its HP had been reduced to zero as it rainbow shine fizzled away.

And in the sky above, the stormcloud dispersed into a faded mist of palest of blue before settling back into the black dim of a cloudless night.

What I felt could not be described and seeing this finally allowed me to fall back, and not too heroically, on my ass in the relief of it all. This battle appeared to be won as a huge round of cheers echoed in the distance behind us, but I continued to take deep breaths in as I felt the effects of my [High Speed Mana Regen] restore some of my wooziness. A moment after - the knights knelt beside me, also overcome with depletion. They were likely worse off than I was and so thanked them for their protection, but they only nodded in acquiesce. I could see their eyes within their helms were looking at me in high approval.

Andrek was soon on me, lifting me back up to give me a one-armed hug from behind while his roar joined in the cheering chorus coming our way. Elisha was there too, sword balanced in the ground, as her knighted form gave me a half bow.

I laughed to the gesture and teased, "Excellent form there... Elisha-dono." But it was aimed more at her truly magnificent attack and told her so.

"Hey now... don't forget about mine, Rikku-sama," and I turn to smile at the old uncle's jest, but I didn't get a chance to remark about his since the crowd of defenders who had been watching the 'boss' battle from the gate had reached our side. The noise of their cheers then became too loud to continue any conversation amongst ourselves.

Oh and I did notice I gained 3575 XP off that kill with a bonus 10,000 to bring my experience bar past the half mark towards level 31. However, I had no time to delve into my [Class Settings] as I got caught up in the cries and celebrations surrounding our victory here.