The message was clear: the raid was far from over, and it was only going to get harder. Resistance would be trampled under the rage of the transformed Unicorn — now an Alicorn — and unfortunately, Sheko was its first target. Another blast from Prismo struck the Alicorn’s head, encasing it in a thick layer of granite. The Alicorn shook its massive head, breaking free from the rock with ease, and flapped its wings to dodge an incoming lava wave from Stain.

Sheko had no time to react as the Alicorn’s horn pierced his chest. The sudden halt in momentum sent him hurtling through the air toward the backline—where Mai and Raggedy happened to be stationed. What was that? It moved twice as fast as before—no, four times as fast. Even if I wasn’t surprised, I couldn’t dodge that, Sheko thought as he reached up to take off his game helmet before realizing he was still in the game. Is this a bug? Did I survive?

Refocusing, Sheko opened his eyes, his vision shaky from a concussion debuff that Raggedy hurried to cure. Focus. What’s happening? He examined himself, noticing his rugged leather armor breaking apart and feeling the warmth of blood on his chest. That’s probably bad. Then, he noticed a crumbling dragon scale fall from one of his bracers. Where did that come from?

Before he could ponder further, the Alicorn took to the sky, scanning for a target. Its gaze fell back on Sheko. “Doesn’t it have better things to do? Like kill one of the actual damage dealers?”

Finn, standing nearby, shouted, “No idea, but it’s fully focused on you! Try to hold out!”

Sheko steadied himself as the boss approached. Relaxing his posture, his body swayed almost drunkenly, tuning out Mai’s shouts for him to run. He focused entirely on survival. Activating Sleight of Hand, Sheko equipped one Lethal Spring in each hand. The Alicorn, now in full descent, closed in, its massive body eclipsing not only Sheko but Raggedy and Mai as well. With seemingly minimal effort, Sheko threw one of the circular projectiles over the Alicorn’s head, allowing himself to be pulled along as a blue mark spread across his chest.

In the split second when Sheko passed by the Alicorn, it aimed its horn to impale him again. In response, Sheko twisted his body midair, parrying the horn with his borrowed sword. This maneuver altered his trajectory, allowing him to avoid the deadly wings as he passed under them. Simultaneously, Sheko’s flight slowed as his Lethal Spring embedded itself in the now rough stone ceiling.

The Alicorn landed gracefully, averting its attack in the last moment before being bombarded by magic and projectiles. It shielded itself under its wings, keeping a close eye on Sheko as it spotted him dangling from the ceiling, suspended in midair. Sheko oriented himself upright, remaining as still as possible while Odysseus’s power kept him tethered to the freely moving weight of his Lethal Spring.

It actually worked. How the hell did that work? I’m surviving on pure luck, Sheko thought, panicking inwardly as he finally stabilized himself and locked eyes with the boss once more. Cheers could be heard from far below him in the newly made crater, but Sheko’s brief distraction was a mistake. The Alicorn, proving it was more than just a mindless beast, launched its next attack.

Instead of focusing solely on Sheko, the Alicorn sent out four compressed air currents, blowing six masters down the terraces. Then, it swung its wings forward, releasing crystal shards the size of arrows and as wide as a forearm. Luckily, the arc of the crystals kept most of them from hitting Sheko directly, but when he tried to block an incoming shard with his sword, it exploded in a fireball that scorched his arm, leaving him reeling from the shock and empty handed.

The Alicorn spread its wings, intent on closing in on Sheko as he swung did his best to keep return to the correct mindset. All the while, the continuous barrage of spells and arrows chased the Alicorn across the vast chamber.

Legendria - the Sacred Grove, Finn, greater enchanter

Unknown to the rest of the raid, Finn and his team did their best to keep Sheko alive. Unlike the flashy abilities of other masters, Finn’s embryo wasn’t visually impressive on the battlefield, and he couldn’t turn the tide of battle alone. But his ultimate skill was a tool that anyone with experience would recognize for its value. Killer of Truth - Loki was an active ability that allowed Finn to spend varying amounts of MP to change the target of phenomena affecting his allies. While he could protect Sheko by redirecting damage to others, this approach was inefficient. Instead, Finn tapped into his own potion supply—and the supply Mai had donated—to heal Sheko. One of Finn’s friends would drink a potion, which was amplified by their Drunken Master job, then transfer all the healing to Sheko.

Keeping Sheko alive and the Alicorn distracted was a solid strategy, but Finn had bigger ideas. “Prismo, I have an idea. You have a big attack, right? How many times can you use it?”

Prismo answered over the chat. "I have another 30 crystal shots, but only enough MP for about 10—8 if I empower them for extra damage, though I can only do that once per minute."

Unable to contain his excitement, Finn shouted, “Fire at will! If all you need is MP and time, I’ll provide them!”

Prismo hesitated for a moment before pulling a folding base from his inventory and setting up Bifrost. He took out another item—a metal cage—and connected it to Bifrost’s side, dumping all 30 crystal cannonballs into it, which stacked all the way to the top. The first shot flew forward, crackling with electrical energy, growing in size as it sailed through the air. By the time it reached the Alicorn, it had swelled to the size of the creature’s shoulder, striking beneath its wing and actually pushing it back. This was more impact than most previous attacks had managed as the Alicorn continued its pursuit of Sheko.

Meanwhile, Sheko adapted quickly. Releasing his tether to the Lethal Spring, he sprinted across the Alicorn’s back as it dipped beneath him in midair. He threw his second Lethal Spring, embedding a new trapeze for him to catch onto as the Alicorn turned once more.

Prismo was about to fire a regular follow-up shot when he noticed that the cooldown on his Big Score Shot hadn’t applied. Turning his head, he caught Finn smirking, his expression more like that of a seasoned rogue than a child. “I get your meaning,” Prismo muttered to himself.

“Fire in the hole!” Prismo shouted enthusiastically, his MP surging and depleting rapidly as empowered shot after empowered shot blasted the Alicorn. With each reverberating hit, the cave trembled violently, and cracks spread further across the Alicorn’s body. Meanwhile, Sheko remained locked in mortal combat with the massive beast, spinning and swinging in midair.

One moment, he jerked violently to avoid an attack; the next, he began to freefall, only to swing back into an arc again. His sword was long forgotten, lost during his desperate defense against the first wave of deadly crystals. With the healing support from Finn and his team keeping him alive, Sheko resorted to using kicks to propel himself away from the Alicorn’s relentless strikes. Each impact produced a cracking sound, faint enough that only Sheko and perhaps the Alicorn noticed.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Had anyone been able to pause and look closely, Sheko’s mangled state would have been clear. His limbs were broken in multiple places, and while the healing had stopped the bleeding, there was no way to mend his shattered bones during the fight. Yet, despite his grievous injuries, Sheko kept moving, his sheer willpower and resourcefulness buying precious time for the raid.

After about 15 consecutive shots, Prismo finally stopped firing. Bifrost’s barrel steamed ominously, its rainbow-colored ice and wood frame visibly cracking in several places. “I didn’t know Bifrost could even be damaged like this! Any other plans, fearless leader?” Prismo called out to Finn with a good-natured grin.

Finn, however, was deep in thought, his expression unusually serious. His eyes darted between the disorganized melee fighters on the ground, the backliners who had started to falter in their assault, and Sheko, who was somehow still alive after over a minute of the Alicorn’s relentless attacks. Finn was beginning to suspect that Sheko might have been lying about his level and skill set. What he was doing should have been impossible.

But Finn had no choice but to accept what he was seeing. Loki’s first skill, Web of Secrets, confirmed Sheko’s stats as legitimate. Even the reckless Phantasm who had initiated the fight hadn’t been able to hide his boosted level from Finn. A shame someone past level 500 is so incompetent. It’s obvious his embryo is carrying him, Finn mused grimly, refocusing on the battle ahead.

The Alicorn's wings had gradually become streamlined as the fight progressed, shedding bulky crystals—either to attack Sheko or protect itself. Now, what remained of those once-majestic wings were two long, thin structures, resembling the sleek design of modern airplane wings. Their edges, acting like prisms, refracted light in dazzling colors.

Finn, noticing the ominous shimmer, paused his planning to warn the raid about the light. Thankfully, his warning wasn’t necessary; the group had already been vigilant about light-based attacks since the first phase. When one of the tanks failed to avoid the light and emerged unscathed, they realized it was mundane and harmless.

“Okay, I think I have an idea,” Finn said. “Stein, can you slow it down again?”

Stein snapped out of his trance, eyes still glued to the aerial fight above. “Only if I can get close to it again,” he replied.

“I’ll handle that,” Finn assured him, sending instructions to Sheko through the raid chat. After ten agonizing seconds with no response, Finn resorted to shouting: “Sheko! Drop closer to the ground! We’ll try to ground the Alicorn to finish it off—it’s at 25% health! Just a little more!”

Sheko glanced down at Finn, bewilderment flickering across his exhausted face, before turning back to the Alicorn. He maneuvered his body to take a grazing hit from its horn on his charred arm, only to twist and avoid another attack. The second maneuver ripped his arm clean off. His expression of sheer exhaustion remained unchanged, even as Mai and Nue shouted in horror at the gruesome sight. Remarkably, Sheko stayed focused, dodging the Alicorn’s relentless attacks.

"ok no such luck, what else? oh" realizing Sheko couldn’t manage more. Desperate, he turned his attention to a shadow-wreathed figure clinging to the cave wall. It was Phantasm, the reckless master who had prematurely initiated the raid. Using his summoned shadows, Phantasm struggled to close the distance to the Alicorn.

“Phantasm!” Finn sent through chat. “The boss is fixated on Sheko. Use your illusion skill to distract it. We need to ground it!”

Phantasm replied, oozing arrogance: _“More like it’s running away from me. Why aren’t you trying to catch it, idiots?”_

Finn blinked, momentarily dumbstruck by the tactless response. Then, with an edge to his tone, he typed: _“I was trying to be polite, but you don’t deserve it. Listen carefully: my embryo can redirect the damage Sheko is tanking. If you don’t cooperate, I’ll redirect all that damage to you—and unlike Sheko, you won’t get healed.”_

_“Fine, but I want one of those brooches you talked about,”_ Phantasm replied smugly.

Ignoring the unwarranted demand, Finn waited and watched as Phantasm finally acted. Five illusory copies of Sheko appeared, swinging in the air. Though they lacked Sheko’s frantic movements even after two minutes of attack after attack, the illusions distracted the Alicorn. It paused for the first time, allowing Finn to hope for a brief reprieve.

The Alicorn, as Finn had suspected, had one last trick. It suddenly nosedived toward a random spot in the middle of the chamber, its massive body glowing faintly. As it opened its mouth, everyone—including Sheko—braced themselves, covering their ears in anticipation of another deafening screech.

Instead, what followed was a harmonious melody of harps and flutes. The sound resonated through the chamber, soothing yet alien. A moment later, the group felt the effects of a grand healing spell washing over them.

Perplexed, the raid stood frozen for ten seconds, trying to understand why the Alicorn would heal its enemies. Then, the true purpose became clear. The clear crystals that were revealed under the crystal grove they destroyed began to morph and transform, taking the shape of unicorns identical to the Alicorn’s first-phase form. These facsimiles were smaller, about the size of a normal unicorn, unlike what Finn assumed was their “mother.”

There were six in total, each one reflecting the color of the cave’s entrances—except for sapphire. Finn’s mind raced as the pieces clicked into place: _Sheko must have damaged or destroyed the sapphire unicorn egg when we broke the mural. That’s why the Alicorn is so focused on him._

Confident that its children would handle the illusory Sheko's, the Alicorn turned back toward the real Sheko, resuming its relentless pursuit. However, Emilia, the berserker, couldn’t wait any longer. Fueled by pent-up rage, she charged at the nearest unicorn and decapitated it in a single swing of her massive sword.

Her daughter, Nue, and the remaining masters followed her lead, possibly underestimating the unicorns after witnessing Emilia’s swift kill. their zeal living them open to attack. Each unicorn retaliated with a unique, colored beam aimed at a different target based on whoever hit a unicorn first.

Emilia and Nue were both shot at. Nue took a tanzanite-colored beam to the chest. At first, her body appeared to petrify, turning to solid granite. Finn, watching intently, assumed the beam had turned her to stone. But moments later, her form returned to normal, with no visible damage or lingering afflictions.

Others managed to dodge or find cover behind chunks of the broken mural that lodged themselves in the ground where they fell.

Meanwhile, the Alicorn was visibly distracted, its gaze shifting between Sheko and Emilia. Prismo, seeing an opportunity, rallied the backline fighters for another coordinated assault. A flurry of spells and arrows rained down on the Alicorn, forcing it to dive toward Emilia, its horn glowing with a menacing blue light.

The Alicorn unleashed a beam unlike the others. This one was wide, unstable, and filled with chaotic energy. It struck Emilia directly in the chest. Instead of incapacitating her, the beam ricocheted back, hitting the Alicorn squarely.

The result was instantaneous and spectacular. A thick layer of sapphire-colored ice, at least 10 centimeters deep, enveloped the Alicorn’s body. Immobilized, it plummeted into the crater where four of its children already lay broken.

Sheko, ever determined, made his way toward the crater, finally balancing himself above the frozen Alicorn. His focus, unlike that of his opponent, remained unshaken.

The remaining unicorns were swiftly dispatched with the aid of Prismo and the other ranged fighters. As the last one fell, Finn shouted, “Don’t relax yet! The boss still has 5% left!” Then, glancing at Sheko, he added, “Well, except for you, Sheko. You’ve earned a rest.”

But rest was a luxury they didn’t have. As the last unicorn’s life faded, the Alicorn began to glow ominously. Cracks formed across the ice and its body. Sheko, who had stopped his frantic movements, now lacked the momentum to dodge the impending blast.

In a blinding explosion of beam attacks, Sheko, Jake, and two other masters were instantly wiped out.

When the dust and steam cleared, the Alicorn was gone. In its place stood a smaller unicorn, slightly larger than the six they had just defeated. Its horn was broken, and its mane was a dull, lifeless patchwork of colors—a sad remnant of the brilliance it once held.