The guards attempted to surround the demon on all sides as they split off into two groups. Paul ran to the side alone while Arthur and Mark stayed together. The demon's glare shifted between the four of them. Seeing how they were trying to corner it, the demon charged towards Paul, disregarding the other guards. Dust followed behind its path as it crushed the golden tiles beneath its ashen hoofs. Paul braced himself and planted his feet on the ground while completely covering his body with a golden aura. As their bodies collided in a resounding crash, the demon sent Paul flying in the air with the relenting force exerted on him.

"That fucking idiot really thought he could withstand a collision like that!" Mark cursed.

"It's alright, we'll make do!" Arthur shouted.

Both of them struck several golden orbs and stacked the effects of the sanctuary onto their weapons. Noticing their presence, the demon formed a triangle with two hands pointing it towards them. Demonic energy filled the empty space it made and soon shot forth. A continuous beam of dark energy ripped apart the golden tiles and collided with Mark, who paved the way for Arthur.

Mark's spear pierced through the looming ray of darkness, splitting it into fragmented beams of demonic energy that vaporized their surroundings. He pressed forward with an unwavering resolve and ironclad determination that he didn't know he had. Despite his bleeding hands and torn palms, he claimed more ground with each step, unfazed by the searing force battling against him.

From above, a downpour of arrows rained upon the demon, breaking its concentration. With its hands, it struggled to keep the triangular stance while roaring fiercely at Tucker. Its arm fused with the blackened blade cleaved the air, sending a demonic slash hurtling towards Tucker. Before the attack could reach him, Tucker jumped across the chamber. His foot stepped into the air as transparent energy formed beneath it, creating a temporary platform. Pushing against it, he leaped once more and vanished from the demon's sight.

The demon's gaze scanned the entire chamber, but Tucker was nowhere to be seen. When it turned its head in one direction, an arrow would fly towards its blind spot from another. The constant attacks made its blood boil, but before it could react, the air beneath it shifted.

Arthur had circled around the chamber as Tucker distracted it and dashed at the demon. It was a simple technique that he thought of on the spot. If he could pull himself to his feet with his aura, then he could propel himself using the same force. His muscles screamed in pain as they were torn from the force exerted on his body. No matter how much they pleaded with Arthur, he ignored the pain, feeling the sanctuary constantly heal his injuries. As if he had sprouted wings, his body was as light as a feather, and his figure flashed for a second before appearing beside the demon.

He swung his spear upward, drawing a half-crescent arc while carving into the demon's flesh. Its stance broke, and blood poured out of the demon's arm, but Arthur's expectations fell short of his intended purpose, failing to sever its limb. A slight frown tugged at the corners of his lips, but from the side, he could see the beam dissipate as Mark charged forth, shrouded in a golden flame. His spear spun in the air once the demon's arm was out of his reach, and without hesitating, he drove it through the monster's leg.

Blood dripped onto the floors as Arthur pierced through the gap within the demon's cloak and directed his attack near the edge of the demon's femur. His weapon wedged itself between its muscles and bone. In one quick succession, he hammered the spear into the ground with his fist by striking the end. Locking the demon in place as blood dyed the once-golden ground in a crimson hue.

The demon's eyes locked onto Arthur, and with a swift jab, it struck his chest and sent him tumbling backward. It then hardened its body, with one arm filling with tension, flexing its muscles before the inferno that raced across the tiles. The flames wildly burst in all directions, slamming into the demon's fortified body, yet it didn't yield an inch of ground. The demon's jaws parted, coalescing a mass of malevolent energy within its fangs.

Black lightning flickered menacingly within its mouth, ready to unleash its destructive power. But before it could, Paul's spear collided against the side of its head. A resounding metallic sound filled the air, and the trajectory of the energy within its mouth shot to the side. The ground quaked from the explosion as a massive crater formed within the wall. Numerous stone bricks fell onto the floor, and dust rose.

The spear rebounded and spun in midair. Paul, unable to catch it, didn't falter. With a burst of determination, he surged toward the demon, his iron armor falling to the side as the straps that held it together crumbled into scraps. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Arthur grab onto his spear with his aura. They both made eye contact with each other and nodded.

As the two drew closer, the demon roared with every ounce of strength in its body. With one final struggle, it deflected Mark's spear into the air and clapped both sides of Mark's body with its open palms. Mark staggered, feeling blood drip from his ears and his vision fading in and out. Before he could fall to the ground, the demon followed through and swung its fist, splitting the air in front of it while delivering a powerful uppercut onto Mark's chest. His body crashed violently into the wooden scaffolding nearby, breaking the beams and sending wood fragments in all directions.

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Simultaneously, Arthur and Paul struck the demon with their attacks. It wailed in despair, blood dripping from the spear that pierced its ribcage and the crater that formed from its caved-in shoulder plate. Yet, despite the discomfort, it brought down the butcher blade and split the ground in half, narrowly missing Paul, who sidestepped the attack.

Sweat drenched the back of Arthur's shirt, desperate to deliver a fatal wound. He stepped back and pivoted on one foot, swinging his other leg in a wide arc and driving the bottom of his heel onto the end of the spear. Forcing the blade through the other side of the demon's body. Crimson liquid spewed from the gaping hole in its back, with Paul forcefully ripping the spear out from the side and tearing its flesh.

As Mark pushed the wooden planks off his body, he tightly shut both of his eyes, feeling a searing pain in his legs. Looking down, his expression turned grim as one of his legs was twisted at a horrid angle. Even though it was slowly healing, Mark knew he needed to snap it back into place, yet he didn't have the grit to follow through. At this rate, the wound would mend at a malformed angle that the priests would have physically realigned. He tightly clenched his jaw, fighting back the urge to scream, and stared at Arthur and Paul, who were engaged with the demon.

"Arthur!" Mark shouted at the top of his lungs, tossing his spear in their direction.

Arthur looked over his shoulder at Mark and saw the spear gleaming in the air. He stretched out his hand as his aura soared towards it. With one hand, he pulled the spear into his grasp. The demon's durability was frightening, to say the least. The wounds it endured were beyond what anyone could have expected, and the amount of blood on the ground shouldn't have been possible, but the tenacity it showed defied reality.

Each time the demon swung its blade, a portion of the chamber was torn apart. Its attacks became more concise, successfully trading strikes against Arthur and Paul. The longer it fought, the more it adapted. It could feel the divinity from the sanctuary sap its aura and restrict its capabilities, but the most significant nuisance was its ability to blow away its protective shroud. Despite this, a grin revealed itself on the demon's face once it realized the sanctuary failed to remove the aura within its blade. Their attacks could only disrupt its aura after striking its core, so it simply formed a barrier like the mage that it faced above ground.

The spears that struck its shield violently clashed against it and occasionally dug into its ashen skin, but the damage was trifling compared to before. A thrill instilled itself within the demon's mind, its blind rage subsiding while it evolved.

Meanwhile, Arthur was taken aback as beads of sweat fell from his forehead. His eyes fixated on the demon with growing concern. Even though the demon was locked in place and had severe wounds through its body, it didn't care. The golden orbs of divinity were further away from their current position. Soon, all the nearby orbs would be used, and judging by Paul's expression, they both knew they only had a few more attempts left.

A flash of light dyed the chamber in a mixture of golden, silver, and obsidian light. Arthur's hand trembled while parrying the demon's blade. He gritted his teeth and watched as the demon repeatedly brought down the butcher's blade. Each strike chipped away at Arthur's stance, whittling his defense as he tried to deflect the barrage of attacks.

The demon sneered at Arthur while battering Paul. It felt joy at their grim expressions as the tables slowly turned in their favor. Even though their teammate was a cut above the rest, the guards were finally losing ground. The demon's grin grew more sinister as Arthur fell to his knees. The butcher blade pressed down against his spear. His hands shook as exhaustion grew in his body. The monster before them channeled all of its aura into its weapons as Paul and Arthur desperately fought back.

It smirked, ready to claim its victory. Finally, driving the last obstacle, it faced into the ground. As a fountain of blood erupted from its neck, the demon's eyes widened in disbelief.

"You finally let your guard down," Tucker said.

A vivid crimson line emerged as Tucker dragged his dagger across its neck. He pulled the demon's horns to the side as the sound of blood trickling out of the wound filled the demon's ears. Channeling what spirit essence remained from his contractor into his blade, Tucker sliced through the demon's neck with one decisive swing. The fiend's body went limp, collapsing to the side while Arthur and Paul escaped with ragged breaths. They watched as a pool of crimson flowed like an endless stream onto the ground.

"Did…did we win?" Arthur asked.

Tucker tossed the demon's head onto the ground. "Yeah, you guys did great keeping it focused on you."

"I won't lie. I thought you left," Paul replied.

"What? How low do you think of me?" Tucker asked.

Paul held one hand at the same level as his eyes and said, "If this were the top of the water barrel, you would be here."

Tucker watched the hand slowly move beneath Paul's knees and said, "That's pretty low, but at least I'm still in the barrel."

"No, you're under it. I'm just too tired to go further," Paul replied.

Arthur smiled as the two argued. He glanced over at Mark, who was holding his thumb up, signaling that he was okay, and released a sigh of relief. The sanctuary of light around them slowly faded. What remained of the golden orbs burst into tiny sparkles of light that descended from the skies. Each marble pillar lined up against the edge of the chamber crumbled, and soon, the golden ambiance disappeared, leaving the cold grey stone tiles from before.

He stared blankly at the open space and saw a faint outline of a person waving at him. It was the same translucent figure from before that spoke to him, and slowly, he could see its mouth move. Soon, everything faded to black as Arthur collapsed from exhaustion.