Liam and his friends lowered their weapons, taking a few deep breaths. They had been fighting for more than fifteen minutes, leaving them quite exhausted.
“Well done, adventurers! This area is secured! I will now send out the signal!”
Major Onrabell appeared at the height of their eyes, rising her hands towards the sky. A thin pillar of pink light erupted.
Immediately the sound of loud horns followed. The soldiers protecting the gate stepped aside, allowing a few mages to pass through.
A tall woman took the lead, proudly presenting her pure white wings. She was surprisingly a holy nephilim serving the Duabalis Army. The name Phenaroa the Pure floated above her head.
Silver Blade scanned the woman’s face, frowning faintly.
“Why does she look so familiar?”
“This is Lewriova’s sister. But don’t mention it.”
“Lewriova?”, asked Cyclone with a thoughtful expression. “The one repairing the teleportation platform in the novice village?”
“Yes. Lewriova is a powerful mage and member of the Broken Council. Ever since her sister renounced her dark side and joined the holy nephilim the two don’t talk to each other anymore.
However, Phenaroa is still an important member of the Duabalis Army.”
Liam explained quickly, before falling silent as the mages led by Phenaroa arrived.
Their escorts immediately formed a circle, determined to defend the mages.
At the same time Onrabell flew close to the ground and straightened her body for a salute.
“Major Onrabell welcomes divine servant Phenaroa!”
“At ease. You did a good job. Leave the rest to us!”
“Yes, mam!”
Phenaroa’s voice was incredibly soothing, accompanied by a warm smile. She let her eyes wander over the party, evoking a good feeling in everyone.
With a wave of her hand the mages behind her lined up, facing the black snake not far away. Incantations were spoken in a mysterious language.
Liam knew that it was the ancient language of godspawn, but without the related skills even he couldn’t understand it. All that reached the players’ ears were incomprehensible mumblings.
Bright magic circles appeared in the air, slowly approaching the white staff in Phenaroa’s hands. A large sphere with magic circles swimming on its surface formed, attracting a large amount of mana.
A few seconds later the spell reached its peak. The sphere shot into the air, illuminating the entire battlefield. All the infernals wailed in pain.
Like a falling star the sphere suddenly moved, about to crash into the black snake. But at this moment a devilish laughter could be heard, sending a chill down the players’ spines.
A bolt of black lightning surrounded by wailing ghosts shot out of the maw and collided with the magical sphere.
The world turned black and white as the attacks burst apart.
Two pained groans could be heard. Phenaroa tumbled backwards. Her face turned frosty as she stared at the black snake, where a figure had appeared at some point.
A man of at most 1,50 meters with green skin and two horns on his head stood there, leaning on a large wooden staff. Five strange beads circled around him, producing a wailing sound, and emitting a black magic.
“Devil Child Uratnim!”
“Hahaha, great to see you again Phenaroa! You are still as beautiful as ever. I missed you!”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
The devil child laughed heartily as if reminiscing with an old friend. But Phenaroa wouldn’t indulge him. She swung her staff, releasing a beam of bright holy energy.
“You don’t want to talk? I’m hurt, divine servant. Well then, I don’t want to play with you either.”
Suddenly the devil child’s face changed, turning ferocious. With a wave of his hand the five beads surrounding him erupted with black magic.
A strange black portal appeared in the air. A figure suddenly dashed out, advancing towards Phenaroa.
“You brought a ghost general?!”
The divine servant shouted angrily as the ghost collided with her attack.
“Major! I will hold the ghost general back! You need to deal with the devil child!”
“I…”
Onrabell looked uncertain. Her eyes scanned the battlefield before falling on the players.
“Adventurers! I need your help! I will weaken Uratnim, but it will be on you to kill him!”
Onrabell didn’t give Silver Blade a chance to answer as she turned into a ray of pink light and shot at the devil child.
“You think you could harm me?”
Uratnim spoke mockingly, welcoming the attack. He was just about to raise his staff when Onrabell suddenly accelerated again.
The fairy slammed into the staff. A cracking sound could be heard as the weapon broke into multiple parts.
Uratnim couldn’t believe his eyes, staring at the tumbling, bleeding fairy in the sky.
“You little beast! You dare to break my favorite staff?! Die!”
A black mana engulfed the devil child’s hand as he swung it at Onrabell.
“Now!”
Liam had been waiting for this moment. He urged Balm to cast her heal. A warm light fell on Onrabell.
The fairy found some strength at the last moment, avoiding Uratnim’s attack and retreating into the distance.
Instantly Balm shivered, feeling as if death was staring at her.
“You dare to mess with me?! All of you should die!”
At this moment the real fight had begun. Silver Blade immediately used [Inspect] on the enemy.
[Weakened Devil Child Uratnim
Rank: Sub-boss
Level: 22
HP: 6300/6300]
“Careful! He’s going to start with a skill! Stay away from him!”
Liam warned his party, stopping them from approaching instantly.
“Taste the cold of my ghost beads!”
Uratnim stared at the players as his beads revolved around him like frozen stars. Black ghostly figures were released by the beads, chaotically shooting into the distance.
In the area close to the devil child, they were still densely packed but as they had to cover more ground, they gradually spread out.
When the ghosts arrived before the party, there was more than enough space to dodge. The ranged attackers even had time to fire the first few attacks.
[-280!]
[-110!]
[-327!]
Cyclone looked unhappily at the damage numbers.
“I’m not sure if it’s the resistance or if I need a new staff…”
“Careful!”
“Aah!”
A shout startled the young mage. She hastily jumped to the side. A cold air caused her to shiver as a ferocious ghost passed next to her.
“Less talking, more attention!”
“Sorry, Silver…”
While the party members were talking, a last wail sounded out and the ghostly skill subsided.
“Let’s go! Don’t hold back!”
Liam animated his friends, approaching the enemy. He remained one step behind his tanks.
“Mirage, who is more suitable to tank this one?”, asked Radiant Shield.
“You both need to do it! Stay on high alert and switch places accordingly! I will try to warn you!”
“Alright!”
Silver Blade and Radiant Shield glanced at each other, conversing silently. Suddenly Silver Blade sped up slightly, reaching the boss first and slamming her shield into his face.
“Insolent!”
The devil child spewed fire from his eyes. Silver Blade even felt slightly apologetic. It was her instinct to attack the enemy’s chest, but the devil child was simply too small.
“You deserve to be punished!”
With a ferocious face Uratnim waved his hand, sending out two black flames.
Silver Blade was somewhat confused but still raised her shield to defend.
[Stance -11]x2
Radiant Shield glanced at Liam:
“Mirage, was this a spell performed by the enemy?”
“No, that’s his normal attack.”
Bleary Mirage answered leisurely while activating his ultimate. In a flash he appeared next to the devil child, swinging his swords.
[-200!]
[-100!]
Bloody Edge and Watchful Eye were half a step behind him. They were just about to attack when a pulse came from the ghost beads surrounding the boss. A black shield enveloped him abruptly.
“Don’t hesitate! Just destroy it!”
The two men listened to the expert. A flurry of attacks rained down on the devil child.
Instantly the barrier showed a few cracks.
“I will bring you to hell and make you my toys!”
“Radiant Shield!”
With a disgusting threat Uratnim transformed his hands into claws and aimed for Silver Blade. The tanks both heard Liam’s urgent warning.
With a smooth maneuver Silver Blade took a step back and Radiant Shield blocked the claw.
[Stance -14]
“Keep it up!”
Liam’s next attack arrived, stabbing into the cracked shield. It instantly reached its limit, bursting open. A cold wave ran through the surrounding players, causing everyone to lose about 300HP.
“Balm!”
The healer observed the situation, understanding what Liam expected from her. With a wave of her hand a holy light slammed into the devil child’s head.
[-138!]
[+58!]
All the party members were hit by a healing energy, recovering some HP. At the same time Balm’s passive triggered. Liam and Radiant Shield felt a newfound strength boosting their bodies.
“Great chance!”
Liam’s eyes lit up. He quickly rotated through his skills. Cross slash, holy wave, and double slash flowed seamlessly.
Before anyone could react five holy marks exploded above the devil child.
“Raaah!”
Uratnim bellowed painfully as the holy light seared his skin.