For a few seconds only the brutal banging sounds could be heard within the nightclub’s deceptively pink room. Until the door opened and another burly man entered.
He scanned the room, displeasure apparent on his face, his rough voice ordering his colleges:
“Ok you two. Stop here. We need to evacuate.”
“Already? How did they find us so fast?”
“It seems someone pulled a few strings to speed up the process. Whatever, our job is done here!”
“Alright.”
The two gangsters threw a last glance at their targets before following the other outside.
Liam’s bodyguard slowly straightened his body, looking around the room. When he was sure that everyone had left, he let out a deep breath and fell unconscious.
For a few seconds everything was silent before low cracking sounds could be heard. The ice cage trembled once before bursting apart into millions of pieces.
The fine ice illuminated by the pink light in the room looked quite beautiful, but Liam didn’t have the mind to care right now. He scanned the situation. Reassured that it was safe, he quickly approached his bodyguard, checking the man’s health.
He seems to be fine as far as I can tell. Apparently, he is doing quite well in Crunaboul. Was this Seal of Ice just now?
Seeing no harsh wounds on the man’s body, Liam’s thoughts wandered. He couldn’t tell with certainty which skill the man just used as there existed minor differences between the game and real life.
From his estimation multiple skills came into consideration. But what the bodyguard used earlier was most likely [Seal of Ice].
If that’s true, I have to inform Cyclone so she can poach you.
Liam chuckled to himself as a wave of dizziness washed over him. The day’s happening didn’t pass without a trace. Liam was quite exhausted. Furthermore, a nagging feeling of insecurity remained behind after going through a kidnapping.
Something this exciting never happened in my old life.
Even Liam didn’t find his small joke funny. He sat down, leaning his back against the wall and closing his eyes.
After an unknown amount of time a noise woke Liam up. However, judging from the barely changed room only a few minutes could have passed as the room’s door was suddenly bashed open.
Soldiers in heavy armor and drawn weapons barged in. Liam finally felt relieved as he saw them.
From then on everything happened quickly. The three victims were taken care of by doctors and their testimony was taken by the army. This time it was a different member of the Investigation Unit, probably of higher rank.
Several men of the security company hired by Silva came as well. After the army was done, they took Liam back to their headquarters, offering him to enter Crunaboul in peace.
***
Liam’s friends looked at the place where he just disappeared with chaotic emotions.
“Nothing must happen to him…”
“I hope he’s ok…”
The few whispers were drowned out when an excited ghostly wail echoed in the hall. The ghost servant’s body solidified slightly.
Silver Blade sighed looking at it, knowing that the boss was back to full HP. She balled her hands, facing the party members:
“Guys. Let’s not get carried away by negative emotions! We will kill this boss now! For Mirage!”
“Right! For Mirage!”
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“Let’s show everyone that those dirty tricks don’t work!”
Fortune felt the conflicting emotions in her chest. She was determined to capture this moment and put it all in a video. Everyone would be able to see the dirty methods others used against them.
Suddenly a sensation traveled through her body. She realized that her arcane bolts were ready. Gritting her teeth she stared at the tall ghost servant, eager to blast it into pieces.
Bolts of condensed magic shot through the air, slamming into the boss’s armor.
[-169!]x7
Everyone including the boss froze for a moment seeing the huge chunk of HP taken away. It was as if this was the signal for the battle to continue.
The ghost servant roared angrily. Flames engulfed its four claws as it made a step towards Fortune.
“Stay here!”, shouted Silver Blade commandingly as she employed her [Luring Barrier].
The ghost servant felt a strange sensation and involuntarily turned towards the tank. Its flaming claws crashed into the bright barrier.
Almost one thousand points of damage were borne by the shield. Large cracks spread on its surface as the skill barely held on, trembling unstably.
When the ghost servant wanted to follow up with another attack, a bright light shone on its body. Bloody Edge revealed himself from stealth, using his ultimate to melt the boss’s armor.
The thief’s daggers flashed like lightning, stabbing deep into the ghost servant’s body.
[-324!]
[-162!]
“Quick, attack as long as my ultimate holds!”
Bloody Edge reminded his friends, who reacted swiftly. Silent Acacia instantly used his ultimate [Mark of Death] boosting everyone’s damage even more while sending out two arrows with [Flurry].
[-495!]
[-990!!!]
“Awesome, guys!”, cheered Cyclone loudly. She was already casting her next spell, while her [Bindings of Lightning] continued damaging the boss.
[-483!]
The ghost servant lost a lot of HP in quick succession. It’s three pairs of eyes began to turn red. It swung its four claws at Silver Blade with the ferocity of an enraged tiger.
“Oh no!”
Radiant Shield shouted anxiously realizing that this would be a physical attack. But the two tanks were too far apart to change positions. After a split second of delay, he used his skill [A Paladin’s Challenge].
Slamming his hammer against his shield, a wave of holy light spread, dealing damage, and drawing aggro.
However, it was already too late as the boss’s attack went through, heavily striking Silver Blade.
[-904!]
The female tank’s barrier exploded under the claws. Silver Blade was pushed back staring wearily at the ghost servant. But the boss reacted to Radiant Shield’s skill, turning towards the other tank.
Before it could move, a staff slammed into the boss’s waist. Since the effect of Bloody Edge’s ultimate had already subsided, Watchful Eye didn’t deal that much damage.
But it was obviously enough to thoroughly enrage the ghost servant. All its eyes abruptly turned a terrifying deep red. Magic danced chaotically along its body, switching between seven different types.
It led out a roar, all its eyes focusing on Radiant Shield. The tank felt drawn to something, captivated by the ghostly gaze.
Suddenly he was startled. His view changed and he looked down on the fight from above. He watched as his body took a step without his command.
It took Radiant Shield a second to realize what happened. He had lost control of his body.
The tank urgently tried to inform his friends, but the game blocked his communication, forcing him to watch helplessly.
On the ground Watchful Eye frowned noticing subtle strange movements from Radiant Shield.
“Shield? Are you alright?”
Hearing Watchful Eye’s questioning tone, everyone looked at Radiant Shield, perceiving a certain unfamiliarity.
The ghost servant however didn’t care for the party’s actions. With Radiant Shield turned into an ally the boss dropped the aggro and was free to move. Its eyes swept over the room, stopping on Cyclone.
A moment later the young woman found herself in the air next to the illusionary figure of Radiant Shield.
“What… what is going on? Hey! C, is this a bug?”
“Cyclone, calm down.”
“Ah! Radiant Shield, you’re a ghost! Did you die?!”
Radiant Shield looked blankly at the panicking mage. It took some patience to explain to Cyclone what happened.
“So were spectators now? Feels like watching one of Fortune’s videos…”
At this moment the lightning connecting Cyclone and the boss suddenly vanished as the skill couldn’t be used on allies.
Silver Blade’s eyes opened wide as understanding dawned on her:
“Careful guys, Radiant Shield and Cyclone must have been controlled by the boss!”
“Damn, what should we do?”, asked Quickstep with furrowed brows.
Experiences from past games ran through the female warrior’s mind. There were multiple possibilities. Damaging, killing or knocking their friends unconscious? Killing the boss? Activating something in the room?
The others were caught in a similar dilemma.
“Someone needs to make a decision!”, warned Quickstep with a look at Silver Blade. But her voice was almost drowned out by the crackling of lightning as a cage appeared around Silver Blade.
Even Silver Blade’s ability to endure pressure had its limits. Caught in the cage conjured by Cyclone, she was somewhat flustered, urging her friends:
“Try to kill the ghost servant! It doesn’t have much HP left!”
The others complied immediately. Bloody Edge was close to the boss, attacking first. His basic skills slowly came off cooldown, allowing him to bolster his attack with holy damage.
However, the expected scene of a large amount of damage falling on the ghost servant didn’t appear. A strange magic cushioned Bloody Edge’s daggers, forming a ball of red-colored magic.
When Bloody Edge retrieved his weapons, the magic moved and shot into Cyclone’s chest.
[-638!]
[-358!]