Chapter 19

~ Last Boss Battle ~

SW/SW/SW

Several hours earlier…

The dark hall was illuminated by candles. Their eerie lights casted a gloomy curtain upon their way. Foreboding and haunting were this place. Heavy curtains, tall windows, stone walls, and chasm as far as eyes could see—they were the depiction of what the final boss’ lair looked like.

Seven players moved between the dark pillars. They did not talk to each other, instead focusing on how to beat the last boss without having to redo the whole thing. If they died, they would respawn at the nearest town and had to wait for a long time to be able to set a foot into this place.

Azariel’s castle, the final and ultimate challenge reserved to those above level 250. To reach Azariel, one had to defeat two mid-bosses consecutively before facing the final boss. These mid-bosses were Etherios and Hathor.

Originally, there were thirty members, but the number dwindled until few were remained. Most had fallen from facing Etherios and other from Hathor. Now they were only seven.

Seven people to defeat the final boss.

DPS checked his shortcut belt, making sure that everything was perfect. Aqua Healia for HP restoration, Recti Mana for MP restoration, Blade Gale for ATK and AGI buff, and other rare items filled his belt.

A slight line appeared between his brows. Hathor’s attacks were fiercely brutal that it left him with only thirty bottles of Aqua Healia. She’d got many AOE attacks that caused bleeding. Not to mention her high attack power and agility. She was a nasty succubus for sure.

{{What’s wrong, DPS?}} Maria talked to him via private chat.

{{Nothing. How many potions have you got?}}

{{Around forty. I hope they are enough…}}

They had arrived to the destination. Ahead of them was a pair of heavy double door. Intricate carvings decorated the surface and a handle of gold was fastened on its edges.

DPS glanced around the last remaining members. Two from their rival guild, Muhehehe, one was independent, and the rest were from other guild. If there was someone untrustworthy among them, DPS would say the ones from Muhehehe. They would always cause trouble.

The door slammed shut, preventing any escape. Each knew that the moment they stepped into the arena, the escape route was nonexistent. They had to battle to death for EXP and items.

Silently DPS thanked that there was no realistic pain feature in the game…

The throne room was dimly-lit as usual. As far as his eyes could see, it was darkness. He spotted several pillars here and there with candles on them. There was a hanging candle, too. The weird thing was the lights were inadequate to light the darkness surrounding the place.

Far in the darkness, there were two statues depicting a gargoyle, each holding a torch. It illuminated the surrounding area. Behind the majestic statues sat a throne made of ivory. On each side was a pair of wings carved from the same material.

…there was a heavily clad figure on it.

DPS readied his dual blades the moment Azariel stood. Clank sounds resonated within the quiet room as he stepped down the stairs.

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“Holy geez… No matter how many times I face him, his face still scares the shit outta me,” someone in the group commented.

DPS’ eyes looked up to meet what someone had commented.

Azariel looked like a demon in human’s physique. He wore a helmet with three pair of horns, two pointed backwards and one forward. There was no normal eye socket in the helmet. Instead, his “eyes” were located right at where his forehead would be, in the shape of three diamonds. The irises were red and the pupils were black. They darted around menacingly and hauntingly.

The appearance was enough to send any sane human being on their knees.

After some buffs here and there, they were ready. Maria cast [Debilitate] to momentarily lower his high defense and resistance. She was good at toying with others’ statuses and she was proud of it.

A dark rune appeared under Azariel’s feet. He was trying to dispel the magic.

“You’re open!” one shouted, running towards the last boss with confidence. He shouted as he swung his sword horizontally, but it was easily blocked with a hand.

The last boss grabbed his hair and ripped his head apart from the body. The remains disappeared right that instant.

He was OHKO-ed…

DPS cringed at his stupidity.

“That idiot! Who told him to melee Azariel when he’s casting [Dispel]?! Didn't he read the walkthrough?!” a mage cursed, “he’ll be killed for sure! We need to attack him from a distance to aggravate him!!”

DPS didn’t remember what happened next. It happened so fast and so intense that he couldn’t even recall the memory. All he remembered was a cheer of victory from his team and Azariel was lying down on the floor—dead.

There was no blood and his armor wasn’t damaged, but the empty HP bar above him was all DPS needed to confirm that he was indeed dead.

After the victory fanfare being played, the team got their prizes. Everyone got fair share of the fight. Most leveled up twice from the sheer amount of EXP Azariel had, but DPS leveled up just once.

His loot window opened automatically and it shocked him that there was a Soul Slicer among the prizes. It was rarity one but it had plus two at the name, meaning that it was stronger than an ordinary rarity one Soul Slicer.

It wasn’t as big as the real one and easy enough to hold in one hand.

Everyone congratulated him, except those two from Muhehehe…

0000

A glowing rune appeared above them and summoned heavily black armored men wielding a poleaxe in hands. Their black wings flapped eerily. They didn’t land, merely waiting and watching.

Dora-girl cursed and made her weapon disappear, “Damn it, forgot about those damned Guards,” she then glared at DPS and Maria, “just you wait, cheaters! In the next Guild War, I’ll kick your asses and expose you!”

What that, she and her companion left.

Seeing that hostility was no more, the Guards flew through the giant runes and gone, as if the runes ate them. The sky turned blue once more.

“What level do you think she is?” DPS asked Maria. “She sure does talk big.”

“From her equipment, I assume that she’s around 260. Probably a Destroyer like you. I can’t tell. Any melee fighter can go dualwielding.”

DPS smirked, “Know what, I can only tell that she’ll going to die from my swords.”

“Heartless as always. It doesn’t suit you well,” Maria made her bangs look neater and by the time she finished that, Ace and QueeN drew near.

DPS didn’t answer their greetings. He didn’t show it, but he was wary of the new face especially after he had seen those visions. Absentmindedly, his mind recalled the scenes…

A man bellowed to someone...

“An elf like you should be raped to death!”

A deep voice was heard in a hall…

“Do you think I’d let you go unharmed? Fool…”

Ominous visions. Unfortunately DPS was unable to see the speaker. Their heads were all black, only the bodies he was able to see. They were all the same, heavily armored and black. Cloak occasionally shielded his sight to see the armor better.

DPS was sure that the visions somehow had a connection with the newbie. He hadn't experienced this kind of otherworldly phenomenon. Only when he saw Ace that the visions appeared. They haunted him, forcing him to seek the truth.

What was Ace’s intention? Who was he? Was he really a noob? Was he a friend or was he a foe?

The more DPS thought about him, the more he wanted to know about Ace. The noob was like his puzzle toy at home waiting to be solved. He had to extract any information from the newbie and used it to his own advantage.