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A quick glance at Richard Montague's remaining HP let Liam know he was in for a rough time. Especially since his own sat at [44/200] and he has lost use of his right arm. Luckily, he had discovered the the [Ghoul's] venom was flammable and the beginnings of a plan were starting to form in his head.
The undead eyed his axe warily, having tasted firsthand the pain it could inflict, whilst Liam did the same with it's claws. Being hit by them again would be game over if the venom paralysed anywhere else he needed to fight, if his left arm or either of his legs went then he would be a sitting duck against it. Retreat also wasn't an option, and neither was stepping back, as the skeleton behind Richard would then be able to turn the corner and get him in its sights.
Time was not on his side. He only had around 30 seconds left on his current use of his Power and enough Lifeforce to reactivate it 3 more times. This meant he had just 3 and a half minutes to put the battle into a state where he could win without using it because as things currently stood he would be unable to deal enough damage without it's amplification. With that in mind, he stoped into range if the creature and swung.
The creature moved to meet him, planning on taking advantage of the precious couple seconds that the axe would be stuck in it's body to attack. It was not to be, however, as the axe blade only drew a thin, burning line across it's chest before halting and returning in an upwards swing towards it's arms. It's arms were already outstretched, in the middle of an attack, and we're unable to be withdrawn in time, so instead it chose to continue on with it's attack and plugged it's claws onwards.
Liam twisted to avoid the brunt of the attack, but he was already overcommitted to his own offence and was caught in the chest. Luckily, he had turned his body sideways on and they pierced in at an angle, injecting their venom into his pectoral muscles instead of his heart or lungs. In return for taken these wounds, he opened a gash along the [Ghoul's] left arm where his bound [Spirit of Death] had told him to strike, and the results were even better than he could've imagined.
His cut had hit a prominent, green artery along it's arm that would be bleeding profusely had it not been cauterised shut. Despite the lack of blood, it's loss had caused the [Ghoul's] arm to almost instantly loose strength. Liam could see it in the way that the undead retracted it's arms, one moving at its normal pace and the other almost flopping down instead of following it's command. Seeing no reason to stop, he reversed his axe again at the peak of his swing and brought it back down towards the Montague, targeting the other arm. Not wanting to be burned twice, the undead stepped to the side and moved it's arm out the way, only for the axe to shift trajectories and score a solid hit into it's shoulder.
Liam then lifted his leg and kicked the [Ghoul] square in its chest, pushing it back enough that he could yank his weapon free with minimal effort. He wished for a way to not have to deal with it getting stuck all the time, but a solution was likely far in the future. He cut into the creature again and again, always making sure that he was threatening to disable it's good arm or finish loping off the injured one. The undead grew increasingly desperate as the battle dragged on and it's remaining HP was worn away bit by bit. His Spirit Power had almost run out at one point but he found he could keep it going by feeding it and extra two Lifeforce before it ended to extend the duration by a minute. It was useful to know, and meant that he wouldn't have a period of temporary weakness in the middle of a life or death moment.
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The flash of red bones still attempting to round the corner and get at him reminded him that he was on a time limit, set by both his Lifeforce and Stamina. The longer this battle drew on, the more resources would drain out of him and the less he would have to combat his final pursuer. He had already spent most of them and if he kept up with this pace he would be fresh out of Stamina before the [Ghoul's] HP hit 0. He had to do something different.
Claws came at him again, the undead's good arm attempting to take his attention away from the other. He wouldn't make the mistake of only focusing on one though since their venom would affect him the same either way. The numb sensation from his right arm and chest was enough to ensure he didn't forget that lesson no matter how long they fought for.
He flung his useless arm into the path of the weaker attack and brought his axe up to meet the more powerful one. He winced as he saw nail penetrate his flesh but no pain accompanied it due to the paralytic that was in him. It's good arm had stopped and was being pulled back to avoid being ignited, but he wasn't about to let his foe off so easily. With a burst of Strength that threatened to tear his bicep, he twisted his grip on the axe and redirected it mid block, slamming the flat of the axe head towards his enemy. It caught the retreating arm and knocked it into the creature's lower stomach. Then, Liam rolled his axe down the length of the limb until it reached the end and he pressed it forwards.
It took a second but the venom along it's claw caught alight and was forced into contact with it's stomach. He pressed harder, stepping forwards with it as it retreated, until it stepped properly around the corner. It was retreating, but without slaying it he didn't feel like he had actually won. His victory felt hollow somehow, in a way that he couldn't describe but was definitely bugging him. Perhaps it was this feeling or perhaps it was something else, but Liam chased after it despite the risks that it entailed.
The bend of the passageway was narrow enough that the [Ghoul] would have to retreat a bit farther than it had to be able to have both it and its ally facing him at once. Unfortunately for Liam, the [Skeleton] didn't need to be next to him to attack. He was forced to duck as a bone arrow flew over his head and pierced into the stone wall behind him. Flames lit up where it hit and he knew it would be over if even one connected since the force and pain would leave him open to any follow ups either undead could attempt.
He lunged forwards as the archer drew back it's bow again and sunk his axe into Richard's chest whilst putting the corrupted shaman between him and the bow woman. Claws attempted to take a long his back, but he let go of his axe and reached up to lock his arm around his opponent's good arm, holding it in place as his bone weapon burned in the [Ghoul's] chest. It's injured arm was unable to bend the way it wanted to and was unable to reach it's target, instead waving around behind Liam's head in an attempt to surpass it's range of motion. It only took a few moments for its HP to hit 0 and its body to loose the strength supporting it. 2 small objects appeared in front of the corpse and Liam quickly held them in place between his chest and it's, retreating backwards whilst holding it up as a shield. It was only when he had turned the corner and plugged it up with the recently re-deceased body that he took a breather.
Next was [Analyzing] his loot, and then came smashing the red [Skeleton] back into pieces. He smiled despite himself, he was starting to enjoy this.