Chains of fire rose up from all around to bind him, but black chains of his own sprang out to meet them. He could feel his Spirit growing weaker as he pushed it far past its purpose, but the endless fuel from his Power and the parts of him that were merged with it kept it sustained. Spears and balls of flame were fired towards him from the surviving Mages, but with how erratically he was forcing himself to move so that the chains had to spread out to target him, they mostly missed and only a few passed by close to him.
The strain of it all on his mind, much like it was on his Spirit, was becoming too much to handle but, with any luck, it would be over soon and he could take a well deserved rest. The distance between him and the Lich was closing slower than he would've liked, especially since the Undead was taking slow, methodical steps back as it kept up its casting. He could see [Lesser Shades] beginning to rise up from the corners of the hall and behind the pillars, where the masses of fire being thrown around cast flickering shadows. They didn't dare get close to the main battlefield but they lingered around the edges, waiting for a lull or a slip up so they could dart in and skewer him upon their shadowy weapons and sharp appendages.
When he got within 5 metres of the Lich, he met another obstacle in top of just the chains. A shimmering barrier, not unlike the shield created by his [Spirit of Protection] surrounded the Undead, only visible when one of his black chains connected with it and was blocked. He brought his axe down to split the barrier open, only for it not to be there when the axe blade passed through the same space he had seen it in. Seeing how it was seemingly gone, he attempted to get closer to the Necromancer again, only to bounce off the shield that had somehow reappeared. Another swing showed him that it would only appear to stop him physically moving through. If he had a ranged attack, this would've been the perfect time to use it, but unfortunately he only had his axe and Powers that targeted himself with buffs instead of enemies with attacks.
Coming up with a quick plan, he threw himself towards Ander Phyris before he could be overwhelmed. The flame chains had been becoming denser around him as he had stood almost still, not having to branch out as much to catch his erratic movements or funnel him where the Lich wanted him to go. As expected, the barrier appeared when his shoulder made contact with it, but this time he had a sharp, black axe blade construct jutting from it. The shield was robbed of its energy where the blade touched, and a small gap was formed that he quickly pulled away from and filled with his real axe.
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With his other hand, he pulled at the edge of the gap until it widened. He put his arms through it before starting to climb through, struggling against the nearly invisible force trying to close the gap he had made. He overpowered it and passed through, stumbling when it disappeared as he was almost done. He righted himself, only to be met with a glowing orb from the Lich being launched from only a short distance in front of him. This one was not white like the last, but it still packed an enormous amount of energy and was travelling far faster than he'd be able to dodge.
His axe met it mid air in an upwards swing, resulting in a titanic clash of energies. The Lich's orb won at first, but the resistance Liam put up was enough to last until his axe could feed upon the spell to power its own strength. Slowly, at least relative to how fast things had been moving, he pushed it back until the sphere split into two and popped, the flames scattering across the room. Capitalising on this, he stepped forwards only to be met with another orb that he was forced to deal with the same way.
And that's how it went, for every step he advanced he faced an assault which gave the Lich time to retreat further. He was slowly gaining ground on it, but his strength was flagging and his resources were draining. Most notable of what was behind bled out of him was his HP. Burns covered any part of his body not fully merged with his [Spirit of Death] and his shield remained permanently drained as any meagre strength that it regenerated was immediately drained to prevent a point or two of damage. The one good thing was that he lacked a path of retreat. It forced him to lock in on his goal of slaying the Necromancer and continue pushing forwards. If he had a way to escape, who knew if he could've found the commitment to push on despite the constant accumulation of injuries he was sustaining. There was no pain, only exhaustion that settled deep within his bones. However, the lack of other sensation did bring just how much of a slog this was to the forefront of his mind. Still, he managed to find the Will to power through, not wanting to give up what was likely his only shot at the Phyris mastermind.
His Spirit was in a similar state to him. It had gone quiet but he could sense its determination to end the undead's existence and unwillingness to compromise by letting it roam the Earth through their bond. He lent on that as well to get him through it, allowing their goals to become one. He drew closer and closer, his pace picking up now that the Lich itself was quickly running out of whatever resource was allowing it to keep up it's barrage. He noticed how it seemed to rely on the Fire Energies of its fellow undead more and more as the attacks from behind lessened and the balance between Fire and Magic absorbed by his axe skewed towards the former. It was only a matter of time before he was in striking range of his foe, and then the battle would truly be decided.