I forced my eyelids closed right before my spell completed. I was hoping to avoid burning an afterimage into my vision at such a critical moment. Even still, the extreme luminescence of the attack had me turning my head aside. When I opened my eyes a split second later, relief washed through me. Though I could hardly afford to pause another moment. The giant-sized war hammer had not descended. It was held stationary over the boss’s head, gripped tightly by his two massive hands.

Whether from my bolt of lightning or perhaps from a timely stun effect from one of the spells ravaging through the boss, either way, the boss was momentarily frozen. He was locked rigid as if lockjaw had seized every muscle in his body. I didn’t waste the opportunity.

I charged forward, spotting a thin stream of smoke rising from a dark burn mark at the base of Narek’s skull exactly where I had aimed my deadly blast. The power was so intense it burned a fist-sized hole in the protective leather, exposing newly charred flesh beneath. While the leather provided exceptional defense against melee weapons, magic appeared to be able to make a far greater impact. Words to my regeneration spell darted off my tongue as my fingers moved in the necessary patterns to place healing magic upon the mewling Lowki, who was even then scrabbling away. My heart froze at his whimpering cries.

With the behemoth’s high resistances, I had no way of knowing how long the stunning effect would last, so I needed to be quick with the rest of my ludicrous scheme. Standing right behind the boss, as my recovery magic flowed into Lowki’s body, I summoned Frostrend into my hand. There was also no way of knowing of long it would take my regenerative magic to repair Lowki’s ruined pelvis, if it could at all. What my friend needed was more time, as much as I could give him. I intended to do just that.

An earsplitting roar howled from deep within my chest as I triggered one of my few melee skills. The noise reverberated across the battlefield, perhaps rivaling even Narek’s at the start of our titanic struggle. Frostrend slashed across the war leader's back in a blur as he began turning my way, the previous magical stun no longer holding him motionless.

Faster than my eye could follow, my special attack, Roaring Sweep, crashed into Narek's unguarded flank right below the ribcage. So narrow was my focus, that I hadn’t noticed two important changes to our conflict in as many seconds. First, he was no longer searing hot from his enhanced rage ability. Each millisecond that passed was stealing away another inch from his statuesque height. Second, the imposing war hammer which had obliterated Ripley, and seriously maimed Lowki, had vanished. Recalled into whatever astral space it had been summoned from, the boss was once again weaponless.

Regardless of what caused Narek’s initial paralyzation, it had stolen away two of the overpowering advantages he had held. While he was still a dominating figure, I was like a child standing behind his parent, but the balance shifted in this fight.

Skill (Axe): Roaring Sweep. Effect(s): You ferociously swipe an axe in a horizontal arc. If the blow connects, the target(s) become stunned for 2 seconds. Cool down: 2 minutes. Plus 0.5 seconds of stun every 5 skill levels and minus 1 second cool down per skill level.

Frostrend blasted into Narek’s side, digging in surprisingly deep. Whether a result of the weapon’s enchantment, or slipping between two strands of leather, I couldn’t know. What I felt from Frostrend was the power of the special attack passed unhindered and undiminished into his torso. Once more, the dreadnought of a mob was held fast.

Backpedaling to create distance between us, I began recasting my damage over time spells on the heavyweight beast. Enough time had elapsed since the start of battle meaning my thirty and sixty second duration DOTs were beginning to wane, something I normally didn’t see as most monsters would long ago been killed. Here though, the elite Legionnaire Minotaur must have a health pool so vast it would rival a lagoon. As spells landed on the boss one after another, I spied Lowki’s writhing movements turn into sagging limp before he bounded away erratically. I had given him enough time to escape the headman’s axe.

A third spell was completing when the boss roared anew and, for a split second, I feared he was triggering his rage ability once more. Thankfully, no steam rose from his disproportionately shaped body. His already towering height remained static. Throwing his arms out wide like an infuriated grizzly bear, Narek reminded me of an umber hulk from earth myology. With how massive his shoulders and upper body were, I didn’t doubt he still had strength enough to fell a giant sequoia tree with a single blow.

Lowki disappeared into the underbrush, though the Minotaur still swept his gaze around furiously in a vain hope of finishing off the wounded panther. With his latest adversary stolen away, Narek’s head swiveled in the direction of my chanting as a fourth spell penetrated his flesh, injecting harmful necrotic energy. Enemy eyes promising a deadly and painful end locked onto mine. The outrage dancing behind his black irises conveyed such murderous intent my throat threatened to lock up.

The boss began moving towards me, his tattered ankle barely supporting his laborious weight. Somehow the boss ignored the reality of his ruined calf, though the injury thankfully slowed his forward mobility. For the moment, my attempt to back away was quick enough to match his long, sluggish strides.

As my final damage over time spell connected solidly with the top-heavy boss, I considered my next step. Sudden and unexpected movement seized the breath in my lungs. Triggering a new ability, Narek flashed forward in a blur. He crossed the modest distance in less than a second. Stella would later tell me the boss used a special bull-rush ability, though she had no way to predict it until after witnessing its capability in action.

Utilizing the extreme momentum built behind the ability, Narek’s fist collided with my chest like a runaway landslide. The move was so instantaneous, that I barely had time for my eyes to widen in shock as the force of a tectonic plate crashed into me. The merciless blow imparted enough force it would have caved in a vast section of the mountainous wall surrounding the capital city.

It was only a combination of my necromancer’s bone ring, essence barrier, and my empowered aegis that allowed me to weather the onslaught.

Essence Barrier – When an enemy suffers from your damage over time spells, 10% of the damage dealt is converted into a protective barrier that shields the wearer against physical attacks. The barrier stacks over time and lasts 12 seconds when the wearer's final damage over time spell ends.

Since the start of the battle with Narek, my bone ring’s special effect had been slowly but inexorably stacking up an impressive protective field. In effect, creating an invisible shield that would protect me against any and all physical attacks. With all of my spells ticking away consistently for over a minute, the barrier had grown to impressive levels.

It shattered like a fragile pane of glass in the path of a hurricane.

My vision devolved into a chaotic mix of dizzying stars, blinding whites, and obscuring darkness. I was launched dozens of feet away to crash heavily against the hard-packed ground far afield. My body limply tumbled until my back crashed against what must have been a jutting stone. I was left in a sitting position, facing the confident war leader.

Narek couldn’t know it, but while my mana pool had dropped into the triple digits, not a drop of pain was transferred into my body. Empowered aegis absorbed what had to have been thousands of points of damage yet could do nothing against the momentum of the strike. Incapable of being stunned, it nonetheless took me precious seconds to reorganize my thoughts. It felt like I had been shot out of a cannon.

The Minotaur’s gaze never left me, so single-minded was his pursuit. He would reach me in moments. His gaze promised death, his eyes as unforgiving as the grave. Narek didn’t feel pity, or remorse. He would certainly, absolutely not stop until I was dead.

But he had forgotten about Lowki.

Upon seeing my meteoric crash, my feline companion quit the subtle tactics. Like a quarter-ton wrecking ball, Lowki struck. In an act of desperation, the great cat’s twin barbed limbs slammed against both sides of Narek’s unprotected face, quills digging in deeply enough they pumped poison directly into his mouth. The acidic-like liquid instantly seared away the tender flesh within. At the same time, Lowki's enormous body slammed against the back of the boss’s head, four sets of serrated claws reaching around to hold his skull like a vice.

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Because of the opening afforded by my lightning bolt at the base of Narek’s skull, Lowki’s back legs, which were kicking furiously, finally found purchase, digging in deeply with each impact. However, the legionnaire was no pushover and vastly outweighed the panther. Regardless of Lowki’s bulk, he was not heavy enough to bear this beast to the ground. As Lowki clawed Narek as only a cat could, the war leader reached up to firmly grab the cat’s midsection.

With a motion that looked like someone slamming a slab of granite into the dirt, Narek body slammed Lowki over his spear-like horns into the earth at his feet. The move did not go unpunished, however. Lowki’s barbed quills and two sets of gagged claws had been holding tight against the boss’s bulbous head while his back legs pumped furiously.

Such was the war leader’s strength that even the stubborn Lowki could not resist. As the cat was lifted, Lowki retaliated by tearing long rents across Narek’s head. The movement pulled free ragged strips of flesh, stuck fast by Lowki’s claws, that looked eerily similar to the leather wrappings covering the crazed monster’s body. The colossal Minotaur instantly regretted his decision, his hands reaching to the ruined flesh as he shrieked out in agony.

All the while, Tallos’ constant stream of fletched missiles slowed drastically as the battle played out. He was likely running low on ammunition so had been carefully picking his shots, attempting to find whatever weak point was available. There had not been many. The elf sprinted closer, coming within fifty feet of the boss to maximize his pinpoint accuracy.

As I reached my feet, the boss’s thrashings allowed me to spot a few fletching protruding from the hollow at the base of Narek’s head. Seeing the vulnerable Lowki laying helplessly beneath the goliath’s trampling feet, I charged forward, Frostrend already spinning end over end towards the gigantic foe. As I pulled closer, I quickly chugged a mana potion. My aegis would not be strong enough to withstand another attack from the massive boss. Instead, I simply needed the mana to see me through a sudden inspiration.

“I’m out,” came a shout in the distance, undoubtedly from Tallos. His voice was coarse and laced with apprehension. It was not a good sign. Tallos could no longer impact the outcome of our frantic battle.

“You might be able to retrieve some of your spent arrows,” Stella shouted in response as she pointed toward mounds of flesh around the front of the palisade. Tallos must have had the same idea, as he was already moving towards the fallen Minotaurs.

As I grew closer to the frenzied enemy, I threw a fireball into his face. The spell stole what little sight Narek could have managed between the thick streams of blood flowing profusely down his face. His head rocked backward. Not pausing an instant, I followed with a scintillating bolt of lightning. Burning ozone filled my nostrils and the space between us.

In the wake of the inferno left by my fireball, I had no way of knowing if the electrical discharge struck Narek’s face or his madly flailing hands. It didn’t matter. I was close enough.

Sensing my presence, giant hands reached out blindly in an attempt to grapple me, but I evaded the feeble attempt.

Feet away from his broad body, I intoned lesser poison breath for the first time. The one second cast time elapsed as arcane words burbled from my lips. The spell completed. Opening my mouth wide, I exhaled a dense verdant cloud. The fumes rushed out, fanning out in a wide cone to fully encompass my enemy’s massive body.

[Lesser Poison Breath]. You exhale a poisonous cloud that expands outwards from the caster in a cone to engulf any hostile target within 15 feet, inflicting a necrotic toxin that burns away at the lining of the target’s lungs. The spell causes 70 plus 2n damage immediately and then every 6 seconds until the spell expires, where ‘n’ equals Intelligence. Cost: 150 mana. Cast Time: 1 seconds. Cool down: 2 minutes. Duration: 30 seconds.

The spell alone wouldn’t finish the boss, I knew. Stella shouted his remaining health but in the mad rush of battle, her words didn’t register. A calm settled over me as I lowered myself to a kneeling position, Narek’s fist passing mere inches over my head. This was it, the final step of my swiftly constructed plan. I could only hope game logic would hold true here like I was hoping. Either it would work, or it wouldn’t. Tranquil acceptance settled within me as I rose both hands toward the swirling emerald vapor. I could hear Narek’s choking coughs as he futilely attempted to expel the caustic poison.

My only instant-cast spell, flamethrower blasted upwards like the blast from twin booster rockets. As the flames touched the roiling mist, the fumes parted enough for the boss’s bloodshot gaze to finally connect with me. The malevolence held in those scarlet orbs promised pain, unlike anything I could fathom.

It was the last thing I saw before the toxic fumes that encapsulated Narek’s body detonated.

The concussive force blew my body backward as I once more crashed against the hard ground beneath me. At such a close distance, the blast burned away the last of my mana and tore a substantial chunk of my health away. It took several long moments as the pain I finally was forced to endure abated. It felt like my lungs had collapsed from the impact and at long last, I was able to draw in deep, rasping breaths of air.

Holding my chest, I leaned forward to see what had become of the final Minotaur. At first, nothing was there. There was no shadow cast down upon me like the foretelling of doom. Then a fine mist the color of crimson sprinkled down upon me. It was blood.

It wasn’t until I came to a seated position, I discovered Narek the Indominable’s fate. What remained was a decimated, mangled, headless mass that barely resembled the monster’s former self. The detonation from my gambit of spells had wholly disintegrated everything above his neckline.

We were victorious.

Long minutes passed as I took stock of my condition. My mana pool had been completely drained, though was even now slowly filling up thanks to my innate regeneration. The same went for my health bar but it was half full, thankfully not dipping down to dangerous levels there at the end of the fight. After a few seconds, both resource pools began filling at double the initial pace owing to the fact we were no longer in combat.

“Are you alright?” Stella asked by my side. She was floating a few inches from the scorched field the detonating inferno had caused. Her face held a concerned, yet relieved expression. I couldn’t blame her. I was feeling something similar.

“Yeah, yeah,” I said as I waved away the lingering fumes from the blast. “I’m okay, though I feel like I was run over by a steamroller.”

“A what?” called an approaching voice. It was Tallos, looking none the worse for wear. A fistful of arrows was held tightly in his grip, the tips dripping with congealing blood. No doubt they were some of his retrieved arrows he had been planning to use a second time against the formidable boss. “You look horrible, my friend.”

“I can’t argue with you there,” I replied, taking in a deep breath as my frayed nerves continued to settle. “Never mind about the steamroller, I’ll explain it another time.”

“How did you know that would happen?” Stella asked as she tilted her head toward where the boss had been standing earlier.

“I didn’t,” I replied casually, coming to my feet and stretching out my back. “I hoped it would. Damn, but that hurt.”

Stella didn’t say anything for long seconds. Instead, she looked at me incredulously, before turning to Tallos with an expression that said, “Can you believe this madman?”

“Would you like for me to explain how stupid your gamble was?” Stella finally asked in such a way it was clear she was asking a rhetorical question. “You could have asked me long before now if the vapor from poison breath was flammable. If it hadn’t been…”

Stella pressed her lips tightly together.

“I know, I’m sorry,” I said, trying to smooth over Stella’s volatile state. “The idea came out of nowhere. I knew was pretty sure the boss still had more than enough life to end us, so I had to try something.”

Stella screwed up her face. Her canine mug held an undeniable relief, yet also carried a quality as if she was about to go into a tyrannical tirade. “You will promise me, never to do it again,” her tone brooked no argument. “Did you know the blast could have easily bypassed your aegis entirely since it was your spell? You would have been better off just backing off and letting your DOTs finish him.”

“Sorry, Stell,” I muttered weakly, she was right after all. “I acted rashly, and it could have gone completely different. It won’t happen again.”

Stella did her best to calm herself down, pressing her paws against her side. She turned her back from me, probably so I wouldn’t see how scared she had been for me.

“When I saw Lowki lying there,” I continued, facing her back. I sighed and shook my head from side to side, though she wouldn't see the movement. “I thought the boss was going to finish him. Permanently.”

When Stella turned right around, words on her lips, I held out my hands as if to interrupt what was sure to come. “I know, I know. At least, I think I do. Though in the moment Lowki was vulnerable, I couldn’t remember if he would be gone forever if he was killed. I acted and it nearly cost us everything.”

Stella stared at me. Her face unreadable. Finally, she sighed as if releasing all of her bottled tension. Her entire body shook free the last vestiges of her remaining stress. “Lowki can’t be permanently destroyed. He will come back, same as Ripley. Please remember it for next time.”

“I will,” I replied, and I was serious about it. “Well, I'm pretty sure that was the last of them. We would have heard something by now.” Dusting myself off, while also wiping away the small droplets of blood covering my face, I turned to the wooden gates. The massive double doors were swinging ever so slightly in the breeze. The inside of the fort looked completely abandoned. Nothing stirred within.

Lowki bounded up and brushed his face against my waist, moving much like he normally did but with a single dragging back foot. I cast another regen to speed along his recovery.

“Alright, let’s take a look inside,” Tallos offered helpfully, to which I wholeheartedly agreed. I wanted to get away from the ruined body of what remained of our captivating foe.

I tilted my head towards what remained of our vanquished foe. "Think there's any loot to be had there?" I asked.

"I doubt it," Stella replied, not looking back as she floated forward with Tallos. "You're more than welcome to check that bloody mess by yourself, thank you very much."