Clarent rammed through the back of one of the invisible goblins and it fell to the ground. I flashed forwards into another group of them spin about to send heads and limbs flying. They thought themselves hidden with their invisibility and camouflage, but I could tell where everything was thanks to Tremor Soles and Voidra. Unending Flow was going up in effectiveness with each of the goblins I slew, they were humanoids even if they were just dungeon creatures created by the System.
The grass was basically gone at this point, trampled, burned, blasted apart, and drowned in blood the battlefield was mess of metal wrecks, corpses, and maroon mud. I had sent the rest of my men to wait in the fortress and get what rest they could. I was the only one who would get any benefit from killing these creatures, they might have a few magical abilities, but they weren’t gifted and so would offer no abilities or rank points on death.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 9,869 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
A horn blew out across the sky as any remaining goblins, redcaps, or the other minions of Averice collapsed. With their World Boss slain and their raid over there was nothing left to power them anymore.
The World Boss Balance has spawned
Balance is the World Boss of this raid and represents the Dikastheon. As long as the boss is alive every one of its minions on the field will be stronger and will spawn in greater numbers, kill the boss to reduce the difficulty of this wave.
It was not the ground that spawned the new wave but the sky, horns blared across the sky again, not the earth trembling horn of the System but smaller clearer horns sounding. A humming filled the air accompanied by a choir as winged figures emerged from rifts of golden light. They emerged by the dozen more and more filling the air with a legion of angels.
One stood apart from the rest, it would have stood fifteen feet tall and had metallic silver skin with white feathered wings death feather had a luminous golden eye on it that searched the battlefield below it.
Balance, Gifted- Celestial/Arch-Angel (World Boss), Hero, Rank: 700
Balance carried an ornate two-handed scythe in its hands. Its chest was bare and hairless, and it only wore a white toga. It turned its gaze to look down on me, its eyes were brilliant balls of white light with no discernable iris or pupil.
“So, you are who I have been sent to slay,” Balance said. “I expected more.”
“I’m like an iceberg,” I said with a shrug. “Your just seeing the tip but if you like I could put the whole thing in.”
The blank expression on Balance’s face turned to a frown, it gestured with its arm and its army flew forwards towards me and the fortress. I held my ground only stepping to the side as a lance of golden light hit the ground beside me. I rolled to the side as it exploded then I jumped into the sky taking to the air as Clarent began sending winged angels down to the ground below. Their wings burned and spiraled down like leaves as I cut them off their backs.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 9,882 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
The thudding of wings sounded as Exar’kun dove into the fight aa gout of green fire incinerating a score of the winged angels. They were hurling spears down at the fortress as volley fire rose up to answer them. I shot towards the World Boss and he deflected Clarent with his scythe in a casual dismissal of my attack. Scarlet lightning shot out arcing across the sky. Many angles fell out of the air as they failed to resist its stun effect. Balance retaliated I turned incorporeal which was the only thing that saved me as the scythe struck with the speed of sound a boom sounding out over the battlefield. It burned my incorporeal form but not as badly as it would have had it hit my physical body. I retreated away and summoned a twisted horn into my hands.
Blowing the horn, a dark cloud surrounded me for a moment before blowing apart thirteen hounds appearing where it had been. I howled releasing Helheim’s Scream, and the hounds took up my call. The pack and I flew forwards activating the speed boost from my boots. The archangel swung again at me, and I just managed to roll under his swing scoring a hit across his thigh. It dashed into the midst of my hounds, they tried encircling it but it slashed around itself and they fell to the ground in rain of blood that evaporated into mist before it hit the ground. It rushed me again slashing at me and I flipped over its back narrowly avoiding having my legs cut off as I tried to cut off its wings from its back.
Clarent did only a minor wound as the silver skin resisted being sliced through. The Archangel didn’t howl, shout or rage, instead it just relentlessly began pursuing me across the skies turning from defender to aggressor. I began ducking, weaving teleporting as it tossed out all manner of new attacks. Golden spinning disks, exploding javelins, even a whip made of light.
I needed a way to get this thing down on the ground so my strike force could help me kill it because there was no way I could take this thing on my own. I dodged another attack and surged forward activating Hell’s Talons. I slashed its back, cutting a deep wound across the ligaments connecting its wings to its spine.
The Arch-Angel did scream now as purple cursed flames spread from its wound. I smiled in triumph than the fires winked out as a globe of translucent energy appeared around the World Boss. I struck out at the barrier with Clarent and my claws but was shoved back by a violent retaliatory wave of energy.
The object you have struck at is immune to Physical Damage, Lightning, Fire, Cold, Necrotic, Poison, Acid, Psychic, Sonic, Curse, Holy & Soul damage
Any attacks against the barrier will deal a moderate amount of retaliatory damage.
The eyes along the arch-angel’s wings glowed and I barely spun out of the way as a barrage of laser beams shot from each of its eyes. The beams of light tracked me through the air, and I teleported behind the arch-angel to escape them. Exar’kun swooped in breathing fire, but it was completely repelled by the barrier around the World Boss. The beams of light hit him, and he roared in pain as holes were bored through his left wing. He went into a tailspin down to the ground and the arch-angel whirled to face me again.
“Your allies will not avail you,” it said its eyes flaring even brighter.
You have been stunned for 10 seconds, reduced by Troll Hide to 1 second.
Even with Troll Hide reducing the duration of the stun to only one second it was enough time for the beams of light to hit me. It was like being hit by a truck as it knocked me out of the sky and slammed me to the ground.
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You are taking Extreme Holy and Major Soul damage per second, move out the area of damage or death will occur in 30 seconds.
Even with all my damage reduction and the toughness of my flesh this attack was killing me body and soul. I tried to push up but couldn’t move past the strength of the beams continuously pressing me to the ground. I tried teleporting but the effect wouldn’t work. Turning incorporeal would just get me killed faster. I had to admit I was out of tricks and with the globe of invulnerability around the world boss there was no way for my vassals to do anything to it either.
I wasn’t going to go peacefully; I continued to strain and push against the attack but it was like trying push against the tide. The golden light burned into my flesh and a I screamed as the Holy and Soul damage ravaged my body and spirit. My skin and muscle began to burn away the bones of my ribs becoming exposed and blackened by the bombardment from the archangel above. My mind went dark, and I fell into a dark abyss.
--
My soul hung out over the void. I could still feel the archangel’s attack shredding my soul, but I wasn’t out of the fight yet. On the ledge above me stood a feminine figure of pure darkness, a man made of angry red energy and a silver ghost of a man in my armor. Behind them was another figure bound in chains of while light it was made of dark greys, and blacks and it snarled and thrashed in its bindings.
So, this is the Void, Ares said turning his head to look out over the empty expanse of darkness.
We need to get out of here! Voidra shouted at me as I hung at the edge of the Void.
Why are we here again, I growled trying to drag my soul up from the edge. I thought I fixed the trauma in my soul.
Hardly, Karnen said. You may have fixed the hatred you have for yourself, but you’re still damaged from the pain in your past, until you resolve that we’re going to keep ending up here.
I could feel the hunger of the entities in the void drawing closer. Not today, I thought as I pulled myself up over the edge Karnen, Ares and Voidra pulling me out and back into the world of the living. Whether I would end up right back where I was in a moment remained to be seen.
---
Guinevere’s hand was tight around her mouth holding back her scream as she watched the angelic creature slowly kill Mordred the light attack melting the flesh from his body.
Get up! Get up! She screamed at him in her mind.
His head jerked up, his limbs spasming. Her heart raced as he pushed himself up, but his strength gave out and he fell back, his skeleton becoming visible as it began to be burned away by the holy fire. The mirror went black. Guinevere felt her heart fall. She shook the mirror.
“Show me Mordred,” she said but it remained dark. “Show me Mordred!” she shouted at it trying to shove her entire mana pool into it, but its surface only showed her own face now. She tossed it on the bed, tears running down her face as she drew her knees to her chest hugging them close.
---
All Scrying effects have been blocked in the area for the next seven days.
“About time,” I tried to say but my lack of working vocal cords made my words unrecognizable as anything that sounded like human speech. Luckily Void Asura did not require an activation phrase. Three sets of extra limbs emerged from my torso. They were all identical clad in a black armor marbled with silver and white shifting lines of ethereal energy. The soul damage I was taking was reduced to almost nothing and the burning of my flesh was slowed to a crawl. I pushed back and like a salmon flew against the current of golden light heading straight for the source.
I grew the gauntlet sword I had received as well as my double-bladed spear and wielding them alongside Clarent stabbed forwards. The weapons pierced through the globe of invulnerability. The bombardment stopped as the arch-angel flew back his shield disappearing from around him.
“How!” Balance spat. “That ability is immune to all forms of damage.”
“Not Void damage it would seem,” I said teleporting in front of him. I blocked the swing of his scythe with my spear as both my swords slashed at him, and my unarmed hands slashed at it with Hell’s Talons. My body was barely holding together but I pushed past the weakness of my flesh to continue the fight. I grabbed hold of its scythe spinning as it tried to fling me off me as my free hands stabbed into it. I sliced through the tendons connecting to its right wing and we began to spin as its remaining wing tried to keep us aloft. Silver blood sprayed out over me as the world became a blur around us.
Mud and blood sprayed out as we hit the ground creating a small crater. I rolled away with the last of my strength dodging a swing from its scythe as I made some space between us.
“Blood Renewal,” I said.
You have completed a hidden objective and earned a title> Objective, survive lethal Extreme Holy damage and come back from multiple mortal wounds. Your body has adapted to the radiance of the heavens and is becoming resistant to the damage of gods of Order.
Reward: Holy Resistance III
*Holy Resistance III: You now take three less stages of damage from Holy attacks, spells and abilities.
Mist rose up around us and my body, which was only partially recovered, slowly regained some of its muscle and skin as we stood and faced each other again. My void limbs disappeared as I ran out Ethereal; we were on the ground, but we were far from being on even footing, I was wounded and naked my enchanted cloak which had survived so many battles now burned to ash. The eyes along its wings began to glow as it prepared to unleash is laser attack on me again. The arch-angle spun blocking the heavy wing of Tobias’ maul then fell back as Jeriah swung at him with his sword. The sons of Dragonbreaker swarmed the World boss.
It scythe slashed out in a sonic boom sounding off as it moved faster than sound. Its edges bypassed the armor I had made for them cutting Rejiah in two. Jeriah screamed in rage tackling the arch-angel into the mud. The arch-angle headbutted him and twisted free push to its feet and raising its scythe to give Jeriah a death blow. A bear hit the arch-angel rolling him through the mud staining his pristine toga and coating his silver skin in the maroon mud. The bear roared as its rider charged forward. The arch-angle slid forward gutting the bear and sending Kas’tu flying off its back.
The chief of the Ursine clan rolled to his feet and Tobias blocked another swing from the World Boss’ scythe. A spear slid forward stabbing Balance through the abdomen as Korsis moved in. The arch-angle unleashed a scream that lifted up everyone around it and threw them to the side. The transparent globe appeared around it and the eyes on its wings lit up as it began passing the laser beam back and forth hitting everyone with it.
I teleported behind it reactivating Void Asura and slashing through its bubble popping it and disrupting its attack. Balance whirled to face me, but a torrent of fire hit it full in the face as Exar’kun unleashed his breath weapon from behind me. I strode through the flames unharmed and drove Clarent, Janus and Thorn forwards. Balance deflected Clarent and Janus, but Thorn got past his guard the gauntlet sword stabbing through his shoulder. I twisted and yanked shredding the muscle tendons and releasing a flood of silver blood. The scythe swung at me again but without full use of its right shoulder the World Boss’ attack was much slower. I ducked under the slash getting inside its guard. A burst of laser fire hit where I would have stood but I teleported behind it slashing out with Clarent and hamstringed it. Jeriah came down from above his heavy two-handed sword hitting with the force of a meteor as he removed its wings. Tobias swung with his maul caving in one side of its face.
Their brother Normen drove a spear forward into its chest. Balance fell to the ground its silver blood the cleanest thing on the battlefield right now. It was still alive, its body slowly stitching itself back together. I stepped forward and drove all three of my artifact weapons, still empowered by the black and silver energy of the void through its chest, neck and head.
350 rank points gained.
With its death my body was fully restored.
You have defeated the World Boss, Balance, reducing the number of spawns for the rest of this wave.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 9,883 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I stood and looked at the fallen body of Rejiah as his brothers knelt around him.
“That’s twice that one of my brothers has died for you,” Jeriah said to me his voice low enough that only I could here.
“I will not forget him,” I said.
“There may not be any of us left to remember when this day is done,” Jeriah said. “What did you do to make the gods so angry?”
“I was better than all their prodigies,” I said shrugging. “I showed them that their way of thinking and operating were flawed. People don’t like being proven wrong, apparently, neither do gods.”