Lore glanced behind himself, at where the Vortex Shield had crashed against the cavern wall.

"Good job throwing off my timing," he said as he pointed his rapier at me. "Impressive weapon, isn't this? I bet you regret picking a fight now. Perhaps we can talk this out?"

We had nothing to talk over. The death game had already begun, and it wouldn't end without half of us dying.

"This is for Saber," I growled. I aligned my gun's sights with his center of mass and blasted away. He endured the pelts and sprinted toward me, faster than I could retreat.

"The paladin?" Lore asked. "Don't fault our cat for that. Only one guilty is Gamemaster Alice."

Anastasia raced towards me as well. Mr. Atlas intercepted her with a heaving swing of his massive axe. The steel of his weapon clashed with her halberd, over and over. She drove him back with each exchange of blows. Reens stood back, sending out wisps of healing light to Atlas and me in turn.

I managed to whittle Lore down to two-thirds health, before he lunged at me. I dodged aside. With a flick of his wrist, the point of his rapier chased me, and it managed a scratch.

[Condition - 4/4 Time. After being hit by the golden rapier 4 times, with exactly 1 second between each strike, you will die.]

The status was back. No matter how slight his blows, four of them in a row would decisively kill.

This was not good. I fired my Frost Missile at him. He weaved instantly to the side, his steps facile like a dancer's, and the shot missed him. He thrusted. The blade burrowed into my wrist, its steel searingly painful. I grimaced and almost dropped my gun. Lore withdrew his blade, and after a moment's pause, drew a shallow cut across my thigh.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"I don't blame you," he said, and he made a fourth and final slash across my chest.

Reens swung her staff in a wide arc. A runic circle of dazzling white light encompassed Lore and me, just as I expected. That was Reens' third ability –

[Blank Sanctuary:

You create a zone of nullification magic lasting 3 seconds. All special abilities, for both allies and enemies, are disabled within this zone.]

Lore had lowered his stance, as though he was expecting me to have died. I took the chance to fire several shots into him. Before he gathered himself to battle again, I had already made space between us. He pursued me. As soon as he stepped outside the runic circle, I froze him solid with a Cold Grenade. I took the chance to pelt him with shots while backing away. Lore soon shook free of the ice and began dashing toward me again, but now he was heavily bloodied. He weathered my projectiles, and with a forceful lunge, managed to scratch my shoulder. I kept firing back as he landed a second hit, then I nailed him with a Frost Missile. He extended his rapier at me for a third strike, but the Missile had covered him in thin ice, and slowed him enough that his reach fell short. That was enough to disrupt the rhythm of his attacks; I was safe once more.

At this point, I had enough firepower to take him out before he'd land another four full hits.

Meanwhile, Anastasia had shifted her attention to Reens. Mr. Atlas was desperately trying to keep her away, but Anastasia had outmaneuvered him and reached our healer. I had to finish Lore off quicky and join their fight.

"Hollow heart; thread of fears," recited Lady's hissing voice. "Triad of all-encompassing plagues."

I jerked to look towards the mouth of the cave, from where the cat's voice came. A tide of multicolored mist erupted out of its tiny body, in unbelievable volume, until the entire cave was flooded.

Lore simply scoffed at the cat. "Finally had enough farm?"

I tried to make a run for it out of the cave. But instead, I only stood in place, my body completely frozen. The mist swirled around me, its colors sickeningly gaudy. I looked around. Everyone else, even the cat, stood still as statues.

Finally, the cat lifted its paw, pointed at Reens, and made a beckoning gesture. As though possessed, Reens lumbered towards it.

"Ultimate Ability," Lady said. "Rave of the Pied Piper."