Standing only four to five meters ahead of the creature and its rider, Michael realized how big this thing was and couldn't help but compliment his past self for facing it without fear last time.

Furthermore, once he summoned his minions and had them move forward to face off with the enemy, Astaroth's gaze finally moved from his enemy to the new face.

[And who might this insect be? He doesn't seem to be your son, Donan. Otherwise, Lilith would've mentioned him already. Certainly, he is not an apprentice since he's a Necromancer, and the Hoardrim doesn't accept those with Classes. Maybe just an acquaintance that unknowingly walked into the depths of despair and will now die alongside the pathetic 'hero' and all other worms of this settlement?](Astaroth)

Hearing the Charred Duke explode into a typical villain monologue, Michael remained quiet and continued analyzing the situation from a battle standpoint.

'The three-headed dog I've faced before, and except for pouncing, biting, and clawing, it doesn't have other attacks. It would be foolish to assume nothing changed now that it turned into a mount of a Duke-level devil of Hell, with power only under that of the 'King' it serves under. As for Astaroth himself, judging from his name and what I heard about the Days of Ash, he certainly has fire-type attacks and skills. There's also the long halberd in his right hand, which has enough reach for enemies below, even if he's standing almost six meters from ground level. Therefore, it should be a combination of melee and fire skills.'

[...state your name, insect! Since you dared step in and attempted to stop my revenge, it would be kind of me to at least listen to your name, right?](Astaroth)

"Say... are all devils of Hell as dramatic as you and Lilith are? I understand your boredom since you both got locked away and someone threw the key, but it's truly embarrassing to watch you act like this, you know? Also, where is this superiority complex coming from? You might've been a Duke in Hell, but here, you are merely a Boss-level monster restricted to Level 54."

The Necromancer's words were strangely compelling as the shit-eating grin plastered on the Charred Duke's face vanished, replaced by a nonchalant expression.

[It's been a while since anyone dared talk to me like that, insect.](Astaroth)

"Let me guess: since the last time you were sealed in a soulstone, hidden in the box, had the box buried five meters underground, and then they built an entire castle on top of you?"

[Pittiful maggot... What do you hope to achieve by angering me? Do you hope to find some weakness to exploit? How laughable. If it weren't for these damned restrictions, do you think three weaklings could've successfully sealed me last time?](Astaroth)

"But they did, didn't they?"

[Are you not listening, maggot!? With my full power and authority, I only need to command my armies to lay this world to waste!](Astaroth)

"But you were still sealed and had to have Lilith save your pitiful self from being eternally stuck in a stone, deep underground."

The taunts finally worked as the devil waved his halberd in a rotating motion and pointed downward. With that gesture, Michael noticed ridiculous amounts of energy leaving Astaroth's body—or rather, the soulstone on his head—and interacting with the fire particles in the atmosphere.

Everything happened in a fraction of a second, but once the demonic energy was infused, it was as if a chain explosion had occurred. A massive blanket of fire energy was activated above the Necromancer's head in the clouds.

'What the fuck is with that ridiculous amount of energy!? Sanctuary, where the fuck are the restrictions!? I couldn't output even a 10th of that amount! Also, why the fuck are meteors falling from the damned sky!?'

Cursing the overpowered Boss, Michael ordered his melee minions to attack and the Cold Mages to distance themselves from him. Since they were the most fragile among the lot, he only kept one Accountant standing in a spot where a 'meteor' would hit, wanting to gouge the damage.

As for himself, since the entire area of five meters around him was targeted by more than half the 'bullets,' once they were only a couple meters away from his head and he could feel the heat, Blood Mist was activated and successfully negated any damage he would take.

Unfortunately, it was an elemental attack, so Michael still had to endure the feeling of being burned alive, which disappeared only after his body restructured itself back to a solid state.

By now, the Reapers were already hacking at the dog's legs while the bulky Quarterback was punching and smashing its heads. The four Cold Mages were also bombarding it with ranged attacks.

'Tsk! The blizzard they cast only damaged the mutt and not its rider. Before it could come close to Astaroth, it was evaporated. Fortunately, the others are doing decently. Also, the 'test dummy' took about 80% of his Life Points as damage, so the total should be under 1,000 points per meteor. The main problem with that skill is the flames it leaves behind after impact. The remaining 20% of his health bar disappeared in under five seconds, meaning the burning damage it applies should be quite ferocious.'

Then, a loud thud could be heard, and the Necromancer was pulled out of his contemplation as he saw three very familiar dog faces much closer to him than before, as well as a curved moon blade inbound for his head.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Without hesitation, he used Evade and rolled on the ground to avoid the bite of the left-most head. The air-splitting sound of the weapon passing above his head, as well as the disgusting smell of the dog's breath, sent shivers down Michael's spine.

'A moment of negligence could mean death. At least now I know two of Astaroth's means of attack. No matter what, the Sanctuary should've limited what it can do in this world so it can't be ridiculously overpowered. It had also stepped into the miasma from the Corpses I've exploded through Blood Mist. To keep him here and avoid taking too much damage, I'll also activate Bone Storm while using the ultimate tactic against Bosses larger than oneself.'

With a loud sound, a circle of swirling bones surrounded the person facing the devil, shocking the 'audience' with his next audacious move. While the Bone Storm kept hitting the legs of the Cerberus, Michael kept rolling on the ground and repositioning himself behind it, continuously casting Reap and hitting with regular melee attacks.

Decrepify would also be cast every time he remembered it, as he couldn't mentally count to ten and focus on the fight properly.

Whenever an attack was unavoidable through normal means, if he could use Evade, he would, and if not, Blood Mist would be cast off-cooldown.

Unbeknownst to the fighting Necromancer, the two representatives barred from participating were watching his fight from more than ten kilometers away, on Cerrigar's walls.

Thanks to Upper Cerrigar being built in a geographically elevated position, they had a clear view of everything happening below. Of course, ordinary people, even Wanderers under Level 50 and with less than 400 points in each of their main attributes, couldn't clearly see or hear the fight.

[He's bold.](Celeste)

[Audacious even. That dog is fine since it's heavily restricted, but the melee attacks of that devil are dangerous.](Mira)

[You noticed, too?](Celeste)

[Mhm. I heard from Natalia that Golems are usually much tankier than their masters, but his fell from two swings of that weapon. I'm not good with Mage skills, but that first attack also seemed dangerous.](Mira)

[The impact damage is okay, but the fire damage is a bit shocking. More than five minutes have passed already, but it's still burning. Furthermore, the intensity of the fire energy didn't decrease, meaning that it would still deal similar damage once someone steps in it.](Celeste)

[Did you use your Recording Bead?](Mira)

[Mhm. The others will be interested in seeing the fight.](Celeste)

[So you think he can win?](Mira)

[I'm not sure, but the Sanctuary wouldn't give a Quest that is impossible to finish. Also, his is a Main Quest, meaning it's of importance to our world. If Michael was restricted to fighting it alone, the Sanctuary believes he has a chance.](Celeste)

[Let's hope you're right. It would be a shame for such a talented person to die.](Mira)

[That's true. There aren't many people in this continent capable of cooking meals as delicious as his.](Celeste)

[Mhm.](Mira)

Unaware of the shameless conclusion the two reached, the Necromancer in question was fighting for his life. Running between the legs of the dog and continuously repositioning himself behind it was more complicated than it was in games.

He almost got stepped on on five different occasions and had to use Evade or Blood Mist to avoid being curb-stomped.

'Fortunately, I've gathered enough Corpses and kept exploding them in batches of five to maintain a constant damage of 1,500+. My only concern is the Life Points I see above the Boss. Are they the dog's, and I win after killing it, or is there a second phase where I 1-v-1 against Astaroth after defeating its mount?'

A bit worried, he continued his grind until a change happened. Astaroth pulled the chains, and Michael saw it happen through his senses connected to his Golem's.

Then, Cerberus leaped backward, distancing himself from the annoying pests ravaging his feet.

Not wanting to let it get away, the minions were immediately ordered to pursue it but immediately realized that it was a mistake when he saw Astaroth's hideous grin.

[Burn them!](Astaroth)

Sparks appeared around the mouths of the three heads, and with a roar, three jet-like flames were spewed at the incoming undead and their master behind them.

Caught off guard, Michael used Evade to avoid the flames thrown by the middle head and 'successfully' entered the left-most stream. A bit late, but not late enough to be burned to a crisp, he activated Blood Mist and avoided most of the damage while enduring the elemental pain.

The flame breaths lasted a couple of seconds longer than the duration of his invulnerability skill. Still, Cerberus was more focused on his minions than the one they were serving under.

It wasn't as if Astaroth was dumb and couldn't control his pet, but Quarterback's timely taunt aggravated the beast beyond the devil's ability to order it.

Without hesitation, Michael used Raise Skeletons nine times in a row, and all his Skeleton combat power rejoined the battlefield as he downed a Healing Potion.

'Motherfucker that hurts so damn badly! Thankfully, armor covers my skin fully, except for my face. I might not have the Ancestral items effect, but my Legendaries are enough to mitigate most fire damage. Leaving aside how much I'll have to pay Zivek to have him repair them, I hope my face wasn't disfigured. This damned three-headed bitch! I make a living with this face!'

The enraged Necromancer attacked with renewed confidence, but Astaroth wasn't stupid enough to passively be beaten to a pulp. He continuously used his overpowered skills, turning the battlefield into a burning hell.

Ultimately, Michael had no choice but to retreat from the area and draw the Boss away from the flames since it was detrimental to continue the fight there.

Unfortunately, that also meant losing all the accumulated Corpses, but there wasn't much he could do about it since more than 75% of them were burned to ash by the demonic flames.

The chase and fight continued, with the cycle repeating itself.

Thankfully, the mutt is big and less agile now that Astaroth controls it. No matter how brilliant and experienced the Charred Duke is, there will always be a delay between his command and Cerberus's execution. The Life Points decreased considerably and are under 20%. Just a bit longer! I must hold on!'

The dog-and-mouse game continued for another hour until the Necromancer was finally cornered and resumed his Roly Poly fighting style.

Unfortunately, it was getting harder and harder to avoid being hit, and he now had two extra 'scratch' wounds on his abdomen and upper torso from the beast's claws.

If there was one thing to be thankful for, it was the fact that he managed to avoid Astaroth's weapon swings since he instinctively felt more threatened by them.

He avoided them by having an Accountant stay further away and observe only the devil's hand movements.

It was incredibly draining to split his consciousness into three parts, but he had to keep an eye on the devil, monitor the dog's movements with the Golem, and navigate between its legs.

This was also the reason for almost being squashed into meat patties before.

[*Speaking Horadric*]

When the Life Points finally fell under 10%, Donan recovered his bearings, and his mutterings echoed louder than thunder between the sky and the earth.

Astaroth had a horrified expression on his face, and while Michael couldn't understand the language spoken by the grieving father, a single word registered in his mind.

Sunder!

"WHAT THE FUCK!?"

With his soul almost scared out of his body, the Necromancer barely managed to leap and crawl away from the affected area as his body reformed to a physical state.

Still numb from the electric current, Michael looked at the seven pillars of lightning surrounding Astaroth in a cage. Four pierced Cerberus' limbs and three each of its heads.

Then, with a deafening sound that burst everyone's eardrums, a severely thick pillar of lightning fell on the devil and the back of the dog.