Groups of six Adventurers bound out in synchrony, each splitting off into their respective positions in the large, domed rocky arena. Luseat of the Seventh Garden stirred as the challengers disturbed his slumber, his eyes flashing red from beneath his behemoth, pointed armor.
"We're within twenty meters!" Shiroe yelled out in party chat, "Be careful!"
Dinkuron was the first in group one to arrive at the feet of the giant purple raid boss.
"Come on!" He called out to the beast, taking a defensive stance.
Luseat stood fluidly, taking note of the small figure running towards him. Raising his arm up almost lazily, he swung down at the now shielded Silver Sword Guardian. His first attack gave way to a vicious wind that encircled his point of impact. The Elf gave a fierce battle cry, successfully blocking most of the attack; in the process, the physical defense buff given to him was shattered like a mirror, chipping away at his HP. Yasu found her place in the rear guard, firmly planting her feet on the ground before producing her staff.
"Heal!" A girl in a pink maid outfit directed at their tank.
"Putting up barrier!"
The back group hurried to rebuff their aggro-controller as the Silver Sword Elf hastily made his way to the foot of the beast.
"I'm within range! Anchor Howl!"
A shining light blue and yellow sparked light emitted from around the feet of the Elf, his sword raised up in an almost mocking manner towards his target. The gaze of the colossal purple armored giant shifted downwards, fixated on the odd radiant flash coming from below. Yasu had her dark staff at hand raised above her head, already readying her first attack. The ice shards slowly formed together, forming a large, pointed frosty spear, aimed at her target.
"Let's go, raiders!" William yelled through the coms, his first Crystal Comet sailing through the air, "Begin the attack!"
The bombardment of attacks was fiercer than any of the previous raid bosses they had encountered. The offensive, close ranged classes attacked in quick succession, swiftly retreating as soon as their attacks were over to avoid any possible damage. The repeated battles in the Abyssal Shaft made everyone more cautious- they never knew what was going to happen next. Yasu's raven hair billowed behind her as she launched another Frost Spear at him. The cold blue attack made sharp contact with him, leaving a frozen patch of armor on his abdomen- it took off about 2% of his HP.
"Groups three and four, focus on healing. Group two will stay close. Everyone else, buff attackers and assist group one's tanks!" William commanded through the party chat.
The Sorceress' emerald orbs narrowed at Luseat's bladed weapon, it began to emit an ominous color as he raised it over his shoulder to launch a swiping motion. That wasn't something that he did in the normal Heilos until much later.
Taking a quick breath in, she yelled, "Watch out!"
"Oh, no!" Shiroe said at almost the exact same time, "Be alert! Watch what Luseat is doing!"
"No, get away fr-"
Yasu's warning was cut off as the purple raid boss unleashed a ferocious attack, the mere swing of his axe sending many flying backwards. She shielded herself with her arms in front of her, a painful wind swept by, the debris snipping away at her HP. As aftershock died down the Enchanter's voice came through.
"Two insta-kills. Conditions for critical unknown." The Villain's voice buzzed in, "Strengthen forward buffs!"
"Sasameyuki, count!" William commanded a Summoner next to him.
The raid party quickly regrouped, healers flocking to the dead Adventurers. It was imperative that they keep count of large attacks like that one to avoid and minimize as much damage as possible. The Sorceress stood up, preparing herself for a Freezing Liner, wincing as she glanced at her HP gauge.
That gust of wind did more damage than I remember…
The air around her began to crystallize into ice particles, her gaze boring into the mammoth raid boss that took no notice of her.
If that was the first major attack he did, we need to stand a little further back…
"While we revive the dead and heal the wounded, whittle him down from long range!"
"I've seen that skill before but…" One of the injured Adventurers began.
"It's far more powerful than it was in Heilos." A healer finished for him.
"Time from the motion to activation is shorter too."
Ranged attacks sailed towards Luseat, none of them phasing him but slowly reducing his HP. Yasu summoned large skill after skill, pummeling him from the back with her highest damaging normal skills. The warm touch of a heal embraced her body, filling her HP back up to full. She gave a sigh of relief as the ebbing pain faded, allowing her to stand up properly.
"Do your best, Sayu-san!" Her healer called out from behind.
"Thanks!" She responded, hurling another attack upwards.
"Twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four…"
Her sharp eyes were immediately drawn to the new pose Luseat was in- his axe was swung over his shoulder as though he was going to smash it down in front of him. The blade shimmered a searing yellowish white tinge as though it was being super-heated.
"It's coming!"
"Get back! Get back!" The Commander Elf waved his arm back.
She scanned the battlefield for anyone who may be too close to the attack.
It's not the same one…
"No, the motion is different." Shiroe noted through chat, "It's a different skill!"
The axe was struck into the ground, the shock waves throwing large boulders and debris hurtling backwards. The tanks in the front line were doing their best to ground themselves, sturdily withstanding the blow. Yasu clicked her tongue, waiting for the cool down on her attacks. As much as she didn't like to admit it, she couldn't do much at the moment. They were doing well overall but the tides of war were easily turned in less than a second. Healers were still hurriedly healing everybody with a low HP and the bards around here were falling into the rhythm of buffs and debuffs. The Sorceress lithely jumped backwards, to avoid larger stones falling on her from her fellow Adventurer's attacks.
"Eighty-seven, eighty-eight, eight-nine…"
Luseat dragged his behemoth axe backwards, the blade radiating a familiar pale blue shine.
"It's coming." Shiroe warned.
"Defend!" Massachusetts motioned towards the front line Guardians.
On cue, the defensive Adventurers responded.
"Sacred Wall!" Tetra casted in a girlish manner, raising her foot up and blowing a kiss.
"Sanctuary!"
The Guardians on the front line exuded a warm golden light as they prepared for the impending onslaught.
"As soon as he's done, we'll counter!"
"You got it!" Naotsugu acknowledged.
The swing from his glowing axe was the same as his first large attack. The speed of the swing created a ring of smoke around Luseat, engulfing the raid room with dust. The wind whipped Yasu's long hair as she squinted to see what happened before her but visibility was zero to none.
"No insta-kill!" The Villain's voice rang into the coms, "Cool down is ninety seconds!"
"Once your barriers are up and you're healed, go back at him!" William bellowed.
Yasu was the first to prepare an attack after his skill. The strength of Luseat's attack had pushed the Guardians back several feet, leaving her target alone in a set space.
"Sayu-san!" The Enchanter cued her.
"You don't have to tell me twice."
Tartarus was already materializing above Luseat's large figure, each of its rings spinning in different directions.
"After he uses his skill, he's wide open." Prometheus, one of Silver Sword's more prominent guild member grinned.
"That's our chance to attack!"
"That's the second time and already, no more insta-kills. That's impressive!" Naotsugu commented, his face donning a large grin.
Yasu quickly downed an MP regeneration potion, carelessly tossing it behind her. She wasn't used to using her Teaching so she had to be extra careful when she used it around her comrades.
"You guys might want to take a step back…just in case." The Sorceress' voice echoed through party chat.
Several acknowledgements came through, giving her the green light.
"Lightning Storm!"
Bright yellow bolts of electricity rained down on Luseat, creating an intense dust storm. Several of the lightning hits sparked fires at the raid boss' feet causing a burn damage stack. The deafening roar of the thunder that followed was the only thing that rang in the raid boss arena. Almost right after the lightning stopped, a Crystal Comet slammed into Luseat.
"Increase the damage output! Stop wasting time!" William hollored, "Pick up the pace!"
Ephemeral flashes of colors too many to name exploded at once similar to fireworks in the other world. It would have been beautiful if not for the current situation they were in.
"Wait! Your DPS is too high!" Dinkuron exclaimed, "You're generating too much aggro."
Purple acid slowly seeped from the raid boss' feet, pooling around him with the consistency of blood. It spread like fire, instantly engulfing an entire area.
"A paralyze…no, a root?"
"We're taking damage. Attribute is Evil Poison!" Dinkuron, "Our attack speed and damage are dropping! Anchor Howl!" Dinkuron casted again.
The amethyst giant continued towards the highest DPS group, slowly re-positioning his weapon in front of him.
"He's ignoring me? Anchor Howl isn't working?"
"An area-of-effect root that does minimal damage?" William narrowed his eyes at the spectacle before him.
"This was something that existed in Heilos but the timing and damage are completely different." Yasu's emerald eyes flashed in irritation and slight concern.
"Watch out!" Shiroe
Luseat's feet ceased to touch the floor as he slowly ascended, hovering above the Earth. Holding his weapon out in front of him; another gust of wind was formed as he spun his axe so quickly, it looked more like a disk than a twirling weapon, glowing a blinding yellow.
"Area-of-effect barrier! Area-of-effect heal!" The Elf commanded into chat, "Stick it out!"
Almost as soon as William finished speaking, the spinning axe flew forward towards a group, its sharp edges cutting through the stone and gems like it was made of paper. Panicked cries were shrouded in thick dusty smoke, rendering the Sorceress' vision limited. Her heart pounded in her chest as she glanced around nervously- she was blind to any of Luseat's attacks.
"T-ten dead…no, eleven." Shiroe's voice buzzed in.
"Group one healers, maintain the front lines. Group two, fall back to raise and heal. Groups three and four drop damage output to seventy percent. Focus on recovering." William laughed out loud, his voice echoing through the intercoms, "This is great; this is what I call a raid!"
The remaining Adventurers responded quickly, the warm glow of the healers rejuvenating the survivors. Yasu panted lightly, the line of red from her scalp slowly fading as her HP gauge steadily rose. Her orbs scoured the area to see who was left standing, if they lost another two people or so, a retreat would be necessary. She warily raised her staff above her head, condensing her MP into another Frost Spear. The situation wasn't looking good.
"Tanks switch! Naotsugu, take aggro!" Shiroe's voice rang clear in everyone's heads.
"I'm on it!" Naotsugu called out towards the humanoid raid boss, "Look over here, big guy!"
A loud shattering noise reverberated throughout the domed walls, making most hesitate in their tracks. The dark purple in its armor began to crack almost like a mirror, the fissures traveling throughout its entire gear. The pieces of broken armor fell to the ground, its consistency changing from shards of metal to a more viscous, goop-like puddle. Yasu's eyes narrowed at the sight.
This is something Hisashi planned before.
"He's taken enough damage that he's changing modes?" Dinkuron who's being healed.
"It's only getting started. Stay focused." Shiroe said firmly.
The purple materials slowly formed into vague humanoid forms with no eyes or nose and some semblance of ears and a mouth. Each varied in its appearance but all of them were slightly crooked or imbalanced. The only thing they had in common was the type of weapon they wielded- smaller versions of the raid bosses'. They made eerie gurgling noises, shuffling about restlessly, their levels ranged from seventy to eighty- considerably high for minions.
"Just like the recon team said, the fragments of his armor turned into monsters."
Shadow Vanguard
Rank/Raid
"Forwards, pull the raid mobs. Everyone else concentrate attacks on Luseat!" Came an order.
Without hesitating, Yasu launched her Frost Spear at the now pure white Luseat. He stayed in the same position he was before: floating in the air with his weapon held devoutly in front of him. Her blue attack dug into his shoulder, the ice spreading slightly before shattering, bringing his HP down a few points. She already knew the outcome of this battle; defeating Luseat was slim with the current knowledge everybody had. A dark, miasmic purple floated through the air like gas as the remnants of the Shadow Vanguard were defeated. It quickly flew back to its creator, being absorbed back into him. The brilliant white armor slowly became stained with the dark purple; whatever damage her attack did was quickly negated by heals from the death of his minions. She glanced at her MP, guesstimating how many attacks she could get out of it before she had to take another potion.
Hisashi wanted to do something like this before…but he never implemented it. What's going on?
The Sorceress chewed on the inside of cheek, summoning a fully powered Orb of Lava. From the corner of her eyes, she saw the Villain characteristically pushing his glasses up- he was quickly unraveling the mechanics of the new Luseat. The death of the last Vanguard signified the raid bosses' awakening, a red flash from his shaded gaze gave way to his first movements after his transformation.
"Eighty-eight, eighty-nine, ninety!"
Luseat's devastating blue lit swipe attack swept across the field in a circular motion, kicking up another dust storm. Instinctively, Yasu held her arms up in guard for the whip of air. Her stomach sank at the screams and cries of her fellow party members. The strike nearly killed five Adventurers, leaving many others dangerously low on health.
"We need heals here!"
"It doesn't matter if his HP recovers a little. Hit him hard enough that the healing can't keep up. Whittle him down!"
The reluctant looks shared by the members of Silver Sword spread doubt and fear among themselves. The Sorceress brushed off the dust on her shoulders and hair, her orbs locked on the enemy before them.
"The problem is the number of people." Shiroe, "The same number of Shadow Vanguard that appear as the number of people that attacked Luseat in Black Knight Mode. If we reduce our numbers by having only the high DPS attack, and have everyone else focus on buffs, we can keep the Shadow Vanguard down to ten or so."
The atmosphere around Yasu darkened as she downed another swirling neon blue vial. A dark shroud loomed above the purple raid boss in an unhurried manner, creating a slight breeze upward from the matter displacement.
"We just need to attack it as hard as we can then?" Her voice was clear through party chat.
"Correct."
I can do that.
The formation of Tartarus was slow and purposeful much like an impending doom of a guillotine about to fall. Small flames licked at the sides of the large circular stone gate, foreshadowing the incoming fiery attack. The DPS attackers were quick to continue the assault with bright flashing attacks that steadily chipped away at Luseat's HP gauge. A deafening BOOM signified the hit of her Meteor Shower, hailing a mass of mammoth flaming rocks onto its target. The Sorceress stopped to catch her breath, the immense amount of MP drainage and recovery tiring her significantly. While in the process of resting, she expended a bit of her blue gauge into the formation of Frost Spear- she wouldn't be able to use her Teaching for a little while.
"Keep it up! He's almost at fifty percent!"
After several moments, the ice attack was fully charged and Yasu had caught her breath. Hurtling the spear forward, she quickly summoned an Orb of Lava as her next skill. Habitually, she scanned the area.
…Were those gates open before?
She squinted her eyes at them suspiciously.
"Sixty-nine, seventy, seventy-"
Sasameyuki's count was cut off as a swipe of a large club descended onto the Summoner, killing him instantly. A gigantic blue, muscular figure emerged from the shadows. His eyes and the tops of his shoulders were covered in a gold, textured helmet. He had a bushy white beard that was braided into thirds. The intruder wore nothing but a simple brown loin cloth with a piece of gold armor over it and furred snow boots; in his hands was an alarmingly large wooden club. Much like Luseat, his eyes glowed a menacing red.
"What..."
Taltaulgar of the Fourth Garden
Rank/Raid
Another scream from the other side of the dome averted Yasu's attention. An enormous two headed red snake slithered out from the other gate. Like Taltaulgar, the beast doned an intricate gold helmet and had shining red eyes.
"It's Ibrahabra!"
Ibrahabra of the Third Garden
Rank/Raid
"That's impossible! This is Luseat's zone!"
The snake raid boss's mouth radiated a yellow shine before a streaming line of fire rained down onto the battlefield, instantly killing a handful of Adventurers. The blue raid boss swing his massive club down, creating an icy explosion upon impact, killing even more.
What…what is happening?
Yasu stood right at the edge of the madness, wide-eyed and confused at the spectacle before her.
Something like this shouldn't be able to happen…
"You're kidding. Was this designed to be impossible? We can't beat this…" William desolate tone came through loud and clear before Ibrahabra's fiery attack decimated him in a quick flash of red and yellow.
Familiar screams quickly snapped the Sorceress out of her daze in time to see Shiroe being thrown into Naotsugu. The Villain briefly made a frenzied eye-contact with Yasu before another blast of fire took her friends away.
"NO!" She reached for them but to no avail- only scorched Earth remained where they once stood.
A chilling mist surrounded her before a large shadow appeared over her.
Is this how it ends?
I'm so sorry guys! I know this took FOREVER. Finals are quickly approaching for me and then I'll be out on my rotations so hopefully I'll be able to update more often during Novemberish! Thanks so much for your patience ): 3