They needed more time. They needed more time!
Archer had only just started to interfere with the Dungeon Core, and had told them to hold off on entering the fight against the Lich for ten minutes, but now the Lich had dragged them into the fight early.
Jean bit his lip in frustration as he knew that they would be doing this without Archer's help this time. Whatever plan the spirit had had was as good as gone.
(I'm sorry Stephon, but there is no hope.) Jean said to himself as he readied his staff, preparing to do what must be done. He could not take chances. He could not risk that this Dungeon continued to exist… or worse, that someone else conquered it and found out what was inside.
Jean had not been entirely honest with Archer and the others. He had hidden the truth about the Undead Dungeon, and how it was connected to his own past. He had not told them that the Dungeon was created from the corpse of a military research facility, or that the purpose of that facility was to create another person like him, another Jean Dovy, another Annihilator.
When Jean had broken the law of his people and used [Netherworld Magic] to bring down an entire army by himself, including multiple A-rank individuals, he had revealed to the world the terrible power of [Netherworld Magic]. And while many had looked upon his achievement with horror, other, darker hearts felt consumed by greed for such a power.
But [Netherworld Magic], the divine-level of [Necromancy Magic], was rare. So rare that there were only two individuals in the entire world who had it. Living beings weren't normally compatible with the power of the Netherworld. However, there were none living beings which could more reliably master it.
The research facility set up upon this floating island was constructed in order to create and enslave a Demonic Beast capable of using [Netherworld Magic], to create a Lich. Hundreds upon thousands of souls slowly tortured, people cut apart limb from limb and bathed in the misery and despair of this accursed place, all of it done to create a living tool of war… and in the end, the evil bastards succeeded. They created the Lich.
However, as if the Goddess of Chaos had seen what they had done, and had decided to smite the people responsible, she sent onto the Lich her divine bless, a Dungeon Core. She turned the Lich into a Dungeon Master, stripping away all of the enchantments that were meant to control it, letting it run wild against the monsters who created it before they could ever reveal their findings to the outside world. At the same time, it bound the Lich to the floating island, preventing it from causing untold destruction to the entire continent. But even when contained, the Lich was a danger to everyone, and so long as the Dungeon existed, the tortured souls within would never know peace.
This, all of it, was Jean's fault. He had been told a thousand times to never use his [Netherworld Magic] in a war, but he had been too much of an idealist back then to listen. He had wanted to show the world that Necromancy could be a power for good, that it could protect both souls and lives, and because of it, this place came to exist.
Jean could never let the world find out about it. He could not let them know that not only did these experiments exist, but that they were a success.
He would defeat the Lich and release all of the tortured souls that were trapped in this hell hole, and then he would destroy everything. He would not leave so much as a scrap of paper behind. It was the only thing he could do to pay for his sins. He would succeed, even if it cost him his life.
"I wish mom was here right now." Art golped as she saw the 10 supercharged B-rank Undead coming towards them, each one with their primary stats raised well into the thousands. "How exactly are we supposed to deal with this?"
"Nn..." Fran growled as she reached towards her back and drew her sword… not the blade which had housed Archer, but the Sword of Dreams, Lumiose. The golden blade shimmered with the silver light of the moons' magical energy which slowly spread over Fran's body, increasing all of Fran's stats by 80%. But +80% still left her at an attack of less than 700.
Fran might have been skilled, incredibly skilled for any adventurer, regardless of age, with her level 6 [Divine Sword Arts], but she couldn't handle such numbers by herself.
Fran, Art and Jean working together might have been able to handle two such opponents all together. Jean was sure that they could not win this battle normally.
"Fran, leave this to me!" Jean said, stepping forward and drawing out Aidoneus' Blessing. The bony staff with its several skulls started to rattle in Jean's hands as he heard the faint whispering of a cold voice in his ear.
*Do you plan on sacrificing yourself?*
Yes. Jean had planned on sacrificing himself. That had been the entire reason why he had brought the staff with him.
Aidoneus' Blessing was a Divine Artifact, one blessed by the Netherworld God and bound to Jean so that only he might use it. It was given to him to be the tool for his redemption, so that he could make sacrifices in order to make up for his sins.
"Fufufufu. So you still have a trick up your sleeve, do you Noble Necromancer?" The Lich cackled from the far side of the room.
"Of course! Someone as great as me would not fall before such pawns, not so long as I have my staff!" Jean said with a grin of his own as he started to feel the staff nibbling at him. He could feel its hunger, and so, Jean fed it. A quarter of his life force should be sufficient. "Hahahaha! Behold my Trump Card, Aidoneus' Blessing!"
As Jean shouted the weapon's name, he could feel its teeth sink into him, starting to draw out his life's blood to be used as fuel. The Necromancer's legs almost immediately gave out, as his strength was sucked out of him. Then, the mouths on the staff dropped open and a mournful hymn began play from those open mouths.
"Aidoneus' Blessing, grant peace to those unable to achieve salvation. Sing them a melody of love, hate, and resentment!" Jean said as he fortified himself against fainting.
White blue light came from the staff, twisting through the air like a snake at first before rapidly branching out and spreading through the room, rapidly approaching the Undead.
"Escape, my Servants! Escape the light!" The Lich shouted to his Undead servants, who all moved to obey, however, there was nowhere for them to escape too, the room was closed off and the light was ever expanding.
It expanded until the party could see nothing through the light.
However, when the light finally did fade, the Undead minions were gone, nothing remaining of them, save for their magic stones upon the ground.
"Amazing." "Nn." Art and Fran nodded in agreement. Even [Angelic Magic] had not been able to purify the undead through their stacked magic and purification resistance. However, Aidoneus' Blessing was different. It was a Divine Artifact that used the life force of the user in order to use the power of the God of the Netherworld himself, and there was no soul that could ignore his call.
Which was why Jean was dumbfounded to hear clapping coming from the other side of the chamber.
"It took you only an instant to rid me of my soldiers!? Kuakakakakaa! What was that you did there!?" The Lich was still alive, seemingly untouched by Aidoneus' Blessing. He didn't even seem upset about the loss of his minions. If anything, the monster was overjoyed.
"I should be the one asking you that question." Jean said, barely managing to hide his disbelief.
"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" The Lich asked, though he seemed very pleased with himself.
"This staff is a divine artifact that possesses the ability to cause any and every sort of undead to ascend to the heavens. And so, by that logic, you too should have been influenced by its effects. Why exactly are you still here?" Jean said before he started to cough up blood and he crumpled down to the ground.
"Jean!" Fran shouted as she rushed over to him and started to cast high level healing magic. It had little effect at all on Jean's condition and the Necromancer didn't even seem to notice as he continued to look at the Lich with a grin on his face.
"Kukakaka! I see now. The item you possess allows you to use a high level, area of effect purification spell by consuming your own life force. It looks like getting rid of all those high level undead did quite the number on you! Kukakaka!" The Lich continued to laugh. "So what will your next move be? It appeared as if your trump card had no effect on me."
"Don't waste your mana. My injuries can't be healed." Jean said as he pushed Fran's hands away, stopping her attempts to heal him. "I got rid of the minions, but it would appear that the Lich himself will be up to…"
"[Overload Summons: Greater Undead Summoning]. [Reinforce Undead]." The Lich said and Jean's words died in his mouth as a new set of 10 Legendary Undead Soldiers appeared to replace the group he had just slain.
Jean had used his trump card, exchanged much of his life force, and accomplished nothing.
"Kuhaha! Tell me, how does despair feel!?" The Lich laughed as his soldiers stepped forward. Jean didn't know what else to do. He could use his staff again, but all that would accomplish was killing him. Jean wasn't even sure he could do it. He could hardly even breath do to a mixture of exhaustion and the Lich's [Dread] skill.
But the Lich's laughter stopped as Fran stepped forward in front of Jean and Art, lifting up Lumiose as she glared at the skeleton. "No afraid." She said simply.
The Lich stared at her in shock before starting to laugh. "Splendid! How splendid! I cannot wait until I see the look on your face when all that hope takes a sudden turn and transforms into despair. You will make for fine undead! Kukakakaka!"
"I… I'm with you." Art said, stepping forward and pulling out her own short sword.
{Art, guard Jean.} Rani ordered, surprising the girls. {Fran and I will hold back the undead.}
"C...can you do that?" Art asked nervously.
{...Calculating.} Rani said, pausing for a moment, making Art nervous. Then, ten arrow like threads shot out of the sword body on Fran's back, each one piercing one of the Magic Stones that were scattered across the battlefield.
{Absorbing Magic Stone Points. Rank increasing from Rank 18 to Rank 20. [Wielder ALL ↑ Medium] has evolved into [Wielder ALL ↑ High]. Current Self-Evolution Point reserves are at 437.}
{Calculating best allocation of points. Calculating...}
{150 Self-evolution Points have been consumed. Unlocking [HP ↑ High], [MP ↑ High], [INT ↑ High], [MGC ↑ High], and [DEX ↑ High]. Unlock complete. [ALL Stats ↑] now available for purchase}
{200 Self-evolution Points have been consumed. Unlocking [All stats ↑ High]. Unlock complete.}
{10 Self-evolution Points have been consumed. Upgrading [Support Magic] into [Support Magic SP]. Upgrade complete.}
{12 Self-evolution Points have been consumed. Upgrading [Herculean Strength] to maximum level. Upgrade complete. [Super Herculean Strength] obtained.}
{27 Self-evolution Points have been consumed. Upgrading [Super Herculean Strength] to maximum level. Upgrade complete.}
{27 Self-evolution Points have been consumed. Upgrading [Physical Barrier] to maximum level. Upgrade complete. [Physical Barrier] and [Magic Barrier] combine to create [Perfect Barrier]}
{Caster [Support Magic SP: Full Support] on Wielder Fran.}
Rani rapidly spent 426 Self-Evolution Points and Fran felt as even greater strength and knowledge flowed into her body.
Fran tightened her grip on Lumiose as three of the Legendary undead came charging towards her, consuming over 1000 MP to activate [Super Herculean Strength] and [Instantaneous Movement] at their full power for just two seconds, Fran charged forward to meet them, he body becoming nothing more than a blur to those around her.
The Legendary Undead in the front didn't have time to do anything more than raise its shield before Fran was on him, not that it did him any good at all.
"Uh…" The Lich was shocked as Fran swung Lumiose, wrapped in [Elemental Sword (Angelic Magic)], cutting straight through the entire orichalcum shield in a single swing, and cutting the zombie in half with it.
The Zombie's body dissolved from the power of the [Angelic Magic] surrounding the sword, leaving nothing behind but the Magic Stone, which was quickly grabbed by one of the metal threads coming from the sword on Fran's back before being absorbed to replace the Mana she had just spent.
Fran cut down the other two Zombies as well before the two seconds were up and her [Super Herculean Strength] and [Instantaneous Movement] wore off, before standing tall and glaring at the Lich. "Ask again. What did you do to Archer?" The tiny Black Catkin said, her voice promising a most painful death. The glowing steel threads forming behind her in such a way as to make her look like an Angel of Vengeance.
The Lich just stared in shock for a few moments before he began to laugh again. "Wonderful! Truly wonderful!" He shouted as he summoned still more minions. "You will be my greatest champion! My most powerful undead! So tire yourself out fighting against my minions! After all, I don't want to cause unnecessary damage to that body! Kufufahaha"
"Annoying." Fran said before readying herself to cut down more enemies. "Make you tell where Archer is."
Name: Fran
Age: 12
Race: Black Catkin
Job: Magus Killer (Lv37)
Status: Normal
Level: 41/45
HP: 853, MP: 804, STR: 547, END: 471, AGI: 526, INT: 451, MGC: 451, DEX: 457
Titles: Fire Mage, Lord of Cooking, Lord of Dismantling, Lord of Digging, Skill Collector, Incarnation of the Sword, Favored of the Goddess of Chaos, Cadet of Hell's Training, Lord of Climbing, Goblin Slayer, Insect Slayer, Demon Slayer, Dragon Slayer, Recovery Mage, Wind Mage, One Man Army, One Who Slaughters, Big Game Hunter, Skill Maniac, Earth Mage, Sandstorm Mage, Lava Mage, Lady Killer, Giant Slayer, Annihilator of Demonic Beasts, Bad Target for Ambush, Angel, (New) Undead Slayer, (New) Speed Demon, (New) Juggernaut, (New) King of Skills
Equipment: Nameless, Black Cat Set, Sword of Dreams: Lumiose
(Speed Demon: Awarded to one who has obtained the max level of [Instantaneous Movement]. Effect: +20 AGI)
(Juggernaut: Awarded to one who has obtained the max level of [Super Herculean Strength]. Effect: +20 STR)
(King of Skills: Awarded to one who possesses more than 250 skills. Effect: +5 to All stats, and skills grow even faster)
Race: Lich (Undead | Demonic beast | Dungeon Master)
Level: 71/75
Stats:
HP: 4863 MP: 7467 STR: 934 VIT: 737
AGI: 666 INT: 2369 MGC: 4312 DEX: 1207
Skills:
Incantation Shortening: Lv Max, Wind Magic: Lv 7, Appraisal Jamming: Lv 5, Dread: Lv 9, Fear: Lv 7, Regeneration: Lv Max, Space/Time Magic: Lv 7, Cursed Words: Lv 6, Instant Regeneration: Lv 4, Control Undead: Lv Max, Netherworld Magic: Lv 8, Necromancy Magic: Lv Max, Resistance to Mental Abnormalities: Lv 9, Life Detection: Lv 6, Life Drain: Lv 7, Water Magic: Lv Max, Greater Water Magic: Lv 3, Close Quarters Combat: Lv 7, Earth Magic: Lv Max, Greater Earth Magic: Lv 3, Mind Reading: Lv 4, Poison Magic: Lv 8, Fire Magic: Lv 6, Magic Detection: Lv 7, Mana Drain: Lv 7, Dark Magic: Lv 5, Ignore Incantation, Resistance to Abnormal Status, Undead Strengthening, Unsealable, Magic Manipulation
Unique Skills:
Miasma Absorption, Miasma Conversion, Anti-Appraisal Camouflage
Extra Skills
Greater Undead Summoning, Principle of an Element(Impurity)
Titles:
One who seeks revenge, One who bears many sins
Equipment:
Robe of Resentment
Just for reference about how stupid this makes Fran, here are Amanda's stats.
Name: Amanda
Age: 58
Race: Half-Elf
Job: Champion of Storms
Status: Normal
Level: 70/99
HP: 646, MP: 825, STR: 327, END: 293, AGI: 451, INT: 390, MGC: 423, DEX: 356
[Stat ↑ High] giving +100 is OP. Needs nerfs.
Though Awakening gives +800 AGI or something like that.