Lich Versus Human Nephilim:

Leech started the battle with three of his orbs firing rays of black and purple light at Maximus, shooting out in short increments. Maximus began to weave back and forth to the sides in order to avoid the rays. He noticed there was a delay in between each blast which would be long enough to strike his foe. At the same moment he still noticed the other three orbs were not being employed in the fight.

"Is he trying to bait me?" Maximus wondered as he dodged another blast. "If so, he is not doing a great job at it." He finished.

The next moment Leech had the three orbs fire at the same time in a prolonged attack. Maximus quickly raised his swords to black the ray. The moment it clashed against his weapons; the force began to push him back several yards until it was over.

"If only I didn't use my once a day spell, I could aid him, but I feel as though I would still get in the way." Megumin said as she barely stood on her feet.

"This battle is already intense and it's only just getting started." Darkness said to herself. "I will aid thee, Maximus. Now, have at you, you undead fiend!" Darkness shouted and charged forth.

Leech slightly turned his head and grinned. The instant Darkness was nearly upon him, he formed a round shield-like barrier and shot it forth. The attack began to shock her intensely and she was stopped dead in her tracks. As the shocking sensation coiled through her body, her face could not hide her satisfying smile as she was enjoying every second of being tormented by her foe.

After a few moments she laid on the ground unable to move and Leech was surprised she was capable of withstand so much pain.

"Oh, what an extraordinary feeling this is, to be shocked to the point mere low-level adventurers would perish. Please, I need more!" She begged.

"This woman is quite daft; does she always do this?" Leech inquired.

"Every single time we go on any quest." Kazuma said with an annoyed look in his eyes and a blank face.

"Sacred Turn Undead!" Aqua shouted.

Within the air a sphere of Holy Light surrounded Leech and the spell began to attack him.

"Amplify ten-fold!" Maximus shouted to cast a spell to increase her spell's effects.

Moments after another barrier was visible between Leech and Aqua's spell. Both of them were surprised to see it and he turned back to Aqua.

"Nice try, but you will have to do better than that if you are to defeat me." He said gliding towards her.

Maximus instantly formed a bow and arrow and began rapidly firing a barrage of arrows at Leech. Each strike slammed against the barrier and Maximus quickly moved once enough smoke had been created to cover him. He picked up Aqua and used his magic to teleport the others outside in order to have more room.

"Wait, are you going to run away from him?" Aqua inquired.

"No, just getting more breathing room, besides as it stands right now, you and I are the only ones capable of doing anything in this fight. However, I believe you are nowhere near capable of taking him on as you are now." He said feeling bad to hit her confidence in such a manner.

"I'm sorry, I promise to do better from here on out." She said as tears began to form.

The next instant a larger ray shot for him and he was barely able to react in time. The explosion vibrated the ground like an earthquake was underway as cracks began to rip the ground open. The very air itself carried the thunderous cracking sound across the ways. The two were sent far into the forest in the background nearly a distance of three miles out.

Upon colliding against the ground another explosion erupted and laid waste to the entire area. The blackened fireball expanded a mile wide in diameter and rose so high it nearly touched the underside of the clouds. Moments after the large mushroom cloud formed and moments after Kazuma felt the shockwave violently brush against him and the others. The force tackled them to the ground and momentarily the sonic boom echoed with the same breaking sound.

"Oh my God both Aqua and Maximus were in the middle of that! I hope they are okay!" Kazuma said to himself.

He stood there with his mouth wide open in stunning amazement and fear. Leech soon hovered out from the doorway with his eyes still looking towards the explosion.

"Was that not amazing or what?" Leech asked with a grin and his eyes closed. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have to confirm if he is dead. If she died with him, it wouldn't have mattered either way." He said as he laughed heading towards the other two.

Kazuma used his Lurk skill to rush Leech and when he was close, drew his short sword to strike him from behind. The next instant he collided with the barrier which was still in effect. The shocking sensation paralyzed him and he twitched every time his heartbeat.

"A brave effort, but did you really think a low-level cur, such as yourself, would be able to contend with me?" Leech said and continued to where the other two were.

"This hurts like no other, I cannot even move a muscle right now." He grunted out.

"It is glorious is it not?" Darkness inquired feeling the same pains he was going through with a disturbing smile.

"Oh God, there she goes again." Kazuma said feeling desensitized about her masochist ways.

Meanwhile, Maximus was laying in the center of the fiery plain with dark flames burning around them. He sat up from the ground coughing as he held Aqua in his right arm. He looked down and noticed she was not harmed by the blast. Before he could think further about her, he began to feel the sharp sting in his left side of his body. He looked it over and saw several third degree burn marks and a few streams of blood running down it. The few patches of his flesh had burnt to a crisp as though he were cooked too long.

"That packed a lot more punch than I expected," He stopped to flinch in pain. "But at least she is alright." He finished looking down at her. "Hey, Aqua, wake up. I need you to wake up right now so we can move." He said to her.

She laid there silent in his right arm. He shook her body a little and after a few moments of not making a sound, he began to fear the worst.

"Hey, wake up, please tell me you are ok!" He began to shout.

He licked his fingers to wipe them on his cheek and held her close to it in order to check to see if she was breathing. After a few seconds, he did not feel any air blow onto his cheek. He quickly laid her down to check her pulse and soon noticed nothing was registering.

"No, don't you dare die on me!" He said as he started to panic.

He began to use his one good arm to press down on her chest to begin resuscitating her. After a dozen times pressing down on her chest, he moved to breath air into her mouth several times. He began a second time through the process and soon found himself feeling his hope of her coming back to life dwindle.

"No, don't you dare leave me, I told you to stay by my side in order to look after you. Don't make me go through this situation again, don't make me endure losing someone I care for!" He shouted with tears beginning to form.

The next moment his mind began to see images of the two being together ever since they first started their journey. The times they would laugh and smile to the ones where he would save her on multiple occasions.

"I don't know why, but I feel as though something is coming back to me. These are my memories of the two of us. I remember now, when I last died, I had accepted to pay the price in order to return to her. And now," He paused his thoughts. "Please Aqua, wake up!" He shouted desperately one last time as he breathed air into her once more.

The next instant Aqua took a deep breath and began to cough.

"Aqua!" He shouted with joy and hugged her.

Aqua noticed she was within Maximus' arm and held him close.

"I now know how you must have felt when you tried to revive me." He chuckled.

"I am sorry I worried you," She paused feeling the crisp skin on his left arm. "What happened to you, your whole left side is incredibly injured." She said and held her hands over him. "Heal."

The next moment Maximus began to have the tingling sensation of his nerves reconnecting. His flesh returning to normal and he began to regain control of his arm and before he could be completely healed, Aqua looked up and saw another ray heading towards them.

Maximus saw the look on her face and quickly turned around with his right hand in the air.

"Lotus Shield!" He shouted.

The next instant seven barriers formed in front of them and the ray collided against the first. Soon after the ray dissipated and the two of them saw Leech hovering in the air.

"Impressive, you managed to survive my previous attack." He said to congratulate Maximus. "I see you have taken considerable damage as well and you have her healing you behind these magical shields. I must say, you have quite the interesting quality number of spells in your arsenal. I wonder just how much and how good they all are."

"Alright, you are ready to continue the fight, as am I." She said stepping to his side.

Maximus placed his hand on her shoulder and she turned around.

"Please forgive me for this, but I cannot fight against him without my concern for you." Maximus said and the next moment he teleported her to the Guild Hall.

"Wait, Maximus!" She said and soon saw herself standing in the dining hall and the next moment the rest of the party arrived.

"Whoa, how did we get here?" Kazuma wondered.

"That idiot, why did he have to do that?" Aqua said feeling disappointed and tears began to form. "What if something happens to you and I am not there to help?"

Luna turned and saw the four of them and noticed Maximus was not present.

"Kazuma, what are the four of you doing here, weren't you with Maximus?" She inquired.

The next moment Aqua latched onto her shirt, panicking.

"Luna, please tell me someone has something that can survey the battle at a castle not far from here!" She demanded to know as she began to shake her.

"I think we can arrange something, by the way, where is Maximus?" Luna asked.

"He's battling against a powerful Lich that was sent by the Demon King to kill him!" Aqua replied shaking Luna violently.

Meanwhile back at the burning area where Maximus stood, Leech had a curious thought run through his head.

"Was it necessary for you to teleport her away from here knowing full well you may have only delayed the inevitable?" Leech asked.

"It was necessary, not just for her protection, but for me to go all out with no distractions." Maximus said taking the last little remnants of his trench coat off of him.

The coat flew across the field, disappearing into the distance and was engulfed by the dark flames. Maximus took a stance with his right arm close to his body, hand balled up with his palm facing upward. His left arm was stretched out in front, palm open. He took a step forward with his left foot out and his right foot turned to the side. He began to gather his mana and prepared for the next bout.

The two remained in their previous state, staring at each other, waiting for one of them to make the first move. They both looked at one another as though studying their bodies, to sense when that first attack would inevitably arrive.

In the background a portion of a tree broke apart and before its remains could begin to fall, Maximus instantly disappeared. The ground he stood on formed a crater six feet in diameter and a foot deep.

Leech saw numerous arrows fired upon him and he stood still without worrying too much. The arrows collided with the barrier he still had up and smoke formed again.

"I feel as though you are doing nothing but a repeat of when we first started our little duel. Please tell me you have something in mind, because if you do not, this will certainly get boring really fast." He began to laugh in a superior way seeing the smoke gather around him.

The next moment an arrow filled with blue light shot towards him and he kept his same superior smile from before. The moment the tip of it touched the barrier it instantly dispelled the shield and the arrow barely scraped the side of his cheek.

"What?!" Leech shouted in disbelief.

Maximus appeared out of the smoke behind him and slammed his right leg against Leech's arm, breaking it and a visible shockwave flashed out. The impact sent him flying across the field and crashed upon the ground, upheaving it as he slid across the ways. The remains of the random tree finally hit the ground and Maximus kept his gaze forward.

"If he is anything like the ancient tales of wizards of old, his close quarters combat is poor at best and laughably non-existent at worst. Still, there is always an unknown element when dealing with one from another world. I wonder how he managed himself?" He said to himself sensing where his opponent was after seeing he did not appear.

The next moment Maximus sensed him from behind. He barely turned in time to see a magical spear thrusting its way towards him. He spun to his right and bent backwards to avoid the strike. The spear flew past him and instantly turned on the dime to fly back towards him. Maximus employed another barrier and the spear impacted against it.

The explosion which followed engulfed the barrier and soon after the smoke began to clear. Leech saw Maximus was still unharmed and he saw a surprised look on his face.

"Did you like that? I took a little something you did against Verdia and employed it for myself. Tell me, how did I do in creating a, what was it you called, oh yes, a Magical Doll?" Leech inquired.

"It was impressive for your first go at it, I will add you are more talented than I first gave you credit for. Then again, this is my first encounter with a Lich, in fact my world never had such begins as yourselves upon it. Your skills are quite remarkable." He complemented him.

"Too bad I do not hold the same regard for you." Leech shot back.

The next moment the six orbs appeared again and all began to fire beams at Maximus. He began to zig zag across the field and quickly formed a circular shield to block and deflect some of them. Maximus began to circle his opponent and fired several rays of white light upon him. The intensity of the beams was not threatening enough for his foe as another shield formed around Leech.

"Curse that Lich, he has a near bottomless well of mana to draw upon." Maximus whispered out in annoyance.

"Looks as though I have him on the ropes, but I wonder, why has he not employed his transformation yet? Could it be he is saving that for a last-ditch effort?" Leech said and stopped firing upon Maximus.

Maximus noticed he stopped and began to form another bow and arrow. He drew it back and began to fill it with as much mana as he could spare.

"Eat this, amplify hundred-fold!" Maximus shouted.

The moment he released the arrow, it flew at supersonic speeds and the intensity of the light increased. Leech held his hand out once more and when the arrow slammed against the barrier, it soon pierced through it. He barely moved his head to the side and the small blade grazed the side of his bald head. The hood was brushed back and Maximus could see his opponent's face. His decayed face was unsettling and disgusting to him.

"It looks as though I am going to summon that creature after all." Leech said feeling a little desperate.

"His barrier was strong enough to give him time to dodge the attack and even if I did charge after him, there's no telling if that was his real self or not. This is proving to be quite the challenge for me, I have never gone up against someone with this much mana reserve since my bout with Supreme Grand Master Yamamoto." He said pausing his thoughts as he observed his foe further. "My mana hasn't hit desperate levels yet, but his is still oceans deep compared to me at this moment. I used up a lot of it when forming that arrow with Anti-Magic from before. If I were to employ that once more, I would be resorting to my own life mana and that is not an option I would even take. However, I still have one more thing I could use to finish him off. I guess that says a lot about a Lich's power from this world." He finished.

The next moment Maximus felt the rumbling ground quake underfoot and soon a large scaly hand and arm stretched forth, tearing the ground open. Maximus took a dozen steps back and wondered what was being unearthed. Soon his eyes beheld the great beast, its scaly hide made manifest as its body crawled out from the massive hole it created. Its body had spots upon it which were rotten and appeared as though a greater animal had taken bites from it. The color of the scales was brown and green and its wings spread out covering the light of the sun.

A few spots upon its wings had decaying holes as well. The scales upon its body were so close together air could not pass through minus the torn holes. Its neck was long and almost graceful were it not for the decaying patch on its side. The head had a broken horn on the right and a completed one of the left. The snout was short with its jaw looking as though it was almost squared with a curve at the jaw joints. The teeth were few in number and Maximus guessed it would be a full set were it not for the decayed state the beast was in. Its titanic height towered over Maximus, making him appear as though he were a cat standing next to a giant. The incredible beast stood nearly three hundred feet in height.

"By all that is holy, is that what I think it is?" Maximus whispered out in amazement that was quickly followed by the fear mounting within himself.

The titanic beast looked around and roared as though to call out a rival. Maximus covered his ears to keep them from being overwhelmed. He felt the intense sound of its roar shook him to his core and his legs began to quake.

"How am I supposed to fight against a Dragon?" He said out loud, his gaze was back upon the beast.

He remembered hearing tales during his time within the Order of Mages about heroes battling and winning against such titanic beast from other worlds, namely Earth. Every time someone talked about it, he would laugh at the idea that any mortal being could have the fortitude, will, and or courage to face one, let alone defeat one in battle.

"I have no choice now but to fight against it, for if I don't, there is no telling what damage it can do along with Leech at its side." Maximus said as his thoughts wandered a little. "In order to keep her safe," He paused thinking about Aqua. "I must defeat this beast here and now." He finished as he concentrated on the fight ahead and focused on a spell.

Leech began to laugh even more as he looked down at Maximus. "I hope you are ready to fight against an Undead Dragon!" He said and continued to laugh seeing the look upon Maximus' face.

At the same time a bird familiar was flying overhead and began to observe the battle.

At the Guild Hall, Aqua had her worried eyes glued to the crystal ball one of the staff members held. She saw the Dragon and her fear for Maximus began to swell within her.

"Oh, my goodness, is he about to fight against that Dragon?" Luna inquired.

"No, that's not any ordinary Dragon, that's an Undead Dragon! Look at its scales, the way they seem to be decayed and rotten." Kazuma said.

Everyone began to gather around to watch. The staff member caused the image to appear in the air like a hologram. Everyone eagerly waited to see how Maximus would fair against such a creature.

"Hey, want to bet he slays this thing no problem?" A young adventurer inquired of another.

"No way, a Manticore and the Black Fang are one thing, but an actual Dragon; even if it is Undead, is something else entirely. That creature is on a whole different level all together, a level no one can reach, he's not going to make it!" Mohawk quickly replied.

"I'll take that bet anyway." Another adventurer joined in.

Some other adventurers began to take marks on who would win.

Kazuma and Megumin were annoyed they would make light of the situation.

"Do you think they know if he loses, that thing might come here to finish us off? If I had enough magic, I would blow them all up. In fact, remember them so I can do that later." Megumin said feeling her annoyance move to anger.

"Well, you live once I guess." Kazuma said.

"If only I could be there to share the joys of being tormented by that creature." Darkness quivered in excitement.

"And there she goes again, God will she just stop it already. Kazuma said to himself. "Come on, aren't you the least bit worried about our party's leader than being completely obsessed with being tortured. Also, you would be dead before you could feel anything!" Kazuma snapped at Darkness.

He turned and noticed Aqua had a sense of fear within her eyes as she did not look away once. Her hands were crossed as though she were praying for Maximus' safe return.

"Please be careful." She whispered feeling helpless as she could do nothing but watch as the battle unfolded before her eyes.

Everyone waited anxiously as the battle was soon to get underway again.