"Why would you be this stubborn? Attacking me has only deepened our causal bond. It is time to face the consequences!"
When Vren spoke, two voices sounded at the same time, creating an eerie atmosphere. The black magic suddenly surged towards the sky.
"AHH!"
Vren let out a strained shout. The summoned rock giants broke apart, going to rest, spreading rubble through the battlefield.
Vren looked as if consumed by a black soul, which was torturously tearing on his soul. Gradually the dark magic spread, creating shadowy images of Vren. One, five, fifty, one hundred...
Everyone's stomachs sank as an army of Vrens formed at the mouth of the valley. Their faceless heads gave of a feeling of being indifferent to life and death.
But suddenly they vanished, leaving only the original Vren behind kneeling on the floor.
[Bleary Mirage: Guys, it's time to show your skills! Dodge if you feel something strange!]
"He!"
A shiver ran down Silver Blade's back when a chuckle reached her ears. She adhered to Liam's words, refrained from blocking, and threw her body forward.
A shadowy Vren suddenly appeared behind her, his dagger almost touching her helmet but ultimately missing.
[Bleary Mirage: Good job! You passed the skill check. He won't attack you again!]
Reading Liam's message some of the tanks exhaled in relief. They felt a sense of security since their HP were close to full.
Suddenly shadows appeared behind two of them, swinging their gleaming daggers. The tanks were slow to react in their complacency. Red light stabbed into their heads.
Suddenly their eyes widened, watching their HP bars in shock.
"How..."
Without giving the players a chance to resist, the attacks forcefully took every single HP. The two tanks thought this was too unfair, but no amount of complaining could safe them.
Seeing the fate of those two, everyone was shocked, their hearts filled with apprehension.
[Cyclone: Expert, what's this? Is there no way to escape this skill?]
[Bleary Mirage: No. Only dodging can safe you. But as long as you remain vigilant it's not that difficult!]
Liam's message spread among the guild members, causing their bodies to tense up, their eyes constantly observing the surroundings.
A grin formed on Liam's face as memories of his past life came to his mind. Vren had always be famous for this skill. Many guilds used it to initiate their new members. The skill even received a famous name, which could spark fear even in the hearts of old veterans. The Culling.
Imagine the psychological pressure of facing this sure-kill skill at the end of an exhausting fight. The valley fell into silence. Everyone feared to be next on the list.
[Lofty Step: Guys, why are you all just waiting to die?!]
One of the thieves wrote in the guild chat. His fellow members found it reasonable, looking at Liam in confusion, waiting for him to give the signal.
Lofty Step, driven by the pressure, decided to act alone. He was already close to Vren, approaching him in stealth. Suddenly his body was revealed, his dagger about to stab at the world boss.
Everything happened in a flash. Before the thief could attack, a shadowy figure appeared behind his back, slashing at an incredible speed, his dagger impossible to dodge. Lofty Step barely registered what had happened when his body fell before Vren's feet.
[Bleary Mirage: That's why.]
The thief's demise shocked everyone. They realized that there was no way out. They could only fully focus on dodging.
A moment later shadows appeared behind three people. One of them was not fast enough, allowing the skill to claim a new victim.
The situation repeated with some guild members falling and some living. Soon, Liam felt his senses tingling. A shiver ran down his back, but his face was adorned with a confident smile. The moment the shadow appeared behind him he felt its direction. It was coming from the right.
Liam used his left foot as a pivot, turning his body and appearing at the left side of the shadow. If the faceless being could show an expression, it would certainly be shocked as Liam suddenly counterattacked. His swords flowed seamlessly, sending a normal attack instantly followed by a [Double Slash].
When four holy marks exploded above the shadow's head, Vren in the distance groaned in pain.
The people around Liam were staring at him, slack jawed. They never imagined that when everyone hoped to preserve their own lives, someone would even consider counterattacking.
[Cyclone: No! Balm!]
Cyclone's sudden message diverted the attention towards the place where Balm had been standing. The original Hotpot felt a stab in their hearts seeing the body of their beloved healer lying on the floor.
[Radiant Shield: F*ck!]
[Bloody Edge: Don't let her sacrifice go to waste.]
[Cyclone: I will avenge you!]
[Balm: Guys, it's not like I'm out of this world.]
[Cyclone: So what?! How dare that stupid boss kill our friend and guild leader?!]
Cyclone gnashed her teeth, staring at Vren with poisonous eyes. Maybe the world boss felt her hostility as a shadow silently appeared behind her.
Feeling the vague threat Cyclone didn't panic. Mimicing Liam she was prepared to counterattack. Utilizing her last bit of mana she activated [Static Domain]. Thunder suddenly erupted around her, seeking for a target. A bolt of lightning crashed into the shadowy figure.
As the lightning struck the enemy, triggering Cyclone's passive and paralyzing the shadow, Liam couldn't help but let out a sigh, joking in the chat.
[Bleary Mirage: Truly blessed by the goddess of luck!]
How many skills with stun effects did fall on Vren during the fight? It was certainly more than a hundred. But for the entire duration the world boss was only stunned four times, none of those greatly meaningful.
However, now that Cyclone put her mind into it, her passive suddenly triggered, freezing the shadow in place.
Everyone's eyes lit up. They didn't need a reminder, throwing all their attacks at the shadowy figure. Damage continued to amount. The stun didn't last two whole seconds before it dissipated.
Everyone remained anxious, knowing that a predator was laying in ambush, afraid they would be treated as prey.
But suddenly a deafening, painful scream rang through the valley, drawing all attention to Vren. A violent storm of dark magic had erupted around the world boss at some point.
One could vaguely see the struggle on Vren's face as his veins bulged, his skin turning even more pale.
His clothes got torn in some places, his skin emitting black smoke. Gradually Vren's voice weakened, his body moving less and less. Just as everyone expected him to die, the situation changed.
A figure appeared at the mouth of the valley. Her clothes resembled a thief's leather armor expect for their pristine white colour. Her face appeared like one straight out of a fairytale with fair contours and intelligent eyes. Long golden hair billowed behind her head, but they couldn't hide her pointed ears.
She arrived mysteriously, surrounded by a magical aura like a hero about to save the world.
"Lupheya, goddess of the moon high above. Grant me the power to vanquish this evil curse!"
A crisp shout rang in the valley. Brilliant but cold light gathered into a crescent sword in her hands, slashing at the black storm with ethereal elegance.
There was no earth-shattering collision or world-ending explosion. Under the goddess's power the weakened curse couldn't hold on, dissolving within seconds.
A last anguished cry came from Vren's mouth. His eyes turned bloodshot but regained their natural appearance although his pupils stayed black, a characteristic of dark elves.
The heroic woman who had just appeared landed before Vren, her eyes scanning Dream Avenue.
"Please stay your hands! The curse has been vanquished. Vren and I will be forever grateful."
Cyclone was still surrounded by lightning, turning towards the world boss. She stared ahead for a moment before suddenly jumping happily, cheers leaving her mouth:
"We did it! We did it! Haha, the boss is down! We're the best! Dream Avenue!"
The guild leader's emotions immediately affected the whole guild. Relieved cheers came from all sides, shaking the valley.
Liam put his weapons away scanning the scene with a bright smile. Silver Blade clapped her hands with the tanks around her. Balm celebrated in the group chat.
Only Vren and his saviour looked ahead in confusion. Not knowing how to deal with the spontaneous eruption of emotion Vren ignored the guild. His eyes fell on the beautiful woman before him, his expression laden with guilt.
"Lephrion... I... I'm so sorry. I will never be able to make up for this."
Lephrion's body trembled as she turned around. There was not a speck of blame in her eyes. She reached out with her hand, caressing Vren's face.
"I know that this wasn't your will. This curse was guiding your actions. There is no need to blame yourself."
"But without my greed, how would I have been affected by this curse?"
"We both didn't contain our greed. If you weren't a step earlier, it would've been my fate to suffer from the curse."