The area was embroiled in everlasting war, soldier and demons seemingly never losing morale.
"Finally, some reinforcements! Adventurers!"
The party members smiled upon hearing the voice of the pink-haired Major Onrabell, greeting the fairy joyfully.
But their expressions soon faltered when Onrabell held her speech, revealing that the party had to kill 100 invading infernals, doubling the amount compared to normal difficulty.
The party got ready for combat as they stepped into the open area. Demons and skeletons archers appeared, making up the first wave. They were slightly strengthened but compared to the party's advancement it wasn't noteworthy.
Coordinating well Liam and his friends dealt with them one by one, working through the one hundred enemies without hurry.
Only the five elite demons towards the end put some pressure on the party. Radiant Shield's HP fluctuated dangerously but thanks to Balm's heals he wasn't in danger of dying.
When the last infernal died, Onrabell happily praised the party, sending out a signal. Loud horns echoed through the battlefield announcing the arrival of a heroic presence.
Phenaroa the Pure appeared as proud as ever as she stepped through the battlefield, about to prepare her spell.
Meanwhile Cyclone happily looted the elite infernals, finding some uncommon equipment matching the party's levels, which gave them more confidence for the upcoming boss fight.
When she looked up a blinding sphere formed from potent holy magic passed above her head, advancing towards the snake monster's maw which was dark as night.
Suddenly a devilish laughter could be heard, grating to the ears. A bolt of black lightning shot out of the snake's maw, colliding with the holy sphere.
The magic shattered apart, overturning the battlefield. As Phenaroa tumbled backwards the first powerful foe appeared.
Devil Child Uratnim spoke a few mocking words before summoning a ghost general to tie down Phenaroa.
Ordered by the holy nephilim, Onrabell dashed at Uratnim like a shooting star, colliding heavily with the devil child's staff.
Suddenly Cyclone's expression showed immense surprise.
"Wasn't that staff supposed to break?!", asked the guild leader.
"Sure it was..."
Balm's voice was heavy as she swung her own staff to safe Onrabell hoping to secure the fairy's assistance in the dungeon.
With the players meddling and the NPCs preoccupied Uratnim's anger finally fell on the party, marking the beginning of the fight.
[Devil Child Uratnim
Rank: Sub-boss
Level: 23
HP: 9600/9600]
Silver Blade frowned upon checking the boss's status. She clearly remembered that he used to be called 'Weakened Devil Child Uratnim'. It stood to be seen what difference this one word could make.
Right away Uratnim fired a familiar attack. Beads brimming with ghostly energy revolved around his green-skinned head, unleashing the first skill.
The party members were prepared, keeping their distance. Although the ghosts spreading from Uratnim experienced a slight increase in speed, they posed no danger. Rather it was the party who began to pressure the boss.
[-363!]
[-391!]
Both Fortune and Cyclone were taken aback. The latter quickly voiced her confusion:
"Why is our damage so high?"
"Don't forget that we are one level above the boss.", reminded Liam.
"Nice! This will be a piece of cake!"
Cyclone smiled happily. She had been anxious about confronting the dungeon on hard mode but now her mood improved greatly.
"Damn nephilim!"
Uratnim, as if displeased with being underestimated, suddenly let out a fierce shout. He swung his staff covered in cracks. Ominous dark magic gathered on its tip before surging into his ghostly beads.
With a marrow-freezing wail a dense wave of ghosts suddenly shot out of the beads, surging towards the party.
"Run!"
Liam immediately came to a conclusion, urging his friends while turning around himself. Some of the party members showed incredible reaction speed, escaping the skill's range just in time.
But others like Cyclone and Fortune, who were in the process of casting skill, were caught unprepared, suffering heavy damage.
[-893!]
[-948!]
Horrifying ghost heads bit at the legs of Cyclone, Fortune, and Bloody Edge before returning to the devil child, healing him for half the damage done, effectively filling his HP up.
Cyclone could only sigh knowing that she had underestimated the enemy.
After unleashing so much power Uratnim's ghost beads appeared sluggish as if even the inanimate objects knew exhaustion. They failed to continue the skill, giving the party a chance to attack.
Silver Blade immediately took the lead slamming her shield against Uratnim's head.
"You!"
The devil child boiled from anger. Silver Blade even had a sensation as if Uratnim remembered that this exact same scene happened the last time they met.
She watched as the small devil flourished his wand, spreading three clusters of black flames. Two of those aimed for Silver Blade, as they should, but one surprisingly flew towards Balm.
Everyone was taken aback as the boss partly defied the aggro held by Silver Blade. Fortunately, Radiant Shield reacted instinctively. He dashed to the side, throwing his body in front of the slow-moving flames, blocking the attack.
A heat wave washed over him as some ember remained on his shield.
[Stance -28]
Everyone appeared dazed for a moment but when Liam swung his swords at Uratnim it served as a signal.
The opponents exchanged attacks with Uratnim's flames continuing to avoid Silver Blade, forcing Radiant Shield to run around, his appearance quite comical.
At least the rest of the party was kind enough to stay close together, making the tank's job easier.
"How great it was if running in the game could reflect onto my real body.", said Radiant Shield between laborious breaths, drawing a chuckle from Bloody Edge who knew his friend's struggles.
"I might have suffered from illusions, but I recently felt that you had already lost weight. The game occupies so much of your time that there is not much left for meals."
"Haha, I wish you were right."
Since the two friends were able to converse leisurely it was obvious that the fight didn't put much that pressure on the party.
Uratnim gritted his teeth, conjuring a black barrier to envelop him, attacking with nightmarish ghostly claws, black and of incredible sharpness.
Since Silver Blade and Radiant Shield remembered the boss's moves, they didn't need Liam's reminder to change places, sending Radiant Shield to block the attack.
The claws were not weak, destroying the tank's stance, the accompanying dark attributed damage proving troublesome. Fortunately, the party was prepared and with Radiant Shield's vast HP he didn't encounter any real danger.
Under the party's assault the shield broke swiftly, sending a wave of freezing dark magic into the surroundings, damaging everyone for about 700HP.
Balm moved quickly, healing in a large area. Her passive triggered multiple times boosting her friends' stats.
Simultaneously the effect of Balm's robe also revealed itself. A brilliant silvery white wing appeared behind Radiant Shield emitting a sacred aura.
However, the party had to admit that they had slowly outgrown the [Sacred Wings], its effect rather lacklustre. A shield of 300 points barely made a difference. Although Balm's robe was of rare quality it was bound to be replaced soon.
"Go to heaven, pesky adventurers!"
As Uratnim's HP decreased quickly, he let out a hoarse shout. His staff emitted a vast suction force, draining the surroundings of mana which turned into terrifying dark magic.
The devil child's eyes took on a deep black, madness flashing on his face, announcing the coming of his strongest skill.
Liam stared closely as Uratnim slowly levitated to the air. He felt a vague danger. Trusting his instincts he quickly directed his friends:
"Let's play it safe! Don't stick close to him! Get out of his range!"
No one questioned his decision, nodding calmly, vacating the area. Uratnim was caught in his own world, seemingly not noticing that his enemies had escaped.
He rose to the sky, his staff forming an invisible connection with his ghost beads.
Suddenly an extensive black magic circle formed in the sky. It covered half the battlefield and looking at it one would get the illusion of facing hell itself.
When Uratnim waved his hand, another circle appeared on the floor mirroring the one in the sky. The party was shocked, noticing that they were still within the skill's range despite escaping beforehand.
Luckily their earlier decision brought them close to the edge. Without hesitation they sprinted a few more meters, stepping out of the black circle.
Fortune felt a shiver run down her spine instinctively knowing that she had just escaped death. She turned around with a sigh, directing her view towards Uratnim, eager to record his every move. Her professional intuition told her that the upcoming skill would create a spectacular scene for her video.
And the devil child didn't disappoint her. His staff fell like a hammer of judgment, commanding an enormous amount of mana.
The circle in the sky reacted. A gigantic claw appeared in the sky bearing the might to level a small town. Its surface was enveloped in ghostly black magic, churning unceasingly, producing an eery sight.
When it collided with the floor the world seemed to freeze before a violent shockwave washed over the battlefield.
Fortune gulped involuntarily imagining what would have happened if they hadn't escaped in time.