"Charge!"
One of the black-armoured warriors let out a low shout as he regained the ability to move. He and his colleagues felt incredibly stifled but now they could finally show their might.
Or so they thought.
Silver Blade's skill had bought enough time for Cyclone to finish her cast. The crackling of lightning resounded as a pale blue dome spread from Cyclone, erecting her [Static Domain].
The air filled with an oppressive electricity, causing everyone's hair to dance wildly. Cyclone had to try her hardest not to laugh at Silver Blade's comical look, prompting her friend to change the options, now showing her helmet.
Immediately thin bolts of lightning zapped at the enemies. Their task wasn't to deal damage but to trigger Cyclone's passive.
Yet the enemies had been stunned throughout the fight, gradually developing some resistance. It proved difficult to paralyze them again.
Silver Blade analysed the situation. She continuously stepped backwards, making it impossible for the slow-moving warriors to come close.
Two domains simultaneously pressured the enemies, yet they remained stubborn.
The situation continued for two second during which Cyclone attacked once before Silver Blade suddenly noticed something. The first enemy showed signs of ignoring Silver Blade and stepping towards Cyclone.
The tank realized that her disengagement led to a loss of aggro, but it wasn't a serious issue. With a thought [Luring Barrier] activated, a pale golden shield forming in front of Silver Blade and attracting the enemies to her.
Another second passed and Cyclone's passive finally proved effective, paralysing the first warrior.
In the meantime, the mage herself was in the process of casting her next skill. Yet she felt somewhat anxious being unable to deal damage for multiple seconds.
She carefully took a few steps forward. Bolts of fierce red lightning flickered around her robe. The rarely used effect of her rare equipment came into play as violent bolts of red lightning, like a loyal dog protecting its owner, suddenly lunged at enemies standing too close to the mage.
[-50]
The warriors gritted their teeth, enduring through the paralysis, as every new bolt triggered Cyclone's passive, lightning continuously jumping between them. It almost looked like the warriors were the ones releasing the lightning with how much of it surrounded them.
But every good time came to an end. After ten seconds Silver Blade's [Aura of the sloth] ran out, the grey magic slowly dispersing towards the sky. Almost at the same time the warriors freed themselves from the paralysis, staring at the two women with hatred.
"Die!"
Making use of their limited vocabulary the warriors finally went for the counterattack. Four gleaming swords aimed for Silver Blade, thirsty for blood.
As the tank readied her shield Cyclone was done with casting. The mage's eyes flashed with a clever light. She waved her wand but instead of pointing at an enemy she targeted her best friend Silver Blade.
"Hey, did you switch sides?!"
Silver Blade shouted, exasperated, as a cage of lightning quickly enclosed her from all sides, the ominous crackling roaring in her ears.
"No, look, I'm brilliant!", exclaimed Cyclone proudly.
Silver Blade didn't understand. The enemies swung their swords to attack, and she had barely any space to move.
But suddenly her eyes opened in surprise as the first enemy came in contact with the lightning cage. Blueish lightning suddenly attached to the warrior's blade, frying the man's hand.
[-753!]
[-201!]
The same happened to the other warriors, dealing another round of frightening damage.
"Ok. You're a genius!", admitted Silver Blade in a genuine voice, causing Cyclone's chest to swell from pride.
Unfortunately [Lightning Cage] didn't save Silver Blade from damage. Of the four warriors only two aimed straight for her shield, the others slashing their swords towards her waste.
With no room to manoeuvre Silver Blade's HP were swiftly decreasing.
[-665!]x2
An exchange of attacks ensued as Cyclone waved her wand and the enemies pressed forward with their swords formed from dark magic.
[-753!]
[-367!]x2
[-154!]x2
Silver Blade's [Luring Barrier] trembled but continued to hold on. Yet it was her stance which finally ran out, leaving the tank sluggish and fatigued.
Met with this unpleasant feeling Silver Blade suddenly envied Immortal Boulder who had a skill for recovering stance. Although it didn't prove useful when facing Bleary Mirage during the guild war, against predictable NPCs it was extremely valuable.
Silver Blade entertained such leisurely thoughts as she was completely out of options for the moment. Most of her skills were on cooldown, her passive wasn't charged yet, and she couldn't even move.
Meanwhile Cyclone was huffing from overwork. Her wand never stopped moving. As soon as her [Lighting Strike] came off cooldown it was used again, swiftly followed by a normal attack.
[-753!]
[-1093!]
[-302!]
Silver Blade watched helplessly as swords hit her, finally breaking through her barrier. The first warrior's eyes lit up brightly. Just as he was about to get serious, a magical sphere slammed into his face.
The warrior's head abruptly jolted upwards. His body froze. His HP dropped to zero and he ceased all actions, falling to the floor.
With the first enemy dead the two women were relieved of some pressure. Silver Blade was forced to endure one round of attacks before her skills gradually became available again.
A murky grey circle spread from her once more, almost causing the traumatized enemies to despair. The two women gradually whittled down their enemies until the black armoured warriors all let out their last breath.
"We're the best!"
Cyclone happily clapped hands with her bestest friend after the fight. But after a short celebration the two women raised their heads, looking at the warriors still waiting for them.
They relaxed until their passive recovery refilled Silver Blade's HP and stance before rushing towards the next fight.
***
An hour passed as the Black Hand fought all over the five islands. They saved poor villagers suffering from experiments, vanquished plaques, and killed monsters.
Quickstep, Silent Acacia, Fortune, and Balm formed a team. They travelled to the edge of the island where they found various people hanging from poles, barely alive. From the description of some hiding civilians they learned that these people tried to flee the island, now presented as a deterrent to others.
Burning with righteous anger the players fought through a group of soldiers belonging to the Dark Heralds, which was the group directly under Taragal's command, before finally saving the barely alive NPCs.
Shortly before finishing their task, they received a message from Silver Blade and Cyclone who asked for help against the lord tier enemy in the village.
The group of six gathered and slayed the dark nephilim who had been behaving like a king in the small village.
At first the villagers remained numb but gradually realization set in. Under the player's encouragement they suddenly pounced on the food around them like starving wolves, even forgetting to thank the party.
Watching this scene the players could only sigh in pity. But suddenly they were distracted as the entire island rumbled.
A loud shout rang in everyone's ears. It was Seytor's voice:
"Adventurers, the enemy has shown themselves! Gather at the castle!"
[Cyclone: Did you all hear that?]
[Bleary Mirage: Yes. Let's do what he said.]
[Radiant Shield: We are engaged in combat.]
[Bleary Mirage: Run away!]
[Radiant Shield: No. How dishonourable...]
[Bloody Edge: I can't show such weakness!]
[Bleary Mirage: If we die without our tank, you won't survive either. So, I guess we'll meet on top of Little Blue.]
[Radiant Shield: Coming...]
[Balm: Hey, Mirage that wasn't very nice of you.]
[Bleary Mirage: Ok, ok. I'm sorry. But we nearly need you, guys!]
[Radiant Shield: Don't mention it. My hide is not that thin!]
Liam smiled as the chat fell silent. His eyes fell on the monster waiting in the cave in front of him, sitting on a pile of bones, staring at the player with hungry eyes.
"Sorry, I guess we have to postpone our fight."
After explaining himself to the monster the young man turned around and left through the forest.
Knowing the path, he advanced swiftly. Soon the gloomy black castle came into his view.
Standing on top of a small hill the black building overlooked the island, just as tyrannical as its master.
Soldiers were scattered on the thick walls. High above them stood three sharp towers emitting black air, which shrouded the five islands.
From a single look it became apparent that it would be futile to try and attack the castle. Yet this was never the Black Hand's goal. They were fine with the enemy hiding behind the walls while they slowly freed the innocent.
Eventually Taragal's followers couldn't continue watching as the Black Hand interfered with their experiments. Thus, they sent out elites of the Dark Heralds, menacing fighters who were both fierce and utterly ruthless.
Seytor and Repha had always paid attention to the castle. When the gate opened the two NPCs noticed immediately.
Waiting at a certain distance, out of the other soldiers' range, they engaged the elite Dark Heralds on a plain field.