There was a reason Max had chosen to come down in the basement in Baron's wraith base.
Firstly, there was no water on the surface as they had checked the entire castle, leaving only the basement as the sole place with holy water.
Secondly, it was a logical argument that the wraith would guard the holy water since that was his weakness. He couldn't touch or do anything with the ashes, so that was his only safeguard.
The water was somewhere in the basement, but the Baron wasn't giving them enough tine to find it.
The moment his shadowy figure materialized before them, he increased his pace of offense with small rocks, wood, and even the pillars being thrown at them.
Normally, they could have easily dealt with these kinds of attacks, but they were coming at an insane speed boosted by the Baron's power.
Fortunately, since the wraith was an ethereal being, he didn't have that much physical prowess. Of course, it was still more than enough to deal with Bronze Rank Hunters.
However, things didn't end there.
As Max slid under a speeding stone coming at him, he heard some mumbling near his ears, filled with despair.
"Help! Save me!"
However, he didn't pay any attention to them as he knew it was just the Baron trying to influence his mind.
"Holy moly! The Baron is actually a crybaby!" Stelle exclaimed, as she smashed a pillar into dust.
Max almost stumbled forward hearing that, as he gave a momentary, speechless look to her. He could already guess what she had heard when the Baron tried to influence her mind.
'I don't need to worry about this dumbass! But what about Charlotte?' Max thought, after dodging a stone sword coming at him.
On the other hand, Charlotte was faring much better than he had expected. While the labyrinth had suppressed her rank, she was still a Silver Rank hunter.
As long as she wasn't opposed to a direct physical brawl, she could stand her ground against even Silver Rank bosses. Not to mention, she was constantly throwing healing spells at the wraith, making it frustrated.
For the moment, the battle was in a stalemate as neither side could finish the other. Sadly, the pressure on Max's team was just growing more and more as the wraith sent a flurry of attacks at them.
It was turning into a battle of attrition, and that was something they would definitely lose. So, they couldn't afford to prolong this battle.
"KEKEKKEKEKEKE!"
Hearing the creepy laughter, Max thought, 'This guy is definitely going for that. He can finish us quickly, but he wants to see us in despair. Heh, thanks for your support, Mr. Baron.'
Max had been observing the Baron's movement and his attack pattern since the start of their fight. Since the holy water wasn't in sight, then it was hidden somewhere.
And the wraith wouldn't dare damage it, so Max wanted to find the blind spot in his attack pattern.
'There! Found it!' Max almost screamed out, but managed to keep his head cool.
During the time they had been fighting, the Baron had been trying to lure the trio away from one of the corners of the basement. His attacks also always missed that side.
The problem was that his attacks were so fast that they didn't give anyone enough time to observe that. Max himself was now bleeding from many minor injuries caused by pebbles he had failed to dodge.
The only thing was that the Earthen pot was indestructible, so he didn't need to worry about it while jumping around.
'Is the holy water behind it? It's possible!' Max thought, as he once again ignored the cries for help in his mind. They were getting louder, and it was getting hard to dodge, but he was still doing it.
The Baron definitely would not let them get close to it, so he needed to create a chance for them.
"Stelle!!" he shouted to get her attention, and he was successful in doing so.
When Stelle looked at him, he gestured for her to look at the wall from his eyes. Though that cost them another injury as small arrows made of stone dust penetrated the sides of their arms.
Max winced in pain, but knowing that he needed to create an opportunity, he spun and then threw the Earthen pot with all his strength to the other side of the basement.
As he had expected, the Baron's attention quickly went towards the pot, and he stopped attacking. The wraith quickly followed the Earthen pot and used the stone dust to catch it.
Stelle didn't waste the chance she was given and dashed towards the wall Max had previously pointed at.
Then, ignoring the pain in her arms, she increased the size of her hammer and smashed the stone wall, shattering it in just one attack.
However, instead of hollow earth or soil, she was surprised when she found water slamming onto her as if she had broken a dam.
She swiftly rolled to the side to avoid getting hit by the water, as she didn't know if it had any strange properties. Still, some of it had turned her skin wet.
By then, Baron Marcus had also caught the Earthen pot and turned, only to see the secret he had sealed away being revealed.
"KEKKEKEKEKEKKEKE!!!"
The wraith screeched loudly, making the trio's hair stand on end. However, the Baron didn't immediately attack them because they were close to the holy water, and he had also acquired his only weakness back now.
There was no way these humans could beat him now. Whatever strands of intelligence were left in him convinced him of his victory, making him prone to have fun in the battle.
Even Max's teammates were confused by his actions. He had just given away their only chance of winning. What was he thinking?
While Charlotte didn't say anything, Stelle screamed, "You idiot! Why the hell did you do that? Now we're doomed!"
Max didn't reply to her and simply ran towards the holy water that was gushing out of the hole. His eyes were cold and calm, without any signs of nervousness.
Charlotte noticed that and smiled.