304 A Heroic Tale End...?
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/Splat!/
A horrific sound echoed in the room, causing all of the Heroes to momentarily stop, their eyes trembling at the gruesome sight.
Beneath the feet of the armored beast, buried within the cracked stone, their friend and companion, maybe even rival to some, now laid motionless.
There was no need to see what stood beneath the stone to know of her fate, much less read the notification.
The blood that slowly flowed all around was enough.
"NOOOOO." The Priestess exclaimed as she raised her hands, only to be stopped by the shield warrior
/Grunt…/
All of them reacted to her death, tightening their fists and sharpening their eyes as they either looked away or intently at Dale.
"..."
He, on the other hand, had something else in his mind…
/Grab…/
By kicking it with his feet, Dale raised the woman's spear to his hand, inspecting it as he checked its quality and features.
It was rather large, about his height, and also rather heavy, with its shaft made entirely of metal with very few engravings... Or at the very least, the ones it did have were now all washed away under hundreds of cuts and bruises.
This wasn't something for a normal Human to wield, a powerful weapon that drew too much blood.
/STAB!/
Seemingly satisfied with his new weapon, Dale immediately tested it by puncturing the woman's armor on the ground before lifting her from the stone and into the air, showing everyone the state of her now crushed head.
Albeit she didn't use a helmet, having wouldn't have changed anything.
/Throw…/
And after he gave everyone a good look, he threw her body in the opposite direction of them towards the abyss where it disappeared as it fell.
This wasn't because he was a sick man, Dale drew no pleasure from this task.
For once, since they had a Priestess in their midst, he couldn't risk having her resuscitated.
There were already players capable of such, in fact, Dale really wanted to have a High Ranking Priest friend within Resko.
Because that was the only way for him to have a Second Chance.
And second, doing so could either strengthen their resolve... Or shake their mental conditioning.
Regardless, he would win, because a good fight was something he was always willing to accept, and if his opponents lost their mind and sense of judgment, even if a little, then so be it.
It's their loss.
In any case, although the girl likely had items he could use to win, there was no time to inspect it… As his opponents were already beyond pissed.
/DASH!/
Not giving them time to react, Dale acted first.
They were a party that covered most if not all positions, so being far away from them would only put him at a disadvantage.
So he ran… But midway through it, he closed his left hand.
/Shine…/
The strange runic letters he had been writing all this while had finally been complete, so he cast his first-ever spell.
/Crush!/
As he closed his hand, red light gathered in the center of his palm, and as he applied force, crushing it, the runic letters around his wrist and forearm shattered into a cloud of particles.
/Tremble…/
The ground shook as the rock slabs parted away beneath everyone's foot.
""?!""
/PIERCE!/
Gigantic distorted thorns rose from the cracked ground, spreading mayhem everywhere as the room itself started to collapse.
The name of this Spell was Earthen Garden, it was the Skill of a Boss back in the previous game.
Albeit compared to what it could do, Dale was nothing but a pathetic child interpretation, but it was enough for what he wanted to do.
/Fwoosh!/
Meanwhile, his chains dragging behind him, Dale reached the Tank in the blink of an eye, raising his fist…
/BAAAAAAM!/
"GUGH?!!!!"
He slammed his right hand directly on his shield, pushing him a meter back.
"HUPP!"
Following that, he grabbed the edges of the shield, applying force downward, pushing the shield onto the ground.
"ARG!"
The Tanker felt as if an entire mountain was pressing down on him.
His body was breaking apart due to the weight, and even as he used his Skills to try and resist the weight, to keep his footing, he still slowly collapsed, sinking...
/SLASH!/
But his job was done.
/CUT!/
From the side, the Ax warrior swung his mighty double Ax at Dale, immeasurable power contained within.
Do not forget that he was praised by Dale as the strongest he had faced before facing the previous First Ranker.
From the back, the Assassin and the Thief prepared their attacks.
He had seen what a High-ranking Assassin could do, and every sign pointed at the fact this one was much, much better than any he had seen so far.
As for the Thief, he didn't know what to expect, he could even be something else.
Assuming someone's Class by their appearance also leads to a lot of misconceptions...
From the other side, the Swordsman Dale had previously thrown back fell from a high position, using the thorns to move around quickly.
... Compared to her, he was nothing... Still, there was lethality in his moves.
Precise and Swift, to be fast and to hit hard... Slash hard...
But there was one missing…
/FWOOSH!!!/
/GRAB!.../
It all started as a giant arrow fell from the skies directly atop Dale.
/SLASH!/
He grabbed it with his right hand, before swinging it against the Ax user's stomach!
"GU... UHAAAA!"
Yet, he resisted it, proving his gargantuan power as he slammed his double Ax with one hand against Dale.
Just the air pressure alone was enough to push the chains around him away.
"..."
/KICK!/
Not taking any chances Dale took the barbaric man by surprise, kicking him away like a bullet.
/FLASH!/
In that thin moment, the swordsman used his Skills and a flash of light momentarily shone in the corner of Dale's eyes.
"Huh... So you can bleed too, huh."
The next moment he realized, his stomach had been cut and his armor broken.
Even if the armor he used was but a replica, or rusted, it was still the Armor of an Elite Squad Captain of the Southern Corps.
Worst, it was the chest plate, the sturdiest and thickest part of the Set.
It wasn't something meant to be cut so easily.
This was a testament to the man's skills... Or to his sword's prowess... Maybe both.
/GRAB!/
/PIERCE!!/
But without hesitation, Dale stomped the ground in front of the swordsman, breaking his posture as he pierced his chest with the spear in his left hand.
/SLAM!/
/CRACK!/
From his side, the Tank pushed him back with his giant shield, but Dale only moved a meter before he dug his feet onto the rock, stopping the shield to a halt as he turned to look at the Assassin and Theif whose daggers were already in front of his eyes.
/STOP!/
""?!""
All of a sudden, they were locked in the air, motionless.
Their eyes were full of surprise and caution.
And for a reason…
/SLAM!/
/C-CRACK!/
Dale pulled his hand back before smashing his right fist at the side of the Assassin with a powerful right hook, breaking his ribs and pushing him against the Thief as he sent them flying against the thorns, crushing several as they flew in the air.
His eyes glowing blue together with his forehead, Dale turned his attention to the shield in front of him.
It covered his entire vision, it was like a wall…
/Shine…/
But he would break this wall.
/PIERCE!!!/
As he turned around once more, dozens of arrows suddenly pierced the air from all directions around him.
/Jump!/
Dale jumped over the shield, grabbing onto its topmost edge as he evaded the arrows.
But this was exactly what they wanted.
"Take this fucker." The Tanker said as he raised his left hand
'Release storage energy, Redirect Impact.'
"!"
/BLAAAAAAAST!/
An extremely powerful wave of energy blew Dale sky-high, causing him to crash against the ceiling like a cannonball.
The chains wrapped around his body followed him, whipping the ground as they rose into the sky.
They dangled in the air below him, like the tentacles of a jellyfish…
/Crack!/
But as if nothing had happened, he broke free from the rocks one arm at a time, staring down from above with his red, gem-like eyes.
Like an unstoppable monster, he broke through everything they threw at him.
/Flash…/
Now, with this distance, the Mages were finally able to do something.
/Bzz…/
The air crackled around Dale, causing his hair to stand on end as electricity coursed through the mist…
/Mumble.../
The Mage standing at the Priestess' right side spun his staff as he said something in a low tone, and immediately after, as his staff clashed against the ground, dozens of bolts of lightning fell upon Dale like rainfall.
"Hupp!"
Meanwhile, the mage on the left side lifted his staff high, and a stream of energy spikes was continuously released from the staff, moving towards Dale in a cone pattern like hail.
"Huff… HAAAAA!"
Taking a deep breath, Dale exclaimed out loud before punching the ceiling behind him.
He channeled his Prime Force throughout his limbs, pulling a giant chunk of rock and throwing it in the hail direction, protecting himself from the spell's effect as his body started to smoke from the lightning.
To the onlookers below, his scream sounded like a mighty roar as it shook their eardrums.
/BOOOOM/
As for the thunder, he gathered Mana beneath his feet and exploded it in a brute and barbaric way so vile it would cause any Mage to twist in disgust, propelling himself back to the Arena like a comet.
/PIERCE!/
Still, the fight was far from over as this time, a powerful beam of light pierced straight through the air, being in course of collision with him!
"..."
But this time, Dale's eyes did react.
He had seen this Skill before…
"Huff... Huff..."
The Archer could be seen standing atop one of the broken stone thorns, gasping for air as he held his still glistering bow.
/SMASH!/
Knowing what he had to do, his right arm brimming with energy, Dale punched down with monstrous force, not holding back in the slightest.
He had broken this attack before, he would do so again, even if it was stronger.
Because so was he.
/BOOOOOOOOOOOM!/
An explosion of terrific proportions spread from the center of their collision, the impact wave so strong it crushed the stone thorns in the arena, sending some of the Heroes' weaker members flying.
Only the Tank didn't move, standing still with his shield up high as he protected the Priestess and the Mages as they shielded their eyes from the dust and rock fragments.
"Huff… This is tiring." Said the Ax warrior as he held his stomach, walking from the side as he dragged 10:36
his axe with his other hand
"Stop winning… At least your body's still intact." The swordsman said as he pushed aside some of the rubble, kneeling on the rock as he breathed sporadically He still held onto the spear on his right shoulder, knowing full well he would die if he took it out, and even if not, he would be knocked out of the fight.
"... help…"
/CRACK!/
Not too far away, the archer could be seen asking for help as he was buried beneath a large slab of stone, with only his arm outside of the rubble.
/Shua…/
And from within a smoke cloud, both the Assassin and the Thief appeared, their conditions not much better than the rest.
"Huff… Huff… Not as bad as I thought…" The Thief said as he took out a pouch from his waist, sprinkling it on a bunch of wounds across his body
One of the currently, most well-sought Skills of the Thief, Emergency First Aid.
"... Don't say that, you'll jinx it." One of the mages said as he finished casting another buff Spell
The only reason why they weren't casting any sort of Buffs was because they already did so outside of the Arena.
But now that the fight was taking longer and they had the opportunity, some of the shorter-time Buffs needed to be renewed.
"The fight isn't over yet, the Boss is nowhere to be seen." The Archer said as he counted his arrows
'Only a few left. Looks like I'll be forced to use Mana…'
Even with Inventory access, he had already thrown away all of his arrows on the path to this room.
"... Purification." The Priestess said out loud as a wave of golden light enveloped them all, healing their fatigue and wounds
"Phew… Thank you…"
/CRACK!/
/TREMBLE…/
Suddenly, the entire room began to shake.
"Wh-What is going on?!"
"I told you!!"
"Now's not the time... Where is he?! Oi! Arrow Head…"
"On it." The Archer replied as his right eye sparked with green light
"!!!"
He quickly scanned the entire Arena and his eyes eventually locked below, and what he saw made his entire forehead contort as he sweated heavily.
"SHIIIIT! THE BOSS…"
/BOOOOOOOOOOM!/
…
"... HUFF!!!"
/C-CRACK!/
10:40
/CRUUUUUUNK!!/
From below, Dale pushed the entire Arena to the side, easily breaking its base due to the way it was made.
"HAAAAA!"
/BAAAAAAAM!/
And finally, to make sure the Arena didn't get stuck, giving the Heroes a foothold, he shattered the Arena itself into dozens of pieces, having it all fall into the dark Abyss below.
…
/Tilt…/
To the Heroes, the entire world seemingly started to tilt as the Arena crumbled into pieces.
/FLASH!/
A momentary flash of purple light was the only thing the Heroes saw before they started to fall into the darkness.
Pieces of rock and debris filled their entire vision, together with the ever-moving shadows created by the floating flames in the air.
"June!! Tell me you have a floating Spell!!!!" The Tank screamed out loud as he pulled the Priestess close to him
"T-That's not my specialty!!" The mage exclaimed as he held his hat from flying away
"I HAVE IT!! JUST LET ME…"
/PIERCE!!!!/
""?!?!""
Suddenly, from the darkness, Dale dashed amidst the rubble, piercing the chest of the Mage with his fist before vanishing into the darkness once more with his body.
"NOOO! CURSES! HE GOT WILLIAM!!!" The Thief screamed out loud as he stood atop a slab, trying to use it as a foundation
"FOCUS! AT THIS RATE WE'LL DIE ONE BY ONE, TRY YOUR BEST TO STAY ALIVE!" The Tank exclaimed as he looked around
The last one to die should be the Priestess, and he's going to stake his life on it.
/SCREAMS!/
The Heroes continued to fall into the unknown Abyss.
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