It took some time, but eventually, the skeleton giant was defeated. Broken into pieces. Compared to Nina's thought-out plan, David and I went very primal in our approach. Unable to find a weakness, and unable to think of a better plan, I resorted to using the increased strength and agility which I gained from multiple coin flips. Over the course of a couple of minutes, we eventually defeated the skeleton.
In the meantime, Devel was still struggling with Andud. Throughout the whole fight with the skeleton giant, I occasionally caught a glimpse of the action between the two, and it felt like it was a whole different world. Various magic circles appeared in front, behind, and around Devel and Andud, creating balls, spears, bones, and walls. Each attack was brutal and quick, with explosions to accompany them, but each time, I see Devel either dodge the attack or block it, coming out with only scratches.
I thought that Devel would have to retreat slightly in order to heal up, but looking at him, it seems to me that he has barely sustained any damage throughout the fight. Shocked at this result, I start to understand how powerful Devel was, and that sometimes, he can't show the true extent of his power when fighting certain enemies. After all, he was able to quickly eliminate 3 Zabiks and fought against Smile in close combat for a long time.
Were his close-quarter combat skills improving with each major fight? Or was he just gifted at fighting? Regardless, his fight against Andud was reaching a stalemate, as the both of them separate slightly the moment the skeleton giant perished. Glancing at David and me, Andud slightly tilts his head, as if he was contemplating the reason behind his summoned skeleton giant's defeat.
"It seems your friends aren't useless after all. Although, they are quite slow in defeating the pitiful giant of mine." - Andud
"Their strengths lie elsewhere. Not everyone can be strong on the battlefield." - Devel
"Oh, but that is where you are wrong. You need to be strong on the battlefield, or else you die. Just like my poor giant. He was weaker, therefore he died." - Andud
"And does that change anything between us?" - Devel
"Not at all. I can always summon more, but the fight between us was quite boring. You didn't once give it your all, and in turn, neither did I. As if we were both just dancing in front of the other, looking for searching for an opportunity to give our best. Only to never find the moment. What a pity." - Andud
"Is it really? Even though you lost your facial expressions with the loss of your skin, I could still feel a sense of boredom coming from your actions. You don't really care too much about this fight, do you? Is it just because you are a General for the Reaper?" - Devel
"Someone is smarter than I thought. Yes, this is my job, but my hobby takes priority over my job. Quite silly, I know, but I enjoy researching more than I do fighting." - Andud
"Then, let us leave. You get to enjoy your time researching whatever it is you are researching, and we get the chance to leave and explore the Castle." - Devel
"If only it were that simple. I cannot let you leave this place unless I leave, or you kill me. That is how the Reaper's Castle works. Then again, I doubt you had knowledge about this place prior to entering. The Reaper's Castle is a space made up of numerous rooms, too many to bother counting. Each room has a lock and that lock can be defeating the guardian of the room, or completing whatever trivial puzzle or task.
This is the room my King placed me in when you humans attacked the Glemt. You attacked several places of the Glemt, and once we realized that was the case, we thought of just pulling more of you in, since you were also our food source. However, that plan backfired on us, as we start to discover that there were more of you than we anticipated. We thought we had a good number of the humans that were left on this continent, however, we were wrong.
The estimated number wasn't even half of the current number of humans, so we had no choice but to attack. Send out our troops. When that failed, and you attacked us en masse, we devised a plan. Eventually, you would be led to the Reaper's Castle, so we created the conditions. Nothing I can do about it, unfortunately. I was hoping that no one would show up through my teleportation circle, but, oh well.
Maybe I should just end this now? Get back to researching… Yes, perhaps I will do that. Shadow Resonance! Phantom March! Soul Link!" - Andud
A single black magic circle appears below Andud, stretching out further as it spins slowly, reaching Devel. Leaping back in a hurry, Devel retreats to us, with a worried look on his face. Turning back, he faces Andud, as a shadowy mist covers the ground, creeping along as if it were small arms reaching for anything living. One by one, indigo specters appear beside Andud, reaching out from the shadowy mist.
Some had black translucent armor covering their bodies, as they stood still next to Andud clutching a spear in their hand, while others rode on black horses, with Prussian blue bones and flames as their hair. An army of monsters had appeared out of the shadowy mist, and as I see them form one by one, my heart sinks deeper and deeper into my chest.
"What-What do we do?" - Rebecca
"Becca… I think we might be dead this time. I'm sorry." - David
"No. I'll handle this. I still had one more move up my sleeve. I just didn't think I would be using it here." - Devel
Stepping forward, Devel drags his sword along the ground. Slowly he ventures into the mist, wading through it. His eyes locked on Andud and his unmoving army. Stopping within a couple of steps from the closest monster, Devel lets out a low sigh.
"Are you surrendering? Or suiciding? I doubt it is both. So, tell me. Which one do you choose? As the only human I have truly talked to and fought in quite some time, I will at least let you have that privilege." - Andud
"How about a third option? I decide to fight you. To the death. Or whatever it is you consider after death, since you are merely a skeleton." - Devel
"A shallow attempt to poke fun at my race. So be it. Die." - Andud
"Unseal. Zeus's Lightning Bolt. Transcendence!" - Devel
At the same moment, Andud commands his troops to charge at Devel, Devel activates two of his abilities. One of which we have seen multiple times before, but the other, is his trump card. Gripping onto his sword, he quickly slashes it forward, in a burst of blue light, as it unseals, revealing the lightning bolt underneath the sword. However, the burst of light didn't come from us his sword but also from Devel's body.
From his obsidian black hair, it changes as lightning zaps between each hair follicle, as the cobalt blue hair sticks up, defying gravity. His previous chest armor, torn apart, was replaced with a gigantic lightning bolt symbol along his back, parallel to his spine. Tiny sparks bounce off his body, charring the ground and around him as his eyes flash blue. Licking his lips, he disappears leaving behind a small flash of blue light.
Reappearing in front of Andud, with his lightning bolt touching Andud's bony neck slightly, Devel lets out a deep breath. Behind him, several blue flashes of lightning accompanied by eruptions of thunder as every specter that was Andud's army, vanishes in the bright light. Shocked by the situation, I could only leave my mouth agape as I watch Devel virtually teleport a short distance while also killing everything along his way.
"I guess you will be the one dying." - Devel
Slicing Andud's body into a thousand pieces, burning his robe in the process, Devel looks down on the gray ash, as if it was nothing more than an ant. However, it felt a bit too easy. Andud showcased so much of his power, but for him to be killed just like this, felt a little unsettling. Devel had the same thought, as he glances around constantly, teleporting to different parts of the room, in search of an answer.
"You won't find anything. I'm no longer there." - Andud
Andud's voice appears behind me, turning around I see a small human skull on the ground not too far from my leg. Appearing instantly from somewhere in this room, Devel grabs onto the skull, lightning zapping the sides, turning it from white to gray within an instant.
"Destroying this skull will do nothing for you. This is merely a puppet. I'm quite surprised though. You have tapped into the god's power quite deeply. That is an interesting research topic that I don't have much information about, as gods don't look too favorably on the undead. I guess it wasn't a waste to transfer my soul during the spell cast before. I did think you were connected to the god, but not to this extent. Interesting, very interesting." - Andud
"You ran away before the fight even began." - Devel
"Yes. I have no shame in admitting it. After all, look at the result. You killed the Phantom March troops within a second. What hopes could a lowly weak scholar like me do to you? Oh well, I have other means and one of them is the King himself. Since I couldn't do it, someone else will. You, humans, are quite the lucky bunch. The door to this room is now open, and it didn't take that long." - Andud
"I'll find you. Mark my words." - Devel
"I'll look forward to it. Become even stronger. Let me see the extent of your connection with the gods." - Andud
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