Chapter 77 - Godslayer

  The transformed High Priest rose into the air, its wings carrying it effortlessly toward the ceiling. From above, it surveyed us like a predator examining prey.

  Then a new element appeared in my interface: a progress bar, hovering at the top of my field of view.

  "Every moment brings me closer," Az'Bad?r announced, its voice echoing from its three mouths simultaneously. "Every second you fail to stop me, I ascend further. Soon, the transformation will be complete. Soon, I will be what I was always meant to become."

  The bar ticked upward slowly.

  "It's on a timer," I realized. "We have to kill it before that bar fills!"

  "How are we supposed to hit it up there?" Athos demanded, staring at the flying abomination.

  "You can't," I said with a grim smile. "But I can."

  I raised the Emberwood Longbow and fired.

  -243!

  The arrow struck one of Az'Bad?r's wings, the damage minimal but present. The boss was still within my range.

  "Keep the add off me," I ordered. "I'll handle the boss until it comes down."

  The Congregation of the Damned was still active, its mass of souls lunging toward us with renewed aggression. Lothras and Athos moved to intercept it, their weapons carving through its spiritual flesh while Kara provided healing support.

  I focused entirely on Az'Bad?r.

  Arrow after arrow streaked toward the ceiling, each one finding its mark on the hovering monstrosity. The damage was lower than before; the boss's mitigation was even higher in this phase.

  Regardless, I was the only one who could reach it.

  "Burning Arrow!"

  -389!

  -32!

  -32!

  The fire spread across one of the geometric wings, and for a moment, the boss's flight pattern stuttered. It recovered quickly, but I'd learned something important.

  The wings were vulnerable.

  "Mark of the Eagle!"

  The golden marker appeared above Az'Bad?r, and I shifted my focus to the wings specifically. My basic attacks dealt increased damage to marked targets now. If I could cripple its flight, the melee fighters could engage.

  The arrows whistled, still under the effect of Kara’s elemental change song.

  -278!

  -283!

  -276!

  The boss noticed my strategy. Those hundreds of eyes turned toward me, blinking in irritated unison.

  "Persistent creature. Let me show you what happens to those who reach too high."

  It raised one clawed hand, and a beam of corrupted light lanced down from above.

  I Quick Stepped left, the attack cratering the stone where I'd been standing. Another beam followed, then another. Az'Bad?r was strafing me from the air, forcing me to dodge constantly.

  I could fire slower while dodging, and the progress bar was creeping up as well.

  "Kara! I need some CC!!"

  "On it! Abstract World Symphony!"

  The disorienting melody filled the chamber, and Az'Bad?r's assault faltered as the debuff took hold. Four seconds of confusion, and I used every one of them.

  "Arrow of Ash & Flames!"

  The fully-charged shot slammed into the boss's left wing, fire and cinder exploding across the impossible geometry.

  -987!

  “Burning Arrow!”

  -426!

  -41!

  -41!

  “Piercing Shot!”

  -455!

  I weaved basic attacks in between skills, seamlessly shooting as fast as I could.

  The wings flickered, their patterns destabilizing. Az'Bad?r shrieked and began to descend.

  "It's coming down! Get ready!"

  The High Priest crashed to the floor with earth-shaking impact, dragging one wing behind its body. The other still functioned, beating erratically as the creature tried to regain altitude.

  "Now!" Lothras abandoned the Congregation and charged the boss, his sword blazing with holy light.

  Athos was right behind him, Rising Tide already at maximum stacks from fighting the add. His blade carved into the damaged wing with devastating effect.

  -334!

  -367!

  -389!

  "ENOUGH!"

  Az'Bad?r swept one elongated arm in a wide arc, the force of the blow sending both warriors tumbling. But we'd done significant damage: the left wing was barely holding together, and the boss's health had dropped to forty percent.

  The High Priest's three mouths opened wide, and that discordant choir returned at deafening volume.

  “Communion of Sacrifice.”

  A targeting reticle appeared around Lothras, crimson energy beginning to gather.

  "The faithful require sustenance," Az'Bad?r intoned. "Your soul will fuel my ascension."

  A notification flashed below the party interface:

  Sacrifice targeting initiated. Target: Lothras. Health threshold: 40%. Current health: 38%. Sacrifice will be completed in 5 seconds.

  "Lothras, heal yourself! Now!"

  The paladin was already moving, but the crimson energy was tracking him, preventing him from escaping its radius. He raised his hand to cast, but dark chains erupted from the ground, binding his arms.

  He was stunned and silenced.

  Four seconds.

  "Kara!"

  "Scherzo of Renewal!"

  The burst heal washed over Lothras, his health bar jumping upward, above the threshold.

  The crimson energy dissipated, the sacrifice cancelled.

  "Clever," Az'Bad?r admitted. "But you cannot protect everyone forever."

  It launched back into the air, the damaged wing somehow still functioning. The ascension bar continued to climb.

  I resumed my aerial assault, but the boss had learned. It moved erratically now, making itself a harder target, and it kept up a constant barrage of corrupted light beams that forced me to split my attention between offense and evasion.

  "We need to ground it again!" Athos shouted. "Orion, can you hit the other wing?"

  "Yes!"

  But Az'Bad?r was protecting its remaining functional wing, keeping it angled away from my line of fire. Every shot I took at it had found its body instead.

  The Congregation kept our frontline occupied, and its health bar was still massive. Lothras and Athos were forced to engage it again, leaving me alone against the airborne boss.

  "You're running out of time, children," Az'Bad?r taunted. "Absolute Darkness."

  The skill suffocated all the torches in the room, painting everything around us pitch-black.

  "Lune!"

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  The fox appeared at my side.

  "Use Foxfire and send it high up! Then stay with Kara."

  She yipped in acknowledgment, her spiritual fire ascending the room, and bounded toward the Bard. I turned my full attention back to the boss.

  It wanted to protect its wing? Fine. I'd make it impossible.

  “Leap Attack!” I jumped straight up, already channeling my next skill. I released when I reached the highest altitude.

  "Fan of Arrows!"

  The eight-arrow spread forced Az'Bad?r to dodge, its flight path becoming predictable for just a moment.

  "Piercing Shot!"

  The armor-penetrating arrow punched through the joint where the wing met its body.

  -423!

  The boss screamed, its flight destabilizing. It tried to recover, but I was already firing again.

  -236!

  -245!

  -212!

  “Burning Arrow!”

  -398!

  -31!

  -31!

  The right wing caught fire, and the geometric patterns began to collapse, just as the left had.

  Az'Bad?r plummeted, crashing to the floor a second time. Both wings were crippled now, dragging behind it like broken promises.

  "It's grounded!" I shouted. "All in! Everything we have!"

  We converged on the boss from all directions. Lothras from the front, shield raised to absorb any counterattack. Athos from the left, Blade Rush carrying him through the creature's guard, while Kara was maintaining her songs from a safe distance, with Lune circling around her legs.

  I was firing arrow after arrow into the mass of eyes and mouths and wrong-angled limbs.

  Thirty-five percent health.

  "You think grounding me changes anything?" Az'Bad?r snarled. "I am beyond physical form. Beyond mortal limitation. I am becoming GOD!"

  “Communion of Sacrifice.”

  The targeting reticle appeared again—this time around Athos.

  Target: Athos. Health threshold: 40%. Current health: 32%. Sacrifice will be completed in 5 seconds.

  "Athos, back off! Get healed!"

  But the dark chains were already rising, and Athos was mid-Blade Spin, unable to cancel the animation. The chains caught him, binding him in place.

  "I can't move!"

  Four seconds.

  "Kara!"

  "Everything’s on cooldown!"

  Three seconds.

  The Congregation slammed into Lothras, preventing him from reaching Athos with a direct heal.

  “Drink a potion!” Kara shouted, but Athos was silenced, which prevented the use of consumables as well.

  One second.

  The crimson energy reached critical mass.

  "Oath of Healing!"

  Lothras broke out of combat with the Congregation just in time. His level 20 skill triggered from across the room, the golden light expanding outward to encompass the entire party. Athos's health jumped to 41% just as the skill moved to take his life.

  The crimson energy fizzled, finding no valid target.

  "IMPOSSIBLE!"

  "Keep pushing!" I fired Arrow of Ash & Flames directly into Az'Bad?r's chest.

  -712!

  The boss was getting desperate now. Its attacks became wild and unpredictable.

  Its three mouths were spewing corrupted light in random directions, the long, clawed hands were swiping at anything that came close.

  The choir's singing had become cacophonous, closing in on the apex.

  "We're winning!" Kara shouted. "Don't let up!"

  She used her Double Cast songs to bring us all back to manageable health.

  Az'Bad?r planted its feet and raised both arms. Dark and light energy began spiraling together above its palms, merging into malicious power.

  “Rapture of the Ascending.”

  "Big attack incoming! Find cover!"

  There was no cover. The chamber was open, the alcoves were too far away. We had nowhere to hide.

  "Stack on me!" Lothras raised his shield, holy energy forming a barrier around him. "Everyone behind the shield!"

  We clustered together, Kara and I crouching behind Lothras while Athos pressed against his flank. Lune darted in as well, her Foxfire adding its small healing effect to our group.

  “Light Curtain!”

  The wall of solid light pressed outward, increasing our resistances, but I felt like it was not going to be enough.

  Az'Bad?r unleashed the attack.

  Light and darkness washed over us in a wave of annihilating power. Lothras's barrier held for one second, then shattered, the overflow damage slamming into all of us.

  -378!

  -334!

  -356!

  -392!

  All four of us dropped into critical health.

  One more hit would kill any of us.

  “Communion of Sacrifice.”

  Two targeting reticles appeared. One on me, and one on Lothras.

  Target: Lothras. Health threshold: 40%. Current health: 15%.

  Target: Orion. Health threshold: 40%. Current health: 7%.

  "YOU TWO," Az'Bad?r roared triumphantly. "WILL FUEL MY ASCENSION!"

  Five seconds.

  Dark chains erupted around both of us, binding us in place. I struggled against them, but they were absolute; no amount of strength could break them.

  Four seconds.

  I watched the crimson energy gathering. Watched my health bar sitting at seven percent, far below the threshold.

  Kara started double-casting Healing Notes and Soothing Melody right after she used Scherzo of Renewal on Lothras.

  He was the party’s tank, and without him, the add and the boss together would wipe us with absolute certainty.

  Three seconds.

  I reached 32% when Lothras got out of the binds. “Oath of Vitality!”

  I was getting healed by two of my party members now, but the process was painstakingly slow.

  Two seconds.

  36%

  Lune ran up to me, pressed against my legs, her Foxfire burning brighter than I'd ever seen. The warmth spread through me, and I saw my health bar tick upward.

  One second.

  The sacrifice completed as Kara’s songs ran out, and Lothras’s Oath had ended.

  But Lune’s Foxfire pushed me up to exactly 41%.

  The crimson energy found no valid target around me.

  I looked at the others, wanting to say thank you, but the boss roared.

  "NO!" Az'Bad?r screamed. "THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! YOU SHOULD BE DEAD!"

  I looked down at Lune. The spirit fox had collapsed at my feet, her form flickering and dim, barely visible. She'd given almost everything she had to save me.

  "Thank you," I whispered before desummoning my companion.

  Then I raised my bow.

  “You are a lot of things," I said to Az'Bad?r, my voice cold. "But you’re no god."

  The boss was at fifteen percent health. We were all alive, and our abilities were coming off cooldown. And we had everything we needed to finish this.

  "Tune of Death!" Kara's melody started chipping away at the High Priest’s health.

  "Dread Cry!" Athos's debuff slowed its attack speed.

  "Radiant Edge!" Lothras's holy damage carved into its corrupted flesh.

  I drew the Emberwood Longbow to full charge, aimed at the mass of eyes in the creature's chest, and spoke five words.

  "Arrow of Ash & Flames."

  The shot was perfect. It struck the center of the eye-cluster, fire and cinder exploding outward, burning through the twisted flesh.

  -1,247!

  Ten percent health.

  "Again! Don't stop!"

  We unleashed everything. Every skill, every cooldown, every ounce of damage we could find.

  The High Priest tried to fight back, but we weren’t giving it any room to breathe.

  It was down to 8% health.

  We attacked like there was no tomorrow.

  I nocked an arrow. Drew the string. Felt the Emberwood Longbow thrum with power one final time.

  My strongest skill, Arrow of Ash & Flames was on cooldown. But that wasn’t the only heavy hitter I had.

  I activated Shadow Travel, appearing in melee range, barely dodging its claws.

  I aimed for the largest eye in the center of its chest and unleashed a volley. "Fan of Arrows."

  The arrows flew.

  The arrow struck.

  -78!

  -78!

  -76!

  …

  At the same time, Athos landed with Comet, Kara used Chordbreaker, and Lothras’s Radiant Edge slammed into the abomination.

  Az'Bad?r's health hit zero.

  The creature froze, those three mouths opening in a silent scream. The choir cut off mid-note, the sudden silence almost painful after the constant noise.

  "No... I was so close... so close to..."

  The hundreds of eyes across its body began to close, one by one. The wings crumbled into motes of light and shadow. The elongated limbs collapsed inward, the creature shrinking, diminishing, becoming less with each moment, like a spider after death.

  "This isn't... the end... I will... return... I will..."

  Then High Priest Az'Bad?r fell.

  Its body hit the floor and shattered like glass, fragments of corrupted flesh dissolving into shadows. The bone-filled alcoves went silent. The torches relit themselves, one by one.

  And then, from somewhere far above, sunlight broke through.

  A crack had formed in the domed ceiling, and through it, golden light streamed down into the chamber.

  The first natural illumination this place had seen in two hundred years.

  I lowered my bow and let out a breath.

  "We did it," Kara said, disbelief in her voice. "We actually did it."

  "Oh," Athos replied nonchalantly, but his shaking hands told a different story. "I completely blanked on Blade Throw. Could have helped."

  I managed a weak smile. "Next time."

  Lothras simply nodded, too exhausted for words.

  I stood and looked at my party. We were battered, exhausted, nearly out of resources, but we finished what we came for.

  And in the center of the chamber, where Az'Bad?r had fallen, a pile of loot awaited us.

  "So," I said, managing a tired smile. "Shall we see what a would-be god drops?"