Chapter 253 B4 - Chapter 11: Specter

Seth summoned his bow of light and began channeling Ravenous Arrow.

Aether surged through the spell's grooves as he caught Colossus's eye and nodded to signal his partner to lead the charge.

The giant scorpion surged over the crater's edge, and his legs tore through the ground. He thundered down the steep slope, which kicked up a cloud of dust behind him.

The Skeleton Drake ahead snapped its skull toward the scorpion.

Nightmare didn't waste time in throwing back his head to unleash the bone-chilling howl of Predator Hunt.

The soundwave ripped through the mist and plunged into the Undead beast's ears. Before the echo had even faded, the direwolf dissolved with Illusory Emptiness and circled wide to flank the monster while Seth, Sylvaren, her Luna Moth, and Lumi rushed forth.

The blue flames within the drake's eye sockets flashed. Teal aether then surged across its fossilized body and wrapped it to form a defensive mantle.

To Seth's right, Sylvaren's Luna Moth beat its translucent wings, then a wave of Undead aether burst outward and slammed into the fresh barrier around the enemy.

The teal cloak flickered, visibly weakening under the insect's attack.

Two lances of black fire erupted from the air above Sylvaren's staff and soared forward. The projectiles streaked through the air and struck the Skeleton Drake before Colossus had even reached it.

The explosion rocked the crater, and the giant reptile staggered backward several steps. Even so, the teal mantle around it absorbed the majority of the blast, leaving the bones beneath largely intact.

As expected, Seth thought, tightening his grip on his bow.

At last, Ravenous Arrow finished taking shape. Not missing a beat, he nocked the pale projectile and released.

The arrow tore through the mist and struck the Skeleton Drake the instant the beast regained its footing. The projectile ripped through the sputtering cloak, feeding on it as it punched deep into the creature's thick skeletal plating.

The hit halted the drake's momentum once again, though unlike with the fire spells, this time it held its ground and didn't step back.

Beside Seth, Sylvaren glanced his way. A smug smile curled across her pale violet lips. She didn't need to say a word, yet her expression said it all.

Ahead, Colossus slammed into the Skeleton Drake with a loud thud. Layers of both Quartz Armor and Desert Aegis shimmered around the scorpion just as the Skeleton Drake lunged. Through the passive effect of his Seed, every increase to Colossus' Toughness also enhanced his Agility, making him noticeably faster.

Yet it wasn't enough to dodge the foe's attack. Its massive jaws slammed shut against the newly casted rocks. Nightmare seized the occasion to burst from invisibility on the drake's left side.

As he pounced, Dreadful Shroud erupted around him. The wave of bloodlust failed to root the foe in place, but it still drained away part of its attributes. The direwolf's jaws clamped onto the drake's ribs.

Gloom Fang hissed as corrosive darkness spread across the bones, eating away at the remnants of the creature's defensive mantle of teal aether.

The Skeleton Drake roared and spun to retaliate, yet before it could, Colossus slammed both pincers together and unleashed Chitinous Taunt, forcing its attention back to the giant scorpion.

Seth drew another Ravenous Arrow, while Sylvaren chained a flurry of spells.

Three lances of black fire materialized around her staff before zooming toward the drake. At the same time, a dark circle of glowing runes spread beneath the beast's body.

The spell revealed its purpose a heartbeat later.

The moment the trio of blazing projectiles struck, the circle erupted. Dark flames surged upward from below, fusing with the projectiles in an even-more-destructive attack.

The last stubborn remnants of the drake's teal barrier vanished.

Colossus spotted his opportunity and didn't hesitate; his tails whipped forward and drove their stingers through the gaps between the creature's ribs.

Deathcoil Venom poured into the guardian's hollow frame, then spread through the currents of Undead aether sustaining the foe's body.

Seth used that chance to release his second shot.

Ravenous Arrow hissed across the battlefield and struck the Skeleton Drake squarely in the chest. The projectile fed hungrily on the surrounding aether for an instant before slamming into the dense bones in a shower of pale particles.

Seth grimaced. The creature had seven hundred attributes over him. Should have known the shot wouldn't bring it down that easily.

Just as Nightmare lunged again, now empowered by buffs from both Lumi and the Luna Moth, the Skeleton Drake slammed its forepaws down and let out a howl.

The earth trembled, and five of the beast's ribs tore free from its large ribcage. Yet instead of falling, the bones twisted in midair, expanding and reshaping into five smaller versions of the Skeleton Drake.

What the hell?

Seth cast Intermediate Identify on the nearest summon.

Just like Nightmare's spell, Seth thought. But the similarities ended there—where Nightmare's clones prioritized speed and offense, these skeletal replicas were the opposite. All defense.

"Take care of those!" Sylvaren shouted, not taking her eyes off the Skeleton Drake. "I'll handle the main one!"

Seth grimaced at the order.

Now wasn't the time to argue over who was in charge of the fight. To his surprise, Nightmare didn't object either, and instead activated Twin Mirage.

The two shadow duplicates pounced into existence beside him, then the three direwolves split up, each going after one of the drake's summons.

Seth dismissed his bow and charged toward the two remaining ones. Shadows coalesced along his forearms and turned into the twin blades of Dusk Scythes while at the same time Beastmaster Rage ignited within his Well. The spell fused with the energy surging from his core, and heat flooded every muscle in his body.

His next stride shattered the cracked earth beneath his boots as he lunged forth. The first skeletal drake snapped its jaws toward him, so Seth crossed his scythes and blocked the bite.

The second summon lunged at him from the side, forcing him to pivot—its maw snapped shut inches from him. Using the creature's momentum against it, Seth carved one of his blades across its exposed ribs, sending it crashing to the ground.

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Behind, teal aether gathered inside the maw of the first summon.

A breath attack.

Remembering Sylvaren's fighting technique, Seth forced himself to add detached calculation to his instinct. He predicted the exact moment the attack would be released, and the instant the creature opened its jaws, he slipped beneath the blast and lunged forward.

Both Dusk Scythes swept upward in a crossing slash. The blades cut through the summon from chest to spine.

The summon crumbled into glowing dust.

Without pausing, Seth spun toward the last remaining replica, which lashed out twice in rapid succession with its claws.

He deflected both strikes before answering with a relentless flurry of cuts. The summon barely had time to react, and the creature's Toughness meant little against the overwhelming penetration of Dusk Scythes and the Strength boost of Beastmaster Rage, which was amplified by Seth's Seed.

Moments later, the skeleton collapsed into another heap.

In the distance, Nightmare finished off his own summon. His two doppelgangers, however, hadn't been nearly as successful. The gap in attributes was simply too large, and neither clone had managed to bring down its opponent.

Seth sprinted toward the direwolf, while casting a glance toward the main battle.

The Skeleton Drake was overwhelming Colossus.

The giant scorpion's Quartz Armor had long since been destroyed, so he was now relying on Explosive Bastion to absorb the blows. Above him, Lumi and Sylvaren's Luna Moth worked without pause.

The former bathed Colossus in a constant stream of restorative light, while the latter cast one defensive enhancement after another.

Behind, Sylvaren unleashed an unending barrage: lances of pitch-black fire, spikes erupting from the cracked earth, and burning chains that wrapped around the drake before exploding into dark flames.

The assault inflicted visible damage… but it wasn't enough.

The High-Silver foe barely slowed and continued its own offensive.

Seth and Nightmare charged the two remaining summoned creatures together.

The direwolf melted into the shadows to reappear behind the one on the left. He slipped past its lumbering charge and buried his fangs into its thigh so Gloom Fang's smoke could eat through the bones.

At the same time, Seth engaged the remaining summon. He pivoted out of a headbutt, then brought both Dusk Scythes down in a single decisive strike that severed the creature's neck.

Its skull tumbled free as the body scattered into dust.

Nightmare didn't pause to savor the kill and instead rushed toward Colossus and the others.

'Let's show those two how strong we really are! ' he growled through Link.

Chains of Darkness' shadow wolf left his maw and pounced, turning into vines around the Skeleton Drake's limbs.

Yet the foe barely slowed.

Seth wasn't really surprised—Dreadful Shroud, Deathcoil Venom, the Luna Moth's debuffs, and Sylvaren's burning chains were already suppressing the foe. Overlapping any additional weakening effects onto the same target wouldn't accomplish much.

Seth activated Shadow Step and materialized directly behind the Skeleton Drake.

The Skeleton Drake had cast another defensive spell, so now a layer of black scales covered its entire skeletal frame.

Seth struck with all his strength.

Both Dusk Scythes carved through the scales before biting deep into the base of the creature's spine. Had it been a Low-Silver beast, the attack would have crippled it. But the beast wasn't Low-Silver.

On the opposite side, Nightmare's teeth tore through the blackened bones while Gloom Fang flooded the wounds with corrosive smoke that hissed against the Undead aether.

Behind Colossus, Sylvaren raised her staff high above her head.

An enormous amount of aether gathered around its tip. The surrounding darkness twisted and condensed as a massive silhouette began to take shape through the black flames.

The Skeleton Drake sensed the danger right away.

The blue flames burning within its eye sockets locked onto Sylvaren, and it lunged toward her, ignoring anyone else.

"Colossus!" Seth shouted, sprinting after the foe while slashing across its side to try and slow its advance.

'On it!'

The giant scorpion intercepted the charge.

He crashed into the drake with enough force to shake the crater before locking both his pincers around its limbs to pin it in place as best he could.

Above Sylvaren, the Luna Moth hovered in place.

A stream of shimmering aether flowed from the ethereal insect into the dark elf's back, feeding the powerful spell still taking shape.

Colossus, Nightmare, and Seth threw everything they had into holding the foe.

The Skeleton Drake answered with another furious roar, then a beam of concentrated Undead aether erupted from its jaws.

Colossus reacted right away, and Sandstorm Dome surged outward. The torrent of sand met the blast in a deafening grind, absorbing it until both attacks dispersed into the mist.

Seth burst through the settling dust.

He carved two deep slashes across the drake's foreleg and pulled back for another strike—then the shadowy blades of Dusk Scythes dissolved as the spell reached its duration limit.

"Move!" Sylvaren shouted.

Seth instantly disengaged and leapt backward.

As he landed, he spared a glance toward the dark elf and his breathing hitched.

A giant phoenix made entirely from black fire spread its wings above Sylvaren's raised staff. The construct radiated such overwhelming heat that Seth felt both his eyebrows and eyelashes singe.

With a curse, he threw himself even farther back.

The phoenix screamed, then it dove.

The living spell slammed into the Skeleton Drake before the foe could react. A deafening explosion ripped through the crater.

Black flames erupted in every direction, engulfing the reptile in a raging inferno. The impact hurled it backward and sent it crashing into the cluster of Hollow Shards. The dark stone anchoring the crystals together fractured, and cracks raced through the entire formation.

The black flames clung greedily to the Skeleton Drake.

Its bones glowed red before slowly beginning to melt beneath the relentless fire. The drake roared in agony—a strange sound for a skeletal beast—and thrashed wildly against the shattered rock.

Then it collapsed.

The blue flames within its eye sockets shimmered once before vanishing. Seth turned toward Sylvaren. The dark elf had dropped to one knee. Her chest rose and fell in ragged breaths.

Only by looking at her, he knew the spell had emptied her Well. Yet the result spoke for itself.

The Rank-105 beast had been barely injured before being struck by the phoenix. And that spell had nearly killed it on its own. Without her, Seth would have never been able to bring down the creature.

The dark elf's moth hovered closely by her side; a glowing thread of aether continued to flow from the insect toward her.

A Null Ripple still saturated the area, so it was impossible to use a Storing Ring and any spell scrolls.

Sylvaren panted. She wore the conflicted expression of someone who had been forced into something they hadn't wanted to do yet had partly enjoyed. "It was weaker than I—"

An unnatural coldness surged across the crater, causing the last words to die in her throat.

Seth's head snapped toward the Hollow Shards.

Something translucent drifted out from the crack running through the fractured ore between the green gems. It looked almost ghostlike.

Acting on reflex, Seth cast Intermediate Identify.

Seth's eyes widened. Null affinity. A creature with a Null affinity.

Then another detail caught his attention: a glowing +1S rested beside its name.

Seth frowned. What does it—

"Kill it!" Sylvaren cried out.

For the first time since he'd met her, genuine fear filled her voice.

Yet before Seth could charge, the translucent creature shot forward. It plunged into the smoldering remains of the Skeleton Drake.

The blackened skeleton shook, then a chaotic rattling echoed throughout the crater. Around them, the countless piles of shattered bones left behind by the earlier battles began to tremble.

"We have to run!" Sylvaren shouted, forcing herself back to her feet. Nightmare, Colossus, and Lumi immediately retreated to Seth's side.

All around them, the countless scattered bones began to move.

Fragments skittered across the ground before snapping together with sickening cracks. Large ribs fused into a broad chest, thick arm bones lengthened and locked into place, and countless jagged fragments reinforced the growing frame.

Within seconds, a towering gorilla of bones stood where the Skeleton Drake had fallen.

A new name had appeared at the top. And now Seth could see attributes.

Absurdly high attributes.

Deep inside his chest, Seth's core stirred violently; in response, Will of the Defiers erupted to life, burning through his veins with extreme vigor.

He glanced toward Sylvaren.

The dark elf's face was pale, and she was still breathing hard. She was clearly still out of aether.

"Run!" Seth shouted at her. Yet instead of turning and doing so himself, he stepped toward the towering undead.

"You'll die, you fool!" Sylvaren yelled back.

"Maybe." Seth surprised himself with how calm his voice was. His fists clenched on their own. "But maybe I'll survive."

Nightmare padded to Seth's right, Colossus lowered himself on the left, and Lumi hovered behind them. Ahead, the Undead Primate let out a roar.

The crushing aura that accompanied it swept across the area, almost shaking the earth beneath their feet.

Nightmare dug his claws into the ground. 'Time to thrive?'

Seth never took his eyes off the terrifying creature. A grin spread across his face. They might all die in the next minute, yet this was the most alive he'd felt all month.

"Time to thrive."