As the fight went on, the party got used to the attacks from the sky, taking some pressure off of Balm who did her best to keep everyone healthy.
But a devil naturally had more sinister tricks up her non-existent sleeves.
Paradynim closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, they were filled with a seductive pink hue.
"Don't look at her!"
Liam's warning came just in time. Everyone hastily turned their heads away.
Another whip slashed through the sky, aiming for Silent Acacia. The hunter had instinctively moved his gaze towards the floor. Now that the whip came from above, he was too late to react.
[-2681!]
"Ah!"
Silent Acacia let out a shout as the burning pain of his back being whipped surged through his body. Out of shock he almost raised his head but stopped himself at the last moment.
Paradynim moved her eyes over the players, speaking in an innocent voice which tugged on one's heartstrings:
"Am I so ugly to look at? Why don't you give me some attention?"
The mellow voice floated in the air like a mellifluous melody. Yet it was rudely interrupted by Fortune, who had finished the cast of her ultimate skill [Conduit of magic].
Two enormous arms shimmering with blue mana appeared and clapped their hands together, trapping Paradynim between them.
[-116!]
As the boss disappeared for a moment, everyone dared to raise their heads again. Watchful Eye was just in time to dodge the next whip coming for him.
"Damn, is there no way to stop that skill?", complained Cyclone.
"Not that I know. We can only dodge.", responded Liam.
The others were annoyed as well. They contemplated leaving the skills range, but Paradynim refused to follow them. Thus, they could only hold on.
As long as the skill's damage was spread evenly, Balm could keep the party alive with a single AOE spell. However, now she only had [Pillars of Life] left. Everything else was on cooldown.
Meanwhile, the boss still had more than five thousand HP. Liam contemplated suggesting his friends to leave the area if their HP reached a critical point. In this fight his holy marks were clearly the most effective. He should be able to win this fight alone.
However, he didn't say this. He didn't want to hurt the pride of his friends.
Suddenly Liam was surprised by his own thoughts. If this were a tournament in his old life Liam would have definitely made the suggestion. He wouldn't have cared about the feelings of his teammates. After all, he carried them towards victory.
But now he suddenly considered how those around him would feel. This kind of friendship was not something he experienced in his previous life.
At some point his past friendships always revolved around benefits.
Liam smiled faintly. This kind of feeling he experienced now didn't feel bad at all.
However, friendship alone couldn't overcome all enemies. Even though some shows might disagree.
Liam narrowed his eyes as the arms conjured by Fortune began to shake. In order to prevent any casualties this close to the finish line he was prepared to give it his all.
The veteran fell silent. All his senses were focused on the fight. The snapping of a whip reached his ears.
"Quickstep, retreat!"
"Huh?"
Quickstep was surprised but reacted, nevertheless. The whip which originally looked as if it would hit Bloody Edge suddenly changed directions and slashed at Quickstep. But the warrior was already out of danger.
"How did you predict this movement?!", asked Bloody Edge with eyes filled with shock.
"Listen to the sound and perceive the mana in the skill.", responded Liam calmly. His words attracted everyone's reaction:
"The mana can be felt?"
"Of course. It's just not intuitive for you. I guess if a starlight master were to enter the game, they would easily feel the movement of mana."
"How…"
Silver Blade just wanted to continue with another question when the situation changed. With a loud bang the magical arms shattered revealing a furious devil.
"M…"
Paradynim just wanted to spew some threats when Liam already appeared next to her. The devil was so shocked she immediately activated another skill.
Suddenly the barrier above everyone's heads stirred. An enormous palm made from black magic descended, aiming straight for the battlefield.
"Run!"
Liam shouted loudly but he didn't heed his own warning. His swords flashed fiercely. Two holy marks were stacked on top of Paradynim. Instantly another sword arrived surging with a strange force. It was Liam's skill [Brutal Strike].
The holy marks exploded instantly, drowning the devil in holy light.
[-706!]
"No need to run, I will use my ultimate!"
Everyone had already begun to retreat when Silver Blade announced suddenly. A gorgeous shield appeared behind her body, sending a comfortable energy which engulfed all the party members.
Throughout the fight Paradynim only attacked with magical attacks. Silver Blade stored all the damage she endured in her passive ability, reaching around fifteen thousand points.
Now that she activated her ultimate skill [Might of the Vanguard], the sturdy shield behind her back could protect the party for thrice that amount.
But even this might not be enough as the gigantic hand slapped from the sky.
Boom!
The world trembled as shockwaves spread in all directions. The gigantic hand flattened the battlefield. The beautiful trees raptured and the platform which used to carry the statue broke apart.
Liam and his friends raised their hands towards the sky, enduring the enormous pressure as they caught the devil's hand. This wasn't a contest of strength but one of HP. If the damage was enough, the players would falter no matter how much they struggled.
The enormous palm was accompanied by terrifying dark magic, which decimated the players' HP.
[-6755!]
Liam glanced at the terrifying number in shock as it exceeded his expectations. The others suffered from similarly excessive damage. The shield behind Silver Blade trembled crazily before breaking apart into a shower of sparks.
The excess damage was directly applied to the party, causing about 1500 points of damage per person.
A moment later the large hand slowly dissipated. Paradynim looked around, seemingly surprised that everyone survived.
"Whoa, that was close!", exclaimed Cyclone. Her legs were still shaking from the scene just now.
"True. Good job, Silver Blade!"
"Well done!"
"Nice reaction!"
Silver Blade smiled politely as everyone praised her. Meanwhile Balm took a look at her friend's HP bars. She realized that Bloody Edge, who had the lowest HP and defence of everyone, had only a bit more than 1000 HP left. She considered it for a moment before using her [Heal] on the thief.
[+13634!]
The potent skill easily revitalized Bloody Edge.
The thief gritted his teeth as he felt a bit embarrassed for receiving this favour. He vowed to prove his worth as soon as his skills were off cooldown. But suddenly something unexpected happened.
A shockwave filled with vital, vibrantly green magic spread from Bloody Edge. Whenever it reached one of the players if filled them with life-spending energy.
[+6817!]
"Hey, where did this come from?"
"So comfortable…"
The friends looked at their healer in surprise. A blooming smile appeared on Balm's face as she exclaimed happily:
"My robe's effect triggered!"
The healer was rightfully proud. Everyone knew that with this lucky coincidence the fight was massively in their favour. They could now face the boss with full confidence.
At this moment Liam had already attacked again. His [Holy Wave] had come off cooldown. His attacks fused into one movement. He retreated and unleashed a [Holy Sword Trinity]. Another explosion erupted triggering the next wave of holy marks.
[-709!]
"Damn, expert, do you want to leave us out of the fun?", joked Cyclone as she shot a swift [Lightning Strike].
[-56!]
[-86!]
The rest of the party woke up as well. They surged towards the boss, giving it their all. With less than 3000 HP left everyone could see that the devil was on her last leg.
Paradynim appeared frantic. The whips striking from the sky increased in frequency, but Liam continued to call them out. The devil struck at Silver Blade with her normal attacks, but the full health tank endured it easily.
Suddenly an arrow surrounded by the image of a white alligator shot through the sky. It fiercely bit at the devil's shoulder. Instantly everything came to standstill. The devil's HP finally emptied out.
"I won't… let you off!"
Paradynim's hoarse words sent a shiver down everyone's spines. They felt as if an unfathomable entity had targeted them.
The devil's clone gradually turned to stone again. Cracks permeated her body. Suddenly she shattered, letting the dust be blown away by the wind.
Cyclone stared at the scene with an open mouth. Her eyes turned towards Liam, who rolled his eyes.
"Don't worry. You will have plenty of loot in a while."
Cyclone let out a sigh of relief.
At this moment, the scene in the sky suddenly changed. Orange and black crisscrossed, clashing fiercely. But suddenly the ubiquitous black magic showed signs of going out of control. The black barrier flickered unstably.