[F10 - PP|PT] Descent into Echoes ≪SotW: LM≫

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

The teleport's glare dissolved into absolute silence. Floor Ten swallowed them whole - a subterranean cathedral where stalactites hung like petrified tears and bioluminescent fungi painted the darkness in shifting cobalt. Ariel's first breath tasted of wet limestone and forgotten graves. Above, cavern ceilings vanished into gloom; below, crystalline paths glittered like frozen starlight underfoot. Her shadow stretched monstrously across a wall of pulsating geodes, warping into shapes that mocked her stance.

Kagenomura's realm, acording to floor info. The name hung unspoken in the air, heavier than the darkness. Her weapon lay dormant at her hip, its usual predatory hum replaced by watchful stillness. This place remembered the shadow blade.

Millicent adjusted her glasses, HUD projections flickering across the lenses. "Ambient light: 0.3 lux. Toxicity: Moderate. Spirit signatures... layered like sediment." As she spoke, a phantom materialized - an elven child chasing luminescent moths. The moths dissolved as her tiny hands closed around empty air, and the child's glow dimmed to nothingness.

Darius knelt where the path met a fungal forest, brushing fingers over a mushroom cap. It brightened beneath his touch. "They're still here because they loved this place," he murmured, watching the light pulse. "Even in death, they remember the paradise."

Dracul kicked a glowing pebble into the abyss. "Broken code clinging to deprecated subroutines. This floor is a glorified recycle bin." Yet his eyes tracked a Treant spirit emerging from giant toadstools - twenty feet of spectral bark weeping liquid light.

"Flesh-bearers," the spirit groaned, roots phasing through stone. "The shadow blade's hunger lingers in these tunnels. Kagenomura's children hunt where light fails." Its glow flared crimson as it pointed a branch toward a distant roar of water. "The Stygian drinks more than water now. It drinks regrets."

Millicent stepped forward, obsidian gloves absorbing the spirit's light. "What children?"
"The Hungry Dark!" The Treant dissolved into mist, leaving only the smell of petrichor and warning.

As they descended toward the river's roar, Darius lingered. "That spirit wasn't mad. It was terrified."
Dracul scoffed but touched his sword hilt. "Fear is just poorly optimized threat assessment."

Ariel watched a droplet fall from a stalactite. It took three full seconds to hit the ground. Somewhere in the silence between drips, she heard it - the faintest whisper of steel being drawn in the dark. Kagenomura's echo. The Stygian awaited.

---

Ariel | HP: 851/851 | EN: 109/109 | DMG: 26 | MIT:0 | ACC:6 | AA  | PHASE | EVA:2 | BH:9 | HB: 37 | REC: 6 | RISK: 6 | FLN: 12 | LD:3 | TXC-V: 24 | PROSP: 3 [Assisting]

Spoiler

Name: Ariel True Tier: 10 Level: 23 Paragon Level: 77 HP: 851/851 EN: 109/109 Stats: Damage: 26 Mitigation: -45 Accuracy: 6 Evasion: 2 Battle Healing: 9 Loot Die: 3 Stealth Rating: 5 AA PHASEHB: 37 REC: 6 RISK: 6 FLN: 12 TXC-V: 24 Equipped Gear: Weapon/Armor/Trinket: - ≪Nihilim’s Wrath#187490≫ T4: AA / Phase / Fallen / Fallen Armor/Trinket: - ≪Leonidas' Strength#151568≫ T4: HB / HB / RSKY / RSKY Shield/Armor/Trinket: - ≪Kurokō no Tamashii (黒鋼の魂)#190961≫ T4: Acc. / Acc. / Rec. / Rec. Combat Mastery: - Combat Mastery: Damage R3 Combat Shift: - ST Shift Familiar Skill: - Custom Skill: - Kaiso no Waza: Meikyo Shisui Skills: - Battle Healing R1 - Charge - Cloth Armor R5 - Energist - Katana R5 Extra Skills: - Hiding R5 - Concentration - Survival - Forgotten King's Authority Inactive Extra Skills: Addons: - Ferocity - Precision - Stamina Mods: - Athletics - Surprise Attack: Assassin - Untraceable - Vanish Inactive Mods: Battle Ready Inventory: - "≪Chocolate Truffles# [Dessert]≫ VITALITY II (+12 EN) IDs# 144486 / 144486-1 / 144486-2 / 144486-3 / 144770 " x5 - "≪Crystal of the Blood Dragon Horde[Crystal]: Mass HP recovery 10% IDs# 223185-1 / 223185-2 / 223183 / 223183-1 / 223181" x5 - "≪Flash of Rejuvenation# [Crystal]≫ Mass HP recovery 10% IDs# 144486 / 144486-1 / 144486-2 / 144486-3 / 144770 " x5 - "≪popcorn. [Snack]≫ VITALITY II (+16 EN) IDs# 144486 / 144486-1 / 144486-2 / 144486-3 / 144770 " x5 - ≪Glowstone≫ x3 - ≪Teleport [Crystal]≫ x2 Housing Buffs: - Basic Kitchen: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30. - Storage Closet: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot - Living Room: Increases out of combatHP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. - Attic (Storage): +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests - Attic (Bedroom): +1 Expertise to declared utility skill. Cannot boost a skill without ranks, or increase a skill past its maximum rank. Cannot boost a skill the user has not learned yet. Ranks obtained using this buff will make the mods of that rank available for purchase. Mods obtained this way are unusable if this buff is removed until the skill is returned to the appropriate rank by way of SP purchase. - Basement: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll - Guest Room: Players can have one «Amenity» in a «Guest Room» and the «Amenity» cannot be recovered. Players are allowed to change which «Amenity» is in the «Guest Room». Multiple instances of the same «Amenity» do not stack. This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members. - Master Bedroom: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat - Master Bathroom: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down) - Extended Workshop: +2 Crafting EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day - Ornate Fishing Pond: +2 Fishing EXP per Attempt and additional +1 LD & CD to fishing attempts. - Dining Hall: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed. Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread. - Mega Slime Farm: +10% EXP to a thread. Limit one use per month. Must be used on a player's first post in a thread. Cooldown begins counting down when used in a post. Guild Hall Buffs: - Guild Rank 5: +5% Final Experience Gain, +5% Final Col Gain - Treasury: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests. Scents of the Wild Totem: Wedding Ring: Crafting Profession: - Tailoring[3696exp] R9 Gathering Profession: - Fishing[181exp] R3

Food Buffs:

1. Filled* ≪ skewer roll. [Meal]≫  +3 DMG / -45 Mit 
2. ≪Liquor of Light#153627 [Drink]≫  +3 DMG
3. ≪Spicy Rice Cakes#152043-1 [Snack]≫  +2 ACC
4. ≪Ramen Bowl with Egg#151906-2 [Snack]≫  +2 EVA
5. ≪Viperion#151639 [Salve]≫  +24/3 TXV

• ≪gelato. [Dessert]≫ +3 LD
• «Field Ration» +12%HP
• ≪mousse. [Snack]≫ +3 PROSP       

PT Skills: (235 SP Available / 175 Used / 60 PT Skills)

• 3x ► Biting (+2 Base DMG)

 

Edited yesterday at 04:10 AM by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Dracul 0]

The cavern narrowed into a razor-edged labyrinth. Crystalline shards jutted like broken teeth, swallowing light only to spit it back in fractured rainbows. Our footsteps crunched unnaturally loud in the suffocating silence. Millicent flinched as her shadow stretched forty feet up a crystal wall, morphing into a hunched predator. This floor delights in psychological torture.

We reached a precipice. Below, the Stygian churned - a river of liquid darkness fringed with dissolving skeletons. Its vapours coiled into shapes that teased the mind:
Darius froze, staring at the mist where Claudia materialized - not as the fierce katana wielder from the estate, but as the twelve-year-old who'd bandaged his scraped knee after their first spar. She held out a glowing mushroom like a peace offering.

Millicent saw a library with endless scrolls floating just beyond reach.

I saw... home. Our Romanian gardens untouched by time, mother's roses in eternal bloom. The vision tightened my throat.

"Chemical hallucinations," I snapped, tearing my gaze away. "Toxins interacting with visual processors."

Ariel stood statue-still. "The river mirrors the chains binding souls here." Her own shadow stretched toward the fumes, forming a dragon's silhouette that made Nihilim's Wrath stir.
We picked our way down treacherous switchbacks. Near the riverbank, a spectral fisherman materialized, his glow pulsing as he cast a line into the lethal current. Millicent's HUD identified him: «Old Man Hemlock«. Quest: The Silver Carp.

"He fished here sixty years," she whispered. "Died catching a legendary carp for his daughter's wedding feast. Still tries every night."

Darius approached. "Can we help you find peace?"
The spirit didn't look up. "The fish... the fish..." His glow dimmed to near-darkness. "Lord Kagenomura ate it the night he burned Yomi. Said its sweetness reminded him of..." The line went taut. The spirit yanked - and pulled up a skeletal hand. "...of life," he finished hollowly before vanishing.

Darius clenched his fists. "Claudia would've destroyed that monster."
I stared at the ripples. "Sentiment won't cleanse this river."

As we turned toward the bone arch of Yomi's Rest, four shadows detached from the crystals - «Stygian Warriors», their spears dripping Stygian sludge. Kro's green corruption burned where eyes should be. Finally, something to cut.

---

Dracul | HP: 505/505 | EN: 64/64 | DMG: 1 | MIT:172 | ACC:1 | TAUNT | THORNS:18 | BH:25 | REC: 4 | HLY: 6 | PARA [Assisted]

Spoiler

Name: Dracul True Tier: 3 Level: 23 Paragon Level: 0 HP: 505/505 EN: 64/64 Stats: Damage: 1 Mitigation: 109 Accuracy: 1 Battle Healing: 25 Stealth Rating: -5 TAUNT REC: 4 HLY: 6 PARA Equipped Gear: Weapon/Armor/Trinket: - ≪Guardian's Oath#134013≫ T3: Holy | Paralyze | ACC Armor/Trinket: - ≪Azure Chevalier Armor#58994≫ T1: Mitigation | Thorns | Thorns Shield/Armor/Trinket: - ≪Memory Fragment#134713-2≫ T2: Recovery | Recovery | Taunt Combat Mastery: - Combat Mastery: Mitigation R3 Combat Shift: - Familiar Skill: - Custom Skill: - Skills: - Battle Healing R5 - Heavy Armor R5 - Howl Extra Skills: - Parry Inactive Extra Skills: Addons: - Focused Howl - Iron Skin Mods: - Justified Riposte - Vengeful Riposte Inactive Mods: Battle Ready Inventory: - "≪Chocolate Truffles# [Dessert]≫ VITALITY II (+12 EN) IDs# 144486 / 144486-1 / 144486-2 / 144486-3 / 144770 " x5 - "≪Crystal of the Blood Dragon Horde[Crystal]: Mass HP recovery 10% IDs# 223185-1 / 223185-2 / 223183 / 223183-1 / 223181" x5 - "≪Flash of Rejuvenation# [Crystal]≫ Mass HP recovery 10% IDs# 144486 / 144486-1 / 144486-2 / 144486-3 / 144770 " x5 - "≪popcorn. [Snack]≫ VITALITY II (+16 EN) IDs# 144486 / 144486-1 / 144486-2 / 144486-3 / 144770 " x5 - ≪Glowstone≫ x - ≪Teleport [Crystal]≫ x Housing Buffs: Guild Hall Buffs: - Treasury: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests. Scents of the Wild Totem: Wedding Ring: Crafting Profession: - Alchemist[857exp] R7 Gathering Profession: - Forager[exp] R1

PT Skills: (185 SP Available / 115 Used / 70 PT Skills)

• 7x ► Resolute (+3*(3)Tier Mitigation)

 

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

The bone archway loomed like the ribcage of a fallen god, its curves etched with intertwined Treant root-glyphs and Elven death-runes that pulsed with sickly light. «Yomi's Rest» bled crimson letters across its apex, casting jagged shadows that twitched like dying insects. Before it, the four Stygian Warriors moved in grim procession, herding flickering soul-shards toward the arch with necrotic spears. Each weapon traced sigils in the air that made the river's toxic mist recoil – not protection, but cruel direction.

Millicent's HUD flared. "Low-level ads. High shadow resistance. Holy vulnerability confirmed." Her fingers tightened around obsidian dagger hilts. "Corruption signature: Kro's Blight fused with Kagenomura's shadow-energy. They're conduits, not guards."

Darius flowed into Keysi's "Dual Gates" stance; muscles coiling like springs. "They're processing souls. Not guarding." he observed, eyes tracking the warriors' mechanical motions."They're processing souls. Like slaughterhouse workers herding cattle to the kill floor."
"Then we'll shut down the operation." Dracul's voice cut through the gloom as he drew ≪Guardian's Oath≫. The massive silver blade erupted in celestial radiance, rose petal etchings blazing blue as the small rose atop its guard pulsed like a heartbeat. Ariel’s lips curved faintly. She remembered presenting Queen Dalia’s reward after Larissa’s defense – Dracul’s offended sputter ("A commoner's charity?") when he couldn’t yet wield the holy greatsword. Now its divine light made Nihilim’s Wrath hiss softly at her hip – shadow recoiling from sacred steel.

The lead warrior turned as the group approached. Not bone - petrified darkness sculpted into armor. Its voice echoed from the arch itself:
"The Leech Lord purifies what the shadow's stain. Your living hungers taint the current. Turn. Back."

Darius paled. "Purifies? Is it... cleansing the corruption?"
Millicent's daggers materialized. "By devouring souls? That's not purification - it's monstrous recycling!"
Dracul leveled ≪Guardian's Oath≫, its radiance intensifying. "Debating a trash compactor’s morality is pointless. Delete and move on."

Ariel’s fingers brushed Nihilim’s Wrath. Despite its irritation, the blade remained cold. Yet the warriors’ shadows bent toward it like iron filings – Kagenomura’s legacy recognizing its kin in the darkness.

Beyond the arch, the Stygian widened into Yomi’s corpse – a necropolis of shattered spirit-lanterns. At its heart festered the Leech Lich: a cyst of living shadow anchored to an island, tendrils sipping soul-light from the river. Its whispers slithered into their minds: Hunger... Purpose... Absolution...

The warriors leveled their spears. Necrotic energy crackled like breaking bones.
"Clear the threshold," Ariel commanded, silver eyes reflecting the lich’s pulsating form. "But do not cross. The river's master feeds on trespassers' yearnings."

As shadowflame ignited her blade, Ariel coalesced into the archway’s bleeding runes – becoming one with the darkness. Dracul’s holy beacon would draw their fury. Her strike would come when shadows deepened.

---

Post Action: ID# 247547  LD: 4 +6 | Successful Stealth

[0]Dracul | HP: 505/505 | EN: 64/64 | DMG: 1 | MIT:172 | ACC:1 | TAUNT | THORNS:18 | BH:25 | REC: 4 | HLY: 6 | PARA [Assisted]
[0]Ariel | HP: 851/851 | EN: 109/109 | DMG: 26 | MIT:0 | ACC:6 | AA  | PHASE | EVA:2 | BH:9 | HB: 37 | REC: 6 | RISK: 6 | FLN: 12 | LD:3 | TXC-V: 24 | PROSP: 3 [Assisting]

1. «Stygian Warrior» | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1
2. «Stygian Warrior» | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1
3. «Stygian Warrior» | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1
4. «Stygian Warrior» | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1

Edited yesterday at 05:01 AM by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Dracul 0]

The Stygian Warriors surged toward me like a tide of shattered nightmares, necrotic spears humming with death-energy. I planted my feet deep into the bone-dust, bracing as I had against Kumatetsu's charge. Let them come. ≪Guardian's Oath≫ shows its holy radiance beside my shield, blue rose etchings blazing like captured starlight against the cavern's gloom. The warriors' corrupted eye sockets fixated on me, drawn to the light like moths to a fatal flame. I tightened my grip until the leather creaked, muscles coiling for impact—

—And then the shadows behind them stirred.

Ariel coalesced from the archway's bleeding runes like vengeance given form. She didn't emerge; she unfolded from darkness itself. Nihilim's Wrath tore free in a single motion, shadowflame exploding along its length until the blade became a whip of devouring void. Time seemed to fracture as she swept through all four warriors in one fluid, horizontal arc—a dancer reaping poisoned wheat. Dark flames consumed necrotic armor, Kro's blight, and Kagenomura's tainted shadows alike.

SHH-KRAK!

The sound wasn't steel on bone—it was reality tearing at its seams. The warriors didn't scream; they unravelled into spectral ash that hissed and spat where it touched my blade's holy light. Four health bars shattered before my shield could even shudder against imagined force.

Ash rained down around me like gray snow, coating my new weapon in bitter residue. Ariel landed soundlessly in a crouch, shadowflame retracting into her saya with a serpent's satisfied sigh. When she rose, she stepped beside me, bone-dust crunching under her feet. That infuriating, imperceptible smirk touched her lips—the same expression she wore in Larissa's throne room when Queen Dalia presented the blade I'd been too low level to wield until now.

"Efficient," she remarked, silver eyes fixed on the ashes dissolving in the Stygian's toxic current.

I lowered my untouched shield, knuckles white around my sword's hilt. She stole my defense. Again. The holy light felt suddenly garish, illuminating my unblemished armor while her shadow-blade had done the real work. Across the river, a shadowy form pulsed—a dark heart beating in time with my frustration.

---

Post Action: N/A

[0]Dracul | HP: 505/505 | EN: 64/64 | DMG: 1 | MIT:172 | ACC:1 | TAUNT | THORNS:18 | BH:25 | REC: 4 | HLY: 6 | PARA [Assisted]
[0]Ariel | HP: 851/851 | EN: 109/109 | DMG: 32 | MIT:0 | ACC:6 | AA  | PHASE | EVA:2 | BH:9 | HB: 37 | REC: 6 | RISK: 6 | FLN: 12 | LD:3 | TXC-V: 24 | PROSP: 3 [Assisting]

1. «Stygian Warrior» | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1
2. «Stygian Warrior» | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1
3. «Stygian Warrior» | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1
4. «Stygian Warrior» | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1

Edited yesterday at 05:54 AM by Dracul

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Ash drifted around Ariel like corrupted snow as «Nihilim’s Wrath» slid home with a resonant click. The Stygian Warriors were gone - not merely defeated, but unmade; their essence returned to the void that birthed them. Shadowflame still tingled along Ariel's fingertips, the blade humming with dark contentment at consuming tainted echoes.

Shadowflame tingled along her fingertips, the blade humming with dark contentment as it digested the tainted echoes. She watched Dracul lower his gleaming shield, his weapon still blazing in his white-knuckled grip. The holy radiance illuminated his expression perfectly: aristocratic outrage warring with grudging relief. How quickly he forgets—this blade was once an impossible weight in his hands. She allowed herself a faint smirk. The poetry was undeniable—his light drew their eyes, her shadow severed their threads.

She stepped beside him, bone-dust crunching underfoot. "Efficient," She remarked, watching the last ashes dissolve into the Stygian's toxic current. 

Beyond the arch, something convulsed on the island. Shadowy tendrils lashed the air, disrupting the soul-light it siphoned from the river. The cavern trembled as psychic fury washed over them—HUNGER DENIED. PURPOSE THREATENED. Millicent materialized from crystal shadows, daggers vanishing into obsidian gloves. "Soul-energy signatures destabilizing. Whatever's there isn't just furious—it's starving."

Darius approached the threshold, fists crackling with restrained Keysi energy. "Its gatekeepers are gone. Do we advance?" He eyed the Stygian’s brackish flow, where ghostly faces surfaced and dissolved in the miasma.

Ariel’s gaze never left the pulsating cyst across the river. "Now," she said, silver eyes reflecting the toxic current, "we cross." She sensed her weapon vibrating eagerly against her hip, resonating with the shadowed domain. The true battle would test more than steel—it would test the truths the Stygian mirrored in its depths. Dracul’s longing for legacy, Darius’s devotion, Millicent’s thirst for knowledge… and her own pact with shadow.

As she stepped onto the bone-paved path leading to Yomi’s ruins, the river’s haze coalesced. For a heartbeat, a phantom dragon took shape—wings outstretched, shadowflame dancing along its spine—before dissolving into the acid fog. The Lich’s whisper slithered through her mind: Come, shadow-sister. Let the river judge what you hide. For a brief moment, Ariel flashed a Machiavellian smile at the obvious taunt.

---

Post Action:[Sin] AoE-I > «Stygian Warriors»
Free Action: N/A

ID# 247548  | BD: 8 (8+6, Fallen proc.) | CD: 8 | [x11] (32 +3) = 385 -(35) MIT =350 DMG > «Stygian Warriors»

ST-B Unlocked! | «Kaiso no Waza: Meikyo Shisui»
-(19-2-1) EN

Cooldowns:
- 

[0]Dracul | HP: 505/505 | EN: 64/64 | DMG: 1 | MIT:172 | ACC:1 | TAUNT | THORNS:18 | BH:25 | REC: 4 | HLY: 6 | PARA [Assisted]
[0]Ariel | HP: 851/851 | EN: 93/109 | DMG: 32 | MIT:0 | ACC:6 | AA  | PHASE | EVA:2 | BH:9 | HB: 37 | REC: 6 | RISK: 6 | FLN: 12 | LD:3 | TXC-V: 24 | PROSP: 3 [Assisting]

1. «Stygian Warrior» | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1
2. «Stygian Warrior» | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1
3. «Stygian Warrior» | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1
4. «Stygian Warrior» | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1

Edited yesterday at 05:45 AM by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Dracul 0]

The Leech Lich’s shriek scraped against my skull as four new Stygian Warriors materialized from the river’s toxic mist, spears crackling with fresh necrotic energy. Pathetic reinforcements. I charged, holy sword blazing. "Darius! Flank left! Millicent, harry their rear!" My blade arced toward the lead warrior’s corruption-crusted neck—

—And passed through empty air.

The warrior phased, dissolving into shadow before reforming behind me. My momentum carried me straight into a spear thrust from its companion. I twisted, shield deflecting the blow, but the impact jarred my teeth. Damnable lag! I pivoted, swinging at the second warrior—only for it to blur sideways, my holy steel slicing uselessly through miasma.

"Master, disengage!" Darius’s shout cut through my fury. He flowed past me like water, fists a blur of Keysi strikes. A brutal "Dragon’s Tail Kick" shattered a warrior’s knee, but its shadow-flesh reformed instantly. Millicent’s daggers flew, peppering another with void-tipped projectiles. They stuck like thorns but barely dented its HP.

They’re adapting. The realization burned. Kro’s blight pulsed brighter in their sockets, learning from our tactics. The Lich hovered above, tendrils siphoning souls from the river to fuel their regeneration. Its psychic whisper slithered into my mind: Your pride blinds you, little lord.

Then Ariel stepped forward.

No stealth, no shadows—just cold, open defiance. «Nihilim’s Wrath» hissed free, shadowflame roaring along its length. "Fall back," she commanded, her voice like cracked ice.

I barely dodged a spear aimed at my throat. "They’re too—"

The world screamed.

Ariel’s blade became a vortex of devouring darkness. She spun, a maelstrom of void-fire erupting in a perfect circle. The flames didn’t burn; they once again unmade. The warriors dissolved mid-lunge, necrotic spears evaporating as blight and shadows were ripped into nothingness. Four health bars vanished. The Lich recoiled, tendrils searing where shadowflame licked them.

Ash rained onto the brackish river. Ariel stood amidst the fading darkness, silver eyes fixed on the Lich. "Adaptation requires time," she said, her breath barely misting. "I denied it that luxury."

The holy light of my blade suddenly felt feeble.

---

Post Action: AoE-I > «Stygian Warriors»

ID# 247550  | BD: 5 (4+1, Miss!) | [x11] (0) = 0 -(35) MIT =0 DMG > «Stygian Warriors»

-2 EN

[0]Dracul | HP: 505/505 | EN: 62/64 | DMG: 1 | MIT:172 | ACC:1 | TAUNT | THORNS:18 | BH:25 | REC: 4 | HLY: 6 | PARA [Assisted]
[0]Ariel | HP: 851/851 | EN: 93/109 | DMG: 32 | MIT:0 | ACC:6 | AA  | PHASE | EVA:2 | BH:9 | HB: 37 | REC: 6 | RISK: 6 | FLN: 12 | LD:3 | TXC-V: 24 | PROSP: 3 [Assisting]

• «Stygian Warrior» | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1
• «Stygian Warrior» | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1
• «Stygian Warrior» | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1
• «Stygian Warrior» | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1
• «Leech Lich» | HP: 1300/1300 | DMG: 100 | MIT: 55 | ACC: 2

Spoiler

• Protected | <<The Leech Lich>> cannot be attacked until the all active <<Stygian Warriors>> are defeated or devoured by <<The Leech Lich>>. After the original 4 die, <<The Leech Lich>> is no longer protected.
• Undead | Fallen damage has no effect on <<The Leech Lich>>, but Holy damage deals +25 final damage when the enhancement procs.
• Leech | Four <<Stygian Warriors>> spawn with the boss when it is engaged in combat. <<The Leech Lich>> will consume up to two creatures per turn as a Free Action and will do so whenever it can. If it consumes the creature, it gains +25 Mitigation, +50 Base Health, +25 Damage for the rest of the battle, and restores +100 HP after the other effects have taken place. If it lands a hit on the player, <<The Leech Lich>> will heal a third of the final damage it dealt to the player (rounded up). At the start of every other turn (starting on the second turn), two more <<Stygian Warriors>> will spawn, but there will always be a maximum of four <<Stygian Warriors>> at any given time.

 

Edited yesterday at 06:16 AM by Dracul

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Ash and miasma swirled where the Stygian Warriors had stood. Ariel held her weapon loosely, shadowflame still dancing along its edge. Dracul’s charge had been reckless—his holy blade cleaving air while the Lich’s minions toyed with him. Pride before purpose, she observed coldly. Darius’s precise strikes and Millicent’s dagger throws had bought seconds, not victory. Only overwhelming annihilation broke the cycle.

The Leech Lich shuddered above its island altar, shadowy flesh bubbling where her void-fire had scorched its tendrils. Psychic agony lashed the cavern: HUNGER. BETRAYAL. WHY DESTROY THE CLEANSING?

Millicent wiped toxic sludge from her glasses. "Scans show it’s not just consuming souls—it’s filtering Kagenomura’s shadow-corruption from them. Like a... dark kidney."
Darius stared at a fading soul-fragment. "If it purifies them, is destroying it moral?"
Dracul scoffed, sword still blazing. "It’s a glorified septic tank. Overflowing."

Ariel’s gaze never left the Lich. "Purification through consumption is perversion," she stated. The river’s haze shimmered, reflecting fragmented visions: Dracul’s gardens, Claudia’s smile, Millicent’s library—desires the Lich would devour to sustain itself. «Nihilim’s Wrath» resonated with the shadow-energy. This is why you recoil from holy steel. You are distant kin to this abomination.

The Lich’s central cyst split open. A mouth lined with soul-light teeth yawned wide, vomiting a torrent of condensed regret—a tidal wave of liquid shadow and screaming faces.

"Shield wall!" Ariel snapped.

Dracul lunged forward, holy blade crossed with his shield. Darius braced behind him, fists crackling with defensive Keysi energy. Millicent vanished into crystalline shadows. Ariel raised her weapon, shadowflame meeting the deluge in a hissing cataclysm. Light and void warred—purification against hunger.

When the wave receded, the island was scarred with smoking furrows. The Lich hovered lower, diminished. Ariel’s arms trembled faintly. Exhaustion? Or the blade’s hunger resonating with its kin?

"Let's finish this," Dracul growled, holy light flickering.

Ariel met his gaze, silver eyes sharp as shards. "Maintain its aggro with your light." Shadowflame swallowed her as she vanished into the archway’s runes, leaving only the echo of command.

---

+4 EN

Post Action: AoE-I > «Stygian Warriors»
Free Action: Vanish | ID# 247552 -> Successful Stealth

ID# 247551  | BD: 7 (1+6, AutoHit!) | CD: 6 | [x11] (32) = 352 -(35) MIT =317 DMG > «Stygian Warriors»

ID# 247553 | BD: 1 (Miss!) | «Leech Lich» > Ariel

ST-B Unlocked! | «Kaiso no Waza: Meikyo Shisui»
-(14 +5 -2-1) EN

Cooldowns:
- Vanish 3/3

[0]Dracul | HP: 505/505 | EN: 62/64 | DMG: 1 | MIT:172 | ACC:1 | TAUNT | THORNS:18 | BH:25 | REC: 4 | HLY: 6 | PARA [Assisted]
[0]Ariel | HP: 851/851 | EN: 81/109 | DMG: 32 | MIT:0 | ACC:6 | AA  | PHASE | EVA:2 | BH:9 | HB: 37 | REC: 6 | RISK: 6 | FLN: 12 | LD:3 | TXC-V: 24 | PROSP: 3 [Assisting]

• «Leech Lich» [Protected] | HP: 1300/1300 | DMG: 100 | MIT: 55 | ACC: 2
• «Stygian Warrior» | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1
• «Stygian Warrior» | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1
• «Stygian Warrior» | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1
• «Stygian Warrior» | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1

Spoiler

• Protected | <<The Leech Lich>> cannot be attacked until the all active <<Stygian Warriors>> are defeated or devoured by <<The Leech Lich>>. After the original 4 die, <<The Leech Lich>> is no longer protected.
• Undead | Fallen damage has no effect on <<The Leech Lich>>, but Holy damage deals +25 final damage when the enhancement procs.
• Leech | Four <<Stygian Warriors>> spawn with the boss when it is engaged in combat. <<The Leech Lich>> will consume up to two creatures per turn as a Free Action and will do so whenever it can. If it consumes the creature, it gains +25 Mitigation, +50 Base Health, +25 Damage for the rest of the battle, and restores +100 HP after the other effects have taken place. If it lands a hit on the player, <<The Leech Lich>> will heal a third of the final damage it dealt to the player (rounded up). At the start of every other turn (starting on the second turn), two more <<Stygian Warriors>> will spawn, but there will always be a maximum of four <<Stygian Warriors>> at any given time.

 

Edited yesterday at 06:46 AM by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Dracul 0]

Ariel’s shadow vanished, leaving only her command hanging in the toxic air: "Maintain its aggro with your light." The Leech Lich pulsed before me, tendrils coiling like serpents ready to strike. Fine. If light was what it craved, light was what it would drown in.

I raised the Oath high, the blue rose etchings blazing like captured starlight. "Eyes on me, septic tank!" The Focused Howl tore from my throat, amplified by the sword’s holy resonance. It wasn’t just sound—it was celestial authority. The skill’s golden harmonics slammed into the Lich, searing its shadow-flesh. Its central cyst shuddered, every eye-socket fixating on my blade’s radiance. Aggro locked.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Ariel materialize partially from the archway’s shadows—not attacking, but coiling. Nihilim’s Wrath was drawn halfway, shadowflame condensing into a vibrating line of absolute void. The air around her warped like heat haze. She was preparing that same earth-rending strike that bisected Kumatetsu. Do it. End this.

The Lich’s form began to fracture under the holy pressure. Golden cracks spiderwebbed across its shadow-cyst, precisely as Ariel predicted. A window of opportunity. I braced for the killing blow—

—But Ariel didn’t strike. Not yet. Her silver eyes narrowed, calculating. Timing it... waiting for the perfect resonance. The Lich’s cracks deepened, bleeding liquid light. Now!

---

+3 EN
Post Action: Focused Howl > «Leech Lich»

-4 EN

Cooldowns:
- Focused Howl 4/4

[5]Dracul | HP: 505/505 | EN: 61/64 | DMG: 1 | MIT:172 | ACC:1 | TAUNT | THORNS:18 | BH:25 | REC: 4 | HLY: 6 | PARA [Assisted]
[0]Ariel | HP: 851/851 | EN: 77/109 | DMG: 32 | MIT:0 | ACC:6 | AA  | PHASE | EVA:2 | BH:9 | HB: 37 | REC: 6 | RISK: 6 | FLN: 12 | LD:3 | TXC-V: 24 | PROSP: 3 [Assisting]

«Leech Lich» [Protected] | HP: 1300/1300 | DMG: 100 | MIT: 55 | ACC: 2

Edited yesterday at 07:22 AM by Dracul

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Ariel struck.

She exploded from the shadows, Nihilim’s Wrath fully unleashed. «Iaijutsu: Voidrend» seemed to tore through reality—a horizontal crescent of devouring darkness aimed at the Lich’s golden-cracked core. Shadowflame screamed, leaving afterimages of void that scarred the island’s stone like claw marks. The blade connected.

KR-SHAAA!

The impact shuddered through the cavern—but the shadowflame splintered against the Lich’s core. Its Fallen essence repelled the corrupting energy, nullifying the void’s bite. Ariel’s strike carved deep furrows across its form, yet the damage was less than she expected. The Lich reeled but held, its health lingering just below the halfway mark.

Resistance. No. Immunity?. The blade hissed in frustration, its shadowflame guttering.

The Lich retaliated instantly. Two Stygian Warriors materialized from the mist—only to be speared by its tendrils. "NO MORE MERCY," it psychic-shrieked, consuming them. Necrotic energy flooded its form. Wounds sealed; shadowy armor thickened. Its health crept upward as its eyes burned with renewed malice.

Dracul bellowed, holy blade flaring. "It’s evolving!"
Millicent’s scanners flashed. "Physical resistance spiking! Aggression patterns shifting!"
Darius braced, fists raised. "Ariel-kaiso—your blade!"

Ariel’s gaze locked onto the Lich. Nihilim’s Wrath pulsed weakly, its shadowflame dampened by kinship. A tool, not a crutch. The shadowflame died—leaving only razor-sharp dragon-forged metal.

"Dracul, sustain pressure!" Her voice cut like ice. "Millicent, target its eyes! Darius, disrupt tendrils!"

The Lich hovered higher, whisper slithering: SHADOW TO SHADOW. JOIN ME.

Ariel raised her now-quiet blade. Silver eyes reflected the abomination. "I am the edge," she declared. "Not the flame."

---

Rec. ID# 247554  | CD:11 | +6 EN | +3 EN

Post Action: [SIN]ST-B > «Stygian Warriors»
Free Action: N/A

ID# 247555  | BD: 7 (7+6, AutoHit!) | CD: 9 | [x20+3] (32 +3) = 805 -(55) MIT =750 DMG > «Leech Lich»

ID# 247556 | BD: 5 (3+2, Miss!) | «Leech Lich» > Dracul

-(22 +8 -2-1) EN

Cooldowns:
- Vanish 2/3

[5]Dracul | HP: 505/505 | EN: 58/64 | DMG: 1 | MIT:172 | ACC:1 | TAUNT | THORNS:18 | BH:25 | REC: 4 | HLY: 6 | PARA [Assisted]
[1]Ariel | HP: 851/851 | EN: 63/109 | DMG: 32 | MIT:0 | ACC:6 | AA  | PHASE | EVA:2 | BH:9 | HB: 37 | REC: 6 | RISK: 6 | FLN: 12 | LD:3 | TXC-V: 24 | PROSP: 3 [Assisting]

• «Leech Lich» [Protected] | HP: 700/1350 | DMG: 125 | MIT: 80 | ACC: 2
• «Stygian Warrior» | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1
• «Stygian Warrior» | HP: 100/100 | DMG: 75 | MIT: 35 | ACC: 1

Spoiler

• Protected | <<The Leech Lich>> cannot be attacked until the all active <<Stygian Warriors>> are defeated or devoured by <<The Leech Lich>>. After the original 4 die, <<The Leech Lich>> is no longer protected.
• Undead | Fallen damage has no effect on <<The Leech Lich>>, but Holy damage deals +25 final damage when the enhancement procs.
• Leech | Four <<Stygian Warriors>> spawn with the boss when it is engaged in combat. <<The Leech Lich>> will consume up to two creatures per turn as a Free Action and will do so whenever it can. If it consumes the creature, it gains +25 Mitigation, +50 Base Health, +25 Damage for the rest of the battle, and restores +100 HP after the other effects have taken place. If it lands a hit on the player, <<The Leech Lich>> will heal a third of the final damage it dealt to the player (rounded up). At the start of every other turn (starting on the second turn), two more <<Stygian Warriors>> will spawn, but there will always be a maximum of four <<Stygian Warriors>> at any given time.

 

Edited yesterday at 07:21 AM by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Dracul 0]

Acid-mist seared my armor as I broke contact, lungs burning. Stamina bar flickered crimson - too many holy amplifications. Then the «Memory Fragment» bracelet warmed against my wrist. Its blue crystal pulsed, flooding my veins with cool energy. Claudia's voice echoed: "Endurance is nobility's armor, master." Marginal restoration, but enough.

The Leech Lich regenerated before us, tendrils knitting shadow-flesh. Ariel's command cut through party chat: "Bait the tendril strike. Expose the core." Last time I'd failed this dance. Not today.

I raised ≪Guardian's Oath≫, channelling holy energy into «Mirror's Edge». No flourish, no arrogance - pure purpose. The blade's rose etchings blazed as I executed the sequence: a spinning pivot into inverted guard position. Golden light enveloped me. [Counter] Active flared on my HUD. Finally.

CRACK-THOOOM!

A shadow-tendril hammered my shield. Holy light recoiled, searing the Lich's flesh with divine backlash. The beast shrieked, corruption sizzling where its own power burned it. Minimal damage, but the debuff held. Aggro flared crimson on my status bar. Eyes on me, abomination.

"Core vulnerability in three!" Millicent's voice rang out. Darius shattered a rising summoning sigil with a stomp.

Ariel moved like liquid night. No shadowflame - just naked steel in a two-handed «Dojigiri» downward cut. The blade bit deep into the Lich's flank, black ichor spraying. Not the void-rending devastation of before, but surgical. Decisive. The Lich's health bar plummeted past the halfway mark, deep into crimson.

Red zone. Now finish it.

---

Rec. ID# 247567  | CD:3 | +0 EN | +3 EN

Post Action: TECH-C > «Leech Lich»
Free Action: N/A

ID# 247568  | BD: 9 (9, HLY/Para proc.) | CD: 11 | [x12] (1+6 +1) = 96 -(80) MIT =16 +25 DMG > «Leech Lich»

-(12) EN

Cooldowns:
- Focused Howl 2/4

[6]Dracul [Counter] | HP: 505/505 | EN: 58/64 | DMG: 1 | MIT:172 | ACC:1 | TAUNT | THORNS:18 | BH:25 | REC: 4 | HLY: 6 | PARA [Assisted]
[1]Ariel | HP: 851/851 | EN: 63/109 | DMG: 32 | MIT:0 | ACC:6 | AA  | PHASE | EVA:2 | BH:9 | HB: 37 | REC: 6 | RISK: 6 | FLN: 12 | LD:3 | TXC-V: 24 | PROSP: 3 [Assisting]

«Leech Lich» [Paralyzed] [Protected] | HP: 700/1350 | DMG: 125 | MIT: 80 | ACC: 2

Edited yesterday at 08:09 AM by Dracul

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Dracul’s roar echoed, not of pain, but of triumph. Golden light – pure, searing, holy – erupted from ≪Guardian’s Oath≫ as he executed «Mirror's Edge». It wasn’t just a block; it was a rebuke written in celestial fire. The Lich’s shadow-tendril slammed into the radiant barrier... and stuck. Jagged lines of holy energy, like molten gold, spiderwebbed up the necrotic limb, searing deep into the core. A system shock. The beast froze mid-convulsion, its form rigid, wreathed in crackling golden light. [Paralyzed!] flashed across Ariel’s HUD. Perfect.

No hesitation. The opening was a vacuum demanding fulfillment. Ariel surged forward, Nihilim’s Wrath a cold, silver extension of her will. Shadowflame remained dormant, suppressed. This was kenjutsu distilled: economy of motion, perfect weight transfer, the edge aligned with absolute intent. «Dojigiri» – the downward dragon-slayer cut. She aimed for the nexus of golden cracks Dracul’s holy backlash had created on the central cyst.

THWACK-CRUNCH!

The impact jarred her arms. Nihilim’s Wrath bit deep, deeper than before, cleaving through shadow-flesh that offered the resistance of rotten timber. Black ichor, thick and cold, geysered, splattering the bone-dust like spilled ink. The Lich’s HP bar plunged violently, deep into the flashing crimson zone. Critical.

But it didn’t shatter.

Instead of piercing the core, the purely physical blade met a final, desperate barrier – a lattice of condensed soul-energy and Kagenomura’s ancient shadow-corruption woven just beneath the surface. It felt like striking dense, frozen tar. The blade stopped, buried to the hilt but unable to breach the vital spark. A tremor ran through the steel, vibrating up Ariel’s arms. Lack of penetration. The shadowflame’s void-rending properties, the very essence that could unmake such defenses, was absent. Her downgraded weapon, for all its razor edge, lacked the metaphysical teeth.

The Lich didn’t scream. It couldn’t. Paralyzed, it could only pulse – a silent, agonized throb that shook the island. Millicent’s scanner shrieked a proximity alarm. "Structural instability spiking! Core integrity... holding? Barely!" Darius cursed, shattering another necrotic sigil forming near the riverbank. "Ariel-kaiso! Finish it!"

Ariel wrenched the blade free with a sickening slurp. Ichor dripped, sizzling on the ground. The golden paralysis flickered, starting to fade. The core pulsed weakly behind its shadowy armor, leaking sickly light. The edge had spoken, but the flame’s absence left the sentence incomplete. Death was a river. This abomination still choked its flow. Perversion persists.

---

Rec. ID# 247569  | CD:1 | +0 EN | +3 EN

Post Action: ST-I > «Leech Lich»
Free Action: N/A

ID# 247570  | BD: 7 (4+6, AutoHit!) | CD: 6 | [x12 +3] (32) = 480 -(80) MIT =400 DMG > «Leech Lich»

ID# 247570 | BD: 5 (3+2, Miss!) | «Leech Lich» > Dracul [Paralyzed]

-(14 -2) EN

Cooldowns:
- Vanish 1/3

[5]Dracul | HP: 505/505 | EN: 58/64 | DMG: 1 | MIT:172 | ACC:1 | TAUNT | THORNS:18 | BH:25 | REC: 4 | HLY: 6 | PARA [Assisted]
[1]Ariel | HP: 851/851 | EN: 51/109 | DMG: 32 | MIT:0 | ACC:6 | AA  | PHASE | EVA:2 | BH:9 | HB: 37 | REC: 6 | RISK: 6 | FLN: 12 | LD:3 | TXC-V: 24 | PROSP: 3 [Assisting]

«Leech Lich» [Paralyzed] | HP: 259/1350 | DMG: 125 | MIT: 80 | ACC: 2

Edited yesterday at 09:06 AM by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Dracul 0]

The sight was pure poetry. Ariel’s strike landing hard on the paralyzed abomination, that disgusting ichor fountain, the HP bar plummeting into the desperate red flash. Almost. She pulled back, blade dripping, and I saw it – the slight tremor in her arms, the way Nihilim’s Wrath lacked its usual hungry hum. Downgraded. Useless. The core pulsed, weakened but intact. The golden light binding the Lich was flickering, fading fast. My light. My opening.

"Hold still, refuse!" I bellowed, surging forward before the paralysis could fully break. Adrenaline and the fading warmth of the fueled me. I could do it again. Would do it again. «Mirror's Edge» had worked! It wasn’t a fluke! I planted my feet, shifted my weight, began the sequence – the pivot, the inverted guard, channeling holy energy through Oath’s rose-etched blade. Just like before. Exactly like before.

But the flow… stuttered.

Where before it felt like liquid grace, like Claudia’s guiding hand on my wrist, now it felt… clunky. My pivot was a fraction too slow, the inversion of the guard a hair off-angle. The holy light flared around me, forming the [Counter] barrier, but it felt thinner, less resonant. Less right.

The Lich’s final flicker of paralysis vanished. Its central eye-socket, a pit of Kro’s viridian poison, snapped open, fixing solely on me. Not desperate. Furious. A shadow-tendril, faster than before, lashed out – not a hammer blow, but a whip-crack aimed to pierce.

My [Counter] barrier shattered.

Not with a resonant clang-hiss, but with a sickening crack, like breaking glass. The tendril punched through the weakened holy light, slamming into my raised shield with bone-jarring force.  Damage text flared crimson. I stumbled back, boots skidding on unstable bone-dust, shield arm numb. Aggro flared violently on my HUD, a crimson siren. Failed. Utterly.

"Master" Darius shouted, intercepting a second tendril aimed at my exposed flank with a grunt of effort.
Millicent’s voice was tight. "Seems the paralysis is wearing off! We have to finish it before it regens again!"

The Lich loomed, wounds weeping shadow, its health a sliver of flashing red but its presence terrifyingly renewed. It hadn’t just broken free; it had broken my rhythm. My perfect move, reduced to a botched sequence. Humiliation burned hotter than the impact. Ariel’s silent gaze felt like a physical weight. Fine. If finesse failed, overwhelming force would suffice. Oath blazed anew. "Keep it busy!" I snarled, readying a raw, holy-powered cleave. Light would scour this stain, even if I had to batter it down.

---

Rec. ID# 247572  | CD:10 | +4 EN | +3 EN

Post Action: TECH-C > «Leech Lich»
Free Action: N/A

ID# 247573  | BD: 1 (Miss!) | CD: 11 | [x12] (0) = 0 -(80) MIT =0 DMG > «Leech Lich»

-(2) EN

Cooldowns:
- Focused Howl 1/4

[6]Dracul [Counter] | HP: 505/505 | EN: 63/64 | DMG: 1 | MIT:172 | ACC:1 | TAUNT | THORNS:18 | BH:25 | REC: 4 | HLY: 6 | PARA [Assisted]
[2]Ariel | HP: 851/851 | EN: 51/109 | DMG: 32 | MIT:0 | ACC:6 | AA  | PHASE | EVA:2 | BH:9 | HB: 37 | REC: 6 | RISK: 6 | FLN: 12 | LD:3 | TXC-V: 24 | PROSP: 3 [Assisting]

«Leech Lich» [Paralyzed]  | HP: 259/1350 | DMG: 125 | MIT: 80 | ACC: 2

Edited yesterday at 09:12 AM by Dracul

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Dracul stumbled back, shield arm hanging limp, his perfect «Mirror's Edge» shattered into discordant failure. The Lich loomed, freed from paralysis, its central eye-socket blazing with Kro’s viridian poison and primal fury. A second tendril whipped towards Dracul’s exposed flank. Darius intercepted it with a grunt, Keysi forearms absorbing the blow that cracked the bone-dust beneath his feet. Millicent’s scanners screamed. "Aggression critical! Core destabilizing – final burst imminent!"

No more time. Ariel’s mind emptied. Dracul’s light had faltered. Her blade lacked its void-teeth. The Kenjutsu fundamentals remained. «Charge». The skill ignited in her legs, not as a rush, but as a spatial compression. One moment she stood beside Dracul, the next she was inside the Lich’s lashing tendril range, bone-dust exploding upwards in her wake. The distance ceased to exist.

Nihilim’s Wrath was already clearing its saya. Not a draw, but an unfolding. Pure Iaijutsu. No shadowflame, no void – just the absolute geometry of the cut. Her body became the bow, the blade the arrow. Hips coiled, shoulders aligned, spine straight as the Stygian’s deepest current. She focused not on the pulsating core, nor the viridian eye, but on the nexus of golden cracks Dracul’s initial holy backlash had created – the flaw in the abomination’s armor. The edge, not the flame.

The Lich sensed annihilation. Its maw yawned wide, vomiting a desperate plume of condensed regret and shadow, a final, toxic breath. Too slow. Ariel’s blade moved faster than thought, faster than the toxin could coalesce.

«Iaijutsu: Silent Divide»

SHIIINNNG—

The sound wasn’t metal, but data atoms being parted. A single, impossibly thin line of silver light cut horizontally through the Lich’s central cyst, precisely along the golden fractures. There was no impact, no spray of ichor. Only a perfect, silent division.

The Leech Lich froze. Its tendrils hung limp. The viridian light in its eye-socket guttered and died. Then, from the hairline cut Ariel’s blade had left, pure, untainted light – white as bleached bone and cold as the void between stars – began to spill forth. The shadow-flesh didn’t burn; it dissolved, unravelling from the cut outwards like ash caught in a sudden breeze. The HP bar shattered into a million pixels of fading crimson light.

The towering form collapsed inwards, not with a crash, but a sigh. The toxic mist recoiled. Where the central cyst had been, hovering amidst the dissolving shadow, pulsed a small, intricate object: a key forged from condensed moonlight and obsidian shards – the «Yamata no Orochi Key». It hummed with a quiet, profound power, untouched by the corruption it had been buried within. Ariel caught it mid-air. Cold. Pure. Death as a river, flowing cleanly once more.

A system chime echoed, clear and final.

As the last vestiges of the Lich faded, the oppressive weight of Yomi’s Rest lessened by a bit. The Stygian’s current seemed to run clearer, the whispers in the mist softening to sighs. Millicent exhaled sharply, lowering her scanners. Darius lowered his guard, knuckles bruised but stance relieved. Dracul stared, his holy blade dimming, a complex mix of frustration and awe on his face.

Ariel sheathed Nihilim’s Wrath, the clean steel clicking home. She looked past the dissolving island, towards the cavern’s exit. The path forward wasn't down into toxic rivers, but up. "Floor 16 awaits," she stated, her voice cutting the silence. "We got some fishing to do..." The 2nd key pulsed coldly in her grip, a silent promise of trials yet to come.

---

Rec. ID# 247574  | CD:7 | +6 EN | +3 EN

Post Action: [Ch.]ST-II > «Leech Lich»
Free Action: N/A

ID# 247574  | BD: 7 (2+6-1, Hit!) | CD: 7 | [x15 +3] (32 +3) = 630 -(80) MIT =550 DMG > «Leech Lich»

ID# XXXXX | BD: 5 (3+2, Miss!) | «Leech Lich» > Dracul [DEAD]

-(17 -2) EN

Cooldowns:
- Vanish 0/3

[5]Dracul | HP: 505/505 | EN: 63/64 | DMG: 1 | MIT:172 | ACC:1 | TAUNT | THORNS:18 | BH:25 | REC: 4 | HLY: 6 | PARA [Assisted]
[2]Ariel | HP: 851/851 | EN: 51/109 | DMG: 32 | MIT:0 | ACC:6 | AA  | PHASE | EVA:2 | BH:9 | HB: 37 | REC: 6 | RISK: 6 | FLN: 12 | LD:3 | TXC-V: 24 | PROSP: 3 [Assisting]

«Leech Lich» [Paralyzed] | HP: 259/1350 | DMG: 125 | MIT: 80 | ACC: 2

Loot ID# 247576  | CD: 2 | LD: 10 +3
TOTAL COL: 14175 +5%, Rare T3 Consumable (1) | [247576a] Rare T3 Weapon (1) | [247576b]

Edited yesterday at 09:33 AM by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Dracul 0]

Humiliation burned hotter than the numbness in my shield arm. My botched «Mirror's Edge» hung in the air like a bad smell. The Lich free, furious, and Darius taking the hit meant for me… Unacceptable. Rage, pure and bright, flooded my veins, pushing back the fatigue screaming in my muscles. The charm seemed like a dead weight at my wrist, utterly drained. Fine. Raw power would suffice. I raised Oath, gathering every scrap of holy energy left, aiming for a brute-force cleave at that pulsing, mocking red sliver of HP—

—And Ariel vanished.

Not into shadow. Just… gone. Reappeared inside the Lich’s death-throes range before my eyes could fully process the movement. «Charge». The bone-dust geyser she left behind pattered against my armor like mocking applause.

I saw her stance. Iaijutsu. Pure, unadorned, fundamental. No dark fire, just… geometry. And speed. Gods, the speed. My gathering holy light felt sluggish, clumsy in comparison. Her blade flashed – a single, silver line drawn across reality itself, intersecting the golden cracks my initial strike had made. For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then the Lich… came apart. Not dramatically, but with eerie finality, dissolving into light and ash from that impossibly clean cut.

My half-formed holy cleave fizzled out, Oath’s light guttering like a dying candle. Useless. The system chimed, declaring a victory that felt hollow. She’d done it. With a downgraded blade and fundamentals I’d scoffed at mere hours ago. She plucked the «Yamata no Orochi Key» from the dissolving core – moonlight and obsidian, chillingly pure.

Darius lowered his guard, breathing hard. Millicent muttered something about "kinetic perfection" under her breath. Ariel turned, the key vanishing into her inventory, her expression unreadable. "Floor 16 awaits. We got some fishing to do..." Her voice was flat, stating facts, but the implication hung heavy: Move on. Another fight approaches.

I forced myself to straighten, sheathing Oath with more force than necessary. The numbness was fading, replaced by a deep, familiar ache – part impact, part wounded pride. She’d won using the opening I created… and then shown me how poorly I’d utilized it. Again. Floor 16. Fine. Let it be a place where holy light, true light, not just parlor tricks, could shine. I glared at the spot where the Lich had dissolved. A septic tank deleted. By her edge, not my flame. The win stood. For now. "Lead on, Edge," I managed, the words tasting like bone-dust. "Let’s see what dusty relics we can fish up." The Stygian’s whispers seemed quieter now, but the silence left by the Lich’s end was filled with the echo of my own failure, and the looming chill of Floor 16.

---

---

Final rewards:

1. Ariel
   • EXP: 12419 [Total]| 5145/5 *10 +1000 (Quest) +5% (Firm Anima R5) +5% (Assist System)
   • Col: 20207 [Total]| 14175 (Loot) +708 (Guild Treasury) +2500 (Quest) +1862 (para lv. 5) +5% (Firm Anima R5)
   • 1x Rare T3 Consumable | [247576a]
   • 1x Rare T3 Weapon | [247576b]
   • 2x Guild Token [Total] | 1 transferred from Dracul
   • 1 Mon
   • Yamata no Orochi Key
2. Dracul
   • EXP: 4495 [Total]| 5145/5 *3 +1000 (Quest) +5% (Firm Anima R5) +5% (Assist System)
   • Col: 0
   • 1 Mon
   • Yamata no Orochi Key