Chapter 39: The Essence of Darkness

  Noctyra, riding atop his monstrous scorpion, Stinger, gazed down at me and Gaelith. His grin stretched wide as the pair attacked.

  Gaelith dodged effortlessly with a blink, while I tried to conserve my stamina and deemed a roll to be enough – which it was. At least that’s what I thought…

  The ground trembled beneath Stinger’s massive legs as they barreled past me. While I managed to dodge Noctyra’s strike, before I could fully recover, the scorpion’s tail lashed out. I had no choice but to block, raising Silverfang to intercept the strike. The impact shook me, forcing me to slide backward across the chamber floor, falling down to 91% HP.

  Noctyra and Stinger circled back, preparing for another attack. The last Axul’s grin suddenly grew wider.

  As if on cue, Stinger’s tail began to glow red. My instincts told me to retreat, but Gaelith stepped forward, ready to meet the attack head on.

  I hesitated, but eventually decided to stay by his side…that was also a mistake.

  The scorpion's tail flew forward, striking rapidly. Gaelith dodged everything with a combination of blinks and quick sidesteps, while he seemed to search for an opening to attack. But I wasn’t as fast – or as skilled. The tail’s barrage was overwhelming, and even when it missed, the impact shook the ground beside me violently, throwing off my footing.

  Then, a sudden strike came from an odd angle, and I had no choice but to block again. Silverfang absorbed the blow, but the sheer force of the attack rattled my arms, sending me sliding backward and further dipping my HP bar to 77%.

  Gaelith seemed to use me as bait or something. The moment I performed this block, he blinked to the side, slipping into the duo’s blind spot. In one swift motion, he lunged toward Stinger’s only unarmored area – its eyes.

  The attack was almost perfectly timed. Almost. Noctyra seemed to expect something like that. He reacted instantly, leaping from Stinger’s back with his war axe raised high. The weapon arced toward the approaching Gaelith, forcing him to abandon his strike and dodge before he could harm the scorpion.

  Noctyra’s axe smashed into the ground where Gaelith had just stood, sending shards of stone flying. Gaelith reacted immediately, aiming a strike at Noctyra’s exposed side, but Stinger intervened. The scorpion used its claws to shield its master before launching its tail at Gaelith.

  Seeing an opportunity, I activated Blade Rush, closing the distance between myself and Noctyra. I thrust Silverfang forward, aiming to impale him, but he reacted quickly. Pulling his war axe from the ground, he deflected my strike with ease.

  Then, he roared, creating a sound wave which hit me head-on, sending me flying backward and crashing against the ground, dropping my HP to 64%.

  My coordination with Gaelith was severely lacking, and out of the two of us, I was the one punished for it. Luckily, Gaelith seemed to notice this too.

  “Follow my lead!” He called out. Without waiting for my reply, he charged directly at Noctyra and Stinger, taking the offensive.

  I followed, breaking into stride behind him, consuming two healing potions.

  [Item Consumed: Lesser Healing Potion x2]

  [Health: 100%]

  Only two remained.

  “The glaive has a charging attack, does it not?” Gaelith said as we ran. He was likely referring to Silverfang’s Unyielding Charge. It wasn’t surprising that he knew about it – this weapon had once belonged to his closest friend.

  I nodded.

  “Then aim it at him and start charging.” He instructed.

  “Like they’d let me charge it.” I retorted, glancing at Noctyra and Stinger.

  “I’ll buy you enough time. Just ignore everything and keep going, no matter what happens.”

  I hesitated but decided to trust him. I skidded to a halt, lowering my stance and beginning to charge Unyielding Charge.

  “Fools!” Noctyra shouted, his war axe suddenly transforming into a mage’s staff. “Witness real magic!”

  He can transform his weapon? But that won’t change the damage scaling his class binds him to. Unless…unless he can shift between classes as well?

  He held the staff above his head, and a swirling, dark cloud materialized above us. Bolts of lightning crackled within the cloud, and sharp icicles began raining down alongside the thunderous strikes.

  If I died here, Noctyra wouldn’t just gain the two shards of the Darknessbound Core – I would also be marked, even if not in the same way as Erebus leaves his marks. He might just kill me over and over in subsequent loops, capitalizing on my amnesia, just like Goren did before that.

  I was about to run away, but I gritted my teeth and held firm, Gaelith’s words ringing in my mind. I stayed focused on charging the ability, praying that the knight would come through.

  And he did.

  Gaelith stopped just in the middle between me and the deadly duo, driving his radiating blade into the ground just as the storm unleashed its fury on us. Before the lightning bolts and icicles could hit us, they dissipated into harmless mist. Even the storm cloud above dissolved into nothingness.

  Somehow, Gaelith cancelled the Axul’s magic.

  “What is this…?” Noctyra stammered, he waved his staff, but it did nothing. His face bore the most confused expression I’d ever seen, but I had no time to relish the moment. The charge was complete.

  With Silverfang in my hands, Unyielding Charge launched me forward like an arrow. Gaelith sidestepped smoothly as I hurtled past him and toward Noctyra, the glaive leading the way.

  Stinger stepped forward, its massive claws ready to defend its master. For a moment, my confidence wavered – but I decided to keep trusting Gaelith. He had to have another trick up his sleeve.

  And rest assured, he did.

  Out of thin air to their right, Gaelith reappeared on Stinger’s flank. His sword was still embedded in the ground where he had left it. Now, he clashed his gauntlets at each other. The impact ignited them with the same radiant energy as his sword. Then, he immediately charged Stinger, evading a strike of its tail before slamming his fist into the scorpion’s side. The force of the attack sent the monster flying to the far end of the room, crashing against the wall.

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  Noctyra, shocked and unguarded, turned his gaze back to me – but it was too late.

  Silverfang pierced his chest plate with incredible force. The armor blocked the strike at first, but then it shattered into fragments, and the impact hurled him backward, slamming him into the wall behind. The crash dropped debris and rubble on top of him, plummeting his HP bar further down to around a third.

  “You…dirty…little…” Noctyra struggled to speak as he stood up, his voice strained as he coughed violently, blood escaping his mouth. “How could you?”

  “Stop this already.” Gaelith said, his voice turning somber, almost pleading.

  “Don’t. You. Dare.” Noctyra muttered, his voice full of pain.

  Seeing his resolve, I stepped forward, ready to deliver the decisive blows and end this – at least for this loop. But before I could take another, a loud crash echoed behind us.

  The injured Stinger had risen again, its massive tail slammed against Gaelith’s sword that was still embedded in the ground. The impact dislodged the weapon, sending it skidding across the chamber floor.

  When we turned back to Noctyra, he wasn’t there.

  “You of all people…” he whispered from the far side of the chamber, as he was struggling against a wall, using it to steady himself. Suddenly his gaze steadied with newfound resolve. "Unbelievable..."

  Then, he suddenly straightened his posture and raised his arms to his sides, and a sickly green glow surrounded them – the same one from the chains that held Goren. His lips moved in a quiet incantation, something I couldn’t understand.

  “Get ready.” Gaelith whispered, his tone resolute.

  I understood what he meant almost immediately.

  A sound emanated from outside the chamber – an eerie combination of buzzing, clittering, and the groaning moans of the undead. The noise grew louder with each moment, until a wave of monsters poured into the room.

  Void Wasps, Void Spiders, Void Scorpions, Undead Wolves, and Undead Warriors and Archers. Their glowing red eyes fixed on us as they swarmed in, filling the chamber with an overwhelming horde.

  “Can you cancel his magic again?” I asked Gaelith, my voice urgent.

  “Not right now.” Gaelith replied. “We just need to take him out. Cover me while I finish this.”

  The monsters charged all at once, a tide of claws, fangs, stingers, and venom. Listening to Gaelith, I met the first wave head-on.

  Gaelith moved immediately as well, picking up his radiant sword from the ground, cutting down clusters of monsters with a single strike. He moved insanely fast, dodging every attack that came his way, while leaving no enemy alive.

  I activated Wind Rush, the surge of air propelling me forward. A Void Scorpion lunged at me, but I sidestepped with Dash Step, driving the glaive into its head with an Explosive Strike, knocking back nearby monsters.

  [+318 XP]

  A swarm of Void Wasps descended, firing their stingers at me. I raised Wind Wall, deflecting their projectiles, and seized the chance to strike back. I swung Silverfang in a wide arc, unleashing Horizon. The wind attack tore through the swarm, sending their broken bodies crashing to the ground, allowing me to close the distance with Blade Rush and finish them off.

  [+494 XP]

  [+494 XP]

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  [+494 XP]

  “Behind you!” Gaelith’s voice rang out. I spun just in time to block the strike of an Undead Warrior and an immediate follow up of an Undead Wolf lunging at me. I cut through the Undead effortlessly, and then used Blade Rush to slay the wolf.

  [+34 XP]

  [+318 XP]

  Despite our efforts, the monsters kept coming.

  I glanced at Goren, considering freeing him to boost our fighting chances. But he seemed too injured to be of actual help. Either way, the sheer number of enemies made it impossible to reach him with ease. Them and the injured Stinger, who returned to the fray, but couldn’t move quite the same as before. Instead of attacking, it carried itself slowly around the chamber. I really wasn't sure what it was doing.

  Meanwhile, Noctyra vanished, his form blending into the background with the same camouflage he’d used before.

  Another scorpion charged at me, followed closely by an Undead Wolf. I managed to block the scorpion’s stinger, hitting him away, but the wolf’s teeth had sank into my shoulder, tearing through my flesh and taking out a third of my HP.

  Grunting, I knocked the wolf off with Silverfang and drove the blade into its head as it hit the ground.

  [+318 XP]

  Not too far away, Noctyra reappeared. Gaelith had found him, their blades meeting with a thunderous clash of metal. The impact sent shockwaves through the chamber, throwing nearby monsters off their feet.

  Noctyra tried to disappear again, but Gaelith seemed to be able to sense his movements, dragging him back from his hiding. “Stop with this nonsense.”

  I wanted to help, to end this faster, but the swarm was already recovering.

  Raising Wind Wall again, I blocked the incoming projectiles and charged Blur Strike. When the skill was ready, I unleashed its explosive wrath, tearing through the monsters in my way. Some died instantly, while others fell to the ground, surviving on a sliver of HP.

  [+318 XP]

  [+318 XP]

  [+34 XP]

  [+34 XP]

  [+34 XP]

  [+294 XP]

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  [+34 XP]

  [+494 XP]

  [+494 XP]

  [+494 XP]

  The opening I created allowed Gaelith to disarm Noctyra, knocking the shape-shifting weapon from his hands. With his radiant sword pressed against Noctyra’s neck, Gaelith spoke with a commanding tone. “Surrender. Call off the monsters. It’s still not too late for you.”

  But Noctyra only chuckled. His hands flew forward, grabbing Gaelith’s blade by the edge. The radiant light clearly wasn’t just for show as it seared his hands, smoke rising from the point of contact. Noctyra winced in pain, but pushed through it as if it didn’t matter.

  Gaelith reacted quickly, headbutting him, forcing him to release the blade. Then, without hesitation, Gaelith drove his sword into his gut.

  Noctyra groaned, blood pouring from his mouth as Gaelith pulled the blade free. Stumbling backward, Noctyra clutched his gaping wound.

  The monsters froze suddenly, their glowing red eyes fading. Without Noctyra’s control, they seemed to regain their independence, their eyes not glowing anymore – but their hostility remained.

  Gaelith stepped in front of me quickly, slamming his sword into the ground. A wall of radiant light erupted, holding the monsters at bay and protecting us.

  When we turned back to Noctyra, he was carried by the limping Stinger toward the glass vessel beneath the suspended Goren, who shifted in place, trying to catch our attention.

  “It seems…there’s no…other…way.” Noctyra rasped, his voice weak before turning to Stinger. “Thank you, my friend.”

  Stinger dropped him into the dark liquid before we could stop them, submerging Noctyra entirely.

  The liquid began to bubble and churn, boiling violently.

  Then, arms – dark and grotesque – rose from the depths, one after another. Four of them in total. Dark smoke poured from the vessel, obscuring the center of the chamber. With a deafening explosion, the glass shattered, sending shard flying.

  As the smoke cleared, a figure emerged. But it wasn’t Kelltins or Noctyra anymore,

  The being stood tall, its body dark like a shadow. Four arms, each wielding a blade made of a night sky, stretched outward. Dark Axul, level 111.

  “I am one with Erebus now.” The creature muttered, its voice no longer resembling a human’s.