"Intruders! How dare you appear here before me?! Are you trying to delay me? Do you want the devil's army to come and lay waste to our family?! How! Dare! You!"
The tall boss unfolded her wide wings, striking an incredibly imposing posture. Her eyes narrowed to slits, the yellow colour seemingly pulsing with anger. Radiant Shield gave Bloody Edge a clap on the back of his head, stopping him from ogling the boss. The powerful aura coming from her deserved everyone to take this boss seriously.
Judging from her appearance the boss seemed to be a draconian, although something felt off. Thinking about Mehphre, the last draconian the party faced, they couldn't help but regard the boss with more respect. At the same level draconians were immensely powerful. Mehphre had even been a world boss.
"Ha! Daring to intrude but too timid to speak? I didn't expect much but you still disappoint me. Whatever. I will dispose of you quickly. I still have a portal to complete!"
The boss appeared quite impatient. She flapped her wings and slowly rose to the air, the pressure coming from her increasing the higher she floated. The friends were startled by the sudden change. The boss didn't even give them any time to explain themselves. Why were these cultists all so quick to jump to conclusions? Perhaps it was because an army of infernals invaded the temple, bringing great pressure.
No matter what the friends wanted to say, the boss had to be fought. The party readied for battle. They summoned their flying mounts, and rose to the air, facing the boss opposite them. A quick check revealed her status.
[Cult of Nexkra'nar, Dragon Daughter Phorina
Rank: Boss
Level: 69
HP: 170.000/170.000]
Phorina stared across the room, focused on the intruders. There was a considerable distance between them. The boss flipped her wrist and an intricate wooden bow appeared in her hands, its bridge like a work of art, the tendon as if taken from a dragon.
Pulling the bow, an arrow of green light appeared, stirring the air around it. Liam and his friends had no chance to bridge the gap fast enough before the boss already attacked them. A green light flashed across the space, aiming at the centre of the group, causing a spiralling whirl which threatened to engulf everyone.
Silver Blade showed not a moment of hesitation. Liam had already briefed the friends about the possibility of such an attack welcoming them. The female tank turned into a silver flash, positioning herself in front of the group like the most trustworthy shield.
Boom!
In no time at all Silver Blade and the arrow collided. An immense force drove into her body. Her arm holding her shield trembled. Her silver phoenix was unable to resist and was pushed back until it returned to the rest of the group.
[Stance -66]
The cost of blocking this single skill was enormous but it was worth it. Phorina wore a frown, not continuing her attacks right away. The friends grasped the opportunity to hastily close the distance. Silver Blade took the lead with her [Luring Barrier], attracting the boss's attention.
Meanwhile Silent Acacia's eyes glowed. He was facing a fellow bow wielder. Could he contest with the boss's might? With a grin the young man drew his bow taut. A spiralling arrow shot out, racing at the boss with great power. Phorina attempted to withdraw her wing but the arrow was too tricky. It easily hit her and… paled in comparison.
[-159!]
Silent Acacia shook his head. He wasn't really delusional enough to think his arrow would pose a great threat to the boss. But a moment later he revealed a light smile as Cyclone's and Fortune's attacks only hit for 36 and 18 points of damage respectively, causing the two mages to grumble under their breath.
Suddenly the air above Phorina was engulfed in darkness, cold and oppressive. A figure fell out of the darkness. Riding an elegant white fox, engulfed in black air currents Liam appeared, diving straight at the boss. Drasky abruptly stopped behind the draconic wings as if hitting solid ground. A shockwave of dark magic spread in all directions, impacting the boss, afflicting her with two Dark Marks. A dark light flashed. Liam only attacked with his offhand, increasing the number of Dark Marks to three, floating above the boss as cackling ghostly heads.
The next moment Liam tightened the grip on the hilt of his sword. It erupted with horrifying dark magic as the veteran activated [Dark Strike]. He brought the sword down accompanied by a sound akin to wailing ghosts, striking Phorina's back. The three marks were triggered, reducing the boss's defence by 15%.
[-56!]
[-329!]
Liam was extremely surprised as the boss froze up for a moment. Although he used [Dark Strike] he didn't really expect its stun to show any effect.
"Now! Attack her!"
Everyone urgently rushed towards the boss. Yet before the next attack fell, the stun had already worn off. However, this didn't matter much as, compared to the stun, the reduced defence was much more valuable. Attacks quickly drowned out the boss and in the short time the party managed to deal almost eight thousand points of damage, which was quite a lot considering the battle had just begun.
"I knew you were no good, intruders!"
Phorina's angry voice echoed through the spacious place. She finally started her retaliation. An arrow conjured from green light, weaker than the previous one, formed on her bow and swiftly shot at Silver Blade. The tank placed her shield to block, stable as a rock, diffusing the threat easily at the cost of 28 points of stance.
With this the real fight could begin!
The two sides exchanged attacks as the party slowly chipped away at the boss's HP. Quickstep gathered her Storm while Bloody Edge prepared for a surprise attack. The boss switched between magical and physical attacks, keeping the tanks busy.
After a while Bloody Edge revealed his might. His daggers flashed bloody red as skill followed after skill. A few critical hits were mixed in and all in all he managed to reduce the boss's HP by another one thousand two hundred points.
Phorina's HP dropped below 160.000 and her eyes shone with a blazing green light. She only let out a snort and a powerful force spread from her wings. The friends were helpless to resist as they were all pushed back, unable to stick to the boss. Phorina readied her bow, the air swirling around her, her squinted eyes focusing on the audacious intruders.
Everyone revealed stern expressions. Thanks to Liam the party already knew what to expect. Their eyes focused closely on Phorina's bow, observing every little movement as they distanced themselves further from the boss.
Phorina moved abruptly. Her body shot around, her bow instantly aiming at Bloody Edge behind her.
"It's really always me!"
The thief complained feeling as if enemies always liked to focus him despite his Stealth. However, his reaction was not a bit too slow. As soon as the boss turned in his direction, he instructed the Blood Stalker he was riding. The bat-like creature folded its wings and tilted its body. It immediately fell downwards, somewhat uncontrolled.
Bloody Edge had just started moving when he felt a ferocious wind tear at his back. He drew a sharp breath knowing that the boss's arrow had barely missed him. Fortunately, he reacted in time.
The others watched the entire process, their expressions stern. From the moment Phorina let go of her arrow to the moment that it almost reached Bloody Edge there was basically no time in between. Liam's warnings were not without reason. If they didn't move before the arrow left the bow it would already be too late.
While everyone was still feeling the shock, Phorina already continued. She adjusted her aim, her movement subtle. The bow aimed at Quickstep who initially wasn't far from Bloody Edge. A green light flashed and instantly reached the warrior. Everything happened too fast. When Quickstep wanted to dodge, she already felt the powerful force crashing against her shoulder, sending her tumbling backwards.
[-9472!]
"Quickstep!"
"So much damage!"
"Don't get distracted!"
Worried shouts spread but quickly turned silent again. Everyone braced themselves. They couldn't get distracted. Phorina continued moving. She shot around, targeting Silver Blade. The latter never dropped her guard. Her mount tilted and a whistling noise passed just over her head, extremely piercing, shattering against the wall behind with a terrible bang.
After that, more arrows followed. It was as if Phorina didn't want to stop targeting Radiant Shield, Bleary Mirage, Silent Acacia. Even before shooting at everyone else, she suddenly turned back towards Bloody Edge. The thief was startled, failing to evade the blow.
[-10.568!]
The boss's arrows were indeed incredibly mighty. Bloody Edge lost about a third of his HP. His chest tightened as he cursed inwardly. His eyes were poisonous as he stared at the boss, waiting for her next move. To everyone's horror Phorina didn't turn away, directly shooting another arrow at Bloody Edge. The thief was understandably caught off guard. Another 10.000 points of HP disappeared like smoke.