A ray of light landed on the bridge like the aim of a scope. Balm instantly escaped, almost on instinct. She was just in the nick of time. The next moment a massive arrow shot from the sky, resembling an orbital cannon. It crashed into the bridge, an explosion shaking the entire structure, fierce shockwaves spreading in all directions. Even the friends standing on the other bridges had to direct their mounts to push their bodies against the shockwave or they might just get thrown off the bridge.
Balm landed on the central platform, standing on her Sun of Lumor flying mount, suppressing her trembling hands. The scene she was looking at was utter carnage. The stone bridge was permeated with cracks, as if falling apart any moment.
But the boss was far from done. Balm felt a chill run down her spine and recalled what Liam told them. In this situation they couldn't stand on the central platform as the boss would constantly target them with extremely quick arrows. Thus, Balm had no choice but to return to one of the eight bridges.
"Is this still an arrow…"
Silent Acacia mutter to himself. In comparison his own arrows were really too tame. He also wished to have this kind of destructive force.
The others didn't think too much. Scattered among the various bridges they looked up at the boss, waiting for the next bombardment.
Phorina didn't let them wait for long. She drew her bow and the image behind her moved as well. Another arrow was conjured, stirring the winds around it. Phorina lightly adjusted her aim. A ray of light shone from the tip of her arrow, targeting one of the bridges.
"Damn…"
Bloody Edge had a grave expression. Thanks to Liam the players knew that the boss would roughly aim at a place where at least one player stood. Watchful Eye and Silent Acacia were on the same bridge as him. So why did this ray of light fall directly on himself?!
Bloody Edge cursed inwardly as he tried to escape. He even activated a skill. A strange force engulfed him, triggering should he get hit.
Boom!
The thief hadn't made it far when the world behind him was drowned in light. A powerful shockwave washed over him, about to throw him off the bridge. But before he could suffer any damage, his body exploded amidst a surge of dark light. The light quickly receded and what remained was a swarm of small, bloodthirsty bats which instantly shot into the sky, approaching the boss at a speed almost rivalling the terrifying arrows.
From behind, the shockwaves still erupted, striking some of the bats, killing them on the spot. But about ten bats made it through and reached Phorina. They swarmed the boss and instantly struck with their fangs and claws, producing screeching noises as they were blocked by the boss's impenetrable scales.
[-20!]
[-20!]…
Each bat was able to deal 20 points of damage per second which swiftly mounted to quite a lot. But Phorina had taken ownership over the air. How could she allow a mere swarm of bats to attack her unbridled? The boss merely let out a snort. The bow hovering behind her emitted a pulse which spread through the air, striking everything in its way.
The bats had no resilience to speak off. Hit by the pulse they directly popped like balloons. When the last bat disappeared, Bloody Edge suddenly appeared at the same location, riding his Blood Stalker, his face betraying some bewilderment.
Bloody Edge originally planned to use his skill to escape the damage, but he forgot a small detail. The swarm of bats would rush to attack the one who forced Bloody Edge to employ the skill. The distance didn't matter. Thus, the bats had surged to the air, trying to take a bite out of the boss.
Now, all bats were killed, and the skill was automatically cancelled. Bloody Edge hovered in the air and the pressure coming from Phorina instantly engulfed him, much fiercer than before. His body felt incredibly heavy and he was unable to control himself as he plunged downwards.
"Oh damn!"
"Edge!"
"Don't...!"
Chaotic shouts came but the friends didn't know how to help Bloody Edge. Under everyone's incredulous, shocked gazes the thief crashed down, missed all the bridges, and fell through the empty space between them. Cyclone craned her neck looking over the edge of the bridge and gulped. On the lower floors one could see some paths lining the wall but there was little solid ground. Somewhere below, a strange white fog blocked the view. Bloody Edge plunged into the fog and disappeared.
"Did he… die?"
Nervousness, apprehension, anxiousness. The friends glanced at the party's HP bars displayed at a corner of their eyes. Seconds passed. One, two. Suddenly Bloody Edge lost a huge chunk of HP, but he didn't die. Yet he also didn't return.
"Huh?"
Balm suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. She took her attention away from Bloody Edge's fate and looked at the ground not far away. There, a ray of green light was so strikingly obvious. Balm instantly felt her stomach churn. With a thought mana gathered towards her, preparing for a flash step.
But it was already too late. A second later the terrifying attack arrived with the might of a supernova, endlessly unforgiving. Balm was unable to get away in time.
The arrow crushed into the bridge, sending shockwaves in all directions. Groans could be heard. It was not only Balm but also Quickstep, who stood on the same bridge. Shockwaves crashed into their bodies. They were unable to resist the strong force. The loss of thousands of HP was the lesser of their worries as the heavy impact pushed them from the bridge. Denied the ability to fly they plunged into the abyss below, disappearing from view.
"So brutal…"
Cyclone couldn't help but shiver and Fortune not far from her nodded along. Suddenly only seven players remained. Phorina didn't show any joy, simply doing what was necessary as she readied the next arrow.
Another ray of light fell, heralding a disastrous blow. This time no one dared to be distracted. Silver Blade and Watchful Eye instantly evacuated their bridge as the arrow arrived. The explosion caused the solid stone to crack but the players remained unharmed.
Phorina slightly furrowed her brows, unsatisfied. Suddenly she unleashed another arrow without any warning. It targeted one of the already unstable bridges. SSAC had just arrived on the bridge, now forced to flee again. Liam and his friends watched calmly as the arrow crashed into the bridge, finally destroying its integrity. The stone broke apart and fell into the abyss below, reducing the number of bridges to seven. Afterwards Phorina instantly repeated the action, destroying a second bridge, giving the players less room to stand on.
The boss didn't relent. Terrifying arrows were fired from above, keeping the players on their toes. No one dared to let down their guard for even a single second. And yet accidence still happened. Sometimes one might just be unlucky. An arrow aimed too close to Watchful Eye. No matter what he did it was almost impossible to escape in time. The shockwave erupted and pushed him off the bridge, plunging him into the abyss.
As the number of players was reduced to six, Phorina suddenly seemed to get tired of playing around. She drew her bow, and a surging storm engulfed the entire tower, an oppressive pressure striking everyone's hearts.
[Bleary Mirage: To the centre!]
Everyone reacted quickly. Their bodies blurring, they used [Dash] and jumped on the central platform. Barly a second later the platform suddenly emitted a white light which produced a magical, protective dome. Simultaneously Phorina unleashed her full power. Arrows shot down targeting all the remaining bridges like artillery fire, the explosion causing the entire tower to tremble. Under this bombardment the bridges had no resistance. They crumbled apart, turning to rubble.
Yet, the terrifying arrows didn't stop there. They rushed past the platform, targeting the bottomless abyss below. Everyone held their breaths, staring at the HP bars of their friends. From one moment to the next Bloody Edge's HP instantly bottomed out. Watchful Eye followed right after. Quickstep dropped dangerously low but seemingly received Balm's healing, saving her just in time. Balm herself also took severe damage but survived thanks to her 60.800HP.
The spectacle only lasted for a few seconds. Phorina lowered her bow, exhaustion evident on her face. The conjured image behind her back disappeared. At the same time the now floating platform unleashed a strange magic. Deep, deep below the platform the scattered rocks, even the dust, suddenly came together to form eight bridges which quickly rose to the sky.
When the magic dome protecting the party disappeared, they were amazed to see the eight bridges back in place. Balm and Quickstep were standing on one of them, their faces haggard.
"Balm! What did you…"
"Don't ask…"
Balm only sighed. Falling to the floor below, unable to observe what was happening and suddenly being caught in a hail of rocks and debris was not a sensation she wanted to experience again.