Black flames spread their rage. The entire battlefield felt the oppressive might. Reftrack's hateful eyes were focused on Cyclone as he raised his hand.
The young woman felt a sense of imminent danger. She didn't dare to turn her eyes away. Whatever Reftrack was about to unleash she would instantly dodge it.
[-18.971!]
From one moment to the next, without warning a dreadful damage hit Cyclone. The mage was shocked. Black flames had erupted around her out of thin air, viscously burning along her violet mage robe. Fortunately, Cyclone was already prepared to react on instinct. The mana rushed through her body and she disappeared, leaving only a few sparks behind for the flames to burn.
Cyclone materialized some distance away, placing a hand on her chest and taking a huge breath.
"That was scary…"
"Cy! Careful!"
"Move! Those flames are coming!"
Suddenly worried shouts reached Cyclone's ears. Her eyes shot wide open as they stared at the location that she left just a second ago. She could see that the black flames didn't vanish. They moved through the air, creeping towards Cyclone, determined not to let her go.
"Ew!"
Cyclone let out a sound somewhere between startled and scared. Her mind moved swiftly. She changed her posture and rushed towards the ground, using [Dive] to build up speed.
The flames were only so fast. After a short while Cyclone was confident that they wouldn't be able to catch up. She changed her flight, making use of the momentum, flying in circles. Above her were her friends fighting against the little skeleton. And below her was an army of infernals tirelessly rushing towards the cultists, fortunately ignoring the players.
Reftrack snorted unhappily as his flames were not enough to take out one of his enemies. He averted his eyes from Cyclone and swept them over the rest of the party, causing everyone to have chills running down their spines. Suddenly the boss's eyes stopped on Silver Blade. The tank cursed inwardly and moved in an instant, copying Cyclone's actions.
With a point of his finger Reftrack produced a black flame which suddenly ignited around Silver Blade, burning the tank's body. Literally the next moment she burst out of the flames, circling the boss at high speed, running away from the flames.
[-16.046!]
Of course, the little skeleton didn't stop there. Its next victim turned out to be Balm. The healer's expression was filled with worry as she joined Cyclone and Silver Blade in running around the boss like planets orbiting the sun. Balm was worried that the party would take too much damage as this continued. She could barely focus on healing. The baking heat never ceased, reducing everyone's HP little by little although the earlier health potions offered some resistance.
While the friends felt increasingly threatened, Reftrack was still dissatisfied. His next target turned out to be Quickstep.
"F*ck, this guy is a sexist!"
Cyclone couldn't help but cry out lout, drawing chuckles from everyone. Of course, the boss's target selection was usually random. Only some bosses would choose targets intelligently, for example trying to take out those posing the biggest threat first. But Reftrack didn't seem to be of that kind.
However, the little skeleton really didn't beat Cyclone's allegations as he stopped his skill after the four women were forced to escape. The eerie black flames were like persistent ghosts chasing after them, as they would only be content once their target was sent back to the last checkpoint.
"Stop watching, it's our chance to attack!"
Liam hastily urged the party and everyone perked up. Rushing at the boss they unleashed a barrage of skills. Their damage was actually not much worse than before. Quickstep's skills were on cooldown. Silver Blade and Balm didn't deal damage. Only Cyclone had her casting delayed as the difficulty increased due to her running around, which reduced her damage potential.
The black flames burned below Reftrack's feet like a platform carrying a sacred being. When the friends got close, they could feel the heat. No one dared to touch the flames, attacking the boss from above, prompting their mounts to do most of the work.
Drasky's claws shone white and black as the fox didn't show its usual playfulness. He attacked fiercely, cycling through Liam's skills. Holy Marks and Dark Marks were applied and triggered. The boss's resistances were reduced for a few seconds, boosting everyone else's attacks even more.
Bloody Edge suddenly appeared from Reftrack's shadow. His Blood Stalker mount bared her fangs, the little daggers snapping shut as it delivered a [Deadly Bite]. To Bloody Edge's delight the skill produced a critical strike. Blood-red light played around the mount's mouth as it not only dealt a terrifying amount of damage but also siphoned the enemy's vitality.
[-7402!!!]
[+8865!]
Bloody Edge's HP fluctuated constantly. During the fight, in order to maximise his damage, it was best for Bloody Edge to keep his HP around half. However, with the constant damage from the heat it was difficult and dangerous to do so. Now, with this round of healing he recovered a great deal, reducing the danger, feeling some relief.
"What a blow!"
"So much damage!"
The friends were quite amazed. Thanks to the dragon's blessing their damage remained fierce. After a round of attacks the boss again lost about 50.000HP. If it continued at this pace, Reftrack would soon be defeated.
Of course, the boss could tell as well. The flames in his eyes dimmed slightly, emitting a rare solemness. With a thought all the black flames returned to him.
"Finally free…", sighed Cyclone.
"Don't celebrate too early!"
"Sure."
Cyclone nodded lightly upon hearing Silver Blade's warning. She also knew that the battle was not finished. At this moment Balm made her move. A starry sky appeared, shining down scattered light. Her friends swiftly rushed towards the illuminated areas, enjoying the healing they brought. Balm's passive activated multiple times, spreading various empowerments.
Unfortunately, Reftrack didn't grant the party much time to recover their strength. He raised his hands, and the black flames began to surge. Spreading rapidly they occupied a large part of the room, repeating the skill from the start of the battle. The friends already knew what to expect, distancing themselves while vigilantly staring at the rolling black flames. A terrifying danger radiated from the flames like the breath of an evil dragon, way more potent than the grey flames before.
"There they come!"
Everyone felt their chests tighten as black flames took the form of swords, shooting at the players. Such speed, such numbers. It was impossible to dodge them all. Like black shooting stars the swords drew long, flaming tails, at least three of them targeting each player. The friends suffered multiple hits.
Radiant Shield had to protect himself with a [Sacred Barrier]. Balm revealed a similar move as her Sun of Lumor flying mount shone brightly, producing a sun-like shield which hovered in front of her. Contrary to Radiant Shield's [Sacred Barrier], Balm's barrier didn't move together with her. It was like a rock parting the waves, offering protection to everyone standing behind it.
Balm informed Cyclone in advance, prompting the mage to seek protection behind the radiant sun. However, the two friends unfortunately miscalculated. Together they attracted eight flaming swords. Under the might of the attack the sun-like barrier exploded in golden radiance, unable to hold back the attacks, breaking apart after just five hits.
Three swords broke through. Cyclone and Balm were caught off guard. Balm was hit by one of the swords, surviving the blow thanks to her large HP pool. Cyclone, thought, was not as lucky. Suffering from two blows her HP emptied out and it was game over for her.
"Cyclone!"
"Balm! Promise me to take revenge! And take care of my family. Emily, she is still so young..."
"O… of course."
Cyclone was in the process of dramatically reciting a speech from a movie they had watched a while ago but unfortunately her last words were cut short.
The others watched everything happening while frantically dodging the swords coming for them. Their vigilance rose by another level as they were once again presented the dreadful power of the boss. Other than Radiant Shield, Silver Blade, and Balm probably no one would withstand three hits. Really, one could never let their guard down. It might look like the boss wouldn't survive much longer but Reftrack hadn't given up yet.
The little skeleton was only becoming fiercer. Another wave of flaming blades swiftly followed the first and one more came right after the second. The friends received multiple hits. Balm used her skills mindfully, healing those in danger of dying. It was her achievement that the party made it through the situation without losing any more members.
"Balm, this time you are shining brightly!", laughed Radiant Shield, causing a smile to inevitably bloom on Balm's face. However, there was a small hint of disappointment as well.
"It's a pity Fortune couldn't see it…"
"No need to worry. I recorded everything!"
"Really? You're the best!"
Balm couldn't help but feel some anticipation. Now they only had to finish the fight cleanly. Her eyes fell on the boss as the flames slowly receded.