Exile groaned as the boss' claws raked against his body and sent him flying. As his body crashed against a wall, he became livid with himself. 'Damn! I was careless!'

[You have been attacked by Nar'Kozz.]

[Divine Power Damage Check… Enemy Authority 85. Your Authority 53. Your Divine Power is Inferior. -33 HP]

Exile's mind wandered to check his remaining his HP and DP. '49/150 for health, but... only 4/53 for DP.' A grim expression crossed his face as he realised there were no more tricks he could use. 'My lowest cost spell takes 5 DP, I'm as good as out of this fight...' That was the moment that his Lesser Blessing wore off. Exile sighed as he felt his speed decrease.

Noslin barely avoided the blow aimed at her, but afterwards she shook her head. Exile could tell from that gesture that she had most likely run out of DP as well, or was about to. A quick glance told him that the other leaders were still a distance away from the statue. 'We have to stall it for a while longer.'

Exile made a gesture towards Noslin to let her know he was going to try attacking again. However, she signalled that it was a bad idea. She clearly knew that he was not in good shape either. But that just left them with a serious problem. If they tried to make a run for it now, then Nar'Kozz would likely annihilate the entire alliance.

Both of them came to the same conclusion. It was likely that they would not make it out of this alive. Noslin's expression turned grim as she used the last of her DP to slow Nar'Kozz down again. At the same time, Exile raced in towards the creature to draw its attention. 'I have to make it waste its time...' The goal this time was not to land a blow, but to keep Nar'Kozz's attention on them.

A grunt escaped from Nar'Kozz as the beast used all of its hands on Exile's side to suddenly surround him. Exile grimaced as he saw that he had no way out of that situation. He slid to a halt as he turned to face the hand that would reach him first. With a swing of his axe, his eyes went wide as no damage notification came up and Nar'Kozz succeeded in grabbing ahold of him.

'Crap! What can I do?' Exile struggled to glance over the long fingers that held him tightly. Noslin was racing towards him to help him get out of that situation, but another clawed hand slashed at her, causing her to scream. Exile grimaced as more hands wrapped around his body and began to squeeze.

[-5 HP]

[-5 HP]

[-5 HP]

His health was slowly being sapped by that action as Nar'Kozz dragged him along while chasing Noslin. Noslin was at her wit's end. Nar'Kozz was faster and stronger than her. With Exile trapped in the creature's grasp, she did not even have any support to rely on. She struggled internally with thoughts of abandoning him and trying to save herself. 

Eventually, she grit her teeth as her expression became defiant. She turned to face the massive Nar'Kozz as it leapt towards her! 

"Get out of there!" Exile groaned through the pain of being crushed to death. 

However, Noslin ignored him as she barely avoided being crushed by Nar'Kozz's massive frame. At the moment she avoided the leap, she lost sight of a few of the boss' arms. So she was unaware of the danger approaching her from behind. Nar'Kozz had proved to be a cunning boss as its claws stabbed through Noslin's chest from the rear.

Noslin groaned in pain as Nar'Kozz used that moment to trap her in its clutches as well. The creature screeched in triumph as its head turned towards the fleeing players. Those extra moments it had taken to trap Exile and Noslin had bought them enough time to reach the hidden entrance to the Autosphere station.

Exile grinned, even as his health continued to slip away. 'At least the others will get away now. Even if Nar'Kozz gives chase at this point, most of them will escape any harm. Exile could hear Clay roaring in the distance, Burri and Beans were desperately trying to drag him down the staircase.

Exile could only shake his head as Nar'Kozz dragged the pair as it tried to stop them from leaving its domain. But it was too late. The other leaders swiftly made sure an orderly retreat happened and by the time Nar'Kozz got close, Exile could see a devastated expression on the faces of Clay and the others as they were dragged inside.

Exile chuckled as the boss screeched in rage at its prey escaping. They had succeeded in preserving as much of the Alliance's strength as they could. Noslin nodded at Exile through the pain she was feeling. The two leaders had come to develop a tinge of respect for each other through this battle.

'Not long now...' Exile sighed as his health dropped to 14/150. He could not help but hope for a miracle to save them. Which was ironic since he was meant to be one of those that delivered miracles in this game. Nar'Kozz turned its attention back to the two pieces of prey it had captured. Its face twisted as if in disdain.

"Well... It was a good fight." Noslin chuckled. "Shame we didn't gain anything from it."

"We can always try again..." Exile attempted to shrug, but Nar'Kozz's grip prevented that from happening. "See you on th...."

Noslin flinched as Nar'Kozz bit down on Exile's head. It had been so fast that neither of them saw it coming. Noslin could only sigh when she saw Exile's body turn in to motes of light and disappear in those dark ruins. A single golden orb fell to the ground from the gap that had been created in Nar'Kozz's grip.

"It's going to be hell trying to recover these..." Noslin shook her head as she prepared for her own demise. 

As Noslin's body turned to specks of light and disappeared, Nar'Kozz let out a screech to announce its victory over the intruders. The adult Deep Stalkers seemed to respond to that call as they crawled out of their hiding places. Soon they began to screech in response. Nar'Kozz waited until those sounds quieted down. A hungry expression appeared on its face as its attention moved to the two golden orbs on the floor.

Nar'Kozz swept the orbs up carefully in its hands. Drool slathered down its maw as its full attention seemed to be drawn to them. Eventually, the creature tilted its head back and opened its maw wide. Two golden orbs flashed briefly in the darkness before disappearing into Nar'Kozz's mouth...

Exile groaned loudly as feeling returned to his body. The sensation of being cut off from all of his senses for a while had been a horrible experience. As some clarity returned to his mind, he groaned. 'How much damage did that do?' His body felt far weaker than before. He dreaded taking a look at his stats, but he knew that he had to. 

It took him a few moments to gather the courage to do it. Before he could, another figure took shape in a blinding light that appeared next to him. Exile nodded at Noslin as she awakened.

"The temple in Valheim?" A frown appeared on her face momentarily before she remembered that she had been killed. "Damn it!"

Exile waited for her to calm down a little as she cursed madly. It was understandable. Both of them had reached Tier 1, but Nar'Kozz could handle them with ease. It was a frustrating situation to deal with. With Nar'Kozz guarding the ruins, it would be difficult to put their plan in motion. Meaning that they would likely have to abandon that part for now.

Noslin shot an angry gaze towards Exile, but it was not meant for him. She was just furious with the situation. Both of them knew that there was nothing more that they could have done.

"So... How bad is it?" Exile eventually asked with a grim expression. Reminding Noslin about the cost they would have paid to save everyone.

A loud groan escaped from her at those words and Exile became sure that she was checking her own stats. With a deep sigh he did the same. His expression turning even more grim as he studied the results...

[Name: Exile]

[Pantheon: Ragnarok]

[Title: King of the Gods (Ragnarok), God of Lightning (Incomplete: 1/3)] 

[Race: Elemental Royal Deity (Human)]

[Tier: 1]

[Level: 1]

[HP: 110/110 (35+75)]

[DP: 43/43 (20+33)]

[Strength: 5]

[Endurance: 22 (7+15)]

[Speed: 18 (13+5)] 

[Authority: 43 (10+33)] 

Unknown to them, a series of system messages were running in the game's main code...

[Nar'Kozz has devoured 50% of Player: Exile's Divinity. Increasing Nar'Kozz's stats...]

[Nar'Kozz has devoured 50% of Player: Noslin's Divinity. Increasing Nar'Kozz's stats...]