Chapter 126

Servant of the Council (I)

Silence reigned supreme over the group as they hastily made their way through the dark streets of the city, nobody quite in the mood to chatter. Cain's heavy tone and serious expression have led everyone to believe they would be facing something dangerous, as he rarely -- if ever -- sported such an expression in front of them.

Similarly, he led the charge in silence, mulling over things inwardly. Part of him didn’t want to go through this; after all, from all the hints, that would undoubtedly be a raid battle. The reason it mattered so much was that he was the only one to ever actually participate in a raid. All their battles so far, including even Cain’s against the Ruined King, were against dungeon bosses.

Plus, he sighed inwardly. Even with Larua and Taima, we’re still one short of the full roster. The difference between a ‘raid’ and a ‘dungeon’ was hardly just one -- but when it came to the bosses, there were countless. Dungeon bosses never had ‘phases’; they merely had an occasional irregular attack at certain Vitality increments. Raid bosses, on the other hand, did have phases, and a far greater array of attacks. They were also far more intelligent, most having the optics to occasionally bypass the ‘system’ in place and attack the rear.

We also have just one Support, he stealthily glanced at Diya as his eyebrows tightened. He hardly doubted her talent and potential, but it would be difficult to claim he had absolute faith in her ability to perform -- especially for this fight. Raid bosses came equipped with perennial AoE attacks, not to mention the literal onslaught they unleashed onto the frontline. With two healers, some of the pressure would be mitigated as one support could just focus on the frontline while the other took care of the rest of the group.

Now, however, all the responsibility would be on Diya. And even if Cain could occasionally help with a shield or two, it was hardly cost-effective as he would be best utilized as raw damage. Outside of the support, he was actually fairly confident in the group; Lukas and Emma were decently-geared for the time being and even if Lukas didn’t have as much experience as Emma battling very difficult creatures, Cain noticed that the man’s instincts and intuition were on point.

The part he was most confident in when it came to the party was actually the raw damage output -- Jamal, Daniel, and he all provided sustained as well as burst damage. Larua should be more about the sustained DPS, while Taima... heck, I don’t even know what his Class is...

“Taima, what’s your class?” Cain asked suddenly, startling the young boy.

“Uh... I... I’m a Bard...” the boy replied shyly. However, Cain’s eyes lit up like lanterns at the mention of a ‘Bard’.

“Fantastic!!” he exclaimed with genuine joy. “Oh man, I was kinda dreading going into this fight, but now it should be fine. Alright, let’s speed up. I’m kinda getting excited here.”

“...”

Luckily, there weren't many eyes to evade on their way over to the central mansion that was built atop a steep cliff, overlooking the entire city. It had thick, fortified walls and several watchtowers, prompting the group to slow down and for Daniel to show off slightly by taking out the watchmen, slowly carving open up a path for the rest.

They snuck inside by vaulting over the walls, speeding through the path-and-garden section, forced to come to a halt right at the gates of the mansion. Right there, calmly staring at them, was a middle-aged seeming man, caped in faint red, donning heavy-looking, plate armor dyed in silver.

His hair was somewhat long and ruffled, wavy at its core, beginning to gray from its natural, black hue. A pair of eyes staring at them had an eerie, red tint to them, almost as though there was a drop of blood inside each iris.

The world seemed to freeze for a moment as everyone save for Cain and Larua swallowed a mouthful, sensing the overbearing pressure of Mana unfurling from the man.

“... the thief, I presume.” the man spoke toward Cain, prompting the latter to frown. However, there was something strange about the way he said it, almost as though Cain was just some random thief. “And I see you have wrought upon my house a house of other rats.”

“...”

"Taima, ah, sweet lad, did worms eat your brain?" the man turned toward the young boy and asked with a strangely saddened expression. "I've had much hope for you. Of all my subjects, I wanted only you to accompany me to the Higher Realm. I would have gifted you Eternity, Taima."

“You’re quite moronic if you believe you would ever be permitted into the ‘Higher Realm’ if you went through with the Sacrifice,” Cain scoffed. “Those ugly things that gave you the power... lied to you.”

“What do you know of the lies?!” the man suddenly roared, startling the group. “This whole city has been stewed in lies and deceit! Promises by the filthy and corrupt mirror-dwellers they never delivered on! Years and decades spent suckling on the remnants, on the garbage they leave behind for us!! My people--my people should be happy to become sacrifices!! Their lives would at least mean more to me than they do to the mirror-dwellers!! No matter -- with you, I will at the very least get a head-start. You should make a fine addition...”

//King Albadesh is using ‘Whisper of Corrupt Divinity’

You will be transported to a High Plane of Existence

...

Current location: Gap Between the Realms

...

The Battle will commence in 30 minutes, during which you are free to review King Albadesh’s sheet. It is impossible to leave this place unless either King Albadesh dies, or your party is defeated.

...

Context: King Albadesh had been reached out to by a Mysterious Power and offered a way to fulfill his dream -- tear away at the claws of City of Mirrors and govern an independent Kingdom. He’d been given strength he never dreamed of having before and is certain destiny is his to take.

Objective: Kill King Albadesh and prevent him from claiming thousands of lives in the name of his Dream.

Reward: If victorious, you can become the King of Albadesh City -- or anoint another to preside in your name.

...

Name: King Albadesh the 6th

Title: Servant of the Council

Race: Human-?

Level: 71

Vitality: 10,900 (100,900 HP)

...

Skills:

Phase 1 (100-70% Vitality)

Devotion of the Damned -- at the beginning of the fight, a vortex is created for each member of the party, linking to them and sapping 1% of their total Vitality per second, ignoring the defenses.

Frayed -- King Albadesh winds-up for 2 seconds and slams an ethereal projection of his weapon onto the ground, knocking everyone in the frontal cone up and sapping 5% of Vitality, healing himself for the stolen amount.

In Their Name -- every 30 seconds, King Albadesh takes all of the Vitality that vortexes sapped from the party and makes a Blood Offering, summoning 8 Wights with shared Vitality, equal to how much was sapped. The Wights don't attack, but they empower the vortexes to sap 2% of the total Vitality unless killed.

Shared Fate -- King Albadesh links two random members of the party; the two will, at random, switch places and take 5% of their total Vitality as damage.

Empower (at 70% Vitality; starts Phase 2) -- King Abladesh sheds the first layer of his armor, reducing his overall defenses by 25%, but increasing his damage and speed by an equal amount.

Phase 2 (70-25% Vitality)

Kiss of the Damned -- vortexes are empowered, sapping 2% of everyone’s Vitality per second, and occasionally striking out after 3 seconds wind-up.

In Eerie Whispers -- King Albadesh summons a Ghoul every time his Vitality drops by 5%, starting at 65%. The Ghoul will randomly attach to one of the vortexes, transferring sapped Vitality back to Albadesh, healing him. The Ghouls can be killed, but for each killed Ghoul, Albadesh gains a 1% bonus to his damage, stacking infinitely.

Borderless Realms (at 50% Vitality) -- King Albadesh sacrifices 1% of his total Vitality to break down the barriers between the worlds. Inside the quasi-dimensional space, every member of the party is randomly teleported every 8 seconds. In the meantime, Albadesh channels another Blood Rite and is immune to all damage. Lasts 36 seconds.

Heeding the Call -- right after the Borderless Realms ends, King Albadesh removes his heart from his chest and sacrifices it. He soaks the entire battlefield in his blood, sapping 0.1% of everyone’s Vitality per second and healing himself for the amount. The sap does not go through the shields. At the same time, the vortexes are empowered further, now sapping 4% of everyone’s Vitality per second.

Undying (at 25% Vitality; starts Phase 3) -- King Albadesh sheds the last layer of his armor, removing his defenses entirely. His damage, however, is doubled, as is his speed, and he regenerates 1% of his Vitality every second.

Phase 3 (25% Vitality)

Last Stand -- King Albadesh combines all the vortexes into one, sacrificing all the remaining sapped Vitality to summon a Council's Herald. The Herald is immune to all damage but can be interrupted and silenced. If not, the Herald will repeatedly heal Albadesh back to 25% Vitality and sap 10% of everyone's remaining Vitality whenever Albadesh's drops below 10%.

The Council’s Chosen -- King Albadesh sacrifices the 'Whisper of the Corrupt Divinity' to open up roaring rifts in the sky. The rifts will repeatedly spit out bolts of corrupt lightning for the remainder of the battle. If a bolt hits someone, it will summon a 4%-sapping vortex behind them. Periodically, a hand will reach from the rifts and trap a random member of the party inside a cage that saps 5% of their Vitality per second. The cage can be destroyed.

Severing the Bonds (at 5% Vitality) -- King Albadesh screams and severs the last link to humanity, shedding his human layer and becoming a Voidspawn. For the remainder of the fight, Albadesh gains ‘Lunge’ skill and will attack members of the party at random.

...

Commencing the Countdown until the battle begins... now...

29:59...

29:58...

29:57...//