The ritual complete, a partially decayed Tim rose from the bodies. And when I say rose, I mean it. He began hovering a dozen feet in the air.

He cackled and opened his eyes, and they emitted a dark purple light.

“Prepare for your demise, Titus! You shall suffer as I have!” Tim shouted.

However, I didn’t pay much attention to any of that.

I was too busy running for my dang life.

Nope, nope, nope, I thought as I sprinted down the remains of an alleyway. Flying magic-casters are not in my paygrade. Especially ones that may or may not be immortal.

“Coward! Where did you flee to!?” he shouted.

Has anyone ever fallen for that bait? I asked myself as I [Sneaked] in a corner.

Yes, [Sneak]. The best part about that skill was that Tim had no way of knowing I had it. Not because of any grandmaster plan of mine to hide my abilities during the season-long fight I had, but because of a much more foolish reason.

I had… forgotten about that skill until that moment.

In my defense, the only one who had really gotten any use of it so far was crazy Titus, and I did my best not to remember what all he got up to.

Tim flew around for a few seconds, and I watched him warily. However, he didn’t locate me.

“No matter,” he chuckled. “I know your name! You cannot hide from me!” He pulled a small silver mirror out of his inventory. “[Scry] Titus!”

Oh frick! Even if he can’t see me, it’ll give away my surroundings and-

A wordless yell and a smashed mirror interrupted my panic.

“I do not know how you made yourself immune to that school of spell, but it will only delay the inevitable!” he shouted. “Disperse and find him!”

The remaining zombies obeyed his command and began combing the city.

However, I wasn’t worried. [Sneak] was at level 5, and that was the same level that Megan had it at when she was practically invisible to me. I only had to nonchalantly move out of the way of the zombie search party when they came down my alley.

So… what now? I asked. I was relatively safe despite being stuck way behind enemy lines with a boss I wouldn’t want to fight on a good day. And if my resources were anything to go by, it was definitely not a good day.

Health at half. Nearly OOM[1]. I guess my stamina’s fine. I snorted and then froze as a ghoul pivoted in my direction. After another few moments, it kept moving.

So, if I were to fight him, how would that go? I frowned as I thought that through. He can literally just hover around, so there’s no way to engage him in melee. My only ranged options are punting daves at him, which he’ll dodge, [Hell Blaze], which he’ll [Counterspell], and [Mage Bolt].

The final one gave me a clear mental image of a soldier popping up out of the trenches to shoot at a tank with a handgun. One cannon shot later and-

I waved that thought away. Yeah, a shoot-out’s out of the question. He would win, send me to madness form, and then I don’t think I could even damage him after that.

I paused. I guess I wouldn’t have to use [Mage Bolt]. I have [Heal], and he probably counts completely as an undead now. That upgraded my mental image from a handgun to a rifle… That made me sick after firing it.

However, that did give me an idea.

Wait… Sarah! If she’s part of the group that’s been pushing into Besti, maybe she could take him down with a [Holy Cure] or something! There was a part of me that felt a bit bad about trying to pawn the fight off on the [Hero]. However, that was only a small part of me. The other part assured me that epic fights against BBEGs[2] are the entire reason for the [Hero] class.

I snuck into a ruined building that the undead had already cleared and prepared to send off my [Message].

I need to conserve as much mana as possible… I thought. “[Message] Sarah Smith. Distance to Besti? Necromancer became lich. Need help ASAP.”

Sarah Smith: 3 days. Heard explosion. That you? What is lich?

You’re the one who was born in the fantasy world, woman! Why the frick don’t you know what a frickin’ lich is!? I sighed soundlessly. I knew the answer to that. Their world had never had a lich before, and it wasn’t like they had any fantasy games where they showed up as enemies or anything.

I was in the middle of preparing another [Message] when the roof above my head exploded and showered me in rubble.

“The pitiful [Demon Lord] is asking for help from the [Hero],” Tim mocked me as he hovered over the remains of the destroyed building. “Are you planning to betray her too, just like you did Jake? Or do you actually care for her?” He sneered. “If the latter, maybe I will capture her instead. Watching your face as I revive her as a ghoul would be most delightful.”

The threats were as infuriating as they were over the top. However, I didn’t reply. Sound was the easiest giveaway for [Sneak], and there was no way I was falling for his bait.

“Ah, so I was correct. You did pick up [Sneak]. Clever,” he continued. “However, a superlative mage like myself would never let something so trivial stop me. Grant me sight of the living. [Detect Life]!”

I was hoping that was a bluff too.

“There you are!” he shouted as his arm swung in my direction.

It was not.

I sprinted out of the remains of the building as black bolts of magic exploded against the ground behind me.

How is he doing that without a chant!?

[Sneak] was forgotten as he attempted to pelt me with no-chant magic that looked like [Mage Bolt] on some serious steroids. I ducked, ran in serpentine, and just tried to survive. Meanwhile, each near-miss blew small craters into the road or toppled over the remains of a decrepit building.

The only saving grace was that he was smart enough to not close the distance. Even in that state, we both knew that if he got into [Flash Step] range that I had the advantage. So, he stayed a couple dozen feet in the air, which gave me just enough time to dodge his shots.

Well… Mostly.

“Son of a birch!” I shouted as I was just a hair too slow on one of my dodges. The bolt barely clipped my shoulder, but that didn’t matter in Placeholder. It knocked me clean off my feet, and I had to scramble back up to dodge the next one. Given the dramatic drop in my HP bar, it had to have done around 100 damage.

I can maybe take one more of those. I thought as I slid underneath the next shot and continued running. But what I need to do is find a place to hide.

Tim shot one of the buildings ahead of me on the street and collapsed it down in front of me. I scaled the rubble with some quick jumps and hurdles, and it gave me an idea.

If you can call it that.

Am I really going to do something that stupid? I asked. I glanced at the furious purple-eyed lich behind me as another bolt flew overhead.

“Yup, I guess I am,” I muttered.

I put my plan into action.

------

As soon as Tim had located Titus, the chase was on.

Now, perhaps I should field-test that new spell? The lich thought to himself. However, strangely enough, the spell he had codified and then learned at an obelisk was no longer in his memory.

How can that be? It was just a simple conversion of death magic to a bolt. The chant and its usage shouldn’t have just disappeared.

DEVOUR THE LIVING. Another part of his mind screamed. His arm moved half on reflex and the spell formed.

Or at least… it formed an attack similar to the [Death Bolt] spell he had created. It seemed as if it had been [Overchannelled], but there was no strain.

In fact, there was no cost to it at all.

He was pulling death mana out of the very air around him and funneling it into his spell.

Tim laughed hysterically as he chased after Titus with his flight and his newfound ability.

I am the supreme mage! Death itself stands at my beck and call!

He continued shooting bolts at the frantic [Demon Lord], but he was mostly just playing with his food.

I will take my time. I am in no hurry. He grinned. In fact, I have all of eternity.

The chase was cut short as Titus stopped in front of a large 3-story building.

“Stopped running, have we?” Tim taunted. His [Death Bolts] flew. However, as Titus dodged them, they collapsed the building behind him, and several things happened simultaneously.

Titus snapped his fingers, and Tim’s [Detect Life] suddenly died out.

Titus yelled, “[Mage Bolt],” and the trifling magic spell flew at Tim’s face.

Lastly, in the brief moment that Tim’s attention was diverted to the spell, Titus vanished.

[Flash Step]? Did you sincerely believe that would- Tim’s thoughts trailed off as he scanned the surrounding area.

“No,” he growled. “NO!” He shot another [Death Bolt] into the building to his right and caused another collapse. He just needed one moment of inattention, and now he is back in that accursed skill! How did he know that [Detect Life] is still on cooldown for another hour!?

Timothy connected mentally with all the nearby undead. “Spread out and find him! Search physically if you have to!”

However, he finally noticed the rather depleted state of his forces.

I will need to rectify that as soon as I am able. He scarcely had time to think that before another part of him took over once again.

CONSUME ALL!

He simply made a hand gesture, and all around him, zombies surfaced from the ground.

He laughed once again.

“I will find you, Titus! Prepare for your final reckoning!”

-----

Meanwhile, I lay there groaning.

Come on, Titus! Let’s [Flash Step] inside a collapsing building! It’ll be great! I chuckled dryly as I looked at the rubble encasing me and then at my HP bar that was sitting at around a tenth.

However, I determined that wasn’t specific enough. I checked my HP in my status and cringed when I saw 87/750 staring back at me.

I think auto-activation is at 10%. 12 HP left. That was a bit close.

However, given the furious yells and maniacal laughter I heard from outside my makeshift shelter, I was safe to regen for a bit.

So, how did he find me last time? I frowned. He even knew that I was sending a [Message] to Sarah, so he must have traced it somehow. I sighed softly. Well, just to be safe, no magic until I make it out of this god-forsaken city.

That brought up the next order of business.

So… Do I just wait until I get all my health back? I guess the alternative is to see what happens when I die again. I shuddered as I remembered the realm of nothingness I had gone to last time. I also realized that I wouldn’t have AltSys there to put me to [Sleep].

Yeah, I’m good. 2 hours of boredom is better than 50 years of it, thank you very much.

So, I waited. I occasionally heard patrols of zombies outside, and I think I even heard Tim shouting at me.

It was long, but eventually, my HP was back, and I was ready to move again.

… Except for all of the zombies I heard shuffling and moaning outside the rubble.

I might have to wait longer than I thought. I frowned. I was hoping that he would think I made it out of town somehow, but I guess that isn’t happening.

I might have been stuck there forever if I hadn’t heard an unmistakably female, but definitely not feminine, war cry echo through the town.

“Come on, is that all you got, you buckets of bones!?” the voice shouted. “I was hopin’ for a real fight!”

No… That can’t be.

I [Earth Strike] and [Air Strike] punched my way out of the rubble.

She hadn’t aged a day since I last saw her, and her long red hair fluttered in the wind as she leaped into the air.

“[Great Cleave]!” Gertrude shouted as her [Greataxe] shone. Her stroke killed a bone horror, split the body in two, and made a crater in the street.

She seemed a bit higher-level than last time we’d met, and I couldn’t help my curiosity.

“[Identify],” I cast.

She immediately spun in my direction and pointed menacingly with her axe. “Hey, sonny! That’s rude! Watch where you’re pointing them magical doodads!”

“Oh, sorry,” I started apologizing and tried to come up with an excuse. “I just… wanted to make sure you weren’t a ghoul.”

That was the best I could come up with. Especially since I was shaking just a bit. Seeing her again would probably have been enough to do that, but it didn’t help matters that she was level 25.

“Wait a cotton-pickin’ minute. A survivor?” She squinted. “Or are you that neckrarmowhatsis that I cames here to kill?”

“No, I’m definitely not the [Necromancer],” I said as I held my hands up.

She frowned. “If yer a liar, I’m gonna know.” She paused, and I guessed she was fishing around in her inventory. “Where was that liar rock? Comere. There!” She pulled out a fist-sized rock and pointed it in my direction. “Now say that again, or die right there, sonny!”

“I’m not the [Necromancer]!” the words came out a bit higher-pitched than I would’ve liked.

The stone gave a soft glow, and that seemed to satisfy her. She planted her greataxe on the ground and leaned on it.

“So, how did ya survive here?” she asked. “Ya can’t have just been buried like that this entire time.”

“We can talk about that later,” I said hurriedly. After my initial panic was over, I realized something important. There was no way that Tim hadn’t heard the commotion or otherwise sensed it when a chunk of his undead died. “We need to get out of here, now! Which way did you come from?”

I looked left and right before realizing the answer was pretty self-evident. Just follow the trail of carnage… Which was a terrible thing to leave in an undead zone. I began running and looting the bodies. I made it only a couple dozen feet before realizing that Gertrude wasn’t following.

“Gertrude! Come on! We have to get out of here, now!” I shouted to her.

“Why do ya figure?” she asked lazily.

“The [Necromancer] became a frickin’ Lich!” I shouted. “And unless you magically picked up a skill to fight things that can fly since we last fought, we need to get out of here right now!”

Her reply was to pull a hand axe out of her inventory and hurl it into the corpse of a zombie right next to me. “Of course, I can fight flying things, ya idjit!” she snorted. Her eyes narrowed. “But I don’t remember fighting you. And I sure as heck don’t remember saying you could just call me by my first name.”

That was shaping up to be an awkward explanation. I froze and thought about how to reply for a few seconds, but I was… saved?... by a bolt of dark magic being shot in my direction. I ducked underneath it as Tim hovered overhead.

“Ah, the [Berserk Queen],” Tim stated. “I wondered who else had the audacity to assail my capital.”

“Yer capital?” she replied. “Good enough fer me.” She chucked a handaxe in his direction, and Tim barely dodged it by dropping down several feet.

“You dare!?” his purple eyes blazed brighter for a second, but then he calmed. “Ah. No, I understand. You are gravely misinformed.” He pivoted around the next axe as he stated. “I am not the one you should be assailing.”

“How do ya figure that?” Gertrude shouted back as she tossed yet another axe. This one actually connected. Tim’s HP bar… moved distressingly little. “I hate every type of zambie after what they did to my home! And if yer their king, then it’s time you paid the piper!”

Meanwhile, I wasn’t sure what to do. Leaving Gertrude alone with a flying undead spellcaster seemed like a bad plan, but so did sticking around just so he could kill us both. I decided to keep both options open. I used the moment they were both distracted to enter [Sneak] and begin looting the trail of bodies.

“I am not the one who destroyed your home!” Tim thundered as he let one of the axes lodge into him. “It was the [Demon Lord] who brought the undead to your homeland, not I!”

“Yeah, well, he bought the farm over 60 years ago,” she snorted. “And unless you’re planning on bringing him back as a zambie, there ain’t exactly a way for me to kill him again.”

“And that is where you are mistaken,” he stated. “He has already been brought back to life without my intervention. In fact, you have just met again.”

Throughout all of this, she still had the truth stone in her left hand. It continued shining throughout.

She turned and looked directly at me, even with [Sneak] active. “You,” was all she stated. The stone disappeared into her inventory. She hefted her greataxe and walked slowly in my direction.

“As I thought, she does possess [Detect],” I heard Tim whisper gleefully.

However, I had other things on my mind.

“You don’t have to do this, Gertrude,” I said as I backed up with my hands raised placatingly. “I’m here to fight the undead, not-“

“Tell that to the dead civvies!” she snapped. She took one more look at Tim. “And you! Stay outta this! I’ll handle you later!”

“Of course, I have no intention of interfering,” Tim replied.

Then, she charged me with a yell.

I leaped backward out of range of the first greataxe strike that shattered a small portion of the road.

Things had gone to the worst possible outcome for me. Even if I could take on Gertrude in a 1v1, I had Tim waiting to kill me afterward. My only hope at that point was to try to retreat and hopefully outrun them.

So, I turned tail and ran. Sorry, Sarah. I did what I could here. The rest will have to be up to you.

However, as I thought about the situation, something seemed off.

Why did Tim try so hard to get Gertrude to fight me? I asked as I sprinted down the street with a screaming Gertrude close behind. I looked down at the trail of bodies, and my eyes widened. The zombies Gertrude killed… They still haven’t come back!

My eyes flicked over to the greataxe she was carrying around that seemed to have a soft gleam to it, even when she wasn’t using a skill. I also got an up-close look at one of her hand axes, but that was courtesy of her chucking it at me, so I didn’t exactly have time to examine it. A quick dodge to the side, and then a frantic dodge of her follow-up greataxe swing, and I was back to running.

So, a magical greataxe that keeps things dead? But that shouldn’t be a problem. Tim can fly now that he’s a lich. He can shoot her from range without ever getting close.

However, that made me finally realize why he was cautious.

He’s a lich. So, he can just keep coming back. That means that a weapon like Gertrudes might be the only thing that can really kill him!

The good news was that there was now an outside chance of victory. The bad news? I had to talk down a raging [Berserker] who blamed me for the death of who knows how many of her people.

How do I always get into these messes? I asked myself. I stopped, dodged the next axe swing, and activated my single [Actor] skill. [Get Into Character]. The character I had in mind? Well, I was a bit fuzzy on what I wanted, but it was mostly “someone who is exactly like me, but not terrified of Gertrude.”

“Let me explain!” I shouted.

“There ain’t nothin’ to talk about!” she shouted as she gave a reckless swing that I ducked under. “Titus! You destroyed my home and ran off like a coward!”

“The undead destroyed Gert! Not me!” I shouted back. The skill seemed to be helping at the very least. At least, until I found myself backed up into a wall.

“And whose fault was it they were there!?” Gertrude shouted. Then her axe began shining again, and she leaped into the air.

I was prepared to just [Flash Step] away. However, I realized that I wasn’t getting through to her and that I wouldn’t until I started speaking her language.

Violence.

Instead of [Flash Stepping] away, I went behind her. She was an easy target for an [Air Strike] back kick that slammed her into the wall. From there, I immediately followed it up by looping my arm around her neck in a chokehold and taking us both to the ground.

“Yours,” I whispered icily. She struggled against me and hit me with some weak [Earth Strikes] with her elbow. “You were the one who stacked all of the bodies. And you were the one who didn’t let any of her people loot them.” She nearly threw me off her, but I tightened my grip around her neck and reshuffled my pin. “But you’re right. It is my fault.”

I felt a brief pause in her struggle that I assumed was from shock. Then she was right back to trying to break my hold.

“I brought in way more monsters there than you should have ever had. I may have been tricked and lied to-“ I was briefly cut off as Gertrude somehow managed to give me an [Earth Strike] with the back of her head. “But I was still in the wrong. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry. Won’t. Cut it,” she choked out.

“I KNOW!” I shouted. “WHY DO YOU THINK I’M HERE? DO YOU THINK I JUST THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FUN TO TAKE ON THE [NECROMANCER] BY MYSELF!?” I habitually tried to pull back in my wrath aura before realizing I didn’t even have one.

I continued softer. “I made so many mistakes my last life. This was my one chance to actually do good. And maybe… maybe pay back some small portion for what I’ve done.”

Her struggles lessened.

“But I can’t fight him alone. I’ll need your help. So, even if you decide you want to kill me afterward, will you help me take down that undead son of a birch?” I asked.

There was a brief pause, and then she nodded.

I released my hold, and we both stood back to our feet. She stood confidently. I… was trying to keep my knees from knocking together.

Holy frick, did I just say all of that to Gertrude? My skill was wearing off, and I realized it may have done a bit more than I bargained for.

“Well, sonny,” she said. “I guess ya got a point. There ain’t no reason I can’t save our fight ‘til after we deal with that zambie freak. You got yourself a truce.”

She reached out her hand.

The System gave the ever-so-helpful warning about not being able to enter a truce as I went to shake it.

Then we both leaped away from each other as a bolt of magic exploded where we’d just been standing.

“A pity,” Tim stated as he hovered off in the distance. “I suppose it was a vain hope that my two greatest headaches would deal with each other.” His eyes flared. “No matter. I shall just have to handle you personally.”

Gertrude chucked a hand axe at him as another one of his bolts flew. Tim easily dodged the axe, and Gertrude dodged to the side of the bolt at the last moment. However, that didn’t stop the bolt from spraying us with bits of road and other debris.

We can’t fight him out in the open like this. I thought as I tried to come up with a plan. I got the start of one when I saw the remains of a heavily fortified building. A bank? Or a vault? I shook my head. Doesn’t matter.

“This way!” I shouted as I grabbed Gertrude’s hand and practically dragged the surprised [Berserker] along.

We entered through one of the holes in the thick walls and then put our backs up to them. The building practically shook with every bolt Tim fired after that, but none made it through.

“I thought you said we were gonna fight!” Gertrude growled. “Not run away like a buncha cowards!”

Frick. How can I explain this in a way this battle maniac will understand… I came up with a decent idea, so I went with it.

“Well, you can go back out there if you want, but it would be like running out into artillery fire,” I stated bluntly. “And your pea-shooters-“ I gestured at her hand axes. “-aren’t gonna cut it.”

She growled, put her hand axe away, and then crossed her arms. “Alright, Einstein. What’s the plan then?”

“I’m thinking,” I muttered. “Gimme a minute.”

The walls shook dangerously, and Gertrude laughed. “You probably ain’t even got a minute. Better think fast, Einstein.”

She was at least partially right about that. Tim wasn’t content to just sit back and bombard us, even though that was sure to eventually work. Zombies started crawling through cracks in the walls and areas where windows previously existed.

I beat down a group of three that came in one side while Gertrude bull-rushed another group with her greataxe. I quickly looted the bodies but noticed that once again, Gertrude didn’t.

I guess I spaced out a bit too long pondering that as she yelled. “Pay attention ya dang idjit!”

She followed that up by throwing a hand axe in my direction. I ducked in time, and it buried itself into the chest of a zombie behind me.

“Thanks for the help,” I muttered.

“Don’t mention it,” she replied, either ignoring my sarcasm or not noticing it.

However, she also didn’t go to loot the zombie that was killed by the hand axe, so out of curiosity, I picked up the weapon.

It’s faint, but it’s also glowing. I realized. However, more zombies were starting to pour in, so I stuffed it into my inventory.

“Hey, Gertrude,” I shouted as I gave one zombie an [Air Strike] kick that sent it flying across our temporary shelter. “Are all of your weapons magical?”

She cleaved through two zombies before answering, “Yeah. They all got that undead begone thingamajingy on ‘em.”

A ghoul climbed in through a window next to me, but I beat it down with a few quick [Fire Strikes]. “Alright, perfect. And do you happen to have [Enhanced Party]?” I asked.

Gertrude also had her share of ghouls to deal with as two came in her side. One of them actually managed to parry her and then grab her greataxe. The ghoul tried in vain to hold onto it as Gertrude gave him a [Fire Strike] headbut that sent it reeling. “Never liked that silly thing, but I guess if I gotta use it, now’s the time.”

She sent me a party invite that I quickly accepted. I was about to finish laying out our plan, but that was derailed as I saw her HP was sitting at completely full.

“How did you not take any damage from me choking you out!?” I couldn’t help but exclaim. Gertrude gave me an irate look and was about to answer when a bolt came through the window and sent her flying into the back wall.

“[Battlefield Regen],” she stated as her health bar that had gone down about a tenth started refilling. “Now, less yappin’ more plannin’, or you’re going back to the first one on the chopping block.”

Realizing that she had been holding back from entering [Rage] this entire time for the sake of my plan, I laid it out as best I could through the party. Then, it was time.

-------

“These two are troublesome opponents,” Tim stated as he lazily drifted in the air. Titus’s ability to never tire was on par with the undead’s, and Gertrude’s was not quite there, but her weapons made up for that deficit. It was still disconcerting to feel his attachment to the undead be severed by simple enchanted steel.

He continued firing [Death Bolts] at the structure as more of his cannon fodder assailed the weak points. However, it is only a matter of time. They must know they cannot conceal themselves there forever.

Tim was right. As he watched, they both exited through different sides of the building.

Hmm. Is it wise to split your already outnumbered forces? He asked himself.

DEVOUR THE LIVING. Another portion of his mind shouted.

No. Please. Don’t. Daddy. Please. A third portion added.

He ignored them all. He had to decide which thorn in his side to take down first. The answer was determined quickly.

He flew after Titus. I will not allow you to scurry away and hide. A part of him was worried what Titus might be plotting, but he dismissed that with a snort. I know your abilities, Titus. Nothing that you can do is capable of defeating me.

He continued casting [Death Bolts] from above as Titus sprinted and dodged. Tim also made sure to keep Titus in his line of sight the entire time to avoid him entering [Sneak].

That was what nearly caused a disaster.

Titus found a large building that was still mostly upright and quickly turned the corner.

You will not hide from me! Tim upped the speed on his flight and rounded the corner at nearly the same time… right into a hand axe.

His highly-capable mind took in the entire situation in an instant. He had flown into a trap.

Gertrude was waiting around the corner, and the hand axe was a mere distraction. The real threat was Titus, who had jumped, along with a boost from Gertrude, into the air and activated his [Disrupt].

Tim’s hovering was indeed disrupted. He lost a bit of altitude, and the magic keeping him up stuttered. However, he retained just enough maneuverability to dodge out of the way of the improvised [Demon Lord] missile by falling to his left… or so he thought.

Titus reached out and grabbed a ledge of the building, kicked against it, and then vanished. Tim had less than a split second to dodge, and he had already committed to a direction that his disrupted spell would not let him change. Titus collided with him.

System: You are grappled and cannot move

He tried in vain to fire [Death Bolts] at the [Demon Lord] who had grabbed him, but Titus had pinned his arms, and he couldn’t get a shot.

Meanwhile, they continued their decline as, evidently, his disrupted flight was not strong enough to support them both. He also could not reform it because Titus interrupted his concentration with knee strikes and headbutts with the earth variation of his [Elemental Strike] skill.

They collapsed on the ground in an awkward heap. From there, Titus simply held Tim’s body in place as a [Raging] madwoman charged him and began cleaving him with her greataxe.

His health was dropping, and he was not strong enough to escape the grapple.

“Save me!” he shouted to his undead creations. The nearby zombies rushed forward, but they didn’t last long.

“[Hell Blaze],” Titus cast. He immolated the entire area near them. The zombies were slain. Gertrude grunted in pain but kept attacking. Meanwhile, Tim screamed in pain. It was barely a fraction of his health bar, but each point hurt.

It hurts. Make it stop. His thoughts joined the whimpering part of his fractured mind. It hurts. Daddy. Please. Make it stop!

“Make it stop,” he said aloud. “Make it stop!” he repeated. The next time, he reached into the same place that he had managed to cast his [Death Bolts] from and [Overchanneled] it.

“MAKE. IT. STOP!” he shouted.

------

Honestly, my plan had worked a bit too well, and I was seriously worried. There’s no way we can win just by holding him down and beating him like a schoolyard bully. I thought as Gertrude went to town, and I just held Tim in place.

That’s when I noticed the gathering magic.

My eyes widened.

“Scatter!” I shouted, both aloud and through the party.

My warning was too late.

A wave of dark magic exploded outward from Tim and tossed us like playthings.

My momentum was quickly arrested by a nearby building. The wall cracked, and I collapsed to the ground.

Gertrude was sent flying along the street and eventually skidded to a stop a couple hundred feet away.

“Ha,” Tim gave a short laugh. Then he gave a longer one as he began rising into the air. “My thanks, Titus. If you had not interfered, I would have never figured out my true power.”

I struggled to my feet and sprinted towards him. He answered with a simple upward motion of his hand.

Suddenly, arms made of bone burst from the ground and latched onto me. I broke the first three with a quick [Earth Strike], but those were just a few of many.

By the time I tried to [Flash Step] away, it was impossible because of a System message.

System: You are grappled and cannot move

I struggled, but they just kept coming. Eventually, my entire body, except for my face, was covered, and I was forced down to my knees.

Tim hovered just a few feet from me.

“My power is death, and death is my power,” he stated. A lick of flame appeared above his hands, and he twirled it around. “To put it in small words so that even you can understand,” he continued with a sneer. “I can power any magic with the energy of death. And we are in a land that has been steeped in it for decades!”

Gertrude chose that moment to charge at him in [Rage], but he gave another simple hand gesture. Soon, she was given the same treatment I was.

He floated over to her.

“Your skills made you a worthy opponent, and one that will prove difficult to kill even now,” he stated. “However, I doubt they protect you from your primitive human needs for food and water.” She continued yelling as he floated over to her and lifted her chin up. “You will make a most excellent death knight when I finally slay you.”

Her only response was to spit at him.

He simply wiped it off and laughed.

Meanwhile, I was trying to figure out what to do. [Disrupt] was off cooldown, but I wasn’t sure if it would count each arm as a separate spell or not. Also, that would just delay the problem. We’d gotten Tim down to half health. We just needed to finish the job… and also deal with the fact that he may have a phylactery[3].

I didn’t like the solution I came to because it depended entirely on getting Tim to make a colossal mistake, but it was the only option I saw. So, I took it, and I [Got Into Character].

“Please, just… don’t… drag this out,” I began awkwardly. “If you’re going to kill me… do it… quickly.”

Tim eyed me suspiciously, which was exactly what I had wanted. In fact, I had “gotten into character” of a bad actor for just that purpose.

However, that wasn’t going to be enough to convince him that I wanted him to damage me enough to go into my demon lord form.

I always hoped I’d never have to touch this… My trump card? My madness aura.

I was close enough to the deep end that it was much stronger than I expected when I let it loose. It flooded the entire street, and I watched as Tim randomly checked over his shoulder.

Paranoia. Good. I thought.

“You’re… trying to trick me,” he eyed me suspiciously. He paused for just a second and then laughed. “You truly thought I was stupid enough to put you into your second form? Who do you believe I am!?”

He began ascending, and I could feel the magic swirling around and gathering to him.

“I will end you just as Jake did. With one single blow. [Overchannel]!” he shouted.

A bolt of dark magic formed, but it quickly bloated until it was nothing more than a sphere of swirling magic.

“Do not worry. I will make sure to prolong your suffering next time!” Tim shouted as the orb of magic flew surprisingly quickly in my direction.

The attack hit the ground, and there was an explosion. The road was turned into nothing more than a crater. The shockwave alone leveled almost the entire area and struck with enough force that Gertrude was tossed away once again despite her distance from the spell.

Meanwhile, I stood in the middle of the crater unharmed after a simple flash of red around me.

Tim never saw [Reflect Attack] except in a rollback. I thought as I watched him falling from the sky. You’re smart, but it’s still the things that you don’t know that will get you.

However, I didn’t stand still while I mentally gloated. Tim’s HP bar was still there, which meant I still had work to do.

I sprinted towards him and belatedly noticed that he was screaming in agony as he was falling. I hadn’t heard him initially because it turned out that my ears were actually ringing after that explosion, and I couldn’t hear a dang thing.

Either way, he splatted onto the ground, and I was on him. I pinned his arms to the ground with my knees and then punched him again and again in the face with [Fire Strike].

My hearing slowly came back, and Tim must have regained his senses.

“You can’t kill me. Not in a way that matters!” he shouted as his health bar dropped near empty. “I will be back again! And I will-“

I cut him off with a strike to his throat.

He looked down at the hand axe I’d buried into him.

“No,” he whispered. “No!” he shouted.

“Goodbye, Tim,” I said softly.

“This isn’t the end! That isn’t enough to slay a lich! I will still return!”

I felt the fluctuating magic and [Disrupted] it.

I wasn’t sure if that was enough, but fortunately, the System saw fit to confirm that for me. Tim’s health bar disappeared as two achievements appeared.

System: New Achievement. Slayer of Undead. Class Perk Points Gained 5

System : New Achievement. There Can Be Only 1!. Class Perk Points Gained 5

AltSys? I thought as I saw the text of the second achievement. However, I didn’t have long to ponder that. A [Raging] Gertrude charged us.

“It’s fine, Gertrude,” I said, standing up from the groaning Tim. “He’s done. He’s already dying.”

She stopped up short. “Hmm,” she said. “You sure about that?”

“Titus,” Tim whispered.

“See! He’s still alive!” she charged forward and slammed her greataxe into his body.

He groaned in pain. “Titus, please. There’s something I must tell you before I go.”

Gertrude pulled out her truth stone. “And this ain’t some trick? Some kinda undead tomfoolery?”

Tim gave a pained laugh. “There is no trick. I am dying, and I will not return.” The truth stone confirmed his words, and he continued. “There is something important I must tell Titus.”

She looked back and forth between us.

“Could you please give us a minute?” I asked. “He was part of our original party… He’s one of the ones I failed. I should at least hear his last words.”

Gertrude sighed. “Well, fine then.” She leveled her greataxe at me. “But don’t you think about running off! We still got our fight to settle!”

“Of-,” I paused as I looked at the truth stone. “I mean, how could I? I’m in your party. You’d know exactly where I am.”

She nodded, satisfied. Then after a second, she tossed me the truth stone. “Figure ya might need it. Don’t let him talk you into any tricks.”

I knelt down next to Tim with the truth stone pointing at him.

“I have no tricks left. But please, you must listen,” he coughed. “For both of our sakes.”

“Spit it out, then,” I replied.

“I must show you, too,” he said. “My left hand. Take the glove off.”

I didn’t move. “Swear it isn’t a trick?”

“We don’t have time for your paranoia!” Tim shouted before breaking into a coughing fit. “I have no tricks left. I am dying. Take the glove off, or we will both regret it.”

After the truth stone confirmed all of that, I yanked the glove off his hand.

I was confused by what I saw. His entire body was decayed and undead, but his left hand was withered, not from undeath, but from something else.

“The backlash from time magic,” he stated as he saw my contemplation.

I was again struck dumb as I stared at him.

“Death magic was not the first thing the church censured me for,” Tim chuckled dryly. “Unfortunately, my body was not able to handle the strain of even a simple time spell.” He gave me a look of hope. “But yours… You are [Ageless]. Perhaps you can tame it.”

“And do what?” I asked.

“Make it so that none of this happened,” Tim said as he weakly gestured with his head. He followed it up with a cough. He began talking quickly. “But I’m dying and do not know what will happen if that occurs in this state. You must loot my body to ensure that you get my notes.”

“Okay,” I said softly.

I reached down, but he cut me off. “Wait! One last thing!” he said. “1000 years. That is the maximum theoretical amount that something could be sent back in time. So, you have centuries.” He gave me a serious look. “But you will need every scrap of it. Understood?”

“I do.”

Tim barely managed a bob of his head. “Good. Now Titus, swear that you’ll undo all of this. Please.”

“I’ll fix all of this,” I said as I looted his body, and it turned into a swirling golden light. “I promise.”

-----

Gertrude was having a fantastic day. Things got a bit dicey with the Necromawhatsit, but she and Titus had saved the day.

Not to mention, she still got to keep her promise and beat the tar out of the [Demon Lord] after all this.

She whistled merrily to herself as she slew zambies.

Then she got one of them dang pop-up messages.

System: Titus has left the party

“No. He wouldn’t dare,” she said to herself. Despite that, she sprinted back to the site. She saw the crater, but Titus and the undead guy were gone.

He’d run out on her deal.

“Titus!” she shouted. “You lily-livered coward! You ain’t gonna get away with this! Next time we see yer a dead man!”

[1] OOM – Gamer acronym. Out Of Mana.

[2] BBEG – Big Bad Evil Guy. Abbreviation mostly used in tabletop games to refer to the main villain of a particular arc or campaign.

[3] Phylactery – In most fantasy settings, one of the main things that separates a lich from other undead is that their body isn’t actually where they keep their life-force. The usual setup is that the lich’s life is bound to a specific object (usually chosen when they become a lich) and that as long as that object is safe the lich can never truly die. Instead, killing the lich will instead cause them to respawn at their phylactery a given time later.