366. Insect

[Hellabomination - Lvl 180]

I watched in horror as Belzu was squashed like a bug. It was so unexpected, I remained standing there in shock as the massive clawed hand drew back into the sky. Its shadow loomed over me as the Primeval Demon’s crushed body twitched once before falling still.

“Huh.”

And Orgaf shouted.

“Look out—”

The Elite [Rogue]’s voice snapped me back to reality. My gaze snapped up as the dark shadow engulfed my being. I flew back, propelled by my still-active [Haste] and a burst of flames as the [Hellabomination]’s hand descended on where I’d been.

The ground trembled under the wild Primeval Demon’s weight. I swerved up to the sky, watching as Orgaf quickly backed away hundreds of feet from the portal. Willy flitted up beside me, ignoring the flying screeching Demons all around us.

“What…?”

He was at a loss for words. There was no quip and no snarky comment for him to make. It was 20 levels higher than the [Ancient Centinel] I’d fought in the Bloodied Gulf— and I didn’t even have the Breastplate of Alexander on me!

What was worse was that it was a Demon. That meant that it was… likely far stronger than mortals and monsters around its level. I turned to Willy, shaking my head.

“We’re not beating that thing. We need to stop it from passing through the portal.”

A second arm, just as enormous as the first, emerged next. The [Hellabomination] started to pull itself up as a third arm reached out into the sky.

“Come on!”

I flew forward, along with Willy and six of my clones. I raised my hand as rainbow-colored flames coalesced into a wispy ball of fire. A blast from eight different directions struck down at the [Hellabomination]. Not combination casting— simply multiple spells, acting in tandem like the Wyvern flock did.

Gold and silver flames mixed with Willy’s crimson flames only to be lost in my torrent of iridescent colors. It crashed down at the [Hellabomination], knocking it off balance. One of its arms slipped as it raised its third arm, trying to block the deluge of fire.

“It’s working! It’s working—”

I started, only for a glint to catch my eyes. I saw a blue light flicker from the other side of the portal. I leaned forward, frowning.

“What is that…?”

And a pillar of blue fire shot up from the portal. It burned straight through our combined magic, aimed straight for us. Willy and I managed to duck out of the way, but two of my clones weren’t so lucky. They were engulfed and killed as the wild Primeval Demon’s blue flames dissipated.

Panting, I looked down to see massive eyes staring up at me. The [Hellabomination] wore the face of a beast’s skull. It had a pair of forward-facing horns, each one as long as its clawed hand. A fourth arm emerged from the portal as it continued its climb up.

I stared down at the wild Primeval Demon. It reminded me of what I used to look like as an [Asura Changeling]. Except… about a hundred times as large.

The [Hellabomination] let out a terrible roar. One that was followed by another blast of blue flames, and I hurriedly backed away. Willy and I descended next to Orgaf as my four clones circled around the portal while unleashing their silver and gold flames.

“That thing is as high-leveled as the Watcher. We can’t let it escape or it’ll cause more destruction than destroying a single country!”

Orgaf growled, facing the [Hellabomination]. I turned to him as two more of my clones arrived and flew straight into the fray.

“How do you suggest we do that?”

His eyes narrowed. He stepped forward, sheathing his dagger.

“Stand back, but keep it distracted with your clones.”

“Um, sure?”

I did as he said, standing behind him with Willy as my clones continued to zip around the [Hellabomination]. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to keep that up for long. One of my clones drew too close, trying to knock back one of the massive arms, only to be snatched up by the clawed hand. She exploded, but it barely even caused the wild Primeval Demon to flinch.

Orgaf closed his eyes, still standing ahead of us. His mouth moved as he whispered to himself.

“[Darkness reigns, horrors lurk. Shadows linger as the day is snuffed out. Swarm and slither, consume and devour. All shall suffer.]”

It was night. The world was covered in shadows. And I watched as the darkness seeped out of everywhere the light didn’t touch. An eerie quiet befell the ruined city as the [Hellabomination]’s roar, the flying wild Demons’ screeches, and even my own breathing was muffled and silenced. All I could hear was Orgaf’s words as he finished his Grand Skill’s chant.

“[Nightmare’s Haunt].”

And I stepped back. Sound returned as a wave of shadows launched forward. It consumed everything in its path, wrapping it all in darkness. My clones flew back as the [Hellabomination] lifted its torso up into this plane. Then the shadows reached it.

They wrapped around the wild Primeval Demon. Like some kind of web. And as the [Hellabomination] thrashed about, the shadows only tightened around its pale skin.

“This Grand Skill is my only area of effect magic I have. It can incapacitate tens of thousands of soldiers for an entire day. There’s no point struggling against it because the shadows will only grow stronger.”

I stared at the wild Primeval Demon, caught in Orgaf’s trap. It struggled, trying to use one of its free arms to tear off the shadows. But, surprisingly, the shadows held on. However, that didn’t solve our problem.

“What now? Do we just hope the portal closes after a day?”

“We do not. Trapping it was the first step.”

Orgaf answered simply. I cocked my head.

“What’s the second step?”

“That Grand Skill belonged to my second Class. Now—”

He drew his dagger as his body shifted. The shadow of his silhouette split and protruded around him like the hands of a clock. His smile thinned, spreading unnaturally wide up to his ears.

“Observe my true Grand Skill. [The World Shall Bleed By My Blade].”

And Orgaf, Thief of the Golden Scale, Elite adventurer, Level 161 [Nightcrawler Shadower] dashed forward. His shadows began to spin. At first, only on the ground. Then as their movements sped up, an odd illusion seemed to take over where it looked like it slowed instead. Before I could even parse this, the shadows were breathed life and emerged from the earth. They spun around Orgaf like the slashing of a thousand blades in a circular motion.

And it tore into everything it touched.

Orgaf leapt into the air, landing on the [Hellabomination]’s first arm with his whirlwind of shadowed blades. The Demon reeled as he assailed it and ran up to its shoulder. My eyes widened at the sight of black blood spilling over the ruins of the palace. He was actually hurting it!

I nodded at Willy, spinning my Divine Nebular Scythe.

“Let’s help him!”

Another clone arrived at the scene as I soared into the air with the [Will O’ Wisp]. I raised my hand, slowing the area around only the [Hellabomination]’s head with [Warped Time] as it craned its neck to face Orgaf. It tried to swat him off, but he simply leapt to another arm and ravaged it as well.

It recoiled, two of its arms now in the air thanks to Orgaf’s attack. It only had two other arms to steady itself up atop the portal. My six remaining clones flew with Willy to one of the arms, readying their magic as I broke off for the other and created a flaming bow.

“Ready?”

I called out to them, holding up the bow. They nodded, and I reached into my [Dimensional Pocket]. Their flames pooled together, blasting the wild Primeval Demon’s other arm back. It began to lose its balance as I produced something I had been hiding for a while now.

[The Giant Killer Arrow: Epic Grade - An arrow created by Odmantus the Giant Killer. It can return to the user as long as it remains undamaged. Deals immense piercing damage.]

The arrow itself was massively oversized. Even longer than I was tall. It glowed red as I nocked it into my flaming bow.

“Take this— The Giant Killer Arrow!”

It shot out, faster than even I was expecting. I felt a link connecting me to it as it soared straight for the wild Primeval Demon’s forearm. It dug deep as the [Hellabomination] roared in pain. It recoiled in pain, finally losing all grip it previously had. I tugged at the link to The Giant Killer Arrow and it appeared back on my bow.

“And again! And again! And again—”

I fired The Giant Killer Arrow repeatedly at the [Hellabomination] as it fell back through the portal. It had been nearly through moments ago, but now it was only shoulders up into the Mortal Realm.

“It’s working!”

I turned to the Elite. His attack continued. The shadows clung on. The wild Primeval Demon closed its eyes, falling as only its head poked out of the other side.

“Come back!”

I called out to Orgaf. He nodded, throwing himself off the [Hellabomination] and landing at the edge of the portal. I sent two of my clones straight past him, sacrificing them to push the wild Primeval Demon all the way through to the other side. They detonated in its mouth before it could release another fire breath.

“We did it—”

I started, watching as its last arm disappeared beneath the portal. But… something grasped onto the other side. A little bit of white stuck out from the portal, even as the rest of the wild Primeval Demon had fallen off the portal. It looked like it was made out of bone, but it was just as massive as the [Hellabomination]’s forearms had been. It bent in a crooked way, accompanied by a second of this same thing.

Both these limbs pulled the wild Primeval Demon back through the portal as I stared. They were…

“...wings?”

Bone-like wings. Just like my [Wings of the Netherworld]. The [Hellabomination] climbed back to the other side as magical wings spread out from its upper back. A thin plume of smoke left its mouth as my mouth moved.

“Oh no.”

I dove out of the way from the fire breath. It caught another of my clones as the wild Primeval Demon swiveled its head around. I cursed as some of the flames washed over my back, saved only by the combination of my Aura of Greater Protection and [Protection of the Sentinel].

Orgaf, Willy, and my remaining clones managed to steer clear from the fire, but that only allowed the [Hellabomination] to crawl back out of the portal. It concentrated its flames on the shadow that was tangled around it as it tried to rip itself free from the bindings. I nocked The Giant Killer Arrow onto my bow once again, shouting.

“Why won’t you just go back to where you came from!”

I was about to loose the arrow, but a strong impact struck my back. I spun around, blinking. A heavy creature clung onto my back.

“What—”

A [Savage Agarat] snapped its maws for my head as I tumbled out of the air. That was right. There were still other Demons present. And they were wild— without thought. It attacked me simply because I was looking the other way.

“Get off of me!”

A blast of rainbow-colored flames dealt with it easily enough. However, when I looked up, I was flying next to the looming figure of the [Hellabomination]. All four of its arms were on the other side of the portal, and Orgaf’s shadows that were keeping it down were mostly gone. It spread its wings wide and huffed once. I braced myself.

“No—”

And the [Hellabomination] swatted me down. Just like it had with Belzu.