Scarlett surveyed the enemies before them. The Auranthials on the right were the lumomancers, while those on the left were the pyromancers.

“Fynn, you are responsible for those to the right. Miss Astrey, Mister Thornthon, focus your attention on the ones to the left. Miss Hale and Father Abraham will handle defense and support,” she immediately issued her orders. “For now, I will keep the central one occupied.”

Then the battle commenced. A low growl escaped Fynn as the wind surged around him and propelled him forward, his knuckles adorned with translucent green claws. As he charged towards the enemies, Shin also stepped forward with shield raised.

Rosa’s klert produced a blend of harmonious tones as the bard deftly interwove three different charms, buffing the entire group. Scarlett felt her focus sharpen and newfound vitality coursed through her.

Allyssa fired her hand crossbow at one of the Auranthials who conjured fiery globules in front of it. Simultaneously, she retrieved a flask from her bandolier and hurled it towards the pyromancers to the left.

Seeing her party act without hesitation, Scarlett cleared her mind of distractions and raised her hands. She had been itching for a chance to go all out for a while now. None of the other dungeons they had cleared in the Bridgespell area had pushed them to their limits.

She started by assuming control of the ten or so spells being cast by the pyromancer Auranthials. With the added buff from the [Tiara of Lost Benediction] and Rosa’s enchantment, the action was almost effortless. She then summoned several fire arrows and Aqua Mines around the room, targeting their enemies’ weak points, which were strikingly apparent to her artifact-enhanced vision.

The tall boss figure, a remnant left behind by Deacon Emberwood, found itself ensnared within a spherical cage of fire. That was mostly for show, though, as Scarlett focused her initial assault on the other foes. Barely a moment had passed since the fight began, and all the spells and attacks from both sides were unleashed almost simultaneously.

An explosive cacophony filled the chamber as fiery eruptions and thunderous crashes echoed throughout. Steam billowed in sporadic pockets, and Scarlett’s fire arrows found their mark. Most of the pyromancer Auranthials’ spells fizzled into nothingness or went astray, targeting their own comrades. An explosive burst of ice erupted from the flask Allyssa had thrown, landing in their midst and encasing part of their robes and lower bodies.

The brunt of Scarlett’s barrage landed on the lumomancer Auranthials, creating opportunities for Fynn by knocking them down or destabilizing them with her Aqua Mines or exploiting gaps in their defenses to punch through with her fire arrows. Some of those Auranthials’ spells—streaks of light emitted from the nimbuses circling them—were knocked off course and collided with the walls, while shimmering discs of brilliant light blocked the rest. Beside Scarlett, Raimond casually tossed his bright blond hair over his shoulder, wearing a confident smile as the air almost seemed to dazzle around him.

When Fynn reached his targets, he crashed into them like a battering ram and began tearing through their ranks. While they were sturdy enough to withstand his blows for a while, and he was basically outnumbered ten to one, Scarlett’s previous attacks had left them vulnerable, hopefully to the degree where the young man could keep them in check while supported by Rosa and Raimond.

It was then that Deacon Emberwood’s remnant took action. An array of sigils glowing red and bright white appeared all around the room.

Scarlett shifted most of her attention to the boss as she prepared for its next move. With some slight mental exertion, she conjured clear trays of water to encase each sigil while also recreating her earlier onslaught, directing it all towards the remnant.

Both their attacks fired off at the same time.

Streams of searing fire and radiant light erupted from the sigils, piercing through the water barriers, which, despite her hopes, failed to provide any substantial obstacle. The fiery tendrils snaked through the room like they had wills of their own, some targeting Fynn, while others homed in on Scarlett and the rest of their backline.

Raimond’s discs of light materialized, attempting to intercept the attacks, but their sheer numbers overwhelmed even his defences, allowing a few to get through. A beam of light struck Scarlett’s left shoulder, while a blast of fire slammed into her midriff, almost knocking the wind out of her. The light beam stung more since she had some fire resistance from her [Chromacloth], but both attacks partially penetrated the defense granted by the [Sidhe’s Flowing Garbs] skill.

Gritting her teeth, she endured the pain. This dungeon was high enough level that relying solely on that skill wouldn’t suffice. This was why she wanted to use some of the dragon materials to craft more effective defensive equipment.

Her shoulder throbbed—she suspected it might have been dislocated, though she was far from an expert in these things—but it was bearable. Next time she would have to use the short-range teleporting ability that her [Garments of Form] granted her to dodge that.

As she reached for a health potion and assessed the damage she had inflicted on the boss, both Rosa’s soothing music and Raimond’s healing light enveloped her and their group. She felt her injuries rapidly mending themselves.

Having two healers in the group made a lot of things easier.

Ignoring the healing potion, she narrowed her gaze at the boss. Deacon Emberwood’s remnant remained suspended in the air at the chamber’s center, seemingly undeterred and having broken through her fire cage. There were no visible signs of damage from her attacks, but she doubted they had been entirely in vain.

If this remnant had been on par with the real Deacon Emberwood, she imagined it wouldn’t have mattered what she threw at it. That man would probably have been somewhere in the 70-80 level range, while this boss probably wasn’t any higher than 65—she couldn’t recall exactly—since her [Charms of Apperception] still revealed its weak points.

Among the higher levels, the disparities in strength became more pronounced. Even a group of level 60s wouldn’t stand a chance against a level 70 opponent, but against a level 65, they might.

Whether her party was actually near that level was another matter entirely, but it was also a moot question. This world didn’t function by the same binary logic.

Glancing to the side, she eyed her mana reserves.

[Mana: 9839/12039]

This should be doable. Even though she had already used up over 2000 mana, she still had some mana potions at her disposal before reaching her limit. The purpose of that initial assault had been to destabilize the Auranthials and let her party capitalize to build up momentum. She could afford to be a bit more conservative from now on, which meant she would be able to keep this up for a while.

The boss began conjuring up even more sigils around the chamber, and Scarlett responded by preparing her own offensive. This time, she also tried manipulating the fire aspects of the boss’s attack as it launched its spells, but that proved more challenging than with the Auranthials. Nevertheless, she succeeded in diverting some of the spells to strike the boss’s allies, which was more mana-efficient than using her own magic to do so.

The battle transformed into a continuous exchange of blows between Scarlett and the boss, while the rest of her party focused on supporting each other and engaging the Auranthials. With her occasional help to neutralize some of the pyromancy spells whenever she was free to, Shin and Allyssa managed to prevent their group of Auranthials from causing any significant amount of damage. Although the Shielder pair struggled to eliminate their foes, they were doing enough.

Fynn, despite being outnumbered and outmatched, was fighting valiantly against the lumomancy Auranthials. Even with several buffs from Rosa and his innate magic, though, as well as Raimond’s protection and healing, the young man was wearing himself thin. Nonetheless, he continued pouncing on any Auranthial that dared divert its attention from him, doing an even better job than Shin and Allyssa at controlling his adversaries.

It also helped that they couldn’t hide from him by going invisible or conjuring any illusions, since he could see through all of those without issue.

That said, his shirt resembled more a tattered web of holes and rips than clothing at this point, and while each burn or scorch mark healed shortly after he sustained them, the cumulative toll on his body continued to grow. Only Raimond and Rosa’s constant attention prevented him from collapsing.

Not that he seemed to care much, judging from his unyielding growls and savage assaults, sending Auranthials hurtling to the ground. Four of them were even lying in lifeless heaps.

Scarlett had sustained a few injuries here and there, but those were healed quickly and she managed to dodge the worst attacks. She had also succeeded in eroding the boss’s health enough to visibly damage it. Its robes were torn, exposing holes where there was nothing but condensed white light beneath.

Originally, she had harbored concerns that the boss might boast fire resistance that countered her, but either her worries had been groundless, or any such resistance proved less effective against true pyrokinesis. Her attacks were unquestionably having an effect, albeit gradually.

[Mana: 4626/12039]

She had already consumed a couple of mana potions, and it was dangerously easy to inadvertently exhaust one’s remaining reserves without noticing in fights like this. Nevertheless, she still felt confident that she could manage.

As she countered another assault from the boss and retaliated with her own blend of Aqua Mines, fire arrows, and other more basic applications of pyrokinesis, the remnant suddenly froze in mid-air.

A faint smile wormed its way onto Scarlett’s lips. Seemed like that had been enough.

The boss stretched its arms wide.

All the Auranthials went still. Both Fynn and Shin paused in confusion as their opponents suddenly fell into useless piles of cloth and embers of white light flowed from them towards the boss.

“Prepare yourselves,” Scarlett declared.

You always had to be extra careful when bosses entered their final phase.

Deacon Emberwood’s remnant absorbed the incoming light, and its robes restored themselves. The tall figure descended to the ground, growing in size until it nearly brushed against the stone ceiling. A deep voice resonated through the chamber.

“For those who have found this place, know that it was never my intention to allow outsiders here. This place is naught but a manifestation of my own selfishness and desire for penance, futile and meaningless as it is. Forgive me, but if you wish to leave after disturbing this place, you will have to prove yourself capable.”

The voice seemed to have no clear source and sounded much like a prerecorded message from ages past. Still, there was a certain weight and presence to it.

The now-towering figure of the deacon’s remnant raised its arm, and a coiling blend of fire and light, intermingling in a candescent display of harmony and intensity, formed at the far end of the chamber. It expanded to blanket the entire wall, from floor to ceiling, and then slowly began its deliberate advance, leaving no sanctuary.

Scarlett’s eyes darted about as she watched the impending attack, and an idea surfaced in her mind. This was a variant of the [Luminous Inferno] spell from the game, and while they might be able to take it head-on and rely on healing to make it through, there might be a better option.

“Step back!” she called out to Shin and Fynn before turning to Rosa. “Miss Hale, I shall require your assistance.”

The bard met her gaze and quickly seemed to catch her meaning, offering a sure nod with a smile.

Scarlett then raised her hands once more, facing the oncoming storm of bright red-and-white fire, twisting upon itself. The deacon’s remnant remained motionless at the chamber’s core, seemingly unfazed even as it teetered on the brink of being engulfed by its own spell.

Taking a final, deep breath, Scarlett mustered all of her concentration and summoned a sea of fire to confront the encroaching wave.

The flames that erupted were a deep red, darker than those conjured by the remnant, and stretched from one end of the chamber to the other, even threatening to swallow the boss’s figure as well. These were the highest-intensity flames Scarlett could muster with what mana she had left, and it took all of her effort to control them properly while condensing them to this degree. Her remaining mana dwindled rapidly, but even with all of this, she wouldn’t be able to stop what was coming.

Then, a fresh melody rang out from Rosa’s instrument, creating a beguiling arrangement that permeated the room like an ethereal symphony. The deep-red flames responded to the notes, trembling and shifting ever-so-slightly. Tiny, almost translucent echoes of the flames flickered into existence, their hue a delicate shade of blue, dancing in harmony with the music.

A moment passed, and the echoes began to explode into small bursts of blue light, resonating like the strings of an otherworldly harp. As they brushed against Scarlett’s crimson flames, more echoes sprang to life. Soon, they spread, blanketing the center of the chamber with a vibrant canvas of blue-and-red fire that looked almost alive. The spectacle was almost awe-inspiring in its brilliance, obscuring the boss and the surrounding space.

The very air itself seemed to shudder as the fiery tableau shifted, streaks of white light piercing through it, accompanied by the cooler flames of the [Luminous Inferno] spell. Embers of blue pounced on the new flames, consuming them and birthing even more echoes that spread relentlessly. The thunderous roar of the blazing fire merged with the mesmerizing melody of Rosa’s magic as the blue flames extended their dominion.

For several heart-pounding seconds, Scarlett and the others watched this display. More and more of the conflagration before them transitioned to an ethereal blue, until eventually, the echoes began fading away, taking with them fragments of the boss’s attack. The lumomancy aspects of the spell lingered a bit longer, a few odd streaks of white light streaking and hovering in the air, but those eventually started losing their cohesion as well and petered out into nothingness.

In the midst of all this, Deacon Emberwood’s massive remnant was a chaotic blend of bright light shining through the scorched patches on its robes and pristine, untouched spots that belied the inferno it had just suffered through.

Scarlett and Rosa had yet to fully master the technique, so its offensive capabilities against normal foes remained somewhat lacking.

An awed sound escaped Allyssa close to Scarlett, while Raimond appeared both surprised and entranced by what they had just seen. Shin and Fynn quickly turned their gazes to the boss, though.

Scarlett didn’t linger, pulling out a slender blue vial from her pouch—a [Greater Mana Potion]—and drinking it. A sensation of newfound vigor surged through her body, mingling with a feeling of mounting fatigue, as if she was straining every muscle at once. It was a familiar experience after having pushed herself to the brink of mana exhaustion numerous times in Freymeadow.

[Mana: 2634/12039]

It wasn’t much, but hopefully, it was enough to finish this.

She conjured a few fire arrows—a technique that she had found to be more mana-efficient than trying to engulf the target in flames—and directed them at the boss alongside a cluster of Aqua Mines.

Fynn followed her lead, moving with Shin as their group adapted to the situation. Rosa leaned against the nearby wall with a tired expression, her mana probably depleted from sustaining that last charm and everything up to that. They would have to manage without her for the remainder of the fight.

Thankfully, Raimond seemed to have plenty of mana left as he stepped over and offered an arm to Rosa while keeping an eye on the ongoing battle.

As Scarlett and her retainers began their assault against the boss with everything they had left, the deacon’s remnant retaliated with a swift and powerful swipe of one of its huge arms towards Fynn. An ephemeral green sheen enveloped the young man just as a blinding surge of light, akin to an afterimage, followed the remnant’s arms and engulfed Fynn.

For a moment, Scarlett worried if that might have been too much for him to handle. However, even as Fynn’s figure appeared a second later, hurtling through the room, he managed to arrest his momentum by digging his translucent claws into the stone floor, skidding several meters before slamming into the chamber’s wall.

He looked plenty hurt, yes, but a golden circle sprang forth from beneath Raimond’s feet soon after and its light swiftly spread towards Fynn, mending his wounds with impressive speed.

Meanwhile, both Scarlett and Allyssa continued their assault on the boss’s already weakened form with a combination of magic and alchemical concoctions. Scarlett’s attacks, in particular, found their mark with almost unerring accuracy now that the remnant had grown in size. When Allyssa’s flasks made contact, a vile darkness spread upon impact, corroding the boss’s robes further and gradually consuming small parts of its body.

As Shin moved in to block the remnant’s next attack—a powerful slash with its other arm followed by a surging blaze—Scarlett focused on diminishing the intensity of the flames behind that attack. Shin’s shield took the blow, propelling him several meters back, his left arm hanging limply by his side. However, he endured and was soon the recipient of more of Raimond’s healing magic.

With both Shin and Fynn joining the fray as soon as they were healed, and Scarlett and Allyssa relentlessly keeping at it with their attacks, they managed to deal with the boss’s onslaught by supporting each other. The injuries on the remnant’s body expanded, revealing even more condensed light beneath.

Finally, when the boss’s form had been reduced to little more than a towering column of radiant white light, with only the gold mask retaining its physical appearance, it abruptly halted in the middle of another attack.

Scarlett and the others stopped, waiting to see what would happen next.

The remnant began to shrink, gradually regaining its original appearance, its red robes returning as it underwent this transformation. Then it simply stood there for a few seconds, its gaze seeming to focus directly on Scarlett.

Her eyes narrowed. This was the first time during this encounter that the remnant actually seemed to look at any of them.

The same voice from before sounded out, but this time, it clearly originated from the remnant and was filled with emotion.

“Could use more refinement, but I approve. Ensure that heirloom returns to where it belongs, and convey my final goodbyes. Thank you for concluding the story of what remains of this sorry old man.”

With that, the boss collapsed into a pile, its mask clinking against the stone.

Scarlett stared at the fallen remnant.

She…wasn’t sure if it ever said anything like that in the game.

[Quest completed: Cleared Sunfire Shrine]

{Skill points awarded: 8}

[Side-quest completed: Bring closure to Deacon Emberwood’s infused fragment]

{Skill points awarded: 6}

Had it…recognized her somehow? Recognized her magic, maybe? Realized that she had been taught by Arlene?

“Ehm…” Allyssa began hesitantly, the girl’s words hanging in the air for a while. “W-Was that one…alive?”

“No, it was an Auranthial, just like the others,” Raimond answered solemnly. His usual calm demeanor was replaced with a deep earnestness as he observed the remains of the boss. “It was simply…more. Infused with part of the spirit and memories of a man who, I suspect, did not care for the burden such an existence entails.”

Scarlett glanced back at Rosa, who had settled down on the ground, looking visibly exhausted but grinning as she met Scarlett’s gaze and offered a thumbs-up. Scarlett returned a nod before checking on the rest of the party. Everyone appeared to be in one piece, if worn out.

Raimond crossed the chamber, his white robes flowing behind him as he approached the deacon’s remnant. Scarlett watched the blond priest’s back as he seemed to offer a short prayer before kneeling down and picking up the gold mask lying on the stone floor. He turned around and returned to Scarlett and the others, brushing off some nonexistent dust and looking down at the mask with a contemplative expression.

Scarlett inspected it as well.

[The Deacon’s Sunfire Visage (Legendary)]

{Infused with the fiery and brilliant power of the sun, the essence of a man whose regrets lingered burns bright within this veil he left behind}

She would have loved to keep that mask for herself, but there was no way that was happening. At least she might gain some more favor with the Followers of Ittar for helping them find this.

Raimond looked up at Scarlett and the others. “The rather lamentable circumstances surrounding this mask notwithstanding, I believe this counts as a rather astounding success. Shall we call it a day?”