Chapter 377
When the Star Fell (VII)
Unul moved abruptly, as was the norm of the battle thus far. Wrapped in fire, she appeared so ten feet away from the tanking frontline and swung the scythe in a wide berth, flas engulfing the world around it. Chriss stepped forward and summoned a shield that barely managed to break the scythes montum before he was tossed backward like a ragdoll. Still, it afforded enough ti for Emma and Krar to shuffle away and for the entire raid to reposition.
Skills began to land at a more reasonable rate, Emma notedthough it had to do a lot with the raids growing accuracy, it seed similarly that Unuls movents, while much quicker and more agile than before, werent as erraticit was as though she was once again being bound by so strange law that she could not contend against.
Flas continued to erupt, though not just from her weapon and not just temporarily. She would open up a seeming gash in the arena that would bleed fire afterwards, limiting the scope of the fight. It made things much harder, especially for lee fighters as they had to be extra careful when retreating not to accidentally walk into a wall or pool of flas.
The rhythm was repeatedly established and broken; she would abruptly switch the timing of her attacks, she would stack spells so frequently that, on occasion, nobody would be able to land a single hit for long stretches of ti. Within half an hour of the fight, Mana pools were already getting dangerously low even with all the conservatorship and Unul hadnt yet hit even 50%, though she was just a few percentages off.
Senna was panting heavily, and though the physical exhaustion was extensive, it was still incomparable to the ntal one. She had to keep a keen eye on every inch of the arena, on the boss, and every raid mber. She couldnt simply be reactiveshe had to predict the potential targets and already be ready for when the boss attacked. Additionally, as lee fighters burned through their movent skills, she was their safety netthey dared jump in for an attack or two because they relied on her being behind them, ready with her flying blades to usher them to safety.
It was much easier, she realized, simply tossing attacks at a target with little rhy and reason than it was to be conscious of every single detail of the fight. Though she had done it before, specifically in this arena, the fight itself was never this intense. There were no monts when she could simply pause and take a breathUnul was unrelenting, and save for the brief transition between the phases at 70%, she never stopped attacking. While the tanks took the brunt of the damage, it was quite deceptive, in fact.
Most of the damage she, and others surrounding her, took was in the passive remnants of her many skills. Though they didnt take all that much upfront, over ti, they burned. This made it much harder on healers as the drop was barely noticeable in the heat of the mont. Before long, however, thered be healers crying out when they see soone with less than 30% health in the raid.
ADJUST TO THE LEFT!! QUICK!! she had undertaken another job at the sa tithat of raid leading. Considering that she was barely hanging on her dear life, Emma was in no position to actually lead outside occasionally giving signals to Senna. In the anti, the latter had to guide the entire group and ensure they survived. The ntal hurdle was quite magnified, but she enduredlargely because of the urgency of it all.
While most were likely in the dark, so must have figured out the sa thing she didseeing how Jamal and Daniel were practically living an inch away from death the entire fight, risking everything just to get another strike in, and how desperately Yuki tried to keep up with them, and how hard Emma and Krar struggled to keep the boss at bay those lights in the day sky likely spurred them, too.
They didnt know what they were or what they represented, but they knew that they wouldnt be there without a reason. And the urgency by which they were told to head back inside and not co out until the boss was defeated sothing was happening.
As such, they fought much harder than the last attempt. There were few tis anyone took a break, and while Senna technically commanded the raid overall, others stepped in to help, too. Yuki practically guided healers and the supportive, range types all by himself, while Jamal and Daniel mostly led by example in when to jump and attack Unul for the lee classes.
Unul swung her scythe aggressively as she hit 50% health. The scythe went a full circle around her and ejected balls and bolts of fire in all directions. It rained flas across the entire arena, forcing the raid group to cradle together under the umbrella protection of Krar and Chriss. In the anti, the only one directly in the path of flas was Emma who was swinging her warhamr with zealous want, replenishing as much health as she lost.
The whirlpool of fire kept extending further and further out as a glottal roar blew through the entire arena, shaking it. Soon enough, the entirety of the round land was consud in red-white flas, though they didnt hurt. Rather, they felt eerily soothing, like a kiss of peace before death.
Emma retreated and corralled others into a crescent-shape, with Chriss and Krar protecting two edges and her at the center. All the while, Unul continued to burn until her figure had morphed into sothing inhuman. She was a shape, a white fra of edges and blurs, with no discernable features past her eyes.
The pair of them was shockingly black, with a singular spec of light harrowingly burning within. She hovered a few inches from the surface, her entire body consud in flas, though they stuck out from the surrounding fire considerably. Just like her, they were white with a twine of gold within them, barely noticeable.
She no longer held the scytheit hovered behind her, its double-edged blade framing her figure on both ends like wings. It seed to be crying as it shook relentlessly, bleeding out liquid fire in the process, pouring it over her. She shrunk considerably to barely six feet, shorter than a good chunk of people in the raid. And yet, the energy she exuded left everyone mortified and speechless.
They would lose and they would diethey had no doubt about it. What they were facing wasnt human, wasnt even a monster, but rather a thing, an amalgamation of things beyond comprehension. Beyond just the appearance, she seed to have the gravitas of her ownas they all felt the pull akin to that of a vacuum trying to drag them toward her.
A bulb lit up in Sennas head as she recalled the titleStar of Hegon. She, at least in part, was a star, a literal star.
The pair of black eyes stared at the raid group emotionlessly. It felt as though the eyes of a god were judging them and examining them. They felt bare naked before the gaze, as though no armor or magic would be enough to shield them. Nothing could be hiddennot their desires, not their fears, not their wants, loves, hates. They were newborn babes that could not lie or hide.
Ordinarily, the purging process would be the song of celebration, her voice was morphed beyond notice. Or, rather, it wasnt a voicethey all heard their own voices speak inside their minds. She conjured thoughts in all of them reflective of how they all thought themselves. It was bizarre, it was terrifying, it was blood-freezing. All they could do was stand in awe and terror. Washing away the basis of inferiority, becoming more. A cause for triumph and jubilance. There is no ti, however, to guide you lambs to the gifts of fire. You have fought valiantly and put your lives on the line well enough. There will be cracks, but they will not be unndable. A word of warning is duedo not resist the flas. The more you resist, the more it will hurt, and the more will they want to burn your will, your essence.
These are the purest flas to have ever existed, she said, lifting her left arm and extending it forward, conjuring a tiny twinge of milk-white fire above. They are neither hot nor cold, dead nor alive. They are the genesis of starsand they represent the purity of nature. They wish not to harm youjust devour all that is impure. Do not resist them. This is your one chance to be purged, a chance that will never arrive again. Accept it with arms wide open and let the fires find your heart. That is the only way you can help him and save yourselves.
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