Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

"Ugh, it's like diving in murky inky water..." Faenys complained.

Suddenly, light was introduced into the darkness. Rows upon rows of torches lit up in front of them, revealing an expansive vault. Kneeling on the ground were hordes of undead, clad in dark armor.

"There they are. They even nailed the entrance," Seth commented unimpressed. He kind of expected this scene. Even if it was not exactly this scene, it still counted.

In front of them was an aisle free of undead, lined by torches and it led all the way to a great tomb. A sarcophagus with elaborate carvings that were scratched out. It was propped up on a podium of stairs and illuminated by a torch burning with golden fire in each corner.

The thing that ruined this scene was the layer and layer of iron bars that surrounded this tomb. the gates were lined in magic inscriptions that emanated a holy aura. It was clear that they were supposed to get closer. None of the knights moved as they passed them and landed before the barricade of steel.

"Can you read that, too?" Lydia asked, pointing at a stele that was placed outside the enchanted bars.

"Erm... Here lies a Traitor to all living, whose name shall be erased from History. All honors of their lives are void and they shall be sealed in this place for eternity," he read out aloud.

"That's a really ominous inscription..." Bulko commented calmly.

It was, especially when taking into account that the whole theme of the catacombs was that corpses, satiated by miasma, rose from the dead and overcame whatever measures were put in place to stop them from coming out.

"That aside, should we attack them? They aren't doing anything...? Do you think they will jump on us all at once?" Fin wondered, looking at the kneeling horde of undead. They had gotten so far, but none of them had reacted, yet.

Suddenly, the whole structure shook.

"""Fin, you jinxed it!""" the group exclaimed

...

--- Colossal Dungeon, the Castle---

Pillars of white marble. Colorful stained glass windows tell stories of heroes and gods. Golden chandelier and rows of church pews. A throne made of bright goal and tastefully decorated with precious gems. A spear radiating incredible power and elegance. A dust storm that could grind one's bones to dust.

<Colossal King, Marcus the Pure lv.---(Boss)>

"What the heck did you do, Link!?" she screeched as the party ran from the overwhelming attack, caused by the swing of the spear.

"Nothing! I really did nothing!" the gourmet hunter plead, tears in his eyes, as he tried to keep up with everyone.

It had only been an hour since they decided to keep scouting for the boss and take down the guards on their way. It was safe to say, they had found the boss. Wearing a crown of pure crystal and a silvery armor with golden inlays, he exuded a divine grace. Wielding the spear in one hand and a shield in the other, he gave the impression of a holy knight or a paladin.

When they first entered the room, the king had not reacted to their presence. They had planned to quietly leave, but Archer saw a door on the walls to the left and right of the throne. After talking about ti for a moment, they decided to send their two scouts, Link and Archer, to find out where they led.

Since shortly after the king suddenly started moving, Monique was convinced that it was Link who messed up. With incredible speed, the armored king's hand jumped off his thrones and swung his holy spear at them, creating a dust storm that threatened to scatter the party members across the room.

"Purge." the King pointed his spear and a wave of white light washed over them faster than they could evade or block. Unlike the holy light it looked, this was not the same power as that of a healer that would soothe their wounds and ailments.

Passing over them, they could feel the light burn them on a fundamental level. It was like radiation, piercing into their body and causing pain to the very core.

"Field of Solace!" they heard Lynri declare and the pain abruptly stopped, leaving them hurt and exhausted. Thanks <Light Affection> skill, she was able to resist, even with the purging light shining onto her. The priestess had smashed her staff onto the floor and erected a barrier surrounding the party, shielding them from the deadly rays.

This was a skill of her unique class Priestess of the Fount, tremendously strengthened by the necklace Seth had given her. It was the declaration of a field, where her allies for be protected and healed for a certain amount of time. It had little power to stop physical attacks but was strong against AOE spells.

"Get your act together. We have to fight this thing with all we have," she pressed out, struggling to keep standing. <Field of Solace> was not without cost, as it took half her mana and stamina to cast. Tekar was already at her side, supporting her and adding his own defenses to her field.

"You're right. Even though we didn't plan to, we will have to end the boss here and now. Thank you, Lynri," Monique spoke up and started getting people in position. They had wanted to run away first and think of a strategy, but the boss was too dangerous to let them do that.

In that short moment, everyone of them had lost almost a third of their health, except for Tekar who lost about a tenth. If they didn't fight now, they risked trying to run away just to have a better dungeon clear. They couldn't care about the optional boss at this point, the final boss demanded all their attention to survive.

"We will do this seriously," she added.

"No holding back?" Alison asked breathing heavily.

"bring out your trump cards-"

She halted when she saw a disconcerting smile creep on Alison's face. The usually so emotionless alchemist was suddenly smiling? Wait, did she also hear a quiet chuckle from the wizard clad in silver armor? She gulped when she remembered the armor.

"Maybe we should hold back a little?"

Having been hit by the light, Alison had not just felt pain, but also a surge of power as the armor greedily sucked in the mana of the spell. She didn't know how she still suffered damage, but she didn't care at the moment.

The wizard breathed heavily as her mind was itching to act. To use this power overflowing from her armor. To get back for the pain she suffered. To trample... A lot of thoughts were filling her mind, but her objective was clear as day.

"What are you doing right now, Alison?" Monique asked concerned, when she saw the air around Alison distorting from the density of mana collecting around her.

"<Lunacy Unleashed>. I'm not holding back, that's what I'm doing. You better protect me until I'm done chanting," she said before she fell into s state of quick, incomprehensible mumbling.

"Damn it!" Monique cursed. "What's wrong?" Jonah asked. "We will have to protect Alison..."

before they could come up with a good plan to do so, or completely recover, the purging light stopped, the next moment the cleaning tip of the giant spear crashed into Tekar's shield, immediately filling it with cracks.

"Everyone, we have to buy time until Alison finishes. Vanguard, we will distract the big guy. Tekar, you take care of Alison. Let's go, guys. And don't forget, no holding back."