22 Calypso, The Blood Titan Part Three

Vangrave was surprised, smiling as he looked at his own body, "Hah! You removed that annoying plague? Hell yeah! I'm on it now–!" 

There wasn't a moment of restraint from the warrior before the halberd-wielding player rushed over to one of the pillars, immediately jumping up as he began striking the crimson orb with his full might. 

"Imma shatter this fuckin' thing into a bajillion pieces!" The sharp-toothed man claimed while rapidly striking the object. 

–As his companion was left handling the plague-spreading orbs, Zero found himself facing off against the Blood Titan himself, who finally descended from his elevated steps leading to his throne. 

"A couple of human mongrels wish to challenge me? How fun!" Calypso's voice cast itself throughout the vast domain of sparkling marble. 

Zero had heard that same sentence more times than he cared to admit, though he knew it was a signal. 

'That line–it means Calypso is about to make his first move himself: he'll come straight for the closest player and use his "Blood Cleaving" skill,' Zero predicted. 

It was through his own plentiful experience that he was able to properly prepare himself for the boss' offense. There was no shortage of defensive options for Zero as he discarded [Demiulda] back into his inventory, quickly swiping his hand as he scrolled through his inventory amidst the battle. 

Calypso had already begun walking towards him; the tuxedo-wearing, smiling giant moved his arms, manifesting a string of blood that shaped itself into a lengthy sword. 

"--I will carve you up first, mongrel!" Calypso claimed, setting his sights on Zero before charging towards him. 

The inhumanly tall figure moved with blinding speed, dashing across the length of the chamber in an instant. By the skin of his teeth, the player pressed the icon on his inventory menu, causing his desired equipment to manifest. 

[Black Lion Hide] [S+ Rank Shield]

[PHY DMG RES: 93%] [MAG DMG RES: 90%] 

"Shield Replication!" Zero shouted. 

The split-second shout activated just in time as the lanky figure arrived, already swinging his blood-forged blade towards the player. The black, lion-faced shield projected a larger, astral form of itself, intercepting the attack. 

'My class might've changed in name, but in essence–I'm still a "Paladin", only my skills have become more aligned with my role, flipped around visually and in namesake, but it's still the same–except for my new skills,' Zero thought. 

The elevated barrier managed to knock the lanky figure back, giving Zero time to ready his sword just as he released his defensive skill. It was one of the core elements of using a shield; when perfectly blocking an attack at the exact moment it strikes, the enemy is briefly stunned. 

'I chose "Paladin" as my initial class because it strikes a needed balance of high-end offense and defense. It's reliant on quick thinking and a balancing of skill usage, but that's not a problem. I needed what would best work alone,' Zero thought. 

In the brief span in which Calypso stumbled back from the perfect deflection, the snowy-haired player wielded his sword with both hands, lacing his black-armored fingers around the handle. 

[Cirque Du Inferno] 

[Cooldown: 2:59] 

The quickly-activated skill culminated in a flash of brilliant flames swirling around himself, with his blade as the anchor before he stepped forward, quickly calling out another burst of abilities: 

[Magical Surge EX] 

[MAG: +45%]

[Supreme Edge]

[DEF: -50%] [ATK: +50%]

[Critical Amp] 

[Cooldown: 23:59:59] 

[CRIT RATE: +%30] [CRIT DMG: +%40%] 

Just as Calypso returned to focus, about to counter—Zero stepped in with a quick dash, swiping his blade as the flood of fire swept in like a roaring tide. 

[CRITICAL!] 

"Aegh—!" Calypso cried out as the slash landed, engulfing the monstrously tall figure in flames. 

["Calypso: Blood Titan" | HP: 2,156,020/3,000,000]

It was all according to the electric calculation flooding through the seasoned player's head, expecting that amount of damage to have been done. 

Zero didn't stop for a moment, immediately closing in for a follow-up strike as he spun around, changing the enchantment around his weapon: 

[Fulmination of The Abyss] 

[Cooldown: 10:59] 

The flames were cast away before strands of pitch-black electricity latched into the length of the blade. It was a seamless combination attack; the sword-wielding player spun himself around before the masked figure could respond, striking Calypso in his left side with his lightning-gripped weapon. 

As the abyssal electricity made contact with the left hip of the giant, Calypso grimaced, being electrocuted as the dark strands of fulmination coiled around his body. 

["Calypso: Blood Titan" | HP: 1,966,780/3,000,000]

At the same time, on the other end of the chamber, the warrior slammed his halberd down with his full might. The sturdy orb shattered, breaking into countless pieces as a loud shock wave boomed through the chamber. 

"Woah–!" Vangrave let out, knocking back onto his feet by the blast. 

The destruction of the scarlet orb had an immediate effect on Calypso, who writhed while standing up as if seized by an internal agony. 

["Calypso: Blood Titan" | HP: 1,500,001/3,000,000]

"Oh~!" Calypso howled out dramatically, placing his hand on his mask as he looked up towards the ceiling of blood-red, stained class. 

Zero readied himself, quickly scrolling through his inventory, "Here comes the second phase."

"Huh–? Second phase?! I never got this far!" Vangrave reacted in shock.