5 The Heavenly Sentinels
Before the duel began, the Hunter-class girl hopped down as well, standing by the enormous foot of the raid boss as she watched from a distance.
"Is this really the time?" Kiwi mumbled with a sigh.
The streets were devoid of spectators as the flames that clung to the buildings of brick and wood drove any people away. Still, amidst the destruction, the two players squared off as the warrior held his sapphire halberd with both hands, stomping down as his aura exuded with a cerulean glow.
"C'mon! Get your weapon out so we can do this!" Vangrave said with a burning smile.
Zero remained unarmed, only gesturing with his hand for his opponent to make the first move, "I'm ready whenever you are."
The spiky-haired player didn't hesitate as he laughed, "Alright, then! Suit yourself and die!"
There wasn't any warning that came from the warrior, who lunged forward with a monstrous burst of speed. It wasn't anything that Zero wasn't prepared for, who reacted seamlessly as his enhanced reflexes kicked into gear.
'He's using the inherent skill for the warrior class–"Burn Gear"--I can tell by that heat exploding off of him: it's a physical enhancement skill that grants explosive bursts of strength and agility,' Zero deciphered.
The halberd's reach was long, being swept forward as it unleashed an arch slash of sparks that failed to reach the black-armored player.
After ducking past the blow, he stepped in, getting within range of the warrior as he cocked his fist back.
Around his right fist, Zero summoned a manifestation of cosmic energy that swirled around his hand, engulfing it in supreme power.
[Nebula Shift]
"Huh—" Vangrave reacted.
SLAM
The collision of the energy-filled fist and the warrior's face resulted in a brilliant flash of light that quickly dispersed through the street.
With a single move, the duel was finished—the warrior was laid out on the ground, catching his breath while Zero remained standing.
'A melee skill? No…What the hell was that?!' Vangrave questioned.
It was hard to believe from the huntress herself, who questioned her eyes at the one-sided, swift victory from the player who didn't even equip a weapon.
Normally only a Pugilist-class player could win unarmed fights. I mean, weapons magnify your attack stat incredibly—but I guess this guy is anything but the norm here,' Kiwi thought.
Zero breathed out with a small smirk, "Looks like I win. So, welcome to the side that's going to win."
Manifesting directly in front of the spiky-haired warrior who picked himself up was the Abyssal Contract.
Vangrave was silent for a moment, signing the contract with his finger without even seeming to read any of it.
'Well, that was easy. I expected some sort of pushback, but he took it well,' Zero thought.
The warrior picked himself up, resting his halberd on his shoulder, "You're definitely the strongest, no doubt about that. I lost, fair-and-square, Boss."
"Boss, huh? I like the sound of that," Zero smiles, rubbing his chin as he shot a glance at the blonde-haired huntress standing behind him.
Kiwi scoffed, "I am not calling you that."
"Never been part of a faction. Pretty exciting though—I've played alone because joining guilds seems like admitting you're too weak to do things alone. But…" Vangrave said.
Zero knew what the man felt, nodding, "But we're against everybody else. Right now as it stands, there's three of us against tens of thousands—maybe more. Exciting doesn't do it justice."
"Got that right," Vangrave smiled.
"…Doesn't sound very appealing to me," Kiwi sighed.
With that settled, Zero snapped his fingers, "Dragix, continue. Wipe out every player left in the city."
Those were the only words needed, as without hesitation, the colossus continued his rampage, thrashing through the city streets and stomping out buildings.
Chaos took hold of it all once again—flames chewed through buildings, reaching players and NPCs alike.
"This seems pretty one-sided—"
Just as the remark came from the hunteress' lips when spectating the destructive antics of the raid boss, beams of light struck the colossus from multiple angles.
Dragix roared in pain, stumbling back as he crumbled a building beneath his mighty step.
Of course, it didn't seem possible for such a counterattack to come from the ill-prepared players of the fiery city.
Zero recognized what happened, looking up, "It's about time—the 'Heavenly Sentinels' are here."
Radiant openings in the sky above came as clouds parted with the arrival of knightly entities equipped in pearlescent armor.
[Heavenly Sentinel] [Lv. 99]
"Crap—never been on the bad side of those guys…This isn't good," Kiwi said, backing away.
Vangrave laughed, pointing his halberd to the sky at the descending, winged knights, "Ha-ha! I always wanted to fight a Sentinel!"
The arrival of the knights in radiant armor, designed with meticulous etchings of sun shapes and wings, caused a cheer from the retreating players of Marudawn:
"Hell yeah!"
"About time!"
"Wipe out that raid boss!"
It didn't take long for the colossus to once more be under fire from the Sentinels, drowning the demonic fiend's flesh in radiant assaults.
Like blades of light parted the sky, single slashes from the illustrious swords of the Sentinels rained down upon the colossus.
[Dragix] [HP: 2,000,000]
[HP: 1,850,560]
[HP: 1,734,300]
—With every attack received, the colossus' health points were cleaved apart, making the raid boss helpless to the rangeless blades of the Sentinels.
["Heavenly Sentinels are the guardians of cities in this game, and are essentially unbeatable. It's always been my opinion that they're mobs put into the game to act as an extension of the Admins' authority. Still…"]
"Well, this looks unwinnable!" Zero announced with a smile.
There was no explanation given as he grabbed onto the shoulders of both of his newfound companions.
"Hey—! Lemme at 'em!" Vangrave yelled out.
"What's the deal?!" Kiwi complained.
There were as many of the pearlescent knights in the sky as a flock of birds, all eradicating the colossus before moving towards the group.
Zero smiles before calling out, "Teleport: Abyss Keep!"
