330 Mourning Banshees
The group went on a slaughter spree thanks to their coordination and Will's contribution. Thanks to Lydia's Halo of Light: Light Speed and Lyra's Elemental Focus, Will was able to exhibit his prowess to a greater degree.
The Dragon Force burdening everyone felt stronger and stronger with time, indicating their proximity to the beast, but the Banshees still failed to overwhelm them.
Will's new and improved water blade sliced and diced these creatures as soon as they arrived. Will continued to dish out instructions via Intent while his swordless hand cleared a path ahead.
Achilles dutifully attracted attention while the Twin Crescent Moon brothers dutifully assisted by dealing with sneaky attacks for the side. Palmer kept putting up shields blocking spiritual and sonic attacks while Lydia and Lyra cast their buffs. Natasha completed her role as the group's cannon, disposing of strong Banshees with ease while Gianluigi brought up the rear.
The group was makeshift but their coordination was starting to bear fruit. Stronger Banshees kept coming the further they moved but someone always stepped up to the plate.
Natasha refused to be outdone by Will and took full advantage of Elemental Focus by casting powerful water spells infused with Frozen Asgard mana.
Eventually, stronger Banshees capable of leading other Banshees joined the fray. These were the Sector Bosses!
[Mournful Banshees: Eviled Banshees that hate the living and despise the pure. Their sonic attacks can not only cause physical harm but carry spiritual attacks
Rating: C
Claas: Mini Boss]
The appearance of the first Mournful Banshee marked a turning point, as it was the first time Will changed his instructions. The group had already discussed what to do when mini-bosses occurred. Will had stated that he would shift to informing others via telepathy for smoother actions. Hence he was no longer barking instructions and released a telepathic message with coordinates to Natasha with an extra warning.
'Mournful Banshee!'
Natasha was already aware of what these creatures were and prepared herself. As the team's long-range damage dealer, it was her turn to shine.
The group was encased in the light-absorbing miasma, covering them in darkness from all sides, but the light from their skills was more than enough to illuminate the giant Banshee that dropped from above.
The spiritual creature's claws manifested as it reached straight for Will from above. It appeared 9 meters above the group and covered a few metres within a second, but before it could go anywhere, a small fist covered in ice blue scales had pierced its chest, leaving a gaping hole
The Mournful Banshee dissipated into motes of light as Gianluigi whistled in admiration. The giant fist retreated into the matrix it was summoned from while Natasha churned her mana in preparation for her next spell.
'Her Ymir's Fist was almost instantaneous. It was almost as fast as her water blade.' Gianluigi mused.
Ymir's First was one of the first spells one learns within the Frozen Asgard arts, but it was far from simple. It was after all based on primordial magic fashioned by the All-Father himself!
One could say the Ymir series of spells was a good indicator of one's basic understanding of the Frozen Asgard arts. Will was quite pleased that he got the chance to observe such a high-level casting of Ymir's Fist up close.
'According to what the All-Father taught me, she is very well versed and has already approached the limit achievable by mortals under level 100.'
Despite the high requirements of the spell, it only took a moment for Natasha to act. She did not rest and quickly conjured three more matrices. 3 Ymir's fists materialized and went for their targets. Three Mournful Banshee skulls were smashed apart in quick succession.
'I could learn a thing or two from her.'
Will had been taught well by the All-Father, but he was still a human. He was far from mastering the core fundamentals of the Frozen Asgard Arts themselves. One could even say Will had learned too much too fast and had a rather shaky foundation.
Natasha on the other hand was a Frozen Asgard Prodigy of the highest caliber with a foundation as steady as a pyramid. Her application of Ymir's fist even gave Will a few insights. Natasha wasn't the only one observing a future enemy. Will also had one eye open.
He knew that he was still far much weaker than the others. He was after all a weakling that came from a horrible background. If Natasha, Gianluigi, Mercedes or Ulysses were allowed to go full strength, Will knew he had no chance against either of them.
As far as Will saw it, in his current state, at his best he could only draw with Lydia. Lydia was after all a spectralian Truthseeker capable of utilizing Doors as well. Will knew that he was far from reaching his peak.
'To properly utilize the Centralized Tripartite Soul Brethren Contract, I need to be capable of holding my own. Watching Natasha could step up my game.'
Natasha continued dispatching Mournful Banshees whenever she was alerted of one by Will. Will dealt with the others while the rest mopped up the leftovers. Despite the increase in Banshees attacking, the group still held on. Will and Natasha now took the brunt of the offence. Leaving the Veritas unit and Achilles without much to do.
Over time, it became clear that the Banshees were no longer the main threat. Instead, the ever-increasing potency of the Dragon Force was more of a worry to the group.
The Mournful Banshees were mainly feared due to the illusions brought about by their attacks, but Natasha's quick attacks killed any before they could do any damage. Thankfully the Mournful Banshees, just like their weaker counterparts, had to be material and close to their target to unleash those attacks, preventing them from attacking the group from within the miasma.
The group made steady progress as their bodies kept receiving experience. This was another boon of unique dungeons such as this. The difficulty was greater, but the rewards were equally gratifying. Although they could not level up yet, this was a worthwhile investment for the future.
With time the balance shifted as Natasha was not the only one to receive the call to fight the Mournful Banshees. The House of Remus contingent soon joined the fray as well, unleashing their strong skills.
The Veritas had far more Truth-related skills than all the other groups present combined, and their proficiency in these skills was nothing to scoff at.
Will had carefully planned everyone's attacks so they achieved maximum effect without interfering with each other.
The Veritas warriors mainly released qi blasts in the form of a unique claw attack. They were like blade lights harnessing death itself as they embedded themselves into the enemy. This was an intrinsic skill any child of Remus could use. Remus' Wrath.
Like Ymir's First, it was a foundational skill. One that every House of Remus member had to learn.
The group charged through the darkness unhindered until Will delivered his first emergency command.
"Everyone stop!"
The others halted immediately and looked at the unusually grim Will. They looked at him questioningly while Will himself swallowed saliva. Will quickly informed the others of his reasoning, causing the atmosphere to turn a bit darker.
"The Sector Boss is here.
No one in the group was unaware of what a Sector Boss was. This was a creature that ordinary mini-bosses such as the Mournful Banshees could not hold a candle to. They represented the apex being of that immediate vicinity. Banshees were generally weak, but their Sector Boss would not be an easy kill. Especially with the group being surrounded on all sides.
They were quite close to the dragon's corpse, thus the boss they would face would have some sort of mutation. This reasoning was quickly ratified by what followed.
A large ghost-like creature with a goat skull for a head appeared in front of the group. The creature floated above the ground and was covered in Grey rags that shifted between being ephemeral and being tangible.
Its body released a baleful aura of death that made one's skin crawl as the empty sockets that constituted the creature's eyes had an odd flickering blue flame within.
The only appendage not covered in the eerie rags were its claws. They looked like the nails of a shrivelled witch born within Hel itself. The creature did not surprise the group, nor did it move swiftly. Instead, it calmly floated in front of the group after coming out of the miasma ahead of them. This was quite uncharacteristic of the usually sneaky Banshees.
"This thing, maybe it's not good at surprise attacks?" said Will in a dry attempt to ease the mood.
"It's more likely that it doesn't need to surprise anything," said Natasha with a grim expression.
The Prompt that appeared in front of everyone stifled their breaths just as much as the creature's oppressive aura.
[Devastated Banshee: A king born from the depths of Hell. It feeds off negative emotions and can cause nightmares. It contains a wisp of draconic power thanks to the presence of Fafnir's Corpse. Its poison doesn't just corrode the body, it can corrode the soul. It can resist death 3 times. Each time it resists death it comes back stronger.
Rating: C+
Class: Sector Boss]
