Chapter 31: Failure

Leon stared at Satan’s remaining Health for another moment before lowering his body and tightening both hands around the axe.

"Fine."

The Qi around him suddenly surged.

"Martial Saint Descent."

Golden Qi erupted across Leon’s entire body as his presence rose several times within seconds and the stone beneath his feet cracked apart under the sudden increase in strength.

[Martial Saint Descent activated.]

[All Attributes increased by 500%.]

[Duration: 5 Minutes.]

Leon disappeared from beside Karl and crossed half the platform before Satan could turn, his axe crashing against the invisible barrier with enough force to distort the entire layer around the demon.

Atherion immediately understood what he was doing.

"Balder!"

The shield user among his companions stepped forward and slammed his enormous shield into the ground.

Golden lines spread outward beneath everyone fighting Satan before a notification rang through their minds.

[Ally Balder has activated Fortress of the Unbroken.]

[All allied Defense increased by 300%.]

Karl immediately felt the difference as the golden light settled over his body and every undead connected to him.

Behind Balder, the earth mage drove his staff downward.

The platform cracked as stone gathered rapidly before him, piling upward until a massive golem nearly as large as Karl’s skeletal giants pulled itself from the ground.

Atherion moved next as the dark-red armour covering him rippled before a strange liquid substance began crawling across his neck, arms and face.

His body expanded with it and within few seconds, Atherion had grown nearly twice his original size, thick armour and the constantly shifting substance covering almost everything except his eyes.

Leon glanced toward him while recovering his axe.

"Everyone here has some ridiculous transformation, huh?"

"Focus!" Atherion shouted.

Leon attacked first and the stone golem followed immediately, one massive fist striking the barrier just as Leon’s axe buried itself into the same point.

Karl sent three skeletal giants from different directions while the undead knight rushed between their legs.

The barrier bent inward and Atherion arrived from behind.

His sword cut across Satan’s back and, for the first time, a thin trail of blood appeared beneath the distorted layer surrounding the Dokkaebi.

Satan looked toward it and then he started laughing.

"Yes."

His grin widened as Leon’s next strike pushed the barrier farther inward.

"That’s what we want, don’t we?"

Atherion’s sword came down toward his neck.

Two enormous arms suddenly erupted from Satan’s back.

Atherion barely managed to raise his weapon before both palms struck him together and launched his enlarged body across the platform.

He crashed through two of Karl’s ordinary undead before rolling back onto his feet.

"Fucking demon."

Satan’s four arms spread apart.

"Much better!"

The fight immediately became worse.

One arm caught the stone golem’s fist while another released a compressed wave toward Leon, forcing him to cross both arms and take the attack directly through Balder’s defensive enhancement.

Karl attacked from the side with Hellfire while the undead knight drove its sword into another weakened section of the barrier.

Black flames finally passed through.

They burned across Satan’s shoulder for several seconds before one of his new arms swept through them and scattered the remaining fire.

[Satan: 89.41%]

Karl watched the number while sending another giant forward.

They were finally damaging him properly.

Across the opposite side of the Circle, however, the situation looked considerably worse.

Mira disappeared between shadows around the two transformed Beast Humans while Atherion’s injured companion struggled to support her with only one arm.

The second Fitzalan fighter attacked beside them, but neither Beast Human resembled the enemies they had faced only minutes earlier.

The scaled one caught a blade between its claws and snapped it apart.

Mira emerged behind its neck and drove both daggers downward, but the second Beast Human’s tails swept toward her before she could finish.

Karl looked back toward Satan, they’re holding for now but that was not enough.

His attention returned toward the main battle as Leon ducked beneath one of Satan’s arms and drove his axe upward.

Atherion followed before the rebound could strike Leon, his enlarged body crashing directly against the barrier and forcing Satan backwards.

For the first time since the fight began, Karl felt like the balance had actually shifted.

But there was still a problem, they were spending everything to create that advantage.

Leon had only five minutes of Martial Saint Descent.

Balder’s defensive skill would not last forever, Atherion’s transformation clearly consumed enormous amounts of Mana and nobody knew what Satan would do once his Health dropped farther.

Karl clicked his tongue, they had to finish it fast.

He raised the Death Stick and death Energy erupted throughout the Circle.

One undead appeared, then ten, fifty, a hundred.

The space behind Karl rapidly disappeared beneath skeletons, corrupted beasts, giants, knights and monsters accumulated throughout an entire month of dungeon grinding.

The summons kept coming, seeing the massive tide everyone paused for. Moment to look at it.

Hundreds had already appeared, yet Death Energy continued spreading across the platform until the army covered nearly every section that was not occupied by the current battles.

Karl felt the final connection settle.

[Active Undead: 1,589.]

Silence lasted for barely a second.

Balder stared behind Karl.

"What the..."

Most first-transition Necromancers would already struggle controlling a few hundred undead at once.

Karl had summoned more than a thousand.

Worse, his army looked nothing like the frail pale skeletons commonly associated with low-level Necromancers.

Dark bones filled the formation, many almost completely black, while the stronger undead stood among them with weapons, armour and bodies strengthened far beyond ordinary summons.

Atherion looked toward Karl and Karl smiled back at him.

"Something wrong, partner?"

Atherion’s eye twitched before Satan attacked again.

"Send the damn things!"

Karl raised the Death Stick and the army moved.

Hundreds of undead rushed Satan from every direction while the larger summons forced themselves toward the front.

The Dokkaebi’s laughter grew louder as four arms began tearing through them.

One skeletal beast was crushed beneath his hand while another was caught and thrown through several nearby summons, but every opening was immediately filled by something else.

Leon jumped from the shoulder of one giant as his axe descended.

Atherion attacked from beneath again and the stone golem struck from the side.

Karl’s undead knight drove its sword directly into the centre.

The invisible barrier violently rippled.and cracks finally spread across it.

Karl’s eyes sharpened

"Death Detonation."

Several damaged undead surrounding Satan exploded together.

The barrier shook as black flames and Death Energy swallowed the demon and Leon immediately rushed into the blast before the defence could recover.

His axe tore through one cracked section.

Satan finally staggered.

[Satan: 82.76%]

"Again!" Leon shouted.

Atherion’s sword opened another crack while Balder charged forward behind his shield, smashing directly into Satan and forcing the demon to focus two arms upon him.

Karl sent another wave and the Health bar continued falling.

[Satan: 79.32%]

Then Satan stopped laughing and all four arms rose.

Karl immediately felt Mana gathering beneath his feet.

"Move!"

Satan slammed all four palms into the platform.

The ground erupted and stone spikes burst upward across the entire Circle in every direction, piercing through undead and forcing everyone else to scatter.

Karl jumped aside as one spike tore through the place where he had been standing.

Karl was nearly trapped between them.

Bone Barrier.

The nearest ordinary undead suddenly collapsed.

Every bone inside its body separated and flew toward Karl before locking together into a thick curved barrier around him.

The spikes struck and several bones cracked, but the barrier held.

A violent rebound spread outward from the Bone Barrier and the stone spikes surrounding Karl shattered into dust before they could close around him.

Karl looked briefly at the defence.

He had obtained the skill book during one of their dungeon runs over the last month and learned it because Death Legion lacked enough direct defensive options and it was clearly worth it.

The attack finally ended and dust filled most of the Circle while several people struggled back onto their feet.

Leon breathed heavily beside a damaged skeletal giant while Atherion’s enlarged body had already started shrinking slightly.

Karl looked toward Satan.

[Satan: 75.08%]

They had thrown almost everything at him and three quarters of his Health still remained, the invisible barrier had already begun repairing the cracks covering it.

Across the platform, another scream came from the Beast Human fight.

Atherion’s one-armed companion had been forced onto one knee while Mira and the remaining fighter barely kept both transformed creatures away from him.

Karl tightened his grip around the Death Stick, they had no choice else then keep fighting.

Death Energy gathered beside the staff.

The curved blade of Death Severance formed.

Karl rushed Satan while several giants attacked first, forcing the Dokkaebi to tear through their arms instead of focusing upon him.

The curved blade tore into the invisible defence farther than any of his previous attacks.

[Death Mark applied.]

Karl immediately drew it back and attacked again.

Satan turned towards him and the massive hand moved toward him.

Karl twisted beneath it and swung upward.

Death Severance crossed the damaged barrier.

Then a notification appeared.

[Death Execution activated.]

Karl froze for half a second and then his eyes widened.

Again?!

A grin almost broke across his face.

After everything they had thrown at this bastard, the one-percent effect had actually activated at the perfect moment.

The invisible barrier split and the curved blade tore through two of Satan’s arms and continued across his torso, leaving a massive wound as black blood erupted from the cut.

For one glorious instant, Karl almost laughed.

Then another notification appeared.

[Death Execution failed.]

Karl’s smile vanished as his face slowly turned pale.

Satan was still standing, two severed arms struck the ground beside him while the remaining barrier flickered violently around his body, but the Dokkaebi had not died.

Karl stared at him.

Failed?

Death Execution had activated, he had seen the notification himself.

Satan slowly raised his head and this time the amusement inside his expression was gone.

His remaining eyes settled directly upon Karl.

Then the system’s voice finally returned inside Karl’s mind.

[This is why I told you Host to run as fast as possible.]