A powerful blow. Following the sound of a loud explosion, Ed was launched at full speed towards Felix's direction.
[You've been dealt a direct hit! -250 hp]
His skull, which now possessed a dark spot the size of a fist, even seemed to have formed a visible crack from the strike. But there was more to come as he had yet to land.
Felix who had been focused on following Samuel and Drake still managed to see Ed darting towards him. Thinking this was an opportunity, he roused his fire elements turning his bright yellow blade into a lime-like green.
He swung out sharply, the lime green flames threatened to consume the very air around them.
But Ed wasn't going to take such a thing lying down. Before Felix could lash out at him, Ed ruined his stance by shifting the ground.
Felix who was performing a vicious swing felt his balance get thrown out a window as his perfectly timed slash missed the incoming Ed. With no time left to correct this mistake, Felix had no choice but to try and reinforce his body.
[You've been dealt damage. -21 hp]
But the speed at which Ed was flying gave him no time to reinforce his whole body, and following the collision was a series of rolls which he would have little protection against. Felix's blood smeared on the floor clearly painting their trajectory.
[You've been dealt damage. -19 hp]
[You've been dealt damage. -13 hp]
[You've been dealt damage. -5 hp]
Samuel who was in the distance sent a deadly gaze towards Drake before quickly rushing towards them with similar speed to the one he had possessed before.
The air was sliced apart as a sharp blade of wind cut right through a lot of the skeletons who stood atop the fort. It was a passing gift.
Felix's body started to glow in a green light, Clarys who was keeping an eye out for any injured individuals naturally caught sight of Felix's unfortunate exchange.
[Weakness is under attack. -20 hp]
[Weakness is under attack. -20 hp]
Ed as an undead being was being damaged by the healing spell. As they had rolled over together, they were still close to one another. It was at the level of being tangled up.
But, Ed wasn't afraid of close quarters anymore. He was also more accustomed to battle.
Although his thought manifestation had been cut off and he couldn't get it to work again, Ed was still a force to be reckoned with. For an inexperienced B-class like Felix, it meant more trouble in particular.
A sharp earthen spike protruded out of the ground to impale the healing Felix.
Three more damage notifications sounded out before Ed was able to back away from the spell.
'That thing could kill me in less than a minute' Ed felt that it was a rather fearsome spell. Luckily it was long-range one so it had its limitations allowing him to escape after impaling Felix straight through the stomach.
"AAAAAAH! Aaaa-urgh!" Felix was crying out in pain as Clarys' spell tried to heal the gaping hole in his stomach. Unfortunately, as the spike was still in the way it wasn't able to do much other than torture him.
But now that Ed was out of the healing area, he could do more than just summon one spik-!
Ed's head was nearly cleanly sliced off by a sharp blade of wind before he could even consider finishing off Felix for good. He had managed to by sheer luck duck under the attack. That wasn't the most worrying part, however, it was the caster.
With his unprecedented speed, the sound of Samuel's blade cutting through the air and Ed's arm was quick. Ed's boney arm slid right off his torso.
[You've been dealt a clean hit. -93hp]
'Deja Vu, I've been in this place before' Ed thought with gritted teeth. He wasn't willing to let it end this way a second time.
He should like last time, at least try to create more casualties. Unfortunately, he wasn't decked out this time. He had no daggers, he had no weapon, he had nothing.
As a pitiful last-ditch effort, Ed destroyed the fortress wall himself hoping that at least the skeletons could do some damage in his stead.
The green-clad blade performed another swift and clean hit, Ed's skull didn't fall until his whole body collapsed lifelessly on the ground.
[Recalling Champion's soul]
Just like any other skeleton. His parting lacked dignity. The only thing he left behind was a pristine white bone which Samuel didn't give a second glance to. He simply grabbed it and was ready to get right back into the fray.
But following his orders, the spells of the magicians were all unleashed at the same time. As their initial target had been a mana reinforced fortress, the attack power in each of them was formidable to say the least.
The skeletons which were now free were quickly decimated by all sorts of magical explosions leaving Samuel, and drake who had also ran after Felix, with nothing to do.
"Uuurgh…" Felix's groans of pains softened as the singular spike was morphed back into the ground by Don.
Perhaps if he hadn't been busy with casting a large scale earthquake spell, which he didn't even get to use, he would have been able to save him much sooner.
Clarys walked towards the injured Felix with elegant steps. He laid on the ground in a dazed state following the torture he was accidentally made to go through but Clarys didn't mind this and crouched down. She touched his head and closed her eyes before uttering a short incantation continuously.
The gaping hole which previously refused to close slowly started to heal. The organs had been kept alive by Clarys' previous spell but that was it, they were still damaged. She had to take a slower much more methodical approach to get Felix back in tip-top shape.
Following the end of the battle, All of the B-class adventurers couldn't help but hold puzzled looks, that was it? Wasn't Samuel's approach towards the issue much grander than it needed to be? It was as though Samuel didn't want them to take unnecessary risks.
These thoughts completely vanished however once all of the ones near the gate felt intense killing intent. The thick murderous aura made many of the adventurers blank out for a second.
But after they recovered from the temporary shock, many of them wore deep frowns.
The killing intent didn't come out of thin air, it was the sign of a new boss. And judging by the intense aura, it wasn't a weak one.
Many of the B-class adventurers suddenly had thoughts of bailing on this operation. If they went in there they would likely die. It wasn't that success was impossible but that they would more than likely not live to see that success and that alone was unacceptable for many of them.
"It looks like I came right on time. You young people sure walk fast. I can't believe I took this long to get here." The elderly voice was emerging from a merging corridor. Soon after the figure of an old man could be seen exiting it.
This person was none other than Eon. He entered the room with an amicable and energetic smile but that wasn't how he was feeling right now. Maybe it was his sickly body but it was a difficult trek for a man who was now used to teleporting everywhere.
Seeing that an unknown man had made it into the dungeon Samuel couldn't help but intervene.
"Who are you?" Asked Samuel loudly from behind the group, his words were full of caution as he made his way towards the old man.
"If I am in here then I must be an ally. This Freedom Union really can't get anything done." Eon's last words weren't said with an amicable smile, they held a hint of irritation.
"Identify yourself" Samuel's voice turned slightly harsh. The man was obviously not a part of the Union or one that looked favorably upon them.
"If I really did you would quickly apologize. But let's not drag this on longer than we should. I am Eon, the only peak A-class magician in this kingdom" Eon's words were said in a casual yet confident manner. He really didn't act his age.
Hearing this many of the adventurers froze. They had heard of the mysterious existence of a peak A-class magician but… nobody believed it! Wasn't it just a myth? A rumor maybe?
"Let's settle down here for now. Tackling that thing in there could be trouble." Eon said solemnly.
He didn't give any of the adventurers time to confirm his words or even to get over their bewilderment if it happened to be true.
Samuel was one of the few that was surprised but not bewildered. He knew of Eon by name and was one of the few that found it plausible for him to come here personally. He was William's master after all.
It wouldn't do for him to leave the mystery behind William's death not only unsolved but also unavenged.