Bright red light flashed. GalanTen and Hotpot both appeared inside the safe room. Same time, different space.
Bariohl and Renriohl immediately turned hostile, ready to sacrifice their lives to protect the children. The members of GalanTen stared at the two bosses. They didn't care for the speech. Instead, they scrutinized the equipment worn by the two brothers, trying to gauge their means of attack.
Soon, the violent battle started. Bariohl rushed at the players, striking with his two daggers. Boths sides where immediately embroiled in the fight. After a short while Renriohl came to assist his brother, increasing the pressure.
It didn't take long for Bariohl to summon his dreaded wall of blades. Simultaneously Renriohl activated the spell inherent to the safe room. Under the double threat GalanTen immediately found themselves suppressed.
However, there were faint grins on their faces. Thanks to information they received prior to entering the dungeon they already knew about the threat posed by the wall of blades. There was not a second of confusion. The team of upcoming stars immediately started attacking the walls and created multiple holes all while avoiding the runes for the most part. They took some damage, but overall GalanTen proved that they indeed deserved to be ranked among the top players.
Afterwards the battle continued, turning into a back and forth with both sides taking damage. Until the pivotal moment arrived. Bariohl's eyes flashed with anger as his voice thundered through the room.
"Intruders! Why are you so stubborn? Can't you even spare the children? Are you determined to eradicate our family?"
None of GalanTen's members were in the mood to answer. They watched as the boss conjured two clones, vastly increasing the pressure. Not much later the two cultists retreated to the wall and revealed their most dreadful ability. Three walls of blades appeared while clusters of white flames filled the room.
"Focus! This should be the most important part of the fight!"
SpireX reminded his team members. Everyone had solemn expressions as they tried to get closer to the first wall of blades. However, the flames were denser than anticipated. They struggled on the way, taking quite a bit of damage. But at least they reached the walls without anyone dying. Finally, they could attack with full force.
Under their relentless barrage two large holes had formed in the first wall but the deadly curtain created of blades had already covered more than half of the room's length. And it was still continuing unimpeded. SpireX frowned and urged his team mates to hurry up. They assaulted the second wall with all their might. It was impossible to avoid mishaps during that time. The players took quite some damage, forcing the team's healer to work his a*s off.
"Come one! Gege, don't hold back your skills. The spot in front of you already has some cracks, we're counting on you!"
The atmosphere was tense. The three walls would soon cross the entire room. There was not much space left to avoid them. Soon, GalanTen would stand with their backs against the wall, also getting to taste one of the top ten worst deaths. SpireX felt his heart pump heavily. His expression revealed a hint of anxiousness. They had not even broken through the second wall and the third one was still waiting for them. How were they supposed to survive this?
The seasoned team didn't give up until the end. However, everyone could tell that only a miracle could save them now. Unfortunately, the miracle never came. At the last moment Gege, the female assassin, managed to cause a breach through the second wall but at that moment it was already too late. Lowering their weapons the players smiled wryly as they were squeezed between the wall of blades and the room's wall, white flames constantly bombarding them. Their HP bars quickly bottomed out, and they were sent back to the checkpoint.
"We actually failed…"
***
"We actually did it!"
While GalanTen were recovering from their attempt at beating the two bosses, a joyous shout rang out on Hotpot's side. Cyclone wore a big grin as Liam, Fortune, and her finally overcame the three walls of blades. All the hard training had been worth it.
"Good job! Now don't get hit by the flames! We need to approach the bosses quickly!"
Liam didn't grant his friends much time to celebrate. Riding Drasky he weaved skilfully between the flames, approaching the other side of the room.
There, the two bosses were already waiting. Bariohl standing on his gorgeous, blue winged snake narrowed his eyes as he watched the intruders approach. Next to him the two clones did the same. Controlling the walls of blades in the distance they had no method to hold the players back.
Above them floated Renriohl on a red winged snake. The staff in his hand trembled under the pressure brought by the spell, as did the other two staffs floating side by side with the boss.
Suddenly Liam arrived in front of Renriohl. The boss stared at the focused face and felt his heart palpitate. Liam signalled Fortune and Cyclone and the three players all attacked at the same time.
Boom!
Liam's sword landed on Renriohl's trembling staff and the boss instantly lost control of his spell. Dazzling white light erupted. The flames surged back along the staff, assaulting their master. Renriohl screamed in anger. The other two staffs exploded. A terrifying backlash slammed the boss's chest. He was thrown back, crashing into the wall, losing 22.500HP as a result.
"Brother!"
Bariohl as well as his two clones screamed in shock. They immediately turned around and slapped their hands against the wall, activating the hidden traps. Magic circles lit up and produced dense, targeted runes which instantly came for Liam, Fortune, and Cyclone.
Knowing what to expect the trio never waited for Bariohl after their attack. They flashed towards the ceiling and used [Dive] to speed up multiple times, running away from the runes which chased them like an angered swarm of bees.
While this was going on, the rest of the group was still trapped by the three dreadful walls. However, thanks to the trio's actions, they were given a chance to free themselves. After Renriohl suffered a backlash, the white flames filling the room had disappeared. The friends didn't need to care about them anymore. They could completely focus on the walls of blades.
"Guys! Quick! We need to help them!"
Silver Blade waved her sword, taking the lead. She turned into a flash and rushed at the walls riding her gorgeous silver phoenix. The others also knew the situation was urgent, not daring to hesitate for a moment. Instantly attacks rained down on the walls. The dense blades of white light shook from the vibrations, cracks forming in the force holding them together.
"Haha, they have weakened so much! Just as Mirage predicted!"
Balm let out a laugh as she noticed that even her attacks made a visible impact. Under the united assault it only took a few seconds for a breach to form on the first wall. Invigorated, the friends continued. Second wall, breached. Third wall, also breached!
"Finally!"
"We have escaped this accursed prison!"
The friends vented their emotions. Suddenly a thundering rumble overwhelmed their voices. Everyone stared towards the other end of the room and watched as Bariohl was hit by a backlash, his clones disappearing, his body crashing into the ground taking thousands of points of damage.
"Hehe, time to retaliate!"
Cyclone noticed that the runes chasing her had disappeared. She stared at the two bosses who were in a momentary daze, her eyes blazing with intense flames. She had worked so hard to make it this far and now it was time to taste the fruits of her labour. The mage waved her staff, sending a normal attack swiftly followed by a [Lightning Barrage].
The crackling lightning was like a wake-up call for the others. They momentarily ignored the joy of making it through the difficulties and put their focus back on the two cultists. Silver Blade and Radiant Shield hastily approached to secure the aggro while everyone else attacked with full force.
"Don't think this is over, intruders!"
"We will protect the children, even if we have to give our lives for it!"
Bariohl and Renriohl dragged their battered bodies up as determination filled their hearts. Looking at them, the players couldn't help but feel as if they themselves were the villains here. Everything was but a misunderstanding. However, every attempt by the players to explain this was ignored by the NPCs. Thus, they could only continue to fight.
The two cultists indeed were not defeated yet. They gave it their all, bombarding the party with strong attacks and fearsome skills. Even the walls of blades returned once. However, there was nothing posing the same level of threat. The friends dealt with everything calmly showing off their skills. Quickstep moved like a hurricane, striking swiftly from all sides. Cyclone showed the two cultists the might of thunder. Watchful Eye unleashed five elements upon them. Silver Blade and Radiant Shield were stable as rocks.
After a while Renriohl was the first to fall, kneeling on the ground. His brother got anxious but didn't immediately change his attacks. Only as he got closer to death did Bariohl enter berserk mode. It brought some pressure to the party and Bloody Edge came close to dying once but Balm saved him in time. Thus, Bariohl had despair on his face as his HP got reduced to a single point and he remained unable to take the enemy with him.