The battle against the Dark Mother continued for a while. The party shaved away at the dark elf's HP little by little. A storm surrounded the boss and holy light exploded above her head. She was struck by lightning and by projectiles of arcane magic. The Dark Mother's expression soured as she realized that the adventurers were not the soft persimmon she was used to.
"Children!"
The Dark Mother let out an annoyed shout. She aimed her staff at the huge web cordoning one side of the room. A sphere of frightening dark magic shot at the web, tearing a large hole into it. Immediately three dark elves took the chance to escape.
"We are here to serve, mother!"
"You know what to do!"
"Yes!"
The dark elves crossed the room in a flash and appeared behind the players, who were forced to swiftly rearrange. Radiant Shield stepped forward and slammed his hammer against his shield, spreading a wave of holy magic. It hit the three dark elves and six black eyes focused on the tank.
"Come at me, foul creatures!"
Radiant Shield waved his hammer provocatively. The dark elves didn't hesitate and began to attack Radiant Shield from three sides. He was struggling to block all the attacks and couldn't avoid getting hit once or twice. Luckily the common enemies didn't deal too much damage. Still, the friends couldn't let the situation continue like that. They were forced to ignore the Dark Mother for a bit to deal with the dark elves.
Suddenly Silver Blade found herself alone against the Dark Mother. She circled around the boss, making sure no one was behind her back when the next attack arrived. The ray of dark magic passed through her shield. Silver Blade frowned heavily realizing that one more hit was enough to empty her stance.
The Dark Mother didn't have the highest attack speed. Silver Blade was granted about five seconds of respite before another hit arrived. The tank let out a sigh watching her stance reach zero.
[Stance -22!]
[-1131!]
At least the friends had made quick process with the weak dark elves in the meantime. They rejoined their tank in the main battle. Various attacks fell on the Dark Mother, and her HP were soon reduced below 50.000 points.
"Enough! Taste my power!"
An angry shout pierced everyone's ears. The Dark Mother flashed, distancing herself from the players. She floated a few metres into the air and grabbed her staff with both hands, pointing it towards Silver Blade. Dark Magic began brewing in the air. At first it was a short single line but then it quickly fanned out until it took the form of a half-circle.
"Guys, hide behind Silver! Silver, protect yourself!"
Liam's warning sounded out and the friends reacted immediately. They all hid behind Silver Blade, standing in one line with the tank.
"Is this really a good idea…"
Cyclone couldn't help but shiver. While voicing her doubts she watched the attack the Dark Mother was preparing. As the players gathered behind Silver Blade, the half-circle shrank again into a line, concentrating all its power at one point.
"Get ready!"
Silver Blade reminded her friends while she activated [Luring Barrier]. A transparent shield appeared in the air, protecting the players behind it. The next moment the boss was finally done preparing. She let out a mad laugh as she gave her staff one last push.
Instantly a terrifying attack erupted. A thick beam of dark magic crossed the distance and arrived before Silver Blade in a flash, crashing into the barrier.
Boom!
Shockwaves spread in all directions. Silver Blade could feel the force through her barrier. She tensed her body, preventing herself from getting pushed back. But the black beam was persistent. Instead of disappearing after the first collision, it kept going, delivering constant damage.
[-2877!]
[-2877!]
[-2877!]
After Silver Blade blocked three instances of damage, she suddenly felt a mysterious force spreading through her body and even affecting her surroundings. The total damage Silver Blade had received surpassed a certain amount and the condition to trigger the first level of Silver Blade's passive skill had been reached. Thanks to this skill she received five seconds of immunity to all damage.
[-0!]
[-0!]
"What is this sorcery?!"
The Dark Mother's raging voice contained a hint of fatigue. She was less than pleased after pouring so much strength into her spell only to fail to overcome a single shield. And it was the fault of this strange force granting the adventurer immunity, which made no sense to the NPC.
"Ha! Can't look down on adventurers now, eh? Stupid dark elf!"
"That's what you get for not going with the times!"
Balm and Cyclone made some snarky remarks as the ranged players resumed their attacks. Cyclone, Fortune, and Silent Acacia aimed for the floating boss, delivering some more damage.
In response the Dark Mother only scoffed. She shot another sphere of dark magic in the direction of the other dark elves, freeing them from the web. A trio of elves crossed the room and joined their object of worship against the players.
Liam and his friends were annoyed but they had no choice but to take care of the dark elves. Meanwhile the Dark Mother returned to the ground, recovering from her attack. Only after a while did she engage in battle again. At that moment the players had already taken out two dark elves.
Silver Blade only had to hold the boss back for a few more seconds before the entire party could focus on the Dark Mother again.
Once more the friends surrounded the boss, attacking from all sides. Silver Blade was the one who had to endure the enemy's attack. The ray of magic aimed for her head, but it was cancelled out as it crashed into the [Luring Barrier].
[-3684!]
It looked like there were cracks in the air as the magical barrier took more and more damage. And yet it still held on for now. Silver Blade knew the barrier was one hit away from giving up.
But before it could come this far, the Dark Mother decided it was time for a change.
"I will not get bested by some measly adventurers!"
The female dark elf shrieked loudly as she flashed towards the centre of the room. The red pillars got reactivated, protecting the boss behind an impenetrable layer of magic. Before anyone could react, the Dark Mother waved her staff and started attacking towards all directions.
"Get out of the way!"
"Careful!"
The boss moved so fast that the players were almost too late to react. They scurried left and right, dodging the powerful rays of dark magic. However, this time the Dark Mother fired at an even higher frequency, making it impossible for everyone to dodge.
[-7577!]
[-6866!]
[-6474!]
Watchful Eye, Fortune, and Balm each suffered terrible damage. The young healer had just taken out the pure mirror when she was hit by the attack. She frowned, annoyed at herself for being just a second too late. However, this didn't stop her movements. With the red gem in hand Balm rushed to the side and held it in front of one of the red rays, which was reflected onto another crystal pillar. Instantly the crystal pillar was filled with energy, looking like it would burst any second.
"Do you think the same trick will work twice? Ridiculous!"
The Dark Mother only laughed mockingly. She stretched her arm forward and slowly closed her hand. A strong suction force erupted from her. More of the red magic was pulled towards the centre. Instead of destabilizing, her shield grew more powerful, shining like a small red star.
"What? It didn't work?!"
"What do we do now?"
This time Liam didn't wait with providing an explanation:
"Attack her! Fast! Damage doesn't matter as long as you get many attacks in!"
Instantly the friends surged forward. Attacks rained down on the boss from all sides. Quickstep was in her element, moving faster and faster, surpassing all limits. The protective layer kept flickering, spreading sparks like lively fireflies. Yet it didn't falter under the barrage.
The Dark Mother showed a mocking expression. She kept attracting more of the red magic, gathering it at the tip of her staff.
"Hurry!"
Liam felt a hint of anxiousness. Shattering the shield was more difficult than he thought. This didn't surprise him anymore, but he dreaded the possibility that they would fail. His friends could feel Liam's agitation. They increased their efforts by another level.
Cyclone and Fortune didn't cast any difficult skills. They stuck to normal attacks, throwing in a quick [Lightning Strike] or [Arcane Strike]. Silent Acacia and Bloody Edge made full use of their attacks speed while firing [Flurry]. Even Radiant Shield, Silver Blade, and Balm attacked with everything they got.
And yet the Dark Mother didn't show any signs of weakness. The magic gathering on her staff grew more intense by the second. An oppressive air filled the entire room.