The Ruda groaned in pain, clutching his side as he glared up. Clarence's last strike had landed heavy. Dust and embers swirled in the air as Clarence and the Darkest Night advanced toward him, their shadows stretching long under the burning light.
Ruda's eyes blazed with fury. "Damn you all! Go to hell!" he roared.
The ground cracked beneath him. From the fissures, goblins rose — each gripping a crooked staff pulsing with a red glow. In unison, they thrust their staffs forward, hurling blazing fireballs through the smoke.
Clarence darted between the bursts, his blade flashing as he struck down a few goblins like he was swinging for home runs. Beside him, the Darkest Night raised his hands, deflecting the flaming barrage.
"Darkest Night…" Clarence hissed between breaths, ducking another blast. "A lot of the adventurers are dead. Can we really stop Ruda on our own?"
He glanced down at the blood trickling from his arm and sighed. "I wasn't healed, huh?"
"Well of course you weren't," the Darkest Night growled, shifting his stance. "you were invisible and the light was getting reflected off you while dilek healed others with his light."
Ruda laughed, a harsh, echoing sound that rattled the cracked stone. He raised a hand — the earth trembled again as another wave of goblins clawed their way out. These ones had icy-blue staffs, their tips shimmering with frost.
Spikes of ice shot across the battlefield, piercing the ground and exploding into shards. Clarence rolled aside, slicing through one shaman, while the Darkest Night crushed another under his spiked mace. But each time Clarence tried to close in on Ruda, another goblin appeared — perfectly timed, perfectly placed.
He finally saw an opening and lunged, aimed straight for Ruda's chest — but a sudden surge of water erupted from below, blasting him off his feet. A hidden goblin, still crouched underground, had unleashed the spell.
Ruda smirked as Clarence was sent flying high into the air, his cloak snapping in the wind. "Payback," it sneered.
The battlefield shimmered with heat and frost, the air alive with fire, ice, and steam — a chaotic dance between strength and strategy.
"DARKEST NIGHT, I DONT THINK HE CAN CAST ANY MAGIC OF HIS OWN EXCEPT SUMMONING BUT HE CAN SUMMON GOBLINS THAT SPECIALIZE IN DIFFRENT MAGIC," Clarence shouted, breath ragged as he landed.
"You figured?" the Ruda taunted. "For an Ogre you sure are smart."
"OGRE'S ARE SMART FROM THE START," Clarence barked back.
The Darkest Night said, quietly but firmly, "he is trying to anger you, don't act on your emotions no matter how simple. Let's end it and fast before any other attacks come our way."
—
The light had closed off the adventurers' wounds, stitching flesh and sealing blood, though it did not cure every injury. The goblins screeched in pain and confusion; as the skill faded, some healed adventurers immediately surged forward, desperate to capitalize on the respite.
"SAINT YOU DID ITTT!" Diego yelled, leaping at Dilek. Dilek could barely lift him; dilek stumbled to his knees and then Diego hopped off, grinning. Iris climbed up the wall and demanded, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" She touched her patched wound, eyes wide.
"Oh. Just a little surprise. I can't do it again though," Dilek said, sweating. Iris exhaled and scanned the horizon. There were barely any goblins or hobogoblins coming now.
"FORM UP FAST — THE FIGHT ISN'T OVER," Iris shouted as she dropped down from the wall.
"DILEK!!!" Nandita's voice came from below. Dilek looked around. "Huh? Where?"
"HERE!" she shouted, forgetting she was still under Jerome's illusion.
"Diego, do you see her?" Dilek scanned the field.
"Are we hallucinating?" Diego muttered.
"Two people don't hallucinate the same thing, smartass," Dilek said, lightly hitting him. Nandita smiled from a distance. She heard a sound — the earth charging, something moving fast. The air whooshed past her; something invisible and heavy had run by, and a gentle hand patted her head.
"Go home. We will finish it," Hela's voice whispered.
"Huh?" Nandita turned but saw no one. Confusion knotted her features.
"Saint, did you get promoted by the goddess?" Diego asked, still staring at Dilek.
"Oh… uh, yea. The goddess gave me a one-time blessing. Lucky, right?" Dilek shrugged.
"Really?" Diego asked as Dilek nodded.
Nandita, who had climbed up, tapped their shoulder as her invisibility wore off. She touched Diego, who startled and stepped back, grabbing Dilek tight. Dilek blinked. "Oh — there you are. I thought I was hearing things."
She asked, "Where is Marcus?"
Dilek glanced around. "Not sure... I thought he was with you..."
She scanned the people who had been healed and were rallying to attack the Ruda.
Dilek watched them and thought, 'I was lucky... They were desperate enough to believe me... I doubt it would work again... NO WAIT, IT WILL WORK AGAIN IF I SHOUT IT... nevermind.' He blushed faintly. 'That line was so embarrassing... I felt like a guy with eighth-grade syndrome.'
"Should we look for Marcus?" Diego asked.
In the distance Dilek heard a noise. For a split second he saw Clarence in the air before he fell, the impact making the ground shudder. Diego looked at Dilek and smiled. "I know you want to help there, saint... Go. I'll take care here. We will look for Marcus."
"Huh? Hell no, I'm not going there. You think I got a death wish?" Dilek blurted.
"DILEK, GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE! WE ARE GOING TO THE RUDA!" Iris shouted.
"You jinxed it," Dilek muttered to Diego. Then he shouted down, "I DID MY PART, NOW DO YOURS!"
"DILEK, I'LL HANG YOU. RIGHT NOW IF WE DON'T KILL THE RUDA EVERYONE WILL DIE. I DON'T WANT YOUR WHINING!" Iris's voice cut through the chaos.
Dilek sighed as Bafole picked him up and dragged him down and led him into the forest where the Ruda was fighting. He waved goodbye to Nandita and Diego as they sprinted off to search for Marcus.
The group passed piles of dead hobgoblins and goblins. The adventurers, disgusted and exhausted, made sure none were hiding a last breath. One relieved man approached Dilek, voice trembling. "Thanks there... really thought I was done for... are you a high priest?"
"High priest?" Dilek looked at him. "Why would you think that?"
"Oh, well — my friend, a noble, said the high priest he saw could make himself glow. Honestly, I thought you were a con artist when you shouted like that, but the way you glowed told me you were the real thing..."
"Thanks," Dilek said, accepting the thanks as they moved on.
Iris called. "Jerome — cover us with illusion."
Jerome stood, trembling, and said, "I'll cast the illusion spell now." He began to mutter. At that moment, the Ruda far off was being pressured. Duja, the Darkest Night, and Clarence pressed in, refusing to give the Ruda any breathing room. The Ruda was getting hit fast; something invisible blocked the goblins the Ruda kept trying to summon.
Iris blinked, eyes wide. "What's going on? Who is the fat man?" she asked, stunned. Duja, despite his chubby frame, moved with a speed that outpaced Clarence and nearly matched the Darkest Night. They coordinated with a strange, silent rhythm. The Ruda panted as its summons failed to materialize.
"GODDAMIT, GIVE ME A SECOND AT LEAST!" the Ruda howled as Duja kicked it in the face. The Ruda slammed against a tree.
Ruda looked for the mage by concentrating, but was hit again — this time by Clarence, whose kick split the tree trunk. "It's pretty tough for that small body," Clarence said. Blood ran from the Ruda's nose. It looked up and, beyond the haze, saw the group — and then Dilek. A memory of the light surfaced in Ruda's mind. 'If it wasn't for the light none of this would be happening... it's him. How did he do it?'
"EVERYONE, GET AWAY FROM THE RUDA!" Hela and Duja shouted as the world began to slow down. Dilek watched the Ruda; it was on its last legs. 'Did they do that with the Darkest Night?' he wondered, and time seemed to slip.
The Ruda's hand lunged for Dilek's heart. He saw the Darkest Night dashing in the distance, face masked by the same cool elephant skull. Iris and the others tried to stop the Ruda, but it smiled: "Kinda slow, isn't it?"
"Huh?" Dilek managed.
"I summoned a Haste spell goblin using the remaining energy I had, underground this time, so the mage — whoever is killing my goblins the second they come out — guess why I went so far? Just to kill you. It's not that the world is slow; we are fast.
I'm surprised though, How did you do that? Even for a healer, that isn't possible. How come? Tell me. I'm curious. Depending on your answer I'll spare your life."
Dilek felt death creeping toward him. He put on a blank face and said, "I'm a high priest a very reliable healer given direct assistance by the goddess Yaguya."
"Yaguya?" the Ruda repeated, confused.
Dilek kept his blank expression. "Yea, that's our goddess. She is new to heaven, so you might not know her."
"New to heaven? What nonsense are you spouting..." the Ruda scoffed. It looked at Dilek. "You are a good liar, you know. I would almost believe your lies... Oh wait—" the Ruda smiled thinly.
Dilek's eyes widened; his thoughts raced. 'Did he figure it out? No way. How? No no no…' He tried to move, but his limbs felt sluggish. 'Shit, it feels like I'm in a nightmare. I can barely move.'
The Ruda looked at Dilek. "That reaction confirms it. You are dangerous." Slowly, the Ruda drove its hand into Dilek.
Dilek felt the blade of pain slowly spread as the Ruda's hand pierced flesh. He tried to scream, while the Ruda laughed. "It's alright. It's all going to end soon — just a little bit deeper..." The hand closed toward his heart.
Dilek said, one last ditch effort, his voice weak, "I'm pretty fast too, y'know..."
The Ruda's eyes widened.
BP: 103 (+1)
Skill: My sonido is the fastest among the espada! (passive, once a day randomly be equally fast as your opponent for 10 seconds)
The Ruda's hand moved closer — and then stalled. Suddenly it did not move any further. Dilek, with a strangled grin and blood at his lips, grabbed the Ruda's hand.
He coughed, tasting blood. The Ruda stared in shock. 'How did you just move fast?' it seemed to think. "No... however you moved, your body reacted accordingly. My spell affected only your mind and somehow you made another spell to affect your body...
The Ruda smiled, but you forgot — your injuries will go as fast, if not worse. Your rib that I broke pierced your lung. Congratulations, you daft idiot — you caused a painful death for yourself."
In the last seconds, Dilek bit.
He lunged forward, teeth raking across the Ruda's neck, sinking in deep. Green bile and red blood sprayed as the Ruda screamed. Dilek's jaws clawed, and the creature howled, one hand groping blindly, the other flailing for Dilek's eyes.
'YOU ANIMAL,' the Ruda snarled.
Dilek's teeth sank deeper. He felt his strength leave, the taste of iron and the Ruda's hot blood filled his mouth. The Ruda tried to push its hand further in, but Dilek held on with his hand and, jaw locked around the Ruda's neck. Though vision blurred.
Then everything softened. Dilek felt himself fading; his bite slackened as he began to lose consciousness. He couldn't finish the kill.
But that didn't matter. Someone was faster.
Faster than the Darkest Night, the rest of the group, Iris, Hela, Duja. In a single, brutal motion, that person cut through the Ruda with such force that its head toppled, rolling across the leaf litter.
For the last few seconds before blackness took him, Dilek saw beautiful black hair drifting through his vision. The Ruda's hand remained lodged in his chest, but it had never reached his heart.
The raid was over.