Chapter 32: The Fall of Baal
Shion's POV
I watched helplessly as the boss's devastating attack hit Slicer head-on. His HP plummeted almost instantly as his avatar was hurled like a ragdoll across the rocky battlefield. This boss... this damn thing wasn't designed for just one party. It was a full-on raid-tier threat. And now, only three of us were left—me, Zaphro, and our party leader, Verillion.
I glanced at Zaphro. He was frozen, staring at Slicer's motionless avatar. The shock was written all over his face. The guy looked unconscious—maybe he really was.
We dragged Zaphro away from the boss's range and let Gwydox take over the assault for the moment. The animus zipped around like an angry hornet, casting rapid-fire spells, and buying us time.
Soon, Slicer's body faded into motes of light and vanished.
"We need to end this. Zaphro, is your Demon Form ready?" I asked.
"Still 20% short. I need to cast more skills to max out my Rage points," he replied, eyes burning with intent.
"Then do it," Verillion ordered firmly. "We'll cover you. We've got a better shot at killing this bastard if you go full devil."
And so that became our strategy. While Verillion and I pulled aggro and danced around the boss's sweeping tentacles, Zaphro focused on spell spam. His Frost Field and Cold Fire started chipping at the boss's resistances, layering debuffs and burning away slivers of its health.
AOE attacks still rained down, and we were all taking hits. But at least that one-hit kill skill hadn't returned. Either the cooldown was long... or we'd only get hit with it once per run.
"Angelic Wrath!" Zaphro shouted as divine flames engulfed the area.
It was the same damn skill that beat me in our first duel.
"I've got your back! Hell Strike!" I slashed at the boss's tentacles, clearing the way for Zaphro's attack. Lightning surged around me as I shifted into my King of Lightning form—just in time to avoid being caught in the blast.
"Yes! That was it!" Verillion cheered. "We hit the weak spot!"
Baal's HP plummeted. 54%.
"Verillion! Hit him again!" I yelled.
He dashed to a safer range while Gwydox hurled a parting gift into the monster's face—a searing bolt of magic that exploded in a blinding flash.
"Elemental Fusion: Micro-Blast!" Verillion shouted.
The resulting blast obliterated part of the terrain and buried the boss under a mountain of rubble.
HP check: 46%.
Unfortunately, that explosion stirred up the surrounding mobs.
"Dude, you overdid it," I muttered.
"Yeah, yeah... got a little carried away," Verillion replied, breathing hard as he chugged potions. Zaphro did the same, recharging for what came next.
"I'm beginning to transform," Zaphro growled. "Take care of the mobs. Gwydox and I will finish the boss."
That was the plan… until a familiar voice rang out.
"What about us, huh!?" Ayana's voice shouted.
"Wait, how the hell did you two get back?" I blinked in disbelief.
"Teleport spell," Erenir explained casually. "Could only bring one person with me. Ayana was closest."
"Well, hell yeah! Let's finish this monster!" I roared, adrenaline surging.
We split into two teams. I paired with Ayana to mop up mobs. Zaphro, Verillion, Erenir, and Gwydox went all-in on the boss.
Ayana summoned support creatures, giving us more firepower, while the others engaged Baal in an all-out assault.
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Zaphro's POV
"Demon's Talon!" I unleashed a furious kick, the talons on my demonic feet tearing through Baal's back like butter.
No amount of defense could save it from me now.
Verillion and Erenir launched a tag-team combo immediately after.
Then came Gwydox's voice, sharp and pissed as ever.
> "Papa! That overgrown pile of rotting meat's charging up that skill again! You know, the one that turns players into ash? MOVE!"
"On it!" I activated double speed and zipped toward the boss's face. Most of its tentacles were already torn off—no more defense left.
"Hell Scream!"
The sound-based skill shot a piercing vibration straight into Baal's gaping maw, snapping its jaw shut before it could unleash its ultimate.
Then Gwydox swooped in from below, smirking mid-air.
> "Time to break the rules of gravity, asshole—Gravity Defy!"
With a deep rumble, the boss was suddenly yanked skyward, suspended helplessly like a glitching ragdoll.
> "Now, Papa! Finish this flaming turd!"
"EVERYONE—FINISHING MOVES! NOW!" I yelled.
"Dark Bloom!" Ayana cried, unleashing a flurry of black rose petals that exploded on impact.
"Twin Snake Blade!" Shion summoned twin lightning serpents that lashed across Baal's body.
"Way of Destruction #45: Asteroid!" Erenir conjured a meteor that crashed into Baal with an ear-splitting explosion.
"Ice Phoenix!" Verillion sent a cryogenic bird soaring into the boss, freezing huge chunks of its already-damaged body.
Finally—my turn.
I summoned everything. All my remaining mana. All my rage. All my will.
"Sword of Devouring Flame!"
A massive black blade ignited in my hands, roaring with crimson fire. I launched into the air, plunged it into Baal's chest—and everything went white.
Flames erupted from within the boss, its shriek echoing through the cavern like a banshee's death cry. The blade devoured it from the inside out, turning flesh to ashes and bone to dust.
Then silence.
Then—
> "Boom, baby. Fuckin' barbecue'd."
The system chimed.
[RAID BOSS: BAAL – DEFEATED]
[You gained: 120,000,000 EXP]
[Item Drop: Epic Sigil of Flame, Cry of Death (Skill Scroll), 1x Rare Crystal, 1x Hellforged Plate Armor]
[Gold Acquired: 200,000,000]
We stood in stunned silence, chests heaving, HP bars in the red.
"Holy crap… we did it," Shion muttered.
"Barely," Verillion added.
Ayana dropped to the ground, laughing between gasps. "I can't feel my hands."
> "I can feel your incompetence," Gwydox snapped. "But damn, y'all pulled it off. I'm almost proud. Almost."
I looked around at the party—worn, wounded, but alive.
Slicer might have gone down first... but he gave us the shot we needed.
I clenched my fists.
One boss down. But this wasn't over. Not by a long shot.
The aftermath of the fight left us ragged. Our potions were nearly gone, and the few we had left wouldn't last another wave of mobs. The others were already checking their inventories, grumbling.
"We should move," Verillion said, his voice low but steady. "This place is crawling with monsters now."
Ayana leaned on her staff. "Crawling? More like flooded. And I am not dying to some background trash mob after all that."
"Yeah, same," Erenir muttered. "We've gotta find shelter. Even a dead-end tunnel's better than standing here like loot piñatas."
I nodded. There was a tunnel nearby—dark, narrow, half-hidden by jagged rock. It looked like a post-battle glitch in the terrain, honestly.
"Let's head there," I said. "Rest up, regroup. We'll figure out what's next once we're not dying."
> "Oh, great, a creepy-ass tunnel with zero lighting and probable death at the end," Gwydox snarked from my shoulder. "Sure, why not. What's life without a little self-endangerment?"
We entered single-file, weapons out. The moment we stepped inside, the air changed. It was colder... older. Like the place remembered something it shouldn't.
"Doesn't feel like a normal cave," Shion said quietly, his lightning aura flickering dimly as if dulled by the atmosphere.
The stone under our feet was different, too. Not natural. Smooth. Engraved.
"Wait…" Ayana knelt, brushing dust away from a symbol etched into the floor.
A crimson insignia.
"It's not a dungeon," Verillion muttered. "It's a vault."
> "Correction," Gwydox said with a sudden, uncharacteristic seriousness, his usual sass replaced by a flat, warning tone. "This is Vault XII… Burial ground of the Crimson Order's first Prophet."
We all froze.
"What?" I asked. "You know this place?"
> "Didn't want to," Gwydox hissed, his voice glitching slightly. "They wiped this place from system records. Even the damn devs were scared of what was buried here."
The tunnel trembled softly. A low hum, like an old machine powering on after centuries of silence, echoed through the stone.
"Guys," Erenir said, stepping back. "This isn't just a dungeon. It's waking up."
Then came the whisper—like static, but layered with something ancient… and angry.
"Intruders... must not… reach the Core…"
Our HUDs flickered. Status effects began to appear.
[Area Effect: Memory Corruption - Moderate]
[Mana Recovery -50%]
[Aggro Radius Increased]
"Oh hell no," Ayana snapped. "We're in a cursed Vault with AI ghosts? This is some horror movie energy, and I hate it."
> "Too late, cupcake. We're locked in now," Gwydox said grimly. "And if the Prophet's still here? We're screwed."
The tunnel stretched forward, darkness swallowing the path ahead.
We had no potions. No backup.
And we just woke up something that should've stayed dead.