Jester of The Scarlet Star, Part One

He attempted to open his inventory with the intention of getting something, though was immediately forced to jump back as the silver-skinned giant rushed him. 

Calypso stopped a few meters short of Zero, holding a twisted smile as his red eyes shone like rubies beneath his mask before flipping the scythe around: 

[!!!"Bloodcurdling Labyrinth of Death"!!!] 

With a single swipe of the crimson-forged weapon, a spiderweb of red, blistering threads intertwined, sweeping with an unavoidable path for Zero. 

'What a pain in the ass. I didn't want to use this one this early, but—' Zero thought, holding one hand up. 

[Colosseum Starlight] 

[Cooldown: 9:59]

An ethereal dome manifested around the young man, fluttering into existence from a unison of sparkling lights and a sleek, black projection.

[STATUS - "STARLIGHT VEIL" Gained.] 

The threads of vicious crimson closed in quickly, surrounding the protective dome with an unavoidable lethality. Zero kept close watch of the all-out attacking, watching as it squeezed around the sparkling colosseum around him. 

It instantly broke at the slightest sense of strain, shattering into countless, abyssal pieces as dazzling shards fluttered in the air. There was only a second space between the web of blood-forged threads breaking the barrier and reaching his body, but that small gap was exactly what he waited before–

[Starlight Blink] 

Just before the web could ensnare him in its hold of death, he vanished from the spot he stood. Like a concert of blistering lights, Zero vanished, reappearing continuously and instantly from one place to the other. 

"Hm–? Hm–? Hmm–?!" Annoyed noises left the lips of Calypso, who spun around as the player ran circles around him. 

["Colosseum Starlight": a barrier-type skill that imbues the user with a unique status: "Starlight Veil", allowing the user to temporarily use short-ranged teleportation without any sort of cooldown.] 

Using another [Starlight Blink] to get behind the silver-skinned, masked giant, he squeezed the handle of his weapon before imbuing himself and his blade with more power: 

[Explosive Strength EX] 

[Cooldown: 3:59] 

[Dragonfire Manifest] 

[Cooldown: 6:59] 

Emerald flames extended from his sword, swirling and waving into the form of a great beast just as it was swung. The inferno stayed in the form of the draconic head, roaring as it soared across the chamber, parting its blazing jaws before latching onto the raid boss. 

"---Grrrrh!" Calypso growled, planting his feet against the waving, marble floor as he endured the attack. 

["Calypso: Blood Titan" | HP: 1,359,301/3,000,000]

Zero could only click his tongue at the figure's ability to react and mitigate the attack. It was one of the key aspects to Abyss Online: there was a monumental difference in the value of an attack on an unguarded opponent, and one who is able to properly defend themselves. 

Still, it wasn't an ability he had predicted would have a climactic effect on the boss, instead using the sparse moment of Calypso's grimace to turn around. He looked across the chamber at his afflicted companion, who was still slumped against the wall with his paralyzing wound. 

[Ultimate Sleuth] 

[Vangrave Melio [Level: 80] [Class: Warrior] [Affiliation: N/A] 

[HP: 2143/17000] 

'He's losing health by the moment. He should've used a potion by now–that means that attack likely had some kind of paralysis effect. What a pain…' Zero thought. 

In a quick effort, he opened his inventory with a swift swipe of his finger before manifesting a tall, rectangular vial filled with vibrant, pink liquid into his hold. 

[Nectar of Gods EX+ Enhanced] 

'I was hoping to save this, but I guess this as good a time as any. You owe me one,' he thought. 

There wasn't much of an opening before Calypso regained himself after the slash of draconic fire, stomping his feet and huffing out as his blood-red eyes locked onto the player from behind his mask. 

Zero spun around, cocking his arm that held the vial back as he called out to his wounded companion, "Think fast, Shark!" 

As the valuable container of liquid spun through the air, the transfigured giant of silver skin whipped his arm around wildly as blades of swirling blood conjured towards the vial. 

"This is my domain!" Calypso howled. 

[Shield of The Burning Sun] 

Zero brought himself between the raid boss and his wounded companion, extending his hand with the call of his spell. 

Before the visceral blood could intercept the vial, a barrier forged of bright, burning light appeared in front of the crimson sickles. The collision of Calypso's blood blades against the burning shield caused the projectiles to evaporate instantaneously. 

"What?!" Calypso scrunched his nose in disgust. 

Zero's expression was hastened with a small smile, "Tough shit." 

Without further hindrance, the bottle of seraphic, pink liquid flung itself towards the wounded warrior, who hopped up with his last spurts of energy, not lifting his arms in the process. 

"Thanks, Boss!" Vangrave shouted before parting his jaw, snapping down like a carnivorous predator. 

As if he were an animal, he caught the empowered nectar in his mouth, crushing the bottle with his sharp teeth as the liquid splashed into his mouth. 

Zero looked back, watching the unorthodox catch with a smile, "That's one way to do it." 

Just as the warrior-class player recovered his health, a multitude of other effects flourished around him as he hopped to his feet. 

"Woah! This is…crazy!" Vangrave reacted, looking at his own body as his skin glistened with a golden glow, surging with various statuses. 

[FULL HEALTH RESTORED] [ATK UP] [DEF UP] [AGI UP] MAG UP] [DMG RED UP] [EV UP] [GODLY REGENERATION] [RADIANCE] 

Sparkles of seraphic light swirled around the confused warrior, whose stats jumped up a few times over. Amidst this revelation, Zero swiftly dodged through various bloodened attacks from the raid boss, flipping past incoming blades of crimson liquid before landing beside the warrior. 

"You're welcome, by the way," Zero said. 

"Huh? Thanks, but what the hell didja give me?! I feel like a million bucks right now!" Vangrave claimed with a boisterous laugh, clenching his fists tightly as the golden light surged. 

Zero huffed, breathing out as he moved his hanging fringe with his breath while looking towards the enraged boss, "Nectar of Gods. It's a complete heal along with a universal stat buff, temporarily of course. I maxed out my alchemy skill just to be able to craft that. It takes a helluva lot of resources–it's a pain in the ass, so be grateful." 

"Ha-ha! Thanks, Boss! I feel invincible–let's do this! Let's do this!" Vangrave excitedly shouted, flipping his halberd around as it spun rapidly, exuding the same golden radiance that shuddered from his body. 

Bastian stepped forward, intercepting a colossal slice of blood that had been aimed towards them with his blackened sword, "--Yeah, well focus up!" 

Together, they engaged the maddened giant, who violently stomped his feet and spun around without any semblance of normalcy. 

"Here it comes–I do not like this phase," Zero mumbled under his breath. 

Vangrave looked between the boss and his comrade frantically, "Phase–what phase? What's about to happ–" 

Before the question could be fully verbalized, the warrior was pulled to the side with a violent tug to his arm. 

"Wha–!" Vangrave shouted in surprise, stumbling over, "What was that f–" 

A colossal stream of sharp crimson swept through the spot the two were previously standing, leaving strands of scarlet electricity hissing in its wake; a violent torrent of blood that would've surely proved fatal with a single hit. 

Vangrave gulped, "...Thanks for the save, Boss." 

The sudden attack had come through an unorthodox movement of the towering figure; the steel-skinned giant's bones cracked as his limbs spun around, his neck contorting and circling like that of a mechanical doll while his teeth chattered. 

"Eradication! I will eradicate your entire bloodline and add it to my Throne of Ancestry!" Calypso howled. 

["Calypso: Jester of The Scarlet Star" | HP: 1,800,000/3,000,000]

"Save your gratitude later. Keep moving–that's the best advice I can give you. This is where the real fight begins," Zero advised.