Chapter 245. Descent into Flame (2)

"What the hell!?"

[You deal with this one. Fire damage is my biggest weakness. I'll try to support from afar.](Lorath)

"Fuck!"

Cursing but helpless to change the outcome, Michael could only order Quarterback to block the charging demons.

Fortunately, his Accountants proved to be quite formidable against this Master of Flame, as their Blizzards dealt the most damage among all skills thrown at the Unique Elite.

With Decrepify slowing down Malach's movement, as well as the overall damage it was outputting, the Necromancer slowly ground the damned demon to death.

Unfortunately, right before the fucker died, he charged at Michael and detonated himself only three meters away before reaching his target. 

Unable to tank the explosion and hope to live, he gritted his teeth and used Blood Mist to avoid the damage.

"AAAAAAAAAAAARHGH!!!!"

His howls of pain filled the Halls of Destruction with loud echoes, drawing even more cultists and demons to their location.

Fortunately, Lorath could deal with the aftermath while Michael recovered from the intense blow he had just taken.

Standing dazed on the ground, his mind dizzy and unable to form coherent thoughts, the Necromancer's body trembled in pain every now and then, even if no pain was assaulting him presently.

During Malach's detonation, the demon evaporated the Blood Mist his body transformed into almost entirely, making Michael feel pain unlike anything he had previously experienced.

The shock was so great that he still endured phantom pain even after his physical body recovered.

Standing up only to fall back on his ass, Michael smiled bitterly and began laughing loudly.

If there was one good thing about this whole mess, it was that his head was now filled with the memory of how painful this shit was, and whatever bullshit Mephisto and the other two Lords of Hell influenced his mind with was completely gone.

"Talk about being shocked awake..."

[Are you alright? If so, hurry up and help me! Their numbers keep increasing. Where in the blazing Hells did the Triune kidnap so many people from!?](Lorath)

With Michael gathering his bearings and resummoning his minions, the duo could finally resist the onslaught of crazed cultists. 

Furthermore, with his Corpse Explosion and Decrepify, the lunatics became nothing but walking experience bags.

Finally done killing, Lorath led the way forward into the Hall of Terror, where they encountered a strange addition to the usual Triune cultists and occasional demons: cannibals!

"Seems like Brol is also around."

[He did say he wanted to watch, meaning that the ritual should be unfolding as we speak. Let's hurry!](Lorath)

Roughly dealing with the enemies blocking their path, the duo finally reached an area from which they could observe a chamber below.

They were probably twenty meters above the ground, and to normal humans, whoever was on the ground appeared as nothing but tiny dots.

For Wanderers, though, the scenes below were very clear.

[Damnit! We are too late. The ritual is underway. Fortunately, there's still time. I will deal with Elias myself. Stay in the shadows!](Lorath)

"What!? How exactly do you plan to do that? There's Brol and over twenty others there besides Elias. They would spot you... Huh!?"

As he was rambling on, Lorath completely vanished from his perception. He couldn't find the man using his senses or energy vision.

-------------------

Watching the young Wanderer look around in complete shock, trying to find traces of him, Lorath smiled in relief.

[Kid, if you could find me this easily, this forbidden spell I risked my life finding in an old Dungeon would become useless. Still, it looks like your mind cleared from Prime's influence after that shock. That musclehead Malach is still good for something, at least.](Lorath)

That's right. He knew well what it meant to accept the 'blessing' of the three Primes and the strain it would put on one's psyche. 

Even if this Wanderer before him remained strong beyond his expectations, he was no doubt influenced beyond his control.

However, after traveling with the Necromancer for so long and having a somewhat vague recollection of the skill Blood Mist, he decisively let him become the vanguard in the fight against Malach.

As one of Baal's generals, he read plenty of works where the demon's suicide attack wiped out heroes of the past. He wasn't worried about the kid dying since the Sanctuary was taking unprecedented care of him. 

And, as expected, once the demon exploded, the Wanderer used Blood Mist to block the damage. The pain must've been tremendous as he stood dazed on the ground for over fifteen minutes, his body shaking involuntarily every now and then.

But looking at how lively he was now, his bet appeared successful. 

Turning around to watch the ritual taking place below and seeing his former student performing it, Lorath sighed heavily.

[If only you could've been less ambitious, Elias. Now... fate brought us to this point.](Lorath)

Crushing a small carved stone in his left hand, he teleported below. He was only a meter away from Brol, but the small giant didn't seem to notice anything and continued smoking his pipe as he watched Elias perform the ritual.

As for his former student, he was atop a strange altar surrounded by cultists kneeling and chanting in an old tongue while over twenty cannibals with their throats slit were lying below.

Calmly climbing the stairs, Lorath took in the sight of Elias, focused on using a small hammer and a pointy instrument used for ritualistic tattoos on the woman lying unconscious on the altar.

The sound of the hammer hitting the instrument was the only one in the room, stopping every now and then when the 'artist' ran out of 'ink.' 

Looking above the altar illuminated by the candles placed around the statues of the three Primes in the background, the old man sighed upon seeing what was being used as ink.

A thick cloud of blood formed above the altar, and Elias would dip the instrument in it whenever the material inside was finished.

[Foolish child... I warned you not to walk this path...](Lorath)

Inspecting the 'cloud' above the altar closely and realizing that it was indeed formed from around twenty or so globs of blood, Lorath looked at the cannibals with their throats slit and shook his head slightly.

Approaching the altar, he inspected the unconscious woman and realized that the tattoo was about 75% finished. He frowned but ultimately sighed.

The blood cloud above thinned and showed signs of instability, making Elias raise his head and look at one of the cannibals nearby. 

The latter turned to look at Brol, only to see him nod approvingly.

Then, in an unexpected manner, the cannibal slit his own throat and fell to the ground weakly. The blood from the would rose into the air, joining the cloud and stabilizing it, allowing Elias to continue the ritual.

Raising his instrument to collect more blood, Lorath noticed it glow ominously.

[Damnit Elias...](Lorath)

Sighing, his right hand reached to stop the 'needle' from making contact with the woman's skin and pulled it out of Elias's hands.

The latter was surprised upon seeing his former master but immediately calmed down.

[Lorath. Have you...](Elias)

His words stopped abruptly after finding the instrument stabbed in his neck, piercing through.

Awful gurgling sounds from blood drowning his former student echoed in Lorath's ears, but he clenched his fists and endured.

Watching the child he raised ever since he was a baby fall to the ground weakly, the ex-Horadrim's eyes moistened, and he closed them for a second to stop the tears from forming.

With the Tyrant King behind him and plenty more Triune cultists and cannibals, even with Michael's help, it would be hard to get away.

Upon opening his eyes not even a second later, Elias's body vanished from near the altar, leaving only a small puddle of blood behind, much to the Horadrim's horror.

Then, without the ritual master's energy condensing the cloud, it turned into rain, falling onto Lorath and the unconscious woman on the altar.

[AAAAAAAAAAAARHG!?](?)

Bathed in blood, the woman opened his eyes and screamed loudly, sending Lorath into a temporary daze due to the intense noise.

Watching her tense and touch her skin as if in pain, he offered her a long robe to cover her naked body, unbothered by the blood falling from above.

Surprised by the sudden cloth stuffed into her hands, the woman stopped screaming and looked at him.

[Please, come with me! We must hurry! Hold my hand.](Lorath)

Watching something behind the stranger speaking with her come closer, she realized it was a giant man slashing with both swords at them.

Before she could scream again, Lorath grabbed her left hand and crushed another carved stone, teleporting both of them to the chamber's entrance.

Michael was already waiting for them there, his minions already rushing past them.

[I'll leave Brol to you.](Lorath)

"Mhm."

Watching the Necromancer charge forward, Lorath sighed in relief, and his chest began heaving violently.

An intense coughing fit followed, with the man spewing dark blood and almost collapsing.

Leaning his body on one of the pillars, he took a pill and downed it, allowing his symptoms to quickly vanish.

[Sure enough, using such forbidden magic with my old body in such quick succession was a foolish act. *Sigh*](Lorath)

[Are you alright?](?)

[Yes. Let's wait for the Wanderer to deal with Brol. Drink this and recuperate in the meantime.](Lorath)

Recognizing it as the highest-level Healing Potion available, the woman downed it immediately, probably hoping to ease the pain she was feeling.

Lorath turned to look at Michael, who had already engaged the Tyrant.

-------------------

Michael was shocked to see the scenes below unfold. 

After noticing Lorath randomly appear and stabbing Elias in the neck, he immediately descended the stairs, prepared to join the fight.

Then, as soon as he stepped into the Altar of Sacrifice - as the Sanctuary named the room - Lorath teleported behind him, leading a large number of cultists and cannibals to charge at their position. 

[ Main Quest complete - Descent into Flame

Objective: Slay the Tyrant King Brol

Description: You stopped the ritual, and now the Tyrant King Brol seeks vengeance. You are left with no choice but to face him. ]

Sighing mentally, he ordered his minions to go forward and had Quarterback use his Taunt to distract them.

[I'll leave Brol to you.](Lorath)

"Mhm."

Focusing on the area with the largest number of enemies, he immediately used Decrepify and charged forward, slashing with Reap.

Seeing a Corpse appear, he used Tendrils to group them together and then exploded them into dark miasma.

As his minions cleaned up the trash and the miasma dealt continuous damage to the weaklings, Michael raised his shield high, blocking the downward swing Brol launched at him.

Feeling the weight behind the attack, the Necromancer was forced to his knees. A kick immediately followed, taking out the air from his lungs.

Seeing the sword aimed at his neck and remembering the fate of the talkative Mother's Chosen a while back, Michael immediately used Blood Mist to avoid the strike.

Just like the Barbarian Chieftain Gorm he met in Mephisto's Vision of Seschra, he was being outclassed in terms of raw power and combat experience by Brol.

Sighing mentally, he dragged the fight into the area affected by miasma and used Corpse Explosion four more times, letting the damage stack fivefold as he kited the Tyrant.

Using Decrepify to slow the small giant and lower the damage he was dealing to him, Michael continuously distanced himself throughout the fight, creating enough space for him to drink Healing Potions whenever his Life Points dropped below 50%.

Unfortunately, Brol was the tank + damage dealer type, and even after half an hour passed, he barely managed to bring him below half his Life Points.

Fortunately, he used Corpse Explosion sparingly, allowing him to use his minions to interfere with the one-on-one duel every now and then.

The Reapers became sacrifices to earn time after dealing with the enemy Minion-level trash, while Quarterback would use Taunt and his tanky body to earn the Necromancer much-needed time to catch his breath every now and then.

The Accountants were the most important, as they dealt damage from afar, triggering Blizzard continuously on the small giant. 

Among the damage types he was more vulnerable to, Michael's Darkness damage wasn't on the list, nor was the Ice damage. 

However, the Slow and Chilled modifiers applied still allowed him to maintain the upper hand during the fight.

Another hour later, Brol was finally vanquished, and the Sanctuary considered the Descent into Flame Quest complete.

Dragging his tired body to Lorath and the woman he saved from the altar, Michael felt waves of exhaustion washing over him, making him stagger.

Taking a deep breath to somewhat stabilize his body and mind, he plonked next to Lorath as the Sanctuary issued the next Quest.

[ Main Quest issued - Loose Threads

Objective: Speak with the mysterious woman

Description: You must talk with Lorath and make sure that he and the woman made it out safely. ] 

Rolling his eyes at the glitching system, the Necromancer brought out three big glasses of smoothies and handed the other two to Lorath and this 'mysterious woman.' 

He was too tired to speak but hungry enough to eat an entire cow. Fortunately, he could use this as a snack before returning to Kyovashad.