Chapter 12

Upon awakening Ryder was greeted with the sound of commotion coming from the first floor. His tired eyes fluttered open as he sat up in confusion, what was with all the noise? Had he slept in and missed something important?

After stretching and yawning loudly he walked out the door only to be greeted by a familiar maiden, Eleanor stood there facing away from his door.

"Eleanor?" He asked in complete surprise. "What are you doing here? What's going on?"

Quickly she turned around, shocked she missed the sound of the door swinging open. "Ah, Ryder! It's good to see you again after so long! I was standing guard like Sir Feros asked me to!"

"Stand guard, why? What's going on down there?" he tries to peek around the corner, now getting slightly concerned as to what's going on.

"Tis a celebration, or rather a send off I suppose…" Eleanor corrects herself as she looks down the hall. "Everyone has gathered in the dining hall down below before the big raid today."

"Seriously? They're already acting like we've won…" he hangs his head a bit, now very worried about what'll happen. "I hope they aren't expecting too much of me."

"They do I'm afraid, you're being heralded as a champion of the people by Yuria" she lets out a tiny laugh "and many have already been getting excited about meeting said champion."

"That… honestly explains a lot." Ryder sighs once more before fixing his posture. "Well, hopefully they saved their so-called champion some food." he says while walking past Eleanor and towards the stairs, only stopping once he reached them. "You coming or what?" he says while waiting on her "If everyone is celebrating you should too."

Though a bit surprised Eleanor meekly nods in agreement before following him down the stairs. There the noise and commotion only gets louder as people come into view, many in the tavern and some even hanging out in the main foyer.

At first they don't notice Ryder's approach but as he passes people many begin to whisper and talk about their "champion" who will lead them to victory.

Suddenly a voice calls out, "Ryder! Over here!" as he looks over he sees Oto standing with Lily and Feros, a smile on his face.

Not wasting a moment the duo quickly slinks through the crowd over to where the group was waiting. The commotion only grew as Ryder's presence was fully registered to everyone.

"Good to see you again, wish we could've met up sooner but I've been busy helping a few friends." Oto says while holding out a cup of what appeared to be juice to Ryder. "You've been keeping yourself busy even while going off the grid."

"Oh you have no clue." Ryder yawns again and thankfully takes the drink, chugging it in one go much to everyone's surprise. "Still, why didn't anyone stop Yuria from spouting this champion nonsense? I'm not exactly an expert at anything."

"Simple really, that kind of stuff boosts morale through the roof." Feros interjects, motioning to the rather talkative crowd before them. "Just have a look around."

Sure enough morale did seem to be sky high, everyone was talking and laughing with jovial faces, each one excited to head off into battle.

How did Yuria manage this? This would essentially be a death march most likely if Ryder failed and there's no guarantee things would go to plan.

"Just relax, I can tell you're overthinking things." Oto says while pouring him another drink. "You'll have us to back you up as well, so surely things won't go too terribly."

"Wait, all of you are?" Ryder looks around at the group confused. "Seriously?"

"Yup! We all agreed to give you the backup you needed! The others can handle the boss after all." Lily says with her usual smile now back and brighter than ever. "Everyone here has agreed to give it their best since you will be too."

"Exactly, plus Feros and I here are used to dealing with humanoid opponents… tons of hours doing PvP in pretty much any game." Oto says while lightly nudging Feros. "What do you bet you still can't keep up with me?"

"You may be faster, but you still lack precision and technique most of the time." Feros states bluntly but smiles a bit. "Though this will be a fun chance to see who's gotten the lead currently."

"Wait, you two know each other?" Ryder asks, genuinely confused at this prospect.

"Oh yeah, we're old friends irl." Oto proudly states. "This guy right here is the one who's always helped me with raids and tough opponents."

"And I must admit, had it not been for his ingenuity and rather inhuman reaction speed we would've lost many matches before." Feros admits rather stubbornly. "Though currently I've still got the advantage on him by five bosses."

"Huh?! Since when was it five?!" Oto shoots back, the two now getting into a semi heated argument over kills.

All Ryder could do was laugh at this and smile at how the two got along. This world may be in a sorry state but it seems like spirits couldn't be any higher at the moment.

"Well at least everyone is doing alright…" Ryder says while looking at Lily. "Where are the others?"

"Oh you mean like Aranea? They're in the guild hall finishing any last minute preparations. After all, the only ones staying will be a few low levels and Eleanor."

"Wait, seriously?" Ryder nearly drops his cup out of surprise. "So you're telling me that everyone here will be taking part in the boss fight?!"

"Yup!" she gives a thumbs up. "Yuria's speech plus the idea of grand loot got everyone excited and no one backed down from taking part in the fight."

"Yeah, the idea of taking the fort has gotten everyone riled up." Eleanor chimes in, a small smile on her face. "I do wish I could help but this extends way beyond my prowess…"

"Hey it's alright, some people are good at fighting and others are better suited to other tasks like writing or mending the injured." Ryder states while patting her on the shoulder. "All you need to do is just help out in your own way."

Eleanor blushes a tiny bit but nods and smiles brighter than normal, overjoyed at the statement.

"There's the champion!" Yuria's voice proclaims as she walks up to the group. "My oh my I never thought you'd awaken, I was afraid you'd sleep the day away!"

"Yeah it's good to see you too Yuria, next time don't go around telling people I'm some sort of champion alright?"

"Aww why not? Everyone could use a good morale booster every now and again, wouldn't you agree?" she smiles at him, her face partially obscured by the hood.

"A morale boost is good but I'd rather not be the center of attention." he sighs again, quickly becoming tired of the thought.

"Then you're not going to like what Aranea would have you do." Yuria shrugs and pats him on the back. "Just be ready for her when she arrives."

"Why? What would she have me do?" even more concern arose in him, only to be met with the smile of a gremlin and Yuria quickly slinks back off into the crowd. "I swear…"

"Oh relax, I'm sure it won't be anything too complicated." Oto replies, now having finished his little argument with Feros. "Just play it natural."

"...you know something don't you?" Feros asks Oto, his voice also slightly annoyed.

"Maybe, maybe not." Oto shrugs "All I know is she said it'd be important for morale."

Suddenly Oto stops and reaches into his pocket, pulling out a transparent looking letter. "Well, speak of the devil… she's actually ready to talk to you right now."

"What was that?" Ryder asks, pointing to the letter.

"This? It's the messaging system… did no one tell you about it?" Now it was Oto's turn to be concerned as he looked at Ryder.

"No, no one ever did…" he sighs and shakes his head. "That can wait though, I'd better see what Aranea wants."

"You go on ahead, we'll make sure things stay relatively calm here." Feros replies while looking towards Yuria in the crowd. "Wouldn't want a certain someone getting the crowd too excited."

"Right, well good luck with that, I'll see you guys soon." Ryder says before walking off, exiting the inn.

Though he could still hear the commotion from outside, the village itself was generally much more calm, most people making last minute purchases or watching Ryder.

The stares he got were soul piercing and heavy, as if they were expecting something great from him. Just what had Yuria told everyone to get them in this mindset?

Being in the spotlight was never something he liked, it felt alien in comparison to how the everyday normally was. He was silent and moved through crowds like a ghost, no one really noticing his existence and him not paying much mind to them.

It's just how life was, yet now here he is being hoisted up as this champion of sorts. Though it still felt alien to him, he didn't mind it as much… not when it seemed to make others happy and excited. Maybe just this once he'd play along with it, see how it affects others.

Yet part of him couldn't help but find the irony amusing, he was being called a champion by what many would see as a witch of the woods, and he was now a harbinger for an entity of darkness… some champion he was.

As he approached the guild hall he heard a few voices, much more quiet and serious in nature in comparison to the celebration happening at the inn. Must be the leaders finishing all the last minute preparations.

Upon opening the door his suspicions are confirmed as he sees Aranea, Radogan, Laurence and Demea discussing things as they sort through supplies on a table.

Aranea's eyes darted over to the door upon hearing it open, only to relax upon seeing Ryder. "Oh it's you, perfect timing, we need to discuss the speech you'll give beforehand."

"I'm sorry, you want me to give a speech?" Ryder looks at her, now very confused. "I figured that'd be your thing considering you're the leader."

"While I am technically a leader I only guide people, we all work together towards a similar goal in the end." she replies before crossing her arms. "And that means I'm not the only one people look to for inspiration and leadership at times, just ask Radogan."

"Man, don't remind me… when we first got here I was busy taking care of everything, all because I knew how to repair weapons and set up defenses." Radogan sighs and hangs his head ever so slightly.

"With everyone riled up about actually clearing the fort though they're looking to you for guidance." Aranea looks back to Ryder. "You're the one who proposed the plan and Yuria has been hyping you up. So naturally you're the one everyone is looking to."

"So what, you want me to give some kind of great speech to get them excited?" Ryder asks, slightly nervous. "I'll have you know that is not something I'm capable of."

"Relax, it doesn't have to be anything huge." she says, trying to calm him down. "The best thing you could do is just give a few words of encouragement."

"We are heading into the unknown here after all." Laurence chimes in. "Should you fail then it matters not if we best the boss behind the doors, that NPC will kill us all."

"Not only that but we don't even really know what the boss is weak to…" Demea timidly comments. "I'm not trying to add pressure, just telling the truth…"

"Hell before Yuria hyped everyone up they were all waiting for you to return anxiously. Some couldn't even sleep and took up extra night guard posts." Radogan says before reaching into his pocket. "That all changed with that star and your return though, now everyone's morale is through the roof." he pulls out a fragment and tosses it to Ryder.

Ryder catches the fragment and looks down at it for a moment before sighing. "All I gotta do is say a few words of encouragement, right?"

Aranea nods in confirmation. "That's right, just a few words before we head into battle, it may not seem like a lot now but I promise it'll help."

Ryder stares at the fragment in his hand for a moment before groaning and giving in. "Right, I'll do it then, just let me know when it's time."

"You've got it… thank you again." Aranea replies as Ryder walks out of the building and off to the edge of town to wait on everyone else.

As he leaned against one of the wooden walls protecting the village it wouldn't take long for many to start gathering, everyone waiting in anticipation for the march to the fort that'd been halting their progress for so long.

He zones out for a moment, thinking of all the possibilities of the battle, what could and likely would go wrong.

Anyone could die with just a single slip up, it was incredibly worrying… and who was to say he'd truly be able to win this battle?

It was all too much… oh how nice it would be to just be doing his own thing again away from the spotlight.

Though you can't hide from it forever, it'll always find you one of these days… and besides, who knows? Maybe this'll get him one step closer to finding that kid, if he's even real.

"Ryder, a moment please?" Demea's voice snaps him back to reality as he sees the tired developer in front of him, her eyes now as clearly worried as his.

"What is it? Getting cold feet as well?" Ryder jokes a bit while looking out amongst the crowd forming. "Honestly, I'm still surprised how many people are actually taking part here…"

She frowns a little and sighs. "Please don't go running off now… especially not after I had Radogan make you something extra just to be safe."

"You did?" Ryder asks, very surprised at this.

"Yes, considering you'll be doing most of the heavy lifting I figured you'd need all the advantages you could get." Demea replies tiredly before reaching into her bag and pulling out a wrapped object with both hands. "Here, be careful, it's the first of its kind and possibly the only one."

Carefully Ryder takes the object, slowly unwrapping it to reveal an odd silver dagger with noticeable glowing patterns in it, almost resembling a damascus blade of sorts. It felt heavy to an extent but also powerful, otherworldly almost… yet it felt right at home in his hands.

"What is this?" he asked in awe while examining the dagger closer, feeling some sort of energy coming from it.

"An Astral Dagger, something that'd normally be impossible to forge until later on." she crosses her arms. "Its base metal is silver, not great on its own until you add fragments from a falling star."

"Wait, seriously?! You made a weapon out of the fragments?!" Ryder's eyes widen in shock as he looks at her.

"Yes, normally that'd be something only possible late game but here we are… do be careful though as if it breaks we can't repair it… not for a long while anyways."

Ryder lightly spins it one hand, getting a feel for it while also imagining the possibilities with it. "So, any unique properties to it?"

"It's an anti magic weapon that grows alongside its user, all Astral weapons do, it's why they were the most sought after in the beta." Demea looks at the dagger. "It may be weak and only function decently now but, since you got it so early on, it has way more potential than they normally do."

"Wait, so you're telling me that I can break spells with it?" Ryder looks at her even more surprised now.

"Not break, more like cut, pierce or deflect most magic." she replies while shaking her head. "And you're more concerned about that than the other thing?"

"Oh don't get me wrong, the idea of it leveling with me is cool, but the anti magic is what's going to be more useful in the long run… even a tiny level one dagger with that effect would be useful." Ryder happily slides it into his belt next to his sword.

"I swear you are a weird one… most people would care more about the damage potential rather than the utility…" Demea shakes her head with a smile. "Then again it has been your out of the box thinking that's helped with several things so far."

"Hey, sometimes that's all you need… can't always try to play strictly by the rules." Ryder smiles before hearing the crowd whisper, catching his attention and causing him to look over at the commotion .

There he sees the last of the members arriving, all of them being led by Aranea with a fierce look of determination in her eyes.

She grips her weapon tightly, clearly trying to hide her own nervousness as her free hand trembles ever so slightly.

In fact the only two who seem perfectly calm are Oto and Feros, both of which look more ready to fight than anyone else.

Ryder can now see Feros' build more clearly now, lightweight cloth armor and a saber with throwing knives hanging across his chest. A duelist perhaps… more focused on dodging and possibly parrying attacks rather than blocking, the throwing knives being there as a ranged backup and last resort parrying tool.

Feros makes eye contact with Ryder, his eyes still sharp and dangerous yet seeming to be ready to follow his orders. Quietly he makes his way to Ryder's side alongside Oto and Lily.

With everyone gathered now Aranea looks back amongst the crowd of at least 70+ players, her eyes counting everyone before taking a deep breath and speaking. "Alright, is everyone ready to move? Got the plan memorized?"

The crowd rumbles for a moment as everyone confirms for another before various confirmations come from what could only be the squad leaders.

"Alright, good… then we march for the fort, everyone be sure to stick with your respective groups and get ready for anything." Aranea says before turning and walking out of the city alongside her group and Ryder's.

Everyone soon follows behind, this large group of outlanders marching for the fort, not a single soul talking as each one tries to prepare mentally for the oncoming battle.

Ryder finds himself zoning out and worrying once more as his hand traces the handle of his sword for some kind of comfort.

His mind vividly picturing his fall and trying to imagine what'll happen after.

"You shouldn't worry so much." Feros spoke without looking over at him. "You're not alone in this after all."

Ryder glances at Feros, a little surprised by this, though it does help him relax a tiny bit. "That is true…"

"He's got a point you know." Oto cuts in, "We're tagging along for a reason, try to ease up a bit man."

"If you go into this with your emotions freezing your nerves then you'll never be able to properly fight." Feros bluntly remarks without a care.

"They're both right, try to rely on us a little bit and I'm sure things will work alright!" Lily cheerily says while walking up to Ryder's side. "You may have the pact but we're not helpless."

"I know, I know… thanks though, that did help a bit." Ryder says, forcing a tiny smile onto his face, though the pit in his stomach only grew bigger as he saw the fort coming into view.

The giant stone walls imposing a menacing figure and casting a dark shadow over them. This place was the final resting place of many players and Ryder could feel it.

It felt like the darkness was reacting to something within the fort's walls, as if something much more insidious was lurking within.

He felt his blood run cold and the feeling of fleeing had never been stronger.

Silently a hand came to rest on his shoulder, he looked over to see it was Aranea, she had moved over to his side as they were now just outside the aggro range of the mobs.

Her eyes though, he could tell they held the same fear and uncertainty deep down, yet she still stood strong.

It was like a silent plea to stay strong too, as they both felt lost, way out of their depth.

"It's time isn't it?" Ryder asked quietly, the dread building a little more with each passing second.

Aranea only silently nods, confirming what he asked of her before slowly moving back to her group.

The anxiety and dread was enough to make him feel sick but he couldn't run away now, after all what would everyone think if he did? The man who was supposed to lead them to victory running at the last second… god what a joke.

With a deep breath and long sigh he slowly turned to face the crowd, preparing to give possibly the worst speech imaginable.

His eyes widened and hands trembled as he saw the dozens of players looking at him with intrigue and high expectations, he could feel them staring into his very soul.

Fear bound him for a moment before he spoke up.

"Alright everyone listen up! This is it, the moment everyone has been working towards! That fort is the only thing standing between us and finally facing the lord of this island!" His voice is loud and holds a slight hint of fear but is strangely commanding.

The crowd seems nervous themselves but they stay intent on listening, many of their own trembling hands calming a bit.

"Now, I know many of you are probably terrified out of your minds, rightfully so considering you're diving into the unknown here… but let me tell you something, you are not alone." Ryder looks across the crowd. "None of you are alone today, whatever awaits you in the boss is no match for all of you! Follow Aranea's lead and fight…"

Silence falls over the crowd now as Ryder draws his weapon and upon raising it up high, with the loudest and most commanding voice he can muster yells out to them. "Fight and Survive! Yield for no foe and fight to see the dawn of the new day! Fight to see your friends and family again! Fight for your freedom from this world!"

A dreadful silence overtakes the crowd as they look at him, seeming to try and process this… speech of his.

Though just as Ryder was beginning to regret this, a magic catalyst is raised towards the back of the crowd and a meek voice calls out the same chant. "Fight and Survive!"

Much to Ryder's surprise one by one each member of the crowd soon starts repeating it as well, raising their weapons to the sky and chanting "Fight and Survive!"

All fear seems to have vanished as the crowd chants, ready to fight any enemy that gets in front of them. Every group now ready and raring to raid the fort.

"You heard the man!" Aranea shouts as she raises her halberd high into the air. "Let's show our champion just what we're capable of!" she shoots a smirk at Ryder who just sighs in response.

The roar of a dozen voices fills the air as Aranea's group and their troops begin their march onto the fort, leaving Ryder's group to linger for a moment.

"Fight and survive huh? Where'd you come up with that one?" Oto asks with a slightly sarcastic smirk.

"Oh shut up… I'm not good with speeches, that's all I could come up with in the moment." Ryder replies clearly embarrassed at what he'd consider a lackluster and awful speech.

"It was good enough, was it not?" Feros stoically replies, walking up to his side. "After all, it seemed to boost morale well enough."

"Exactly! So there's no need to be so embarrassed about it!" Lily happily chimes in.

"I guess you guys are right… besides I don't have time to dwell on it, we've got a bigger concern to worry about." Ryder's voice gets a little more serious now as he starts walking to catch up with the crowd, his fight just moments away.

Though before he could fully catch up a familiar green clad individual appeared at his side.

"Ready to fight are you?" her voice seemed calm as usual.

"Yuria? Where have you been?" Ryder asks, looking towards her now, thinking he left her behind at the village.

"Oh don't you worry about me, I'm with you always, you are my dear companion after all." a slight teasing tone is in her voice. "Though do know I can't help you with this upcoming fight… not yet anyways."

"Huh? Why is that?" Oto chimes in, his voice slightly annoyed. "You don't want to help?"

"That's not it." Yuria replies, sighing as she crosses her arms. "This is your fight… and from what I'm sensing it'd be best if the opponent didn't know I was here." she thinks for a moment, trying to find the best words to describe her thought process. "Basically think of me as your ace in the hole, if they know I'm with you then we've lost all surprise advantages."

"I guess that makes sense." Ryder replies while crossing his arms. "What if we're about to die? Will you just leave us for dead?"

Yuria shakes her head, alleviating some tension in the group. "No, should it come right down to it, I'll step in to protect you all, I promise."

"Alright, that's good enough for me." Ryder says while looking away. "I'll be counting on your support."

"Right, may the stars guide your path." Yuria politely says before seeming to vanish into thin air right before their eyes.

"I swear… she just does whatever she wants." Oto grumbles while crossing his arms.

"Hey, at least we know we can trust her." Ryder retorts before moving forward. "Now come on, let's go, the others already got a decent way ahead of us."

Lily, Feros and Oto all prepare themselves, drawing their own weapons now as they all move into the fort, splitting off from the main path and walking to the right, to a secluded section of the fort.

The only sounds they could hear as they moved away were the sounds of battle in the distance, the smaller mobs of the fort now being alerted to their presence.

"Are you sure it's not wise to catch up with the group? That assassin has been known to roam…" Feros comments while looking around the stone room.

It was dark but wide open like they'd cut off half of the yard for reasons unknown. The crumbling tiles overhead only let light peak through ever so slightly.

"I'm sure, they've been primarily sighted over here and I think I know why now…" Ryder points towards the opposite wall, there is an ironclad door with an intricate lock on it. "This has to be it…"

"You think that could lead below?" Lily asks, looking at it curiously.

"It's either in that room, which is unmapped… or there's a path in the boss room." Ryder looks around before the sound of footsteps echoes all around them.

They're heavy, and metallic sounding, like armor.

A figure soon appears seemingly having been invisible previously, their entire form hidden by a long dark cloak blocking everything.

Not a single word was spoken from them, no music played, not even a boss health bar appeared.

Their health bar hung overhead, with a title and name above it.

[Lord Hunter]

[Shade]

Silently they moved their cloak aside, revealing dark, almost burnt looking armor beneath. The plates covered in scratches and dents, yet not from any weapon the group had ever seen.

They drew an odd looking longsword from its sheath on their left, the blade looking to be made of obsidian and the flat guard of an unknown dark silver metal that flared into a flame pattern.

Something about this person made the darkness within Ryder scream, it was like a primal warning that this was not a fight that could be won.

They were looking at a figure way out of their league and would likely meet the same fate as all others before them.

Whoever or whatever this was is a threat to everyone here.

"Alright, I'll take the first shot!" Oto says to the group while readying two daggers and charging in, much to Ryder's horror.

Desperately Ryder reached out to stop him but it was too late as he dashed ahead of the group to fight the Lord Hunter.

Oto rushes in, surprisingly fast and goes for a surprise stab to where the face should be… only to find nothing as they easily side step his attack, though do nothing in retaliation.

Quickly Oto attempts another attack, going for a flurry of swings to try and keep them from dodging everything.

Now though the figure doesn't bother to dodge, instead taking the hits with no problem as Oto's weapons bounce right off the armor with zero damage done.

"Oto! Get the hell out of there!" Feros yells before charging in as he notices the figure shift their weight a tiny bit and move their free hand.

In one blindingly fast move the Lord Hunter grabs Oto by the neck, stopping the assassin dead in his tracks.

Before anyone could react the Lord Hunter slams Oto hard into the ground, the stone cracking from the impact and a loud, painful, snapping sound is heard.

Oto's HP is reduced to one, and he doesn't get up from the ground as the Lord Hunter lets go.

No one could move, the realization of what just happened sinking in as they watched Oto lie there, at the mercy of the invader before them.

Without wasting another moment Feros dashes in, swinging at the Lord Hunter, each arc of his saber leaving behind a silver trail and sparks fly as he tries to find a weakness to the armor in any spot, but times running out as the figure now focuses his attention on Feros.

"Not on my watch!" Lily dashes in, quickly striking their wrist and drawing attention away from Feros who takes it as a chance to recover his stamina.

The Lord Hunter doesn't budge much, only redirecting their attention to her temporarily, now slowly walking towards her. Lily nervously looks around, for any sort of advantage they could use, seeing none right off the bat.

"Ryder… a little help would be appreciated." Feros states as calmly as possible while not looking back, being too afraid to take his eyes off the opponent in front of him.

Shaking as much fear as he can from his being Ryder tries to assess the situation before creating a dark sigil in his hand and running it over his blade.

The silver blade jumps to life as the pitch black flames dance along it, creating a mesmerizing effect and otherworldly sounding noise.

The Lord Hunter suddenly pauses, looking directly at Ryder, the killing intent seeming to vanish from them for a moment before they move faster than Ryder could track.

There's a flash of dark silver as the Lord hunter flicks their blade, the attack now registering.

"What-" Feros questions as he feels a sharp pain through his stomach, only to notice his and Lily's health depleted down to one.

Attacks faster than the eye could see cleaved through both of them, knocking them out in an instant

With a loud thud the both of them fall to the ground unable to move as a numbness takes control.

A scarlet sigil forms in the hunter's free hand as they trace it along their blade creating a scarlet aura among it, the darkness of their hood now holding a singular red light where an eye would be.

"So… you actually managed to find it." The Lord Hunter speaks finally, his voice deep, raspy and slightly hoarse. "This is the first time I've seen this…"

Shade points his sword at Ryder, the scarlet aura dancing along his obsidian blade sinisterly. The sight of it alone being enough to make Ryder's blood freeze completely as something told him not to get touched by it.

Quickly Ryder pulled out his dagger with his free hand and took up his own fighting stance, hoping to somehow survive this fight.

In an instant the hunter dashes over, trying to cut Ryder in half, only to be met with a block from the black flame sword.

As the blades clash the metal whines and sparks fly, the magic meets and an unholy screeching noise emitted from the clashing magic.

Even though it was a successful block Ryder could still feel the damage taken and noticed a quarter of his health missing, just who the hell was this guy?!

His strength was ridiculous as well, it felt like the sword would snap if Ryder kept trying to resist any longer.

Not wanting to take more damage Ryder quickly switches it up, going on the offense by sliding the dagger up and using both arms to push the blade away. As the hunter follows the force of his swing Ryder turns and throws a heavy swing at him, the flames aiming directly for the man's head.

In a flash the attack is deflected and Ryder sees the flash of red coming right for him, reacting quickly he blocks with the dagger but is sent flying back into a wall away from everyone else.

Stone shatters and Ryder feels his health deplete down to only a quarter remaining as his body aches from the force. Slowly he stands back up, coughing up a little bit of blood much to his surprise.

"Amazing, you can still stand…" Shade focuses on Ryder, clearly preparing for a strong finishing attack as he holds the sword back, readying it for a thrusting motion to pierce Ryder's armor. The scarlet aura around the blade glowing brighter and the blade humming in resonance with it.

The others can only watch helplessly as the hunter lunges forward in a streak of black and red, aiming to kill Ryder.

In that moment time seems to slow to a halt for Ryder, the flames on his blade raging higher and more out of control.

He could see it clearly, the way the attack was moving, the path of the scarlet aura that would end his life.

With not a moment to spare he parries the attack at the last possible second, deflecting the attack away with the dagger, the aura seeming to fade upon coming into contact with it. Then in retaliation he swings as hard as possible with the sword, slashing the figure across his chest.

Though the blade would have been deflected the black flames ate through the armor, cutting deep and allowing a sloppy attack to become a tide turner.

Surprisingly though Ryder is quickly grabbed by the throat and tossed back to his allies, his body crumpling like a broken toy on the ground.

Shade looks down, his health depleted by only a small sliver but it's enough to surprise him. He runs a hand over the wound, looking at the blood pooling out. "...you, you're different."

The Lord Hunter's glowing eye dims and he puts his weapon away before closing his cloak back up. "Grow your strength, you'll need it…" His voice is cold and emotionless, barely above a whisper before he steps away into the darkness, vanishing from the fort.

Though Ryder wished to stand back up and fight or to check on his friends, his body wouldn't move. The flames on his blade now dying and his body aching more than ever as darkness begins to engulf his vision.

Had his HP depleted zero without realizing?

Was this the end?

"Easy now champion of mine, rest now… for you will need it in the upcoming battles…" a familiar voice distantly spoke to him as a faint warmth soothed his aching body.

Yet he could not keep his eyes open.

Though he fought hard in the end, darkness consumed him.