Try-hards

The huge ball of linen explodes at the same time the mage shoots at it. I am literally blown away, crashing onto the bleachers. My backbone is shattered but I heal instantly. Ugh. . . now I'm back whence I came.

"Well, at least you tried," Zuriel remarks, laughing at me.

"Shut up," I retort, baring my fangs but he's not scared. Ugh! So annoying!

I guess Maat doesn't need help now as she radiates so much power. Her linens are covered with a violet aura. Her inner body has been exposed. She's naked and her skin is rotten but her hair is long and fully black. How could a mummy like that retain such good hair even though her body is decaying?

My question immediately gets answered when her hair extends to form large spikes. They extend some more to reach her opponent at a blinding speed. I thought he's gonna stay put and absorb the attack as has been doing, instead, he dodges them. That could only mean one thing: He's not confident that his barrier could withstand that.

So much for that yelp for help. She can do this all along. . . I wonder the reason why she did that.

<Un nefer> the system introduces her to me. <The Goddess of the Dead>

"Un nefer. . ."I say under my breath.

But Zuriel heard it. "That's why she wanted our help. She doesn't want to unleash that power. I've read about it before. That power was passed onto her by her mother—who perished in the Divine Trinity Quest. This power is uncontrollable."

Why does he have to talk a lot? I never asked. What a nerd (Well, I'm a nerd). I bet he's an even bigger nerd than me back in the real world.

The arena is in shambles as Maat is madly unleashing attack after attack with her hair and linens. She's cackling like a witch. Then she summons violet orbs in the air as big as cars. She shoots them at her opponent. Huge explosions quiver the ground beneath us. Bright light and scorching heat make me close my eyes and cover my face.

"Woah!" Zuriel chuckles.

Soon, the whole place gets covered in smoke, ashes, and dust. I can't see anything in the arena until a blue light intensifies in its midst. The clouds are blown away, showing the mage being surrounded by a blue spinning barrier. Some of his robes have been burned and so did his hood.

His face is full of scars and burns but I think they were already there before Maat unleashed that hell. He glares, his eyes glowing bright blue as well as his book. It's turning the pages rapidly all by itself. Maat answers by showing how much power she has. Their auras are flashing, battling for dominance.

Then it's a fight without movement of any sort, just raw magic power against magic power. The weaker one or the first to run out will lose.

The blasts are hurting my ears! Argh! The shockwaves are pounding my chest, making me feel like my ribs would get crushed! And how could they bear this? Is this just a normal fight in this world? What a mess this is!

"Now this is what I call, a fight!" Zuriel shouts, finding this more exciting than me and Kraugr.

"Enough!" the mage speaks, drawing forward his palm.

*Flash*

What is this? I'm blinded and can't hear anything. All I feel is a burning heat on my face. Shortly after, chaos breaks out. Is this what it feels like to be in hell?

Ugh. . . I feel pain all over my body. Then the first thing I see is a grey barrier above me as I lie here on the ground. I sit up and find out that it's Zuriel's doing. He deactivates it and it's clear enough for me to see Kraugr burnt to a crisp, sitting on the bleachers and his back against the wall. And I can't sense Maat's presence now. Could it be—

"Maat lost this one, alright," Zuriel says, hiding his disappointment with a wide grin.

"Kraugr was near us. Why didn't you save him along with me?"

"He's nothing but a piece of extra baggage. The enemies will get stronger and stronger from now on. He's not gonna do anything except pollute the air with his stench."

This guy is so twisted! A psychopath!

"Hold my nuts," he says, handing it to me (It's the peanuts. Don't misunderstand).

"You are next," the mage taunts, pointing his glowing palm at us.

"Uh. . . Zuriel?" I ask as my blood runs cold.

He answers, "This is one of the best parts of competitive gaming." His grin is too wide, it's weird. "Making try-hards realize their place! Don't even fret. He just acts cool but his powers are basic."

Completely obliterating our two strong allies in a single strike is not something basic. I'm confused about his definition of "basic".

As Zuriel stretches his limbs, he talks to the mage, "What's your name?"

"You do not need to know, for you will be a dust I will soon clean with a broom."

"Good one, I'll remember that trash talk. It might come in handy."

*Whizz*

What the—

Zuriel is already there tackling the mage. He twists the mage's glowing hand and presses it against his own face on the ground. The energy explodes, evaporating everything around them. I cover my face and close my eyes, withstanding the blast. Argh! So much debris flying around! Soon, the dust cloud dissipates as well as the domain. This place is nothing but an empty floor now. The way to the staircase is now clear too.

I'm awed at the same time terrified looking at the headless body of the mage inside the crater. Zuriel is dusting his clothes and enormous blue wings.

So. . . he's that Angelus being chased by the police I saw earlier.

"Phew!" he lets out. "That was messy."

"Worse than that, actually," I remark.

"Well, that's what he gets for using a power he couldn't control well yet. All is well hiding my powers and conserving my strength!" He laughs. "Sorry, All-Seer! Guess you'll have to wait until our fight."

He's just mocking this "All-Seer". Is he just overconfident? I guess I'll know when we're there. Oh, I hope I get to that point because from now on, our enemies will be stronger than that mage.

Zuriel takes the body as a Frame. "Well, this is disappointing," he chuckles. "This guy never saw the All-Seer in action, not even his face. Oh, well. Like asking out girls, it never hurts if you just try."

I tried that and failed. . . two times out of two.

<>

**

"That was our best war mage!" one of the servants of the All-Seer exclaims in fear. Watching that fight, he knows that he couldn't do any better.

"That's fine," one of them reasons but a drop of sweat is running from his scalp down to his forehead. "They'll never get across the Angelus mechanical guards."

"You're forgetting about that Anthropa he's bringing in with him."

All of them gasp as they realized.

**

<>

We proceed to the next floor and what's waiting for us in the middle is a huge statue of a centaur—half-man with a body of a horse instead of two legs. It carries a golden battle axe as the only thing that isn't made out of stone. It moves stiffly and rigidly. Then its eyes glow yellow, approaching to meet us.

"I think that's made using Angelus power," I say. "What do you think?"

"You're not wrong."

"So, can I use me Anthr—"

"No."

"You didn't even let me finish!"

"Just do as I say."

I growl complaining and just use the Angel's Bane while I'm in my Carmillo Frame. It has been a long time since I used my Anthropa Frame in battle. I even upgraded it just in case I end up in a situation like this. It would be an easy win. But now it's gonna be harder. The effects of weapons are greatly reduced when using Cross Frame: Weapon Switch.

"So," Zuriel says with a disturbing smirk on his face. "you have the Angel's Bane?"

"Zaori gave it to me."

"Damn, I'm jealous! She never gave me a gift!"

The centaur statue charges at us, swinging its battle axe. We disperse and it chases Zuriel. He's dodging its attacks easily without much effort.

"Hit it," he says while the centaur is still attacking. I'm confused. The perfect time to attack is supposed to be when the enemy NPC stops attacking.

"Wait for a moment," I tell him.

"Just do it. Come on! What a coward!"

I stop thinking about it and just get on with it to shut his annoying mouth. It's at the same time the centaur stops attacking. So this is what he meant. I successfully hit it behind its nape. The stab was shallow and moderately damages it. It staggers, twitching like crazy until it heaves itself up to retaliate.

"All it takes is one hit now," he tells me before pushing me forward.

"What are you—" The centaur! It's right in front of me now!