'Where is this place?'
Izroth examined the are around him. He had regained his ability to sense his surroundings and from what he could tell, there were several existences lurking within this place.
At the moment, Izroth saw nothing but an eternal darkness as far as the eye could see. However, there was a strange hue that made it so that he could still see even while inside of that darkness.
"Is this your doing?" Izroth asked as he turned to look over at Aelaza who still stood around five meters away from him. She did not look surprised to be in this place, therefore, it was likely that she was the one who brought him.
"My doing? You really do know nothing about this place and yet you still chose to visit of your own free will. You will only have yourself to blame for your own demise. Well, that and the piece of trash that revealed this location to you." Aelaza replied.
"I'm touched that you're worried about my demise, however, I can assure you that I have no intentions of dying here. Though I have to say, the hatred you have for your own sister seems troublesome. What I fail to understand is your arrogance and disdain when she has greater potential and is much more talented than you." Izroth said in a carefree manner.
"What did you just say?" Aelaza's voice grew cold and would send shivers down most backs just by listening to it. It was easy to tell that Izroth had just touched a sore spot. Aelaza almost looked disgusted when she heard Izroth's words.
"It would explain the source of your hatred. Having a younger sister who is better than you at everything when the two of you are twins, it would certainly create a feeling of resentment." Izroth spoke in a nonchalant manner.
Woosh! Ding!
In the blink of an eye, Aelaza's daggers were interlocked with Izroth's Sword of The Storm. There was a calm yet vicious look in her eyes. Fast!
"You know nothing... So don't you dare speak as if you do..!" Aelaza scowled.
"Oh? I can finally see some real emotions." Izroth said. He wanted to purposely upset Aelaza because she was too calm about everything. If one felt calm and in control, then it was exceedingly more difficult to draw any out any useless information or get them to slip up.
However, by tapping into Aelaza's obvious frustrations, Izroth may be able to discover things that were unseen or unknown beforehand. But, it acted as a double-edged sword. It could also backfire on him and get Aelaza to completely disregard anything he said. Though, after seeing how strongly Aelaza felt about her younger sister Azalea, Izroth was confident that it would work in his favor.
"You won't be able to win." Aelaza said. What she did next completely surprised Izroth. Aelaza flicked the dagger in her left hand towards Izroth.
Izroth evaded the dagger without any issue, but that was not what surprised him. Right after he evaded the incoming dagger, Aelaza lifted her left hand up and slammed the palm of her hand into the tip of the Sword of The Storm causing it to sink down on the sharp blade! She had intentionally harmed herself!
When Izroth tried to move his sword, he realized that it was locked in place by some powerful invisible force that prevented him from adjusting its position.
Aelaza used the dagger in her right hand to launch a quick and precise attack aimed at Izroth's neck.
Woosh!
Just before the tip of the dagger was about to make contact with his neck, Izroth moved his head back slightly to avoid being in its path. The same moment Aelaza launched her attack, strong energy converged at the tip of Izroth's index finger and shot right towards Aelaza's chest. It was the skill Fissuring Point.
But, Aelaza did nothing to dodge the attack and took it head on. With a single strike, Izroth did more than 3,000 damage to her total HP! For a rogue type class like Aelaza who possessed a naturally weak defensive stat, she should have done everything in her power to avoid taking a direct hit from such an attack.
Izroth used Fissuring Point to force her back, however, she did not budge from the spot she stood in. He sensed that something was wrong and almost immediately after thinking so, Izroth felt a gentle breeze brush past his neck. He reacted instantaneously and repositioned himself just in time. A fraction of a second later, Izroth could see a dagger mark across the area just below his neck.
Just a few more centimeters and it would have been a critical hit! However, he was positive that he managed to avoid the attack successfully. But, since his defensive stats were pretty sturdy for a Combat Master, he only lost around 8% of his total HP from that attack.
When Aelaza moved in closer to follow up on her attack, Izroth's right foot shot out towards her lower legs and caused her entire body to become paralyzed. With the effects of the Serpent's Bite, the powerful force that held Izroth's Sword of The Storm in place had diminished greatly and he was able to regain control of his sword, pulling it out of Aelaza's hand.
Izroth inwardly frowned as he took a few steps back and created some distance between himself and Aelaza. This did not feel like a fight, instead, that small exchange felt like a death wish. After receiving more than 3,000 damage to her HP, as well as, the damage taken from his Serpent's Bite, Aelaza would have been finished off with one more well placed basic attack while paralyzed.
It could not be that Aelaza was really so foolish? First, she damaged herself intentionally on his Sword of The Storm, and then, she traded attacks with him without even attempting to dodge when it was obvious that she would get the shorter end of the stick. Izroth refused to believe that Aelaza was doing this without a purpose in mind. But if that really was the case, then what was her purpose?
"Why didn't you finish me off? You had the perfect opportunity. Don't tell me this is your way of showing mercy?" Aelaza asked once she was released from her paralysis. She had regained her previous composure as if what just happened a few seconds ago never took place.
"I did not think you would have a talent for acting. However, I'm more surprised by your death wish mentality." Izroth said in a carefree manner as he sheathed his Sword of The Storm. If Aelaza had the power to restrict his weapon usage, then he would simply use his bare hands.
"Was that not the response you were hoping for?" Aelaza said in a calm tone of voice with a questioning look on her face.
"Your initial outburst may have been real, but you quickly regained your composure almost immediately after that. Everything else was a simple act you put on. For what purpose, I wonder." Izroth said.
"Not everything was an act. The words I spoke were true. Though you said that I have a death wish mentality, however, I have to disagree. It's just that you cannot defeat me. Even if you have a small chance of doing so somewhere else within RML, in the Roaming Village of The Netherworld, you cannot win no matter how much you pointlessly struggle. I'm sure your friends are discovering this as well. Just as you will soon discover yourself." Aelaza said with no hint of emotion in her voice.
"Shall we see just how far my pointless struggling gets me?" Izroth replied in a carefree tone of voice. However, he still pondered Aelaza's words. He could tell that she was not being overly confident or arrogant when she spoke of him being incapable of winning in this Roaming Village of The Netherworld. It sounded as if she were stating an absolute fact.
'Could there be some secret about this place that grants her such reassurance?'
...
Meanwhile, Guan Yu was still fighting his battle against Grim.
Guan Yu brandished his guandao and split Grim right down the middle. The ferocious blue aura that encompassed his guandao burst and exploded when it made contact with Grim's spectral like body, causing him to suffer damage. Ever since the blue aura appeared around his guandao, Guan Yu had been able to harm Grim despite him being practically immune to all forms of physical attacks.
It was a very peculiar situation. However, what was even more frustrating was the fact that Guan Yu had already dealt over 20,000 damage to Grim's HP and yet he was still alive! How was this possible? He knew for sure that there was no possible way that Grim had that much HP. Even Halls who was a full tank did not have that much HP!
"If you're gonna stay a ghost, the least you can do it die properly." Guan Yu said in an amused manner. But, the frustration in his eyes was apparent. Grim just would not die! Even with the Holy Blessings inscription and his blue aura, Guan Yu was unable to deal a finishing blow.
"Ahahaha! Keep struggling! I already told you that it's useless!" Grim said with a large grin on his face. He had to admit that if this fight had taken place anywhere else, he would not have been Guan Yu's match. However, they were currently within the Roaming Village of The Netherworld! In this place, killing him was a mere dream and should only be a fleeting thought in one's mind.
"You've managed to entertain me quite a bit, so I suppose I'll let you in on a little secret. You see, here in the Roaming Village of The Netherworld, I am invincible!" Grim yelled in a voice filled with enthusiasm.
"Invincible? Hah, if that's your secret then I'm disappointed. I don't believe that anyone is invincible, especially not you!" Guan Yu said in a strong tone of voice.
"You still don't get it, do you? The level of ignorance that you players from Amaharpe exhibit is truly extraordinary. You are not the first player to trespass in this place. The League of The Eidolon possesses a level of strength and power that you couldn't possibly even begin to fathom. As long as I am within the Roaming Village of The Netherworld, I cannot die. Do you understand now?" Grim said.
He then continued, "No matter how much you chop away at me, in the end, you can never obtain a victory over me. I'm sure by now all of your friends have experienced this firsthand. Tell me, did Azalea Wraith not inform you of this and sent you here regardless of this fact?"
Guan Yu narrowed his eyes. There was a part of him that wanted to completely disregard whatever Grim was saying and push it away as mere nonsense. However, a small part of him also knew that Grim maybe, just maybe, might be telling the truth. If Grim was telling the truth, then how was he supposed to win against something like that?
Guan Yu suddenly charged forward without another thought as his guandao sliced straight through Grim in one smooth motion.
Grim was shocked by the sudden attack, however, just like before, he was still alive even after taking such a devastating attack head-on.
"Didn't I tell you that it's-"
"It doesn't matter!" Guan Yu roared as he started a barrage of attacks that rained down upon Grim from every direction.
"Even if I have to cut you one thousand times or even one million times, I'll destroy your so-called invincibility!" Guan Yu shouted as his attacks became increasingly more fierce. Grim did not even have a chance to respond to the swift chain of attacks! It was almost as if Guan Yu was becoming stronger and stronger as time passed by.
...
Ding! Ding!
The chains of the two Puppet Chained Assassins slammed into Halls' shield full force. The attacks were even more devastating than last time. However, Halls currently had his skill Rebounding Aura activated and that being paired with his block made it so that he received negligible damage. But, his Rebounding Aura would only last for a few more seconds and Luna's mana was not holding up well.
If they did not do something fast then there was only the inevitable that awaited them, defeat!