Although the players from Blue Oasis were hit hard by the death of their fellow guild member, the person most affected by the loss was Tagz. The Aquatic Fever had attacked him not too long after False Summit, and since their HP was around the same amount, it meant that his death grew closer with every passing second.
Having already consumed a health potion to sustain his life, Tagz had quickly run out of options. He did not possess any lifesteal-type skills or equipment, and the supporters were focused on keeping those with the highest chance of survival alive. This left him with only one option—to await his death.
"If I go down in such a pathetic way, how can I hold my head high in the future?!" Tagz roared to release his frustrations. So what if he lost some experience after dying? Before that happened, he would make sure to burn through all of his cooldowns and throw everything he had at Ooudamu!
However, just as Tagz found his resolve, he suddenly felt himself become weightless. By the time he realized what was going on, Tagz discovered his feet had left the ground as he soared through the air. At the moment, he was on a direct collision course for the wall of water that had surrounded the raid group!
Splash!
When Tagz's body came into contact with the water, it produced a small splash as he shot right through it. A brief hole was created after Tagz passed that quickly closed up the instant he arrived on the other side.
The members of Blue Oasis' facial expressions turned extremely ugly when they witnessed Izroth's actions. What was he doing?! Were they not on the same side? Even if he had given up, what right did it give him to throw Tagz out of the fight? More importantly, what right did he have to bully a member of their Blue Oasis openly?! Was the face of their Blue Oasis so easily slapped?
If it were any other time, perhaps his actions could be overlooked as a show of good faith. After all, this was someone they did not want to offend needlessly. But, this did not mean that they would take such actions lying down!
But, just when the members of Blue Oasis was about to speak up, what happened next almost made them cough up blood.
Nidavellir, one of the supporters, was suddenly being dragged by his collar by Izroth. He never expected Izroth to target him after he finished with Tagz!
"What are you-" Nidavellir was unable to get a complete sentence out before Izroth arrived close enough and tossed him forward. He sent Nidavellir following in Tagz's footsteps through the wall of water!
The expressions on the faces of the Blue Oasis members darkened. The moment Nidavellir was removed from the battle, it became increasingly difficult for the remaining three supporters. Losing one clean-up damage dealer—although it was unfortunate—could not be considered a huge loss. However, a missing supporter created a vast vacuum that could not be filled.
They were already down one supporter after Ooudamu had taken control of Luna, and now, at a critical point in the boss fight, they were down another supporter!
If it had been Ooudamu herself who claimed Nidavellir's life, then they could only blame themselves for their carelessness. But, it was one of their own raid members behind their loss!
Even Niflheim, the Blue Oasis member who had the most significant impression of Izroth, was at a loss for words. He tried to find a way to justify Izroth's actions, but he was unable to convince himself of a reasonable explanation. Could he be secretly working with another top guild and wanted to sabotage them all along? Was he waiting for a perfect opportunity to strike? After all, one could recover from messing up in most situations in a raid; however, a boss fight was not one of them. This was even more so considering that the boss they were fighting was currently in an enraged mode. This would be the perfect opportunity for any saboteur to make his move!
"He's gone mad!" One of the Blue Oasis members blurted. This was the same thought that entered the minds of almost everyone present. Doing such a thing in the middle of a boss fight—what else could he be but insane?
"No, this can't be right. Although I am unable to explain Izroth's actions, I refuse to believe that I, Niflheim, have judged a person so poorly. Still, if I fail to explain his actions, how will I face the others who have placed their faith in me?" Niflheim inwardly frowned.
If there was one thing Niflheim was confident in, it was his ability to judge one's character. Even though some parts of Izroth remained a mystery to him, he was sure that Izroth was an honorable man. A cowardly act like sabotaging in the middle of a boss fight did not fit the personality he had displayed up until this point. Unfortunately, none of this changed what he had already done.
"Can it be that he is under the control of the boss?!" Emberheart exclaimed as she struggled to keep up with the added pressure generated from Nidavellir's absence.
The members of Blue Oasis looked as if they had a sudden epiphany after hearing Emberheart's words. He was under control? Of course! Why did they not think of that sooner?! It was not unusual for skills to be buffed in an enraged state; therefore, it made perfect sense. It would certainly explain Izroth's abrupt change in behavior and his earlier unusual actions.
"No, I have already checked his status. He is not being controlled." Vanaheim stated in a serious tone. She quickly doused a bucket of cold water on everyone's heads. Just like Niflheim, she did not believe that Izroth would intentionally sabotage them. He could have abandoned Sacred Blade and the others affected by the Phantasmagoria, as well as tried to eliminate her while she was injured. After all, communication did not work in the Sprite Dwellings, and so, by the time anyone figured out what happened, it would be too late to do anything but regret.
However, this did not mean that she dismissed the possibility of Izroth betraying them. This could have been his end game all along—to eliminate everyone after they were put into a situation where retreating was impossible. But, if that were the case, then that would mean they were enemies with an incredibly dangerous person who hid himself well enough to fool someone like Niflheim! This was something Vanaheim did not want to accept.
Despite Izroth's actions, none of the Blue Oasis members moved to confront him. They could not afford to split their attention in the middle of a fight with an enraged boss monster as it would cause more damage than Izroth tossing away a player or two.
Besides, if the situation continued to deteriorate, then they would have no choice but to accept their losses and unleash everything to, at the very least, take down Ooudamu before they reached a point of hopelessness. Though one thing was for sure, at the moment, the members of Blue Oasis wanted to tear Izroth apart!
Halls, Zi Yi, Guan Yu, and Valentine were also confused by Izroth's actions. However, the three of them understood him well enough to know that he would not do such a thing without a good reason. As for intentionally sabotaging Blue Oasis—this had not even crossed their minds.
"I hope he knows what he is doing." Zi Yi whispered to herself. She knew that Izroth was even unafraid of openly offending a legendary figure like the Envoy of the Netherworld. What was the current Blue Oasis compared to someone like the Envoy of the Netherworld?
As for Izroth himself, his attention was focused on the area where he had just thrown Tagz and Nidavellir. But, almost six seconds had already passed, and neither one of them had yet to return.
'Did I miscalculate?'
Izroth had a rough estimate of how long it should have taken them; however, he did not have the Essence to spare to investigate in more detail. But, right when Izroth had this thought, something shot out of the wall of water and towards the raid group!
Wooooosh!
What emerged moved fast and was encased in dense yet formless water with a murky layer that covered the outside.
The abrupt emergence of something from the water caused the members of the raid group to grow cautious. Was it an attack? Or a new monster that came to assist the boss in her enraged state?
Splash!
When the murky water made contact with the ground, it dispersed and revealed what was inside—or rather who was inside.
"That's... Tagz?!" Complex Assault said in a tone filled with disbelief. Were his eyes playing tricks on him?
"He's alive? How is this possible? His class does not possess enough life-sustaining skills to have stayed alive for so long." Vanaheim's eyes widened slightly from shock. By all rights, he should have already succumbed to the Aquatic Fever!
Wooooosh! Splash!
Only a couple of seconds after Tagz reappeared, a following bundle of formless water came crashing in and revealed Nidavellir after it collapsed. At the moment, both Tagz and Nidavellir had a dumbfounded look on their face. However, Nidavellir quickly snapped out of it and regained himself.
"What are you waiting for? Continue your attack!" Nidavellir said to Tagz as he resumed his supporting role.
"R-right!" Tagz stood to his feet and commenced his assault on Ooudamu. Everything had happened so fast that he still did not have time to process what had just taken place.
Nidavellir, on the other hand, was calmer and more collect than Tagz, who had already accepted his death; therefore, he had a better understanding of everything.
"Everyone affected by the Aquatic Fever, run and jump into the pond in the direction we were thrown in! It can be cured!" Nidavellir shouted.
What?! When Nidavellir said those words, everyone instinctively glanced at the party's interface and noticed that Tagz's, as well as, Nidavellir's HP was no longer continually falling! But, how did jumping in a pond cure them?
"How does he do it? Did he throw them out there knowing this beforehand?" Vanaheim furrowed her brows as her gaze fell upon Izroth. He had already resumed his attack against Ooudamu with a carefree expression on his face. Though this was not the first time, she witnessed Izroth quickly discover the solution to a complex problem. Vanaheim wondered just how many secrets Izroth was hiding behind that carefree expression of his.
Izroth understood that even if he had time to explain the situation—which he did not—he would have to convince the others, his words were valid. Add that to the fact that they were pressed for time; he figured that the best way to convince them was to have their own guild members experience it firsthand.
Given Nidavellir's status as a captain, the raid group trusted him and would accept his word at face value—this was something Izroth had taken into account. Of course, Izroth never doubted himself for a second. Although the timing was a bit off, that was only because of the limited amount of time he had to use his Energy Vision Sense.
After listening to Nidavellir, the first to act was Niflheim. A part of him felt relieved as a smile had unknowingly crept onto his face. He knew that his judge of character could not have been so wrong!
"Halls, I will go first! When I return, we will switch aggro, and then you will go! Everyone else, follow Captain Nidavellir's orders before it continues to spread to others!" Niflheim commanded as he sprinted towards the wall of water.
"Don't take too long, or we'll defeat the boss before you return!" Halls said in a half-jokingly manner as he had just finished successfully blocking one of Ooudamu's Aquatic Surge's.
The other members of the raid affected by the Aquatic Fever swiftly followed after Niflheim. In total, five players pulled away from the fight to cure the Aquatic Fever.
Around six seconds later, Niflheim and the others returned to the fight in the same manner as Tagz and Nidavellir. It was just as Nidavellir had said—the Aquatic Fever had been cured!