Still, on the uncharted snowy land inside Arcadia, Kane, Bastion, and the Knight walked away from the battlefield, where Bastion quickly wiped out the whole mob of monsters.
While Bastion and the Knight were wearing extremely expensive and powerful items, Kane was wearing the shitty items that he looted from his fallen party members.
The three were given a chance to talk to each other for a few minutes. But after that, Nethalion arrived. The whole place started shaking.
A white light enveloped the Knight, and wings appeared on his back. He jumped high to the sky and started flying toward the battle.
"I'm going first."
To follow him, Bastion started running toward the ruined city. Kane tried to follow him, but it only proved that his title being that fastest traveler alive was a sham.
The Knight managed to reach the battle just to see his three other friends fighting against the Nethalion, the Titan with the appearance of a Gigantic black-scaled humanoid with enormous wings on its back.
One of his friends was already severely injured and was being carried away by another one. While they were running to safety, the other member, a red-haired female mage, fired several massive fireballs at the Winged-Titan to give them time.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The lady was constantly firing flaming arrows and fireballs at Nethalion to help her teammates run away. But she was only holding the Titan back. Those kinds of attacks will never damage the great Nethalion. However, that doesn't mean that the Titan cannot be damaged as there were already many scars on his body.
The Titan grinned before dashing toward the lady.
The mage jumped backward and created a couple of magical barriers in front of her. Nethalion quickly destroyed the obstacles with the help of his massive wings, but it did impede his speed.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!
Upon destroying all of her barriers, the Titan slashed the mage with his sharp claws.
CLANG!
Just in time, the Knight appeared and blocked the attack with his shield. But it was still strong enough to push, both him and the mage, backward. Both of them were hurled through three abandoned buildings.
Before going to the fourth one, the mage created a spherical barrier that broke their momentum.
The Titan crouched down and took a peek at them from the holes of the abandoned buildings that they went through. Nethalion's eyes widened upon seeing that his opponents were unharmed.
Nethalion aimed his hands at them and fired lasers. The Knight placed his shield in front while the mage created multiple layers of spherical barriers to prepare for the attack.
BAAAMM!
Smoke quickly enveloped the area upon impact.
The Titan walked forward to check on them. But he felt something was coming.
SHING!
Bastion appeared and tried to slice the Titan's neck. But thanks to his heightened senses, the Titan managed to dodge by stepping back. Nethalion tried to fire lasers at Bastions, but Bastion could deflect all of them using his magical dagger.
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR....
Seeing that nothing was working, the Titan suddenly stopped firing lasers and crouched down. His black skin started turning red along with his veins.
BOOOOMMMM!!
Kane, on the ground, was amazed about the rapid skills and abilities that was being unleashed in the sky.
"Holyyyyyyyyyyy shiiiiiiitttttttttttt!! This is literally the Boss Battles that I was expecting!! Hell, yeah!!"
Still hiding under the smoke, Bastion was teleported beside the Knight and the Mage. Bastion looked and smiled at the mage.
"Thanks for teleporting me, I would've died if you didn't."
The Mage had no time to reply and formed a giant red circle around her.
"Give me time!"
As soon as hearing that, Bastion and the Knight jumped away and dashed toward Nethalion.
Bastion appeared to the Titan's right and fired magical crossbow arrows at his head. The Titan blocked all of it using his own hands. But Nethalion felt pain as some kind of liquid started seeping through his veins from the arrows.
While being distracted, a rope was dropped down to Nethalion's head. It was pulled back even before he could react. At the end of the string, the Knight was staggering while trying to keep Nethalion in place. Nethalion grabbed the rope on his neck using his left hand while pulling it on his right hand.
Because of being choked, Nethalion's mouth was opened wide. Bastion managed to teleport on it and dropped a glowing ball.
BOOM!
The Titan fell down.
Not giving him time to recover, the Knight pulled the rope once again to choke Nethalion. Bastion jumped toward his mouth to drop another bomb. However, the Titan aimed his fists at the ground, and it glowed red.
Seeing what Nethalion was doing, Bastion immediately kicked his bomb far away to prevent it from being ignited from the blast.
BAGAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMM!!
Fragments of cement and compacted ice started falling from the sky. The place became a mess as everything was pushed back at the edge and left a large crater. In the middle, Nethalion was alive and well. Kane got trapped under a cement wall that collapsed.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Bog!
Eventually, Kane found his escape and went back to the surface. As soon as he got out, he saw the bomb that Bastion kicked away. He sneered before taking it away. Kane quickly rushed towards the Mage but saw an underground tunnel instead.
The Assassin and the Knight sprouted out off the rubble at the edges of the crater. Both of them were safe, but their armor was mostly destroyed. Upon seeing each other that they were safe, they immediately sped toward the Titan in blue and green energy.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
Seeing that both of them were closing in, the Titan suddenly avoided them and rushed forward. Bastion and the Knight were confused, but it only took them a second later to realize that they messed up.
"Shit..."
Bastion whispered.
The Titan went straight to the mage instead. The Mage noticed, but she couldn't do anything as her incantation is still not over.
"Just a few seconds. A few seconds more!"
Kane heard rumbling in the ceiling of the tunnel. Suddenly, he heard something clicked.
*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*
He accidentally activated the bomb. Not knowing what to do, Kane just dropped it on the ground and ran away. But the tunnel was too long to escape. Instead, he looked to the left and saw a hole that he could use to escape the rubble. Kane trekked up to the pile of broken cement and started digging to reach the opening that could lead him back to the surface.
Despite the impending devastating threat coming at her, the Mage didn't stop and continued casting the spell. The Assassin and the Knight tried to chase down the Titan, but it was just too fast. They failed.
While closing in on the lady, the Titan raised his right hand.
Buzzzz!
Lightning and a scorching sound were heard before a weapon appeared in the Titan's hand. It was a Divine Weapon, one of the most powerful weapons in the world.
Even with death at her doorstep, the mage didn't stop and continued completing the spell. She closed her eyes and did nothing but to continue her incantations as it was her job. The Titan swung his blade toward the woman.
Phish!
Nethalion stopped midway as he was surprised at a head that suddenly sprouted from the snowy ground. It was Kane who finally escaped from the rubble.
"At last, I managed to pl—"
But he was immediately surprised at the sight of the Titan's blade right in front of him.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!
The ground that the Titan was standing suddenly collapsed. The Mage, The Assassin, and the Knight were all shocked at the turnout of events.
The Titan's right leg got jammed to the ground that he lost the grip on his weapon. The gigantic Scythe fell in front of the Freeloader. Without hesitation, the boy grabbed the handle of the weapon. Black energy started converging toward him, and the weapon itself shrunk to match his height. Upon grabbing, a large red notification appeared in front of him.
[You equipped The Eternal Reaper]
[Rank: Divine Weapon]
[Level: 1000]
[Effects: ???]
[Stats: ???]
[Warning: Your level is far too low to wield this weapon]
[Due to the difference in level of the wielder and its requirements, the stats and effects of this weapon will be reduced by 99%]
[Passive Skill: Devil's Incarnate]
[Devil's Incarnate: Negate a single attack from any demon]
[Cooldown: 10,000 Seconds]
'What the hell?! 99%?!'
Kane was flustered upon seeing the restrictions, but he didn't have time to complain. He took it and jumped toward the Titan.
Nethalion, who still has his leg jammed on the ground, glared at the Freeloader and radiated a red beam from his eyes.
It was a direct attack. Black fog immediately surrounded the place.
Finally, Nethalion managed to free his leg. He walked forward to finish his unfinished business, killing the mage. The magic circle was almost completed. The mage only needed a few seconds.
Suddenly, they heard a scream.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! TASTE THE POWER OF A LEVEL 5 PLAYER!!"
Kane appeared from the smoke. He was unharmed thanks to the passive skill of the blade. Quickly, he swung the blade straight toward the Titan's eyes, and a black shockwave was released upon impact.
The Titan fell down while cowering in pain. But it was not over. A simple attack won't bring a Titan down.
Nethalion stood up with a vengeful glare on his remaining eye. However, Kane was pushed back and slammed on the wall due to the shockwave explosion. The Eternal Reaper was also blasted away, making Kane vulnerable against attacks from the Demon.
[Rabaum's Will]
Luckily, he survived due to the Rabaum's Will. Kane tried to stand up, but he paused upon realizing that there was a massive crater right in front of him. Kane didn't even know that he was pushed that far away.
[You are the first person to ever damaged the great Demon King Nethalion.]
'What? OMG?! First... meaning even all of Bastion's massive attacks didn't work?!'
[The Demon King accepted your challenge.]
'Challenge? What challenge?'
[You are now cursed by the Demon King.]
'What the hell?!?!'
[New title acquired: The one that was cursed by the Great Demon.]
[New Passive Skill acquired: Nethalion's Eye]
Kane tried to stand up from the rubble.
'What? Why can't I stand up?'
But he couldn't.
[Kane250 Status: Fractured]
'This again? Why?'
Kane250 LVL 5 HP: [1/210]
"Ah, shit! I got one-shotted by that blast!"
BOOM!
An explosion suddenly occurred at the center of the crater. Nethalion suddenly burst out on the rubble and flew up in the sky with his massive wings. The Titan glared down at him.
'Shit! Shit! Shit! Is this it!? Is this my end?!'
The Titan was moving his mouth, but there was no voice coming out of it. No one could hear anything except for Kane.
"I was embarrassed to say that I got my ass kicked by a stupid newbie who doesn't know his worth. Let's meet again, boy. Let's meet when you reali—Ugh!!"
A gigantic white arrow that was made from lightning pierced through the Titan's chest. The female mage managed to do it. It was a precise attack on the Titan's heart!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
Bastion arrived and tapped Kane's chest. Suddenly, Kane's character felt a warm and comfortable feeling.
Kane250 LVL 5 [210/210]
Kane250 LVL 5 [600/600]
[Kane250 Status: Ultimate Bastion Rejuvenation.]
"Why did my HP suddenly went up? How did you do th—"
Bastion suddenly carried Kane on his shoulder. He jumped high in the sky and rejoined the Mage and the Knight. The Mage looked up at the red-glowing sky with the screaming Titan in the middle. She asked.
"Is it the end?"
Bastion dropped Kane on the ground first, before laughing.
"Hahaha! Yeah, I think so. It's the end for us. But not for Arcadia. At least there's still 7 left."
The Knight removed his helmet that Kane could finally see his handsome and Asian features. He was crying inside that helmet. Tears were falling down, but he was smiling.
"Thank you for everything. At least, all of our sacrifices didn't go down to the drain. We've been fighting this guy for months, and one shot is the only thing we need to do. And we finally did it. Thank you for everything! I'll never forget this moment! Boy, I wish my sister would know my final moments!"
Kane looked up in the sky and saw that the Titan was glowing red once again. It was the same as how the Fallen Monkey exploded. Kane couldn't help but ask.
"Is he... gonna explode himself?"
Bastion nodded.
Out of all the beings in Arcadia, the Ten Great Titans were the ones who ruled Arcadia as they were the strongest beings that ever existed since the start.
Because of their overwhelming powers inside their bodies, they were bound to explode as they were killed because no one could hold back the accumulated powers hidden inside them.
Bastion explained.
"Since you have the Fallen Monkey's staff, I guess you have the gist of what was about to happen. You may have survived the explosion that came from the Fallen Monkey, but not on this one."
Kane was impressed once again at these people. He never told them that he cleared the Fruit Eye Cave, but by looking at his equipment, Bastion realized that he defeated and survived the Battle at the Fallen Monkey.
Bastion continued.
"The skill that the Fallen Monkey uses was a skill called Suicide Explosion. It was far too weak compared to this explosion. For Titans, it was called Planetary Desolation. Because they literally take everyone on the map. No matter how strong your armor is, no one can protect you from Planetary Desolation except for running away. It was something that we used to survive the battle against Azalor, the other Titan that we defeated."
"What? This was your second one?! How the hell did you guys survive that?!"
"It is not something to be proud of. There were almost a thousand of us there at the start. All of us were the strongest Players that ever existed in Arcadia. But all those legends were reduced to the people that you see right now."
"A-All those people... were gone? I don't understand."
"The only way to survive a battle against a Titan is to teleport away."
"Then let's do it!"
"None of us had mana any mana left."
Kane was suddenly silent. He was one of the reasons why they ran out of mana. If they didn't try to protect him nor Bastion tried to heal him, they could've teleported away.
Seeing that he looked down, Bastion grabbed his shoulder and reassured him.
"Don't blame yourself. Even if you're not here, we're probably gonna die anyway. Fighting the great demon disables all your health and mana regen. Even if you use potions and other means, it will never go up. A teleportation skill that would teleport us very far from this explosion required almost half my mana. My mana was already far below that a few minutes ago. So, don't blame yourself."
The lady finally faced Kane and smiled.
"Nice to meet ya!"
Kane had just realized how pretty the Red-haired woman was. She looked like a very sexy top model rather than a mage. But her looks were the least of her assets as her overwhelming abilities were her main features.
As the gorgeous woman smiled at him, Kane subconsciously smiled back like an idiot. But he suddenly snapped back to reality.
He was full of questions.
'Why does this feel like it wasn't in a game?'
That Kane was confused. He kept on laughing like a madman.
"Aha! Aha! Aha! Why are you acting like this? I mean, you're players, right? We'll just respawn after this death. What's with these heartfelt goodbyes?"
The three of them just smiled back at Kane. Bastion answered.
"That's the case for you. We already died in the real world many years ago. No, rather, we got hunted down and killed. These were just our consciousness that remained in Arcadia."
"A-Are you serious? Does that kind of thing exist?!"
"It's nice knowing you, Kane. Although we will never see it anymore, we wish you good luck and hoped you would reach the top."
"W-wait. Wait? Is this real? You guys got murdered?! What is this?!"
"Just one last tip. Never trust Arcanos. And if you could try to avoid it, then avoid using the VR Capsule to connect your brain to the game. And most importantly, that Moonwrath Armor, an armor that could manipulate gravity? It exists. I might not know it. But everything was possible in Arcadia. Remember, Kane. Miracles are all made by you. If you didn't try in the first place, none of those Miracles would happen."
The whole place exploded. The bright red light shimmered throughout the snowy plains and melted everything on it.
[You died.]
[You dropped all your items in the area.]
[You will be unable to log in from your account for: 60 mins.]