Realm Wars

Chapter 171: The Only One Left Standing

"If you want to beat that thing, then we must work together." He didn't want to, but Azor was pressed for options.

"You don't have to say it like you are forced. You don't have a choice in the matter!" Marcus drew his sword, and boulders appeared on the pentagrams behind him. The boulders shot towards Rakash and took the form of a head of a golem with a gaping mouth.

Since the white light ceased at the moment, the group had a short breather to cast their spell. 

Seraphina chanted a spell, and tiny vines sprouted from the ground, and no matter how much Rakash's wind sliced them in half, they continued to grow and held his leg in place.

"You can't escape!" Azor took this opportunity to cast his own spell, and a large plume of shadow enveloped his body. He tore the space and appeared beside his dagger, and within a blink, he plunged his blade into Rakash's skull with brutal intention.

Rakash remained calm amidst the multiple assaults, and his eyes glowed white. "Weaklings! Know your place!"

Marcus's Earth Titan was destroyed with a burst of white light, and Seraphina vines dispersed while Azor was flung once more from the powerful aura that Rakash gave off.

"H-his too strong." Marcus didn't know what else to do. Closed combat was out of the question as Rakash kept them at bay with those terrifying beams of light while long-range combat was also useless. 

Marcus was out of options, and dread ate his resolve.

"Don't give up yet. He must be running out of mana." Though Seraphina said that, her face was white, and her voice lacked the resolve to back her claims.

Rakash was shooting multiple spells at once without even batting an eyelid. The old elf clearly didn't care about conserving mana. Just how much mana does he have exactly?

Azor wiped the blood from his lips, and his dilated eyes narrowed. "Hold him down!"

Azor gathered what remains of his mana and began chanting the most destructive spell in his arsenal.

"Hold it down, you said." Marcus didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He couldn't even come close to the old elf. The only ones who could were probably Azor and Ryu.

"Seraphina and Marcus, you guys support me from the back!" shouted Ryu. He then bolted towards Rakash with all his speed.

"Don't be  hasty!" Marcus warned but still did as Ryu told him. The amount of mana he had left was only half. He didn't have lots of mana, to begin with. But by casting a simple spell like earth spikes, he could help Ryu keep Rakash occupied while waiting for Azor to unleash his attack.

An overgrown thorn the size of a javelin and hard enough to pierce steel sprouted from Seraphina's hand. She launched it at Rakash, hoping to impale him with a shower of gore.

While Ryu attempted to close his and Rakash's distance with his speed, the old elf didn't even try to avoid his attacks. He just redirected all of Ryu's claws and kicked with his staff. 

Even with Marcus's Earth Spikes and Seraphina's Thorn Javelin backing Ryu, Rakash didn't flinch, and multiple white lights burst from him enough to disintegrate Marcus and Seraphina's spells while keeping Ryu in lock combat.

Seraphina didn't waver and cast another spell. She waved her staff, and large pods burst in the air, scattering combustible spores over Rakash. The Spores detonated just in time that Ryu backed away. A fiery thunderous explosion and flames engulfed Rakash and Ryu, and the others' faces brightened only to be stripped of hope when the old elf was still standing without a scratch.

"What a monster." All his life Marcus didn't encounter such a scary creature until now. If Azor spells didn't work against Rakash, then it was the end for them.

"Move aside!" a dark crackling of energy surrounded Azor, and a miasma filled the area in a pale dark fog stinking with the scent of decay. 

Azor's spell draws forth the ghosts of those Rakash had killed in the past. Cries and screams pierced the room, and at the moment of revenge, thousands and thousands of ghostly victims flew in Rakash's direction.

The more his enemy had killed, the stronger Azor's spell was. It was the perfect spell for Rakash, who killed hundreds of thousands.

A crack registered on Rakash's face for the first time. "Hmp. It looks like I have to counter this one with a bit of mana."

Without moving from his spot, the end of Rakash staff touched the ground. The movement was slow, and the contact was soft, but it sent a wave of power spiraling from where he stood. 

"Behold the might of the elves!" Rakash's face stretched in a wide, creepy grin as a burst of white lights erupted from him and took the shape of a giant elven huntress. 

The painful cries of the ghosts and the might of the elven huntress clashed in a loud deafening silence before a huge explosion racked the ruins. A bright light illuminated the place burning everyone's eyes with nothing but glares.

No one bothered to close their eyes, and they held their breath when the light slowly diminished, and all returned to silence.

"I-impossible. . ." Azor couldn't believe his eyes. The greatest spell in his arsenal that was enough to destroy towns and massacre hundreds of thousands was not a match against the old elf.

Rakash didn't even move from his spot, nor did a sweat break out from his wrinkly face. Even a tiny wound wasn't present.

Marcus's knees quaked, and he kneeled on the ground. "W-were doomed." His eyes bulged in despair while his sweat dripped onto the hard cold floor. He closed his eyes tight and imagined Jane's beautiful face. He hoped that Jane would at least survive. If he could give up his life for hers, he'd gladly do so right at this moment. All he asked was for her to avoid this place and make it out from the Lost Islet of Tethyt in one piece.

Ryu's heart was thudding fast. He also didn't have any idea of what to do next and how to overcome such power before him. But he refused to die in such a place. He still had to find the lost jewel for Ferris and search for Cecily.

Seraphina bit her lips and looked over at Ryu. She could only shapeshift and take on Rakash with her true form, but she didn't know if it was enough to kill the old elf. After all, he was once the leader of the mighty elven race.

Even a Godly level beast would have difficulty in facing him.

But she at least had to try, or all of them would die. She just had to think of an explanation after the fight was over and hope that Ryu wouldn't take it against her for lying to him.

Seraphina was about to change to her true form when she noticed that Rakash was silent for a time now. Looking closely at the old elf, it seemed like he was just staring at them with his opaque eyes, but in truth, his lips were mumbling silent chants. 

Seraphina's eyes turned to slit, and her beautiful face turned severe as her voice. "Not Good! Everyone, hide!" 

Seraphina attempted to cast the mightiest defensive spell in her arsenal, but she was too late when a powerful, glaring light erupted from Rakash. 

"This had taken long enough. Every one of you, offer your soul to me!" The light from Rakash engulfed the whole area, basking everything in its glares. Every living thing that was hit by the light were instantly had their soul plucked out from their bodies.

And when the light ceased, all that remained were white corpses that fell on the ground as they slowly turned to sand while floating souls flew towards Rakash's opened palms.

"Ehehehehe." Rakash was all smiles. He was satisfied with his harvest today, and he was about to resume his position over the chest and wait for the next unfortunate players when he caught sight of a single form moving at the corner of his eyes.

"Hmm. .. ?"

Before Rakash could take a closer look, a powerful jabbed hit him straight on his face. The skin of his cheek felt like it would detached from his bones while his skull rattled with the amount of power from the punch.

The force was enough to send his feet off the ground before another kicked on his side, skewed his body in an awkward angle, and sent him flying against the wall.

CrAasH!

Rakash slowly got up from the piles of crumbling stones as his bones crackled and regenerated. His once broken body adjusted itself, and with his hands, he aligned his head back to its proper place.

"Hmm. . .?" Rakash squinted his eyes at the silhouette shadowed in specks of dust. Was there an explorer that he failed to detect? Or was it a new face? But the portal didn't open, so it could only mean that. . .

For the first time, Rakash face contorted in a frown. "Could it be. . ."

The clouds of dust and smoke settled, revealing the figure of Ryu, whose face was twisting with anger.

"Give her soul back!"

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A/N

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