Chapter 123: Quest Completed (2/2)

He felt powerful. However, the prince was not that weak as well. Arthur knew the prince must be at the Vetus-rank in this form. Even though Li and Ivy were sure to be stronger, their abilities were countered with the black shadows. The two sides were on a stalemate, at the beginning at least.

Zas suddenly appeared behind the prince and slashed with his short-sword toward the enemy's back. A dark hand protruded from the prince's torso and stopped the sword in place. However, Zas teleported again and appeared to the side. The process repeated until Zas was teleporting every second, surrounding the prince from all sides.

”You insolent insects! Kneel before you king!” The prince roared in a strident metallic voice as darkness bloomed from his body. The darkness engulfed the light until they were unable to see anything. ”Now is the time for your deaths!” A grating laugh traveled to their ears.

However, Arthur wouldn't allow him to. He used his Fire rune as widely as he can toward the ceiling lest he injures his friends. The darkness broke when it was met with the fire of creation and it started to back away. The fire spread until it revealed the face of the shocked prince who howled again in rage as he darted toward Arthur.

”Not so fast,” Ivy met the prince's claw with a double-fist after appearing in front of Arthur to protect him. The two collided with a loud bang before the prince staggered backward. However, Ivy didn't look so well herself. It seemed she had used her ability to reflect some of the damage as the prince's hand was bent unnaturally.

”You…”

'This guy is quite the shit-talker,' Arthur realized as the prince seemed to want to insult them again and talk mid-fight.

Li was the opposite. He appeared in front of the prince silently and slashed with his sword that radiated a heavy pressure. The prince was sent flying and crashed into one of the gears before relaunching himself toward Li.

The pressure disappeared from Li's sword and Arthur lost track of its location for a moment before it reappeared in front of the prince's claw, the two colliding.

The two were evenly matched but the rest wouldn't stand to enjoy the good show. They also started attacking and pushing the prince backward. Suddenly the fortress shook before tilting the side. Arthur realized that the awakeners outside must have succeeded in taking down one of its legs.

'It's time to end this.' Arthur gripped his dagger tighter. The other three seemed to have a similar mindset as they all launched themselves forward. They surrounded the prince from all sides as each of them started to relentlessly attack him. Arthur with his blazing dagger, Ivy with her booming punches, Zas with his unpredictable speed, and Li with his mountain-toppling slashes.

”Zas!” Arthur suddenly shouted as a plan formed in his mind. Zas seemed to have realized his intentions as he appeared behind Arthur, placing his hand on Arthur's back.

Arthur used the Restore-I rune and his mana surged again. He burned most of it as an unprecedented amount of strength radiated from his body. Zas's mana enveloped Arthur as he felt the familiar feeling of teleportation.

The prince's face appeared in front of him, bewildered and hideous. Arthur pierced with his dagger that had a fire on top of it. The prince blocked with his arm but Arthur used his shadow-swap skill to teleport half a meter to the side, striking the pulsing necklace cleanly.

Now that he was close, Arthur could see what it was. It was a black crystal with a pulsing fluid inside. His dagger successfully landed on the crystal and a single crack appeared.

”No!” The prince shouted in rage as a giant hand came toward Arthur in a dangerous momentum. Ivy appeared again as she took the hit and the two were pushed back until Arthur had his back to the wall. Their feet left a trail on the ground.

They were able to see the runes dimming in the surroundings as the prince lost control of the fortress. With this, he would no longer be able to control it.

[Legacy Quest has been completed.]

Arthur's heart heaved in relief at this message. However, before he could read whatever came next, the prince roared in agony and fell to the ground. His body began convulsing before being torn in half as something else emerged from within him.