"?!" Gram was alarmed by the blue flames that gathered to Tal'Nis' blade. There was no way he could parry something like that with his mace—even with the buffs he used on himself!
As for Gram avoiding the attack, it was completely out of the question. He could barely react to the sword's lightning-like speed.
"I will have to depend on my protective barrier to-" As Gram thought about how to deal with Tal'Nis' attack, he suddenly felt a cold wind brush past his neck. It was soon followed by an intense burning sensation that made him feel as though his whole body was tossed into a sea of flames!
〈Battle Alert: Your protective barrier has absorbed a hit.〉
〈Battle Alert: You have been hit! [4/5]〉
〈Battle Alert: You have been hit! [3/5]〉
As he received the system alerts, Gram was shocked. The protective barrier he most recently cast on himself was immediately destroyed. Not only that but even after successfully protecting him from one strike, he was still struck twice. This meant that if he did not employ the protective barrier beforehand, he would have already been down to two hits remaining!
Gram tightened his grip on the mace in his hands as it became encompassed in red mana. Even if he was a supporter, Gram did not plan on going down without a fight!
At the same time, outside the platform, Niflheim sighed as he observed the battle.
"I predicted things to turn out this way, but… No, I shouldn't set impossible expectations. I guess being around him has made me believe that there's a miracle around every corner." Niflheim internalized as he briefly glanced over at Izroth.
Niflheim returned his gaze to the stage and said, "It looks like this is as much as we'll get from Gram's battle. That floating sword seems to be her primary mode of attack. And, when those blue flames appeared around it, the weapon's speed and power appeared to have been increased sevenfold. With this, at least you won't go in blind, Colorful Nimbus."
He then continued, "It'll be up to you to push her a bit further. Try to get up close and personal—I want to see how she responds to a proper melee attack and if she has any defensive skills."
"Close and personal, huh? You say that, but that sword's going to be a pain. Closing the distance is going to be a nightmare. That being said… I was never one to shy away from a challenge. Leave it to me." Colorful Nimbus stated with a playful grin.
"Looks like the battle's just about over." Sacred Blade commented.
On the platform, Gram had just been struck a fourth time by Tal'Nis. Now, he was just one hit away from being eliminated.
Gram leaped forward and slammed his mace into the ground, releasing a surge of red energy in Tal'Nis' direction!
This was one of Gram's few offensive skills, and one of his trump cards, Harmful Shock. Based on the number of total buffs Gram had active and the number of debuffs on his target, the power, and range of Harmful Shock were enhanced.
Unfortunately, Tal'Nis resisted the majority of Gram's debuffs, and the ones that did manage to work did not last longer than a few seconds. For this reason, Gram employed nearly every buff in his arsenal. By the time he was finished, Gram had close to twenty active buffs!
Several of the buffs Gram utilized were situational, such as increasing one's jump range or improving their vision in the dark.
However, as long as it would raise the strength of his Harmful Shock, Gram did not care what buff was active. Being only a single hit away from becoming eliminate, he decided to put his all into this one strike!
The wave of red energy rushed towards Tal'Nis and carried with it a great deal of destructive power.
"Your efforts are admirable. But, the outcome of this fight has long been decided." Tal'Nis spoke as she reached out with the palm of her hand.
Suddenly, the sword next to Tal'Nis shot forward. However, instead of colliding with Gram's Harmful Shock, it evaded and went straight for Gram!
Though Tal'Nis' actions were strange. At their current travel speeds, the wave generated by Gram's Harmful Shock would reach her before the sword could hit Gram.
"Does she plan on blocking that with her b.a.r.e hands?" Colorful Nimbus frowned.
"No. It seems the difficulty of this challenge has risen again." Izroth stated calmly.
Swoosh! BANG!
As predicted, Gram's energy wave reached Tal'Nis moments before her sword made it to him. However, everyone was startled by what happened next.
Tal'Nis' sword had stabbed through Gram's heart.
〈Battle Alert: You have been hit! [0/5]〉
〈Battle Alert: Player Gram has been eliminated! [Time Survived: 23 seconds]〉
〈Battle Alert: Player Colorful Nimbus will be automatically transferred to the platform in 10 seconds!〉
But, what surprised everyone was not Gram's defeat. Instead, it was the object hovering in front of Tal'Nis—a second sword!
Tal'Nis materialized a second sword to fend off Gram's Harmful Shock and came out completely unscathed.
The sword that pierced into Gram shot all the way through, creating a hole in his c.h.e.s.t before returning to Tal'Nis' side. Now, there were two terrifying blades hovering around the Lady of the Everlasting Rain!
"This is alarming. If she's capable of materializing those swords at will, then this has just become an even bigger headache than we envisioned." Sacred Blade said as he furrowed his brows.
Zeeeut!
Out of nowhere, Gram appeared next to Izroth and the others. Everyone was taken aback by Gram's abrupt appearance. They assumed he would be sent back to the waiting room after taking the last blow; however, there were no signs of damage. Even the hole in his c.h.e.s.t had been closed up and fully healed!
Then, just moments after Gram's arrival, Colorful Nimbus was teleported onto the platform.
"I failed… My apologies." Gram said with a hint of disappointment in his tone.
"No, you more than exceeded expectations. If not for your last attack, Colorful Nimbus would have been the one to deal with the sudden appearance of a second sword. Now that he's aware of it, at the very least, he can make some preparations. We all can—thanks to your efforts. Good job, Gram." Niflheim stated with a light smile as he reassured Gram.
Gram gave a slight nod in response.
"Do you still have access to your skills?" Niflheim asked.
Gram shook his head and replied, "Locked."
"I see… I guess that's to be expected." Niflheim sighed.
A couple of seconds later, the countdown reached zero as the next match started.
Without hesitation, Colorful Nimbus used a footwork skill that increased his movement speed. He chose to take the initiative and make closing the distance a priority!
"I'll show you the power of someone ranked 25th on the event leaderboards!" Colorful Nimbus declared as a light green aura covered his fists.
Swoosh!
Colorful Nimbus twisted his body as a streak of blue and silver light shot just past his neck. He was able to elude Tal'Nis' sword without slowing his advance.
Soon after, the second sword became coated in blue flames. It was the same ferocious attack she used against Gram! However, unlike Gram, Colorful Nimbus knew about it beforehand.
"Heh, if you think I'll be that easy to take down you're daydreaming! Take this!" Colorful Nimbus roared.
…
"Damn it! Just more second—one more second!" Colorful Nimbus angrily kicked the ground as he was ejected from the platform.
Colorful Nimbus put up a decent struggle against Tal'Nis, but, in the end, he was unable to lay a finger on her. It was one of his most frustrating experiences ever since he first started playing RML!
"That sneaky woman's unreasonable! How come she keeps summoning swords out of nowhere?! What are we even supposed to do against something like that?!" Colorful Nimbus scowled.
At first, the fight seemed to be going in a good direction as Colorful Nimbus arrived within melee range of Tal'Nis at the cost of taking one strike head-on. However, he was immediately forced to retreat after taking damage from a third sword that was materialized by Tal'Nis.
By the end of the fight, there were four swords floating next to the Lady of the Everlasting Rain. And, as if doing so just to mock him, Colorful Nimbus was just one second shy of surviving for one minute!
Although he hated to admit it, maybe they had bitten off more than they could chew by challenging the third stage with a Hero Class protecting it.
Regardless, Colorful Nimbus knew that it was out of his hands. Now, it was up to the next person.
〈Battle Alert: Player Niflheim will be automatically transferred to the platform in 10 seconds!〉
