The Eye of Macabre was an A-ranked magic item that collected energy upon activation.
After it reached a certain threshold, it would open an eye and all those who met its gaze would be trapped within a powerful illusion for one minute. However, those under the influence of the illusion would experience a temporary time dilation, causing one minute to feel like ten.
In addition, it also inflicted damage over time to the targets it afflicted.
'It's fortunate he transformed when he did. Otherwise, it may have taken much longer until the eye was opened.'
Due to Maragos entering the Nightly Bloom and unleashing a highly concentrated burst of Ethos, as well as the channeling of the two anzeyta to call forth the Wilting Gauntlet, the Eye of Macabre did not take long to fully open.
But, despite the three anzeyta all succumbing to the illusion generated by the Eye of Macabre, Izroth did not immediately take action and took a moment to observe.
'The damage from the Eye of Macabre should be enough to deal with the other two, but the last one will require a bit more effort.'
The reason Izroth did not immediately follow up with an attack while the anzeyta were under the effects of the illusion had to do with the damage provided by the Eye of Macabre.
It was common knowledge in RML that directly attacking someone affected by an illusion would break them free of it. Of course, there were a few exceptions to this case; however, since nothing was listed on the Eye of Macabre about ignoring that kind of liability, Izroth decided it was not worth the trouble.
As for the magic item's damage, it inflicted 1,500 pure damage in addition to 12.5% of the target's maximum HP every 10 seconds.
In the end, as long as Izroth let the damage run its full course, even if the anzeyta were not killed in the process, they would be hanging on to their life by a thread.
Though Izroth doubted he had to worry about their survival. On the occasion they did damage to live through it, there was still the latter part of the skill's damage.
Once the illusion ended, those affected would suffer 2.5% of their maximum HP as pure damage every second for a whole thirty minutes! Unless one was blessed with healing-type skills or high HP regeneration, their demise was practically guaranteed!
'My main objective is to protect Astratis until he recovers. I just have to buy enough time and let damage from the Eye of Macabre take care of the rest.'
Izroth did not forget the bigger picture at hand. He was alone in an unknown realm and had already offended one of the entities that ruled over it by siding with Astratis.
While he was not afraid, Izroth understood his current situation. There was a high chance that he would have to face stronger opponents during his time in this realm. He needed to conserve essence, as well as any high-ranking skills and trump cards possible to increase his overall chances of survival.
If he showed his full hand here against some "hunting dogs", then how could he face the greater force behind them when the time arrived?
'The illusion should be over soon. Then…'
Izroth returned his Sword of the Storm to its sheath as a sharp sword intent gathered within.
…
"GAH!" Maragos roared to the sky as he stood tall with his arms spread.
The anzeyta head warrior was finally broke out of the illusion and shouted to eliminate the fear that had built up in his heart.
"What wicked manner of sorcery..!" Maragos growled as he swept his gaze across the battlefield.
It was not the first time he was trapped in an illusion, but the illusion this time around was too ruthless! In the span of what felt like an eternity, the head warrior had been killed in different ways several times over. To make matters worse, every time Maragos thought he escaped the cycle of death, it would turn out that he was still trapped inside the illusion!
Even now, a part of Maragos was doubtful that it was over. However, for some reason, his instinct told him that this was no longer an illusion.
"What is this cursed power flowing through my body?" Maragos muttered to himself as he could feel an unknown force slowly chipping away at his lifeforce internally.
"Edaros!" A voice abruptly sounded from behind Maragos.
"?!" Maragos was still somewhat muddleheaded due to the intensity of the illusion; however, hearing that voice snapped him back to reality.
"That voice—it belongs to Evgos." Maragos internalized as he swiftly turned around.
Maragos was welcomed by the sight of Edaros lying unconscious on the ground. As far as he could tell, there were no signs of any external wounds or injuries. But, regardless of this fact, Edaros showed zero signs of life!
As for Evgos, regardless of his darkened expression and miserable state, he still followed his orders. The anzeyta continued to channel the Wilting Gauntlet as his lifeforce grew weaker with every passing moment.
"Head Warrior—it was an honor to fight at your side!" Evgos said with a look of determination in his eyes.
Seeing that look, Maragos immediately understood the warrior of death's intentions.
Since death was fast approaching, Evgos wanted to sacrifice himself and forcibly draw in the remaining Ethos needed to complete the Wilting Gaunlet.
But, despite knowing the outcome, Maragos knew that to stop Evgos would be an insult to his warrior's spirit.
"Long live the Heaven's Son!" Maragos shouted.
"Long live the Heaven's Son!" Evgos echoed as white cracks began to form on the surface of his skin. At the same time, a dense quantity of Ethos converged to his position.
Zeeeut!
Right when the two anzeyta cried out, an intense pressure erupted from behind Maragos as Izroth appeared out of nowhere using his Primed Instantaneous Movement!
The anzeyta head warrior had not let his guard down and swiftly adjusted his stance to intercept the incoming strike. Although Maragos was infuriated, he had been waiting for this moment!
"So you were still lurking around here, after all! You shall pay for the lives of my subordinates with your death!" Maragos' voice reverberated as he opened his mouth, revealing a dark blue vortex of Ethos.
Simultaneously, a thin line of azure light appeared in front of the head warrior's eye.
The next moment, the dark blue vortex in Maragos' mouth erupted as he released a powerful blast!
At point-blank range and no charges of Primed Instantaneous Movement remaining, Izroth activated Warpath Blade: Gale Zone Guard as a gale of protective wind encompassed his body.
〈Battle Alert: The skill «Warpath Blade: Gale Zone Guard» has reached maximum capacity! [MAX: 54,680]〉
〈Battle Alert: Warning! The protection of «Warpath Blade: Gale Zone Guard» has exceeded its limits and will begin to fail!〉
Almost immediately after its activation, the protective winds scattered after absorbing the maximum amount of damage possible from Maragos' attack.
When the effects of Izroth's Warpath Blade: Gale Zone Guard ended, he wasted no time activating his next layer of defense as his body became encased in beautiful crystal.
Crrrrck!
Just like the protective winds, the crystals showed signs of breaking apart right after its arrival.
〈Battle Alert: Warning! The integrity of «Crystallization» has reached [12%]!〉
However, as the last layer of crystal was about to shatter, Maragos' attack came to a sudden halt.
When the attack stopped, Izroth canceled the Crystallization effect attached to his armor as he emerged completely unscathed.
"…Im…possi…ble…" Maragos struggled to utter as a long cut formed from his head to his lower torso.
"From the moment you were trapped by the Eye of Macabre, this fight was already over," Izroth said calmly as he returned his Sword of the Storm to its sheath.
"Seventh Sword Form: Motionless Killing Stroke."
〈Battle Alert: The delayed damage effect of «Seventh Sword Form: Motionless Killing Stroke» has been activated!〉
〈Battle Alert: You have struck a vital point! The damage from «Seventh Sword Form: Motionless Killing Stroke» has increased from 130% to 650%!〉
〈Battle Alert: The bonus damage effect of «Warpath Blade: Gale Zone Guard» has been consumed!〉
«Critical Hit»
-149,240
〈System Alert: Congratulations, you have defeated Head Warrior of Death, Maragos!〉
…
A few minutes passed by as Izroth quietly watched over Astratis.
Despite defeating all the anzeyta present, he still had to wait until Astratis recovered; therefore, the quest was still ongoing.
Izroth believed that there would be no problems since he took care of the three anzeyta; however, there were still in the middle of the Ancient Wilderness. And, according to Astratis, there were many powerful creatures lurking about in this place.
Since it would be the perfect moment to strike at potential prey, Izroth had to stay on guard.
'Hm?'
Suddenly, Izroth sensed a change around Astratis as the Son of Thunder's eyes shot open and the Lightning Barricade faded.
When this happened, a stream of system alerts entered into Izroth's ears.
〈System Alert: 1/1 Fend off the Anzeyta until «Rebellious Son of Thunder, Astratis» recovers enough strength.〉
〈System Alert: You have completed the quest «The Rebel & The Liberator(1)»!〉
