Incremental Torture - Chapter 88

~ Anthony Han POV ~

He had been curious about Kayla’s plans when he saw her carrying his little menace into battle, despite her being asleep. Her plan had certainly been a shock.

Despite the odd nature of her strategy, he had to admit it was an effective one. He knew just how tough Evelyn was, and he was confident she could withstand a few rounds with the hyper boss while they carved it to pieces.

Against the combined might of his wife and his daughter’s allies, there was no monster that could stand in their way– even if it had been blessed by some kind of ancient master.

The despicable Ventura had the largest force in the battle by far, but the other guilds had a strong presence too– all of them were doing their utmost to bring down the beetle.

Anthony had not forgotten their sneak attack and he knew his daughter might not have the strength to do what was necessary; to deliver crushing vengeance. He would take up the role of executioner if need be– he had done it many times before.

Truly executing his foes would be new, but there was little difference between crushing a market opponent until they were bankrupt and destitute, and slicing their neck in the dead of night.

No, he was no coward. He would deliver justice in full view. The entire city of Haven would know that Defiance was not to be tested.

That he was not to be tested.

First they had to destroy this hyper boss. He wasn’t the biggest fan of using his little menace as a sacrificial lamb, but he knew more than most how sturdy she was. Besides, if she couldn’t handle a little pain then she wasn’t worthy of being his daughter.

As Zork’Karu slammed into her unconscious form, all that mass failed to deliver. She only quivered and bent a little, but it was their foe who took the brunt of the impact, chitin cracking and shards flying around its head.

Kayla didn’t miss the chance to strike. Three punches blasted into the creature’s jaw in the blink of an eye, each one rocking its head and eliciting a squeal.

A fourth blow broke flesh and drew blood. Kayla wore a wild grin, leaping backwards to evade as the beetle slashed at her with two sets of legs.

It reeled back from Evelyn, revealing her unharmed save for a tiny trickle of blood from one of her nostrils.

The counter attack against Kayla had been half hearted at best, its fury was still focused on his daughter. Time to move. He stepped into the fray, lances of ice rocketing over his shoulder and burying themselves in the boss’ underbelly.

As one, Kayla and Anthony struck, a united force of blade and fist that slashed and pummelled at the beetle harder than any other challenger. Wounds rapidly accumulated on the boss and its sluggish movement grew even more lethargic.

All the gathered fighters grew incensed upon seeing the weakening foe, and charged with renewed vigour.

It was a true shame Evelyn was not awake to join the fun– Defiance were acting with refined synergy for the first time. Spells, Swords, Fists, Fangs and Arrows tore into the enemy, felling the minor monsters with ease and whittling away at Zork’Karu.

Evelyn had been struck twice more and suffered some visible damage, but still stood firm. Zork’Karu ignored her after that, but that didn’t mean she was no longer useful.

When it went to strike Kayla or Anthea, they ducked behind their good old tank and let her soak up the impact. Anthony refused to stoop so low, instead using his own sufficient bulk to deal with any counter attacks the hyper boss aimed his way.

His dear wife’s frost magic was a constant threat– every time Zork’Karu stopped deflecting the glacial lances or lost track of her a new spell would tear into its flesh or freeze another set of legs.

A few minutes later its entire body was frozen, a colossal ice sculpture in the centre of a ravaged city. Kayla squatted low, her powerful calves coiling like springs before she shot into the centre of the creature and delivered a mighty punch.

Cracks rippled from the impact and with a beautiful tinkle the hyper boss shattered into a thousand glimmering shards of ice.

Anthony cracked a rare smile when he saw the unmelting fragments showering the other guilds and dealing some minor cuts and bruises. Mei truly was as cunning as she was beautiful.

The sigh of relief from the entire city could be heard a mile out. Half of the gathered challengers collapsed from the exhaustion of two days of constant battle and the rest were fighting to stay on their feet.

However, the danger was far from gone. Wary gazes, and hateful ones, were being thrown between the guilds. It seemed that most would at least wait until the tower announced the results before descending into chaos.

Whatever happened next, Anthony would ensure no harm came to the members of Defiance and that any who tried to would be dealt with severely.

❰ Hyper Boss Raid Clear ❱

Survival Rate: 41%
Time Taken: 1 Hour, 11 Minutes, 35 Seconds
Overall Clear Rating: C+

Top Participants:
1. Defiance [Guild] - B
2. Ascendants [Guild] C+
3. Ventura [Guild] D+

You have received Rare Loot Chest x2 and Rare Skill Crystal x1 as a clear reward.
Your participation ranking rewards you with Unusual Loot Chest x1, Rare Loot Chest x3, Rare Skill Crystal x2 and 250,000 Essence.
Kill essence has been shared between all surviving challengers according to participation.

It had been a tough couple of days, but the rewards were worth the struggle. Not only had he been accumulating essence while slaughtering the weaker monsters that had been assaulting the city, but bringing down the hyper boss had brought the greatest reward of all.

He looked forward to opening the loot chests and seeing what new equipment and skills he would receive. The extra essence was a fantastic bonus, too.

There was little time to truly celebrate the win however, because the boss raid notification was rapidly followed by another message from the tower.

~ Evelyn POV ~

Evelyn was stirred from sleep by a chorus of deafening cheers and loud singing. What on earth is happening? I was fighting… Her memory was a little hazy, but she noticed two long messages from the tower hovering in her vision.

The first brought a smile to her face that quickly morphed into a frown and a furrowed brow. Zork’Karu had been defeated and her rewards were fantastic, but she’d missed out on the excitement. Damn. I wanted to see the look in its eyes as it died.

She felt as though a measure of satisfaction had been stolen from her. It was her effort that had brought the boss to its knees and she wasn’t able to be conscious for the final clash.

At least her efforts, along with the efforts of her friends and family, had been rewarded appropriately. An unusual loot chest, five rare loot chests and three rare skill crystals– a fantastic boon. Along with the colossal quantity of stars she had gained from the essence conversion, Evelyn had profited massively.

She was almost scared to check her income.

And that wasn’t even all of the rewards. Defeating Zork’Karu had seemingly triggered an early end to the World Event, along with all that it entailed.

~ World Event 1 ~

One of the ending conditions has been triggered and the World Event, Invasion of the Deep has come to a conclusion. Congratulations, or perhaps commiserations, are in order. Take stock of your losses and victories and strive ever upwards in the aftermath of this cataclysmic war.

Time Remaining: 15:48:02
Death Toll: 11,619

All surviving participants receive Unusual Loot Chest x1, Rare Skill Crystal x1 and 125,000 Essence as a reward.

Guilds and Challengers will also receive further rewards based on accomplishments during the World Event.

The loot just kept getting better and Evelyn couldn’t keep the smile from her face. Since losing access to the local shop, it had been a real struggle to get rewards as easily as before. This would go a long way to making up for that, and also to help her rebuild her status after the ascension clipped the majority of her skills and attributes.

Perhaps she would get some cool equipment from the chests, too. She was interested in seeing what the rewards given to the guild would be, compared with the individual prizes, so she opened the next message.

World Event Summary - Invasion of the Deep

Guild: Defiance
Challenger: Evelyn Han aka Eve

Guild Position: #1
Rewards: +1 Guild Rank, 28 Guild Points

Challenger Position: #1
Rewards: Unusual Loot Chest x1, Unusual Skill Crystal x1, Green Star x1, Rare Loot Chest x3, Rare Skill Crystal x3, Uncommon Skill Crystal x8, Attribute Points x25

You outshone your peers in battle, defending a large section of the city wall against a constant onslaught of subterranean monsters alongside your fearless guildmates. When a fearsome hyper boss attacked, you discovered the key to defeating the terrifying foe. Congratulations on your accomplishments, Evelyn. May you climb ever higher.