Izroth waited until the precise moment Niflheim knocked back Gan Ceann's longsword before moving into striking range. This way, the Headless Horseman did not have enough time to reposition itself and react to his attack.
-6,162
'Its resistances are high. But... How strange.'
Izroth's blade slid against Gan Ceann, unable to pierce through its armor. However, he still managed to administer some damage as sparks of purple lightning could be seen flowing around the suit of armor.
It was the first attack to connect to the Headless Horseman and deal damage. Everyone was shocked!
But, it was not Izroth's damage that they were surprised by. Rather, it was what happened to Gan Ceann's HP!
Name: Gan Ceann, The Headless Horseman of the Abyss
Class: Guardian
HP: [96.5%]
That single attack was enough to knock its HP down by 3.5%—this placed its HP somewhere close to 180,000! It was much lower than anyone predicted. After all, there were some dungeon bosses within the level 40s range with that amount of HP.
Unfortunately, Gan Ceann's low HP value was not necessarily good news for the party. Based on common knowledge, it was well known that monsters with low HP typically had the skills or stats to compensate for the weakness.
Nevertheless, Niflheim understood that they did not have the same luxury that existed with dungeons and raids of scouting the place before proceeding. A crusade had to be played by the ear, which meant that they could only deal with problems as they appeared.
In the meantime, even though Izroth's attack carved off almost 4% of the Headless Horseman's HP in one blow, Niflheim still maintained aggro and had Gan Ceann's attention placed on him.
Bang!
«Blocked»
-2,682
-14,567
38,785/72,836 [Niflheim's HP Remaining]
Once again, Niflheim blocked Gan Ceann's blow. But, the effects of its True Cuts seemed to go through any defensive measures he set up in advance. It was like trying to block the wind while standing in the middle of a storm.
Then, out of nowhere, a light-green magic symbol the size of a fist lit up on the side of the obsidian warhorse.
At the same time, Colorful Nimbus moved with quickened steps as he arrived within the melee range of Gan Ceann.
Colorful Nimbus struck out three times in swift succession with his fists wrapped in a white aura.
The next moment, the light-green magic symbol shattered as the shards flew towards Niflheim and sunk through his armor right into his skin!
-2,885
+3,462
-3,606
+4,327
-3,606
+12,116
65,037/72,836 [Niflheim's HP Remaining]
"Heh, don't worry. As long as I'm here, I won't let any of you die!" Colorful Nimbus declared.
Not only did Colorful Nimbus damage Gan Ceann, but the damage from his attacks healed Niflheim by more than 20,000 HP in seconds!
The ability to inflict damage to his target and then amplify it to heal himself and his allies—this was one of the core methods of Colorful Nimbus' class that made him one of the top damage/healer hybrids in RML.
"Niflheim, how confident are you in maintaining aggro?" Morrighan asked calmly.
"Throw whatever you want at it without restraint! I won't let it touch a single hair on your head!" Niflheim shouted as he continued to contain the Headless Horseman's attacks and restrict its movements.
"Very well. Then, I shall take you at your word. Prepare to fall back." Morrighan stated.
Morrighan pointed her wand to the sky as the swirling clouds parted, and a massive shadow was cast over the party.
"Hey, hey... You're kidding, right?" Colorful Nimbus commented as he looked up.
'Oh? To prepare and cast a spell of this magnitude in such a short time frame...'
Izroth detected the immense flood of mana gathering in the atmosphere when he used his Energy Vision Sense; however, he had no idea it was in preparation for this!
In the sky where the clouds parted, a gigantic rock envelope in flames could be seen peeking out.
The rock spanned approximately sixty meters in diameter and was currently descending rapidly as it burned through the atmosphere.
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What appeared in the skies above the first stage was an actual meteorite! And, it was headed right for Gan Ceann and Izroth's party!
"Grand Magic: Meteoric Fall." Morrighan lowered her wand, pointing it forward in the direction of Gan Ceann.
The speed of the meteorite's descent increased as Izroth, Sacred Blade, and Colorful Nimbus retreated.
While they would not receive damage from the attack, a skill of that scale was bound to alter the terrain and could end up dragging them in!
Meanwhile, Niflheim stayed behind to make sure that Gan Ceann did not escape at the last moment.
4...
3...
2...
Swoosh!
Just as the meteorite was less than two seconds away from impact, Niflheim immediately activated Unimpeded Rush. Simultaneously, Gram activated a movement speed buff on Niflheim, further increasing his speed.
Gram also employed a Slow debuff on Gan Ceann, decreasing its mobility. Although the debuff would not last long with the Headless Horseman's high resistances, it should be long enough to hold it in place.
In a flash, Niflheim arrived tens of meters away from his previous position.
Neigh!!!
The warhorse stood on its hind legs with its forelegs off the ground as the lifeless blue eyes of Gan Ceann inside the helmet turned its gaze up at the meteorite.
Before the meteorite even made contact with the ground, the surrounding terrain already started to break apart and disintegrate from the sheer pressure it generated.
...BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!
The flaming meteorite crashed into the earth straight over Gan Ceann!
But, the instant the meteorite made its impact, a powerful shockwave swept over Izroth's party, followed by an intense wave of heat and storm-force winds!
A giant crater formed as the ground violently trembled, and a massive cloud of dust was produced.
...
Several seconds later...
The cloud of dust finally settled down and dispersed as the party members regrouped with one another.
At the moment, they were near the edge of the enormous crater that was roughly sixty meters in diameter with a hole that led down into pure darkness.
Given the size of the meteorite, the crater it created should have been many times larger. However, Morrighan was somehow able to control and compress the area of impact! This required not just perfect control over one's mana but absolute confidence in one's abilities to pull off.
"Haven't you ever heard of self-control?" Colorful Nimbus asked as he stared down into the abyss.
"If I did not exercise proper control, everyone here would have been buried along with the Dullahan," Morrighan replied.
As Colorful Nimbus spoke with Morrighan, Niflheim casually approached Izroth, who was also near the side of the crater a few meters away.
"What do you think?" Niflheim asked.
"Since we're still here and received no alerts, there's a good chance it's still alive down there. But, given the force of the impact, it will take a while for it to return to the surface." Izroth responded.
"That much is a given. What I mean is—what do you think of her?" Niflheim rephrased his question.
He then continued, "From what I know, she's not affiliated with any guild or organization. If we can find a way to draw her to our side, then... Well, you've seen it for yourself."
"I know what you're thinking. But, it probably won't happen." Izroth said as he stepped to the very edge of the crater.
"Hm? I figured if anyone were confident in drawing her in, it'd be you. Is there something you noticed?" Niflheim inquired curiously.
"Perhaps. However, if you wish to give it a shot, then you have my approval. Just try not to be too disappointed with the outcome." Izroth responded.
"Now... it'd be a shame to waste time standing around here. I'm going to go check on our friend for a bit."
"Huh? What are you talking ab-"
Before Niflheim could finish speaking, Izroth stepped off the crater's edge and plummeted into darkness!
"Izroth!" Niflheim instinctively tried to reach for Izroth, but it was too late. He was gone!
It did not take long for the others to rush over after hearing Niflheim's shout.
"What the hell happened?!" Colorful Nimbus asked. One moment he was speaking with Morrighan, and the next, he looked over just in time to see Izroth falling into the crater!
Morrighan lightly furrowed her brows and said, "The depth of this crater is several hundred meters. Even if he has a way to survive the fall, returning to the surface will prove to be a difficult task."
Niflheim frowned as he entered deep thought. Just before Izroth fell into the crater, he heard him say something about wasting time and going to check on a "friend". It couldn't be that he was going to confront the Headless Horseman alone in the crater, right?
Even for him, that sort of thing was too reckless!