"Stand up, Devourer. I shall be your Final Test."
Mark's body had frozen, and so had his mind.
He extended a palm towards the Intruder.
Towards the new Guardian.
Flame Of Chaos, Giant Fire Ball-
The attack was launched.
A second later, the armored Intruder was covered in smoke.
"Mm. Attacking right away while the smoke hasn't settled yet."
The smoke settled.
The Magic Attack had been blocked.
And to do so, the Intruder didn't need to do a thing but extend its armor-covered palm.
"You get one point."
[Your Skill "Berserker[SS] activates!]
The ground below Mark's feet cracked as he moved.
Keeping his center of gravity as low as possible, he did his best to make full use of the remaining smoke covering the Boss Room.
"But you have no idea who I am. Which side I am on. Or what I want." The Intruder continued, ignoring the Monster's movement.
A second later, Mark's claws were stopped by that very same palm.
"Half a point deducted."
Upon his claws approaching contact with the Intruder's armor, Mark could feel himself lower his own momentum.
Perhaps it was instinctive?
Perhaps he knew that his claws would not survive against that black armor, were he to put his all.
"Looks like you want to jump right into it-"
The Intruder's words were interrupted as Mark suddenly lowered his body to the ground, no doubt aiming to sweep the former's feet off the ground.
But it seems the Intruder was sick of it.
With a simple leg kick that didn't even utilize the Intruder's whole body, Mark was launched all the way to the other side of the Boss Room.
BAM-
His back hit the wall with great force.
Cough-
A drop of blood went down Mark's face.
The Intruder took slow steps towards him.
"Time to explain the rules of this Test."
With each step, the sound of his armor hitting the ground resonated.
"First, no Underlings. You fight alone-"
As if on cue, Light and Grey positioned themselves between their Master and the Intruder.
"You can call them back into that Necklace..." Mark's eyebrow twitched. "Or, I'll make them disappear before starting this Test."
Doubtful, Mark stared.
Sigh-
"These are rules set by the Sixth General Of Gaavah's Army."
There was no visible reaction.
"Mm. I suppose you might know her better as Draconia?"
A slight reaction.
The fact that Draconia and Nia referred to the same person wasn't something that Mark had been told.
He had his doubts, but thought it explained the situation.
"Call them back into the Necklace." The Intruder repeated.
Both Wolves had been heavily injured. They were limping and couldn't move with their usual agility.
An issue due to their Vigor Stats, much lower than Mark's.
They were in no condition to fight.
Plus, the Intruder knew about the Necklace, which alleviated some of the remaining doubts.
The two growling Wolves stopped doing so, and turned towards their Master.
A second later, they disappeared.
But as soon as they did, someone took over their position.
"I'm not letting you fight alone." Elisa declared, a Timeworn Elven Dagger in each of her hands.
"No Underlings, I said." The Intruder's gaze did not leave Mark's eyes.
"I'm no Underling."
The Intruder stayed silent for a bit, before raising his empty hand.
The helmet was taken off, revealing a Human face.
The gray and long tied-up hair was part of the helmet, which none had the time to think about or notice.
Buzzed hair, multiple cuts all over his face, and green pupils.
Zephyr scratched his forehead.
Mark didn't know him as "Zephyr", but he shall be referred to as such, for it is his Name.
"Tell her to get out, or I'll kill her before getting this Test started."
"I'm not going anywhere-"
Something had taken hold of her elbow.
She turned around.
Above his other hand, words floated in the air. Words written in flames.
Get out-
The fact that Zephyr had used to word "disappear" for the Wolves but "kill" for Elisa, was a detail that didn't escape Mark.
"I can't. I'm not letting you fight alone. Not against someone like him. What kind of Test is he even talking about? How can I-"
Trust me-
Elisa remained silent.
We'll make it out in a bit-
She bit down on her lip.
"I can't... Not after what I just-"
The next second,
Roaar-
Appearing beyond Elisa and facing the Intruder, was an Underling that wasn't an Underling.
"Mm. Get this one out too."
It was obviously scared.
It could, just like Elisa, somewhat feel both the Aura oozing out of Zephyr's body, and the Mana that body held.
Still, it didn't step back.
The Moonlit Feline roared.
'Krista.'
Mark was ignored.
'Krista. Get out.' He ordered.
She didn't listen.
Zephyr clicked his tongue, and all immediately went silent.
"Tsk. What kind of..." His annoyance was reaching the tolerable limit. "I'm here for the Devourer. The Guardian is dead. The two of you have cleared the Dungeon. Congratulations."
Shock and surprised.
"Now, if you want to be able to step outside, to breathe outside, I suggest you get out of this Boss Room and wait beyond its doors for a while."
Elisa's lips seemed to twitch uncontrollably.
She didn't know what to do.
And she didn't know what to say.
She couldn't leave him.
Not after her arrow had pierced his body.
Not after betraying him.
She couldn't do so again.
Leave-
"I can't." She repeated.
None of us has the strength to beat him-
She clenched her teeth.
It was true.
There was no denying it.
"Still, I won't-"
Take Krista with you-
"What are you-"
With cold eyes, he stared at her.
You owe me-
And she could feel the cold touch of chains around her neck and wrists.
She had breached a Mana Contract, and the Contractee could call in the Penalty whenever they wished to.
Not only that, but the longer the Penalty is delayed, the more is Owed.
A concept with which Elisa was very familiar.
Right now, she had no choice but to listen to him.
She stepped away and towards the Boss Room's doors, stopped, and turned towards Krista.
"Come."
The Moonlit Feline ignored her.
"Get the cat out of here. I'm not going to wait for much longer."
The Moonlit Feline ignored him.
"Krista."
Surprised, she immediately turned towards Mark.
"Go with Elisa."
Seconds later, the Moonlit Feline and Elisa walked out of the Boss Room, feeling somewhat defeated.
"Good. Now we can get to..."
Mark didn't listen to Zephyr's words.
The Monster had finally talked.
Words had finally left his mouth.
Something he had wanted to do for a long time.
"I can't believe you made me waste them." Mark suddenly interrupted.
"Huh?"
Zephyr was confused for a moment, but upon seeing the Monster's rage-filled eyes, he understood.
Mark clenched his teeth.
"I can't believe... Those... Were my first words-"
BAM-
With an open palm's sweep, Mark was launched away.
With his limbs spread to the sides, Mark's body was ingrained into a wall.
"This isn't the time to worry about newborn issues."
Zephyr raised his spear, and implanted it into the ground, at the Boss Room's center.
"The time for your Test has come."
The next second, words appeared in front of Mark.
[A Domain has been cast around you!]
[The Domain "The Tyr's Colosseum" had been cast!]
[Your Health Points regenerate to 100% of their capacity.]
[Your Endurance Points regenerate to 100% of their capacity.]
[Your Mana Points regenerate to 100% of their capacity.]
[Your Ability to summon your Underlings has been locked.]
[The Boss Room has been set as the "Dueling Territory".]
'Huh-'
At the same time, a violent typhoon covered two spots inside the Boss Room.
The doors, and the hole in the wall left by Zephyr's escape.
With all escape and entry routes blocked, a true Duel is about to begin.
Mark, whose every injury had been healed, pushed himself off the ground.
"The Test is simple."
He raised his fists, and patiently listened.
"Do your best to kill me."
"What kind of Test is that?"
"The kind that will push you to your limits, and beyond." Zephyr pulled his spear out of the ground.
"How do I leave once I've killed you?" Mark asked, somewhat innocently.
Zephyr walked silently for a bit, before stopping in front of a corpse.
"You won't. That's what the Test is about."
"What do you mean?"
"A Task simply impossible for you to accomplish. You'll climb the wall as long as you can, and reach as high as you can, but you'll never move past it."
Mark jumped back hurriedly.
"That's the kind of Test waiting for you."
