The latest group of reinforcements, of course, was Charles and his party. That meteor that had rattled Montport was his own leveled-up Storm Warhammer.
When the warhammer spun back into his hand, even Charles couldn't help but whistle—this hammer head really packed a punch. Chugging five spell slots per toss was steep, but in return, it had enough stopping power to stagger even a real Abyssal Lord, granting a round of crowd control!
Not bad at all—the effect was exactly what he needed.
Staring Montport down, Charles had no desire to go toe-to-toe. He retreated step by step, firing off Eldritch Blasts, playing pure keep-away rather than direct confrontation.
Behind him, Anno, Sophia, Nidalee, Willo, Adele, Danche, and Luger arrived on the scene. The bundle of magical flowers that had dragged Torun to safety was, of course, Adele's handiwork.
Taking in the massacre and the rivers of blood, Nidalee and Willo hurried to cast healing spells, while the male warriors seethed with unrestrained fury.
"You Demon Lord!" roared Luger, already shifted to his Giant Bear form, "I'll tear you limb from limb!"
Mad with rage, he bounded toward Montport, trusting in his natural vitality, Stoneskin, Giant Bear totem, and Barbarian Rage for protection—seemingly fearless!
But as he ran, he caught sight of the savage, gaping wound on Torun—it was so deep, organs were visible.
Immediately he changed course, veering to the side. "Hold him head-on; I'll go for a sneak attack from the back!"
For a barbarian, he was showing no shortage of tactical sense!
The others didn't waste time thinking—in the instant they saw Montport recovering and readying another charge, Anno turned sharply to Sophia. "We have to stop him, otherwise no one else has time to escape. Miss Sophia, you can cast Haste, right?"
Sophia flicked a glance at Charles, got his nod, then answered, "Yes, and with Twinned Spell I can double it—boost two people at once."
Anno's eyes lit up. Half-orc Danche stepped forward with a deep growl: "Buff me too. I'm gonna gut that bastard!"
He was burning with rage—maybe not as reckless as Torun, but seeing his kin slaughtered had pushed him over the edge.
Adele rolled her eyes behind them—she usually never spoke up about other people's choices, but finally she couldn't hold it in. "Like hell you will. That axe of yours isn't even magical—it couldn't cut his skin if you prayed for a week!"
Saying that, she stomped her little satyr hoof on the ground. No chant, no gestures—just raw nature magic. The earth rose, reshaping itself into a gleaming new greataxe.
"Use this!"
Adele stooped, scooping up the axe as if it weighed nothing (even with her skinny arms), and handed it to Danche. "With this, you might actually be able to hurt Montport!"
Charles glanced aside, silently impressed—her connection to nature magic ran even deeper than he'd realized.
Danche had just opened his mouth to thank her when he suddenly felt a surge of invisible magic rush through his body—he was supercharged, so fast everyone else seemed to move in slow motion!
He looked around, and saw only Anno next to him keeping pace at normal speed.
Up front, Sophia exhaled. "Haste applied. You two—hold the line and take Montport head-on!"
Danche hefted the nature-forged greataxe and threw back his head with a roar: "Montport—!"
He became a blur, tearing through the air straight for the demon lord.
Anno followed in his tracks. Even weighed down with plate armor, she was almost as fast—flanking for a two-pronged assault.
Montport grinned, his face pure mockery. "Pitiful mortals, overestimating yourselves again!"
He gripped his twin-bladed polearm and ignored the bear circling behind. With one savage sweep, he slashed horizontally at the pair barreling toward him.
Danche leapt, Anno rolled—both dodged easily. But as they tried to rebound and counterattack, Montport twisted his massive arms and spun the polearm like a staff, bringing the other blade around for a wide arc—
Anno raised her shield out of pure reflex. Magic gleamed atop her shield, armor, cloak, and ring. Protective wards blazed; there came an ear-splitting metallic clang, and she was knocked flying. Armor held, and miraculously she came down battered but safe.
Danche wasn't so lucky—his kit was nowhere near as good. Buffed by Haste, he tried to twist away, but couldn't clear the blade—
Slishhh—
A deep gash opened along his side, blood spraying everywhere. He crashed down, mortally wounded, barely conscious!
"Danche!"
From behind, Willo—who'd just pulled Torun back from death and given the minotaur a shot at rejoining the fight—screamed in panic.
At this rate, she knew, even ten times her current spell slots wouldn't be enough to keep everyone alive!
She didn't even have time to reach Danche.
After hammering Anno aside, Montport ignored Luger (who was making a futile play for his tail), striding forward to finish off Danche—polearm high and aimed for the orc's head.
Crack—
Suddenly, thick vines burst from the earth, wrapping Montport's arm and front legs. The Abyssal Lord scowled and ignited with black magic, burning the vines to ash in a heartbeat.
But that precious extra moment let the magical flower cluster scoop Danche to safety, carrying him to Willo's side for healing.
"Whew…"
Adele panted, sweat sheening her brow. Casting two spells at once—grabbing Danche and restraining Montport—was a massive strain.
"Ugh—"
Behind Charles, Torun groaned. His monstrous wound had closed but left an ugly scar. He got up, grinding his teeth, his gaze blood-red with rage. "Enchant my axe! Let me at the demon!"
Charles signaled, and Sophia sighed, enchanting Torun's steel axes with a basic [Magic Weapon]—enough to break Montport's defenses at last.
The minotaur bellowed and charged again, wild and reckless!
Ten seconds later, after scoring one fresh wound on Montport, Torun was pounded nearly to death again, only to be snatched back by Adele's conjured flowers for Willo to resuscitate.
But by then, Danche was back up, clutching his earthen axe, charging again.
They seemed determined to trade their own lives—again and again, little by little—in hopes of eventually bringing the demon down.
Watching this brutal, one-sided slugfest, Charles's brow furrowed hard.
This isn't working.
Now, at least Torun and Danche had healers shadowing them, so when they were mutilated or killed, they could be revived—back and forth, alternating between life and near-death, grinding away at the boss's hit points.
But the druids' spell slots weren't infinite, and the Life Nuns had long since burned through their divine power. Their entire strategy was doomed from the start.
Torun's wounds looked hideous, but compared to Montport's titanic form they were pitiful—if this kept up, it was only a matter of time before they were wiped out.
"Willo, Nidalee, start organizing a retreat!" Charles called out, determined that falling back was the only sane option. "Sophia, Adele, any way we can stop Montport from moving for even a short time?"
Sophia frowned, silent. But Adele looked up suddenly. "I tried just now—his magical resistance is weaker than I thought."
"If I go all out, I can probably bind him. A minute, tops."
"And in that minute, however many retreat and get away is out of our hands."
Charles stiffened, a bitter taste in his mouth.
One minute…
How far could they get in one panicked sprint? Not far, really. Montport was so huge, he didn't need magic to catch up—he just had to walk.
A minute, only a minute…
Running wasn't a real option. Not with so many true believers among the Nuns of Life, and with Anno right there—he couldn't just abandon the women and children to die as bait.
And he doubted they could hold out until the hunting squad broke free to help…
Even Theresa was out—she had a pact with Montport, and she was the oathbreaker.
With no way out, Charles drew a shaking breath, eyes fixed on the ruin at Montport's chest.
"This should be enough," he muttered.
Adele seemed to realize something. She looked up sharply, anxiety in her eyes. Charles didn't bother to explain—just said softly, "Adele, when I give the signal, I need you to cast right away. Get those vines around Montport and hold him as tight as you can!"
"We're going to kill this Abyssal Lord!"
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