"Aura Smash!" after getting up from the cane hit he received, Stark focused his aura around his hand, ready to attack the Mayor too.
With a powerful shout, Stark unleashed his Aura Smash towards the Mayor, the giant crimson fist hurtling towards its target.
But of course, Malakar saw the attack coming, and so he used the hand that wasn't carrying the cane to use another skill.
"Abysall Shield!"
A shimmering black barrier materialized in front of Malakar just in time to intercept Stark's Aura Smash. The impact created a shockwave that reverberated through the air, causing the ground to tremble beneath their feet.
"-627!"
The shield after being hit by such a powerful attack obviously cracked under the immense pressure and was destroyed, meaning the Mayor wouldn't be able to use it for a while.
"-1171!" Lana also used another arrow infused with another one of her skills, dealing more damage to Malakar.
It seemed like they were doing it slowly, but little by little, the Mayor was receiving more and more damage.
[Boss HP: 41355/45000]
Lana was a very good support, dealing damage from afar while Stark held him off.
'Our chemistry is surprisingly good, although I would prefer if he could actually do something…' Lana hadn't noticed the appearance of the abysall shield right before Stark's attack hit, meaning that she thought he dealt medium damage to it.
Stark continued his relentless assault on Malakar, dodging the boss's attacks with expert precision and slowly but surely approaching him.
And when he was only a few meters away now…
He dashed forward.
"The Cane!" the boss still had his cane in his hands, and so he tried to hit Stark with it.
Stark rolled on the ground, and once it came to him, instead of taking the hit like last time, he literally just used his fists to hit and break it.
"…?" The Mayor was taken aback.
"Got you," Stark smiled as he had completely closed the distance now, he was in the perfect range to attack the Mayor.
And so he did: before Malakar could even use another one of his skills, Stark focused his aura and…
"-3712!" even with his powerful defense, Stark's aura and stats dealt massive damage.
"WHAT?" Lana was astonished, even going as far as stopping to aim with her bow to make sure the number she was seeing was right, and it was.
'Calm down, Lana, focus on the battle,' She shook her head and began arming her bow to shoot again.
"-3819!" Stark was even able to punch the boss again as it hadn't had the time to counter the first one.
"Hat Trick!"
The Mayor used another one of his skills, and suddenly, his hat was enveloped in a dark, ominous energy. The hat lifted off his head, spinning wildly in the air before shooting towards Stark like a spinning blade of darkness.
Stark barely had time to react, but he managed to deflect the hat with a swift movement of his arm.
"-281!" it dealt him some damage, but not enough to actually be worried.
The hat ricocheted off a nearby rock and soared back towards Malakar, who grabbed it and bowed like a gentleman afterward, a smirk could be seen on the visible half of his face.
Stark backed away after that, sensing that the Mayor was going to keep attacking.
And after a few back steps… he found himself right next to Lana, who was still aiming her bow and arrows at Malakar.
"-718!" she hit him in the chest again, then armed another arrow right after.
Malakar on the otherhand was spinning the cane in his hand, almost enjoying the show.
'I'm low on HP…' Stark thought, he had received two hits already.
But as he thought about that… a panel appeared in front of him.
[Dealt massive damage to BOSS ENEMY, regaining 59HP!]
The 'Soulbearer's Embrace' Necklace perk activated, and he was able to gain some of it back.
'Oh shit, it's small, but it might actually make the difference…' Stark, regaining his confidence, smiled.
"I'm gonna go back, keep doing whatever you're doing, i'll keep him away from you," Stark spoke to Lana, then began dashing away before she could reply.
"I-" she sighed before smiling, "You better do your job."
Stark sprinted back towards the Mayor, his determination burning brighter than ever. Malakar smirked as he saw Stark approaching, readying himself for another round of combat.
"Dark Pulse!" the Mayor summoned the veins into the ground again, and every single one of them went rushing toward him.
This time, however, Stark had a new strategy in mind.
"Clone Frenzy!" he used his latest skill.
[Description: Summons a clone of yourself that acts and fights just like you do, giving you a temporary additional character to control in battle, the clone does damage based on how much aura you give it, but its stats are extremely reduced, and its HP is set to 1, cooldown period of 30 minutes between each clone]
And suddenly, his aura started seeping out of his body and headed right in front of him, forming a perfect replica of Stark, ready to assist in the battle against the Mayor.
"…" The clone's eyes were completely white, some aura pouring out from them like a fire, and its expression was neutral.
Its eyes were locked on Malakar with unwavering focus, awaiting Stark's orders.
"Let's do this," Stark muttered to his clone as they both charged towards the oncoming Dark Pulse veins.
The clone mimicked Stark's movements (almost) perfectly, matching his speed and agility as they weaved through the rushing veins.
"What the?" Lana was confused, why were there suddenly two Starks?
She aimed her bow at the Mayor as he smiled at the upcoming enemies, then fired again.
"-528!" somehow, it felt like she was doing less and less damage… was there a reason to that?
Meanwhile, Stark and his clone dodged and countered, working in perfect synchrony to break through the dark onslaught.
"The Cane!" feeling threatened for the first time, the Mayor summoned his cane in hand, then elongated it… towards the clone.
'Ah shit…' Stark knew that his clone's HP was set to 1, meaning it couldn't even defend such an attack without dying.
And so he positioned himself right in front of the cane and deflected it with a powerful slam.
"-72!" he received almost no damage thanks to that.
And then…
"Aura Smash!" now only 5 meters away from the Mayor, Stark decided it was time.
And so, both his and his clone's hands began glowing with a bright crimson aura.
Thankfully enough though, it seemed like the clone actively thought for itself and subconsciously did what Stark wanted it to do.
Which was why it also used [Aura Smash] when he did, copying him.
Both Stark and the clone's right hands began glowing with that ominous aura, and after a few seconds…
Stark punched the air in the Mayor's direction, sending a crimson fist of aura toward him.
"-3712!" a powerful blow to the boss, who was forced to back away because of the sheer damage.
But that wasn't all…
Stark immediately ordered the clone to repeat what he just did, sending another Aura Smash attack towards the Mayor.
The clone, without hesitation, mirrored Stark's movements perfectly, launching a second crimson fist at Malakar.
"-1727!" it was less powerful than the original, but still fairly good for a copy.
And also…
[Enemy stunned]
'OH MY GOD,' Stark was bewildered, he didn't believe that the clone could also cause status effects, but oh boy was he wrong.
The boss fell to his knees, unable to get up or move any of his limbs, and also unable to use his magic since it required him to move his hands.
'What the?' Lana thought as she saw both Starks suddenly run toward the boss without caring about anything, she wasn't even aiming with her bow anymore, instead just enjoying the spectacle before her eyes.
Stark ordered his clone to dash toward the boss as it was the perfect moment to cause a huge amount of damage, and so they both did just that.
The clone lunged at the stunned Mayor with a fierce battle cry, its aura-infused fist ready to strike. Stark followed closely behind, channeling all his energy into his next move.
As they closed in on Malakar, the clone unleashed a devastating blow, hitting the boss with unparalleled force.
"-2319!"
The clone backed away after this attack as Stark followed through with a kick to the jaw.
"-4312!"
Then Stark also moved to the right for the clone to punch Malakar in the face.
"-2129!"
Using the clone's back as a jumping pad, Stark then grabbed both its shoulders to jump in the air and smash the Mayor's head.
"-6462!"
They had just comboed the boss, and dealt almost 15K points of damage in a matter of seconds.
[Dealt damage to BOSS ENNEMY, regaining 158HP!]
[HP: 343/1200]
After receiving all these attacks, Malakar was finally able to move, and immediately used [Hat Trick], sending his hat toward the real Stark.
Taken aback, Stark asked his clone to place itself in front of him.
And so it did.
"-1728!"
'My god, the damage is insane, is something wrong with that boss…?' Stark would have definitely died if he had been hit, even if he deflected it or used his aura around his body.
The clone after being hit by this attack immediately vanished, and the crimson aura that formed it went back to Stark.
'You did well,' he smiled, almost feeling like he lost someone close to him, but instantly going back to serious mode as he needed to focus.
…
[Boss HP: 11917/45000]
[The boss is ENRAGED, be careful]
This panel appeared in front of them both.
It seemed like that in this world, when bosses reach their halfway point (or when their HP gets reduced enough), they go into some sort of second phase/frenzy.
And Malakar was no different.
"THE MAYOR'S DOMAIN!" he got up, lifting both his arms sideways as his eyes began glowing, and even his black sun mask was emanating a dark aura.
"-462!" but even mid power-up, Lana still shot an arrow at the boss.
'…' Stark turned to look at her, "Aren't we supposed to let him finish his transformation before attacking?"
"I think killing him while he is powering up is more efficient…" she replied, somehow during the fifteen minutes they had been fightning, she found it in herself to trust Stark.
"Fair enough, but I still wanna see what he does!" Stark smiled and waited.
As the Mayor continued his transformation, a dark energy began swirling around him, creating an ominous aura that sent shivers down Stark's spine.
He couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding as he witnessed the dark power radiating from the Mayor's form.
Lana, sensing the imminent danger, notched another arrow on her bowstring, ready to strike at any moment. The tension in the air was palpable as they all waited to see what Malakar's new form would bring to the battlefield.
And then…
~CRASH~
From all the nearby buildings, the mansion, and even the ground, monsters began to come out.
"Hey, that's not a transformation, he looks the same," Stark complained, although he couldn't deny the aura around the boss was more sinister, and its figure felt more imposing.
[Name: City Inhabitant lv8]
[Name: Businessman lv12]
[Name: Cursed Dog lv6]
All the different monsters they had met in the dungeon appeared all of a sudden: all under the control of the Mayor as they followed his every command.
Lana shot a monster, killing it, then armed her bow again, sweat pouring from her forehead as she knew the sheer number of monsters was too much for her to take currently.
"Survive, i'll go kill that bastard," Stark looked at her with his determined eyes, and all she could do was nod.
"Be quick… please…" she mumbled, low enough for him to not hear her.
With a nod of understanding, Stark focused his attention on the Mayor and his horde of creatures.
The monsters moved with unnatural coordination, their eyes filled with a malevolent gleam as they closed in on Stark.
But Stark wasn't interested in any of them, and so he began running toward the Mayor: his arms were still lifted up, probably because this is how he controlled the 'inhabitants of his city'.
He avoided most of the monsters, and occasionally killed some that were fast enough to catch up to him.
And so, just like this, Stark closed the distance between him and the boss.
And thus, the final showdown could begin.
Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
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