Chapter 401 From the Frying Pan to the Fire
The meteor fell down at speeds fast enough to burn the atmosphere to hellfire. The Limbo brightened up enough that it forced the shadows off of the transparent silhouette of the Assassin in White, Mercy.
Dave noticed the wide-eyed assassin staring unbelievingly at the incoming mass of death.
For a fraction of a second, the cold, pragmatic face of the Assassin turned to utter stupefaction at the sight. Then her face resumed its cold calculative nature. Mercy's shadow grew, forcing its way against the bright light from the incoming meteor.
The shadow under her took a physical form and wrapped tightly around her figure, then soon after, the meteor fell, taking with it, Dave, Mercy and the entirety of the arena.
Darkness soon overcame Limbo, and Dave sensed himself falling down to the depths of Limbo. He panicked as he realized that the meteor had actually caused the entire platform to fall down in broken pieces, and he would soon fall to the swirling shadows under the platform guaranteeing a death he never predicted.
In a panic, Dave tried to activate [Demonic Ascension] his only way to gain flight and escape certain doom. Yet to his misery, the Skill was grayed out, as a matter of fact, all of his Skills were inaccessible as he fell down.
He cursed inwardly, as he just realized that his victory or loss could be decided based on who among the two of them would fall to their death first.
As he was pondering, his back smashed into a solid surface. Dave stood up, then looked around, his Undead Passive providing massive assistance in revealing the darkened world of Limbo.
He was standing on top of a broken piece of the platform, this part had somehow managed to survive the fall against the current of purple shadows moving through this part of Limbo.
His eyes immediately adjusted to the darkness of the Limbo, revealing more pieces of the platform spread all over the place.
Since he hadn't been given or shown the message of victory, Dave realized that Mercy must have survived the fall as well.
The dark purple shadows smashed into the rock he stood on. He crouched down and touched the shadows, receiving an intense painful reaction in retrospect.
-25,000
***
Beware of what may undo life or death!
You have been touched by Eldritch Corruption!
***
Dave pulled his hand back; it was only a touch and he lost a lot of HP due to it. Falling here would mean death in no time.
He looked around, there were many rocks and boulders. The remains of the platform spread over the Eldritch Corruption River.
Mercy has to be on one of them, he thought. She has a great advantage amongst the darkened area, many places to hide and deliver lethal blows then she could disappear as easily. While Dave will have to chase around aimlessly for her.
The situation was getting more and more disadvantageous for him, and both of them knew of it.
Dave calmly looked around, he knew he couldn't locate Mercy in this situation, but he believed that there had to be a wider piece of the platform he could stand on, a place he might have a proper footing to face against the Assassin.
In the distance, a couple of rocks to jump from and to, was a platform large enough for him to fight and be at ease not to be pushed into the swirling death moving eerily around him.
Dave made a decision and vaulted toward the next boulder.
Then he jumped over the next one, and once he was only one bolder away, Mercy struck at him while he was in mid-air with a dagger, sending his avatar staggering off course and toward the swirling purple shadows.
Dave cursed, but he still had the wits to use [Immortal Apparition] in midair, teleporting himself on the platform and saving himself from certain death.
"That was a low blow," Dave commented.
"What did you expect? I'm an Assassin," Mercy replied with a leer.
"Right, then there is no reason for me to play fair!" Dave said and pointed with his shield up.
The metallic jaws creating the round cursed Shield of Ajax folded back, revealing the demonic eye within. The eye shone bright and spewed out dozens of Infernal Dragon Skulls.
The skulls surged out like shots from a machine gun as they flew up, illuminating the darkened Limbo.
Like hanging lamps, the draconic fire skulls hovered around and above Dave. They looked like predators hunting for prey. And by Dave's will, they flew down like a meteor shower aiming at every protruding piece of the platform in the vicinity.
Mercy gasped as she realized Dave's plan. He didn't need to hit her, the fact that he could destroy the platform she stood on was enough to kill her. So, the Assassin began jumping from rock to rock toward the only place she believed would be safe.
The Infernal Draconic Skulls crashed into the pieces of the platform around Dave and sunk them, or rendered them to dust. While Mercy ran with all she got toward Dave's back.
He didn't know where she was, but Dave believed that he had forced her to come toward him. He knew, even if she was invisible that she was soon to attain his piece of the platform and by then, the game would be over.
Mercy didn't have the slightest delusion that David Ruster was an idiotic man, or stupid enough not to realize the advantage he had pressed using his tactic, so she was going to make sure to make him pay for forcing her to move at his wishes.
She held her dagger forward, her eyes squinted, prepared to use one of her deadliest Skills. A Legacy Skill that she was certain would end the fight the moment it touched Dave.
Mercy lightly stepped on Dave's platform. While he was still distracted with aiming the draconic skulls, she stabbed at his back.
Yet, as if he had eyes on the back of his head, Dave lunged forward and swung his enormous sword toward her side. Mercy ducked under the sword swing and stopped moving.
She was still invisible, and the hair on her back stood up. If the sword had touched her, the mere Kick-Back Effect would have been enough to throw her into the deadly churning shadows.
This was yet another time where David Ruster used his 'instincts' to terminate a perfect kill opportunity.
Yet, he didn't notice that she was still there, from the look on his face. David Ruster was perplexed, it was as if his plan was foiled and his calculations were thrown awry. Now was the best chance for the Assassin to take him out.
Dave looked around, he was not aware of her location, so she moved as quietly as possible toward his back. Her skill [King Slayer] was an Execution Skill that needed several conditions to use. And one of them was a heartstab from the back.
Once Mercy was in position, she wasn't going to ruin it. She thrust her dagger as fast as she could into Dave's back.
Yet what met her was an immense pitch-black abyss, as jaws of metal latched onto her hand.
Dave draugr's smile was facing her.
"Gotcha!" the draugr smiled then headbutted her.
Mercy staggered, she somersaulted back and turned invisible.
"Sorry, but that won't work anymore," Dave said as he turned on [Infernal Tyrant's Oppression]
The black flames of hell surged out from around him, burning away the invisibility effect of Mercy's skill. She turned to jump away from his area of effect, only to notice that he had destroyed all the nearby platforms.
"Yeah, you're gonna burn here love," Dave said in a carefree manner.
He had cut off all her paths of escape and even foiled her [King Slayer] now that his [Aura] skill was active, she couldn't use [King Slayer] anymore, as it needed her to be invisible.
David Ruster had forced her to fight him in close-quarter combat. A deadly, if not idiotic situation any Assassin would loath find themself in.
Mercy grunted and charged forward, there was no need to waste time, if she could down his HP first, she would win, the damage tics from his [Aura] skill might kill her, but if she dodged all his attacks and landed hers, she would kill him first.
Mercy's avatar split in three. Something Dave had never seen her do before. But he had to admit, as a Legacy player, many of them had Skills they didn't show the public.
Yet three Mercys or even more, they wouldn't make a difference.
Dave grinned as he opened his mouth wide, using [Ray of Flames].
A torrent of black fire burst out from his mouth, far hotter than hell itself as it coiled shaping itself into a black dragon then began hunting the Mercy clones. The dragon passed through one of them and went back passing through the second. Two of Mercy's clones disappeared while the third and real one was right up to Dave's nose, her dagger swinging toward his skull.
Yet Dave didn't even dodge. Letting the dagger embed itself into his head.
-650,477
Dave's head buzzed, but he took the opportunity from the recoil on Mercy's dagger to grab at her hand discarding his Ultra Great Sword.
"I have too much HP, I can take a hit," Dave boasted laughingly as he jerked Mercy out of balance.
He then struck down at her with his shield.
-56,000
The Assassin grunted but she managed to stabilize herself and twisted around him like a nimble snake, perfectly securing Dave into a chokehold.
Mercy tightened her grip hard. An Assassin's [Chokehold] was one of the earliest killing Skills they obtained, they were perfect in killing targets without them putting much effort into resisting. Taking their breath away and forcing them to go into unconsciousness.
However, for all of Mercy's professionalism, she failed to remember a simple fact.
Undead don't need air.
Dave smiled, he tried to grab at her, but she was nimble enough to dodge his hands, thus he ignored it and simply stood there as she was latched to him like a leech, trying to choke him out of the fight.
Mercy groaned the fire emitted from Dave's [Aura] skill had gnawed at an immense portion of her HP. While her choke failed to do anything to the Undead.
Once the thought crossed her mind, Mercy suddenly jumped away from Dave. Finally realizing that she cannot suffocate what doesn't need breath.
"Finally get it?"
"You're annoying," Mercy said.
"Yeah, I get that a lot, so what's the deal, you can't win," Dave said.
Mercy looked around; it was true. She didn't have enough attacking power. And he had too much HP, not to mention the occasional heal he received from his passive.
Mercy was in a dilemma, the only way she could defeat him was if she did something unexpected.
Her eyes gazed at the swirling darkness right behind Dave, he was dangerously close to the rim of the wide platform they were on. If she manages to push him there, she would instantly win, without needing to use any dangerous face-offs.
Once the idea found itself into her mind, she executed her plan.
Mercy sprang up to her feet and jumped toward Dave, pitting the entirety of her strength and weight behind her. She knew she couldn't win against the Undead in terms of strength, but a sudden push would be all she needed to throw him off balance and make him fall to his death.
Dagger in hand as a decoy, Mercy ran with all the speed she could muster, and once the dagger was halfway toward the Undead's chest, she discarded it and opened both her palms to push Dave off the rim of the small broken platform they were on.
Surprised as Dave might have been, it wouldn't be as surprised as Mercy was when she realized that she had passed through Dave's own avatar and found herself with too much momentum to stop herself from falling into the swirling darkness.
Mercy fell, encased and buried in the darkness of Limbo while Dave stood utterly unbelieving and stupefied.
A notification soon appeared in front of Dave.
Congratulations, you have won your match in the Clash of Gods.
+100 points.
Since you have defeated a lower classed Legacy Player, you will not obtain their Legacy, nor will they lose theirs.
***
Dave was shortly teleported out of Limbo and back on the beach.
***
You have won your third match. You have disqualified your opponent. The next round will commence in 3 days- Game time. Make sure to be ready.
***
Dave appeared in the middle of the Wilds, still not quite sure what to make of the situation.
Almost instantly, Mercy called him from the in-game friend chat.
"Uh, yeah?" Dave uttered.
"What did you do?" she asked, "How did you know I was going to push you?"
"Um, instinct," Dave said.
To which Mercy grunted and hung up.
He didn't dare tell her the truth. That he had used his Legacy Skill, [Final Phantasm], and then applied [Immortal Apparition]. His plan was simple when in [Immortal Apparition] all physical attacks become null and void. So even if Mercy had attacked him with her dagger, she would hit nothing but empty air. But since she opted for pushing him out of the edge, she went through his ethereal form and into the abyss.
'What a way to kill an S Class Legacy Holder…'
Dave laughed then looked ahead,
"Ah shit, he's still here," Dave grunted.
Apparently, the Chosen of the Ash King was still around, waiting for Dave. And once he noticed him, he roared and charged toward him.
"Alright you Discount Shen-Long, let's start round two!" Dave smiled and hopped forward to meet the demonic dragon.