Ronan had tried to keep focus on his allies as he began fighting. After the tenth swing of his mace, he lost track. The thrill of battle was intoxicating, and with every bone he smashed to dust, its hold on him grew a little deeper.

There were so many skeleton giants to fight, it was impossible to drop his focus for even the briefest of moments. Not to mention that interrupting the smooth flow of battle that he was submerged in would put his maximised momentum at risk. They weren't an endless army, however, and the forest of weapons that he needed to constantly evade was gradually whittled away.

Ronan was confident they would at least clear away this first wave of minions, and hopefully carve a path to attack Tharaxes directly. His hopes were dashed.

As the melee drew to a standstill, and he smashed the chest of one of the final few skeleton giants to dust, Ronan heard a scream from behind. As he turned to the source of the sound, he swung his mace with him, taking out another giant that he'd crippled at the knees earlier.

"Howard! Why!?" Alyssa cried, kneeling down and cradling the man's head in her hands.

Ronan rushed towards the pair, wondering what had happened, and what he could do. Howard was bleeding profusely from a gaping wound down his right side, and his arm was bent at a horrible angle. The bone stuck out of his elbow, and from the forearm down, it was as though his muscles had been frozen.

A large pool of blood was already gathering on the ground, staining Alyssa's knees red. With every passing second, it grew in size and depth as the sticky substance spread.

Ronan cursed, and knelt beside Howard, opposite Alyssa. Tears were streaking down her cheek. "What the hell happened? You all seemed to be handling the giants fine," he said, not wanting to push the distraught woman but perplexed about the situation.

Alyssa didn't respond immediately, and was staring into the man's eyes. Jenna appeared above them, having taken a moment to blast the final giant into dust. "One of the giants managed to pincer Alyssa. The big meanie was about to run her through with its spear when Howard stepped between them and blocked the strike by conjuring a shield from his mana," Jenna explained, miming a poor recreation of the events.

"A shield? I didn't know you could do that, Howard," Ronan exclaimed in surprise.

Howard tried to speak and coughed at the first syllable, spraying Ronan with blood. He grimaced, but held out a hand to stop the man from struggling. "Don't push yourself, mate."

There was little they could do. None of the three possessed a healing skill, or any sort of potion that might keep him alive. In fact, there was only one way that Howard could possibly make it through this disaster—a level up. Unfortunately they weren't officially partied up and the only enemy remaining was the hobgoblin lich itself. Howard didn't have that long to live.

"Fuck! You should have let me die, Howard. You didn't owe me anything, we're just strangers," Alyssa sobbed. Ronan could tell she was touched by the man's sacrifice, but also genuinely furious at him.

Howard coughed again, and Ronan moved to stop him from speaking, but Howard pushed against his comforting hand. "My life sucked before this—" Another cough broke the moment. "I was a shitty husband, and a shittier person. Sure, this whole—" he spluttered for a few seconds, and his face was so pale now it resembled chalk. "Whole integration thing gave me a second chance, but frankly, I don't deserve it."

At that, Alyssa looked as though she was going to complain, but he weakly gripped her arm that was cradling his head. "Hate me if you want. Just live, and make the most of your second chance."

"That's such a shitty reason to sacrifice yourself! Just because you were an asshole before, doesn't mean anything now," Alyssa exclaimed. "You could have made up for your past by living a better future. Idiot."

He never heard her final sentiments, as the last of his health had drained away, and he died in her arms. Ronan had considered striking the final blow, to truly make the most of the man's sacrifice. Alyssa might have cut their team down to two if he had, though, and he had no desire to spit on Howard's actions. It reminded him of Terry.

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Some people were truly… Ronan wasn't sure how to describe people like Terry or Howard, but he knew that in a certain way, they were far stronger than him.

He was willing to put himself through hell simply to gain more personal power. Ronan wasn't purely selfish, and would do his utmost to pave the way forward for humanity and its allies, if they made any in this strange new world, but ultimately he did so for his own benefit. Sacrificing himself for another was something he'd never do, and for that reason he had a deep respect for people like Howard and Terry. And, at the same time, he thought they were fools.

Heroic fools, but fools all the same.

Alyssa was crying, but her tears seemed to be formed from ice, and her eyes burned with a cold fury. She laid Howard against the ground. When she stood up, her sword-grip was so strong it drained the colour from her knuckles. The compassion she'd shown a moment before was gone. All that remained was hatred towards Tharaxes.

With an anguished scream, she started to run along the red carpet towards the stone dais that held the lich's throne. Ronan rushed forwards, grabbing hold of her arm. "Don't throw your life away right after Howard saved it. You're not alone in this. We'll kill that bony bastard together," he said, harsh but firm.

Alyssa seemed ready to cut him apart with her sword, but nodded her understanding. A rattling clap interrupted them. "How touching. Always brings a tear to my eye, seeing such tragic scenes play out between adventurers. Truly, it makes life worth un-living," Tharaxes said, a dramatic tone of voice spitting on their loss.

Alyssa glared at the lich, but didn't break from Ronan's grip. That led him to release her arm, knowing she wasn't going to recklessly charge at the boss.

For the first time, he appraised the floating tags above Tharaxes' head, and winced when he saw the boss' level. This was going to be a ridiculously difficult fight.

[Tharaxes - BOSS]

[Hobgoblin Lich-Lord Lv.51]

Not only had its classification upgraded from mini-boss to boss, but the irritating hobgoblin had evolved its class. No longer a mere lich, the system proclaimed Tharaxes as a lich-lord, whatever that meant.

While Ronan didn't know the specifics, he was sure it came with a huge increase in power for the skeletal monster. The giants that had lined the throne room all lay broken and crushed, but he would be a fool to believe that was all the boss had in store for them.

"Did you get into necromancy so that you could resurrect your rotting jokes after they fall flat?" Ronan shot back at the boss. It wasn't his best work, but it inflated his confidence.

Alyssa brightened a little as the lich trembled in rage and smashed its staff against the stone dais. Jenna giggled from behind. "It looks like the big 'ol lich still has a fragile, little ego."

That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Tharaxes didn't say anything in response to the taunt, but his actions made it clear that Jenna had crossed a line. The lich-lord slammed its staff against the ground twice in quick succession, and four of the cyan flames that lined the throne room were snuffed out instantly.

Six flames appeared in their place, glowing in the same eerie hue as Tharaxes' own eyes. As Ronan and the others watched, those flames grew in size and luminosity, until they were as big as a fist. Then, they blinked out of existence.

Ronan wasn't sure what happened. Had Tharaxes' spell failed? What was the lich-lord attempting to summon?

He gripped the iron shaft of the bonecrusher mace tighter, his gaze darting around the room in search of hidden enemies. Alyssa was right beside him, her sword clutched in her right hand and her left held in front of her.

"Ronan! Left!"

Jenna's yell startled him for an instant. He soon recovered. Without even checking his left, Ronan swung the mace.

The impact was softer than it should've been. He was prodigiously strong, thanks to the juggernaut class, and that blow would've obliterated any of the giant skeleton soldiers.

Instead, it felt as though he'd smashed the mace against a pillow. As his eyes caught up with his body, Ronan caught the briefest sight of what he'd struck.

A billowing black robe, reminiscent of the one Tharaxes wore as a mini-boss, fluttered in the air before vanishing. Not retreating into the shadows, or out of Ronan's field of view, but simply disappearing.

The squeak of leather against stone came from behind. He glanced over his shoulder. Alyssa was swinging her shortsword through empty air, but he knew she had been striking at one of the summoned enemies.

Whatever Tharaxes had brought into play, they were going to be dastardly opponents to take down. Worse yet, the lich-lord had taken off the kiddie gloves. A bolt of lightning arced from the dais and struck the spot that Jenna had been standing in a half-second earlier. Ronan cursed, knowing that even putting his all into this fight might not be enough to secure victory.

But, it wouldn't stop him from trying his best. Bring it on, Tharaxes.

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