The two fastest Ghouls had already pounced on the Dreadlord. To Unas's relief, they completely ignored the Zombie the black-robed mage had become, leaping high and lunging straight for the Dreadlord's neck.
Bessarius spun around, swatting the two Ghouls away with his enormous dark-red bat wings as though they were flies.
The seemingly impressive blow laid the Dreadlord's predicament bare. His massive body teetered, and it took him a long while to steady himself again.
Anyone with eyes could see that Bessarius had grown impossibly weak.
They had all been frightened by the demon's fearsome reputation, assuming he was feigning weakness by sitting on the ground. They had never expected that he really could barely stand.
The "revived" black-robed mage stepped stiffly in front of Bessarius. A sudden commotion broke out among the Undead. Several stopped charging the demon and began attacking their own kind instead.
More and more Undead turned on their own kind, and soon they were caught up in a chaotic civil war.
Some Undead stood blankly where they were. Their master's dying orders conflicted with the commands of the one who now appeared to be their master, and they did not know which to obey.
"How did you know they'd kill each other?" Erigor asked, dumbstruck.
"I didn't know anything." Unas wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Fortunately, the black-robed mummy could not fully control the subordinates he had commanded in life. Otherwise, Unas would have made a terrible mistake. He would be better off taking fewer risks like that in the future.
"Bessarius is utterly weakened. We can't give him a chance to catch his breath." He looked at the equally dumbstruck soldiers. "Leave those Undead alone. Let's deal with the demon first."
The two men gathered their forces, skirted the Undead fighting in a tangled mass, and headed straight for the Dreadlord.
The three Felguards besieging Korfax immediately fell back in front of their master.
Korfax did not charge forward to continue fighting. Instead, he retreated, because Unas and Erigor had arrived with the soldiers.
The four demons and the mummy were instantly surrounded. Erigor shouted an order: "Loose!"
Most of the soldiers had long since run out of arrows. A sparse volley of seven or eight flew toward the demons in the center. Unas, however, had not fired a single arrow before this, and finally let one loose among them.
Unfortunately, his accuracy was painful to behold. Everyone else's arrows flew toward the demons, but his shot went slanting upward and struck the giant statue's thigh, shaking some dust loose.
Gordon was not there, and no one mocked him. Unas actually felt a little lonely.
There were few arrows, but only five enemies. The Dreadlord's massive body made the best target, and most of the arrows flew at him.
A thin Fel shield protected the demon's entire body, but the incoming arrows pierced it at once. The green shield dissipated limply like a burst balloon.
The demon, driven into a corner, flapped his wings wildly and swept the arrows aside. But as before, his unsteady body seemed ready to fall at any moment.
The opportunity Korfax had been waiting for finally arrived, and he charged at the demon.
The Dreadlord waved a claw, and the three Dreadguards and the black-robed mummy suddenly burst into flames. The four green figures instantly embraced, merging into a huge fireball that hurtled toward Korfax.
Halfway through his charge, Korfax saw what was coming and slammed his left foot against the ground, throwing himself to the side with all his strength. But the fireball formed by the four burning figures was simply too enormous. It grazed his legs and exploded with a roar.
The entire hall shook, and stone fragments pattered down from the ceiling. A blast carrying the stench of sulfur and scorched flesh swept outward. The soldiers surrounding the demon staggered under the thunderous explosion and shock wave, but fortunately no one was hurt.
The enormous fireball had looked formidable, but its actual power was less than expected. Korfax, blackened all over, had already scrambled back to his feet.
The floor had been reduced to a mess, covered with scraps of flesh, but it was fitting as a demon's grave.
Bessarius seemed finally to have exhausted the last of his strength. The blast had knocked him to the ground, returning him to his previous position—slumped on the floor.
"Demon! Prepare to die!" Korfax's hoarse voice rang out. This time he was far more cautious, approaching the Dreadlord one step at a time with his sword in hand.
"Die, demon!" "Your end has come, demon!" The soldiers grew excited and shouted along in a clamor. Everyone followed Korfax, slowly closing in on the demon at the center.
Unas was pushed forward by the crowd. In truth, he did not want to go anywhere near the Dreadlord. The demon was extraordinarily cunning and might still pull some other trick. Unas held his silver hammer in front of his chest and quietly assumed a defensive stance.
Someone could not resist throwing a weapon at the demon, and immediately another seven or eight weapons flew toward the base of the statue.
A short hammer struck Bessarius on the head. He raised his head angrily, and the demon, silent for so long, suddenly burst into wild laughter.
"Gya ha ha!" He threw back his head and opened his enormous, bloody maw. "Pitiful worms, I'll make you pay!"
With another burst of vicious laughter, the words of a malicious curse echoed through the hall:
"Whoever kills me shall die with their heart shattered!"
"Whoever kills me shall die with their heart shattered!"
"Whoever kills me shall die with their heart shattered!"
As if to strengthen the curse, he roared it three times in succession.
As the final word died away, a tangible black ripple spread rapidly from his body. No one in the hall could escape its reach.
Everyone felt their heart suddenly grow heavy, as though a shadow were pressing down on their chest.
Now, no one dared doubt the power of the curse. In the legends, who knew how many heroes had been killed by the dying curses of powerful demons?
The soldiers involuntarily stopped advancing. Some even began to retreat. The tangible threat pressed down on everyone, leaving them breathless, and fear spread across their faces and through their hearts.
The scene fell into a stalemate, and their eyes gradually grew hazy.
Unas felt himself drifting into a daze, halfway between sleep and wakefulness. Suddenly, his body jolted, startling him awake.
The feeling was very familiar. He had only just experienced it while pursuing the Dreadguard through the woods by Lordamere Lake. It was probably a kind of mental magic that could ensnare someone without their noticing, then create a terrifying illusion to drive them mad.
Judging by Gordon's and Darian's symptoms, those affected would lose their minds and attack the people around them indiscriminately. Unas looked around. Everyone's eyes were gradually growing dull and vacant, and their bodies were swaying. Perhaps they were entering a dream.
He had managed to wake himself, most likely because he had only recently fallen victim to the spell and developed some resistance, allowing him to resist it naturally.
"Everyone, wake up!" Unas shouted as he desperately shook a soldier beside him, but the man showed no sign of waking.
Unas raised his hands and struck the soldier with a flurry of slaps and punches. The man fell to the ground and lay there stiffly, his eyes closed, apparently knocked unconscious.
Neither shouting nor beating could wake them, and there were nearly a hundred soldiers in the hall. There was no time to knock them all out.
Seeing that everyone was about to start killing one another, Unas burned with anxiety and immediately raced toward Korfax at full speed. If that man went mad, there was no telling how much damage he would cause. Unas had to knock him out first.
"So there's one little bug still awake. Hee hee, you'll soon regret being conscious!" Bessarius's smug, sinister chuckle rang out at just the right moment. He clearly understood nothing of the principle that villains died because they talked too much.
Faced with the demon's blatant mockery, Unas was both anxious and furious. But on second thought, it would be better to finish off the weakened demon before going after Korfax. As long as it still drew breath, it remained an unknown threat.
He turned and charged straight at the Dreadlord, cursing, "You f**king idiot demon, you're going to regret provoking me right now!"
Unas strode forward with his hammer raised, quickly closing to within ten meters of the demon slumped on the ground.
Just then, purple light flashed in the Dreadlord's eyes, and two purple rays shot out. Unas hurriedly lowered his head to avoid looking into his opponent's eyes. The rays reached his head, but did him no harm.
Heh, Unas chuckled inwardly. He had already suffered from that move at the hands of the lesser demon Dreadguard. How could he fall for it a second time? The same move was useless against a Saint... a knight!
Head lowered, he charged like a bull and finally reached the Dreadlord's side. The demon really was enormous; even sitting down, he was only a little shorter than Unas.
Unas rolled his eyes upward to locate the demon's chest, estimated where his head was, and swung the silver hammer down with all his might.
At that moment, a stabbing pain suddenly gripped his heart. The hammer froze in midair, and his hands no longer had the strength to bring it down.
What's happening? Unas panicked. What's wrong with my heart?
"Heh heh heh, do you really dare kill me?" The Dreadlord's voice had lost its earlier arrogance, and he seemed unwilling to anger the human before him further. "Don't forget my curse. The moment I die, your heart will shatter, and you'll die too!"
Whoever kills me shall die with their heart shattered!
Unas understood at once, but surely the curse was too powerful. His heart had begun to ache just from his intent to kill the demon. If he really brought the hammer down, his heart might actually shatter.
"Submit to me, and I will forgive your disrespect and grant you eternal life!" Bessarius coaxed him earnestly.
"Fuck you, I've got invincibility!"
Unas exploded into action. A shield gleaming with silver light enveloped his body. No longer afraid or hesitant, he raised his weapon high and brought the hammer crashing down with all his strength!
"Boom!"
Bessarius's expression froze in a moment of shock, and then he would never have another expression again.
A series of cracks rang out: the sound of bones breaking.
Bone and flesh flew. The silver hammer sank deep into the Dreadlord's skull, smashing his entire face inward.
The Dreadlord Bessarius, the demon who had plagued Lordaeron for a century and committed monstrous sins, was finally finished for good.
Almost at the moment the demon breathed his last, black light flashed around his body, and a pitch-black ray stabbed straight toward Unas's heart.
They were so close together that there was no dodging it. The black light pierced his silver shield with surprising ease and vanished into his chest in an instant.
"Invincibility" was not actually invincible!
Unas clutched the left side of his chest. Agonizing pain spread from his heart through his entire body in an instant. His limbs went weak, and the silver hammer slipped from his right hand. He felt the heart in his chest beating rapidly and swelling, as though it would burst the next moment.
Just then, a tiny point of light floated over from the Dreadlord's corpse and slowly merged into his chest. Golden light shone in all directions, and pleasant music rang out in his heart.
Did I level up again?
That was Unas's final thought before he sank into darkness.