What Jack used was the Suppression Crystal dropped by Themos after he was slain. The crystal required a close range of ten meters from the target.
It was lucky that this archdemon was underestimating them. It simply stood in one place and focus on burning a hole in the dome's wall instead of dealing with them. This allowed Jack to safely get close enough.
The suppression crystal shone a bright light. The archdemon seemed to realize what Jack was doing but it was too late. Its haughtiness and Jack's time domain slowed its response. The light from the crystal enveloped it. It roared as it tried to fight the item's effect but even it had to succumb to the system's rule.
The archdemon's physique didn't show any meaningful changes, but Jack's mana sense detected a huge reduction in pressure emitted by the archdemon's presence.
Jack used his Inspect again and confirmed that the archdemon had degraded to a level 75 Mythical grade. Still much higher level than them but Jack thought this should be manageable.
The archdemon stopped firing its laser beam after getting suppressed by the suppression crystal. The hole on the dome's wall slowly patched itself back.
The archdemon stared at Jack with fury and hatred in its eyes. It didn't expect a weakling it had underestimated to cause its power to decrease to this extent.
A flash of shadow rushed by Jack and collided with the weakened archdemon. It was Arlcard. Now that they were both mythical-grade, it won't be easy for the demon to repel the vampire like before.
The archdemon made a grabbing motion and a saber made of flame formed in its hand. Its flaming saber and Arlcard's crimson rapier clashed. Arlcard was forced back a few steps. The archdemon was still stronger.
But Arlcard wasn't alone. In his supreme dragon form, Jack's stats nearly rivaled a mythical grade. Jack used Sword of the Braves. Ten golden swords stabbed into the archdemon. Jack then activated Asura and came from the other side, joining Arlcard in clashing with the archdemon. His claws slashed with Formless Flowing Sword Style powered by mana manipulation.
The archdemon's other hand conjured a whip made of flame. With the saber and whip, it battled the two.
Alfredo cast his spells, while Dimitri used his crossbow and shot from the distance. They stole hits when the archdemon was preoccupied.
Jonathan had rushed ahead and did melee combat with the Ice Demon Fiend, preventing it from disrupting Jack and Arlcard. Jack's spirit weapon changed form to melee mode and joined him.
Even though the archdemon was higher in level, Jack and Arlcard could contend with it. Jack's martial art gave him an edge at dodging and counterattacking without suffering a hit. Furthermore, the Time Domain made him faster and the archdemon slower.
Arlcard was a native with high HP, so he could afford a little damage. His rapier was fast thought, each swing and stab was accompanied by shadow feints, giving the archdemon trouble in pinpointing his exact position. Each of Arlcard's attacks also had a life-leech effect, restoring the HP he lost.
The archdemon was constantly enveloped by a fiery aura, burning everything in the vicinity. Jack and Arlcard, who were in melee range, received constant fire damage.
Peniel used her Healing Field to keep the two's HP at a safe threshold.
The archdemon was fed up with the two. It suddenly slammed into the ground, which cracked from the impact. Lava pillars erupted around the three. The lava pillars had sharp ends, making them look like fangs instead. These lava fangs closed in, like the teeth of a subterranean monster that came out of the ground to devour them.
Jack and Arlcard flew up, but the dome's ceiling suddenly filled with lava as well. The lava fangs were just to keep them from running away. The lava from above was the real attack. Lava fell from above like a waterfall. There was nowhere to run to.
Jack cast Ghost Form and turned intangible just as the lava fell.
Arlcard cast a spell, Shadow Barrier. A dark shell surrounded his body. The barrier blocked the lava for a duration of time but finally broke. The lava washed over him and dealt continuous damage. Luckily, his high HP allowed him to tank through the damage.
The attack ended, but the archdemon didn't give its opponents a moment to rest. Since Jack was still in ghost form, it targeted the wounded Arlcard instead. It swung its flaming whip, which coiled around Arlcard.
But as the whip was about to tighten, Arlcard's body burst apart into hundreds of bats. The bats swirled around the archdemon, delivering small bites.
The archdemon made a stomp and an explosion of fire burst out of him, burning countless bats. The remaining ones fled.
The archdemon was about to give chase when a bolt struck his legs. He lost movement for a bit. It was Dimitri's skill, crippling shot. While it lost its mobility, Alfredo's Pyramid Prison struck, further locking it in place.
Even though the archdemon was already locked by two skills, the duke still prepared another spell. He had been dual-casting. His second spell, telekinesis, further applied pressure on the archdemon to keep it in place. With all those restrictions, even if the archdemon was higher level and higher grade than Dimitri and Alfredo, it was still halted for a few seconds.
Jack didn't let the chance go. The archdemon felt a stinging force from above. It saw Jack had become tangible again. Jack's dragon body was wrapped in a lightning suit. There were also twenty lightning balls materializing in the air.
Arlcard had received Jack's cue. Once the bats transformed back into him, he cast his Dark Lord's Sword, which was twice the size it was compared to when he was still a rare elite.
Jack's spirit weapon also sneaked close and use its finishing mode. It exploded just as Arlcard's gigantic black sword stabbed into the imprisoned Archdemon. The twenty lightning balls detonated at the same time. Jack also activated Overlimit and used Soul Breath. The combination attack caused a massive explosion with the archdemon at the center.
The smoke from the explosion covered the archdemon. Jack didn't stop. He knew the attack was not enough to kill the archdemon. He continued firing every spell into the smoke, pinpointing the archdemon's position using his mana sense.
Suddenly, his eyes turned wide when he sensed the archdemon's mana spiked. He made an abrupt dash to a side, just as an elongated arm shot out. This arm missed Jack but it suddenly changed direction. The speed was so fast that Jack failed to dodge this second time. The arm caught Jack and pulled him down.
The smoke receded and revealed the archdemon, which looked completely different from before. Its body was larger. Its limbs were thicker. Its entire body was covered with crimson sharp plates. Its two horns turned crooked. Some extra horns grew on all sides of its head. Its black eyes now emitted constant flames.
The transformed archdemon slammed Jack into the ground. Its flaming eyes stared right at Jack's.
Jack screamed when he felt his soul getting burnt by that stare.
