With the prism broken, the archdemon's strength returned to normal. It also regained part of its awareness even though the flame was still searing its body and mind.
The archdemon was so enraged by the pain that it grabbed the nearby asura and slammed it to the ground. It then savagely pummeled the asura repeatedly to unleash all its frustration and pain while still burning with white flame.
The violent beating finally killed the asura, but the archdemon's HP was also down to near critical, and the white flame was not out yet. Jack added damage by firing ranged spells from afar.
Suddenly, the archdemon clutched its chest. It was already in pain due to the white flame, but this ache in the chest seemed to bother it more.
A twisting dark light pierced out of the chest it was clutching. This dark light continued to seep out. The dark light pouring out intensified and soon it was as if hundreds of bats flew out of the archdemon's chest.
These bats converged above and formed the shape of a man. Arlcard reappeared again!
The archdemon received heavy damage to both its body and mind, causing it to lose its grip on the demonic devour skill. Arlcard used the chance to force his way out then.
Arlcard swung his rapier down. Multiple spears made of shadow impaled the various part of the archdemon's body. The white flame from Jack's rune technique finally died down, but the archdemon's HP was already critical. Its body was also returning to its original appearance. Its demonization skill had ended.
"It is dying! Keep up the pressure!" Jack yelled.
Jack used ranged attacks since his beast form and most of his buff skills are in cooldown. Only Arlcard could contend with the archdemon in melee.
The archdemon also realized its situation. If it didn't flee, it could die!
The archdemon couldn't believe this bunch of people could threaten its life. If only it didn't get hit by that suppression crystal. But it was too late for regret. What's important was preserving its life. It would take its revenge another day.
Seeing that the archdemon almost died, Arlcard pressed harder. He forewent defense and focused on offense all the way. Even Jonathan took the risk and joined the melee.
The archdemon's body made a quick spin, its' large bat wings created a flaming whirlwind that forced Arlcard and Jonathan's back. The two bat wings then surprisingly detached from the archdemon's body.
The two large wings formed a round shell around the archdemon, blocking all incoming attacks. It then flew toward the portal.
"It wants to flee. Stop it!" Jack shouted.
However, all the attacks only harmed the wing shell. The archdemon's HP bar didn't decrease. The HP bar was already very low. One high-damage attack should be enough.
"That is its last resort skill. It sacrificed its wings to provide a very strong protective shell," Peniel informed.
"Don't think your autotomy can save you!" Jack uttered and cast Myriad Venomous Vipers.
The fifteen large snakes tried coiling around the shell and stopping its movement, but they were warded off every time they approached. Arlcard also used Shadow Lock but his skill similarly couldn't stop the wing shell's advance.
"It's useless. It is immune to movement restriction in that state," Peniel said.
The wing shell was close to the crimson portal already. If it entered the portal, it is scot-free. Even with Jack's reckless nature, he won't jump into the portal just to score a kill on this archdemon.
While everyone thought that the archdemon would escape, Jack remembered his unique grade sword skill, Peerless Slash. This skill hit the enemy from afar and completely ignored defense.
Luckily, he had set this Peerless Slash as one of his Storm Breaker's abilities. He accessed his sword and executed the skill. He aimed it right at the center of the fleeing wing shell.
A simple flash of light in the shape of a straight line cut through the wing shell.
Different than before, the archdemon's thin HP bar was shaved following the flash. The wing shell stopped in mid-air. The shell then broke into two, revealing the archdemon. The archdemon and its wings dropped to the ground. They then disintegrated into red dust.
"Yes!!" Jack exclaimed. Jonathan and the others joined him in cheering the victory. Arlcard didn't show any emotion.
The exp from the kill pushed everyone's level up except for Dimitri. He didn't have the outworlder's benefit of fast leveling. But since the archdemon had been suppressed when it was killed, the exp was not as high as if they killed the archdemon in its eternal-grade form.
Jack's Brave Swordsmaster and Time Sage both increased by one level into level 65 and 64 respectively. Arlcard and Duke Alfredo increased by one level to level 67 and 71. Jonathan increased by three levels to level 55.
Several items were on the ground where the archdemon used to be. Jack had used his Runestone of Luck when he executed the Peerless Slash.
When Jack wanted to check the items, Peniel warned him, "Hurry up with the artifact! With the archdemon gone, the vacant corrupted mana will allow other demons to enter."
Hearing that, Jack hurriedly scooped up all the loots without bothering to study them. He immediately went to one of the light pillars beside the portal. The others took their positions in front of the portal, ready to unleash hell if any demons came out.
Jack looked inside the light pillar. The light prevented him to see clearly what artifact was inside, but he could make out the shape of a round object. He guessed this light pillar contained the Boundless Cache.
He went to the other one. The shadow inside this light pillar showed a rectangular object. This should be the Totem Banner.
Jack placed his hand on the light pillar. As he did, he sensed the light intensify and went into him. He felt the light course through his body, checking him, identifying him. Then he felt it leave his body. The light then vanished. In front of Jack was a war flag.
The rectangular banner was fixed atop a long pole. The banner had a drawing that resembled an orcish face. The drawing was surrounded by many runic inscriptions that seemed to glow occasionally.
*
Totem Banner (Legendary Artifact)
Grant power to 10 war banners.
Each banner provides +100% attributes, +50% movement speed, +10% damage, and +20% damage reduction to all allied soldiers within a 1000-meter radius
Each banner gives HP recovery to all allied soldiers in relation to their vicinity. Maximum of 100 HP/second for allies standing next to the banner, and a minimum of 1 HP/second for allies standing 500 meters away.
Restriction: Only effective if owned by a country's ruler
