Damien didn't wait to jump back into combat.
He took the Twin Moons out for larger blasts, and even without them Vector Controller was originally a ranged class.
His ability to manipulate vectors was best put to use supporting the girls. He messed with the vectors of the Ghost King's attacks and empowered theirs, making the battle completely advantageous for them.
The only ones not doing any work were Bertram, who was useless in this situation, and Virgil's group, who could only watch in awe.
"Say, Diana, could you ever show this much power at 2nd class?" Marcus asked incredulously.
"Don't even joke about it. They're bonafide 3rd class practitioners with that kind of firepower," Diana responded wryly.
"Who the hell are they?"
Virgil asked the question everyone in their group was wondering about as the battle continued.
Even they were able to understand the Ghost King's mechanics over time.
Whenever he took large damage, he responded with a mana wave, which was followed by a sweeping physical attack. Whenever he wanted to make an attack, there was always a cue that could be traced.
For instance, if he stomped his feet, he would send mana through the ground and leave his torso open. If he raised his staff, he was planning to use larger mana-based attacks, but he would leave his back unguarded.
There were so many openings in his behavior that it was almost embarrassing that they couldn't spill blood, but it was because they couldn't spill blood that they couldn't find these openings in the first place!
Nevertheless, the battle went on for minutes on end.
Rose and Ruyue mostly stayed out of the Ghost King's reach and barraged it with attacks that hindered his movement and perception, while Zara and Elena stayed within his circle and worsened any wounds he'd already taken.
Damien's wounds healed after a few minutes of ranged combat, and he also joined them at the forefront, using Vector Control and spatial manipulation to harass the enemy and create new wounds on his body.
Their synergy was perfect. Without a single word exchanged between them, they understood their comrades' moves and thoughts with absolute precision and acted upon them without reservation.
A well-oiled machine? No, even something like that didn't work as seamlessly as they did.
Before anyone realized it, the Ghost King's armored skin had been ripped to pieces and most of his decaying muscles were displayed to the world. He had countless deep wounds on his chest and back, and blue blood oozed from several locations, dripping to the ground and forming a deep puddle.
Grrrrrr…
The Ghost King let out a barely discernible growl as he withstood the onslaught.
"Mortals. Good. Warriors."
"King. Must. Fight!"
VOOOOOOM!
Deep red mana covers the Ghost King's body in an aura of slaughter.
He raised his arm, disadvantaging himself and giving Damien the chance to bore another hole in his torso.
But he didn't care.
Grip!
His large hand gripped the hilt of his cleaver and unsheathed it from his back.
"Warriors. Fight!"
SHIIIIIING!
It was instant, terrifyingly fast.
The cleaver cut through space, whipping furious winds into the air.
And the mana emitted from its blade obliterated everything in its path.
"Dodge!" Damien roared.
His danger senses were ringing. Even he couldn't take this attack!
He grabbed Elena, who was directly to his side, and teleported several tens of meters away. Zara used shadow teleportation to follow them, while Rose and Ruyue also pushed away with all their strength!
The cleaver light cut through 50 meters of earth, turning it into a massive crevice within the crevice. The brutal mana it held exploded through the atmosphere, turning everything within that radius to dust.
"This is…the second phase?!" Damien exclaimed.
Wasn't this too exaggerated of a transformation?!
"Old boy, we ain't come here to fight that thing! Let's escape!"
Bertram's voice suddenly boomed in his ear, making him turn around.
Right, since when was it necessary to defeat the Ghost King?
The other option was an army of infinite undead, but dealing with that was easier than dealing with a boss that could one-shot them!
"Great! Let's run!"
There was no need to be reckless right now.
Damien and the girls instantly bolted, picking Bertram up along the way and dashing out of the black light barrier that denoted the Ghost King's Lair.
The undead horde surrounded them immediately, but unlike what they expected, they didn't immediately get swarmed.
The few tens of undead nearby attacked, but once they cleared them, those outside a 20-foot range didn't approach.
"Haha, that's it!" Bertram exclaimed.
"The Ghostly Wind retreated so the undead won't attack so crazily, but it won't last 'cause you offended the Ghost King! We're gonna move fast!"
He zoomed forward with such speed outputted from his tiny legs that it could only be described as "skedaddling."
Damien and the girls rapidly chased after him, and as he said, they only had to clear the undead in their vicinity to be safe. They no longer had to abuse supplements to make it through!
At least, for a minute.
ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAR!
"MORTALS! DIE!"
A booming bellow echoed through the entire Ghost King's Crevice, bouncing off the walls and spreading killing intent into every inch of its space.
Brutal rage seeped into the bones and spirits of every Netherworld creature in the ravine.
Their auras flared, their eyes were dyed red in frenzy, and they attacked without mercy.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
RAAAAAAAAAAAH!
SKREEEEEEEEEEEE!
The ear-piercing sounds of these undead entering true a berserk state were deafening, and the effects were even clearer.
They didn't attack randomly. Every undead under the Ghost King's control attacked Damien's group specifically, even those hundreds of meters away!
"Go, go, go!" Bertram yelled as he pushed through the army.
"We're almost there!"
They moved and moved and moved. They abused their elixirs again and abused their heightening understanding of their abilities to counter the endless waves as best as they could.
It was suffocating.
They'd felt it so many times since they got here that it was becoming annoying; their own weakness, that is.
Even after realizing they underestimated the Severed World, they still underestimated the Severed World.
Every single second they spent here was a miniature apocalypse!
Damien lost track of time. His body moved like a machine, pushing forward thoughtlessly.
Skeletons, ghouls, spirits, liches, and any other undead that approached faded into a mosaic of enemies that needed to die.
And time passed in this numb state of constant action.
It was no more than 3 minutes in reality, but it felt like tens of eternities for them.
Until finally…
"Puah!"
Bertram let out a strong exhale.
The fog cleared.
In front of the group was another cliff wall, high enough to fade into the horizon when they turned their heads up to look at it.
Their feet unconsciously took them forward until they entered a cave in its surface, and the threat of Human-Faced Spiders started to seem insignificant.
There were only around a hundred of them in the cave, and once they were dealt with, it would take time for more spiders to fill their vacancy.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of undead crowded the cave entrance, craving the deaths of its inhabitants but unable to enter it.
Because no matter how enraged the Ghost King was, he couldn't anger the leader of the Human-Faced Spiders when he was so wounded.
Scaling the cliff was the easiest part with Bertram's expertise and equipment, which meant…
"Our time in this hellish valley has finally come to an end."
Damien's relieved sigh spoke for them all.
