I'm so sorry, Javier.
Bite! Lloyd bit his lips tightly and strengthened his resolve, barely managing to lift his body.
Ugh.
Simply standing up on his two legs from the ground gave the estate developer excruciating pain in all of his joints and muscle cells, as though he had just rolled down the stairs at least three stories tall.
But this is the only way. I should have resorted to this method from the start.
Lloyd regretted the false hope he had despite having seen the future through the Jewel of Truth, for causing his allies to sustain major to minor injuries.
"Everyone..."
He stepped forward and saw another meteorite bombardment along with the flash. The ground exploded, sending Arosh flying unconsciously in the air. Elf Moira also got swept away by the explosion and let go of her bow, and the queen rolled on the ground before losing consciousness while trying to avoid the attack. Raphael's shield broke, and Sir Giolexius's body was destroyed from the waist down. Yong Yong had lost both of its wings while protecting Bibeong, who was too huge and thus vulnerable. The gigantic beaver also got knocked out in the process.
Everyone...
Lloyd was truly sorry. He had hoped for an ending in which everyone could laugh together, but it seemed that it was unlikely. There was no other way now.
"Your Demonic Majesty!" Lloyd took a deep breath and shouted, causing the king of hell to pause and glance at him. "I think we can still talk this over!"
"Talk?"
"Yeah!"
"What's there to talk about?"
The king of hell tilted his head, still glaring at Lloyd through freakish eyes. It wasn't a friendly look by any means.
Obviously.
After all, Lloyd had grabbed his attention with words, while asking Javier to unleash a surprise attack before. The estate developer tried to appear truly apologetic about the incident that gave rise to the distrust.
"It looks like I was mistaken!"
"Mistaken?"
"Yeah! I think I realize it now!"
Lloyd shouted out and took another step forward, reducing the distance between him and the king of hell slowly but surely as he continued to work his lips.
"Remember the employment contract I mentioned before? Would you be so kind as to draft one?"
"Employment contract? What difference does a piece of paper make?"
"A whole lot," replied Lloyd. He was being truthful. "First of all, that would make me genuinely grateful and passionate about the service I provide."
"Genuinely grateful and passionate... But I don't see the point."
"Huh?"
"Because I can just kill you."
"But forcing me to do something would make me do half-assed jobs."
"It doesn't matter."
"Why not?"
"Because I can boss around any citizen of the underworld, regardless of that creature's will. I can assume control over your mind and your soul and make you provide labor wholeheartedly."
“...”
"And that's probably the easiest for me. Why would I draft an employment contract for someone I can order around like a faithful slave with a simple gesture of my hands?"
"Holy..."
Lloyd realized the king of hell wasn't an easy foe to persuade; he was intent on just killing Lloyd. The estate developer slightly regretted having agitated him with sharp words before and put on the most benevolent smile he could and added.
"But please reconsider and think from a different perspective, Your Evil Majesty."
"What's there to think about?"
"Think of what kind of difference someone like me would make if I genuinely provided the services from the bottom of my heart."
"Hmm."
"There surely will be a difference between the work by a soulless slave and that by someone truly motivated to do his absolute best. Don't you think?"
"Hmm."
"That's why I ask you to draft me the employment contract."
"And you would swear fealty to me?"
"Well..."
"I'm listening."
"That depends on the terms and conditions."
"How dare you try to negotiate the terms with me!"
"But that's the purpose of the employment contract, milord."
Lloyd's smile became even kinder as he continued moving towards the adversary, enduring the dirty looks with the back of his head. Angel of Thrones Raphael and Sir Giolexius, both of whom were most definitely incapacitated, were staring at him in disbelief.
Please don't tell me you're going to betray us.
Lloyd kept the bitter laughter from leaking out. He was truly sorry and felt bad for having to resort to this method, after the faith his comrades had displayed by accompanying him here.
I am truly sorry, everyone.
The estate developer held the bitterness inside and maintained the business-like smile on the surface, sucking up to the king of hell like a salesperson meeting with his richest client.
"That's why I ask. I'm sure we can come to an agreement on terms and conditions to both parties' satisfaction, as long as we discuss it and make compromises here and there. And that would motivate me to provide the best service I can possibly offer anyone. Oh, and please take a look at this."
Lloyd reached out to his inner pocket and took out a few pieces of documents, which he had prepared just in case.
"What's this?"
"These are sample employment contracts in case you'd like to refer to them."
"Sample to refer to?"
"Yeah."
Lloyd quickly handed the documents over, giving the king of hell no time to think about it. The freakish lord inadvertently took the documents and tried to unfold the folded documents, but he couldn't.
Thwoosh!
Lloyd's shovel had smacked the king of hell on the side of his face, caving in a part of the skull. King of hell faltered to the side as Lloyd shouted out furiously.
"Sample for reference my ass! This is what it entails!"
Thump! Bang! Thwoosh!
The shovel danced along to the gruesome melody of violence. The sample documents flew in the air, but there was nothing written on them; they were all blank. Lloyd's eyes lit up.
Good. It's going as planned.
Lloyd tightened his grip on the shovel, knowing he couldn't give the king of hell a moment. He had to continue attacking his adversary when he had a chance. Knowing this, he swung his shovel in various directions to smack the enemy's legs, waist, head, calf, and waist again.
Thump! Kabam! Bang! Whack! Slam!
Lloyd smashed the foe's head with his shovel, whacked him with the handle, slashed him with his aura, and swept him with the mana blast. But that wasn't the entirety of Lloyd's attacks.
These won't work anyway.
The king of hell had withstood the flurry of attacks by all of Lloyd's comrades and even came back from Javier's slash that had shredded him apart to pieces. The estate developer knew.
My attacks won't even itch.
He knew it was ineffective but still carried on because it was a necessary step leading to the next. He strengthened his resolve and continued more intensely, keeping one eye on the king of hell's wand as well as the colossal sickle that the enemy had drawn. And the wand moved.
Now!
Ding-dong!
[Warning: Danger!]
[Skill Option 7: Urgent Foresight is activated.]
[Your body temperature increases by 2°F due to the effect of the relic Eye of the Summer.]
Whoosh!
Lloyd's mana heart automatically extended the mana without Lloyd's intent as the relic Eye of the Summer's effect was triggered. His body became hot and he saw five seconds into the future.
This way!
Lloyd shot out the mana blast towards his feet as soon as he saw the foresight.
Blast!
The beam of mana forced Lloyd's body upward from the impact, shortly before the flash in the sky followed by the meteorite bombardment.
Kaboom!
Meteorite was the size of a baseball, but the speed of Mach 25 was devastating enough to rattle the ground amidst screeching noises and shockwaves. Lloyd had lifted his body in the air but still wasn't able to avoid it entirely.
"Urgh...!"
His body flew up even higher from the explosion despite the attempt to get out of the scope.
[Warning: The effectiveness of your Mana Heart and Mana Circle is reduced by 40%.]
Argh...!
Lloyd wondered if the piece of meat being pounded by the hammer would feel this way as red warning messages continued to pop up.
[You have sustained damage both physically and spiritually.]
[Should you take similar hits like this 1 more time, you will lose 60% of your Mana Heart and Mana Circle capacity and enter into a state of severe disarray.]
[Should you take similar hits like this 2 more times...]
Ugh.
Lloyd couldn't tell if he was nauseous because he was being flown back or because he had sustained a significant blow. He felt his mana heart and circle swirl around rapidly, but couldn't even land on the ground as the king of hell had charged forth even before Lloyd's inadvertent, deadly flight could end.
Ding-dong!
[Warning: Danger!]
[Skill Option 7: Urgent Foresight is activated.]
[Your body temperature increases by 2°F due to the effect of the relic Eye of the Summer.]
Whoosh!
It became even hotter. Lloyd saw five seconds into the future again amid severe migraines, as it suggested the horizontal swing of the colossal sickle beheading the estate developer. Lloyd quickly turned his body in time.
Sping!
Ouch!
The sickle scraped his ear. Lloyd felt severe heat in the affected area as he saw the drops of blood in the air, slightly obstructing his view of the new red warning message.
[Warning: The effectiveness of your Mana Heart and Mana Circle is reduced by 60%.]
[You have sustained damage both physically and spiritually.]
[You enter a state of severe disarray.]
Urgh...!
Lloyd fell to the ground without a chance to respond. He couldn't breathe normally, not from the physical pain but from the extreme fear that overwhelmed his body and soul. It was as if he had just been thrown into the endless pit of the abyss, and as if he was all alone in the dark galaxy without a single star in sight.
Huff. Huff. Gasp!
He couldn't breathe properly. The breath became uncontrollably fast, subtle, then fast again. It didn't even reach his lungs and lingered around his lips. It grew faster before the oxygen was depleted and the light surrounding him faded away. He was all alone. He was out of breath. He was desperate.
Please.
And he couldn't breathe. The air surrounding him was like invisible walls closing in on him from all directions. They approached with intense pressure and were going to squish him and laugh out loud like the king of hell.
Ugh... Huh!
It was painful. The sliced ear and the profuse bleeding, the tough breath, and the overwhelming terror that dominated him were all so excruciatingly agonizing. Lloyd crawled on the ground like a caterpillar as the king of hell approached, holding a wand in one hand and a sickle in the other. Lloyd momentarily wondered with which weapon the enemy was going to kill him. The estate developer fought off the fear combined with curiosity and tried his absolute best to continue breathing, mustering his energy to speak again.
"...Huff. Huh. Huff. Ugh. Is that... it? Huff... Pathetic... You suck... Meteorite... so small... Huff. Ugh..."
It was still all going according to the plan. Lloyd knew he had to just keep provoking him this way, enduring the immense fear, fright, despair, and torment. His perseverance was going to pay off soon. Lloyd had faith and strengthened his resolve once again. He endeavored to breathe and talk, trying to agitate the king of hell.
"...Huff. Ugh. Huff. I know... you're a loser... Huff. You can't... huff, huff... unleash a bigger one... huff... because... you're scared... you'd get swept away too... huff, huff. Coward."
Lloyd spoke what came to his mind. He had suspected that the king of hell only unleashed small meteorites several times instead of summoning multiple huge ones to slay everyone at once.
He probably did that because, although he's invincible against our attacks, he's actually vulnerable against his own.
Lloyd was about to lose himself from it all but barely managed to keep himself together and took a glance at the king of hell's face.
Nailed it.
He was spot on. The withered-up facial expression was most certainly that of someone whose secrets had just been exposed. Lloyd knew for sure the moment he saw it.
Good.
The outcome foretold by the Jewel of Truth was right around the corner. The grand finale of this massive battle was approaching. The moment of triumphant smile was certainly coming. It was scary, frightening, and improbable, yet enjoyable. Lloyd stared at the king of hell in the eyes as the lich lifted his sickle. He thought of how to respond to the attack in his head and acted on it immediately.
With my back.
Lloyd had to take the hit with his back. He had to turn around now.
Please.
Lloyd mustered the remainder of his energy, but still couldn't move. Simply getting up and facing down again was an impossible task at the moment. He struggled, as the sickle fell on his head.
Whoosh!
Freakish noise took over as the animosity filled the air.
Please...!
There was just one more thing Lloyd had to do. He couldn't die like this. Not after all this.
Ugh... Argh!
But he had failed. Lloyd closed his eyes, realizing all of his efforts were in vain now.
Clink! Slash!
Sudden clinking noises of metal followed by a peculiar sound graced Lloyd's ears. Warm liquid was splattered on Lloyd's face. The noise hadn't come from his body, nor did the blood. Lloyd opened his eyes and saw the unbelievable.
"...Javier?"
Javier had rushed to his side and was standing in front of Lloyd with his shoulder pierced by the sickle. He slightly turned his head and smiled.
"I am so sorry, Master Lloyd."
