Jisung's head suddenly snapped over to Amon, gaze locked onto the man as his body resisted and tried to do otherwise.
"Minjae!" Hyunwoo called out.
The boy dropped beside him, grabbing Minjae by the shoulder and helping him stand. "What the hell just happened? I thought you were a goner!"
Minjae coughed, wiping the blood from his mouth as he forced himself upright.
"…Boss mechanic."
Hyunwoo blinked. "What?"
Minjae's eyes stayed on Jisung, confirming that he'd been hit with the skill before he loosened his shoulders.
"False Judgement."
"Well, what does it do? And why can't he attack you?!" Hyunwoo asked, helping Minjae gain some distance.
"It forces the target into 'Confession', essentially locking you into a 1v1 with the boss until either one of you dies or the target breaks out."
"In this case, Jisung would probably just break out of it with his Mana. It'll take a while, though."
Yet, even as the words came out of his mouth, a part of his brain couldn't help finding out why.
I guess even a fake priest would still hear confessions. He probably did back in his own world, when he was still alive.
But why go through all that trouble to play pretend, only to consume them anyway? Hell, why even rise to the rank of a Bishop at all?
Minjae shook his head, snapping out of the thought. There were much more important matters to tend to.
With the help of Hyunwoo, they barely managed to regroup with Ara and Jiwon, both hurt but still in fighting condition.
All the while the cathedral rumbled, sounds of battle waged on in the background. The monster raised both its longsword and mace, trying to pincer Jisung. But effortlessly, he deflected the attack before delivering a thrust of his own.
It caught onto the monster's gigantic body, dropping the HP bar to around 90%. Jisung clicked his tongue and continued his onslaught of attacks.
Meanwhile, Group 7 had taken the opportunity to regroup. The two girls that got knocked to the side had crowded around the limping Minjae.
"Minjae—!" Ara yelled, running over and pulling his other hand over her shoulder to help him walk.
"Ara…let me…borrow the necklace…again."
"Oh, right."
She didn't waste a second, pulling the necklace off and slipping it over Minjae's head. As soon as it clicked into place, the healing effect took place.
[HP: 12% → 14%]
Thank god we hit the Crypts first thing in…The Life Drop Necklace is such a lifesaver.
"Alright, listen up," Minjae exhaled slowly. "That prick's occupied with the boss for now—I've got a new plan."
Ara frowned. "We're still fighting him, right?"
"No," Minjae said immediately. "We need to keep him inside 'False Judgement' for as long as possible. It's critical that he does enough damage to the boss to move him to second phase."
Minjae's eyes flicked toward Jisung, watching him deflect another of Amon's strikes.
"So here's the plan," he continued. "I want all of you to team up with the boss and try to pester him as much as possible."
"What?!" Hyunwoo exclaimed. "You want us to do it? How? Wouldn't we just get squashed like a bug if we get into the boss' path?"
Minjae shook his head. "No, while under 'False Judgement', Amon won't target any of you and only go for Jisung. However, you can still get hit by stray attacks, so be careful."
The three of them looked at each other, clearly hesitant of their own capabilities. And for a second, Minjae was too…
Shit… I forgot that they're high school kids with no experience. Maybe it should be me who distracts…
No, my HP is too low…and none of them are fast enough to execute the combo and confirm the kill after the stunlock…
"I'll do it."
Minjae's head turned toward the voice. It was Jiwon's.
Her shoulders trembled so much that he could mistake it for the shaking ground. But still…she spoke out.
"…If this is what it takes…to be a Battle Arena Player…"
She tightened her grip on her dagger, standing up straight.
"Then I'll do it."
Hearing the declaration, Ara let out a short breath through her nose before speaking up as well. "Yeah! If you're in, I'm in too! Let's all beat this prick!"
Hyunwoo looked between the two of them, clearly panicking for a split second—
"…Y-You guys are insane."
Yet, the boy swallowed his doubts. "Fine…if we're doing this, we're doing it!"
"Tch…you kids," Minjae clicked his tongue. But despite himself, a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"...Good. Then move."
Jiwon was the first to act. She shot straight forward, slipping into Jisung's blind spot just as Amon's mace came crashing down from the opposite side.
BOOM!
Jisung twisted, deflecting the strike, but his timing was off. The window of time was just enough for Jiwon to plunge her dagger into his side. Due to the difference between his Endurance and her Strength, the attack didn't do much, but it was enough to distract him.
Jisung turned, yet Jiwon was already nowhere to be seen. Instead, it was Park Ara, who flew at max speed with her 'Dive Burst' straight into his block, causing him to lose his footing and forcing him onto the back foot
CLANG!
Yet with a twist of his blade, Jisung pushed Ara's blade off. But before he could follow up, an arrow whistled from across the air, embedding itself into his back shoulder.
"Tch…" he clicked his tongue, but could do nothing more as the barrage of attacks continued.
Meanwhile, Minjae was already behind the boss, biding his time and regenerating his HP using the necklace. He watched everything with clarity, looking at their pattern of attack.
Nice, keep going with that! He can't get them all because 'Soft Steps' is on cooldown…
Jiwon darted in from the side, followed by Park Ara from the front, and Hyunwoo shooting arrows into his back.
And throughout it all, Amon never stopped attacking Jisung. Gigantic fireballs formed from the tiny flame from within his lantern, crashing into the ground.
Jisung barely managed to dodge one, the force of the impact so strong that it was enough to leave a crater on the floor.
The Ace of Blue Comet's HP dropped lower and lower, until it eventually hit 50%.
But that was when the pressure in the air changed. Minjae's eyes widened as he could see the faint white light, enveloping Jisung's form…the telltale sign that a skill had gone off cooldown.
"Shit—pull back! Now! He's gonna activate his skill!" Minjae said in the voice comms.
But it was too late.
"Enough."