We Are A Family

"...Wow."

Rather than being floundered by the hellfire that took down the Draugr with unparalleled destructive power, Klaus's attention was elsewhere at that time. He took a glance at Viktoria, who watched the spectacle with much sagacity. Did they win the fight?

"...It's not over yet," said Klaus as he conjured his neon green blade and silver dagger—the loot he'd accrued from his previous fights.

As someone who had gambled his life on the line, Klaus knew how obstinate Draugrs were regarding their pursuit of bloodshed. They wouldn't breathe out their last until they had exhausted every fiber of their being to fulfill it.

"..." The Keeper, Viktoria, caught onto Klaus's unease when they held each other's gaze. She willed her Oubliette and increased the intensity of her hellfire as much as she could while keeping an eye on Klaus. If her Oubliette produced too much heat, then it would affect that human boy and perhaps the Dimension itself. She should be delicate in handling this double-edged weapon of hers, or else it would turn to harm her as a result.

Anyway, from how Klaus interpreted Viktoria's Oubliette, the flames could shift form, mainly into a blade that was roughly 2/3 of her overall height. She could somewhat "unravel" the linkage of her intangible weapon and unleash its turbulent, unbridled power towards her enemy—like what she did to that Draugr.

It sent shivers down his spine when an image of him being burned by that same hellfire flitted into his mind.

That kind of death would be quite a painful way to go out, no doubt.

"...I'll lose here?"

"!?" Klaus jolted into focus when he heard a low voice coming out of the inferno. That creature was still alive despite its pathetic state? Unbelievable.

He could only conclude that the Draugr was already entering its "resurrected state".

"Aaaaaaaaaarghhh!" An ear-splitting roar shook the library for a few seconds, and during that time, the Draugr rose to its feet from its own ashes—like a phoenix being reborn into this world.

Its body had undoubtedly grown twice as large, and naturally, its bulging muscles matched its new appearance. Unlike when it was clad in black armor, the Draugr languidly standing before him had its human-like body exposed from the waist up.

The temperature around it was dropping. Somehow, the faint mist exuded by the creature managed to calm the raging hellfire. Both Viktoria and Klaus balked at the feat. How strong had the Draugr become that it could walk away from the flames like nothing?

It was as if the creature was immune to fire.

"...No, could it be that its ability has transcended? Before, its ability allows itself to grow stronger physically, but now perhaps it also increases its resilience to attacks of any nature?" Viktoria said.

Klaus heard her curt soliloquy and breathed an exasperated sigh. He thought of a few solutions to this predicament, but none could raise their chances of winning. Even the most favorable plan he stuck with at the end didn't seem realistic, since it would require both him and Viktoria to execute near-impossible actions.

The said plan was to hold the Draugr so that he wouldn't move and hit it with everything they got. Strictly speaking, one of them had to restrain that giant creature while the other focused on attacking until his or her attacks got through and defeated it. Of course, these two separate actions required herculean strength, and neither Klaus nor Viktoria had the means to do it.

Viktoria's Oubliette had proved to be the most effective method to harm the Draugr before. However, that same instrument of destruction had no effect whatsoever on the Draugr in its resurrected state.

Klaus scrolled through other options available to them, but it all boiled down to the same principle.

Strike the enemy with an attack powerful enough to destroy it.

Such a simple core to their plan, and yet, they were powerless to execute just that.

What could they do to emerge victorious?

"!" Klaus took a few steps back as soon as the Draugr shifted its attention towards him. Its helmet no longer adorned its head; however, a crude steel mask had embedded itself into the creature's face instead. The only portion of its face that was not covered was its yellow teeth, as it maintained its grin in place.

A conspicuous grin. One that reached its sunken pale cheeks.

No doubt, the Draugr felt complete confidence in crushing its opponents now that it was somewhat resistant to Viktoria's Oubliette—the only weapon that took it down in one fell swoop minutes ago.

Vroom!

"!!!" Klaus jerked its head and avoided a swipe from the Draugr's right hand by a hair's breadth. His heart began to pump blood faster in a desperate attempt to raise his acuity. He took a few steps backs out of instinct and raised both arms in front of his face.

"Urghh!" Without missing a beat, the Draugr followed its previous attack with an attempt to slam Klaus's head into the wall with one hand—but he stopped it with his bladed weapons. His sword and dagger had formed a cross, their blade dug deep into the creature's flesh.

Still, when it came to pure strength, the Draugr came out on top in this aspect with a clear disparity.

The creature's grin widened ever so slightly.

It exerted more strength and channeled its raw energy through its right arm. Klaus gritted his teeth as his muscles cried for him to give up—he had not even an iota of hope to match the Draugr's strength.

Then, he heard a heart-sinking crack. His arms' weight turned featherlight, and a moment later, his whole body crashed into the wall behind him. He let out a gasp, the air inside his lungs were forced out without mercy. A few of his ribs snapped, and an indescribable pain gripped his body to the point where he could feel his consciousness fading.

"...Pity. I thought you can put up more resistant than this," said the Draugr. "Did I expect too much? Perhaps I did."