The lich recovered as quickly as its skeletal frame could muster, which was not even as fast as Ceph. Still, it scrambled to its feet quicker than Eldrian would have been able, stopping the followup attack from the dwarf with multiple barrier. A number of which shattered with the single strike.


    "It is not honorable to attack one who is unprepared." The lich huffed, dusting its robes as it as it scouted for the source of magic preventing it from teleporting away.


    "I thought you said you would end the fight in one hit." Said the source, Duke Vicar.


    He appeared in a full set of mithril steel. His appearance seemed to beckon him a knight, but his primary focus was magic. As told by the staff in his hands. He had gone to recover it from Sofiera, who had been drained of all her mana to deflect the exploding boulders.


    As such, the strongest defensive ability of the staff was on cooldown. But with Hrothgar here, the duke did not need to worry. It would be a miracle if the lich escaped from the abyssal armored dwarf. The armor wasn''t the stuff of legends for nothing.


    Still, it was imperative that the duke prevented the lich from teleporting away. Hrothgar was absolutely terrible in magic, even the armor could not cover this ring w of his.


    Luckily, while the lich was better at magic than the duke, it had to fight to stay alive. Most of its focus was thus to keep Hrothgar''s axe from its skeletal frame.


    "Yeah, sorry about that." Hrothgar replied, bringing his axe to bear once again. Ripping through the barriers the lich ced in its way, after the fifth, the axe came to a standstill.


    Ss the Hrothgar moved to pull it back to swing again, the lich entrapped it with a mix of dark and ether magic. His spells took on the form of grasping hands, pulling at both the axe and Hrothgar.


    "Humph!" With a snort, Hrothgar pulled his axe free. Ripping the spell to shreds as he attacked again.


    ''Is he a monster?!'' The lich questioned, unable to believe the strength behind the dwarf''s attacks. Realizing it was impossible to subdue the dwarf, it tried to attack the seemingly defenseless duke.


    Only to find its spells quickly dispelled. Only able to put so much focus into them, lest he be cut asunder by the dwarf''s dark axe, the lich found itself cornered like never before.


    ''If they had this much strength, what was the point of letting the siege drag!?'' The lich cried. While the duke had shown himself before, and he was the very reason the lich had been careful till now, the dwarf hade out of nowhere.


    The lich had been prepared to deal with the duke. It knew it would need to if it wanted to win the battle. But this dwarf. He was a massive problem. And being caught off guard had thrown all the lich''s ns into the air.


    ''Where they buying time? Or was there something more to it?'' The lich pondered as it used vast quantities of mana to keep itself alive.


    Its thoughts, however, were not helping it one bit. When the ridiculous idea that they had used his undead to train their soldiers entered the lich''s head, it finally snapped.


    "Don''t underestimate me!" It shouted, sending a massive shockwave of mana through the area. It did nothing to the two it faced. Every single undead the shockwave reached, however, copsed like puppets whose strings have been cut.


    ''It''s gathering the curses... and perhaps the souls?'' The duke pondered, fearful what the shockwave might do to the living once it reached them. It had rattled him, but his defenses had prevented it from doing much more.


    Unfortunately, the duke could not stop the shockwave without letting his guard slip, which was likely what the lich wanted. Hoping it would not be capable of killing many, the duke joined the attack. Not wishing to give the lich more time to use its dark magic.


    That seemed to be the right call as a dark miasma started to gather. Like a curse being given life, it smoldered and formed a cloud of hatred above the battlefield. Its presence gave both the duke and Hrothgar a terrible feeling.


    They knew not what it was, but only that it was dangerous. Their instincts as battle veterans screamed this through their spines.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "This is why I hate the undead." Hrothgar mumbled, readying his next strike. His axe shining with a golden hue, hiding the dark metal below as it glowed, as if blessed by an angle.


    Sensing that the hit would kill it, the lich could not wait for the miasma to fully form. Taking flight, as clumsy as it was, thanks to the duke''s interference. The lich opened some space, which it filled with barriers and all manner of spells. Hoping only to buy the time it needed for the miasma to reach the dwarf.


    However, it never expected a random sword toe flying at it. Its entire focus was on the dwarf and duke. The sword came from its blind spot and robbed it of its right arm and the staff it held. Desperate, the lich moved to catch it, only to find the gleaming axe bearing into its skull.


    A searing hell poured into its very soul. Tearing it to shreds, the enchantment on the axe was no mere light magic. It was of the divine element, and it tore through the lich''s very being.


    Its world turned white as its mind was torn asunder by the enchantment. Even its escape in its phctery was not possible. The attack tore through its very soul. Annihting it on the spot.


    So thorough was the annihtion, that the lich''s lifeforce did not even dissipate. It had been incinerated on the spot. Leaving not a single speck of the lich''s life behind.


    The same held true for its bones and robe. The only thing it left behind was its staff and ring.


    —


    "You really had to get involved, didn''t you?" Elizabeth asked, hunched over, nearly copsed. The fight had onlysted a few seconds, but that had left her beyond tired. She felt like she was going to faint.


    "Of course I had to. For Two." Eldrian replied, looking at the XP notification with great relief. He, too, had been fearful of the growing miasmic cloud. It still seemed dangerous, but at least it was no longer moving with purpose.


    The lich was perhaps not the one to kill Two, but Eldrian had dearly wanted to have a hand in its demise.


    The loneliness wouldn''t go away from this, but he finally felt like had truly avenged Two. While Eldrian would have loved to have done it on his own, there was no way he could have managed that. Not even a Mov Crystal ignited through wrath had killed it.


    The XP reward was insane. And with it came a handy title that made Eldrian truly feel like had contributed.


    [Lich, Eqox killed. Kill contribution reward: 34B XP]


    [Congrattions, you have reached level 46]


    [Title: Lich yer, acquired.]


    [Title: Curse Breaker, Devil''s Bane, and Lich yer have been acquired. Prerequisites met to upgrade Title: Hero.]


    [Title: Hero, upgraded.]


    [Title: Iroas gained.]