Cinematic Battle
[FinkLloyd has been slain.]
-32
Markus started coughing up blood. Although the bolt didn't penetrate his upper torso, the impact caused damage throughout his body. If not for the increase in health from the soul fragments, he would've died. Unfortunately, that wasn't the final boss. Based on the shout they just heard, the real final boss was about to arrive. The mist already cleared, and a giant tidal wave was approaching the boat. From within the tidal wave, a goat-octopus-human amalgamation could be seen riding the surf. He had the head of a goat, the torso of a human and the legs of an octopus or squid, Markus couldn't really bother with the difference at the moment.
Just as all hope was lost, he saw a notification.
[Legendary foe Queen Elaine the Damned Witch has been slain. All participants awarded 5 experience, 4 God's Favor, and Underworld's Gift x2]
[A great feat has been recorded. (1/10)]
[You meet the conditions to activate God's Descent.]
[God's Descent
Rank: Varied
Effect: Call upon the God's to aid you. Costs 30+ God's Favor.
Message: Deus ex Machina.]
'It's finally here!' Markus thought as he saw the notification. He had many theories for what God's Favor would be used for, and this was the best outcome. The effect seemed to be reliant on the God's themselves, but it should be a good result. Markus saw that he could increase the amount of God's Favor he spent on the ability, so he put in all 31, hoping that 1 extra favor would make a difference.
[God's Descent]!
Markus saw the favor he slowly built up vanish in an instant. Thinking back, if he had chosen Hades, he would have built up more favor overall. However, his instincts told him that would have been a mistake. Almost as if his thoughts were being read, he finally got a response after an awkward 5 seconds of silence.
["Woah, little mortal, you seem to be in trouble."] The voice wasn't loud, but it wasn't quiet either. Markus could hear it in his head, but also with his ears. The others in his party didn't seem to notice. ["I am the God Dionysus; you have heard of me, I'm certain. You are right to call for me, as my aunts and uncles can be quite boorish. Have a sip of my divine wine and give me some entertainment."]
The sky split open, and the dark eerie silence of the Styx was suddenly bright and loud with a heavenly music echoing down from above. The sound of trumpets, drums, and harps was audible to the rest of the party. They looked up and saw a beam of line come down from the hole in the sky and land directly in front of Markus. Punch seemed to enter a trance when she heard the music and quietly hummed along to the melody.
Within the beam of light was a bronze chalice full of golden-red liquid. Markus inspected it for a moment before immediately drinking it all. As the thick liquid poured into his mouth, all of his injuries healed instantly. He began to glow in a pale golden light. He rose from the boat, seemingly weightless. His previous tanned bronze skin turned a more golden hue. He finished the cup and let out a satisfied sigh.
[Extremely Diluted Ambrosia
Rank: Minor God
Effect: After consumption, the user will become [Intoxicated]. For the duration, the user will become minor god status and gain [Immortality]. Lasts 31 seconds.
Message: The equivalent of water in the divine kingdom.]
[Immortality
Rank: Minor God
Effect: Your health is fixed at the maximum. You are immune to conditions with a lower rank.
Message: God's do not understand the plight of morals.]
Markus took two seconds to feel the change in his strength before jumping toward the incoming tidal wave. The ability to levitate seemed to be an innate property of gods, he felt like he could control the intensity of it. He used just the right amount of force to run along the water.
As he stepped on the water, his sandals were covered in his golden glow protecting them. Various messages populated his notifications tab.
[Affected by the River Styx]
[Immune]
[Affected by the River Styx]
[Immune]
…
As he closed in on the giant monster, he drew his weapon and activated [Dismembering Strike]. The difference in status combined with the bonus from using a cutting weapon with dismembering strike would deal a ton of damage. Seeing Markus run along the river, the monster seemed to realize something and shouted again.
"Damn Gods! Why must you take everything from me! DIE!" The monster formed a fist with his human hands and punched directly at Markus. He had little hope, but the madness and anger overtook him. Seeing this giant fist would normally be really daunting but in his current state, Markus dodged to the side and heaved his sword forward. The tide splashed decaying water all over, but the sword ignored the effect. It was the perfect weapon for this fight.
The monster was unable to resist as the sword imbedded itself into its forehead. All of the water that was being brought forward by its monstrous body suddenly collapsed down over it. Before the body sunk, Markus managed to inspect it. Then, seeing he only had a few seconds left in his godly status, he quickly ran back to the boat, using the collapsed wave for momentum.
Despite being intoxicated, Markus didn't have any of the typical symptoms. Rather, he felt more clear minded and stimulated than before. He attested it to the [Immortality] buff and didn't think too much about it. When he returned to the boat, he saw that Lloyd had already disappeared from the area as the game pulled her back to reality after dying. The fight was melodramatic, while Fists looked toward Markus with reverence.
"You're so cool! When will I get to do that?" Fists was expectant. He recognized that this must be a mechanic of a higher level. He saw the God's Favor appear in his status menu and had a guess. Meanwhile, Punch had the melody from the opening in the sky stuck in her head. She felt like it held some sort of meaning. Markus noticed how concentrated she was and had a sudden urge. He reached out and pinched her nose. He was suddenly reminded of his mother as soon as he did that, he remembered that was one of the ways she showed affection to him.
Punch snapped out of her trance and suddenly turned red. Unknown to him, his robes were unable to contain his bulging muscles after attaining godhood, even though it was a short duration. Markus instinctively defended his actions,
"Sorry, I'm drunk."
Fortunately, the strange mood was interrupted by a booming voice.
["Bacchus, how dare you trespass into the underworld!"]
["Woah, uncle, don't be so stingy. I just wanted to watch the show. Be careful little mortal, it seems you angered him!
At that, the light in the sky disappeared as his immortality ran out. His status reverted back to hero and the sensation of loss made him fall to a knee in exhaustion. The world shook around them and the voice continued.
["Enough! I will not tolerate the living in the world of the dead. Return!"]
[You have completed
[Congratulations! First clear has been awarded to Markus, FinkLloyd, OneFingerDeathPunch, BabyDeathMetal, and TenThousandFists!]
[Congratulations! Fastest clear time of 00:57:32 has been recorded!]
[Congratulations! Special clear conditions have been met. Each member will receive [Mysterious Coin] x1]
[Warning, all rewards for slaying Demetrius the Monstrous have been relinquished due to use of God's Descent.]
[Emergency World Announcement! Emergency World Announcement!]
["Due to uncontrollable reasons, we are forced to shut the servers down immediately. Please log out within 5 minutes to prevent any unforeseen errors such as permanently losing your progress. We apologize for the inconvenience."]
All of the messages flooded their game chat as they were being transported out of the instance. After a bright flash of light they blacked out and woke up in the cave. Because of the timing of the messages, they each came to the same assumption.
"So, we caused the servers to close early?" Fists said what everyone was thinking.
"We probably weren't supposed to be able to access that content during the initial public release." Baby suggested.
Markus didn't say anything and just posted the status of the monster at the end. After they saw it, they seemed to understand that perhaps Markus discovered a bug, or an exploit. However, the circumstances of defeating it were very specific.
[Demetrius the Monstrous (demigod) Level 5
Message: The son of a humble farming family, blessed by Demeter at an early age. Since he provoked the anger of a jealous god, he was cursed to an eternity of pain as an immortal monstrosity at the brink of death. Only a god can end his life.]
"Wow. So, it was supposed to be a cinematic at the end? You really broke the script, gaming god!"