With enemies covering both the stairwell and balcony, Marcus and Mrazivý were left with no path to escape.
To one side was the zombie empress and skeleton champion, and on the other was the lich and an ethereal looking entity that was vaguely humanoid in shape but wrapped in shadows and having two piercing golden glowing eyes.
The tension in the air was palpable as both sides stared each other down.
"To think that intruders could make it this far without my noticing." The Lich said, his tone conveying how genuinely surprised he was.
He then turned to the shadowy figure next to him and said, "Alyna, take over the girl while I restrain the man."
An instant later the being cloaked in shadows floating beside the lich disappeared, having turned fully ethereal.
It was immediately clear from the lich's words that he intended for his subordinate to possess Mrazivý, but Marcus was not going to let that happen.
In a display that surprised the lich and his subordinates, Marcus disappeared as well, and intercepted the dread wraith known as Alyna.
The two clashed in their ethereal forms, and quickly Marcus overpowered his enemy who could not stand to be in the presence of the intense light coming off of him.
Mrazivý made her own move during the confusion Marcus' display had created.
Swiftly she activated her draconic transformation and unleashed her powerful ice breath attack at the zombie empress and skeleton champion.
The area that was already extremely cold from several powerful undead presences, suddenly dropped in temperature even further and Mrazivý's targets were completely engulfed in ice.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtWithout any hesitation the skeleton champion had moved in front of the zombie empress, but Mrazivý wide ranged attack had easily immobilized both of the powerful undead.
With those blocking her way now frozen she ran towards the stairs, while Marcus reappeared and brought his scythe down on top of the stunned lich.
Unfortunately, his attack did not reach his target, as a powerful barrier erupted around the lich and forced Marcus back.
'Try this on for size. Phoenix Fire!'
As he was blown back Marcus held his right hand forward and cast a tier seven fire magic spell.
A huge amount of his mana coalesced into his hand and took on the shape of a colossal flaming bird.
Its mouth open the beast of fire Marcus had conjured launched forward and swallowed the lich in a flaming inferno.
Yet before the attack went any further, the flames that made up Marcus' spell began to shake rapidly and disperse.
When the flames had been completely snuffed out, Marcus could see that the lich was unharmed and that a dark glowing sphere had appeared above the lich's head.
At the same time the entire area shook, and Marcus looked down to see Mrazivý clashing with the phantom armor he had blown away earlier.
This proved to be a mistake as the lich used this momentarily lapse in attention to start his counterattack.
"Why don't you stay still for a while." The Lich said, reaching out his hand and making a grasping motion towards Marcus.
An instant later a large transparent hand formed around him and grasped ahold of him.
The hand then promptly disappeared, but Marcus till felt as if he were being gripped tightly and could not move.
Sensing that he had been hit with some type of immobilization spell of skill, Marcus used his recently acquired Supreme Skill Ultimate Refresh to eliminate the status condition.
Now freed from his binding, much to the lich's astonishment, Marcus turned towards Mrazivý and sued his Light Speed Movement unique skill to move next to her.
He had moved so fast that it seemed that he simply appeared next to her and the Phantom armor barely had time to brace its shield and block Marcus' attack.
His amethros scythe sliced deep into the phantom armor's adamantine shield and nearly cleaved it in two thanks to its immense power and vastly superior quality.
Mrazivý followed up with an attack of her own and with a blindingly quick slash sent the phantom armor flying once again.
'Solar Flare.'
Their immediate obstacle out of the way, Marcus raised his left hand and fired his tier three light spell into the air.
A flash of blinding light illuminated the room and taking Mrazivý's hand Marcus rushed towards the exit while their enemies were blinded.
However, they did not make it far before a cage made of wind surrounded them.
'Guess the lich can use wind magic.' Marcus thought seeing this.
Still despite the obvious barrier in their way, neither Marcus nor Mrazivý stopped their charge forward.
In fact, Mrazivý took the lead and activated her Rapid Flash unique skill and her Strongest Dragon Supreme Skill.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm'Heaven's Rending.'
Her sword in hand Mrazivý made multiple high-speed slashes all at once and sliced through the powerful tier eight wind magic spell that was meant to restrain them.
It seemed that this would allow them to finally escape, but the door they were heading for abruptly closed and the defense systems within the lich's lair began to activate.
Mrazivý struck the door with all her might, but a dense barrier protected it. And while she shattered the barrier, the door remained unharmed by her first attack.
This delay was enough time for the lich and his forces to reorganize and with their back against the wall Marcus and Mrazivý were face to face with the five powerful undead once again. Albeit not having the ability to catch them off-guard so easily again now that their enemies knew what they were capable of.
"You have no where to run. Simply cease resisting and I promise no harm will come to either of you." The lich said, believing that he had them well and trapped now.
Of course neither Marcus nor Mrazivý believed for an instant that they would be unharmed if they simply surrendered and instead prepared to make a stand.
Her eyes flashing gold and taking on a reptilian appearance Mrazivý looked at the lich's status and fed the information to Marcus.
'It is as you suspected, he is from Earth just as you are Marcus. He has the Personal Status unique skill which only those from another world have. Along with that he is level eighty-five and has five unique skills. His physical stats are far lower than his intelligence and spirit stats, and he is clearly a master of magic. We need to hit fast and hard with physical combat and try to take him out first since he is the real threat.' Mrazivý quickly transmitted to Marcus with telepathy.
Nodding his head, he prepared to activate his Soul Burst unique skill and launch and all-out attack alongside Mrazivý.
Except before they came to blows again the dread wraith who had been hiding behind the lich in her ethereal from jumped out in front and held her hands up to stop the battle.
It was a surprising gesture for both sides to see since it left her completely open, and Marcus and Mrazivý faltered for a moment.
"Is what you just said true? Are you really from Earth like us?" Came a sweet and innocent sounding voice from the dread wraith named Alyna.
Confusion was clear to see on Marcus', Mrazivý's, the lich's, and his other subordinates' faces.
A second later, Mrazivý whispered to Marcus, "She has telepathy jack. She heard our conversation. And she does have the Personal Status unique skill."