The Prince of Heaven's Gate - Last Stand At World's End

“Grandma, I’m going.”

“Take care.”

“Manma!”

“Take care as well, Eiko,” Vera said as she lightly patted the baby Slime, who was on top of Lux’s head, while looking at the latter with tender eyes.

“Iris, I’m going,” Lux said to the blue-haired beauty who couldn’t look at him straight in the eye.

“Un. Be careful, Big Brother,” Iris said as she raised her head to look at Lux. Her face was beet-red, which made the Half-Elf wonder if she were having a fever.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. I’m just sad because Big Brother is going away.”

Lux thought that Iris was feeling lonely so she moved towards her and gave her a hug, which made the young beauty’s face turn a shade redder.

“Ma!” Eiko said as she slid down from Lux’s head and kissed her Mama’s forehead to say goodbye.

“Be safe, Eiko,” Iris replied as she kissed Eiko back. “Make sure your papa doesn’t cheat on me.”

“Ma?”

The red-headed teenager lightly pinched Iris’ cheeks before taking a few steps back._-.

“Don’t worry, Iris,” Lux said as he placed his closed fist over his chest. “Just trust me.”

Iris smiled as she nodded her head. “I trust you, Big Brother.”

“Let’s go, Eiko,” Lux lightly patted the slime on his head to tell her that they were about to leave for Elysium.

As if understanding what his Papa was trying to say, Eiko smiled before readying herself for departure.

“Open! Heaven’s Gate!”

A brief flash of light enveloped Lux’s and Eiko’s body before they disappeared completely, leaving only Vera and Iris behind.

Vera then rested her hand on Iris’ shoulder and gave her a smile.

“Don’t worry, Lux never breaks a promise,” Vera said. “If he said that he will win the tournament, he will win the tournament.”

“I know, Grandma,” Iris replied. “I trust him.”

——-

When Lux appeared in Leaf Village, the first thing he did was look for his Master, Randolph, before stopping by at Grandma Annie’s candy shop. He left both elders a message to tell Colette and the others, if they looked for him, that he would be waiting for them at the Bronze Crypt at the promised time.

Since Lux had returned a day early in Elysium, he planned to go to the Bronze Crypt to check what Hell Mode was like, so he could prepare a detailed plan for how he and his friends could challenge it a second time.

Since he had returned early, he arrived an hour just before the sun was about to set. The Bronze Crypt would only open at night due to the peculiarities of the dungeon.

As Lux made his way towards the graveyard, he saw a three-meter tall monster prowling the area. Its blue eyes glowed eerily in the darkness as it walked on its hind legs. The long tail coming from its backside was similar to that of a scorpion’s that was always posed to strike.

It was none other than the Rank 2 Alpha Monster of the Leaf Village Cemetery that went by the name, Ghoul Beast.

Lux didn’t move from his spot because he noticed a group of Dwarves approaching the Alpha Beast. They were the same group that had fought alongside them against the Mutated Golden-Eyed Crimson Mantis back in the Figaro Gardens.

‘This must be part of their graduation ceremony,’ Lux thought as he rubbed his chin. ‘I guess I’ll just watch. I’m also curious to see how they are going to challenge this monster together.’

—-

< Ghoul Beast >

– Leaf Village Cemetery Apex Creature

– Rank 2 Alpha Monster

Health: 60,000 / 60,000

Mana: 8,000 / 8,000

Strength: 150

Intelligence: 40

Vitality: 150

Agility: 150

Dexterity: 100

Active Skills: Venomous Leap, Terror Howl, Ghoul Frenzy, Summon Draugr

Passive Skills: Lifesteal, Stoneskin.

—–

Lux knew that even though the Ghoul Beast was weaker when compared to the Mutated Golden-Eyed Crimson Mantis that they had fought in the Figaro Garden, that didn’t mean that the former was any less threatening.

He knew that one small mishap could wipe out the entire party and their bodies would remain here in the graveyard of Leaf Village for eternity.

Of course, that would only happen if the Ghoul Beast didn’t feast on their corpses after killing them.

“Everyone, get ready!”

The Shield Warrior, who was also the leader of the party, slapped his sword over his shield, activating his defensive buffs. “No matter what happens, stay behind me. If it summons Draugrs, the swordsmen will engage them separately. Mages, just focus fire on the Ghoul Beast, the heal should be focused on me!”

“”Yes!””

Lux watched as the party of one Shield Warrior, two Swordsmen, two Mages, and one Healer engaged the Ghoul Beast in combat.

“A balanced team,” Lux muttered as he eyed the battle that was about to happen. “Pazuzu, come.”

The Demonic Defender appeared beside Lux and waited for his orders.

“Interfere if you deem that they are in mortal danger,” Lux ordered. “If not, don’t do anything.”

Pazuzu nodded as it narrowed its eyes to look at the Ghoul Beast that had now engaged the Dwarf party that challenged it.

With a furious roar, the Ghoul Beast summoned two Draugr’s to fight by his side as it leaped at the Shield Warrior with its razor sharp claws extended.

The Shield Warrior didn’t back away and used his Shield Charge, to meet the enemy head-on. This was a standard opener for Shield Warriors in order for them to close the distance and keep the opponent at bay.

When the two collided, a screeching sound similar to metal clashing against each other reverberated in the night.

The two swordsmen engaged the Draugrs in one-on-one combat, preventing them from attacking the Shield Warrior, as well as their magicians and healer who were at the rear.

Their teamwork was good and Lux couldn’t stop himself from admiring their battle style, which seemed to be specially designed to fight against the Ghoul Beast. After defeating the Draugrs, the two swordsmen drank a bottle of health potion to recover their health before helping their Shield Warrior engage the Alpha Monster.

‘They made the necessary preparations and arrangements for this battle,’ Lux nodded his head in admiration. ‘If nothing goes wrong, they should be able to defeat the Ghoul Beast without any problems.’

Spells constantly flew towards the Ghoul Beast, which pushed it back whenever it was about to overpower the three vanguards, who were preventing the monster from attacking their ranged attackers. Little by little, its health declined.

However, the Ghoul Beast was still an Alpha Beast, so there were a few occasions when it managed to send one of the vanguards flying with its powerful attacks.

The Healer did his job well and helped his allies recover as fast as they could so that the Ghoul Beast wouldn’t be able to get the upper hand.

Lux observed the battle with a serious expression on his face as he memorized the Ghoul Beast’s attack patterns. If the Apostle Grade Party was able to defeat it, he and his friends would have to wait until it respawned again.

It was very common for those that had reached the Apostle Grade to challenge the Carbuncle, Red-Eyed Terror Mantis, as well as the Ghoul Beast as their Last Hurrah before leaving the Beginner’s Zone.

They left the Forest Wolf King alone, since it was something that none of them could defeat, unless several Apostle Grade Parties worked together to challenge it.

According to Lux’s estimate, it would take at least a fifty-men team of Apostle Grades to defeat the Field Boss of the Heartwood Forest. Anything lower than that was just plain suicide.

The battle lasted for half an hour and the Apostle Grade Party emerged victorious. Lux smiled as he watched the Dwarves share high-fives with each other with big smiles on their faces.

“I’m really gonna miss them,” Lux muttered as he thought of Colette and the others. He knew that when he finally passed the qualification to go to Elysium in the Wildgarde Stronghold, he would be teleported to the Human Territories, where their faction belonged.

It was tens of thousands of miles away from Leaf Village, and Lux didn’t know if he would ever see his friends again after he chose to transfer to the Human lands.

‘I’ll cross that bridge when I get there,’ Lux thought as he walked towards the Bronze Crypt, which was his original destination. ‘In any case, I still have the Arondight Ring with me, so I can look for them when I have the time.’

Lux understood that everyone had their own paths in life. If they were fated to meet, then he and his Dwarf friends would definitely cross paths again, one way or the other.