The seventh boss was nothing like what they’d been facing. A massive crystalline golem lumbered out of the gate, each step making the arena shake. It had to be twelve feet tall, made entirely of what looked like jagged quartz, with a huge crystal spike protruding from its back like some kind of twisted horn.
"At least it’s slow," Melayne said, gripping her sword.
The golem proved her wrong immediately. It might move like molasses, but it could attack from range. Crystal spikes erupted from all over its body, shooting out in every direction like a deadly pincushion.
"Scatter!" Jax yelled as he dove to avoid the projectiles.
They spread out and began their assault. Jax’s threads struck the creature’s crystalline body, chipping away small fragments. Ning darted around its legs, looking for weak points. Melayne’s runic sword carved gouges in its surface while Roman stayed back, ready to heal.
But something was wrong. The damage they were dealing seemed to disappear almost as fast as they made it. The crystal spike on the golem’s back, which had shrunk slightly from their attacks, was already growing back to full size.
"Lucille!" Jax called out. "We need information!"
Her eyes glowed as she analyzed the creature. What she saw made her face fall.
"Crystalline Guardian," she announced grimly. "It’s resistant to both physical and elemental attacks. On top of that, it has natural regeneration."
"Great," Ning muttered, dodging another volley of crystal spikes. "So it’s a damage sponge that heals itself."
"The good news is it can’t attack very often," Lucille continued. "Those spike attacks have a cooldown. But this is going to take forever."
She was right. The boss was far less dangerous than the elementals had been, its attacks were predictable, and it moved so slowly they could easily stay out of melee range. But it was like trying to chip away at a mountain with a hammer.
They attacked relentlessly. Ning struggled more than usual, the golem’s jagged, irregular body making it almost impossible to identify critical spots. Every surface looked the same, and what weak points he thought he found turned out to be just light being caught in some quartz.
"I can’t find anything!" he called out in frustration.
The spike on the golem’s back kept growing back after each of their attacks, a visual reminder that they weren’t doing enough damage to overcome its regeneration. Even when Roman joined in with his staff, adding his own small contributions to their assault, they were still barely making progress.
"This is hopeless," Melayne said, breathing hard. "We’re going to run out of stamina before we even put a dent in this thing."
Lucille suddenly stopped attacking and looked at her hands. "Wait. I have an idea, but it’s risky."
"What kind of risky?" Jax asked.
"I have a spell that can severely increase the damage we deal, perhaps even double it," she said.
"What? You’ve had a spell like that all this time?" Melayne asked.
"Yes, but it requires physical contact to activate, and I need to maintain that contact for several seconds because of my restriction."
"That’s suicide," Roman said. "One spike attack while you’re touching it and you’re dead."
"Not if you guys keep it distracted," Lucille replied. She was already moving toward the golem. "Just keep hitting it, make noise, do whatever you can to keep its attention off me."
"Lucille, don’t—" Jax started, but she was already running.
The others had no choice but to follow her plan. They attacked with everything they had, Jax’s metal threads creating a constant barrage while Ning and Melayne struck at the golem’s legs. Roman even started shouting and waving his staff to draw attention.
Lucille reached the golem and pressed her palm against its crystalline leg.
"Keep it distracted!" she yelled, sweat beading on her forehead, hoping the golem wouldn’t notice her.
The golem, confused by the multiple attacks, kept turning its attention from one target to another. Seconds ticked by as Lucille’s spell delayed in activation.
Then she smiled. "Got it," she said softly.
A strange glow formed on the golem’s body.
At that exact moment, the golem created spikes of crystals around it, spraying the arena with it.
A spike punched through Lucille’s torso like she was made of paper, throwing her off her feet and pinning her to the arena floor behind the golem. Her eyes went wide, blood flowing from her mouth, and then she went completely still.
"LUCILLE!" Jax screamed.
They all stopped attacking, staring in horror at their friend’s motionless body impaled on the crystal spike. The golem, no longer distracted, turned its attention to the rest of them.
"She’s dead," Roman whispered, his face white as a sheet. "Oh god, she’s actually dead."
"Focus!" Ning shouted, though his voice was shaking. "We have to keep fighting! We have to finish this!"
But Jax couldn’t tear his eyes away from Lucille’s corpse. This wasn’t supposed to happen. They were so close to the end, so close to—
Movement caught his eye. Lucille was moving.
"What the hell?" he breathed.
She was pulling herself forward along the crystal spike, the jagged crystal tearing a wider hole in her chest as she moved. But impossibly, the wound was starting to close. Flesh and bone knitted back together as they watched, and within seconds she was whole again.
"How is she..." Melayne started.
"Focus on the fight!" Lucille called out, her voice stronger than it had any right to be. "My spell worked! Hit it now while it’s vulnerable!"
They didn’t have time to process what they’d just seen. The golem was still there, still dangerous, but it could take more damage now.
They attacked with desperate fury, and this time their damage stuck. Cracks spread across the golem’s surface, its regeneration completely stopped. The crystal spike on its back reduced consistently instead of regrowing.
Within minutes, the entire creature collapsed into a pile of rubble and crystal fragments.
Round 70 was complete.
They stood there breathing hard, staring at the remains of their enemy. But all Jax could think about was what he’d just witnessed.
Lucille had died. He’d seen it happen. And then she’d healed from a wound that should have been instantly fatal.
What the hell was going on?