The chain pulled Carlos through the portal.
Within seconds, cold darkness covered him.
He could no longer feel the chain, his body or the wounds across his hands.
For several seconds, he floated through the darkness without weight or direction. The force pulling him forward disappeared.
Then gravity returned and Carlos fell.
He struck solid black stone and rolled across it, pain shooting through his shoulders, elbows and knees.
--
HP: 274/360
--
Brann struck the ground several meters away with a heavy crash.
The chain around his chest remained tight. It dragged the Bearkin across the stone toward the Warden.
Carlos looked around and found that they were inside a massive circular courtyard surrounded by broken pillars. Red cracks ran through the ground, releasing waves of heat. There was no sky above them. Only darkness and distant points of fire.
If Carlos had ever tried to imagine Hell, it would have looked exactly like this.
Carlos looked back once and saw the portal. Its surface showed his territory for one final moment.
Kaia was fighting beside the kitchen. One fired from the ground while Mira pulled Rowan away from a burning field. Blue spread water over the damaged Mana Spring as Ash Hounds surrounded it.
The battle continued exactly as it had before, except Carlos was no longer there to protect them.
Then the image vanished into darkness.
[Reverse Conquest boundary sealed]
[Return condition: Eliminate the Chainbound Hell Warden]
Carlos turned and took a deep breath. The Warden was no longer trapped inside the portal.
It stood more than fifteen feet tall. Four black chains extended from its back and disappeared into the darkness surrounding the courtyard. Iron plates covered most of its red body, while the solid mask remained fixed over its mouth.
Nothing restrained it here. Every step made the courtyard tremble, and the heat rising from the cracks intensified whenever it moved.
One hand held the chain wrapped around Brann.
Its other hand reached for Carlos.
Carlos summoned his Reinforced Long Spear and ran.
Brann grunted in pain when the Warden began pulling the chain again. He planted both feet against the stone, and his claws carved through the ground, but the chain did not stop.
Carlos jumped onto it and ran over the iron links as if they were a narrow bridge.
The Warden swung its free hand.
Carlos dropped beneath its fingers and swung from the chain with one arm. The Warden’s enormous size made its movements powerful, but each attack took just long enough for Carlos to react.
He used the momentum to thrust upward. The spear pierced the center of the Warden’s palm.
Black blood fell across Carlos’s coat.
--
Chainbound Hell Warden HP: 2,697/2,800
--
The Warden pulled its hand away, seemingly surprised that Carlos had wounded it.
Carlos used the movement to swing higher. He landed on the Warden’s forearm and immediately ran toward its shoulder.
The arm shifted beneath every step. Carlos did not have the balance of a trained fighter. He survived by watching the Warden’s movements and throwing himself forward before the creature could react.
Three burning eyes followed him, and black fire gathered within them.
Carlos saw the fire coming and threw himself from the Warden’s arm.
Hellfire passed through the place where his chest had been.
He caught one of the iron plates covering the Warden’s shoulder. The burning metal scorched his fingers.
But Carlos climbed anyway.
The Warden struck its own shoulder, but Carlos moved behind its neck before the blow landed.
The impact bent an iron plate and shook the Warden’s entire body.
Carlos climbed across the armored ridges along its neck and reached the lowest of the six eyes.
He drove the spear into it and the eye burst.
The Warden’s body shook. A muffled scream of agony tore through the iron plate sealing its mouth.
A creature that enormous had never expected something as small as Carlos to destroy one of its eyes.
--
Chainbound Hell Warden HP: 2,491/2,800
[Left lower eye destroyed]
[Hellfire accuracy reduced]
--
Carlos ripped the spear free as the Warden’s hands reached for him. He could not afford to fall beneath it after climbing this far.
As Carlos jumped from its shoulder toward the bent forearm, another eye spotted him.
The Warden grabbed him.
Its fingers closed around Carlos’s body and lifted him into the air.
The Ironweave Coat tightened beneath the pressure and Carlos winced in pain.
--
HP: 243/360
HP: 221/360
HP: 196/360
--
Carlos could not move his arms. His bones creaked under the pressure.
Before the Warden could crush him, Brann attacked from below.
The destruction of the Warden’s eye had distracted it long enough for Brann to regain his footing. Although the chain remained wrapped around his chest, the Bearkin charged forward.
The sudden movement made the Warden stumble. Brann jumped and struck its knee with Heavy Strike. The attack cracked one of the iron plates without reaching the flesh beneath it.
CRACK!
The Warden released Carlos and reached down to steady itself.
Carlos fell beside Brann. The Bearkin moved to check whether his lord was injured but stopped when he saw Carlos’s expression.
It was the second time Brann had seen that look on Carlos’s face.
"The chain," Carlos said between breaths. "We break it first."
A cold fury filled Carlos’s eyes, one Brann still could not understand.
Brann grabbed the links around his chest and pulled.
Carlos attacked the same link with his spear to free Brann, but the iron head made only a small mark.
The Warden recovered and raised one foot above them. Its muffled roar warned Carlos and Brann before the foot came crashing down.
Carlos and Brann moved in opposite directions.
The stone between them shattered and the chain dragged Brann back.
The spear could not break the links. Carlos needed something built to tear through hardened material.
He summoned the Granary Devourer Claw from his inventory.
The curved claw had broken through the Granary Devourer’s hardened roots. Its edge was sharper than any ordinary weapon he possessed.
Carlos forced its tip between two chain links.
If it could tear through those roots, it could tear through this chain.
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