The rankers only managed to reach Luke after he had exhausted all of his traps, but not before their numbers had been reduced to less than 25.
By this point, there was only a single very predictable path for the rankers to take to reach Luke, and while traveling on that path, they ran the risk of exposing themselves to his quick, devastating attacks.
As the first ranker made the final leap onto Luke's platform, Luke's fury boiled over, fueled not just by the thrill of the fight, but also by the memory of his father falling to this ranker's sword in particular, as he was the one who landed the final blow.
Luke raised his sword high, eyes narrowing in on his target, as he unleashed his newly learnt move.
[Heaven's Strike]
With a single, furious leap, Luke soared into the air, his sword glowing with the intensity of his anger.
The first ranker stood absolutely no chance as Luke came down upon him like a meteor, his blade cutting through the ranker's defenses with the force of a thousand grudges.
*Splat*
Instantly, the man's armor shattered, his bones cracked, and his body crumpled to the ground, as his lifeless body was sent flying off the platform into the molten lava below.
For a moment, there was silence, but then the other rankers cried out loud in alarm.
"Wait— isn't SkyLion only famous for his suplexes? Since when can he unleash such powerful attacks?"
"Wait, I have seen SkyLion fight against the demon army, there were even posts on the forums that made light of his sword skills, since when is he so good?"
"His attack is too powerful, let alone one opponent he can probably cleave through three at once"
The rankers were stunned to see that Luke had new unseen moves under his belt, as it was common knowledge within ranker circles that SkyLion was only good with hand to hand combat and not his sword.
However, that stereotype seemed to have changed, as Luke had clearly improved his sword skills.
"He surely can't do the same skill twice in a row, a skill so powerful needs to have a long cooldown" said a ranker as he began moving cautiously towards Luke.
"Hey Dawn, if he leaps into the air once again, cover me with a spell, okay?" The ranker said as he called on his buddy to cover him with a spell incase Luke took the offensive once again, however, Luke remained unimpressed.
He wasn't interested in giving them the luxury of strategy, and when he saw the enemies regrouping and thinking, he stirred the mana inside his body, causing his sword to flare to life once more as it got covered in flames.
[ Blazing Cyclone ]
Luke muttered as he unleashed a devastating attack that caught the advancing rankers in a swirling inferno.
The rankers immediately crumbled under his AOE onslaught, with the weaker ones being thrown back, as the flames burned through their defenses.
Screams filled the air as some were knocked off the platform, their bodies falling into the lava below, but even those who survived barely held on, their health bars flashing red as the burn damage ate away at their strength.
"Band together–" one of them said, as the survivors formed a tighter defensive formation, their weapons locked together as they slowly advanced.
However, Luke could see the fear in their movements, the hesitation in every step they took. They were wary now, more desperate than ever to close the gap and take him down.
But Luke paid no attention to their tactics. He deliberately let them close the gap and step onto his platform, simply because he wanted to, and as soon as they did, he surged forward, his sword and shield moving as extensions of his fury, as he sliced through their defenses with ease..
There was no mercy in his attacks, no hesitation. Every swing, every blow was fueled by a simmering fury, as his bloodlust reached a fervent point.
*Block*
*Slash*
*Dodge*
A fierce dogfight erupted, with him taking some hits but returning far more in kind.
One by one, he whittled their numbers down from thirteen to just two, as by then, his rage had reached its peak.
As the last two rankers stood helpless before him, he felt a surge of raw, unrestrained power boil within him.
His hands trembled, not with fear, but with a burning desire to destroy, as the sword and shield that had served him so well suddenly felt like restraints to him.
*Clang*
With a deliberate motion, he let them fall to the ground— as he no longer viewed them as weapons, but rather as obstacles to the kind of punishment he craved to deliver with his bare hands.
Tossing them aside, Luke felt his muscles coiling with raw power as the rankers barely had time to register what was happening before Luke was already upon them.
"Night–Night–" Luke said, grabbing the first by the waist, as he hoisted him into the air with a gusto.
*Suplex*
With a savage twist, he lifted the ranker into the air and slammed him head-first into the stone platform. The impact was so brutal that the ranker's body bounced off the ground before collapsing in a heap, as a system notification flashed in front of the stunned ranker's vision:
[You have been stunned for 15 seconds.]
Luke didn't pause. He immediately grabbed the second ranker, lifting him in the same motion, as if the sheer force of his rage had made him faster, stronger.
*Suplex*
Again, the ranker's body slammed into the ground with a sickening crunch, the stone cracking beneath the force of the blow.
[You have been stunned for 15 seconds.]
However, Luke was far from done.
*Suplex*
He grabbed the first ranker again, his body barely recovered from the first suplex, and slammed him down with even more force.
[You have been stunned for 15 seconds.]
And then the second. Again.
[You have been stunned for 15 seconds.]
It was a relentless chain, the sound of bodies hitting stone echoing throughout the chamber, but Luke didn't stop, his anger driving him forward with every suplex, every brutal slam.
This was for Jacob. This was for the humiliation, the pain his father had endured. He was breaking them, body and spirit, just as they had broken his father.
By the time it was over, both rankers lay motionless on the ground, their health bars drained to zero. The platform was silent, save for the heavy breaths of Luke as he stood over their broken forms.
But even as they lay defeated, Luke felt no satisfaction. Only an inexplicable burning anger that continued to smolder inside him.