Empowered by the effects of the [i]Berserk[/i] spell, Athena continued her unrelenting assault on the grotesque boss monster with reckless abandon, cutting through the monster's exposed flesh with series of fluidly-connected sweeping slashes, moving herself only by the minimum required distance to avoid the most obvious attack patterns of the enemy.

Even though [i]Berserk[/i] had no actual effect on the user's mind or thought processes and its enhancements were limited to the character's attack damage and movement speed statics, it was surprisingly successful in encouraging true "Berserker-like" behavior in its users purely by the nature of its design. The effects of [i]Berserk[/i] were far more severe than the proverbial "double-edged sword", it would be more accurately described by the term "double-ended spear", that impaled both user and enemy. With the severe penalty to damage received set upon the user by the system in combination with the great increase in offensive power, the user is effectively forced to pour everything they have into pure offensive with absolutely regard for defense, in the hopes of defeating the enemy before they were defeated themselves.

Several of the tanks and other close-range fighters from the other parties around Athena staggered back in panic at the giant monster's deep bellowing moans, but she pressed ahead with her attacks.

[color=a187be]"If you hesitate now, you will die and your party members will fall as well, that is for certain! You can rest when this beast has been slain, not a moment sooner!"[/color] Athena shouted to the other parties in encouragement. Her words seemed to have some effect as the other parties' tanks forced themselves to regain their composure. However, one of the tank players was suddenly caught by the massive monstrosity's sweeping cleaver attack, instantly wiping out his HP and leaving a Remain Light where he stood a moment earlier.

[i][color=a187be]That player... it could have been me in his place. I won't let that happen, I absolutely cannot let that happen![/color][/i] Athena shouted to herself in her mind. Drawing back her sword in preparation for her next attack, Athena suddenly thrust the blade of her sword forward, directly into the massive pile of bodies that was the monster before her. The blade pierced through the exposed flesh with a sickening slopping noise, embedding itself deeper and deeper into the massive monster until it reached the crossguard of her sword. In response to the sudden attack, the monster let loose a deep monstrous roar that shook the entire dungeon.

Seeing the body mass of the monster suddenly shift upward, Athena lifted her head up to see the monster raising its cleaver above its head in preparation for a counterattack. The bladed edge of the cleaver was positioned directly above, but with her longsword still embedded within the monster's rotting flesh, immediate evasion was impossible.

Just as the cleaver's blade was about to come slicing down upon her head, a bright-green light shot through the air, penetrating into the monster's outstretched arm, causing it to cease moving mid-swing. As the arrow exploded into shards of light, Athena stood still for an instant, not believing what had just happened. Tracing the arrow's path back to its source, Athena's eyes connected with the Cait Sith archer in her party, Arina. 

With the boss monster momentarily stunned by the arrow's impact, Athena knew that she had just been given a second chance to survive. With the boss temporarily unable to defend itself or counterattack, she knew she had only precious seconds to use until she would be under attack again.

As the effects of the [i]Berserk[/i] spell finally began to fade, she forced the blade of her sword out of the monster's hideous "flesh". Athena took in a deep breath as she prepared to start the incantation that she hoped would bring this boss encounter to its conclusion. A glowing circle of burning fire painted itself on the stone ground underneath her feet as she began the incantation.

[color=a187be][i]"Ek bjóða brenna móðr uphiminn eða fold undir vega hvatvetna at bella standa inn minn syn."[/i][/color] Athena spoke in carefully measured tones as she recited the first half of the powerful [i]Nova[/i] area-of-effect spell, each Word of Power recited with flawless precision, causing the growing ring of fire to roar with increasing intensity, even as the boss began to recover from its stunned state and began attacking again. 

In the continuing chaos of the battle around her, Athena barely heard one of the tank leaders shouting about the boss monster's sudden change in attack pattern. Deep in concentration to maintain her spell-casting, she was left oblivious to the events that unfolded around her. She only felt the sickening [i]thud[/i] that shook the ground underneath her feet as the monster's cleaver dug itself into the far dungeon wall.

[color=a187be]"[i]Hníga hverr helgrind eða frjáls hiti... [/i]"[/color] Athena continued, pausing only when she was suddenly aware of the boss monster's spell-casting stance as it was about to unleash its massive dark magic area spell. Before the monster could unleash the surge of dark energy, Athena instantly threw herself to the ground, leaving her just enough time to lift her shield to protect herself from the full force of the blast. From the corner of her vision, she watched her HP bar drop by about 20% as her character was damaged by the partial damage that her shield could not fully block. With her [i]Nova[/i] spell interrupted mid-cast, the Spellword Fumble Effect sent out a second explosion where she stood moments earlier, sending out an expanding plume of black smoke.

As soon as Athena came back to her senses, she leapt up to her feet with her shield already in position to defend herself. Her HP had suffered moderately as a result of the boss monster's magic area attack, but it was still enough offer her a chance of survival. However, due to her failed attempt at casting her most powerful magic spell, her Mana was now dangerously low, leaving her just enough for one more use of her lower-level spells.