As groups had been decided long before this point there was no use in trying to change them now. Shame, that, as Doku wasn't terribly thrilled with who he'd gotten. Suto he would have in his group without question, it was the other three he was not thrilled off. A heavier set man wielding a hammer, complaining constantly of wanting food in spite of hunger being almost nonexistent. Beside him was a tall, thin man wielding a bowstaff, seeming to be just as impatient with his companion as Doku was, and about as imposing as a garden gnome. The final member, a woman with a pair of chakrams, looked far more inclined to inspect some of the more impressive males in this team than focusing on the fight. He hardly wished for death upon any of the people present, but if any were to fall he'd not be terribly surprised to find those three among them. Every player present was presumably competent, but he'd hold that reservation to himself until the battle actually began.

Tension and excitement both unbridled, the air thick with each as the groups formed and prepared for the final battle. With knowledge of the boss courtesy of the Beaters they were confident victory was at hand, and this becoming a death game did little to cause players to waver. Yes there was real threat and a single misstep could spell the end, but with many of the best gathered here and several veterans of the MMO genre there was ample reason to be assured things would work out. Rallying around their designated leader, a blue-haired man named Diavel, everyone prepared to pass the threshold into the boss room. With a resounding kick that signaled the beginning of the battle the doors were thrust wide open and players filed in, spreading out and keeping to their groups. This was most certainly the room, but where was the boss?

"Does it have a trigger for its spawn or something?" Suto wondered aloud, frowning as he stood upright and glanced around. He knew in some games bosses might need specific events to happen, maybe that was the case here? Though it would be weird for the first boss to be like that, he'd think there was nothing special about it. A bit disappointed to find nothing awaiting them he let out a sigh and slumped, looking at his brother who remained on alert. "This is a total rip off, where's the boss, Arashi? I wanted to fight it!"

Yes, where was it exactly? One would expect the boss to be waiting for them in the room, standing in the center surrounded by innumerable minions. As soon as the door was thrown open it should have initiated the instance, so where was the enemy? Keeping a hand on the hilt of his greatsword he scanned the room patiently, his emerald eyes poring over ever pixel for some sign of life. Save for the flickering of the torches along the out edge of the arena nothing moved, this seemed wrong. No sooner had he considered the possibility of this being a trap a roar alerted everyone present, and soon thereafter a heavy weight slammed into the floor of the arena, causing a small quake as players fought to keep on their feet. At last at the head of the room was their target, Illfang, and with another thunderous roar the battle truly commenced. 

In keeping to their groups some players moved to strike at the boss while others remained behind, fending off the numerous smaller beasts that spawned. Grabbing Suto's collar to keep him from running off, Doku rolled his eyes once and threw his sibling behind him. "Don't leave my side, we agreed on that. Help me with the adds." Moving slowly through the room he found their first target in a triad of kobolds, each brandishing some form of bladed weaponry. Pulling his greatsword from his back Doku stepped forward to meet a charging beast, and with a wide arching swing he cut it clean in two, promptly spinning his body once the cooldown passed and repeating the motion, decimating the second. The third kobold by this time was nearly upon him, letting out a shrill howl as it struck at him with its rusted dagger. The blade missed his skin however as Suto lunged forward and landed on its back, driving his tantō through its neck.

As the battle progressed it appeared as though the confidence from before was not misplaced. The boss followed the patterns dictated in the books, the minions were hardly difficult and not a single loss had been taken. The two brothers were a flurry of steel as they cut down one kobold after another, with Doku's wide swings cleaving at times two or three at once, and Suto darting about so swiftly some of the enemies had trouble keeping their eye on him. All told it was expected without conversation that they would triumph before long, and moving forward they would only be even more emboldened. Tentative as Doku tried to be during the battle even he found himself relaxing as they made progress, impressed that their group, like a well oiled machine, worked flawlessly and performed its job without error. Exchanging a glance with the portly hammer-wielding man from before they shared something almost akin to an amicable smile, pleased with how events were unfolding.

As things are wont to however the battle changed at the drop of a hat, and what was a flawless victory quickly turned sour. The first sign something was amiss was seeing Diavel thrown across the room by Illfang, slamming into one of the pillars and cracking it. When the hefty beast lunged across the open space and closed the gap, talwar raised high above its head, everyone must have known what was coming next. After the shards of their leader dispersed an eerie silence fell over the once hectic battle, even the minions seeming to stop to take stock of what had occurred. Replacing the sounds of jubilation and triumph then were screams of panic and terror, rank broke and players began to spread out. Illfang was hardly through however as his aggro reset, charging down a nearby spear user and skewering them with ease. The fight which they should have breezed through suddenly became infinitely more difficult.

"W-Wait... How'd it do that? That wasn't in the book!" Suto voiced among others, staring wide-eyed as Illfang claimed a second and third victim within seconds. Had they changed the boss since the beta? Mind running a mile a minute he tried to find an explanation for what was happening, poring over everything he knew of video games for an answer. He seemed to be berserk, Illfang, and he was simply attacking whoever was closest. So what should they do? Someone with more health should try and take his aggro, but what if they fell too? Despite being eager for the encounter moments before he now found his body unwilling to comply with him, his hands shaking as he watched yet another player fall to the boss' onslaught. They were actually going to die here. 

Hearing the howl of a nearby kobold Suto managed to finally tear his gaze from the boss, eyes widening seeing its blade speeding towards his neck. Fearing the worst he raised his arms instinctively to try and defend himself, whimpering as he prepared to take the hit. The sound of a kobold screaming and then pixels dispersing however prompted him to glance up, seeing Doku swinging his sword again to take out yet another enemy.

"Don't stop! We can still win this!" Doku shouted loudly, for both Suto's sake as well as everyone else's. Losses were expected, they had come into this with that fact in mind. Just because they had this slight bump didn't mean everything was lost, they would only fail if they couldn't rally and keep pushing. Grunting as he took a blade to the chest during a cooldown he retaliated with a shoulder charge, knocking the kobold into the man with the hammer and watching as it was pummeled flat into the floor. They had to keep going, failing now meant dooming everyone else. Failing meant Suto would be killed here, and he absolutely refused to let that happen.