Chapter 168: Flow of Battle
While Valentina had been risking her life occupying the boss all alone, Seraphina, Mistwalker and Valric were helping the wounded adventurers to retreat outside the hall where they would at least remain safe from this monstrous creature. Of course, they had to carry this out not only with swiftness but also with the greatest speed they could possibly achieve so that they would be able to deceive its gaze without drawing its attention. If it had noticed the retreat even by chance, it certainly would have interrupted them which would have caused far greater trouble than they could have possibly handled in such a situation.
That was precisely why Valentina had forced its entire attention onto herself alone while enduring its relentless assault in order to buy them the time they desperately needed. However, the creature simply appeared far more overwhelming than she could handle alone, so Seraphina had to step in, but even then she was unable to finish the creature in time… nor could she help Valentina escape its grasp either.
Instead, she had been forced to defend herself against the diverting spell and watch the woman getting smashed into the ground like a broken doll.
'In the end, she tried and gave it her all. Even though she lost… she still carried out her part impressively.'
Sliding across the floor, she pointed the tip of her sword toward the creature's back.
'So, it is our turn to fulfill our parts. The boss must fall... no matter the cost.'
Gathering her strength, she prepared herself to lunge forward, then said coldly while addressing the other leaders, "Are you prepared?"
However, the creature vanished from where it stood the very next moment, forcing her body to halt immediately. Its claw lashed out near her neck as it reappeared directly behind her… but its hand sliced through nothing but empty air.
By then, Seraphina was hovering behind its neck instead, her sword plummeted down from behind her in a swift and merciless arc meant to cut its spine.
But the creature disappeared once again before her blade could reach it.
'Huh?'
Her eyes swept across the hall in a single breath but found nothing within her sight.
'Whe…'
Instead of appearing behind her again, it materialized right in front of her this time, its claw already swinging forward in a vicious strike meant to slice her in half.
But before that attack could reach her, Seraphina twisted her wrist in a precise motion and blocked the strike directly with her sword. However, since there was nothing around her to anchor herself against while she remained suspended in midair, the immense force behind the creature's blow sent her flying backward through the air.
'…re?'
In the next split second, the creature had appeared in front of her once again while raising its claw high above its head before bringing it down with terrifying speed toward her exposed hovering figure.
She had prepared to deflect the strike the moment it descended, but before her blade could even meet it someone suddenly appeared below her like a passing shadow.
Diving forward, Mistwalker rose from beneath with a single fluid motion and struck upward with her elegant katana, intercepting the descending claw almost instantly.
A violent shockwave tore through the hall. The impact shattered fragments of stone from the nearby wall while the air itself trembled under the sheer force of the collision.
At the same time, Seraphina placed her palm against Mistwalker's shoulder which served as a temporary anchor before she pushed herself upward and flipped through the air, landing swiftly some distance away.
'Just as expected… it may have gained a certain level of intelligence through its evolution, but it still lacks the experience required to fight like a seasoned warrior. It still has a long way to go.'
Without allowing another moment to pass, she dashed forward to rejoin the fight.
By then, Mistwalker and the creature had begun exchanging a relentless barrage of attacks as both sides attempted to overwhelm the other with pure speed and strength, but neither seemed willing to allow the other even the slightest opportunity to claim victory. If there was any advantage between them at all, it undoubtedly belonged to the creature due to its enormous size along with the natural weapons that served as its arms.
Because of that, Mistwalker had to constantly shift her position across the floor while deflecting each incoming strike with precise movements, since standing still would eventually force her into an awkward position where blocking its blows would become increasingly difficult under the creature's immense strength. If that happened, she would either have to evade at the last moment or block in an unfavorable stance where deflecting the second claw would become nearly impossible without losing her balance, especially now that the creature had begun attacking with both hands at once.
Perhaps it had adjusted its tactics after recognizing the kind of opponent she was.
Even so, Mistwalker continued to deflect every strike that came toward her with astonishing composure while her blade moved with effortless elegance. Not a single attack had managed to slip past her guard or force her into making a mistake.
However, that did not mean she could maintain this stance alone forever, though. No matter how precise her movements were, exhaustion would eventually begin to weigh upon her body... it was only a matter of time.
That was precisely why, the moment an opening finally revealed itself, Seraphina slipped into the battle between them and swung her blade in a clean motion to deflect the other claw which had been aimed repeatedly at Mistwalker's right side, easing the burden resting upon her shoulders if only by a small margin.
With every strike, she felt as though a tall building had been plummeting down upon her sword instead of a mere claw, which made deflecting them far more difficult than it should have been, since even the slightest miscalculation in timing or angle could easily result in her bones being shattered beneath the weight of its strength. It was obvious that evading its attacks would have been a far safer choice, but doing so would accomplish nothing in the end, though... it would only drag the battle even farther without bringing it any closer to a conclusion.
Not to mention, she still had no idea just how resilient or durable its fur truly was aside from its somewhat armor-like appearance, therefore, she had no choice but to strike it directly and discover the truth herself through experience rather than speculation.
'That might prove to be a rather bothersome task, though.'
Due to Seraphina's intervention in the battle, Mistwalker was now able to move swiftly across the floor without guarding or worrying about attacks from the side, focusing all of her attention solely on the single claw that was repeatedly attempting to bring her down while she deflected it with movements that gradually became smoother and easier to perform.
Since both of its arms were now being occupied simultaneously by two different opponents no less, the creature had gradually been forced to take a step or two backward after failing to withstand the relentless pressure of their combined assault. It nearly lost its stance for a brief moment, but somehow it managed to steady itself before that could happen.
No matter how carefully they attempted to advance, they still couldn't break through its defenses due to its extraordinary reaction speed, which allowed the creature to intercept every incoming strike with frightening accuracy. In truth, the only reason they were managing to push it backward at all was due to the overwhelming strength behind their attacks combined with the continuous pressure that never allowed it even a moment of rest.
Which was precisely why neither of them had managed to inflict even a single wound upon its body let alone a grievous injury. Because of that they still hadn't obtained the opportunity to understand the true resilience of its fur through actual combat.
Countless sparks of light scattered through the air accompanied by a deafening clang as the two weapons collided against the creature's claws in a strange harmony, the violent impacts sending shockwaves rippling throughout the hall while fragments of shattered stone trembled across the floor.
At some point though, the creature appeared to realize that it was gradually being pushed backward, so it altered its battle style in an attempt to reclaim the upper hand that had begun slipping away from it. Without any warning whatsoever, it simply vanished in the middle of the battle.
Halting in the middle of her step, Seraphina glanced around her in an instant but there was no trace of the creature anywhere.
She turned her gaze toward Mistwalker who appeared to be searching as well.
Seraphina sighed softly, "What now?"
They had realized that since the layer of water that had once covered the floor had disappeared by now, they would no longer be capable of sensing its approach through the subtle ripples it created when it appeared. That meant they had no choice but to rely entirely upon their instincts and senses while facing an enemy that could erase its presence whenever it wished.
Was there any other method that could counter such an ability?
Mistwalker shrugged, "I'm not sure myself. But I believe... the creature has finally begun to realize the true potential of its Camouflage ability."
Seraphina tilted her head, "What—"
Mistwalker interrupted her before she could finish the words, "It always believed that hiding itself from us imposed a certain limitation upon its actions. But if you think about it carefully... that assumption may have been incorrect. It may be unable to strike us without revealing its body, but that does not necessarily imply that its actual movements are restricted while concealed, though. So that same principle should apply to every kind of movement as well. For example... leaping or lunging."
Seraphina's eyes widened ever so slightly, 'Which meant... it could launch an attack while remaining hidden, then reveal itself only at the exact moment the strike was about to land. In that case, the strike would arrive within a mere split second without giving us the slightest opportunity to react. We would never know when the creature had begun its attack and from where it did.'
At that moment, a massive shadow loomed above her. The creature's enormous clawed legs had descended through the air and were now only an inch away from crushing her into the stone floor.
And then it struck.
A terrible shockwave tore through the hall as its weight slammed into the ground, sending fragments of stone, dust, and debris bursting outward in every direction. Where the attack landed, a deep hoof-shaped crater remained carved into the floor.
Valric shouted, "Captain!"
When the dust slowly began to settle though, there was no sign of anyone at the point of impact. In fact, the creature itself seemed to have paused mid-movement as though something unexpected had occurred during the strike.
Sparks of lightning flickered through the air as Seraphina reappeared just behind the creature, her sword whistled sharply through the air, its blade aimed directly at the creature's leg with precise intent.
'If Mistwalker had not warned me in time... maybe I wouldn't have escaped that attack alive.'
And why would that have happened?
It was because she had still been holding herself back throughout this entire battle.
The creature possessed the disturbing ability to sense her magic the moment she released it, allowing it to track her position almost instantly the moment she attempted to unleash her true strength. There was even the possibility that it could perceive the flow of magic itself, allowing it to predict her attacks beforehand and evade or deflect them with frightening ease, which would turn her most powerful strikes into nothing more than wasted effort. And that was a risk she simply couldn't afford to take.
That was the way she fought, after all.
'Unpredictability of a battle style is what gives a warrior true dominance over the flow of battle. Therefore, never let your enemy be aware of your next moves. If you do, you're bound to lose.'
Those were the words she had been taught by her master when she was still in training. They were also the exact words that etched themselves deep within her heart, shaping both the edge and sharpness she needed in order to grow into a proper swordswoman as the years passed. Those teachings were also what pushed her into challenging her own limits again and again, forcing herself through relentless practice and discipline until, eventually, she succeeded in shaping a battle style that belonged to her alone.
The long years of discipline, the endless repetition of movements, and the quiet determination to grow stronger had gradually shaped her into who she was today.
So, when she realized that her enemy could easily predict her movements beforehand if she used any kind of spells here, she understood immediately that she could not allow it to gain such a dangerous advantage over her. Her keen intuition, her refined senses, her carefully honed battle art, and the many years of experience she carried within her would never allow her to hand that advantage to an enemy so willingly.
Arrogant or not... that was simply how she was.
Besides, what would be the purpose of launching an attack when the enemy could simply counter it with ease anyway? Would it not be far more effective to fight with unpredictability, even when such a choice clearly placed her at a disadvantage?
The creature also possessed the ability to turn spells back toward their caster, which meant that refraining from using any spells would naturally deny it that opportunity. After all, if there was no spell to manipulate in the first place, then there would be nothing it could turn against her.
At least, that had been her reasoning.
She had believed it would work out somehow.
But she had been wrong.
In fact, she might have committed a fatal mistake and perhaps even lost her life within that moment... if not for Mistwalker's warning that had reached her beforehand. That grim possibility had existed only because she had been holding herself back yet again, restricting her own strength and capabilities even after she had decided that she would never repeat such hesitation. Whether the reason had been her wish to deny the creature any advantage or her concern about harming her comrades with high-ranking spells made no difference.
In the end, none of it had mattered.
It had all been for nothing.
'But I will not hesitate anymore.'
If the creature possessed the ability to predict her movements beforehand, then she would simply have to deceive it in the moment those movements were made, even if achieving such deception would prove to be extremely difficult. If she could overwhelm it with enough speed or raw strength, then perhaps she could still land meaningful strikes despite its awareness of her actions.
And this time she was not alone, though.
Now, she had two comrades fighting alongside her, which meant that there was no absolute necessity that the decisive blow had to come from her own blade. If she could simply divert its attention entirely toward herself, turning her own presence into nothing more than bait, then a proper opening might eventually present itself. And when that moment arrived, the creature would be vulnerable... perhaps enough to eliminate it.
'I won't be expecting anything less.'
Her sword descended toward the creature's leg with precise force, but the instant the strike was about to land, the creature simply vanished from sight as though it had dissolved into the air itself.
Seraphina halted her attack in the middle of its motion, quickly regaining her balance while fixing her posture once more as her sharp gaze moved slowly across the hall in search of any sign of movement.
Valric stood near the entrance of the hall, maintaining his position quietly while keeping watch over the path behind him. He seemed as though he was waiting patiently for the right moment to join the battle or perhaps guarding the exit in case something unexpected happened. Even so, there was something about him that felt slightly different from his usual self, something subtle that Seraphina could not quite place at the moment.
Before she could think further, Mistwalker stepped forward and approached her side, "What do we have here?"
Seraphina turned her head slightly and gave her a long stare, unable to understand what exactly she was referring to.
Mistwalker stopped beside her, standing shoulder to shoulder while resting the tip of her katana lightly against the ground as she leaned upon it with casual ease. Then she spoke again in an even tone, "Let's teach this creature some etiquette, shall we?"
Seraphina responded with nothing more than a small nod.
Was it simply her imagination... or did Mistwalker's manner of speaking sometimes feel somewhat disordered?
At that moment, the creature revealed itself again at a distance within the hall, facing them directly as though it had been observing them the entire time.
And that was when Seraphina noticed something peculiar about it.
The dim glow emanating from the tentacles that surrounded its face had grown slightly brighter than before, while its round dark eyes were now clearly visible within the light of the hall, glistening with what could only be described as malicious fury.
But that was exactly what made no sense.
According to what she had been told earlier, the third ability of this creature was supposedly connected to its minions in some way, perhaps allowing it to control them from the shadows or perhaps enabling it to issue commands to them through some unseen link. She had also tried to confirm this assumption through her own observations during the battle.
And there had indeed been signs supporting that theory.
Whenever the tentacles of its minions had been severed during the battle, their coordination had weakened slightly, though the change had been subtle. Their movements sometimes became a little sluggish afterward as well, though the difference had never been significant enough to cripple them entirely. Which meant that the connection between them did exist.
However, the minions were now gone and every last one of them had already been killed, so it made little sense that the ability was still active and, stranger still, it seemed to be increasing steadily instead of fading away. Such a thing was never supposed to happen unless the assumptions they had made earlier were wrong to some degree. And perhaps the creature's third ability had never been connected to its minions in the first place. Or it could also be possible that... the ability merely allowed it to gather its minions from the floors below and bring them here whenever it wished to do so.
She couldn't put the pieces together yet.
She did not have the time to do so either.
'What?'
The creature, instead of lunging forward as expected, suddenly seemed to shiver out of nowhere. That was how it appeared at a glance, but the truth was somewhat different, because the strands of its thick fur began to straighten upward one after another until they resembled countless thin needles standing rigidly across its body. From those sharpened tips, tiny particles of faint light began drifting away before vanishing almost instantly into the air.
At first they were hardly noticeable due to their tiny size and the lighting of the dungeon, but as their numbers continued to increase until there were countless of them floating around the creature, the strange phenomenon gradually became impossible to ignore.
Seraphina raised her sword and aimed its tip toward the creature, 'What is happening? Evolution perhaps? No... that doesn't feel right. It must be something else.'
Mistwalker, who had remained silent until that moment, slowly lifted her katana and pointed it behind her while keeping her gaze fixed on the creature, "I have a rather unpleasant feeling about this."
She turned her head slightly toward Seraphina before continuing, "What are you waiting for, girl? Run. It is about to launch an attack. Believe me or not, whatever is about to happen will not be a pleasant experience for any of us."
'Is she perhaps referring to its fur?'
But how could a mole-like creature possibly release the strands of its own fur as weapons?
At that exact moment the creature suddenly fired a dense barrage of needle-like strands toward them with terrifying speed, their tips glowing faintly as though each one had been briefly touched by fire. Without that faint glimmer of light they would have been almost impossible to notice due to their thin shapes and dark glistening appearances.
Dashing forward while shifting her movements from side to side in a curved pattern, Seraphina leapt upward and dove back down repeatedly while adjusting the rhythm of her steps with careful precision. By doing so she managed to evade the first barrage almost immediately, some needles passing far away from her body while others grazed past her by nothing more than a hair's breadth as she continued moving in the opposite direction from where Mistwalker was heading. At first the attacks seemed relatively easy to avoid once she understood where to focus her eyes, yet the situation soon began taking a strange turn that none of them had anticipated.
The moment those needle-like strands buried themselves deep into the uneven ground they exploded without any warning, sending fragments of stone and clouds of dust flying violently through the air.
Seraphina was nearly caught by the sudden shock when several detonations erupted close to her legs, the force bending portions of her armored boots almost instantly. The blast did not leave any injury thanks to the durability of her armor, but the impact still sent a faint jolt of pain through her limbs.
'Could this be its third ability then?'
The attacks however, destructive as they appeared, simply could not compare with the scale and overwhelming nature of the creature's other two abilities. In truth they resembled nothing more than low-ranking spells used by inexperienced mages, which meant the possibility was extremely unlikely.
'Then what else could it be?'
Leaning her body backward, she narrowly avoided another barrage of strands that had been aimed directly toward her face before continuing to advance toward the creature without slowing down.
By that time Valric had joined the battle. Instead of attempting to dodge the incoming needles, he moved straight through them while deflecting the strands aside with his greatsword in a continuous sequence of powerful wide swings, sometimes slicing them apart entirely as the shattered fragments exploded all around him. Surrounded by flickering sparks of light created by those blasts, the way his greatsword carved through the air gave his silhouette an almost terrifying presence.
He closed the distance between them in a matter of moments.
His jaw had tightened noticeably while his green eyes burned with a restrained fury as he shouted, "Captain! Be aware of its attack. Do not let those cursed needles ever touch your skin under any circumstances. Ignore the blasts themselves, if you can... even if they cause flesh wounds they can still be healed later, what those needles might do afterward could be something that no one can ever recover from."
Seraphina leapt backward several times while another rain of needles shot toward her, but every one of them missed their target before embedding themselves into the ground and exploding moments later.
She released a quiet sigh, "Why?"
Valric caught up to her by then and spoke again, although this time his voice sounded strangely subdued, almost as though he was forcing the words out with difficulty, "These needles... I believe they are capable of destroying the flowlines."
His fists tightened around the hilt of his weapon until the knuckles turned pale, "Valentina was pierced by a barrage of them earlier... and since that moment she seemed unable to use her magic. Perhaps it's possible that she may never be able to cast spells ever again."
Flowlines were the invisible channels through which mana flowed throughout the body, and once those delicate paths were destroyed the mana would no longer be able to circulate freely nor gather properly inside the mana core. Without the ability to control mana the act of casting spells would simply become impossible.
So his assumption was most likely correct.
Seraphina's expression turned strange.
'The ability to destroy one's mana flowlines?'
That had to be its final ability.
But how could something possibly be capable of disrupting the flowlines themselves? Could those faint particles of light drifting from the tips of the needles have something to do with it?
Perhaps they did, perhaps they did not.
But why had it hidden such an ability until now? Would it not have been far more effective to render its enemies powerless from the very beginning? Then again, it already possessed the ability to divert spells entirely, so perhaps it never truly needed such a method to begin with.
It was simply that Valentina had proven herself far more capable than the creature had initially expected, leaving a deep impression upon it by demonstrating that as long as she still possessed mana she would never give up despite its ability to divert her spells.
'Unfortunately, she won't be able to cast spells anymore.'
Was there any punishment more cruel for a mage than losing the ability to cast spells altogether?
It was the very essence of a mage's life.
'How awful! If I had reacted faster then perhaps I might have—'
She released a quiet sigh.
'No. I can't feel pity for her, it would only insult her pride as a mage as well as an adventurer. I must respect her sacrifice.'
While evading yet another wave of needles she soon found herself standing side by side with both Valric and Mistwalker.
Some distance away, the creature let out a deafening shriek that violently shook the very foundation of the floor beneath them.
Seraphina raised her sword and pointed its tip directly toward the creature.
Incandescent blue flames danced behind the visor of her helm as she spoke with calm authority, "Hold nothing back from now on. Be not wary of your spell being diverted toward any of us either, because we must overcome it. And remember, the wounded are still waiting to be treated."
Sparks of lightning began to dance wildly across the surface of her armor, making her appear almost like a radiant figure standing at the forefront of the battlefield.
Dashing forward together with the others, she let out a faint chuckle while saying, "Therefore, we must defeat the boss."
"Yes, ma'am!"
'I made a promise to all of them. And I am determined to fulfil it thoroughly. As long as I am here and continue to live, no one is going to die. I will not allow anyone to perish pathetically. Not anymore.'
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(Chapter Ended)
To be continued...