The inert Ether energy stored in the shield was madly injected into the ground. Black Ether crystals, formed from the combination of inert Ether energy and inorganic matter, erupted from the earth like spikes in an instant.
The farther the fierce and dangerous Ether crystals were from the Dullahan, the larger they grew. The tips of the farthest ones were nearly as tall as Caesar.
Unable to dodge in time, Caesar was sent flying by the protruding earth spikes. The powerful impact slammed her against a wall before she slowly slid to the ground.
The blow to her back from the spikes made Caesar cough uncontrollably. If it weren't for the shield she'd acquired earlier, she probably would've needed a good while to get back up.
That one attack completely shattered the shield she had. Even so, Caesar's ribs throbbed with a stabbing pain with every movement, and several bruises bloomed on her body from the impact.
The only fortunate thing was that the spikes the Dullahan raised weren't pointed. Otherwise, it wouldn't have ended with just a broken bone.
But Caesar, who had grown up running around the Outer Ring, wasn't the type of girl to just cry out after getting a little hurt. The pain didn't affect her movements in the slightest.
The success of her last hit made her eyes shine brightly.
"It worked!"
And if it worked, the next step was obviously to press the advantage.
Just as Caesar was looking for a chance to strike again and deepen the wound from her earlier thrust, the Dullahan's blade, after its heavy downward slash, swept horizontally from her blind spot.
By the time Caesar noticed the whistling blade, it was too late to dodge.
Caught off guard, all Caesar could do was try to block the sudden attack with her shield. Fortunately, Pops' multiple reinforcements had made her shield's performance quite impressive.
Even though she was unprepared, it wasn't so bad that she was suddenly sliced in half like some manga character, left to lie on the ground and say, "My apologies, I couldn't provide Lord Ethereal with a good fight."
But even with "I Saw" blocking part of the blow, the Dullahan's second slash sent Caesar's shield flying back.
Thanks to her cybernetic palm, "I Saw" remained firmly in her grasp. If it had been any other investigator, the shield would have been knocked from their hand by the shockwave, sent flying who-knows-where.
Its attacks were like those of a sharp-eyed swordsman—brief, yet incredibly lethal. Every strike was aimed to kill.
After knocking her shield aside, the blade turned and shot forward in a straight, swift thrust toward Caesar's wide-open abdomen.
As if avenging the single stab it had received, the Dullahan's thrust was fast and precise. Thrown off balance by the second slash, Caesar twisted her body desperately, but she couldn't evade it completely.
The blade sliced across her side, instantly tearing through her leather clothes. A gush of fresh blood immediately spurted from the wound.
"Hiss…"
Pain shot through her, making Caesar instinctively suck in a sharp breath. But even with the throbbing pain in her abdomen, her movements didn't slow in the slightest.
Everyone knew that stopping in the middle of a fight was suicide. That was true when fighting humans, and even more so when fighting Ethereals.
Pushing through the pain, the outer tire of "I Saw" began to spin rapidly like a chainsaw. The spikes on its edge became the saw's sharpest teeth, slamming viciously into the Dullahan's side once more.
If Andrew saw this, he'd definitely quip something about it being a budget version of an Ultra Slash.
The spinning "I Saw" successfully interrupted all of the Dullahan's follow-up moves. This trade of injuries gave Caesar the room she needed to create a safe distance.
She retreated back against the wall, blood constantly pouring from the wound.
The Dullahan's thrust had been precise and vicious. Right now, Caesar couldn't tell how deep the wound was or if it had damaged any internal organs, but the long, bloody gash didn't paint an optimistic picture.
The repeated clashes were draining Caesar's stamina. The pain from her ribs, where the crystals had hit her, spread with the high-intensity combat. Now, even breathing brought a slight stabbing sensation.
On top of all that, adding a huge wound to the mix was a massive blow to her combat effectiveness.
The accumulation of injuries and continuous blood loss could be fatal in a solo battle.
She decisively pulled out a healing potion Andrew had given her, uncapped it, and shoved it into her mouth. She still had a vivid memory of its powerful healing effects.
Holding the shield in front of her with one hand, Caesar peeked through the gaps in "I Saw" to watch the Dullahan's movements while quickly gulping down the potion.
The healing effect of the herbs from the Monster Hunter world was undeniable. After just a couple of gulps, a warm current flowed through the wound on her abdomen and her fractured ribs.
But the Dullahan wasn't the kind of monster to just stand by and wait. The reason Caesar had time to drink the potion was because the Dullahan was gathering all the active Ether energy from the surrounding air.
The air itself visibly shimmered as the Dullahan drew it in, accumulating and contracting the energy.
In just two seconds, the purple Ether energy ignited like a high-powered engine. The fluorescent green parts under its carapace all lit up completely.
Even its arm blade began to glow, emitting a white light mixed with pale blue, as if enchanted with some kind of psionic effect.
But while it looked cool, its danger level skyrocketed. As the energy ignited, the Dullahan seemed to enter a rage state, becoming exponentially more dangerous in every aspect.
With a small shockwave radiating outward, the Dullahan slammed its shield in front of it, digging it viciously into the ground.
Then, it charged toward Caesar like a runaway dump truck.
Even though its shield carved a deep trench in the ground, the Dullahan's charge didn't slow in the slightest.
The concrete floor shattered under the shield's spikes. Its speed was so great it reminded Caesar of her own motorcycle.
However, for Caesar, whose powerful reflexes had been honed by daily high-speed riding, the Dullahan's straight-line charge was almost laughably easy to dodge.
Caesar didn't dodge immediately. Instead, she took a few more gulps, finished the potion, and casually tossed the empty bottle aside, her eyes fixed on the charging Dullahan.
Only when the Dullahan was less than two meters away did Caesar execute a sideways roll to get out of the way.
"BOOM!"
At the Dullahan's speed, two meters was nothing. The moment Caesar dodged, the Dullahan, unable to brake, slammed into the wall.
The momentum of the charge instantly backfired. But this was "The Infamous Dullahan," a Tier 4 Ethereal.
The next second, a deafening crash echoed as a hole was punched straight through the factory wall.
As the wall of an oil refinery, it was built differently from a regular residential building, constructed in the most solid way possible.
With its thick walls and internal steel rebar, Caesar had thought it wouldn't be as fragile as paper against the Dullahan.
But as the rising dust began to settle and the Dullahan came back into view, Caesar's previous plan was completely shattered.
Although a few faint, hairline cracks had appeared on its shield-bearing left arm, it was nowhere near enough to affect its combat ability.
Rallying herself, Caesar was about to continue her entanglement with the Hollow's boss when Andrew's grappling hook suddenly shot out from behind her.
It hooked onto her collar, and the cable retracted rapidly.
The next moment, Caesar felt herself being held in Andrew's arms again, though this time the posture was far less graceful than when she was falling.
With a lift of his left hand, Andrew hoisted Caesar up by her thighs and slung her over his shoulder. The sack-of-potatoes-like posture completely changed as Caesar instinctively straightened her back.
Before Caesar could even react, she felt Andrew carrying her and rapidly retreating a good distance, followed by the sound of a heavy thud.
Turning her head, she saw that the Dullahan was gone.
In its place was a ferocious, demon-like monster. It was enormous, but its shape was strikingly similar to a wolf.
And "The Infamous Dullahan" she had just been fighting was now pinned under its foot. With a crisp sound like a blade being unsheathed, its retracted claws shot out and pierced into the Dullahan's body with a sickening squelch.
The terrifying sight made Caesar's scalp tingle. She couldn't help but gasp in shock and exclaim:
"What in the world is that monster!"
_____
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