The survivors of the other group were exhausted. Only a Warrior and a Mage were left, but they weren’t in good condition either. The Warrior was badly wounded, but David could tend to that if he reached the Warrior. The Mage, on the other hand, seemed to falter. Her legs caved in, and David was certain she would collapse soon, just like Melach.

“Once the Boss is dead, the Rift will close, right?” David asked Torb, who’d sustained the least injuries. A trace of hesitation lingered in David’s voice. Deep down, he knew how dangerous this task was. Many had already succumbed to the Rift’s threat.

The Dwarf was drenched in sweat, his chest heaving heavily, but the blood and brain mass all over his body didn’t belong to him.

“It should be cleared once that thing is dead,” Torb nodded subtly.

Clearing the Rift would prevent any more Fangs from emerging. It would be great if the clearance conditions were easier.

Defeating the monstrosity of a wolf wasn’t going to be easy. But maybe that was exactly what David needed right now. A threat to dive into.

The Rift Boss dashed forward, its claws digging deep into the wet soil as it burst forward. David’s eyes flicked to the side in an attempt to follow the monster’s trajectory. He barely predicted its path and watched as the Rift Boss suddenly stopped before Torb. It lunged at the Dwarf and would have ripped him apart without Torb’s shield jumping into action.

Torb groaned in pain as he moved unnaturally fast to lift his shield arm, blocking most of the impacting force. A loud screech resounded as the wolf’s claws scraped across the shield, but Torb’s body was still intact, though the pained grimace hinted that he didn’t escape the attack unscathed.

David had tried reaching the injured Warrior to heal him, but his mind went blank when the Rift Boss shifted. It eyed the remaining foes and smacked Torb’s shield with its tail. David was certain nothing would happen, but Torb was pushed back against all odds. His lackluster combat experience against large and truly powerful monsters showed.

His heart thumped loudly in his chest, muffling the noises all around him. He grit his teeth, applied [Bless] onto everyone and returned to Torb’s side. His swords glowed in pristine light as they arced through the air, leaving behind magnificent trails. But that was all they did. The Rift Boss’ head lunged forward, crushing the kobold shortsword with a simple yet rapid crunch.

David didn’t even know what was happening when it was already too late. The wolf’s head was eerily close, its predatory crimson eyes lingering on David even after it crushed his shortsword – what else was there to look at? David smiled defiantly, and his head shot forward, impacting heavily. He headbutted the Rift Boss with every ounce of strength in his body.

A crack rang out, but the pain spreading through his head wasn’t as severe as expected.

Coating my forehead in [Holy Touch] was a good idea.

His forehead, albeit drenched in warm blood, glowed pristine as he pulled back, but David wasn’t done yet. The pristine light intensified as his head bolted forward again.

The first headbutt didn’t inflict much damage, neither did the second. But David wasn’t going to end it like that. As long as the Rift Boss stayed near him, David would keep going. His head smashed into the wall-like skull of the Rift Boss three times in quick succession until the wolf had spit out the kobold shortsword’s fragment.

It growled in fury and returned David’s favor by headbutting him as well. David was pushed back and toppled over a corpse. He fell to the ground, the Rift Boss’ blood-covered head looming above him.

The monster’s hot breath plowed in David’s face, its saliva trickling on his cheeks.

Stolen story; please report.

David’s heart skipped a beat, and he nearly messed up using [Cure Wounds] on his drumming head, too.

I’m not done here!

He screamed in his mind, ready to thrust the warrior longsword into the monstrosity’s chest when an [Arcane Blast] struck the Rift Boss in the side of the head. The Rift Boss had been staring at David, its eyes filled with bloodlust when the mass of mana hit, jolting the wolf’s head to the side.

The wolf growled deeply, its head flicking back to its original position, only to be greeted by a metal shield. Torb accelerated suddenly, presumably using [Charge] to appear before the Rift Boss and slamming his shield in its face.

David couldn’t see anything in detail as Torb pushed his small but sturdy body before him, but it had to be bloody. A cacophony of screams and shouts resounded, all while David’s attention pulled to the body, which had sent him sprawling to the ground.

His legs were still hurled across the Fang’s corpse, which was the only reason he’d noticed something odd.

The crimson motes are still there.

Even now, crimson motes kept emerging from the Fang’s corpse. They were dim and inconspicuous at this point, but they didn’t disappear. Neither did the Rift Boss absorb them.

David pulled himself together and jumped to his feet. However, he didn’t return to the fight right away. His attention lingered on the dim crimson motes. They looked familiar. Oddly similar to the motes David was forced to use when he fought the Kobolds.

Maybe they weren’t the same…but if he could use his Skill Runes by using crimson motes again…

Fuck it!

David’s hand glowed dimly as he reached out. He grasped the nearest crimson mote while seeing a catastrophe unfolding from the corner of his eyes. The wolf maneuvered Torb’s shield to the side with a constant barrage of claw strikes and pushed forward. It reached Torb’s shoulder and bit down, its fangs digging deep into the Dwarf’s shoulder.

Torb screamed out in pain, but the disaster had just begun. Torb was hurled through the air, his shoulder still impaled and locked in place. His screams grew louder. More intense. David had no idea how many seconds had passed, but the Dwarf transformed into a cannonball when the wolf released him. He was flung through the air and would have squashed Melach if the Elf hadn’t jumped to the side at the last moment.

The blue mass gathering atop Melach’s Mage Wand vanished. David noted Melach getting up, casting something from anew, but his attention returned to the Rift Boss and the crimson motes.

[Holy Touch] connected to the first crimson mote and absorbed it. It entered his energy pathways and did something. David had no clue what it was or if it was bad, but since he didn’t know how to materialize the crimson motes in his body, he had to make use of the motes of other beings, no matter how harmful they may be.

The other warrior pushed forward. His expression was torn in fear and defiance, but he’d charged the Rift Boss while it was busy playing with Torb. The Warrior’s sword resonated and vibrated as it cleaved down and cut deep into the wolf’s left hind leg.

The Rift Boss yelped but appeared more surprised than in pain as it swung around. Its claws turned crimson as if dyed in blood when they cleaved through the Warrior. The injured warrior’s blade moved quickly, clearly trying to parry the incoming attack in a last-ditch effort, but he was too slow. The Rift Boss killed the Warrior just like that.

David broke into a cold sweat, and his body heated up. Whether his body reacted to the foreign crimson motes circulating through his system…David didn’t know, but what he could tell was that the dim crimson motes lingering everywhere on the battlefield were just as potent as the crimson motes he’d used in the struggle against the Kobolds.

He guided the crimson mote into his Holy Sea while reaching for more nearby motes. The crimson mote dispersed in the Holy Sea, dying the residue of holy power within.

Something changed as the crimson mote merged with his holy power, but David didn’t have any time to play around and experiment.

The Rift Boss turned to David, and for the first time, he felt like the monster was truly looking at him.

It noticed what he was doing, lowered its body, and growled deeply.

Its’ claws dug deep into the ground, and its bloodlust intensified

Playtime was over.