The moment James' fist touched the shield, he unleashed the power he was holding within.
The mana, usually destructive after being forced out explosively, was almost languid. It flowed from him into the construct in a slow, inexorable manner.
The dense fog that made up the Knight's shield wavered, assaulted by foreign power in a way it could not deal with. The white-blue that made it started darkening as James retreated, not wanting to be caught in its retaliation.
The Boss tried to push its own power into it in an attempt to repel the corruption, but it was to no avail. With a hiss, it released the shield, letting it fall heavily on the sandy ground.
Now disconnected from its primary source of power, there was nothing to stop James' mana advance, and it was quickly taken over, flakes of dense fog dissipating into the ether until nothing was left behind.
James panted, the attack having taken a lot out of him. Still, he prepared himself for the inevitable counterattack.
The Elemental Fog Knight, now deprived of its shield, regarded Team 0 with what could only be described as blind fury. Its form, a swirling mass of mist and vapor, began to shift and change, reacting to the loss of its shield with increased aggression.
With a thunderous roar that would have echoed through the expanse of Prospect Park without the dampening mist, the Knight summoned a wave of freezing fog that rolled toward the team with terrifying speed. The air temperature plummeted, turning breaths into visible puffs of steam.
James, his muscles aching from the effort of his previous attack, braced himself against the cold. He knew that as the front-line fighter, it was his job to engage the Knight directly, allowing the others to execute their parts of the plan, so he pushed forward, undeterred by the hostile conditions.
Beside him, Daniel stood ready, his shield now raised in a defensive stance. "We need to keep it busy!" he shouted, charging forward to meet the approaching wave of fog.
James followed suit, his every step a battle against the freezing mist that sought to slow his movements. He focused his mana, circulating it through his body to prevent being frozen, preparing for another direct confrontation with the Knight.
Maintaining a safe distance, Ezekiel unleashed another barrage of debuffs at the Knight. His spells, glowing with soft light, sailed through the air and landed on the Knight, causing its form to flicker and waver. The debuffs were crucial, weakening the Knight's defenses and slowing its movements, making it vulnerable to the team's attacks. Especially because, despite how much weaker it currently was, the Boss was still an F-rank creature, meaning that the status effects didn't last nearly as long as they would have with a creature within the same Awakening Tier.
With flames dancing at her fingertips, Maria countered the Knight's fog with a burst of intense heat. Her fire magic disrupted the Knight's constructs of steam and ice - which it had been preparing in what looked to be an attempt to finish them all off at once - creating an opening for James and Daniel to exploit.
Lauren, nimble and quick, maneuvered around the battlefield, emerging from the fog like one of the Elementals, looking for opportunities to strike. Her daggers were aimed at the most vulnerable parts of the Knight's misty form, which it deliberately avoided, meaning the one hit she had gotten in had actually hurt it.
I need to remember to ask her what the substance she used on her knives is. It looks like it's pretty useful.
The Knight's massive sword crashed against Daniel's shield, driving him to his knees. That, however, allowed James to get in close, entering inside its guard and unleashing one of his regular mana explosion punches, which made the Boss recoil, as it probably expected a repeat of his previous attack.
Yeah, I'm not gonna be able to do that for a while. It takes too much concentration and time to pull off properly, and something tells me you won’t let me have it without a fight.
The moment the Elemental realized it was not corroding away, it closed the distance with James, sword aimed unerringly at his neck to lop his head off.
Another fireball impacted its side, making the fog tremble with the heat, but it didn't stop its swing.
Pushing more mana into his body, James flattened down on the sand, feeling the wind whistle as the blade passed above him.
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Immediately, he jumped up and retreated, joining Daniel as they warily began circling the Boss, looking for another opportunity to strike. As James and Daniel regrouped, maintaining a cautious distance from the Fog Knight, the rest of the team sprang into action, taking up the slack to allow the two front-liners to recover their breaths.
"You alright?" James asked, voice raised to be heard over the conflagrations.
"I'm ok." Daniel grunted, though his tight tone told a different story.
Lauren did most of the job, as Maria was busy keeping the Boss away from the lake, so it couldn't resume its recovery efforts. The Rogue flitted through the mist like a wraith, appearing in one spot for one moment and the next, she was gone. She got a good hit at one point, making the Knight stumble.
James took that as the moment to jump back in. His mana was still decently high, thanks to the increase in levels, and the time his teammates had gained him had allowed him to prepare another corrosive mana attack.
This time I'm taking that fucking sword. We'll see what you can do without it.
Evidently, the Boss realized something was different this time because it bellowed. Mana around it thickened instantly in a show of power that made everyone wary.
Fuck, it shouldn't be able to do that, considering how injured it is.
It conjured a massive wave of steam, superheated and scalding, followed immediately by a blast of freezing air. The combination of heat and cold created a disorienting effect, steam and ice clashing in the air, producing even more of the unnatural fog that made it up .
James, caught off guard by the sudden shift in tactics and the great power being shown, found himself directly in the path of the Knight's sword. The blade, empowered by the denser fog, struck with a force that sent James flying, prevented from splitting him in twain only by the powerful battlesuit. He crashed into the freezing cold lake, the impact sending ripples across its whole surface.
His suit might have saved him, but James still took the brunt of the blow, which broke several ribs.
His gas mask, luckily, could also serve as a rebreather for a short while, which meant he didn't suffer from water going into his lungs, but he was still profoundly disoriented.
He thrashed madly in the freezing water, trying to get back up to the surface, though his battered body stymied his efforts.
Ezekiel, realizing the danger James was in, didn't hesitate. He dived into the water after him, casting a preventive healing spell on himself. The water was bitingly cold, a shock to the system, but Ezekiel pushed through thanks to his magic, quickly reaching James and beginning to heal him.
He worked fast, countering enough of the effects of the cold and the injuries sustained from the Knight's attack that James could pull himself from the water, reaching the shore in a few quick strokes.
Seeing James being sent into the lake, Maria redoubled her efforts to keep the Knight away from the water. Her flames became a barrier, a firewall separating the Knight from her teammate. She knew that if the Knight reached the water, it would use it to finish James off.
Lauren increased the frequency of her attacks, aiming to bring all the Knight's attention on herself so the two could get out of the water. She burned through her mana, forcing herself to blend in with the environment, even to the Elemental's senses, and attacking from hidden angles, becoming too much of a nuisance to ignore.
The moment the Knight tried to go after her, Daniel was there, Bashing it with his shield and sending the Boss crashing down on the sand. The two kept the Boss engaged, preventing it from focusing on their vulnerable teammates.
As James dragged himself out of the freezing water, holding his still tender ribs, he could see Daniel and Lauren engaging the Knight with a ferocity that spoke of their desperation to protect. Harassed by their attacks, the Elemental swung its massive sword in wide arcs, trying to fend off the relentless assault.
Still reeling from the impact and the cold, James struggled to his feet. Having followed him out of the water, Ezekiel continued to cast healing spells, his hands glowing with a warm, restorative light. The healer's magic worked to mend James's broken ribs and restore his vitality, but the process was slow, and every movement sent jolts of pain through his body.
Seeing an opportunity after the Boss overextended in an attempt to catch Lauren with its sword, Maria launched another barrage of flames at the Knight. The fire, fueled by her anger and concern for James, was more intense than ever, burning away swathes of the mist that made up the Knight's form.
As the flames consumed the fog, a brief but clear glimpse of the Knight's mana stone became visible – a shining core of energy deep within its misty body. They had their target, the key to defeating the Boss.
James, feeling a surge of strength returning to his body thanks to Ezekiel's healing, knew it was now or never. He nodded to Ezekiel, indicating he was ready to rejoin the fight, and called out "I'm back!"
With determination in his eyes, he focused his mana, preparing for one final, decisive strike.
Daniel acknowledged him and redoubled his efforts to keep the Knight's attention. He charged shield first, creating an opening for James. His shield collided with the Boss’ sword, the impact ringing through the air as he was pushed back.
Lauren, seizing the moment, danced around the Knight, her blades a blur. She was a whirlwind of precise strikes, her attacks keeping it off balance and exposing its chest, where the precious core was held.
James channeled his mana, converting it into the corrosive energy that had taken the Boss' shield, and closed the distance.
He replayed the same exact moves he had done the previous time, trying to draw the Knight into acting the same way too. Luckily, his gambit paid off, because it immediately disengaged from Lauren and Daniel, its sword lifted high to bring it to bear in a horizontal slash that was a copy of its last blow.
This time, however, James knew to expect it and waited until the last second to jump. He channeled the corrosive mana to his feet and timed his move precisely right, so that he fell on top of the sword, whereupon he released his deadly payload.
The momentum of the swing was still enough to send him flying, though this time, he was able to right himself midair, avoiding the lake.
The sword was not as lucky. It quickly flaked off, the dense mist that made it falling apart under James' magic.
The Knight, evidently not wanting to lose its weapon, redoubled its efforts to stave the corruption off, pushing significant amounts of mana into it.
That, however, was its last mistake because it had ended up allowing Lauren too close, and the girl didn't let that go unpunished.
She drove her daggers deep into its back, reaching all the way to the front as the magical substance that coated them easily parted the dense fog.
With a sound that resembled a mournful wail, the Elemental Knight's form began to unravel. The mist that had composed its body dissipated, its mana stone broken beyond repair.