The boss was an odd one. It was a humanoid wearing fine metal armor with a cape trailing behind it, but it moved around like an animal, two legs and a hand running along the ground while the remaining free arm dragged a greatsword behind it. It had those distinct burn marks of corruption running along the armor, and blood was seeping from the many cracks on its armor. It was clearly limping—it didn’t have much fight left.

Sandel, the Guardian Knight of the Shrine Mountain

The second son from a mighty house, he volunteered to serve amongst the shrine guard to stave off succession concerns. Despite his highborn origin, the common-born men he commanded respected him greatly, and his valor at arms was respected all over the mountains.

Important enough to be named, huh. He was panting heavily, helmeted head turning wildly to gauge the battle as the field paused for a moment on Rose’s entry. She quickly checked the other side.

One demon, a male with crimson coloring had been harrying the boss, while another with more purple-ish skin stood further away by the mountaintop temple, armed with a bow, peppering the monster with arrows. A goblin with a wooden spear stood by the archer, guarding for any attempts at approach.

A melee fighter who stays close to the boss, while the other harasses from afar, with a spear-wielding protector. Did the bowman have some sort of important blessing that needed to be kept up? Rose was surprised the goblin was sticking to his side, even with the boss so close to done.

But her course was clear. A quick plan forming in her mind, Rose ignored the swordsman entirely and began sprinting at the archer-goblin pair.

“Finish the damn boss—the human’s coming for me!” The archer shouted, nocking an arrow and aiming for Rose. The goblin moved to intercept, spearpoint ready.

And Rose could see how it could play out. If he does manage to kill the boss, the dungeon reward would go to him and then he could come for my rear. But if I go for the swordsman, I might end up fighting the boss—and dodging arrows from behind.

But she had a plan.

Rose dodged an arrow with a quick sidestep, then quickly glanced to the side, checking the fight she was running past. The boss was leaping over a broken decorative fountain, flailing its greatsword wildly at the demon, who calmly deflected the strikes and took opportune jabs whenever he could. The boss’s blood was pooling.

She couldn’t risk the boss dying to the swordsman. Let’s see if this works…

Rose aimed a finger at the armored monster, instantly reversing the boss’s wounds. Blood first stopped flowing from wounds, then started going back in.

“She’s healing the damned boss!” The swordsman cursed, thrusting his own sword forward with greater urgency.

Rose certainly hoped she was. Hang in there tough guy. But was that enough? She dodged another arrow, then took a second, to think it over.

It’s not like putting the blood back in is just going to magically heal him, everything else could still be broken. Can I do something more? Her senses could feel a bit of how the blood moved inside the boss, and it didn’t seem good for it. There were many broken organs inside.

Could I maybe try to kill it first? No—too risky, the sword demon is right there and can do a lethal attack faster. Does only the final, killing blow count? Even with a halted blood flow, the boss was still faltering. It’s animal-like fury with the greatsword was fierce, but something the swordsman could parry with practiced ease. You’re supposed to be the boss, damn it!

One eye on the bowman’s readying arrow and another on the boss, Rose tried to think. Her senses could feel all the blood she was moving for the boss, even as it trashed around like an animal and broke its body further and further, but was there any power in the blood she could tap into?

The bowman cursed as Rose once more easily dodge his arrow, but the young woman was barely noticing him now. I can only really turn the blood into weapons, so that won’t work. Wait, if I focus on that…

Feeling out with her divine sense, Rose focused on that one thing that definitely could be felt. The wrongness, the corruption. She moved her blood, focusing on the slight twist in the world she could feel and—

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She smoothed it out.

Blood sizzled and hissed as it frothed against the burn marks on the boss’s armor. The armored figure howled with rage, and a pinprick headache struck Rose’s mind with blinding pain as her new sense directly clashed with something foul, causing her to stumble.

An arrow hit her shoulder.

“You—!”

Rose snapped out of it and started running at the archer again. He was standing on the temple’s steps, on higher ground, the stone building behind him. I’m really glad that goblin is just sticking to his side.

The pain made her grimace, but mostly she was annoyed at how her right arm now felt stiffer and harder to move, every move prompting agony as muscle rubbed against the arrowtip. You’re not supposed to take an arrow out, right? Because then the blood would—

She cursed. No, I’m an idiot. Bleeding out would never again be a problem for her.

After baiting out the next arrow and dodging under, Rose took a second to yank the one in her shoulder out and focus a bit of blood on holding the wound sealed. But first, she pulled some of her own blood out of it, forming a crimson leaf blade. It was short, the length of her arm and extremely thin, but she still felt her speed and strength lower by at least a fifth from losing all the blood.

But she was finally in range. Rose stood at the bottom of the temple’s steps, the goblin and archer only 5 paces away.

The goblin was holding the spear at her, starting to get nervous, and the bowman was distracted, looking between Rose and the fight behind them. Apparently, the boss was doing something worrisome after her attempted corruption-healing.

But what abilities do these two have? I haven’t seen them use one yet. Or—no. Rose frowned. Actually, she could sense a slight power from the archer, directed right behind her.

Her side-eye caught the armored boss hitting the swordsman demon on the leg with just the tip of his longsword, but the wound instantly closed before it could even begin bleeding. And now that she thought about it—the swordsman was moving supernaturally fast, it was just that so were Rose and the boss so she hadn’t realized.

A swordfighter and a healer! But can the goblin do anything?

Experimentally, Rose jumped forward, slashing with her leaf-sword, and the goblin brought up its spear to intercept. The archer was aiming an arrow.

Rose’s sword cut right through the wooden spear’s haft, smooth as snapping a stick.

The arrow shot, Rose moved forward more, but it still hit her left shoulder.

And she kicked the goblin in the face.

Even weakened, her kick was strong. Teeth and nose were both crushed under, as Rose sent the goblin crashing five feet away. It really didn’t have an ability?

She looked the archer in the eye. Going to switch your heal to the goblin?

The archer only cursed and ran, shouting. “Akas! Finish that damn boss!”

Big mistake. The archer was running right by the unconscious goblin. Rose pulled, tapping into the blood flow she could feel starting from the goblin’s face, and managed to form a single thorn midair, right into the running archer’s stomach.

He impaled himself on it, and Rose smiled.

But then a flash of healing moved over him, and the wound in his stomach closed. He was already getting back up. Rose’s smile fell. Right, healer—need to get a bigger hit in.

At least the swordsman wasn’t being healed anymore. Rose almost felt she was starting to root for the boss in a way. With a quick glance back, she saw that he was no longer moving like a beast, but standing on two feet, greatsword in a practiced form as he slowly overwhelmed the demon swordsman. The boss still emanated corruption, but less than before.

Rose turned back and chased after the archer who was running down the steps, off to the side.

She cut the goblin’s head off as she ran past it, and pulled a pool of blood around her, dismissing the leaf-sword and returning her own blood into her veins. Her strength returned, running speed increasing so she started gaining on the archer—fast.

He wasn’t even trying to fight back. It was just a desperate dash, hoping to buy enough time for the swordsman to beat the boss. But I don’t think that will be happening.

Rose boxed the archer in towards one of the stone walls, sending a pool of blood along the ground to block off both sides of escape for him. The archer didn’t even notice. He just turned at the wall, bolting to the left, then began to run right over one of the puddles she had set.

Suits me.

She pulled up, forming razor-sharp crimson grass that bit into his feet like caltrops. With a cry, the demon collapsed, face falling right against the waiting razors. Cry turned to scream.

Then Rose was on him.

Before he could heal, Rose thrust her hand at him, stabbing a thorn deep into his neck. He squirmed, but only cut himself more on the razor-grass. His wounds were constantly closing and reopening as they healed only to rake against the spiky ground. Rose began pulling out all his blood.

Don’t think you can heal through this.

The wound in his neck tried to close, but Rose’s hand was deep inside, and there was no stopping her. It took 10 seconds until the demon was finally motionless, skin gone pale.

Blood: 22/100

Rose flexed her shoulders—the arrow wounds seemed to have healed, and her garment had repaired the holes in it already. This shrine maiden outfit is really handy. Then she slowly got up and turned toward the courtyard’s center.

The boss was watching her, by the broken fountain. It stood there, clad in armor, a beheaded demon at its feet. Was there intelligence in its gaze? Rose thought he had finished his own fight a bit before already, so had he decided to wait for her to finish?

It bent down to pick something up from the demon’s body, then threw it at Rose with terrifying strength. She almost dodged instinctually, but it wasn’t aimed at her.

The demon’s sword clanged onto the ground right by Rose’s feet. The boss rose back up and brought up its sword, waiting in a formal pose. Brow furrowed; Rose picked up the sword she had been thrown.

“You want a duel?”

The helmeted head nodded.

Did I heal him too much?