There was something a bit off with the way these monsters regenerated. The Spartan didn’t know exactly, but he could tell that there was a difference in the speed of recovery. The ones that were connected to the floor got back up faster than those that were standing on their own two feet.
Was it possible that they had something underneath that was allowing them to regenerate? Or perhaps the legend of Achilles’s heel applied to these monsters and that was their weak point? In any case, he would have to test this.
Just for a show, he got to the nearest corpse that was still regenerating and slashed at the exact location described in the legends. The cut was large and went through the muscle to display the bone that supported the ankle. Though, the body didn’t turn to dust yet and the flesh started to knit itself back together.
So that wasn’t it then. How annoying. Nevertheless, he’d need to keep on attacking to find something to take this thing down.
“Crusader! Defend me for a moment while I try to find their weakness!”
His associate nodded and went to work. With that command, he became a blur once more and deflected several of the incoming projectiles, before roaring and rushing the standing militia.
That didn’t mean the Spartan would be waiting around and doing nothing. He aimed his spear throughout each of the different body parts, striking and doing everything he could to find the weakness that would put an end to this whole ordeal.
He struck the head, the torso, the arms, everywhere. Nothing was left free from his strikes as he kept going to find that Achilles’s heel. His spear became a blur as he focused on striking constantly and endlessly in his quest.
But it didn’t seem to be doing much at all. Each of these attacks failed to kill the monster once and for all, which meant that all of his energy was being wasted for nothing. He couldn’t seem to think of anything else at the moment to possibly deal with these monsters.
He looked up at the Crusader to see what his current status was. What he saw was nothing good as his associate was struggling against the horde. The Crusader was able to do significant damage and had taken down more of the standing enemies, but that was nothing when they were able to keep on coming. He was faltering here and there, and the monsters were starting to take advantage of that by corralling him into a corner.
There was another problem: the Spartan was no longer able to spend his time attacking this corpse however he desired. There was a duo that were getting ready to shoot at him with their spikes, and he had to divert his attention to deflecting the incoming rounds.
This wasn’t optimal. At this moment he would have to do something drastic. And thus, without any choice, he took a deep breath and activated his divinity.
His mind expanded, and he was able to get the full information of the surrounding area. The monsters that he was fighting, the barricades, everything. He grimaced before focusing directly into the enemy themselves, particularly the one on the ground.
He was going to focus every single bit of his perception to search for the weakness within the monsters. He hadn’t done anything like this before and he certainly wasn’t sure if this would succeed, but he didn’t necessarily have a choice. He had to delve into drastic measures to change the tide of this battle.
He focused. His mind burned with absolute pain as he struggled to get all the information of the monster in front of him. However, his gambit paid off, and he was able to analyze the corpse for all the intricate details.
The first thing he discovered was that this thing was nothing more than a former human. The shape, the organs, the bone structure, everything was similar to that of a human being from what he could tell. The differences came from the arms and the legs, as well as a minor portion of the torso and head.
The legs were quite strange. They seemed to have some minor protrusions that were similar to that of sacs scattered across the flesh, but they certainly did not seem to have any function whatsoever. He had ruptured several of them, but even they were regenerating themselves, making him a bit confused on what their purpose was.
Then there were the arms. The left arm was twisted, yes, but done in such a way that even he had to admit was quite interesting. The muscles were all acting as nothing more than the propulsion for the launching mechanism of the spike, which was completely disconnected from the body otherwise. The metal was acting as support beams for the attack and to ensure that the arm didn’t collapse in on itself.
The right arm was fused with the black cloak over its right shoulder that acted as some kind of secondary skin. There were muscles that worked to have the body move these parts freely, which explained how it was able to trap his weapon earlier. Then there was the bone lance itself which was connected to the hand by a thin line of muscle fiber that went all the way to the shoulder, something quite interesting to the Spartan himself.
The torso was similar to a human being except for one thing: the lungs. They had been expanded significantly more and were connected to both of the arms. Perhaps this was the mechanism in which these attacks were able to go off, using the stored air as an agent of launching the strikes. That would be an explanation that certainly wasn’t reliant on magic itself.
Then there was the head. The face had been twisted and warped so much that he could not truly explain what he was seeing. The skull and the brain had all mixed together into some weird amalgamation that made him question how these beings were still alive.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
He couldn’t find anything else. That meant the only possible choice could be those minor flesh protrusions that existed within the leg. Which meant one and only one thing.
In order for these monsters to be killed, every single one of those protrusions had to be destroyed. They couldn’t allow any to remain, all of them had to be utterly destroyed to take these things out once and for all.
He deactivated his divinity and could feel his mind lighten up. Despite this, blood poured down his nose and his body felt much more sluggish than normal. Nevertheless, he couldn’t falter now. He had to confirm this theory of his.
Without much fanfare, he struck. His spear went through the leg and kept ripping through as he aimed at the location of those protrusions as much as possible. The eight strike ran true and at that exact moment, the being stopped regenerating and finally began to disappear into dust and bone.
He found the answer. He got the Achilles’s heel. With one down and seventeen left to go, they could finally go through and complete their mission here.
“The legs! They have flesh protrusions, destroy all of them to kill them!”
The Crusader got the warning. He perked up and got the second wind necessary to continue. Without further ado, he lashed out at the legs of the monsters attacking him in a blur.
Four were turned into dust in a heartbeat. At that moment, however, the remaining realized the situation and how the tides of the battle had turned. Thus, they started to move.
Those with legs rushed towards the stairs. Those that were fused to the floor opened fire at both the Spartan and the Crusader to buy time for them to escape.
They would not allow such a travesty to go on. They were going to end this here and now.
The Spartan deflected all the strikes with his shield. His associate dodged through each of those attacks with his super speed. The two did not need to speak anymore as they realized the game plan at hand that was needed.
He went for the ones in the lobby, and his associate rushed for those that were running. They all frantically began to get their spikes back in their arms to shoot back, but they were too slow.
The Spartan activated his divinity. He tasted blood in his mouth and his mind started to fizzle in and out. But, he had enough juice for one thing.
He made a path to each and every single one of those sacs. His powers went through and set them in stone for the direction and speed necessary. He did not have any time to wait.
He struck. Each of those protrusions exploded in a shower of blood and gore as his spear punctured through them all. All the monsters still on the first floor began to dissolve into dust and bone as he deactivated his divinity.
He fell to the ground at that moment. All the harsh usage of his divinity was finally recoiling severely to him, and the only thing he could do was catch his breath and try to not pass out. His mind went in and out of consciousness, and he felt his body failing.
He couldn’t endure for long. He slammed his spear onto the ground and used it as a cane to support his weight as he staggered back to a standing position before looking up to the stairs.
The Crusader was in a similar situation as him. He was worn out and unable to proceed onwards. Except, unlike the Spartan, he had been unable to finish off all the monsters in his path.
One stayed standing. One that had its left leg ripped to complete shreds, with its right leg still intact. The monster seemed to be growling as it looked between him and his associate. It was clear what it was doing.
The enemy was trying to determine which one of them was the most threatening opponent to take out here and there. The helmet kept moving for a little while longer, before coming to a decision.
It fired the spike at the Spartan. The projectile went sailing through the air before slamming right into his side.
A wet scream came out as the spike began to dig into his body. He found himself falling onto the ground as he yanked at the end, trying to get this thing out of him.
He couldn’t. So much energy had been wasted fueling his divinity that he no longer had the power to do so. At that moment, he found himself being dragged forward as the spike was working to settle itself back into its original position. Then he began to fly towards the monster as the muscle pulled back hard.
“No!” The Crusader cried out as he tried to lash out with his sword to disconnect the spike from the monster. He needed to stop his friend from dying, he had to do something, anything!
But all of his effort was in vain. The blade bounced off of the muscle fibers, and he found himself back on the ground once more. The Spartan came flying towards the lance that the monster had lifted to rip through him without much effort.
He sailed. He gritted his teeth. Then, he put his spear out in front of him, aimed at the lance. He should have aimed at the head or the torso or anywhere else. However, at this moment, he truly had no choice than to pin all of his hopes into destroying the weapon or even causing a pure draw and deflecting the attack.
What happened was not what he wanted. He didn’t have enough energy to aim properly, and his mind was still reeling from the overuse of his divinity. Thus, his spear missed, and he got impaled in the stomach for all his trouble.
But he was lucky. His weapon had dipped low enough to rip into the leg of the monster and break the bone. That strike must have destroyed the remaining flesh protrusions as it began to dissolve into dust and bone.
Unfortunate for the Spartan, as he still had the bone lance in him. He collapsed to his knees.
The lance kept digging into his body more and more. He could feel something in his body burning with each breath, and blood was beginning to pour out of his mouth. His vision blurred and started to go black.
In that boundary of life or death, he saw it. Something strange.
From all directions came numerous black sparkles that seemed to be coming together to one right where the last monster had been killed. They turned and formed into a single shard of black that seemed to call to him.
He didn’t have any choice at this point. He did not have the willpower to resist.
His fingers brushed this new material and with that, the last of his consciousness escaped him.