Immediately, Myles and Grayson dashed forward.
The deers started their siege by creating a large wave that rushed towards the five.
Violla immediately summoned her vines and created a large wall to block the wave, protecting her and Lucian.
While this was occurring, Lucian turned to look at the fox as it sat idly, motioning it to stay back. It simply nodded as it rushed back into the forest.
"[Sun Fire]" Myles summoned an abnormally bright flame that he released in a wave. Surprisingly, however, Grayson was not affected whatsoever by the fire. In fact, it seemed to make him stronger as he gained a bright golden glow on his body and weapons.
The flame moved like a wave through the herd, dealing periodic damage to them as they squealed in pain. It seemed to hurt them even more since they were water-based creatures.
With aggro placed on Myles, Grayson took out a bow, nocking it with three arrows that he let loose less than a second after.
The first arrows pierced right through an unlucky deer's eye, instantly killing it, while the horns of Water-Stag blocked the other two.
Grayson took out a small blade as he ran into the fray, attacking the Water Stag and all the other beasts around it. He moved like water, seemingly maneuvering and slicing apart each of them with ease.
In a matter of minutes, 4 Deer had already been killed, with the uncommon Water Stag receiving significant damage.
Some deer tried to bypass the two's onslaught as they channeled their water into powerful jets, slicing the trees around them.
Just as Lucian was about to use his abilities, Violla summoned another set of vines she had used before, creating another large wall. The water smashed onto it but was ultimately unable to pierce through as the vines attained a life of their own. It grabbed and twisted the unfortunate deer to death while slowly depleting its life force for sustenance.
"Powerful Skill," Lucian Commented. He couldn't help but feel lucky that he didn't attack it head-on. He wouldn't have lasted long if he did.
Violla stared at him weirdly before replying, "It's an ability." she said curtly.
"Still. It's pretty powerful."
"...Thanks," Violla responded as she turned back towards the fight. Lucian smiled, finding her antics amusing.
The kill count gradually increased as Grayson continued his killing streak. Soon there were only about 2 beasts left, including the upcoming Water Stag. The last deer was quickly killed by Grayson. Now there was only the Uncommon Stag left.
Suddenly the Stag took multiple steps back as it let out a monstrous roar no stag should ever release. Its body grew, its horns brighter as a red tint tainted the blue water surrounding it.
The red continued to stain its body until there was not a single hint of blue left on its body.
[Bloody Water Stag (Uncommon)(Enraged) - LVL 13]
Immediately its transformation ended. It inhaled a large breath as the surrounding slowly began to decay. The water in all the plants around was pulled into its mouth as its horns grew a brighter red.
"STAND BACK. IT'S TRYING TO EVOLVE," Grayson roared as he flipped back. Unsummoning his blade, he grabbed his bow once more and aimed right into the mouth of the beast.
"[Concentrated Shot], [Precision Shot]," The arrow pierced through the air, moving faster than Lucian could follow.
The arrow reached the Stag in a matter of moments. However, just as it was about to pierce through, a wave of red water appeared out of nowhere, blocking the attack.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
That was all the time it needed. Right after, it exhaled, letting out a massive wave of red energy that blasted everything around it away.
Grayson and Myles were immediately swept by the attack, sending them hurling through the air as Lucian and Violla followed close after.
The beast released another deafening roar as it watched its opponents flail about in the air. Crouching down, it made a crazy dash towards Myles, delivering a powerful smash with its horns and sending him flying further away, hitting the trees recklessly. A small fox shadow chased after Myles as he passed through the air.
Turning towards Violla, it began to crouch again, ready to deliver another mad dash. Lucian saw this as he got a peek at the evolved beast's power.
[Blood Stag (Elite)(Enraged) - LVL 13]
It Evolved into an Elite!
Lucian immediately activated [Primordial Bone Burst] and [Phantom body] as the Stag began dashing toward them. The world slowed to a crawl, but surprisingly, the beast was still moving incredibly quickly!
"If I wasn't prepared.." he said as his face grew serious. He knew he would be dead before he could even react.
Grabbing Violla, he moved her to the side as he ran towards Grayson. The best chance of their survival is with Grayson, who seems to be the strongest.
A loud crash echoed as the beast hit a tree, felling it completely. [Primordial Bone Burst] ended, but [Phantom Body] was still active as he ran toward Grayson's location. Soon he saw the man as he fed a potion to Myles. The fox stood beside them as it licked Myles's face affectionately.
The damage he had taken was significant. Fortunately, he received no fatal injuries and seemed to recover quickly.
Turning to look at both of them, his face was grim. "This is getting out of hand. At this rate, it will outlast us or worse. We need to flee."
Myles coughed as he chuckled. "It's too fast. We'll be picked off one by one if we turn our backs against it."
"Can't we try to fight it? As long as we get into per-"
"I need a blade," Lucian suddenly said. The three stared at him weirdly, almost as if they heard him wrong.
Did he want to fight it? Did he think he could fight against it when Grayson couldn't?
Lucian saw their stares as he spoke calmly. "We will not escape if we run now. We need to distract it. I have a couple of techniques that can help with that."
"No! That is too much of a risk. What if y-"
"It's either your lives or a stranger's," he said as he placed his hand out patiently, cutting the conversation short.
Their faces warped as they were faced with the decision. They couldn't bring themselves to choose each other over a stranger.
Seeing this, Lucian chuckled. "Hey, if it makes you feel better, you can help as well."
"RROAHHH" The beast let out another howl as it spotted them.
"We don't have time. Give me a blade!" Lucian roared at them, growing tired of their indecision.
Finally, Grayson offered him a blade from his space rings. It was a simple blade with a single sharp side and a moderate-sized hilt.
Receiving it, Lucian nodded as he turned to face the beast. "Myles, can you heal muscle and bone injuries with your skill?"
Getting up shakily, he nodded. "Yes, I can, to a certain extent."
"Good. I'm going to need that healing solely on me. Grayson and Violla can support me if I need it." Lucian said as he slowly walked towards the beast.
Activating [Phantom body], he sprinted towards the beast as it began to crouch again.
[Primordial Bone Burst] was soon activated as the world slowed to a crawl. Next, he layered on [Blood burst], immediately feeling its effects on him and his surrounding.
The Stag dashed forward directly at him, but fortunately, Lucian was prepared this time.
Activating [Aerial Steps], he sidestepped the beast as it slowly inched towards him.
Coating his blade with [Soul Cutting Edge], he sliced at one of its hind legs, rendering it immobile.
Stumbling, the momentum pushed it forward as it crashed into a tree once more. However, Lucian wasn't done.
Using [Aerial Steps], he quickly rushed towards the beast while it was disoriented, delivering another large attack to its leftover hind leg, effectively incapacitating it.
With another slash, he sliced its neck, delivering the final blow.
However, just as it was about to retreat, it released another wave of energy. Luckily with his skills active and Myles's help, he quickly moved back before he was affected by the blast.
Turning back, he watched in amazement as the beast, whose legs should be unusable, stood up again. He realized what was going on.
"The Stag is using the surrounding life force to keep itself alive. As long as we are in this forest, full of life, it virtually can't die!" He shouted out in realization, party to inform the party, and in shock. Was this the power of the beasts in this world?
"Incredible"
Regaining his focus, he addressed the hunters. "We must limit its self-healing or do enough damage to kill it," Lucian explained as he watched it closely regain its bearings. They had to think fast.
"I can stop its healing." Myles offered, looking much better than he did before.
"Great! N-"Lucian began.
"But I can't heal you simultaneously," Myles explained carefully.
Lucian frowned. This means he would have to use his full power while enduring all the injuries. He had to pull all the stops to fight this beast, so he couldn't half-ass it either.
"Do it," Lucian said with a nod. If he didn't, they were guaranteed dead. This was the only chance of life.
"Okay," Myles said. Suddenly the golden fire surrounding him turned black.
"[Black Fire]," he whispered as a wave of black energy covered everyone, including the Stag.
Taking that as his queue to begin the attack, he activated all his skills once more. He immediately felt excruciating pain all over his body. Still, he persevered and activated [Aerial Steps] as he dashed towards it at high speeds.
It stood in place as the [Black fire] continuously burned it. He was inches away. Now was the time. Raising his blade to deliver an overhead strike, he roared. "[Soul Cutting Edge]!" as his blade sliced right into its temple, cutting through its brain like butter.
The Stag collapsed onto the floor, dead.