The blue spear crashed into the head of the Drake, the impact releasing an enormous bright flash. Cole turned away, eyes squinted against the blinding light.
Moments later, the shockwave hit. A huge boom washed out across the area, rattling the young man’s teeth in his skull. As the cascading rumbling noise of the blast faded away, it was replaced with a piercing scream. ‘Guess that hurt,’ he chuckled to himself.
His smile dropped as he looked back towards the huge monster, whose jaw now hung open. Its mouth was a mass of red flesh charred black. A huge tongue hung loosely, flopping around as the creature writhed in pain, emitting that same piercing scream all the while.
Thesta’s attack, while doing significant damage, had also enraged the Infernal Drake. Its huge claws raked across the ground as it gathered speed. One, two, three bounds and then it leapt, soaring into the air. The tiny wings spread out to their full length, flapping pathetically. It began to glide down towards them, and for a terrible, horrible, second Cole and his fellow adventurers were bathed in shadow as the Drake blocked out the moon behind it with its enormous body. Then it got knocked out of the sky.
A huge blue battering ram of runic energy drove into the Drake’s wing, cutting its flight short. He had a morbid split-second flashback to an airplane crash compilation video. The monster spiralled out of the sky, crashing to the surface about twenty metres in front of the group. Cole was thrown to the ground by the impact, his companions having varying degrees of success with staying on their feet. The continual scream was now completely deafening. He couldn’t even hear the sound of the dirt against his feet as he stood back up.
The Drake hoisted itself up on its legs once more, shaking slightly. Cole didn’t think it had the energy to try for another leap and subsequent dive. The glow of infernal flames could be seen down the monster’s ruined throat, but its natural heat resistant protection had been completely destroyed by Thesta’s spear of energy, so it wouldn’t be able to release any blasts of fire without cooking what was left of its jaw.
Instead the beast seemed happy to use its enormous body to its full advantage. A sudden movement, and its tail swung around, lashing out at the two closest adventures, one of whom was still making it back to her feet. The first, the [Ronin] barely managed to Flash Step out of the way, blinking backwards to dodge the blow. The female [Knight] wasn’t so lucky, bludgeoned by the thick scaled whip. If his ears weren’t being assailed by the constant scream, Cole knew he would have heard a sickening crunch. The [Knight] flew back, chest plate cracked by the blow, before hitting the ground. She didn’t get up. A second [Knight] rushed over, hosting the unmoving body onto his back and making his way back to the palisade.
The Drake wasted no time and pivoted, crawling forward and slashing its claw at the lone [Spearman]. The older man rolled out of the way, lashing out with a return strike against the monster’s fist, but his spear merely bounced off, sparks flashing. He kept dodging, strikes growing more and more urgent as he came closer and closer to being killed. The [Spearman] made one final attempt, dropping his shield and grasping his weapon two handed. His mouth opened in a cry that couldn’t be heard, as he rammed the spear straight into the gap between the monster’s claws. It stuck, but the man was flung into the air as the Drake recoiled in pain.
The spear came free once more as he was thrown away, spinning end to end in the air before slamming into the ground a few short paces away from Cole. The [Spearman] seemed doomed to crunch to the ground, but a blur of movement heralded his saviour. The [Ronin] appeared in mid-air, catching the older man as he came out of his Flash Step. There was another flicker, and two appeared on the ground. The [Ronin] flashed backwards, dropping his rescued cargo to the ground. The Shoi Cal man had a look of extreme concentration on his face. He flicked his katana in the air, creating a flash of silvery energy. Cole watched as the man was covered in an aura of power, which he recognised as ki. A few rapid Flash Steps later, and the [Ronin] was back at the front of the battle. He disappeared, leaving Cole wondering for a second where he’d gone, when another flash sparked off the Infernal Drake’s side.
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The man’s katana bit into the monster’s skin, scoring long cuts along its scaled flesh. A silvery afterimage followed him, striking for a second time. The cut was made deeper, and blood welled out even quicker. Cole could barely see him, eyes unable to keep up with the incredibly fast movement. The man’s strategy was working, and the piercing scream began to quieten down, perhaps as the Drake’s vocal cords snapped due to the stress.
The remaining Kobolds and Boars, while few and far between, seemed to be shaken out of a stupor as the scream faded. They snarled, advancing toward Cole and the remaining two [Knights] that were near him. Cole looked at the enemies, looked at the spear embedded in the dirt in front of him, and shrugged. It would do just fine.
He refreshed his Runic Strength, not wanting to have to worry about it running out during the oncoming melee. The spear twirled around as he got used to the weight, fidgeting nervously. While it was definitely heavier than his wooden spears, ‘may they rest in pieces’, it would pack a hell of a lot more punch. Cole eyed off an approaching diminutive Kobold, eager to test that theory.
He thrust the borrowed weapon forward, feeling the satisfying bite as it punched through the monster’s flesh. The Kobold sagged to the ground, lizard-like eyes glassy, and dragged the spear with it, forcing Cole to yank it out before he was pulled of balance. Another Kobold was ran through as it opened its jaw to breathe flames at him, spear exiting the back of its neck as its inner fire winked out.
A Kobold and Infernal Boar advanced together, but Cole wasn’t fazed. He’d entered a strange frame of mind. Everything seemed to flow. It all just seemed to click. Every move, every action, was carefully timed but almost unconscious. He was in the flow state.
A purple Runic Blast knocked the Kobold back, leaving him only the Boar to deal with. A quick jab caused hot blood to well out of its face, and it squealed as it snorted flames out its nostrils, pawing the ground for a charge forward.
Cole rolled diagonally, ending up slightly to the side of the monster. He traced out a Runic Blast, pressing the rune directly against its hide. A flash of purple, and what was left of the monster slumped to the ground. The young man leapt forward, pinning the Kobold he’d knocked over right into the ground. He looked up to the slowly approaching Drake, checking how the [Ronin] was doing. Dozens of cuts marked the lower half of the monster’s body, all pouring blood. He had no doubt that the monster would die, but it wouldn’t be soon enough. He needed to help.
Cole turned his attention back to the situation at hand. Alongside the two [Knights], he was able to finally rid the field of the low ranked monsters. But what would they do about the Drake? He had to hope Thesta would have some sort of plan, another huge work of magic to defeat the creature with.
“Back to the palisade!” he yelled, unsure if the [Ronin] could even hear him. Surely he couldn’t stay there forever? He shook his head, half in admiration, and half in frustration. The [Knights] followed him as he jogged back to the village borders. He leaped up to the top with a quick burst of Strength, eager to see how Thesta was going to kill the Drake.
She looked awful. Sweat covered her from head to toe, soaking her previously pristine white clothes with dark patches. The slightest blue could be seen around her body, a far cry from the blaze it had been earlier. Obviously, the spear and subsequent battering ram had taken a lot of energy out of her mana. The [Archers] had stopped firing, seeing no point in wasting their arrows.
One of the [Knights] who had come back with Cole, piped up tentatively. “Can… can you kill it?”
She fixed him with a glassy eyed look that he knew would have been a glare had she had the strength. “I just need more time… just need to regain my strength…”
Cole knelt down, grabbing her by the shoulder. “C’mon, Thesta, I know you can do it. All we need is one more attack. One more attack and you can kill it! I know you can do it!”
The grey haired woman merely shook her head. “I wasted too much energy on that dam-“ she hacked out a cough, “-damn Devil possessed Kobold… I’m not meant to make shields…”
Cole looked away, feeling lost. This must be what happened if you overused your mana. Maybe he would be able to find Argyle? Maybe the Ronin would be able to kill the Infernal Drake?
But he knew those were vain hopes. He could wish all he wanted, but neither of those things would happen before the Drake reached the town. He stood up, letting go of her shirt.
“Besides..” she coughed, “…should have no trouble killing it. That new… ability of yours melts through Infernals like butter…”
He supposed that was true. His Hallowed Blast seemed to be extremely effective against the creatures from Hell. Cole paced in a circle for a moment, and then froze.
Hallowed Blast.
Hallowed.
Wait.