Hera and Livy used the bodies of the smaller Sleyti as stepping stones as they rushed ahead. The Elemental Poison Storm following them, buffing the two thanks to the [Ophidianite Poison] skill that turned all the venom in the spell into a power up. Hera also had a rare venomous war axe on her hands. One that looked a lot like Livy’s, minus the special effects. In addition, there was a single metal band on the pummel. This was the only addition she was able to make so far using her [Venomous Arsenal]. That band would increase the strength scaling of the weapon by a flat 5 points. It was something very basic, and minor, but it was a start.
Two of the Sleyti noticed the duo rushing to their patriarch and tried to intercept, but Pyro and Storm quickly broke off and slammed against the monsters. The tip of their blades cut their necks like butter before the monsters fell to the ground. That happened so quickly that Hera wasn’t even able to take a good look at the creatures. But that changed as the Sleyti Patriarch raised from its slumber. It was sitting on top of an elevated area overlooking the entire cave. The creature was curled up in a ball, but when standing, it was much taller than they expected. It had a pair of muscular massive legs that came out from the sides of its body, almost like a crab that only did leg day, even if there were barely 60 centimeters tall. His torso was elongated, covering the remaining four meters and a half of its height. And its face was that of a snow monkey, covered in fur and red like a beet, with two curled tusks coming out of the sides of its mouth that seemed to be made out of pure ice. From the shoulder was a pair of arms that were three times longer than the legs, and even more muscular. Like a gorilla on steroids. Below them was another set of arms, but this was bony and longer, but much smaller at the same time. Each of the hands only had 3 fingers forming a triangle. From their midsection there was the third and final set of arms, two stubby appendages that didn’t even had elbows before hands with 8 fingers and long dark blue claws in place of nails.
Hera didn’t wait for it to start moving. She rushed ahead with an upward swing, aiming at the leg joints. Stepping back with a surprising speed, the Sleyti dodged the blow, but this gave Livy an opening to slam the war axe on the side of its body, between the second and third set of arms. This strike landed, but the thick fur and hide lessened the damage it would deal. Even with the power of the Leviathan behind it. In response, the Sleyti Patriarch tried to punch the two attackers using his upper left arm with a wide motion. It swiped close to the ground, forcing Livy to jump over the attack. Hera jumped forward, spinning to land on her back and pushing with her tail to go under the creature and get up behind it. At the same time, Pyro flew in, aiming at the smaller of the arms, the one with the large claws. He parried two of them that were constantly clacking and struck a third, the blade of the tail spike starting to glow even more due to the heat. Storm, on the other hand, flew towards the face of the Sleyti Patriarch, she struck a few of the monsters on the way to charge up the [Seal of Chaotic Furry] and like an arrow flew past the creature. The skill didn’t trigger the chain lighting, but the attack cut the upper right eyebrow, making blood pour out.
‘Shit! I aimed for the eye, but that still works,’ Storm spun around and tried to do the same on the other side, but the monster parried the incoming blow.
Using the longer arms, the Sleyti Patriarch lashed out, trying to strike Livy and the two flying weapons. At first, that didn’t work, each attempt was slow and easily predictable. However, it seemed like the skin in those bony arms was not properly attached. The long arms picked up speed as they flailed around. Quickly, the strikes became so fast that Livy and Storm didn’t have a single opening to attack, being forced to focus on dodging. Pyro decided to continue on close range, fighting against the smaller arms in hopes of destroying those claws. They looked too gnarly to be left alone. A single blow from one of them could likely put Hera or Livy out of commission. In addition to that, as long as he did some damage, his [Draconic Fury] would continuously stack, increasing the heat coming from his blade.
Hera didn’t ignore the struggle of her court. Jumping on the back of the Sleyti, she started to climb, using her tail as a third leg to help her push on the steep path. With each step, she left behind a small slow field, in hopes of hindering the creature. The Ophidianite knew she didn’t have to worry about the poison, since the Elemental Poison Storm spell was still raining down on them. If the monster could be poisoned, it would be, eventually. When she reached the head of the Sleyti, Hera brought down the venomous war axe, aiming at the monster’s ear with a [Grasshopper Slash.] Since Storm, Pyro, and Livy, had the creature’s focus, it didn’t notice the incoming attack until it was too late. The blow created a large gash on its face and exposed its inner ear.
Feeling the pain of this new attack, the Sleyti Patriarch roared and tried to grab Hera, who was standing up on his neck. However, his first set of arms couldn’t reach her and the longer ones were still working to keep Livy and the two flying weapons at bay. With a groan, the monster jumped, twisted its body and curled up in a ball, ready to drop all of his weight on the Ophidianite. She wasn’t just going to stay there. Pushing off with both legs and her tail, Hera jumped to the side, aiming to land in one of the dead adult Sleytis. However, her aim was unnecessary as Daskka triggered her silver mist form, the one that was more tangible than the others to grab the Empress before she fell.
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“Thanks,” Hera smiled at the mist form of the snake.
“Any time, mum. But now I’m joining,” the herald replied. She was trying to focus more on healing, but she couldn’t help herself. Seeing everyone fighting and not being a part of things didn’t sit right with her.
Just as she finished speaking, the Sleyti Patriarch landed back on the ground. Slamming his back against the rocky floor and cracking the raised ground that was underneath it. Daskka pounced right away. Using her mist form, she pinned down the longer arms. Stopping them before they could pick up momentum again. Pyro had reached the 10 stacks to max out his [Draconic Fury] and triggered the [Seal of Infernal Wyrm.] His form shifted, but it wasn’t like Nimbus, or Livy’s transformation, where a completely new body was created. Instead, the coil twisted and broke, turning the tail spike into a metallic blazing serpent. Or at least, the head and upper body of one. There was no tail, but now, after each attack, Pyro ignited the Sleyti Patriarch’s fur. He also added one of his attacks, the [Serpentine Strike] by coiling his body before lashing out, opening a large wound on the side of the monster’s legs.
‘Fear my might! You are nothing before a dragon!’ Pyro yelled as he finished the attack.
The Sleyti Patriarch roared again, and tried to push Daskka away with its smaller limbs, but the herald was made out of mist. It was very hard to get a good grip, even if she could hold her target down. Still, the monster still head one ace up his sleeve. It looked down, towards the head of the ethereal snake and Livy who was mid jump holding her war axe above her head. The Sleyti’s eyes and tusks glowed a pale blue before it opened its mouth, letting out a torrent of snow and ice that sent Daskka flying off. As the ice breath spread through the cave, some of the other monsters started to collapse, unable to handle the intense cold. The Harmony Guardians evaded the attacks and so did most of the court. The only two exceptions were Glacia, who took it head on, and Livy, who was mid jump and couldn’t dodge. However, both of them took less damage than they should. There was an obvious reason why the falchion didn’t take that much damage. She was mostly made out of ice. That natural resistance against the element protected her. Livy, on the other hand, didn’t have the same type of defense. Yet, because it was all water, she could reduce the damage and the impact the attack caused. Instead of being flung backwards, she continued her trajectory and brought the war axe down using the [Draconic Eruption] to send a wave of seawater inside the monster’s body.
“Roar all you want. You can’t stop the Leviathan!” Livy yelled as the attack connected.
Still, that wasn’t enough to kill the beast. The Sleyti Patriarch tried to get up, only to be hit in the eye by an arrow, courtesy of Robin and Twiggy. Unlike Dusa, who had some protection skills, the tiara only buffed the group, and when the fight started, she flew up to have an aerial view of the battlefield. As soon as she realized the Sleyti Patriarch was trying to attack again, she asked Robin to step in to blind his other eye.
Taking advantage of the situation, Hera jumped towards the monster, followed by Livy. Both of them followed the same move side by side, preparing another [Grasshopper Slash] to send a wave of energy out of their weapons aimed at the creature’s neck. However, Hera’s version also had the [Weapon Break] skill which sent on a blast so powerful that cracked the wall on the other side of the Sleyti Patriarch. Even so, he was still alive. Heavily wounded, and struggling to get up, but still moving. Storm suddenly appeared from the side and embedded itself on the gash that once was the creature’s ear. A thunderclap echoed in the cave as she triggered both the [Crackling Strike] and the chain lightning of the [Seal of the Chaotic Furry] frying the creature’s head from the inside.
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Ailment Mastery triggered
Sleyti Patriarch ailment bonus effects x 7
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As the Sleyti Patriarch fell to the ground, motionless. Hera tried to double check what ailments affected him. He was poisoned, burning, shocked, drenched, bleeding, and slowed. All of which made sense considering the last few attacks. Coming out of his wounds was not just blood, but the water that Livy sent inside it with her attack. That seventh ailment is the one that she couldn’t figure out what it was, and now the Sleyti Patriarch was already dead. Her [Observe] wouldn’t give any extra information about its situation.
Glancing back at the rest of the group, they all had finished off the other monsters. Nimbus, and Neria in particular, were close to Hera, ready to jump in if something went wrong. The Empress felt satisfied with the results, but that was only until she looked at Livy, Storm, and Pyro. The two blades had cracks all over their bodies, showing how even the parries of those longer arms were deadly. The Leviathan’s body was covered in wounds and bruises, and one of her arms was clearly out of its socket. Not that she had bones, but that is what it looked like.
“Daskka! Heal them,” Hera rushed over, trying to cast the few healing spells she knew. However, they were so basic that barely could help with a paper cut at this point.
‘As much as Daskka, healing is nice. I think we should rest,’ Storm replied, a lethargic tone replaced her usual energetic voice.
‘Even a dragon needs rest after it faced a might foe,’ Pyro nodded.
Livy just glanced at them, “I don’t know what they are talking about. I’m fine,” she grabbed her arm and put it back in place, groaning with the pain, “Completely fine.”
“Livy… don’t you think it’s better to rest? What if we have another big monster to fight later? I will need your help,” Hera tried to look weak, but it was hard to do that while she was covered in the blood of a giant monster.
The Leviathan stared at the Empress for a while before letting out a groan, “Fine, but only because I know you won’t stop pestering me,” she huffed before returning to the legacy, followed by the Verdant Marchioness and the flaming tail spike.
Before the group could continue to the doorway, Vash called the Shadow Talons and asked with a smile, “So, what do you think of your muscle?”