The Halve landed with heavy steps in front of us, facing into the dark chasm of her own making. Her glow had reduced significantly, no longer hurting the eyes.

Lady Yolin walked to her and placed a hand on her lower back. “How-”

“Eugh!” Natasha bent at the waist and vomited, golden blood coming out of the gaps between her helmet and her breastplate. “Cough! Haaa...” she sighed while straightening up.

Lady Alyssa rushed forward, followed by Lady Lapia and Pokh'Orra. The three surrounded her, wearing worried expressions.

The Halve stored her helmet, revealing a mess of hair and viscous blood, then spat at the ground between her feet, where a long piece of flesh landed. It was her tongue. “...Tasmat sariputra sunyatayam na rupam, na vedana, na samjna, na samskara, na vijnanam,” she muttered in a low, trembling voice full of almost physically palpable anger. The sound of metal grinding on metal came from her armored hands holding her spear.

The party leader's face morphed. Her eyebrows rose, her eyes opened wide, and her lips parted slightly in realization. “Oh, shit...” she whispered and took a careful step back. If not for the circumstances at hand, it would be a funny reaction. Slowly, she pulled the other two away with her. “Let's back off for a bit.”

Lady Alyssa and Lady Lapia gave Pokh'Orra a concerned look, but acquiesced.

The Protector spat again, this time ejecting a piece of glass that bounced off the ground with a loud clink. “Na caksu srotra ghrana jihva kaya manasa, na rupam sabda ghanda rasa spartsavya dharma...” she hissed through ground teeth.

The four moved back a couple of steps, giving their lover space.

Bonte gave me a look and a short, inquiring nod.

I nodded back two times.

He smiled and shook his head.

I chuckled and shrugged.

A loud and shaky sigh left Natasha followed by some quiet muttering, letting the words flow out with a calm tone of release, as if she was simply letting go. Upon the last utterance, her glow increased to the point of near blinding luminosity, yet gentler than before.

Almost like an acceptance of something when, instead of surrendering to a challenge, it is embraced instead and incorporated.

She extended a hand to the side and a suit of armor identical to the one she was wearing fell to the ground below it. The Eternal turned her head to Lady Yolin and pointed at the equipment.

The Tank moved to it and stored the pieces, then equipped them one by one. She stopped and stored them back. “Give me a second, this is more complicated than I thought,” she explained, once again producing the items and fiddling with the belts and clasps.

The helmet reacted to her body, leaving two holes for her horns. Something similar had happened with Thelea and the armor she received, having changed to fit her much larger frame.

Halven items are a thing of wonder.

Unlike Natasha's helmet, Lady Yolin's had no hole at the back, probably due to the Oni having much shorter hair.

I stared into the massive hole in front of us, where the golden dot was still climbing the wall across the chasm.

How much stronger is it now? I wondered, fixing my hair. Tongues bleed a lot.

“Done,” Lady Yolin announced, testing the gauntlets, where her fist weapons were attached. The platinum-looking metal seemed to have changed shape to accommodate them.

“So you bit your tongue off,” Lady Lapia pointed out with relief, visibly relaxing. “That's what you get for laughing while fighting,” she added, slightly amused.

Thelea snorted. “Happens more often than you'd think,” she shared. “A Warrior finally finds fun, then gets lost in the thrill of the challenge.”

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There were many things I would have liked to say to that, considering the fun Natasha had resulted in the loss of my instruments. Still, I held my tongue. Casting criticism at a time when tensions were high was not productive in the slightest. Once the dive was over, I would say my piece.

Hanna took a step towards Natasha and presented herself in accordance to Eternal Worship etiquette. “May I join Your Excellency?” She requested, her voice coming out without issue even through the thick cloth that was her new head protection.

The Halve simply nodded, not looking away from the golden dot still climbing the chasm.

We fell into silence while watching the Blood Fiend.

When the monster was nearing the edge of the hole, Natasha took a step forward while equipping her own helmet and producing her shield.

Hanna and Yolin followed.

The three then broke into a sprint, circling the Halve-made gorge, and quickly reaching the transformed creature.

“What strategy do you think-” Pokh'Orra started.

On the other side of the hole, Natasha charged to the Blood Fiend at supersonic speed, impaling it against the wall with her spear, plunging the weapon into flesh and rock until it was barely visible. Then, she produced a large blade wreathed in flames, with which she cut its limbs off with two swift swipes.

Hanna arrived second, delivering a powerful kick to the monster's head and stabbing it with her daggers. Five Hannas appeared out of thin air and joined the beating.

Yolin was the last to get there and proceeded to rain punches onto the monster's torso and head while using ethereal arms to hold the writhing limbs for Natasha and Hanna to cut whenever they regenerated.

“Ah...” the party leader uttered. “Looks as if they're mugging the thing,” she commented, a slight pity in her voice. “What a way to go out,” she whispered and aimed with her bow, then quickly released an arrow.

A very loud yet harmless twang came from the string, probably a skill.

The projectile flew across the abyss, then split into five. They all hit the mark, piercing the monster's torso, embedding it further into the wall.

“Nice shot,” Bonte praised. “How far can you hit a target?”

The three women ganged up on the monster, leaving no chance for it to retaliate. They lacked class and finesse.

“About fifty kilometers in ideal conditions,” the Archer replied. “And fifteen if it moves as fast as Natasha.”

My brother whistled. “What are ideal conditions?”

A whip struck a Hanna, pushing her into the chasm. She vanished and landed next to Yolin. Another Hanna, however, replaced the falling one. The clone dissipated after hitting a rock on the way down.

Pokh'Orra hummed for a second. “Not a typhoon, tornado, or storm. I perform best in forests and deserts, too, since I trained in Uuruhk and got my Ranger Class while in the army.”

“Aren't Blood Fiends a little... weak?” Lady Lapia suddenly voiced her thoughts after watching the one-sided beating.

“A Halve Warrior, a high level Cleric Tank, and a high level Scout are decimating it, yet it still lives,” Elena pointed out the facts. “That is not a weak monster. You could say they're weak if you consider their Strength alone, but that regeneration speed and the their ability to gain power from blood makes them extremely dangerous monsters. We also learned that, if in groups, they can bolster each other with the blood the other spills, going so far as breaking free from a higher level person's skills.”

“Right,” the younger Wizard accepted with a nod.

“They're dangerous because we can bleed,” Alyssa added. “Hence the name.”

“Oohh!” Pokh'Orra breathed out in realization. “I always wondered that. Fiends and Demons were similar in nature in my mind,” she chuckled. “But now I know better, I guess.”

A few heads turned her way, including mine.

“How?” Elena inquired with a drop of confusion in her voice, mirroring everyone's feelings.

The Elmari Elf shrugged, but did not elaborate further.

“I can't see how, though,” the oldest Elf insisted, a pensive look on her face. “If you appraise it,” she said, pointing in the general direction of the Blood Fiend under attack, “while thinking of the information being in Elvish you get Laaf'Khur Jhezh'Mhei. There are no similarities with Pleqe'Haakh.”

“If mheol comes from her understanding of Haakh, there is,” Lady Lapia suggested, taking Pokh'Orra's side. “It's not inherently wrong to link the two in that context. A harmless mistake, wouldn't you agree?”

Elena looked at both Elves, her eyes squinting a little as they jumped from one to the other, studying them. She slowly relaxed and nodded. “You're young, after all,” she sagely accepted, letting the matter go.

We watched the fight in silence. The atmosphere was odd to say the least. Apprehension had been replaced by an awkward sense of unjustified tension. The monsters were incredibly powerful, being a bit less than double our levels, and yet there was no evidence to it other than the information provided by appraising them.

“It's the equipment, isn't it?” Thelea voiced everyone's conclusion.

“Definitely,” Pokh'Orra agreed with a slow nod. “We all have Legendary gear.”

The Goliath hummed. “But for it to boost us enough to face three Blood Fiends into a stalemate? I have a hard time coming to terms with it. The fight with the spiders in the dungeon was more believable, if that makes sense.”

“I get around three hundred levels worth of stats,” Lady Lapia shared. “It's a flat increase, though, but still quite impressive.”

“And the five of you have Mythical weapons,” Bonte pointed out. A cheeky smile spread on his face, then snickered, “Is Natasha looking for a man, by any chance?”

Thelea laughed, patting his back with mirth.

Lady Alyssa, Lady Lapia, and Pokh'Orra laughed as well, but exchanged complicit glances between the three.

The Healer cocked an eyebrow, offering him an inviting smile. “If your tool can survive it, go ahead,” she taunted.

The feline Scout's eyes widened a little, his eyebrows went up, and his ears flattened against his head. “I was joking,” he clarified. “I'm not into Higher Beings.”

Laughter escaped my lips, and I covered my mouth with a hand.