The bloodhound allowed its jaw to go slack as its tongue traced a circle around its mouth, covering it in thick saliva. A shiver ran down Aoi's spine as Yakeru looked over at Fuyumi resuming her defensive stance, both daggers held in a reverse grip.

Fuyumi has always been enigmatic since she would never vocalize her feelings. Though, recently he's been witnessing a new side of her. Her usual cold aura now burned with a searing hatred. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she was somehow connected to bloodhounds. Her obsession with monsters and apparent resentment for bloodhounds alluded to a personal vendetta.

Both combatants continued their standoff, both studying one another. Fuyumi analyzed the bloodhound's arsenal. With her leg fully healed, she could avoid the beast's massive claws on its right paw, however, she'd also have to deal with its shield held in its left paw. She'd also have to consider its tendrils which swayed idly from side to side, daring her to step in range. Even if it sensed that its current defenses wouldn't suffice, it'd manifest more appropriate weaponry on the spot to counter her, if the situation called for it.

Although bloodhounds weren't the smartest of creatures, their versatile ability more than made up for it. Truly a monster worthy of an A-tier.

'This might come down to an endurance match.' Fuyumi concluded.

Though rage flooded her veins, even she could acknowledge she couldn't afford to act recklessly. The first time she'd charged into battle against monsters of similar caliber to her she was incapacitated, forcing Yakeru to come to her rescue. Now, Yakeru's leg reduced him to a helpless bystander. However, it wasn't like he could take on a monster that was even stronger than she was. It made no difference since this was personal anyway.

Refocusing on the threat before her, she sprung forward. At the same time, the bloodhound launched its tendrils to intercept her. Once again, she expertly avoided its attempts to impale her.

Aoi spectated her from the sideline while Yakeru slouched behind the boulder, looking up at Aoi. There was no need to witness the battle for himself since her astonishment said it all. Yet his mind couldn't help but replay the events of their first dungeon raid. She struggled against the infected guards in that dungeon. The fact that this bloodhound was stronger than those infected guards made his anxiety swell up.

Fuyumi performed a backflip over a tendril attempting to sweep her legs. As she landed she deflected the beast's claws that swiped at her head. Dashing around its side, she swung her dagger only for it to collide with its shield.

Frustration began to flood her mind as she pondered,

'How can I get past that shield?!'

Of course, she could easily dodge the bloodhound's attacks, however, she could already feel the effects of fatigue setting in. She glanced up and leaped back as its massive claws smashed into the ground.

𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘮!

She shielded her eyes with her arm as smoke spewed in her direction. Before she could recover, a tendril rocketed through the smokescreen, slicing open her side. She yelped as the beast's shield and gauntlet returned to their liquid states and were absorbed back into the hound's body. Just then, more tendrils manifested from its torso, shooting them into the smoke.

She retreated, hopping from one root to another while the tendrils kept narrowly missing her by a few inches.

𝘚𝘭𝘢𝘮! 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘮! 𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩!

When the smoke cleared, Fuyumi was panting several meters away. She clutched onto her fresh wound, the bloodhound recalled its tendrils as, once again, she was out of striking range. Aoi's once astonished expression contorted into one of worry. The sweat sliding down Fuyumi's face and the second wound she'd suffered were enough to make her question if this was a battle she could win on her own. She had already exhausted her healing supplies and at the rate she was going, the situation had turned dire.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Fuyumi, please let me help!"

Although Aoi was certain she had hit her limit from healing Yakeru earlier, if it meant the three of them could survive this encounter, she'd gladly push herself further to aid her comrade. Finally, Fuyumi caught her breath, her gaze never left the bloodhound.

"What part of 'back off' do you not understand?" she snapped back stubbornly.

Aoi's worried expression remained. Despite Fuyumi's incredible combat prowess, she was clearly struggling to kill this A-tier monster.

Would it have been better for them to retreat? No, Yakeru's leg wouldn't allow it and she couldn't bring herself to leave Fuyumi behind anyway.

Aoi ran shaky fingers through her now unruly dark blue hair, realizing they were forced to fight a losing battle. Another option would be to stall for time until the rest of their party could find them but that relied too heavily on luck.

However, Fuyumi didn't share this same hopeless mindset. In fact, her confidence spiked as she noticed a detail that Aoi had missed.

There were more tendrils swaying on either side of their owner. Yet, its shield and gauntlet were missing now.

'Does that mean it's limited on how many constructs it can make at a time?' Fuyumi analyzed.

Just then, the bloodhound absorbed a few of its tendrils and the blood oozing from its wound swirled around its arm, forming the same gauntlet. Based on her observation, it was safe to say that there was a limit.

With this new information, she wouldn't have to worry about this thing ending up with an uncountable amount of weapons by the end of their battle. Despite that, her low stamina was going to be problematic.

'Even with its limitation, if I don't end this quickly, I'll die anyways...'

With this final assessment, she wiped the sweat from her brow before willing herself to stand. She readied her daggers, blood still dripping from her side. Launching forward, she avoided the tendrils onslaught.

𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘮! 𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩!

The soreness in her throat burned and her breaths became heavier with every step. The mini explosions going off around her were enough to throw her slightly off balance. She sidestepped to the left, evading the crimson claws that would've annihilated her if she hadn't.

She skidded to the beast's side and leaped up in the air, winding up her daggers with her gaze locked onto its throat. Just as she anticipated, it absorbed a couple of its tendrils, replacing them with a shield that manifested in its paw. As it swung its shield up to protect its neck, Fuyumi quickly switched to her real target and lobbed one of her daggers, impaling the creature's vulnerable leg.

As it yelped in pain, she seized the opportunity to deal as much damage as possible. She propelled herself off of its shield and gauntlet, her blade emitting a sharp whistle as she delivered a series of quick and devastating slashes down the length of its body. Tearing through its midsection, she skidded across the ground as the hound let out an agonizing howl.

Infusing her remaining dagger, she fired a blast of radiance toward its exposed head.

𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘮!

The ear-piercing explosion forced everyone to shield their ears as a violent gust of wind shot out in every direction, whipping their clothes and kicking up smoke.

She erupted into a fit of coughs that brought her to her hands and knees. Her body felt immersed in a concoction of different kinds of pain, from the searing pain in her throat to the stabbing pain in her side to the throbbing pain in her legs.

Yet despite it all, she could relax knowing she had vanquished the bloodhound. Perhaps, they wouldn't have to worry about kobolds either since the beast had already taken care of them. All that was left was to wait for rescue to arrive.

"Fuyumi!" Aoi's shout dripped with worry as she came out of hiding to rush to her side. "Are you alright?!"

"...I'll live..." She replied, her body feeling drained.

Yakeru's anxiety subsided. Still slouched behind the boulder, he assumed the fight was over since Aoi briefly left him behind to check on Fuyumi. But that's when he heard it.

A deep growl poured out of the smokescreen, making his blood go cold. He dragged himself to peek around the corner to confirm what he heard. The beast was still concealed but the fact that Aoi had stopped dead in her tracks and forced her stiff neck to look behind her told him his mind wasn't playing tricks on him.

It was still alive.

Fuyumi's eyes widened in disbelief as the smoke finally cleared. The bloodhound was on one knee, clutching onto its bleeding face. With clenched teeth and rage in its eyes, it snarled in Fuyumi's direction as a lengthy tendril materialized on its back.

"No...no way...!" Fuyumi stammered.

With a wide arc, it swung its tendril in her direction. Fuyumi poured every ounce of strength she had left into her legs but it was no use. With her injuries and low stamina, her body had reached its limit. All she could do was watch as the tendril approached her side, filling her vision with red. Bringing up her arm, she closed her eyes and braced herself.

𝘞𝘏𝘈𝘔!

The tendril smashed into her, several cracks sounding from her arm, whipping her across the cavern. Wood chips exploded in all directions as she collided with a tree root, tumbling across the floor before her limp body came to a stop.

Yakeru and Aoi's pupils contracted in absolute terror as their comrade lied motionless, their only hope of survival snatched away.