*One Minute Before*
Emmy was moving her staff as fast as she could, casting every single offensive spell she had. She tried to attack the monster in its blind spots to deal damage. That worked a few times and she did chip some of his health bar. But, it was far from being effective as for each attack that landed, there were another ten that were either dodged or destroyed before they could reach their target.
That naturally meant that she was using a huge amount of mana but barely dealt any damage to the monster. That naturally made her even more frustrated. Her friends were struggling to fight and there she was, unable to do anything.
‘Dammit, dammit, dammit! Just hit!’ She wiped her sweat as she chugged another bottle of mana to rejuvenate some of her mana as she got ready to start casting again. Knowing fully well that she wasn’t doing much, she simply kept pushing herself till she had no mana left in her body.
Whether that was helpful to her team or not, she really couldn’t tell. But, deep down, the despair was eating away at her heart.
At that moment, she noticed a silhouette approaching her. At first, she flinched thinking that it was another monster that didn’t die yet. But, when she saw that it was Arthur, she exhaled a small breath of relief.
“Are you ok, Arthur? Can you still fight?” She asked.
“I’m fine, more or less. Listen, Emmy, I have a request.” He said as he looked at the battle ensuing as they were talking. “Do you have any fire buff spells?”
“Fire buff?” She raised an eyebrow. “… No, I don’t have that.”
“Tsk.” Arthur clicked his tongue, clearly displeased before he sighed. “Ok, do you have any fire spells?”
“Yes, I have two spells. Fire balls and Fire Spray.” She replied.
“Fire Spray?” Arthur raised an eyebrow. “How effective is it?”
“… Not that much. It’s very slow and doesn’t have a good range. I honestly bought it because it looked very cheap and didn’t consume that much mana.”
Arthur thought for a moment before looking down at his sword. ‘This could work. Hopefully, it doesn’t destroy my sword, though. Ugh, fuck it, I can’t really think about that now.’
“Arthur? What’s wrong?” She asked again when she noticed the serious look on his face.
Then, he extended the sanguine blade in front of Emmy. “Spray it on the sword.”
“Huh?”
“Spray the fire on the sword. I have an idea.” He said.
“… What- You know what… I’m not even going to ask.” Emmy shook her head when she noticed the cold look on Arthur’s face. She didn’t know why, but that look made her feel a little fearful of the boy yet also a little hopeful. So far, Arthur had shown that he was reliable and strong so if he had an idea to somehow flip this horrendous situation, she was going to do whatever he said.
Putting her staff on the sword, she activated ‘Fire Spray’. Immediately, a spray of flames manifested from the staff, blowing straight into the sanguine blade. The fire instantly caught into the blade, slowly wrapping around it. Emmy moved her staff back and forth till the entire sword was covered in fire before she retracted her staff.
“… Good enough,” Arthur muttered. “Thank you, Emmy. This was helpful.”
“Hey, wait… Before you go!” She called for him.
“Hm?” Arthur looked over his shoulder.
“Please… Help Isla.” She asked hesitantly.
Arthur blinked, a little taken aback. He didn’t expect to see that kind of look on Emmy’s face at that moment. So far, the girl seemed like an expressionless person who doesn’t like to show emotions. However, the fact that she put that facade down out of worry for her friend showed him how she was truly deep down.
Smiling slightly, Arthur nodded his head. “Don’t worry, she will be fine. Nobody will die. I guarantee it.”
***
*Present*
The monster jumped back several dozen meters away from Arthur. The latter looked down at his sword. After that hit, there was a residue of blood and fire remaining on his sword. ‘I can only deal one other hit to this monster before the fire is completely extinguished.’
He already knew that the Azure Flame was far stronger than this normal fire coating his sword. A few hits were the most he could deal before the fire vanished.
“Did that hurt?” He asked as he looked up at Lykean. “Some hot fire isn’t as pleasant, is it?”
The monster glared at Arthur coldly as its aura grew more hostile. Arthur could safely say that he didn’t enjoy that hit. His health bar had also taken a massive hit for the very first time since the battle started.
“Arthur?” Isla was equally shocked at what just happened.
“Sorry for taking that long. Had to do some things as you can see.” Arthur said as he pointed at his sword. “You know… To make the fight a little more fair.”
“…” The girl blinked silently. No words came out of her mouth at that moment. She was trying to understand what Arthur did and that didn’t take too long as a glint of understanding flashed across her eyes a second later. “Did you…?”
Her eyes moved toward Emmy who nodded her head. Everything instantly clicked as Isla stood up again.
“I don’t think I can fight this monster on my own. Mind helping me?” He asked. “Or are you too exhausted?”
“… I can still fight. Don’t underestimate me.” She replied coldly.
“That’s what I wanted to hear. Hahaha. Well then, what are you waiting for?”
For a moment there, Isla’s eyes flashed with a fiery determination. All her negative thoughts vanished rather quickly. She didn’t know why, but even her logic was now put aside. This battle… It wasn’t over yet.
Arthur had somehow revived their chances with this idea. What she deemed to be near impossible is somehow now possible. All because of this boy. That hit Isla hard, but she didn’t notice that. After all, the fight was still ongoing.
Arthur brandished his sword as he cracked his neck. “Ok, let’s do this.”
*Swish*
Dashing forward at full speed, Arthur approached Lykean. The monster seemed taken aback at first as it looked at its blood arm. After the damage he sustained, a fear welled up in his heart. The fight was completely under his control and he was getting close to killing the players but somehow, they were getting back on their feet again.
Looking to the side, he noticed Isla approaching Emmy to get her blade ignited on fire. At the same time, Danny and Herculia were also following after her. They were all going to use the same technique Arthur used.
“Never put your guard down when in a fight, idiot.” Suddenly, he heard a voice from up close. Looking ahead again, all he saw was a wild grin as the sword descended upon him.
The monster quickly tried to form a fireball that could stop it. However, the heat emitting from the sword sliced through the Azure Flame as it continued its descent.
Blood splurted out of the Monster’s torso as the sword cut deep into Lykean’s flesh. The monster groaned as he quickly kicked Arthur in the side.
“AGH!!” The boy clenched his teeth as he was blasted back a few dozen meters, ending on the ground. “Damn, that hurts. But you’re in far more pain, aren’t you?”
The monster’s eyes flared up visibly. He shook off the pain he was feeling at that moment and focused on Arthur. However, at that moment, he suddenly felt two silhouettes approaching him from the sides.
Danny and Herculia closed the distance toward Lykean. One swung his hammer down, intending to squash the monster while the other stabbed into its blind spot.
*BANG*
The monster quickly tried to move away as fast as he could. But, the damage he already sustained made him considerably slower. Slow enough for the attacks not to miss him entirely. The hit sent Lykean flying to the ground.
Quickly, he stood up, only to realize that someone was behind him. The moment he turned around, all he saw was two cold eyes before a sword stabbed into his body, piercing it cleanly.
“Die.” She said as she watched the monster’s health bar dwindle down quickly. The battle was over… Very quickly.
The monster tried to frantically move, but its Azure Flame grew weaker and weaker. The monster’s struggles slowly waned.
But, at that moment, something weird happened. The health bar suddenly stopped decreasing. A very cold sensation filled Isla’s heart, something unlike anything that happened before.
[Ding!]
[Phase 2 has been triggered!]
“Isla! Move!!” The last thing she heard before everything went blank was Arthur’s yell.
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3
