Myles felt it at that mont. A sudden heaviness settled into his limbs. His magical energy-Ether flow stuttered. His muscles burned faster than they should.
His breath dragged, becoming thick and resistant, as if the purple mist was drinking from him every ti he inhaled it.
Nadine grimaced beside him. Victor's steps were getting heavy as well. They knew that the mist wasn't just suppressing skills anymore. It was draining everything from them.
Myles clenched his jaw and pulled back, forcing his body to move.
"We can't stay here," he said sharply. "It's eating our strength. We pull out and regroup now. Let's rescue the others first."
Nadine and Victor didn't argue. The mont the words left Myles' mouth, both of them were already moving, turning away from the mist and sprinting toward where the others had been thrown by the shockwave.
—
From afar, Ethan and Samantha felt it too but in a different way.
BANG!
A bullet slamd into the monster's back and detonated in a dull burst, far weaker than before.
SWISH!
An Ether arrow struck next but it was just exploding in a muted flare that barely staggered him.
Both of them were shocked.
"That… that should've hit harder than this!" Ethan said with disbelief creeping into his voice.
He fired again.
BANG!
The bullet vanished into the purple haze surrounding the monster's position, its impact smothered, the Ether feedback reduced to almost nothing.
Ethan lowered his pistols slowly. His fingers trembled.
"What the hell…" he muttered.
Samantha swallowed her saliva hard and tightened her grip on the bow until her knuckles whitened.
"This isn't good," she said quietly. "That monster… he's changing. He's stronger than what Myles and the others described before."
Her eyes never left the battlefield. "How can this even happen?"
"I don't know," Ethan replied. He pushed his glasses up with a shaking finger. "But if this keeps up, our support fire won't matter. What do we do now?"
Samantha hesitated, then took a breath. "I… I still have a powerful skill. I can use it."
Ethan looked at her, conflicted. "I do too. But… we can't just fire those blindly, right?"
"…Right."
Silence stretched between them as another weakened explosion blood uselessly against the mist.
Samantha glanced toward the others, then down at the street below. "Maybe… we should get closer?"
Even when he said that the doubt in her voice was clear.
Ethan felt his stomach twist. Getting closer ant risking being caught in that mist and being in the monster's reach.
He didn't want to admit it, but fear clawed at his chest.
Still… If they stayed here, they'd be useless.
"…Okay," Ethan said finally, forcing the word out. "Let's go."
They climbed down from the ruined house they had been using as cover, landing hard on cracked concrete, and moved closer to the battlefield.
—
anwhile, on the opposite side of the battlefield, Myles stopped moving fully. His eyes locked on the monster.
The creature had stepped forward and out of the purple mist. And Myles realized sothing.
The mist wasn't following him.
It no longer leaked from his body. It no longer spread. It stayed behind, dense and roiling, like a territory the monster had abandoned on purpose.
The monster stood outside it now. His wounds closed and his posture was as steady as it could be.
Myles clenched his teeth. He took a quick glance around the battlefield.
Victor and Nadine were already at work, hauling broken stone aside and pulling their teammates free from collapsed walls and shattered debris.
So of them were conscious, so of them barely moved. It seems that none of them were ready to fight again yet.
They need ti, Myles realized.
His grip tightened around his weapons.
If the monster noticed that weakness he wouldn't hesitate. He would attack them before they could even stand.
"I need to buy them ti," he muttered.
Before the monster could fully read the situation, Myles moved.
Pain scread through his body as he pushed off the ground. He ignored it. He forced everything forward and charged straight at the monster again.
The creature's head snapped toward him. And then he smiled. A twisted and eager grin spread across his face. His eyes glinted with excitent rather than rage.
"So you're still standing," the monster growled. His voice thick with delight. "That's good. I wasn't finished with you all!"
The monster lunged to et him.
Myles changed and swung his weapons first.
The Fangblade carved a wide arc of black steel toward the monster's torso. At the sa ti, his other hand flashed forward using the Noctyrix dagger to stab low, aid for the gap beneath the ribs.
The monster's body suddenly twisted unnaturally.
The Fangblade scraped along the hardened flesh, sparks bursting as it failed to penetrate deeper. The dagger also hit but the mont it pierced, black bone surged outward from the wound.
CRACK!
The blade was forced aside as jagged skeletal growths erupted from the monster's arms, extending rapidly and reshaping into long, curved bone-blades fused directly to his hands.
Myles' eyes widened.
The monster laughed. "How about my trick now?" he said, swinging his arm.
The bone-blade ca down like a cleaver.
Myles barely managed to block with the Fangblade. The impact rattled his arms to the bone, shock traveling up his shoulders as he skidded backward across the ground.
But he didn't stop to feel his pain.
He twisted mid-step, ducking under the next slash, then drove the Noctyrix dagger upward toward the monster's throat.
The monster jerked its head back just in ti. The dagger grazed its jaw, carving a shallow line before black bone snapped up to intercept the follow-up strike.
They clashed again and again.
Steel against bone. Black edges against hardened black bone growths.
Myles moved as fast as he could, chaining slashes and stabs together, switching between Fangblade and the dagger without pause. He cut up, then down. He moved left and then right to force the monster back, to keep his focus locked on him alone.
The monster, of course, answered with brutal enthusiasm of a madman.
His arms swung wide. The bone-blades screeched through the air at him. Each strike was very heavy.
Sotis he made a stabbing move. Sotis it slashed, and sotis it simply punched with his reinforced knuckles cracking against Myles' weapons that he used to guard with terrifying force.
Myles eventually took a hit to the side.
Pain exploded through his ribs. His breath tearing from his lungs as he was sent stumbling.
But he stayed upright.
Blood dripped from his mouth as he raised his blades again.
The monster leaned forward, his grin widening.
"YES…," he said, voice trembling with excitent. "This is it. This is the fight I wanted to test my power on must feels like!"
Myles let out a fast breath, forcing his stance steady despite the shaking in his legs.
As long as he was grinning and looking at him he wasn't looking at anyone else, thus having no desire in killing them. Then later they can regroup and make another joint attack.
---
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