Myles moved again before the monster could press his advantage.
He stepped in hard, Fangblade flashing as he forced his battered body forward. Pain scread through his ribs with every breath but he ignored it and attacked anyway.
The black blade slashing and chaining into a rapid follow-up as the Noctyrix dagger stabbed and slashes for little gaps that barely existed.
The monster welcod it all. His bone-blades clashed against the blades again. Purplish and orange sparks burst and black fragnts scattered.
"HAHAHAHA!"
The monster laughed as he fought, his movents wild but still terrifyingly precise. He pressed Myles back with heavy swings that shook the ground beneath their feet.
Myles slipped past one slash, twisted his body, and slashed across the monster's chest.
The wound opened, then bone surged beneath the skin, hardening instantly and stopping the cut from going deeper.
"Tch—!" Myles clicked his tongue and jumped back just as a bone-blade swept past his face.
They locked together again, Myles weapons and the monster's bone grinding at each other, neither of them willing to give ground.
—
Not far from them, Nadine and Victor dragged the others to a safer position behind collapsed walls and broken vehicles.
Clara groaned softly as Nadine helped her sit upright. Frost still clung faintly to her spear, but her arms trembled too much to lift it properly.
George leaned heavily against a cracked pillar and breathed hard. Daniel and Kade sat nearby, looking at their bruises and shallow cuts.
Ryan stood a little apart. He was silent, watching the fight from between the rubble.
"There's… no healing stuff right?" Daniel said through clenched teeth. "Nothing that can really help us right now."
Victor nodded grimly. "Normally our bodies recover fast enough. This apocalypse had changed our body as well and usually the healing is enough after a fight. But this damage…" He shook his head. "It'll take ti."
Too much ti. Everyone glanced back toward Myles who was still fighting alone.
Steel rang again in the distance. A heavy impact followed, then the monster's laughter echoed across the ruins.
George grit his teeth. His hands trembled as he tightened his grip around his hamr.
"We must… help him."
"But that monster is insanely strong," Daniel replied, his voice tight. "We hit him together earlier but it barely slowed him down."
George's shoulders sagged. "If I had made better armor…" His voice cracked. "This is on ."
Kade imdiately turned toward him. "What are you talking about? That's not your fault. That thing's just ridiculous."
Kade then glanced toward Ryan, looking for agreent, and he blinked in shock.
Ryan's eyes were fixed on the battlefield. Not with fear or with concern. But with sothing sharp and focused. Sothing like… greedy expression on his face.
"Captain?" Kade called.
Ryan blinked and turned toward him. "Huh? What?"
"You okay?" Kade asked slowly.
Ryan frowned as if confused by the question. "Of course not. I got thrown around like trash. What about you?"
"Sa," Kade replied.
The tension eased. Kade looked away, shaking his head. He told himself, "I'm overthinking it. Everyone's shaken. That must be my imagination."
Victor stepped forward, forcing himself upright. "We must gather out shit and attack again. All of us."
Nadine nodded, looking at them. "Your weapons have skills. That's our only chance. We need to use them properly."
"But that'll cost a lot of MP," Daniel said. "So of us don't have much. That's why I am reluctant to use them."
"I know," Nadine replied firmly. "But normal attacks won't kill that thing. We already saw that."
They fell silent for a couple of seconds. Then, one by one they nodded.
No one liked the plan. But no one saw another way.
—
Back on the battlefield, Myles was forced back another step as a bone-blade smashed into his guard.
Blood blurred his vision for a mont from a wound in his head.
He wiped it away with the back of his hand, eyes locked onto the monster.
The monster lunged again, laughing as he swung.
At that mont suddenly shots rang out.
Ether bullets slamd into the monster's back and Ether arrows followed, exploding in sharp flashes of light.
The impacts staggered him for a brief mont and tore fresh wounds across his hardened flesh.
"ARGH!" the monster bellowed, rage snapping through his laughter. "YOU ANNOYING PESTS!"
He twisted around. His eyes locked onto Ethan and Samantha who had moved much closer than before.
"No…" Myles' heart dropped.
The monster abandoned Myles without hesitation and turned toward them. His arm stretched unnaturally, bones shifting and lengthening as the thick purple smoke he left earlier surged forward like a living tide toward Ethan and Sam.
"Run!" Ethan shouted.
He grabbed Samantha's arm and sprinted. They ran hard. But the mist was faster.
It rolled across the ground in a widening radius, swallowing distance with terrifying speed. No matter how hard they ran, it closed in and they couldn't outrun it.
Myles moved. Pain ripped through his body as he forced himself forward again.
"I can't let him touch them. No."
He pushed everything aside and ran.
The monster's attention now stayed locked on Ethan and Samantha. That single mont was enough.
Myles crossed the distance in a blur and he struck.
The Fangblade carved deep into the monster's side while the Noctyrix dagger stabbed in from below, both weapons hitting cleanly before the monster could react.
CRACK!
Bone shattered, flesh tore, black blood burst outward in a violent spray.
"RAAAARGH!!"
The monster howled in pain. The purple mist stopped, its advance breaking apart as if severed from its source.
Ethan and Samantha stumbled forward, coughing, then kept running. The mist no longer chased them. They were safe.
The monster twisted back toward Myles. Before Myles could pull away, a massive hand snapped forward.
It grabbed his face. The grip was crushing.
The monster slamd him backward and drove him into the ground with brutal force.
The impact shattered the ground beneath Myles' body. Pain exploded through his skull as the world spun and dust filled his vision.
The monster lood over him. His fingers tightening on his face, purple light blazing in his eyes.
Myles grit his teeth in pain. His weapons were still in his hands. But his grip was weakened.
—
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