Outside the capital city, somewhere in another danger zone. Aria swung her spear and beheaded a standing dog.
The creature froze as its head slowly collapsed to the ground before her eyes scanned the surrounding forests.
Dogs with speckled fur were running on all fours, raising their heads out of the bushes to reveal rows of sharp canine teeth.
Amidst a pool of dead bodies containing both humans and dogs, she and her company had left their horses to form a circle, their spears pointed to thrust at any attacker.
Both the geographic artifact and scouts had either miscalculated or someone had tampered with the devices as they found themselves fending off two waves of kobold attackers.
The ones who were dead were the few who didn't listen to her orders to be cautious.
"Thank goodness, his majesty suggested a hundred and fifty men per danger zone," came the gasping voice of a soldier near her.
"Stay strong, warrior. You have to make it alive," She said as the third wave of kobolds approached.
"Brace yourselves!" The Captain's orders rang as her unit raised their spears. A bright white light engulfed Aria's form as the group thrust their spears into the next wave of ferocious dogs.
~~~~~
Hidden behind the bushes, the woman with beads clasped her palms and breathed deeply.
Her eyes lit up with a swirling red light as she chanted, "Flame of the Divine Envoy Renerix, grant my fighters your renewing gift."
As Ryan cut down another plant, his movements became slowly worn down by fatigue. The mark on his wrist glowed, and his whole body became covered with a dim red light.
Instantly, the heaviness vanished.
[Your body has recovered with the aid of the divine.]
His face lit up with a smile upon hearing the news, and he proceeded to hack his sword with energy, disemboweling two plants in the process.
With renewed vigor, he cut through the now thinned enemy lines and shoved himself towards the Ape, who was busy throwing its spear at Pierre, who so far had used an extraordinary amount of luck to keep himself alive.
'It seems it reset after that bit with the snake.'
He then pointed his fingers, unleashing blazing rays in its direction.
The creature reacted on time, disintegrating all of his attacks with just a swipe of its spear.
"I should try something new," He thought, questioning why he kept slashing instead of thinking up new attack patterns.
When he thought the Ape would repeat the same move as it crawled towards him, the beast decided to change things up.
The Rare spread out its legs and took off with a powerful leap; the moonlight reflected upon its hulking figure. Before Ryan knew what was happening, Spider monkey had landed where the plants were, a green aura oozing out of its form.
The spear struck the ground as living plants near began withering, their bright green leaves turned brown, and their roots went dry in a matter of seconds. The Spear was then raised with a glowing green orb surrounding its nib.
Knowing what the attack was meant for, Ryan used his skill and leaped as the beam blitzed near him, covering the barren ground with tidbits of greenery.
But after he had dodged, he realized where the attack was headed, and his face went pale.
As the beam was about to brush the bushes, the beaded woman felt a massive chill creeping up her spine.
However, Pierre dashed in front of the bushes, revealing his blade's edges, which were lit with blood.
Without Nameless swung his runic blade, the blood sizzled as it flew outwards, burning into beads of red-hot fire that collided with the beam, before exploding.
From his position, Ryan got lost in the aftermath of Pierre's defense, almost failing to notice the massive spear swinging towards him.
He barely managed to dodge with a desperate leap. The weapon struck the ground, sending tremors through the earth as the grass beneath it disintegrated to ash.
Gladdened by the mistake of the enemy, Ryan pushed himself at the creature with a jump, right before lacerating the wrist that held the spear, leaving behind a bloodied gash.
To his surprise, the blade actually earned a shriveling cry from the monster before it sent another hand to crush his insolence.
Reusing his skill, Ryan retreated a few meters away as the other palm slammed into the floor. Then he looked at the iron blade now smeared in the beast's blood.
After bounding away, a new idea popped into his head before he heard Pierre's voice echo from within, "Sire!"
"Good, you're still alive!" He replied mentally after seeing the Rare Ape switch its spear to another hand.
"It can't block physical attacks, but it can block the ones imbued with mana, raw or elemental." He sounded into the telepathic chat.
The Ape stabbed its weapon, which he used a normal jump to avoid; however, as the spear thrust into the earth, a black mist spawned from its tip.
"This is new," Ryan sputtered as the mist covered the area around his legs.
Unwilling to find out whatever growing threat lingered, he jumped. As he did, his eyes witnessed tentacles rising from the black mist, grasping for his limbs before swiftly retreating into their receding origin.
"Pierre, can you still fight?!" He shouted into the chat while watching the blade unearth itself.
"Yes!" He heard the fighter grunt before spotting him, barely able to stand with a piece of his clothing torn off by the explosion.
"Can you still use another of those attacks?!" He questioned before dodging another stab and escaping the black mist's range.
"I don't have enough mana."
"I've told you, don't worry about that!" The Priestess exclaimed.
"If his majesty can buy me enough time, then,"
Ryan wondered how he had done it so quickly before, but decided to be the bait.
"Very well then." He said, "However, don't you dare take too long!"
"Yes."
As the blade stabbed the Earth before it was brought out once more, Ryan used the chance to sprint to the bushes for cover.
The Abyssal Ape, however, was not having another of that. Black mist enveloped its spear, and feeling a deep sense of danger, Ryan once again willed power into his legs and jumped as another attack bolted towards him.
The ground under was quickly covered in black, and a spiralling feeling of despair arose in him when he saw that the aftermath had disintegrated all the nearest weeds in the vicinity.
Suddenly, the spear sallied forward, aiming for his chest. With mana imagery, he stretched out his palm and pushed out a fiery trail. Much to his dismay, the spear pierced the flames, tranforming them into black smoke as it approached.
Now he knew he was in big trouble.
"Flame of Saint Prigrinix, grant my fighter your protection."
The mark on Ryan's wrist glowed again as a red barrier immediately appeared and covered Ryan, clashing against the spear with a resounding clang and deflecting the weapon's trajectory.
But at the same time, the barrier splintered into multiple pieces as Ryan reached the surface safely.
Without hesitation, he slit the air with the sword and a flaming arc spiralled towards the enemy before exploding near the beast's chest.
However, the black mist appeared, reinforcing its coverage.
As Ryan gnawed his teeth in annoyance, he turned to see Pierre with his iron sword up front, a flaming aura fully enveloping his body.
[Pierre has unleashed his aura.]
He was going to feel ecstatic, but not now.
Pierre was following the plan they'd come up with in all their running around and dodging. While the monster was busy casting, he was going to take its eyes out.
"This seems to be the real weakness of his attack!" He thought, seeing as the runes lit up with fire, slowly converging along the sword's edges, and forming a red-hot ray.
As the beast grasped its chest with the arm Ryan had injured earlier, Pierre took the moment to unleash the beam in his blade with a spin.
The attack sliced through the air, gusting out with thick smoke before it reached the ape's face. The trio watched in anticipation, their hearts jumping as the attack connected with the monster's face, followed by a loud bang.
Smoke clouded its head, and the spear it held dropped with a plop.
From his position, Pierre fell to his knees, panting in relief, releasing the exhaustion. He looked at his bloodied hand and, with a tired voice, asked the other two mentally, "Did we win?"
Ryan looked at the creature as the smoke around gradually shrank, revealing a misshapen head. As the other two frantically waited for the aftermath, he was waiting for a response.
There was none.
"You have got to be kidding me," His inner thoughts worded. By the time he looked again, his eyes opened wide in horror as a black aura emerged and wrapped around the creature's form.
"No!"
"Impossible,"
"What the…"
The trio quickly became agitated as the black aura corroded the Ape's body, large patches of fur dropped to the floor, and its legs sank deep into the dirt.
By the time the smoke had cleared, a new monster stood before them. Another Abyssal Ape, but its upper and lower body was fully coated by the black mist. Deep within the darkness, two pairs of blood-hued eyes opened.
[New Opponent
Name - Shadow Rare Ape
Description - A remnant of its master's darkened soul]
"I'm going to need a lot more sleep after this." Ryan thought as his heart raced.
Their next battle had arrived.