If put simply, Adam and Felix were fighting a massive see-through crystal tortoise. Even so, it moved fast in comparison with its size and appearance.
"Watch the tail!" [Felix]
"I know!" [Adam]
One swipe with the tail was enough to send Adam tumbling backwards. It was a surprise considering his strength and the fact he blocked with Krino.
"Damn, it's strong!" [Adam]
"Spatial Slash!" [Felix]
He aimed for what he considered the flesh, though it was hard to tell since the creature was made of one material. Sadly, the attack left the beast unharmed.
"Oho… You two look like you're having trouble." [Astos]
("Ugh, not now.") [Adam]
It was never a pleasure hearing the Chaos god's voice.
"Can't even deal with a single drake? I pity you." [Astos]
("Shut up!") [Adam]
Adam slashed at the beast's tail as it passed overhead.
("No damage?!") [Adam]
"Try using Soul Aggression!" [Krino]
Heeding his advice, Adam promptly changed forms. Lightning enveloped his body, summoning corporeal armor and changing the appearance of his sword.
"Felix, hold it down!" [Adam]
"On it!" [Felix]
Pulling out his trusty staff, Felix thrust his Soul Weapon into the ground.
"Dianoia, grab it!" [Felix]
"Of course." [Dianoia]
Roots seemingly spawned from under the beast, growing upwards and grabbing the intended target. However, the tortoise didn't seem to agree. With just a shake of its body, the roots began to snap.
"Shit! It's not enough!" [Felix]
Thinking fast, Felix rushed forward.
"Domain Expansion!" [Felix]
He attempted to seal the beast's movements by freezing its space. There was one problem though.
("I can't move!") [Adam]
Adam, who was trying to attack the tortoise from behind, was also frozen in Felix's domain.
"Just break out of it. You have more than enough strength for it." [Astos]
("Do you think I'm not trying?!") [Adam]
"So you're worse than that drake? Truly incompetent." [Astos]
Wondering what Astos was on about, Adam saw the beast slowly moving.
("It's moving in my domain?!") [Felix]
It appeared that Felix's roots and his ability was not enough to hold it down.
"Haha… Seriously…?" [Felix]
As a nervous chuckle escaped his lips, Adam was hellbent on trying to move.
("Move damn it, move!") [Adam]
Conjuring up all his strength, he bolstered himself with lightning. It was strange to see sparks move slowly in Felix's domain, but that meant there was progress.
("Just a little more!") [Adam]
At some point, his strength had already reached its threshold. All that was left was his unyielding will. One step turned to two. Two turned to three. Soon Adam was able to move. Though, it was as if he was wading through neck high water.
("Adam can move in my domain?!") [Felix]
It was only until Adam had begun climbing the beast that Felix noticed.
("I just need to get to the head!") [Adam]
As he climbed the tortoise's back, Adam slowly waddled his way to the head. Once there, he raised his sword and mouthed to Felix.
("Drop the domain?") [Felix]
It didn't take much to read his lips. Years of friendship made it so that even random hand signs were enough to communicate.
"Dropping domain!" [Felix]
The moment he released his ability, Adam thrusted his sword downwards. There was a loud ring of metal and a bright flash of lightning upon impact, but all that was left was a small chip in the beast's crystal skin.
"You're kidding!" [Adam]
The tortoise retaliated immediately. With a violent shudder, it shook off the rest of Felix's roots and threw Adam into the air. It then snapped at him and caught him in its jaws.
"Not again!" [Adam]
Lifting his hands up reminded him of Askyros getting caught in a giant wolf's mouth.
"Hrngh!" [Adam]
Letting out a loud grunt, Adam summoned up all his might to keep himself from turning into the tortoise's meal.
"Felix! Help!" [Adam]
"Warp!" [Felix]
Teleporting to Adam, he placed a hand on him.
"Warp!" [Felix]
The beast's jaws snapped shut as Felix teleported them both back onto solid ground. It then stared at the two before letting out a low growl.
"Phew… I almost became its dinner." [Adam]
"We need a new strategy." [Felix]
"How about hitting really hard?" [Adam]
"We just tried that." [Felix]
Adam paused.
"How about we hit it harder?" [Adam]
"Ideally, that would be valid. Do you have an attack that can hit harder?" [Felix]
"Uh… nah." [Adam]
"Thought so." [Felix]
Knowing that they couldn't really harm the creature, thoughts of fleeing came to mind. However, those thoughts were interrupted as a rumble came from overhead.
("Huh? What's that?") [Adam]
Turning his gaze upwards, he could make out a black dot in the sky.
("Is something falling?") [Adam]
As seconds passed, the dot soon became a dark silhouette. Then, the dark silhouette landed on the crystal tortoise, causing shards of crystal to come flying.
"Guard your eyes!" [Krino]
If not for the warning, perhaps Adam might've been blinded. He raised his arms and allowed the crystal debris to cut at his skin.
"Fuhahaha! I've caught it!" [???]
A boisterous laughter filled the air. It wasn't until Adam lowered his arms that he saw a large burly tattooed man holding the crystal tortoise by the neck.
("Who is this guy?") [Adam]
Upon closer inspection, Adam could see that the man before him had a barbaric vibe. No shirt, large mustache and beard, braided hair, pants that appeared to be made of some kind of black leather, and fur boots. The most defining feature of course were the tattoos that stretched across his entire body. It looked like flames, but at the same time didn't have a specific image in mind.
"Ah? We have guests!" [???]
He smiled at Adam and Felix. The beast then groaned loudly as it struggled to escape the man's grip.
"Hold on a moment." [???]
Raising a fist, the man knocked the beast out with a single punch.
"That's better." [???]
Placing his hands on his hips with a proud expression, he put on a beaming smile. That is, before he set eyes on Felix.
"You…!" [???]
His smile shifted into surprise. The man then quickly approached Felix.
"Woah woah! Hold on!" [???]
Felix began to panic as he realized the man was of much larger build than he thought. Just by coming closer his size revealed him to be at least twice Felix's size.
"Duke!" [???]
Dropping to one knee, the man lowered his head.
"I, Arcana of the Sovereign of Ruin, beholder of the Authority of Execution, greet his eminence Duke Felix." [???]
As Adam waited for Felix to reply, his friend slowly met eyes with him.
"...Do you know what language he's speaking?" [Felix]