I was expecting a horrendous beast on all fours, razor-sharp fangs, and drool coming out of its mouth. The preconception was solely based on cliches of uncontrollable monsters, but I should've suspected otherwise.
A monster who could clear an entire domain would have to have some levels of intelligence, or it wouldn't be able to identify threats and kill efficiently.
A living trunk stood before us, a humanoid shape and features accentuating its unusual strength. Was this a spirit of some kind? Branches stood out above its head, resembling a crown.
Was this beast a king?
I immediately understood why this monster had so much power, and why its aura was so devastatingly strong. He could regenerate and transform limbs at will, branches constantly spreading throughout his body.
I was familiar with such a method of combat, resembling nanotechnology back on Earth. Living suits of armor had been fabricated, giving the user defensive and offensive capabilities unlike any other.
It merely growled at the party before it, like we were beneath it, like we weren't worthy of its rage.
"Spread out and engage!" roared Mike as a massive fist came crashing down on his shield. The tank molded the earth around him, trying to reinforce his position.
A flurry of water suddenly surrounded the spirit's leg, a cool breeze washing over the liquid and freezing it. I turned to the source in awe, Ava and Emma both working together flawlessly. They had managed to replicate ice using two separate elements?
This type of ice was obviously extremely limited compared to the advanced bind, but merely achieving to create it was an amazing feat.
I launched myself at the frozen leg, unsheathing my sword and igniting my blade as I cut the joint. I cursed as I landed behind it, realizing that my attacks would not even cripple it. The monster was huge, and its legs were extremely thick, there was no way I could cut through an entire limb.
Everyone watched in horror as the monster regenerated the cut almost instantaneously, minding no attention to the combined attack of three party members.
Small pieces of twig suddenly shot out of the spirit's back, locking onto me as they zipped towards me. I willed bind into my body, increasing my speed. Even with the boost, I couldn't evade all of them, spikes slashing across my body as I grit my teeth in pain.
I waited a few moments, sighing in relief at the healing received from Rom. AA-rank monsters were no joke.
Even against the unforgiving odds, the party continued its assault. We tried various tactics and combinations, but all it ever did was scrape the massive beast. I could tell the party was beginning to tire, but the monster seemed completely fine.
I snapped back to reality as a massive arm came sweeping across the battlefield, rubble crashing down on the party. I looked around the room as the rocks fell, trying to identify anybody that would be crushed by the oncoming debris.
Our healer was going to get it.
I launched myself at Rom, traveling the entire room in a matter of seconds. I grabbed the Fei and ran out of the area, a massive rock crushing the ground behind me.
"T-thanks," he gasped, getting back on his feet. This domain was too dangerous, and my instinct was telling me that this beast was aware of that. Was he trying to use our surroundings against us?
Just as the thought crossed my mind, a massive avalanche of rocks piled up on the exit, trapping the party in the boss room.
This beast was enclosing us with itself, an enemy we knew we couldn't beat. I felt irregularities in the auras of my teammates, desperation slowly consuming them. Within only a matter of minutes, this monster had been able to annihilate all morale, all hope of survival.
I concentrated on the bind circulating in and out of my body, electrifying all of it in a single instant.
BOOM
Lightning struck me as I launched myself at the beast, slashing every inch of wood that came across me.
I leaped onto its shoulders, throwing my sword into its face like an electrified projectile, the weapon creating a small fissure in its face. I jumped up, using the ceiling as a foothold, and launched myself back at the spirit.
My body dematerialized as I became a literal lightning bolt, striking the enemy with the full magnitude of my abilities. I clutched my sword again amidst the dust, retreating, and waiting to see the impact of my attack.
Even after that, all I had done was knock it down to one knee. The monster stood back up slowly, dazed from the impact. It brought its fists down onto me, my body suddenly refusing the orders my mind carried out. I felt my muscles contract, my entire body becoming stiff.
I was paralyzed.
I had overcharged myself with lightning, ignoring the possible tolls it could have on my body, and now I was about to pay the price of such a miscalculation.
"Darck!" cried out Mike as he shoved me out of the way, encasing himself in a sphere of earth to absorb the blow. I watched as those wooden hands came crashing down on the defensive orb, shattering the earth.
Mike looked at me through the cracks of his sphere, nodding to me as he realized his situation, and mouthing out the words I never wanted to hear, never wanted to see, never wanted to recall.
Survive.
The fist came slamming down, Mike disappearing from my view, and Auroria.
The rest of the party stood there in shock as the spirit lifted its hands, blood splattered all over them. I hit the wall from the push, my vision becoming fuzzy from the blow.
Another person who had sacrificed themselves for me, another person who had given me something I could never repay. No matter the world, I had to live bearing another life on my shoulder.
I got up slowly, staggering. I had charged in, attempting to take out the beast in one blow, and had caused the death of a member. The death of our tank.
Chaos continued in front of me as I watched my allies fight, attempting to regain their footing, but it was futile. They couldn't do anything, there was no coordination, no will to fight anymore.
"Remember, no matter where you are, you two are always connected," said Selena, the image of Lares flooding back into my mind.
"What does that mean?" I watched myself ask, curious about the power Selena was referencing.
This was a memory, a gift given to me long ago.
"It is something that should only be used when there are no other alternatives, an ability that opens a link between you and Asthia, an integration of both your powers combined. We call it Integrate."
The memory vanished as I saw another attack headed straight for the bulk of the group, my eyes focusing on one of the only people I considered a friend in this world.
They wouldn't die, nobody else would suffer. Even if it had intense repercussions, an irreversible toll on my body, it meant nothing faced with the lives of everyone else in this room.
"Integrate," I muttered.