Arthur was enjoying it.
Well, not the getting crushed by angry roots. He is not a masochist.
He was enjoying the feeling of enraging his enemy with his wits. However, his enjoyment can put him in trouble at times.
But seeing Taros's current expression, he couldn't help but enjoy it.
[You are cracked in the head, kid.]
'Look who's talking.', Arthur replied with a grimace.
[You know. You could easily break out of this with your draconian strength.]
'I'm waiting for the right time.'
[And when is that?]
'Soon.'
[You'll be cracked for real if 'soon' doesn't come.]
'You're worried about me?'
[I hate to say this. But yes, I am worried. You are my bloody host!]
'Glad to hear that.'
This banter with Inferno helped take his mind off the crushing pain as the roots slowly tightened around his body and the rough bark rubbed against his back.
"Answer me!", the angry voice of Taros snapped him back to reality.
"What did you do to Madam Sierra?", he demanded, his face twisted in anger.
Arthur maintained his bloody smirk, "I just arranged a good fight for her. You saw her smile. Shouldn't you be happy and thank me?"
Taros narrowed his eyes. Roots emerged out of his palm and curled to form a crooked lance. He pointed it at the young man.
"That's it. You're going to be in a world of pain."
Arthur rolled his eyes, "Right about damn time."
He grinned, "Right guys?"
Taros frowned. He looked confused and then his eyes widened. He forgot about Arthur Night's teammates.
Before he could react, the soil around him shifted and jagged walls of solid ice burst out of the ground all around him.
In the blink of an eye, the Vaharis were surrounded by 4-meter walls of jagged ice.
Ray suddenly appeared directly in the air above Taros. The walls enclosing their adversary took on the form of a snowflake, visible from Ray's vantage point.
He was holding a silver cylindrical rod in his hand. It is thin and about a meter long with pointed ends.
Ray streamed lightning into the rod. It glowed bright blue and electricity shot out of it, turning it into a literal lightning bolt.
"EAT THIS!", he yelled and threw the bolt through the opening at the top of the icy prison.
The sky lit up as the electrical explosion rocked the woods and a bellow of pain shook the trees. And then everything became silent.
It's surprising that the ice remained intact despite the explosive force. Although it did crack, it did not completely break.
As a result, the explosion was contained within the confines of the ice prison.
Gray was panting as she leaned against her polearm. She realized that she had used up half of her Reserve after utilizing her code.
{Ice Code: Snowflake Prison}
To use this code, a lot of preparation time and magia were required, and any interruptions would have made it impossible. Luckily, Arthur was able to divert the enemy's attention from both her and Ray, allowing her to use it successfully.
'But how did he know the requirements of Snowflake Prison?', she wondered as she gazed at her friend pinned to the tree.
Their gazes met and Arthur gave a calm smile.
He grunted as he applied force against the tree. Utilizing his draconian strength, he successfully tore away from the roots and descended to the ground.
Arthur winced as pain flared up his back and torso. He took some deep breaths and allowed his healing factor to fix his broken ribs and internal bleeding.
He had just finished healing when a magia-enhanced slap to the back knocked the air out of him.
"What in Arkenstein's name were you THINKING?", Ray demanded with an annoyed expression.
Arthur wheezed and gave a cocky smile, "It was a good plan. Right? I knew you would figure things out."
He straightened up and wiped away the blood on his mouth
"You two were amazing. That ice code was incredible.", he told Gray with an impressed smile.
She blushed, "I was only able to do it because you gave me enough time."
Arthur chuckled and looked at Ray with awe, "What in the Founder's name was that, man? The electric toothpick of death?"
'Wrong! I call it the Rumble Bolt!", the young Callen said with pride, "Made of a highly conductive material. Perfect for Lightning warlocks."
"You just infuse your lightning into the bolt and it amplifies the destructive power of your attribute. The one I just used is capable of knocking down a Middle Dragon.", he explained.
Arthur whistled, "Impressive. But I'm afraid Vahari are quite different from wyverns, my friend."
Ray frowned, "What do you mean?"
Just as he finished speaking, a groan resounded from the cracked walls of Gray's ice prison. Pieces of ice fell off the walls and shuddered.
They immediately assumed stances. "No way.", Ray muttered, "That guy tanked my bolt?"
Arthur nodded grimly, "The Vahari have insane durability. To a guy like Taros, your bolt is like a strike from an electrified club. Painful, but not enough to bring him down."
"What do we do?", Gray asked as the cracks in the ice widened, and spread. Arthur could see that she was exhausted. She won't be able to fight properly in this state.
This is going to be a problem. Gray is the best damage dealer in their small team. They will be in trouble if she is out of action.
Arthur assessed the situation. Taros could retaliate any second now. He needs to think fast.
Suddenly his ears picked up the flow of water followed by the roar of flames and howling of the wind.
It didn't seem like they came from multiple sources. The sounds of all three attributes were in harmony as if a single master is controlling them in sync at the same time.
The surprising thing was that Arthur recognized that particular. A smile formed on his lips as a plan sprouted in his mind.
"Arthur? Anytime now.", Ray asked anxiously as the ice prison trembled and what looked like woody roots thrashed like feelers out of the opening at the top.
"Guys. I have a plan.", Arthur declared.
"I hate it when you and Minerva say that.", Ray grumbled.
"Let's-", before Arthur could finish, the Snowflake Prison shattered and hundreds of roots burst out of the ice in all directions.
The trio quickly jumped away as the writhing woody appendages obliterated the trees around the clearing.
In the middle of the devastation, surrounded by writhing roots was Taros. His combat uniform looked burnt and there were even scorch marks on his rocky scales.
He did not look happy as his body glowed dark green and he looked at Arthur with murder in his eyes.
He unleashed his wooden appendages, all of which had pointy ends at the trio.
Gray summoned huge ice spears to intercept them while Ray jumped between the roots like a monkey, swinging and slashing at them with his lightning-infused blades.
But it was Arthur who got the short end of the stick.
Pointy roots the size of tree trunks barrelled toward him like massive flexible skewers.
[I see that things are getting quite hairy.]
'Ah don't worry. I got things under control.', Arthur replied as he shredded the roots with Phantom Claws and Decimating Ripple, 'I think.'
He jumped from root to root, dodging and slashing away at them in midair.
Arthur gritted his teeth. It won't be long before he loses his footing and he could see that his friends are slowly getting overwhelmed.
He landed on a large root and ran along its length. Numerous other roots snaked toward him from all directions.
He increased his focus and visualized individual points on each root. Streaming magia into Ghost, he used Bladeflow to clear a path and push him forward.
He reached the end of the root and leaped into the air.
Roots immediately surrounded and almost trapped him in a ball of writhing wood.
'Night style Fifth form: Blade Frenzy.'
The roots were torn to shreds by his attack and as he dropped to the ground, he pointed Ghost down and infused a huge amount of magia into the blade.
With a terrifying hiss from the blade, Arthur struck the ground.
'Night style Sixth form: Blackout.'
A powerful shockwave of magia ripped apart the roots around him and caused them to retreat.
"Over here!", he yelled. Ray and Gray landed beside him, the latter was stumbling and leaned against the former.
"So what's the plan?", Ray asked as he turned around to see Taros approaching them.
"We run.", Arthur replied and pointed ahead, "Those roots are blocking the way, Clear us a path. I'll hold Gray."
Ray gave him a doubtful look but he complied with his request.
"I'm fine.", Gray protested and tried to move but Arthur stopped her, "It's fine. Gray. You've done more than enough.", he spoke gently.
He nodded to his best friend. Ray infused lightning into his blades and swung the chain in circles.
With a yell, he unleashed the powerful blades on the roots and opened up a path. He looked at Arthur with a triumphant smile and they started moving.
Suddenly Taros appeared right behind them. They didn't even notice him approach. He was way too fast.
"Is it just me or has he become bigger?", Ray asked in a small voice as he stared at the very tall Vaharis who seems to be growing in size right before their eyes.
"Nope. You are not seeing things.", Arthur muttered. Taros is slowly unraveling the magia that compressed his size. It won't be long before he towered over them.
"You're not going anywhere!", he yelled and brought down his fist.
"Damnit!", Arthur pushed Gray to Ray and blocked the strike with his sword.
A shockwave caused the trees to tremble as Arthur's knees buckled and the ground caved in by the force.
But to Taros's surprise, Arthur didn't go down by his strike.
Gritting his teeth, Arthur curled the fingers of his free hand into a fist and drove it into the Vaharis's gut.
With a mighty "Oof!" Taros was blown back by the punch. He slid backward and toppled to the ground.
Arthur stared at his fist and gulped. He forgot to hold back.
"Oh, Arthemia. Oops."
Ray stared at him, "Um. Should you start running? Violet Zelien did promise to hunt down anyone who killed a participant."
Arthur can't believe his best friend went straight to that. But he started to worry. What if he accidentally killed Taros?
Things would get messy. Very messy.
Arthur was starting to think of ways to evade the Cardinal Knights when he heard a groan from the fallen Taros.
"What was that?", the Vaharis asked in a daze and started to get up.
Ray's eyes widened, "Hey. You said Vahari are very durable. This guy tanked your punch."
Arthur stared at the slowly rising Vaharis who was looking very confused. Even if they run away, Taros will still catch up.
Plus he was able to take on Arthur's punch. A smile crept up his face when he realized he got someone to test his draconian strength on.
Of course, he couldn't beat this guy on his own. He needs more firepower than Ray's lightning and Gray's ice.
The combined sound of fire, water, and wind he previously heard had died down but he had pinpointed the source.
He gulped. This should work.
"Change of plan.", he tossed a recovery potion vial to Ray. Each participant was provided with three to be used in emergencies.
"Give that to Gray and run in that direction.", he pointed to a location that is to the left of the tower. The roots created by Taros had disappeared when the Vaharis fell.
"There is someone who will help us. Just tell him the situation. He'll know what to do.", he instructed Ray.
Ray frowned, "You sure he will help you? Who is he anyway? Damien?"
Arthur grinned, "Someone better. You know him."
"What about you?"
Arthur looked at Taros who was shaking his head out of the daze, "I'll try to take on the big guy. Provide some time."
"You're mental.", Ray replied, "That guy really wants to smash your face."
"I guess that makes me a good bait.", Arthur chuckled, "Go on. I'll be fine."
Ray looked worried but he nodded and turned around, "Be careful man."
"I will."
With a grunt, Ray sprinted in the direction Arthur pointed at with Gray slumped on his back.
Arthur looked at the receding figure of his best friend and turned around to face a glowering Taros.
He put away Ghost and assumed a fighting stance.
"Let's do this. Cheese Breath."