Just as Valyr and the others from the quick response team had finally mustered up the courage to attack the Inferior Tidespawn heading their way, Damian and the others had finally congregated at the front of the Tidemother, their senses at full alert with the enemy before them going berserk.
Bang!
Without any sign whatsoever, the Tidemother sent two of its working legs down on the six, prompting everyone to scatter and dodge the attack as well as they could. For those who had high AGI like Damian, Tristan, and Myst, they had no problems dodging the attack at all, their eyes widened in slight fear at the possible repercussions. As for the remaining ones who didn't have that high of an AGI stat, all of them were also able to dodge the attack. However, compared to the others, the margin for error was smaller, making their pupils shrink as they felt the strong breeze caused by the motion pass by them.
"Do any of you have an idea on how we can beat this one?" Ordering everyone to congregate once more, Damian initiated a conversation with the other five, prompting everyone to wrack their brains as they continued to dodge the attacks of the Tidemother that came their way. "We may have beaten our fair share of Tidemothers in the past, but this is the first time we've ever fought against one that went berserk."
"Hmm… does anyone have an incredibly destructive attack in their arsenal?" Tristan asked in response, which made everyone listen up to what he had to say. "If we do, the remaining five could distract the Tidemother to the best of their abilities, giving the one with the destructive attack the leeway to hit the Tidemother with it."
"Well, I've got a spell that allows me to conjure a massive fireball." Lythia opened her mouth all of a sudden, her voice surprising the others as they jumped far away from the trajectory of a nearby attack as all of them sent out basic attacks towards the leg that had landed. Naturally, the Tidemother did not take kindly to the move, causing more of its legs to rain down on the six. "However, I've tried using it once earlier, and it only dealt around a couple hundred damage to the Tidemother. Is that enough damage?"
Seeing as everyone went silent at the question, Lythia could not help but wryly smile. "I'm guessing that's not enough damage, huh."
Noticing that some of them wryly smiled in response to the question, she quickly confirmed that her suspicions were indeed correct, bringing the plans of the six back to square one regarding what they were going to do to defeat the Tidemother.
Bang!
Just as the six continued to think up of possible strategies they could use to finish the fight once and for all, a faint explosion sound echoed far away from where they were, making them look in the direction of the sound's origin. Surprisingly, what they saw was Valyr risking his life to fight against the Inferior Tidespawn, landing brutal attack after brutal attack on it in exchange for a portion of his health.
At first, the six could not help but find that a move like that seemed like something they would only do if they were at their wits' end. However, once they listened to the words Valyr uttered once he was sent flying once more, their eyes could not help but widen as the others from the quick response team swiftly surrounded the Tidespawn, giving Valyr the leeway to deal as much damage as he liked.
In response, he reciprocated the gesture by landing an attack that killed the Tidespawn in one go, making the quick response team cheer in joy as they had surpassed what seemed to be an impassable challenge in their eyes.
Looking back at each other, it seemed that a fire had been kindled after witnessing the selfless act Valyr had done for their team to win against the Tidespawn. At that moment, a plan was being drafted in their minds, a plan which they knew quite well that they would only do if they were at their wits' end. Then again…
They already were.
"[Manic Frenzy]!" As they dodged against one of the Tidemother's attacks once more, Tristan's skin faintly glowed red as the energy he exuded gradually became more and more ferocious. However, if one looked closely at him, it seemed that his complexion grew paler by the second. Noticing this detail, Damian looked at Tristan in shock, wondering what was going on in his mind.
Naturally, Tristan noticed Damian looking at him as well, making him let out a chuckle as he soon dashed towards the Tidemother's underside. "We can't let ourselves be beaten by a Level 10 brat in terms of bravado now, can we?"
"[Raging Barrage]!" With the aura surrounding Tristan growing ever stronger by the second with his speed following suit, he eventually transformed that momentum into a jump, allowing him to leap multiple meters into the air. Once in midair, he sent out a flurry of punches towards the Tidemother's underside, causing intangible fists of energy to collide with the orifices that were still open.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Screeeee!!!" With the people it thought it had beaten earlier attacking its underside all of a sudden, the Tidemother could not help but let out a shriek in pain, trying its utmost to send its leg to where Tristan was to retaliate. However, with [Manic Frenzy] still active, it was no problem for Tristan to dodge the attack, heading towards one of its working legs before unceremoniously kicking it at the joint.
Bang!
With that, the Tidemother had finally lost all means to balance itself, causing it to topple on its side as Tristan looked back at the five who were gawking at him in disbelief. "What are you doing just standing there?"
"Attack!"
"You know you could've done this earlier, you bastard!" As Damian yelled a small string of curses at Tristan, he took in a deep breath before dashing towards the now more vulnerable underside of the Tidemother, raising his blade up in the air before infusing with great amounts of energy as he slashed down.
"[River Blossom Crash]!"
Bang!
"Graaaaggghhhh!!!" With no way to see where it had been attacked, the Tidemother flailed its remaining working legs around, hoping to see if it would get lucky and hit one of the six along the way.
"[Tornado Cleave]!"
Bang!
Unfortunately, the fact that the Tidemother now made erratic moves meant that the fight had simplified, prompting Myst and the others to land their most devastating moves, with Rampart taking the lead with a spiraling slash on the side of its abdomen.
"[Colossus Blaze]!"
Bang!
"Grwwwahhhhh!" Letting out another pained shriek, the Tidemother was left with no choice to take the brunt of Lythia's attack, the top portion of its abdomen singed by a massive fireball. At this point, only a quarter of its HP remained, instilling a bit of excitement in the six as Myst made her move.
"[Great Tempest Strike]!"
Swoosh!
"Screee!!!" Deciding to send out a high-pitched screech as a last ditch effort to make the six move away from it, the Tidemother was unsuccessfully in doing so. Instead, the screech fueled the six with greater vigor as only a sliver of health was what remained after Myst's attack.
"Let me do the honors!" Just as Damian was able to deal the final blow, Tristan used the Tidemother's body as a platform, standing on top of it within seconds thanks to the help of [Manic Frenzy] before performing the strongest jump he could muster, a devilish grin adorning his face.
"[War Hammer Blow]!"
Bang!
Fueled by the buff brought about by [Manic Frenzy] and the high STR he originally had, the Tidemother's abdomen caved in response to Tristan's attack, eventually allowing him to puncture through its tough exterior as he disappeared from the sight of the five soon after.
For a while, the five could not help but look at the Tidemother's body with a hint of worry, even though they had done all they could to beat it. Though, once a man fully covered in blood reappeared where he previously was, large grins could be seen on the five's faces, their expressions that of great excitement as Damian let out a yell that could be heard by everyone near his vicinity.
"We did it!"
"The monster tide is over!"
Of course, with those from the quick response team being nearby, everyone jumped for joy at the announcement, with Valyr also becoming excited as a notification sound resounded in his mind.
Ding!
[You have completed the emergency quest: Monster Tide.]
[Head to Damian to receive your rewards.]