"Rose! Walter! The terrain shifted and we're trapped! Get ready!!!" I shouted.
Immediately, the two of them leaped to their feet and got their weapons ready. Rose put her helmet back on as well
"What do you mean the terrain shifted? The tunnel is gone!?" Walter said.
"Exactly that. Rose, stay close. Walter can you light up the cave more?" I asked.
I looked around and saw it. The Black Ooze had creeped up all around us. We were completely surrounded.
"Grand Illumination!!!" Walter shouted.
An orb of light sparked from his hand and shot towards the ceiling. A moment later, it expanded and lit up the entire cavern.
By that time, the Black Ooze began to shift. Lumps of it began to rise out of the ground and we were surrounded by horrifying abominations.
Each of them was a unique creation. An amalgamation of eyes and mouths lined with razor-sharp teeth. Some of the creatures looked almost human too.
Far too human to be an illusion.
Rose shrieked as soon as she looked around.
I could see a horrified expression on Walter's face as well.
Despite having seen Cain, it was easy to see why they were terrified. But for me...
The dragon, as well as Cassandra...
Compared to her, these things looked as harmless as kittens.
"Rose, are you okay?" I said aloud to her.
"I-I'll be fine! These things have a weakness, right?" She stammered.
"I think Cain had a core in his chest when I killed him! Try aiming for that!"
"That's all I need to hear," Walter said as his sword began emitting golden light.
If there was one person I was glad to see here, it was him.
Walter Orthright, wielder of the legendary sword 'Honor'.
The creatures began to slowly advance in our direction.
"GROOOAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!"
The creatures began to emit a terrifying screeching moan as they closed in on us.
As soon as the creatures got within range, Walter and I struck from both sides to protect Rose.
"FULL MOON SLASH!!"
"GIGA CRASH!!!"
Mine and Walters shouts rang out as we both unleashed out skills. I made sure to use a different variant of full moon slash as not to hit Rose. My blade sliced through several of the abominations as I felt the ground quake violently.
A quick glance behind allowed me to see that many of the creatures had outright exploded from the impact of Walter's blade.
You crazy old bastard! We don't need a cave-in, too!
Luckily, the cavern seemed to hold up well.
Walter and I continued slashing and hacking at the seemingly never-ending creatures and soon, I saw Rose attacking as well.
Several of the monsters swiped at me, but their claws bounced off of my shield and armor. I bashed one with my shield and relieved another of its head.
They just kept coming.
Rose was now at my side defending me and trying her best to kill some of the creatures as well.
As strong as she was, her blade couldn't cut as deep as Vengeance and Honor.
Walter had slowly moved away to draw their attention and was successfully taking them down by the dozen. More of the creatures spawned in their place, but most of the attention was now on him.
"LETHAL SLASH!!!" I shouted as my blade traced a path and broke the cores of three monsters.
I could almost feel Rose panicking as she tried her best to protect me.
She had yet to use any of her skills since the battle started and was sticking close to me.
I had an idea.
"I could use some help here, Vengeance!" I said to my sword.
I wanted to make sure that Rage of Iratus wouldn't cause me to die here if I activated it.
Silence.
Damn it all!!!
"ROSE! GET DOWN!" I shouted, and she immediately ducked behind her shield at my back.
Once I had a clear moment, I unleashed a barrage of spells.
"Chain lightning!!! Chain lightning!!! Chain lightning!!!" I repeatedly used the spell channeled through my sword as I slashed at the creatures.
The lightning sparked and hit many of the creatures, but it seemed to do very little.
Magic attacks weren't helping here. If all else failed, I would have to resort to my last skill.
I would have to try something else.
"SWORD ENCHANT!!!" My sword flashed after killing an enemy and began glowing with light.
Sword enchant was a skill I learned after becoming a magic knight. It would imbue my blade with magic that my foes were weak against. I could also activate elements manually if I wished.
Strangely enough, the magic seemed to be coming from my hand in threads of light.
Something I hadn't actually seen before.
"FULL MOON SLASH!!!" I shouted as I swung my sword through the monsters.
Upon contact with the creatures, my sword exploded into white light and created a shockwave, piercing through several enemies.
Instantly, they were reduced to ashes.
YES!!!
Immediately after I did this, the creatures backed away and began screeching at me.
"GROOOOAAAAAAAA!!!"
Rose seemed to regain her composure at last and put her guard up.
The ground was still shaking from Walter's attacks and I glanced over to see that he was making swift work of his enemies. He easily cleaved the monsters into pieces around him and still had yet to even get a scratch.
Damn, that old man is one hell of a warrior!
And then, it began.
The air suddenly felt cold.
I had a feeling of familiarity...of genuine worry and fear.
I saw a very large shadow rise out of the ground, and before me stood a monster much larger than even Cain.
It was a similar type of abomination to the ones we had been fighting, but it was hulking and massive.
For some reason, looking at this thing filled me with dread. More so that the panic I already had.
{Kill them all...
Burn it down...}
"Mizik, I'll help you kill this one. I'm feeling better now," Rose said.
Something in me instantly said no. As if so many voices cried out against it all at once.
Looking at Rose and seeing this monster filled me with a despair and horror that I couldn't contain.
It was as if the world itself was telling me to run away.
Rose stepped forward and the monster roared at her.
"GRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
Immediately, I charged ahead of her and the creature turned its attention to me.
I could not allow that thing to touch Rose!
The creature swung its massive arm and impacted against my shield, it sent me flying back towards the edge of the crowd surrounding us.
The monsters began grabbing at me and trying to hold me back.
"FULL MOON SLASH!!!" My blade cut them down easily and reduced them to ashes. Rose had turned to me and the monster began charging at her.
"ROSE!!! LOOK OUT!!!" I screamed.
She raised her shield and deflected a blow from the monster.
I could tell already that the impact caused her severe pain.
It left a dent in her shield and likely sprained her arm...potentially breaking it, even.
"ASSAULT SLASH!!!" I shouted and charged at the monster.
It lept back and raised its massive arms, dodging my attack.
I could see one of them change shape to look like a massive ax. The other stayed as it was. A large hand.
{Kill them all!
Burn it down!}
"Rose, are you alright!?" I asked hurriedly.
"I'm...fine... My arm hurts bad and my shield's dented. But I should be okay," she said.
I turned to glance at Walter and saw him still fighting the never-ending horde of abominations.
He could see the monster we were facing, but the other creatures were keeping him busy. I could even see new variants that I had yet to fight. Large serpent-like monsters with eyes all over their bodies and huge mouths at the end filled with rows of teeth.
It was like they knew he was a threat.
I didn't want to, but it was starting to look more likely that I would have to use my last resort.
At that moment, all of the eyes that had been on me shifted.
Every single monster that wasn't fighting Walter, was now looking at Rose.
Including the behemoth variant.
"GRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
The behemoth roared and it's other hand changed shape to a large mace.
My panic turned to almost crippling fear.
No...no way. Not this...not now!
The behemoth ducked low and charged straight at Rose.
"I WON'T LET YOU!!! LETHAL SLASH!!!" I moved in front of Rose and my blade missed the behemoth as it stepped aside and it batted me away with the flat of its ax arm.
I landed hard on the ground just in time to see it swing its mace down on Rose. She stepped back and dodged the attack, but the ground nearly exploded by her feet, causing her to stumble backwards onto the ground. Rose's helmet was knocked off by the impact, and I could see her terrified expression as the beast stepped closer.
The behemoth leaned forward and breathed a dark purple gas at her.
The gas covered her and Rose's veins began to turn black. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she began violently convulsing on the ground.
The creature raised its mace high into the air.
I could almost swear it smiled.
{KILL THEM ALL!!!
BURN IT DOWN!!}
My mind had gone completely blank as one of the abominations tried to grab hold of me.
Time stood completely still for a moment as immense fear and sadness welled up within me.