[Deceitful Shapeshifter: a new form has been acquired. The Human Holy Healer form is now available for use.]
Eon began to walk forward once more, his gaze fixed on Caserie, who was motionless on the ground due to the devastating shock.
Herold, sensing Eon's intent, stepped between them and raised his sword, his raging shivering eyes fixed on Eon. "Stand up, Caserie, the fight isn't over yet!" his piercing scream rang out.
Caserie's body twitched as she realized the truth of their situation: the battle had not yet ended; it had only just begun.
Eon came to a halt in the middle of his stride and darted his gaze behind him. Someone was approaching, and Eon used his superior sense of smell to detect him.
And Herold, who recognized the situation right away, dashed toward Eon, his face filled with desperation. "No, Bren!"
[Deceitful Shapeshifter has been activated.]
Eon's armored human hand lunged into the air, grabbing Bren's neck as he flew through the air to slash Eon. Bren's image was revealed as he attempted to reach Eon's head with his daggers, but Eon's hand on his neck stopped him.
"I will kill you! You freak! I will kill you!" Bren screamed, flailing his daggers, completely ignoring the danger he was in. Eon was lifting him into the air while staring at his face, which was filled with tears, pain, and rage.
Even though Eon's human head was obscured by his helmet, the curiosity in his gesture was visible. Then he turned to face Herold, who was charging at him.
[Ice Spikes Domain has been activated.]
Eon stomped his right foot to the ground, and the area around him was instantly filled with walls of ice spikes, effectively preventing Herold from assisting Bren.
[Ice Spikes Domain has dealt 0 damage.]
Eon's attack did not harm Herold, but it served its purpose admirably.
"No! No! No! Not him too!" Herold screamed in desperation as he faced the same obstacles that had previously prevented him from saving Mea.
Eon, on the other hand, was standing in the middle of the walls, while Caserie and Herold struggled through the obstacles of massive ice spikes. Eon's gaze was fixed on Bren as he repeatedly stabbed Eon's arms in an attempt to free himself, but all of his efforts were futile. None of his attacks could penetrate Eon's impenetrable armor.
"Damn you," Bren said, his voice breaking as he ran out of breath. "Damn you... Why?" His tears fell onto Eon's hand.
Eon followed the trail of tears that ran down his arm. Then he looked at Bren's face. "Because I had to," Eon explained, his voice gentle and polite but chilling. Cold smoke poured from his mouth as he spoke.
Bren gasped when he heard the voice of the enemy lifting him into the air. He couldn't say anything, only stare at Eon with shivering eyes.
[Icy Touch has been activated.]
[Icy Touch has dealt 554 damage.]
Bren's entire body was covered in ice, and as his life was dwindling, his and Eon's eyes locked on each other. Bren's eyes gradually stopped shivering and became frozen.
"Mea..."
[Deceitful Shapeshifter: a new form has been acquired. The Human Death Rogue form is now available for use.]
[Mana Absorb: You have received 43 MP.]
Eon gently placed Bren's frozen body next to Mea's and turned his back on them. He deactivated his Ice Spikes Domain, removing all of the ice spike walls that were preventing the others from approaching him. Caserie and Herold could only stare at the two statues Eon had created out of their friends' bodies.
They were powerless to oppose Eon. Even a seasoned adventurer like Herold was completely thwarted with little effort. Herold's best efforts as the leader of their party were insufficient to change the inevitable outcome of this situation.
Herold, who was devastated by the tragedy unfolding in front of him, was unable to move or even speak. All hope of victory against the unexpectedly formidable enemy they were facing had vanished in his eyes.
An adversary with an impenetrable defense that even the most powerful monsters Herold knew couldn't breach, a versatile crowd control that completely prevented Herold from doing his job—protecting his allies—and a mind that shouldn't belong to a monster.
RACE: Human Holy Healer [Level: 20/30].
HP: 200/200
MP: 380/380
Top Speed: 40 km/h
Defense: 2
Herold shook his head, shivering. "That's Mea's class," he said, his voice horrified. "A shapeshifter capable of transforming into species that it has killed," he concluded.
Eon didn't respond and began walking towards Caserie, who was stunned and just stood there, her enlarged eyes blank. Caserie had already lost it and had become too broken to function.
Herold moved quickly and stood next to Caserie, despite the fact that his entire body was already too heavy for him to carry due to the situation's hopelessness.
"Caserie, keep your cool; do you hear me?" he said as he prepared his shield and kept his gaze fixed on Eon.
Caserie, on the other hand, remained silent, her face expressionless.
"Caserie!" Herold yelled in her face.
Caserie's chest rose and her gaze darted to Herold standing guard over her, as if she had been jolted back to reality. As reality began to dawn on her, she sobbed and tears began to flow from her eyes. The first taste of people she cared about dying right in front of her was too much for her to bear.
"Mea is gone... Bren... Bren is gone... Are we going to die, Herold?" she asked.
"No," Herold replied, his voice gentle but shivering. "You are not going to die today," he said as he walked up to Eon, keeping himself together to be a pillar of strength for him and Caserie. "Caserie, I need you to run."
"Ha?" Caserie asked, her eyes filled with confusion and fear.
"We need someone to report this so everyone knows what kind of freak is inhabiting this forest, which is obviously not me. I need to slow this thing down," Herold explained. Then his gaze shifted to Caserie, revealing a gentle smile—a phony smile. "It has to be you."
Caserie's pupils dilated. "But— I can't— I will not leave you here to die." The sound of safety was appealing, but accepting it in exchange for sacrificing her friend was not something Caserie would consider. Leaving a friend was not an option for her, even if staying meant dying.
Herold sighed as he observed Caserie's reluctance. "Caserie, do you remember my rule? My order is absolute—when I tell you to do something, do it without a 'but,'" Herold said softly. "All of this will be for naught if we all die here. This monster is far too dangerous; we need the guild and the kingdom to be aware of it so that they can deal with it. It is our responsibility to do so; it is the most important thing. This information is more important than either of our lives. Do you get what I'm saying?"
"Herold..." was all Caserie could say as tears streamed down her cheeks.
Herold nodded slowly. "It's an order; go now."
Caserie nodded and pushed her body to move and run back to the kingdom. Eon, on the other hand, just stood there watching them, not walking forward or even attempting to stop Caserie. His gaze simply followed her without any sense of urgency.
"I knew about you and Bren," Herold said as he prepared his shield and sword for a fierce battle.
Caserie came to an abrupt halt. Her eyes darted to Herold's back, filled with overwhelming guilt.
"Don't worry... it wasn't your fault," Herold said as he stomped to the ground, drawing Eon's attention. "It was my fault... I should have stopped you two... But I didn't."
Caserie continued her run, dash through the trees in her path, without saying anything. She had a task to complete, and it was to reveal information about the monster who had risen to power in the great forest of Kegali.
"Friends, am I right?" Herold asked as he walked forward. A smirk appeared on his face, concealing his despair and desperation. He was holding himself together, knowing that his death was imminent. He had only one goal in mind: to buy as much time as possible for Caserie to flee. "Her and Bren had done bad things, but I couldn't bring myself to hate them even if I wanted to."
Eon's gaze was drawn to Herold's eyes, which were fixed on him. "There were five of you. I wonder where the other one went," he said politely, as if the voice came from a very kind and gentle person—his voice was capable of concealing the true monster who owned it.
Herold's phony smile morphed into a surprised and perplexed expression. "What exactly are you?"
"She vanished... The girl with a bow. A bow? And you're using a sword," Eon said, pointing Herold's weapon with his index finger. "I find it strange that I recognize all of your weapons despite only seeing them for the first time."
Despite the fact that he had lost most of his memories, Eon's vast vocabulary and perception remained.
"Perhaps... father has something to do with it."