Arthur stared down the creature with a loathsome scowl, 'You're one terrifying monster. I'll give you that.'
'A herald of death and destruction.'
The prince took on a defensive stance brandishing the spear at the ready and locking gazes with the Behemoth. The beast roared at him, revealing a frightening set of fangs, before setting off in a mad dash towards the white-haired prince.
Right when the creature was about to reach the prince, something violently rammed into its side. To Arthur's surprise, the force of this attack was enough to send the powerful creature rolling on the hard ground.
Cade stood in its place, panting heavily with a battered shield in one hand and a battle axe that was now chipped in many places.
His clothes were tattered and blood dripped from his black spiky hair. He'd hit his head, "What's with that look, Arthur? Brace yourself. This is the burden you get to carry as a Leader.
You lead your people into battle and you promise them to victory. You do everything in your power to ensure that victory…
And you carry the burden of seeing them die. You carry the responsibility of avenging them.
You saw what happened to the archers when Carol died. When the Leader dies, it's over. So you hold on and you avenge your fallen warriors. I'll get you your opening. Make it count."
With that, Cade blurred from vision and attacked the Behemoth head-on. Throwing all caution out the window, the warrior attacked with everything he had.
Cade was incredibly fast for a human and his footwork was flawless, placing him out of the Behemoth's attack paths at the right time and with enough space to allow him to counterattack.
He pivoted on the balls of his feet at just the right moment to dodge the skewering tusk and side-stepped when the beast tried to bite down on his large frame delivering deadly blows to its maw.
After having seen Leo's success at harming the Behemoth, Arthur wasn't shocked by what soon happened.
Cade sidestepped as the creature was just about to bite down on his frame, weaved under the tusk and brought his heavy battle-axe down on the beast's second horn, shattering the obsidian horn with one deafening blow of his battle axe.
The hulking first year, dropped his damaged shield and gripped the battle axe with two hands and changed his footing, completely shifting his fighting style.
Sullivan appeared beside him in a similarly battered state. "Need a hand?"
"That should be obvious."
"Then try to keep up, Black."
Cade smirked, the two of them standing side by side and like a well-oiled machine unleashed an uninterrupted string of heavily coordinated melee attacks to overwhelm the creature.
Cade's battle axe struck the beast's head right before Sullivan's sword struck the same spot, widening whatever scratch the axe had made into a jarring cut.
The wheel of movement continued, dealing, for the first time, continuous damage to the beast.
'What? Where have they been hiding this?' Arthur's body began to react to the pair's synergy.
The Behemoth tried to stand but got assaulted at its limbs by a lightning-fast swordsman. Surprisingly, the sword began to make cuts of its own in the Behemoth's reptilian armour and even began to draw blood.
Cade attacked the Behemoth's head and continued to assail it with heavy strikes from his weathered battle axe.
For a moment, it looked as though they would take down the creature. 'Keep this up…'
Arthur's thoughts came to a stop when Sullivan suddenly stopped running. The blonde was panting so badly that he looked like he could collapse at any moment.
He thrust his blade into the ground to support himself. At the same time, Cade's battle axe shattered against the Behemoth's head, sending the hulking fighter to his feet.
Sullivan was out of strength and Cade was defenceless against the creature, having dropped his shield a long time ago.
The Behemoth stood and leapt away from Cade, spinning its tail in a smooth sweeping arc. In their weakened states, none of them was capable of dodging the attack which sent them both flying to Arthur's feet.
The Behemoth turned on the last three surviving First years that still had their fighting spirits intact.
Both tusks had been shattered and the creature's body was now covered in nicks and cuts. Despite it being this weakened, Arthur still felt inferior to the beast.
Cade struggled to stand on his feet, helping Sullivan up, "I'm all spent. Can't this beast take a hint?"
Arthur locked eyes with the beast and for the first time, noticed a scattering of openings he could exploit. While none of them was as perfect as the one he'd been looking for, Arthur had a feeling they could work.
That was before…
The behemoth let out a loud roar and reeled its head back and the black underbelly of its chest began to glow a dim red. Arthur smirked, "Looks like your prayers have been answered."
"Don't miss…"
"What do you take me for?" Arthur huffed.
The prince placed one foot in front of the other and stretched his hand back, holding the spear as far back as he could go. His other hand pointed forward, outlining the prince's target.
Decades of training with the spear kicked into Arthur's system, allowing him to adjust his body to the familiar form he needed for pinpoint accuracy.
This was what they had been trying to achieve. Trying to get the Behemoth to release another flaming torrent of flame like it had the first time.
'It was the best plan we could come up with at the time. We just never thought it would take everyone dying for this creature to do it,' Arthur thought as he adjusted his aim. Tears streamed down the prince's eyes as he remembered the different faces of their comrades… as he watched each of them giving their lives for this moment.
The worst part of this whole plan, however, was that it didn't allow him to come to their rescue. He simply had to wait for this moment. That fact angered him the most. How many could he have saved if he was simply allowed to fight alongside them?
Cade watched the white-haired boy strain his muscles to the limit and create the perfect stance of a warrior lancer. The burly boy's eyes widened as goosebumps covered his body…
'I've seen this somewhere before!' he gasped.
When the time came that Arthur would release the white-hot lance, nothing had prepared Cade for what happened next.
A shockwave left by the flying spear threw Sullivan and Cade to the ground as the lance shot out of Arthur's hands with deadly accuracy. The flaming weapon cut through the air and plunged itself deep into the Behemoth's maw.
Its flight was a blur that lasted only a fraction of a second.
The force of the lance launched the creature back several metres and a loud explosion rumbled from deep inside the creature's throat along with the groaning mountain wall as the fire lance detonated from inside.
The beast's black body shone with the amber radiance of flame before exploding in a shower of runes.
"That's for all the people you've killed," Arthur screamed before falling to his knees. He'd won, hadn't he?
'Never again… I won't let them die ever again!'
Cade watched tears stream down the white-haired boy's face. His mind was fuzzy and his brain nearing a total meltdown from the strain he'd been putting himself through.
'Hm! He's crying for them… Arthur Ember. You will make a worthy adversary. One's thing's certain. We are not alike,' Cade's thoughts echoed.
Bright amber runes began to glow all over the ground, covering them in the soft amber glow of magic.
The Hunter Sorting Test was over…