The scene returned to Arthur who ran at an accelerated pace while feeling pain in his legs that made him frown, his speed was unusual due to the damage caused and he did not arrive in time, seeing the residents who tried to flee from the creature, but they were not fast enough.
In an instant the creature reached them, the tentacles hit aggressively and hit the residents, throwing one on top of the other and on the walls, those who had not been hit tried to run, but by the screams the creature managed to know where they could be.
Arthur clenched his teeth and prepared to use [Activation], but a light came into his head and he thought.
"Wait a minute..."
The swordsman would stop walking for a brief moment, but soon he would see a slightly darker corner with a wall, it was dimly lit, but it was enough for him to be able to see.
It was a difficult decision, but he watched as more and more villagers were hit by the tentacles, some were knocked unconscious again and others screamed in pain as they were hit, the creature seemed to be getting more aggressive and approached a man who was nearby being hit.
He tried to protect himself from the blows with his arms, but his legs were hit and missed, knocking him down as he was whipped.
Realizing an easy target, the monster prepared to jump, already opening its mouth full of teeth that again let out its choked scream.
However, at that moment the creature heard a scream and soon after a metallic beat that disturbed him, stopping his progress immediately.
The creature squirmed and stopped its tentacles, looking at the source of the sound that was Arthur who had slashed the ground with his iron sword.
Even if it was water nearby, it was shallow enough for the sound to echo, disturbing the monster who turned around with a certain anger on its empty face.
Seeing that he had managed to disturb the creature, Arthur frowned and screamed.
"COME AT ME YOU MONSTER! COME ON!"
He would raise the sword and come down with violence, slashing hard and making the metallic sound echo, disturbing the creature that writhed angrily and screamed.
The swordsman opened a wide smile when he saw that his tactic was working and then he started to run towards the wall while shouting:
"FOLLOW ME, COME ON!"
His sword was dragged on the ground causing an annoying sound that made the creature roar even louder, preparing a quick dash to jump and go back to chasing the swordsman with its short and fast jumps.
The two were going at high speed towards the wall, the steps were quick and raised water, making way for the residents to pass.
Arthur ran in a hurry as he felt the pain in his legs bother him, but he clenched his teeth in an attempt to deal with the pain as he ran.
The creature screamed while jumping, giving the swordsman an idea of how close it was.
Continuing to run, they were getting closer and closer to the wall, but soon Arthur heard the sound of air being cut very close to his head and looking back he saw the creature already very close, its tentacles madly attacking the front and sides and they were about to catch up with Arthur.
As he looked back, he could see that some villagers were already managing to leave and with them the girl he had protected, seeing that reassured him and so he thought.
"Now it's you and me, monster. [Activation]"
Arthur's eyes glowed orange and the monster opened its arms ready to advance, Arthur stepped forward and the creature advanced, but at the same moment the swordsman jumped to the side, dodging the advance.
The jump was high because it was under the influence of [Activation] and the creature's speed couldn't grab him, but a black whip hit his leg, making him grunt and drawing the creature's attention.
Arthur a few seconds later landed on the ground, dragging a little water feeling the pain of the blow while frowning and his eyes blacked out.
Without giving the swordsman rest, the creature advanced moments after hearing the sound in the water, making Arthur widen his eyes and already raise the sword with his right hand.
The advance seemed to be common, but this time it was full of black whips that prevented him from advancing, making him clench his teeth and jump backwards in an attempt to dodge.
The whips were all at high speed and attacked without a target, making it difficult to predict and forcing Arthur to just retreat.
"It's too fast... that damn..."
Arthur didn't realize it in the darkness, but soon a whip arrived and hit his face, making him close his eyes by the blow so close to his eyes.
"Shit..."
The moment he closed his eyes, Arthur already put his sword in front of him to defend himself while using his arms to try to protect his face, right after that the lashes arrived.
The blows were powerful and each hit made Arthur frown in pain, the lashes hit his arms, torso and legs, causing pain to be shared throughout his body.
It was like a rain of blows impossible to avoid, Arthur managed to open his eyes and again jumped back, but his back hit something solid and he realized he had his back to the wall.
The sound emitted when hitting the wall made the creature lift its face and once again roar ready to advance, Arthur frowned and pointed the sword forward even though he felt his whole body scream in pain.
Again the creature advanced and Arthur clenched his teeth, but soon realized that the lighting of the place had increased again and going towards the creature, he saw Christopher with one arm in front serving as a shield while the other was a torch, he advanced ready to strike a blow.
However, unlike before, the creature's tentacles were moving violently and even if they didn't aim, they hit Chris again, he felt his body being whipped, but unlike before he knew he would take damage and so he thought.
"Compared to being burned… it doesn't hurt at all!"
Christopher's eyes glowed yellow before his [Activation] and he managed to take a step forward ready to advance on the creature and deliver his blow, however, unlike before, the monster looked towards the blonde and used his tentacles to move away. move, darting away from the blonde's blow that passed at high speed, but only hit the air.
Christopher's eyes widened and he lost his composure for a brief moment, but soon after he recovered, stepping firmly on the ground, staring at the monster while his yellow eyes went out.
Arthur sighed relieved to see that he had barely escaped and again approached Chris, who was surprised as he watched the monster land in the water still in its quadrupedal posture while the tentacles returned to violently moving.
In the darkest corner of the cave being barely lit by the torch, the two saw the creature with a slightly more human feature drawn in the darkness that was its face, as if they were deeper parts revealing an enraged expression as it stared at the young people.
"Did this thing… retreat?"
As the combat was progressing, the two realized that their energies were running out, but the creature was modifying itself according to the danger, its straight advances had diminished and it was attacking from a distance with its tentacles, it seemed to be an escape or an intelligent combat.
Arthur frowned, but then sighed.
"He must know we've seen his weakness or at least he's taking us seriously this time, he doesn't want to attack to kill anymore, he wants to tire us out knowing he can fight longer than both of us… he's not an animal , he is smart..."
As he spoke, the creature again writhed again emitting its writhing roar a little lower, making the youngsters stare attentively waiting for something bigger to come.
Chris looked on with disdain and took a deep breath as he moved the torch slowly to illuminate the creature more.
"Arth, we're going to have to attack together... the [activation] makes us stronger, but we can't use it for so long and so many times, we're going to have to do it all at once... one time he'll land a direct attack, then we will have problems..."
"Yeah… you're right… what do you suggest? He doesn't seem to have any intention of lessening those whips he has on his back, if he runs off into the dark we're going to be in trouble, that torch of yours can't be used as a weapon."
The blonde looked worried, but soon after he puffed out his chest while taking a deep breath, taking his arm forward he saw several reddish marks along with other marks that had become cuts.
Seeing that, Arthur squinted and turned to the creature, even if it was a weaker attack, the frequency and damage were still considerable, but even seeing the marks on his arms, Christopher looked at the creature and said.
"I'm going to open the way, I was the least damaged and with those whips, I doubt he can throw me like he did the others, I'm going to wait for a chance to open that big mouth he has and show that damn sphere he has in his throat..."
"If we make a mistake or it is not a weakness, we will have serious problems. In addition to that, we will have to stay very close to him, this has many chances of going wrong."
"But that's what we have... if we take too long, one hour those three will come back and the villagers won't be able to escape, even if it's just a maybe, we need to try..."
The two saw the creature again roar in a distorted way, once again it would advance and then the two raised their weapons as Arthur said.
"I hope we're right..."
Christopher looked to the side and saw Arthur a little more injured and with an injured arm, his damage extended throughout his body, in addition to being much more out of breath due to all the fatigue and use of [Activation].
After that, the blonde looked at the monster and said.
"I'll get you a chance, you better get it right."
He faced the creature that was preparing to advance, even if he was afraid, Arthur soon felt his arm and body aching, confirming with his head soon after.
"If I think you won't make it, I'll come in..."
The phrase made Chris open a slight smile on his face while a slight sparkle appeared in his eyes.
"Do what you want, but now it's my turn."
As soon as he spoke, Christopher's eyes widened and glowed brightly in yellow ready to charge at the creature that once again screamed, charging at both of them.