As Matheus was pushed back against a solid cement wall, Azariah and Gideon swiftly jumped in front of him, their blades poised for battle. Their eyes locked onto the Grimoire as they assessed the onslaught of arms coming towards them.
"Two arms—no, five arms are closing in on us!" Azariah exclaimed, quickly analyzing the situation. "The Grimoire is on the second level, right?"
With his sharp analysis, Azariah proved himself to be one of the most astute soldiers in the Royal Knight faction. However, there were others, like Otto and Davi, who could perform similar analyses.
"Gideon, guard us. I'll get Matheus to safety!" Azariah commanded as he dashed towards Matheus, lifting him up.
As Azariah lifted the wounded Matheus, Gideon swiftly retrieved his shield from behind him. It expanded to an enormous size as he skillfully deflected the incoming arms. The shield was as colossal as the surrounding buildings, effectively repelling the arms.
"Gideon, the arms are also coming from underground!" Davi shouted, with Adriel standing nearby.
"Adriel, you have the Surge Blood, right? Can you share some with me?" Davi asked stoically, locking eyes with Adriel with determination.
Adriel's demeanor remained unfazed as he nonchalantly handed over a box of blood-filled injections. "Yeah, here," he said, his eyes glinting.
'I have a plan. I somehow understand this Grimoire's abilities,' Davi thought to himself, feeling a surge of confidence.
Locking eyes with Adriel, he nodded in gratitude before dropping to his knees to meticulously examine the Grimoire once more.
'Lancelot struggled to pull his blade from the Grimoire, but it remained stuck. The reason for this was clear to me: the Grimoire had the ability to absorb anything that pierced it.'
'The sticky consistency of the blade made it a challenge to remove, but I knew that there might be something within the Grimoire capable of extracting a pierced object. I understand that the Grimoire could only be harmed by a slashing attack.'
With a sharp stick in hand, Davi recognized that piercing the Grimoire with it would likely result in the same outcome as with the blade. However, by coating the tip of the stick with a special type of blood, he could ensure that the Grimoire would absorb the Blood Surge and ultimately be destroyed.
Taking a deep breath, Davi carefully aimed at the center of the Grimoire and launched the stick with all his might and determination.
The stick zoomed toward the Grimoire at an incredible speed, passing right through it in a circular motion, leaving Davi feeling perplexed.
'It just flew past it,' he thought to himself.
Adriel, sitting beside him, asked, "Why did you do that?"
Ignoring Adirel's question, Davi continued to ponder and question why it happened, convinced that it was a mistake. He was certain that his assessment was accurate, but he couldn't understand why the stick had flown past the Grimoire, and he was left perplexed.
As Azariah placed Matheus on the floor, he glanced at Gideon and Lancelot engaged in battle with the Grimoire. "The Grimoire seems to possess great strength," he remarked in an irritated tone.
He swiftly engaged in battle with them with ferocity and determination. He prepared his blade, but before piercing his blade, Lancelot warned him, "Do not pierce your weapon; the Grimoire can just pull it, and it'll be hard for you to get it back."
Azariah nodded, grabbing a rock and throwing it to the Grimoire, which he entirely missed. With frustration, he grabbed another rock, which he threw directly at the Grimoire, but as expected, it flew past it at the same pace.
"What? How did that happen?" Azariah inquired, confused.
'It happened again,' Davi thought once again.
'How can that even happen? Even if the rock was supposed to hit the middle of the Grimoire,
Azariah, Lancelot, and Gideon all stepped back, creating some distance between themselves and the Grimoire. Lancelot and Gideon both adjusted their weapons, ready for whatever was to come. As they moved away, a foul odor of decay and burning filled the air.
"Gideon, you smell that too, don't you?" Lancelot inquired, keeping his eyes on the Grimoire as he readied his sword.
"It's a putrid and unusual scent," Gideon responded with a grave expression. They took a moment to examine the Grimoire while preparing their swords. Finally, Azariah recognized the faint familiarity of the smell.
"I understand now. The Grimoire is advancing to a third level," Azariah announced, causing the others to look at him in confusion. "Already advancing to a third level?" Gideon questioned with a puzzled expression, observing the Grimoire's changing behavior.
As the men gazed at the Grimoire, its arms suddenly expanded in size, grabbing nearby structures. The Grimoire had more than two arms, and its deafening scream filled the air.
Its arms and gooey texture seemed to move independently, as if they had a mind of their own. The screaming grew even louder, causing leaves and small objects on the floor to be swept away by its power.
"Is it already advancing to a third level?" Davi wondered aloud.
"Davi, be careful!" Lancelot shouted, his words barely audible over the din.
Before the scream subsided, a massive shockwave rippled through the area, uprooting trees, damaging structures, and scattering floor tiles in all directions.
Finally, the cacophony ceased, leaving behind a devastated landscape. Thankfully, the soldiers were protected by Gideon, who shielded them from the massive shockwave with his enormous shield. Adriel and Davi were also unharmed thanks to Adriel's strength and ability to defend Davi.
Meanwhile, the Grimoire underwent a transformation. Its viscous, raw mouth twisted into a malevolent smile, with the gooey substance dripping from it. Its arms and frame grew larger, and its marble form morphed into five marble eyes capable of seeing in all directions.
'It has become quite terrifying,' Davi thought.
The entity fixed a menacing gaze on the soldiers and hurled pieces of cement from the demolished building at them in a fit of rage.
As the large debris hurtled towards the soldiers, Gideon skillfully intercepted all the projectiles with his shield. "Well done, Gideon!" Azariah shouted as he charged towards the Grimoire, his blade poised for attack.
An arm lunged at him, but he evaded it effortlessly, taunting the Grimoire with a smile. Another arm came at him, but once again he dodged it. The arm that attempted to strike him recoiled, but he swiftly dodged it once more.
He smirked at the marble eyes of the Grimoire that glared at him before slashing his weapon at the Grimoire. Unlike before, the Grimoire did not show any sign of pain but continued to assail Azariah with fury.
Azariah swiftly evaded each arm that tried to hit him, slashing at the Grimoire with precision. Despite his efforts, the Grimoire did not seem to react as expected for a third-level Grimoire.
As he made one final slash at the Grimoire, he was suddenly caught by one of its arms. "Azariah!" Lancelot ran towards him, skillfully dodging the Grimoire's arms.
The arm crushed Azariah as it delivered him to the Grimoire's mouth. Above the monster's gooey mouth, Azariah's exhausted body hung limply. The hand was made of goo, causing the substance to drip into its mouth.
Before the Grimoire could consume Azariah, Lancelot swiftly thrust his weapon at its mouth, slashing it sideways. However, the Grimoire's gooey body remained unscathed; the blade had not cut through anything.
Lancelot gasped in surprise. "What?"
'I swear I saw the blade piercing it and slashing its body, but there was no damage to the Grimoire's body whatsoever.'
The entire squad was left in shock, unable to comprehend the full extent of the Grimoire's abilities. It was as if they were lagging behind the mindless Grimoire.
Despite repeated slashes, there were no visible signs of damage to the Grimoire. All that remained on its face was a menacing smile directed at Lancelot.