The monsters had already heard their movement, and stood still. In the crowded room, many different creatures of different statures looked at them. The blind reptiles were the most prominent, but accompany them were blind birds that resembled vultures. They too had branches that acted like ears. One of the monsters, one that resembled a dog with branched ears and no eyes, sniffed the air.
Lua's danger senses instantly went up to eleven. None of them even dared to breathe.
"N-no way.." Mick let out an audible sound of confusion, making the monsters go wild. The dozens of the creatures began sprinting at the team, all at once.
"Remember the plan!" Victoria yelled, and ordered everyone to formation.
I've always wanted a large scale brawl! Lua couldn't contain his excitement. He felt his muscles gain strength, triggered by the glove.
Slam! Arc's retractable arm extended, slamming one of the mutts into the wall. The creature whimpered and stopped moving.
"Move into the room, we need space to fight!" Victoria commanded, telling everyone to gather as much space as they could gather.
Luna instantly disappeared, appearing shortly behind a pack of lizards. With two slices, she killed three. However, they just kept coming. Luna swung and swung, slaying more and more lizards. They seemed infinite.
Lua and Arc on the other hand had started pummeling the demon dogs. Their situation was not so dire, yet they felt their stamina go lower and lower by the second.
With a groan, Lua lifted one of the dogs, and sent it flying towards Arc. Arc caught it midair with his arm, and slammed it into the ground. The creature died instantly.
"They keep coming!" Lua couldn't help but yell in desperation. "We need help!"
Victoria was on the other side of the room, fighting against a group of vultures. They bit at her violently, yet she stood her ground, slashing many of the birds back to back. They fell to the ground, emitting no amount of blood.
The only one not participating in the festivities was Mick. For an unknown reason, he was on the ground, unable to move. He looked terrified and in fear - as if he was reliving his worst memories.
Victoria yelled at Mick, at the top of her lungs. Her thick voice bounced off the walls, overwhelming the creatures' sensitive ears for a moment. "Get your stuff together! This will not be like last time!"
Mick reached for his bow, but he just couldn't make it. His fingers traced the bow, but failed to grasp it.
His face was ghastly pale. They.. They're going to die because of me.. again.. I can't do anything.. Mick was frozen in place, like a statue that had recently been made.
Anthony grasped his shoulders. "Did you not tell us you would get over your fear? Is this the true extent of your bravery? You'll kill us all! Do something!"
In the room, the situation was turning more and more dire by the second. Lua and Arc were getting exhausted, and Lua's gem was running out of power. He would be very weak in a few moments. Arc's arm had turned glitchy, failing to extend every now and then. This was a flaw that Lua would need to fix later.
Luna's stalemate with the lizards continued without a single inch of progress. They kept coming, and she kept killing them. It was an infinite loop. It was obvious from her face that she too was nearly at her limit.
Victoria was the only one in semi-decent condition. She too had infinitely replenishing enemies that never stopped coming.
Mick's addition wouldn't solve their situation instantly, but it'd help that they would have someone with more stamina than they currently had.
Winston looked at Mick. His face was of disappointment, but not of anger. Unlike the others, he didn't yell. "Get your shit together, man."
"They're all fighting out there for our survival. Like it or not, you're one of us. I'm sure you don't want another instance of your team getting wiped out on your resume, do you?"
Ding! Lua's glove ran out of energy, leaving him without any powers. He now needed to rely on Arc for strength. "I'm out!"
Arc rushed to his side with his faulty extendable hand. He continued slamming monsters into walls, furniture. It was a real strain on his arm.
Crack! The arm snapped, causing it to collapse on the floor. Lua and Arc could only watch in terror as the monsters continued to swarm around them, with no hope of saving.
Pang! Pang! Pang! Three arrows, back to back, struck the wolves around them. The wolves fell to the ground, without even a whimper.
As if a storm had started, arrows began raining into the room. After five minutes of constant barrage, the arrows finally ceased and the monsters stopped coming after them. The room returned to its tranquility.
"Holy crap." Lua was shocked at the performance portrayed by Mick. He finally knew he was far outclassed by everyone in this team, and he knew he needed to get stronger to catch up to them.
Lua smiled and joked, looking back at the exhausted team members. "We could have used that with the wolf."
Mick rested his arm against a wall, supporting his tired body. "I-I don't know what that was.. I've never been this efficient before.."
Victoria planted her axe into the ground, wiping her sweat off her forehead. "You've been unintentionally holding back due to your traumas, haven't you?"
Mick's eyes widened, coming to the same realisation. "So that is why no matter how I trained, I couldn't get better.. I simply lacked the motivation."
Mick did seem quite weak for a member of a party like this. He nearly single-handedly wiped everyone in this room with terrifying accuracy.. I need to train hard! Lua monologued.
The corpses around them began to disappear. As if vanishing to dust, their ashes flew into the sky, joining the dust around the room. This finally explained the question they had all been facing.
"So that's why the monsters didn't leave any corpses.." Winston thought out loud.