Vyn, watch out! It's about to open its mouth!"
A voice cried out urgently from the scene. The battlefield stretched out, rugged and scarred with patches of earth and burnt grass, evidence of previous battles. Smoke billowed from smoldering craters, and the air was thick with the acrid scent of charred earth and blood.
At the forefront of the group stood a stunned-looking boy, gazing up at a large, horrendous monster. This two-headed cyclops bore a fierce visage, its eyes brimming with hatred and resentment. Its skin was rough and mottled, like ancient tree bark, and its muscles rippled with power as it moved.
The monster assumed a formidable stance, its chest thrusting towards the sky as it bellowed towards the clouds. Its roar was deafening, shaking the ground beneath their feet and sending tremors through their bones.
"Again...?"
Vyn clicked his tongue, bitterness etched on his face. "We barely survived the first few attacks, how are we going to handle this?" He scanned the battlefield, assessing their options. The other members of their party looked equally grim, their faces set in determined frowns.
How could this monster be so powerful? This was supposed to be a D-rank dungeon, and all the monsters they had faced so far felt like weak twigs easily dispatched by their group of six D-rankers. But this creature... it was something else. It was a behemoth, a titan among monsters, and they were woefully unprepared to face it.
A Twin-headed Cyclops, an ordinary D-rank monster. With the strength of their party, dealing with it shouldn't be too difficult. However, this one was far from ordinary. Its sheer size alone was daunting, towering over them like a mountain. Its two heads swiveled, each one scanning the battlefield with a malevolent gleam in its eye.
Firstly, the aura emanating from it was incredibly strange. It was so thick and violent that they found it hard to breathe. This monster's aura alone was crushing them, leaving them with no choice but to focus on defense. The very air around them seemed to vibrate with its power, making their skin prickle and their hearts race.
"Everyone, prepare! Hold your ground! It's releasing another breath!" Vyn bellowed at the rest of the party, his voice echoing across the battlefield. He raised his shield upright, bracing himself for the impending attack. The others followed suit, arranging themselves in a defensive formation around him.
A low, ominous vibration rumbled through the air, followed by a deafening roar. A bright, flame-like beam shot forth from the monster's mouth, hurtling towards the group with terrifying speed. The force of the attack was immense, causing their bodies to tremble under its power. Vyn, positioned at the forefront of the formation, felt his entire being jolt as the attack struck his shield. His armor screamed and shredded under the force, barely holding together.
Bright red flames engulfed the group, searing their skin. They mustered all the world energy they had left, directing it to their skin to act as a protective barrier. But the relentless force of the attack pierced through their defenses, cooking them from the inside out. They felt as though they could melt at any moment.
"This isn't just a D-rank monster. No, we can't handle this. We'll die if we stay here," Vyn thought, realization dawning upon him. He was at the brink of collapse, his body pushed to its limits.
Suddenly, the momentum of the breath attack weakened, and the force behind it diminished drastically. Vyn seized the opportunity and shouted to the rest of the group, "Scatter and flee to the exit! This is your chance to survive!" His voice cut through the chaos, just as the monster's breath came to an end.
"What about you? We can't leave you here!" Dorian exclaimed, his voice filled with concern.
Vyn replied, his tone resolute, "Don't worry about me. Just go. Run! Do you think you can survive this? It's better if I distract it while you find a way to escape."
Dorian's jaw clenched. "Then you die. A pointless sacrifice. You think you're some kind of glorious hero?"
Vyn's tongue darted out, a bitter counterpoint to the rising anger in his eyes. "Hero? What does heroism have to do with this? I'm just trying to find a way out! If you don't warn the guild, the others will also suffer the same fate when they get here!"
"We'll handle this together," Dorian declared, his voice firm despite the tremor in his hand.
"Damn it, Dorian! Why are you so stubborn? This isn't some competition! This is about survival! It's the only way to save the others! Just get them out of here and let me handle this!" Vyn roared, his frustration bubbling over.
The raw desperation in Vyn's eyes finally pierced Dorian's resolve. With a heavy sigh, he placed a hand on Vyn's shoulder, his grip surprisingly gentle. "This isn't a suicide mission, you hear me? You come back alive." His voice was a low growl as he turned and barked orders, herding the rest of the group towards the exit with a fierce urgency.
Vyn watched them go, a humorless chuckle escaping his lips. "Come back?" he muttered, his voice barely a whisper against the pounding of his heart. He looked back up at the monstrous behemoth, its form a grotesque silhouette against the smoke-filled sky.
"How the hell can I survive this?"
A cold dread settled in his stomach. 'Stall it,' his mind screamed. 'That's all I have to do. Stall it long enough for the others to escape.'
With a shaky hand, Vyn adjusted his dented shield, the metal warped from previous clashes. As he did, the monster seemed to sense the shift. Its gaze snapped toward him, burning with renewed fury. It let out a bone-rattling bellow and charged, a monstrous blur of muscle and rage.
Vyn reacted on pure instinct, hurling himself to the side just as the monster's massive claws raked through the air where he had been standing a heartbeat ago. The wind pressure from the attack slammed into him, sending him sprawling in a heap of dirt and rocks.
He spat grit from his mouth, his ears ringing.
"What the...?" he gasped, staring at the gouges ripped into the earth where the monster's claws had struck. How could something so colossal move with such terrifying speed?
The ground trembled as the monster ripped its claws free, hurling itself towards Vyn again. This time, there was no time to dodge. Pure terror locked his limbs, but adrenaline surged through him, forcing him to act. He raised his shield in a desperate attempt to block the blow.
The impact was deafening. The monster's claws slammed into the iron, the metal groaning under the immense pressure. Vyn felt his arm scream in protest, his entire body straining against the blow. With a surge of desperate strength, he managed to twist slightly, the monster's claws glancing off his side instead of a full-on strike.
A searing pain erupted in his side. He gasped, feeling the hot sting of blood blooming through his clothes. Instinctively, he lashed out with his sword, a primal urge to fight back. The blade met the monster's hide with a sickening clang. It was like striking solid steel. The impact vibrated up his arm, shattering the sword in his hand. The force sent a jolt of pain through his shoulder, leaving his arm numb and useless.
He stumbled back, his vision blurring at the edges. A choked sob escaped his lips as he looked down at the jagged gash on his side, blood staining the battlefield crimson.
Vyn gritted his teeth, a metallic tang of blood blooming in his mouth. Each ragged breath sent a fresh wave of agony through his body, but he forced himself to remain still, a statue carved from pain. The monster loomed over him, its single massive eye burning with a cruel amusement. It regarded Vyn for a long, agonizing moment, savoring his fear like a predator toying with its prey.
Then, with a snort that rattled Vyn's bones, the beast charged. The earth trembled beneath its immense weight as it bore down on Vyn, its colossal maw snapping open wide enough to swallow him whole.
'So this is it,'
Vyn thought, despair threatening to engulf him. Two years spent grinding on this damned battlefield, pushing himself to the limit, all for this? A pathetic end, crushed to paste beneath a monstrous claw. A bitter laugh escaped his lips, a sound lost in the deafening roar of the approaching beast.
Was this the life he was destined for? Born weak, ostracized, forever struggling in a world that demanded strength he simply didn't possess. Had the gods themselves cursed him, dooming him to a life of powerlessness?
'Did I do something so terrible in a past life to deserve this?'
Vyn wondered, a tear tracing a hot path down his cheek. He imagined his childhood, the constant taunts and scorn he'd endured. No matter how much he trained, how much he pushed himself, his limitations remained, a cruel reminder of his inferiority. He was a burden, a liability, the words echoing in his mind like a venomous curse.
"No,"
Vyn suddenly snarled, a spark of defiance igniting in his eyes. He may have been born weak, but he wasn't broken. He'd refused to let his circumstances define him. He had worked, he had bled, he had pushed his body beyond its limits, all to contribute something, anything, to this unforgiving world.
This was his final act, his sacrifice. He'd bought his teammates precious seconds, a chance to escape. Maybe his death would save his guild, save his friends. At least he wouldn't die completely useless, wouldn't he?
A dark chuckle escaped his lips, a defiant sound that echoed through the battefield. Raising his head, he locked eyes with the monstrous beast, a flicker of amusement playing on his bloodied lips.
"Come on then, you overgrown lizard," he rasped, his voice surprisingly steady. "Lets make a grand exit shall we?"
Just then, a soft breeze swirled around him, pushing him with surprising force to the side. He stumbled, barely dodging the monstrous claws that snapped shut a hair's breadth from his head. The stench of rotten flesh and rage filled his nostrils as the beast roared in frustration.
"Are you so eager to die?"
Vyn stared, bewildered, as a figure materialized from the swirling mist. It was a young girl, her beauty otherworldly, clad in shimmering white robes. Her eyes, the color of twilight, held a power that sent shivers down his spine.