As the Great Bear reached Daemon, it went for a tackle, hitting the adventurer who used his the flat part of his greatsword as a shield. The collision caused a shockwave that stumbled Lydia, who was behind Daemon as the rest widened their eyes in shock.
What was shocking to them was the fact that it was a full charge by a massive beast, stopped by Daemon with little effort.
"Hnngh..." Daemon grunted as he stayed his ground
The Great Bear let out a snarl as it's fur crackled in electricity.
"Daemon!" Zaphira exclaimed as she drew her rapier, "Back away from it!"
Zaphira pointed her rapier at the Great Bear as it was locked in the struggle against Daemon, who was not fazed, merely keeping the beast in place.
Suddenly, blue flames engulfed the rapier as Zaphira took aim at the beast.
"Blue Flame Arrow!"
Zaphira fired a projectile of blue flames, hitting the bear in the face as it erupted in a small explosion, causing it to back away momentarily.
The Great Bear let out an angry roar as it reared it's left paw back, looking at Daemon who braced himself for another attack.
The Beast then swung its massive paw at Daemon, who again used his Greatsword as a shield, taking the full brunt of the attack dead-on, this time he was reeled a couple of inches as his entire body rattled due to the force.
Invidia nocked her arrows on her bow, taking aim and trying to find a weak spot on the Great Bear. Zaphira's attack interrupted its electrical attack, which she had deduced was supposed to be a lightning discharge.
The Great Bear then shifted it's angry gaze at Lydia who had her sword drawn, looking up at it with a scared expression.
"Lydia!" Daemon shouted, "Out of the way!"
The Great Bear swung its paws at the young fighter, only for Azael to jump in and push her out of the way to take the hit in her stead.
As the claws of the beast reached the monk, he was able to parry the attack just barely with his left arm which was engulfed in a bright white light. The moment its claws made contact with Azael's arm, a bright explosion of light was seen.
"Divine Stance: Rooted Mountain"
Azael assumed a stance as Lydia was behind him, on her behind with a shocked expression. His entire body was glowing with white light as a circle of holy light surrounded them.
The Bear let out a deep growl, preparing another attack but this time, it was hit in the head by multiple arrows. The arrows merely bounced off it's thick and strong hide, only catching its attention.
"Curses!" Invidia said, "Not good enough...Just wasted 3 arrows..."
The Great Bear then stood on its hind legs, letting out a roar that shook the ground as is fur began to glow blue.
"Clear out!" Zaphira yelled as she cast a spell
She aimed her palm at Azael and Lydia, and surrounded them in a circle of blue light; similar to the one that she used in their encounter with the Shadowcat.
"Barrier"
The Bear had meant to discharge its electricity but was immediately pushed away by Daemon tackling it. The Great Bear tumbled down and rolled over a couple of meters as Daemon readied his sword, engulfed in a thick orange aura; His Fury.
"Come on." Daemon said with a serious glare, "Come get this...."
The Bear straightened itself up as it snarled, its discharge once again interrupted.
Daemon immediately noticed as Invidia made a wide circle around them, trying to position herself better to get a good shot at the beast. He knew that her normal arrows would not do a thing to the Bear's thick and strong hide, requiring an extra piercing power that she should be able to access.
Azael looked down at his left arm, noticing blood on it; the bear's claws were able to cut him.
"Hm..." He said as he looked back at the bear that was on all fours, "Lydia, you must compose yourself. Your blade is required."
Lydia stood up, "I...." She said, "That's a Great Bear...it's...."
"No match for Daemon." Azael said, "But the beast is capable of targeting us one at a time on a whim. He cannot defend us constantly while taking its hits. I must provide Bless and healing support, but you need to take front with him as a fighter."
"I...." She stammered
"Hit and run methods are okay." Azael said, "Zaphira and Invidia will provide range support. If you cannot avoid the beast's attack, I will try to get you out of the way. Calm yourself and steel your nerves, we need you in the fight."
The Great Bear let out a snarl as it looked at Daemon who readied his greatsword. Even the Black Dragon, a famed adventurer, did not want to blindly rush a Great Bear. Each of its kind had a different arsenal of magic attacks; he could deduce this one had a lightning discharge at the very least. Taking that head-on would not be ideal for the rest of the party.
Daemon, however, can take it.
"Get back in position." Daemon said as he looked over at Invidia, "Lydia, get your head in the game."
The Ranger was at an appropriate distance, far from the Bear's sight but within range. Daemon was aware that she needed to find an exact moment in when to strike, hitting a weak spot in the Bear's skin or eyes.
Daemon was required to take enough hits for Lydia to provide the weak spot with her blade. That was the plan in his mind, he was the Tank, he had to take all the hits.
"S-Sorry..." Lydia said as she began to take deep breaths
Zaphira smiled, "Attagirl." she said, "This is just a magical beast, Lydia, we can take it."
The Great Bear was letting out some snorts, glancing between the four party members before him. The beast was intelligent enough to notice that there was one missing, he was sniffing for Invidia, trying to catch her scent. However, there was one issue; As a Ranger, Invidia was good at hiding her scent.
"It's looking for Invidia..." Daemon announced, "Stay hidden, Ranger, strike only when necessary."
Invida has crouched down, far away in the shadows, trying not to make any noise. She had her bow readied and was aiming. An Elven Archer could hold the string for an hour if needed and Invidia did not care if she was not needed at the moment; she was going to take the shot when the time came.
The Great Bear then shook its head, pacing back and forth as it looked at Daemon. It's natural and primal instincts told it one thing; Daemon was the strongest being in the immediate vicinity. And that included the Bear as well.
As an Apex Predator; Great Bears would switch their tactics on the fly, allowing them to handle other beasts such as Shadowcats, Titanoboas, and Deathcrows. The Bear knew that it could target the other party members if it played it right; getting Daemon out of the way.
Daemon knew this, however, and was counting on it. The moment the Great Bear thinks it has a clear shot at one of the others, he will rush it and attempt to behead it in one swing. Out of all the beasts that Daemon has fought, he has never been able to do this to a Great Bear.
Daemon took a step, alarming the beast, "Oh..." He said before his hearing picked something up, "What the...?"
He glanced over behind them, the entire group could hear footsteps and yelling. Off into the distance, torchlights were seen as multiple shadows were visible.
Zaphira scowled, "Not this..." she said, "A search party?!"
"They must be alarmed." Azael noted, "The Great Bear probably killed the first of the patrols."
Invidia lowered her bow, relaxing the drawstring, "Curses..." She said, "Just what we need."
Daemon gritted his teeth, "We need to avoid further carnage..." He muttered, "The more bodies for the Bear to target, the crazier its frenzy.....Zaphira! Blast it with more fire!"
"Huh?" Zaphira said, "But-"
"Do it!" Daemon said as he sheathed his blade, "We lure it away, as far as we possibly can. Then we kill it!"
Invidia then took off in a sprint, running behind the Great Bear with such speed that even the Beast was surprised as it glanced behind to watch the blur flash past.
"I'll gain a lead!" Invidia said, "Daemon, where!"
"Keep going straight, into the woods!" Daemon said as he rushed at the bear, "There should be an opening about a mile in, we do it there!"
The Great Bear looked at Daemon as the red-head jumped up and hit it with a right hook, stumbling it greatly.
Azael looked at Lydia, "Follow Invidia, go!" He said
Without wasting too much time, the two of them took off into a sprint as Zaphira proceeded to do the same, aiming her rapier at the Great Bear as Daemon straightened up.
"Daemon!" She shouted as she fired multiple blue flame projectiles at it
The Great Bear took the flames directly, letting out a vicious roar as it swung its claws at Daemon who avoided them with ease.
"Come follow me, fucker." Daemon said as he proceeded to run behind the group,
"You want this, don't ya?!"