In an instant, the beast pounced at Vespera, maybe sensing her as the weakest or something else, but Vespera dodged reflexively as Velgrim didn't let it have its way, slashing at it. The beast dodged at the last minute, keeping its distance while lurking around.
"I owe you one," she gasped, her breath ragged.
"Be sure to repay," Velgrim replied, his voice steady despite the tension.
Good reflexes. Maybe their skills are sharper after all, Xerves thought.
Without any time for rest, the beast snorted and lunged at them again.
"Too fast. Eric!" Velgrim signaled.
"On it!" Eric responded, bringing out an Earth gem and activating it. The gem glowed, and a wall of stone rose from the earth, creating a barrier between them and the beast. The beast collided with the wall, which shook as cracks started appearing on its surface.
A hiss sound emanated from the other side of the stone barrier, as steam rose up and splashes of saliva nearly touched Xerves.
Acid saliva. I wouldn't want to get defaced.
Xerves moved out of the stone barrier and kicked the beast with his right leg.
Ouch! So hard! He groaned.
The beast body was hard, hard enough to leave a bruise on his foot, but the force of the collision was too great for the beast, knocking it sideways. Before it collided with the stalagmites walls, it used its wings to kill the momentum, flapping with a strong swoosh in the opposite direction.
"It's smart," Xerves muttered, moving back behind the already melting stone wall.
Is this all they can manage? Maybe I should wait a little.
The beast flapped its wings and made its way to fly but suddenly disappeared, only to reappear at our back, bringing up its talons to claw at Velgrim. He wanted to dodge but with slow reflexes. Vespera slashed with her sword, defending against the sharp claws, but the beast's strength was unrivaled, bearing down on her and overpowering her. The beast spewed saliva at Vespera, but Eric defended with the stone barrier he summoned. The saliva's corrosive power melted the wall immediately. Velgrim regained his stance, slashing at the beast. He dealt minimal damage as his sword slashed its right wing. The beast shrieked and pounced back.
"It underestimated us," Velgrim said breathlessly.
"The son of a bitch didn't even use its full power," gasped Vespera.
"Almost out of energy," Eric said after activating and using the Earth gem multiple times.
"Sorry Xerves, we dragged you into this, but don't worry, we'll get you out alive even if we have to sacrifice ourselves," Velgrim said.
"Yes, we swear upon our pride as adventurers, we won't let a civilian die," Vespera added.
Aye aye... Make sure to protect me but don't die, Xerves thought sarcastically. But I wonder why it isn't attacking me. Is it because of the kick I gave it earlier? As expected, it's intelligent, it knows the difference in our power.
The beast lunged at them again, this time with unbelievable speed. It smashed the already erected stone wall with a full swing and pounced on Eric, overpowering the burly guy instantly. It pierced his right shoulder and left leg with its talons. "UUUNNNNHH" Blood gushed out as Eric groaned in pain.
What is it doing, immobilizing a prey in order to feed on it alive? Interesting.
"Eric!" Velgrim shouted, lunging at the beast with his sword but was knocked off immediately with one swing from the beast.
Vespera, the last one standing except for Xerves, who looked oddly composed, pointed her sword at the beast. Her hands shook with the sword as she dragged her legs on the ground, moving in front of Xerves defensively.
"Run!! I will act as a decoy," she shouted, her voice trembling.
She looked back at Xerves and shouted again, "Run! I will act as a decoy..." finishing the words with a puzzled expression, beads of sweat covering her face.
What did she say? Run, right? Maybe I should run. She may be the most powerful among—
Xerves hadn't finished his thought before the beast pounced on Vespera. Just as its dreaded talons were about to make contact with her neck, he burst into action, appearing at the other side of the chamber where Velgrim was knocked to, Vespera in his hands. Xerves placed her gently beside Velgrim, a look of astonishment etched on her face.
"Turning your back on your enemy isn't cool, you know?" He said indifferently and disappeared.
I used the word "disappeared" because that's what it looked like to Vespera. Her eyes couldn't follow Xerves speed. Appearing in front of the beast, he taunted, "Hey! I wonder why you didn't attack me aside from the others during the fight. Or is it that you are scared?"
The beast snorted in response.
"Try to entertain me if just for a moment," he said, smiling.
What is this feeling? A déjà vu? Except I'm the one it happened to. But I shouldn't release my First State technique here. I should try to defeat it with pure strength; it won't be fun otherwise.
The beast lurked around him, maybe trying to find an opening or planning to attack by surprise. Neither was certain. It spewed a stream of saliva at Xerves, but he dodged it.
So it can only do that much. Maybe when it didn't see any openings, it resorted to the acid saliva. But... Too naive!
Xerves moved and appeared swiftly in front of the beast, knocking it upward at the belly. It flew high, seeming as though it would hit the ceiling, but the ceiling was too high. It crashed back down with a heavy thud, changing the terrain of the spacious chamber. Getting up and snorting repeatedly, it suddenly vanished.
"It disappeared?"
"Your back!" Vespera's voice echoed from where he had dropped her.
The beast appeared at Xerves back, its talons aiming for his neck. With no time to dodge, he defended at the last minute as the beast clawed at his arms. The force of the talons sent him crashing into some toppled stalagmites, blood gushing out.
"What the heck happened?" Xerves shouted aloud.
"It's the gem. Remember, animals get mutated when they feed on gems. It had supposedly fed on a teleportation gem. It teleported to your back," Vespera said, still out of breath.
"What a hassle! I guess I'll get serious then."
Without giving Xerves any room for readiness, it appeared above him with its talons almost clawing at his head. He dodged and landed a blow on the beast, knocking it several feet away.
Eh, something is wrong, what is this feeling. I'm getting weaker... and slower...
The beast lunged at him again, and this time, he was slower, dodging at the last minute.