"GUWAAAHHHHH!!!"
The pained screech of the Serocis pierced the air.
It was deafening—unbelievably so. The ground rattled as a testament to its agony, and the air shook in response to its cry.
It was obvious that this creature had never experienced a sensation this vile.
Corrosive saliva dripped from its open jaws, and it instantly snapped at Adonis, rushing towards him to rip his body to pieces.
"Flare!" Adonis yelled.
Instantly, the area was engulfed with blinding light, enough to completely stun the Serocis. Of course, that meant the golden-haired lad couldn't properly see as well.
Still, even if you didn't account for his array of Skills, he had memorized the position of the beast and predicted the trajectory it would take.
Thanks to this, he bounced off the air with yet another spin and coated his blade with more intense light.
~FWISH!~
In yet another perfect strike, Adonis cut down yet another stinger.
"G-GUROOOOAAAHH!"
At this point, the emotions of the Serocis shifted from pain and rage to pain and fear.
It darted back, its instinct instantly telling of a horrid fate that awaited if it advanced without any assurance of success.
~FSHIII~
Hot steam rose from its seared injuries as the remnant heat caused by burning light kept the fresh wound stinging.
Once the light dulled, Adonis and the Serocis returned to normal view.
The two severed stingers of the Monster occupied the floor close to the human, while the Serocis was surrounded by its vile blood and pungent drool.
Both sides were unmoving, clearly wary of the other in some way.
"Haaa… haa…" Adonis made heavy breaths, obviously trying to show his exhaustion.
Whether this was to deceive the Monster or the enemies hidden in plain sight—perhaps both—was not clear.
Still, it seemed to do the job for the creature.
Its crimson eyes widened, all of them turning bloodshot as it growled with newfound fervor.
'Finally showing your last card, huh?' Adonis thought to himself with a silent grin.
The Serocis had a bunch of passive Skills, but its two most fatal attacks were the Greater Air Blasts and the next move it was preparing.
'Here it comes!'
Adonis readied himself, hunching over as he strengthened his legs for yet another race.
'I should be concluding the fight soon. That way, I can show that I have limits. Or… should I try to drag things out a little more?'
Before he could make that choice, the crimson eyes of his opponent shot out intense blasts of energy.
~FWOOSH!~
They pierced the air, making way for their target in no time at all.
Adonis, who was already expecting this, instantly darted away from his previous position.
However—
~FWOOSH!~
—Yet another blast charged his way.
'From another eye, huh? Guess it's learning pretty well…'
The Serocis' [Grand Eye Blast] was an A-Tier Skill for one solid reason—not even accounting for the its superior destructive power compared to the [Greater Air Blast].
Its range!
Other than the fast and streamlined way a single blast of crimson energy could go, the Serocis had six separate eyes, which meant it could fire off six separate blasts to varying locations—all at the same time.
The previous blast consisted of only two eyes, and now that Adonis evaded them, he had fallen for the Monster's trap.
'Judging from the movement of its eyes, it's about to fire one to my left, another to my right. One will be aimed above, just in case I try to evade the current blast heading towards me.'
For a Monster, that was some quick thinking!
'It already recognizes that I'm fast enough to evade its strikes, and it sees me as a big enough threat to use its ultimate move on…'
It was rather unfortunate for the Monster that Adonis wasn't even trying at all.
'Now then, my choice will be… to take it head-on!'
~CLANG!~
Adonis swung his blade, coating it with dense light until the entire thing glowed golden. The flashy weapon directly clashed with the crimson ray, instantly sending a surge of power flying in multiple directions.
The result?
~BOOOOOOM!~
Adonis was blown away as a consequence of the shockwave, his body suffering from the recoil of taking such an attack to the face.
Well, that was how he made it seem like.
"G-gahh… haaa…"
He struggled to rise, squinting his eyes as he displayed symptoms of pain.
His simple attire had been ruined, and several burn marks were evident on his body. Even the blade that he tightly clung to was finally broken.
By all categories, he was in an extremely tight spot.
'Perfect!' He grinned internally, still breathing heavily as he staggered slightly.
The Serocis was watching all of this with cautious notice, its crimson eyes flashing with malevolence.
It was clear that another round was coming—and fast.
"You can give up now if you want to!" A concerned voice echoed out. "You've done enough!"
It came from Britta.
'It's really weird seeing her all kind and compassionate…' Adonis chuckled internally, casting his gaze on the calm faces of the two others in the room.
They didn't seem concerned or worried at all. They just stared calmly—almost as if they were waiting for something.
'I think I've shown them just enough of where I stand in the ranks.' He smiled widely, almost like a crazy person.
"Never! I'll never give up!" Letting out a throaty scream, he let light explode from all over his body as everything began rushing to his broken blade.
Britta's face depicted nothing but absolute surprise. She must have been so amazed by his fiery spirit, considering how Adventurers so fearless came in short supply.
Even Jet and Lux seemed amazed by his gumption.
'Great! Everything is set now…' Adonis returned his sights to the enemy he had to beat.
In no time now, the barrage of destruction would resume, and he would somehow have to close the distance between him and the Monster to land the finishing blow.
It was going to be a bit troublesome, given his current situation, but was he going to lose?
No…
'I'll win!'