The three of them crashed through the wall. Coll and Everette had scratched all over the body due to the breaking through the wall. Blood dripped down from Everette's forehead as he clashed with Coll in mid-air.
The beetle continued its pursuit and smashed them through the other wall - leading them to arrive at the grass area inside Trinity's grounds. Everette made a rough landing and rolled along the ground - dirtying his clothes even more than it had already been.
Coll also made a rough landing but didn't roll around like Everette did. He tried to make his way over to Everette and finish him off before being rammed by the beetle.
The beetle seemed to have bore a deep grudge against Coll for snapping off its mandible. He flew back and landed against something hard. He looked up and noticed that his party members had caught him.
A smile stretched across his face as he steadily got up. "That thing is back to haunt us, you guys. Let's put it down for good and get our revenge for the humiliation it served us that day!"
Lucas, the archer, nocked an arrow into his bow before pulling the string. He had a dashing appearance coupled with his long, braided blonde hair. He had an obsession with elves. He stood at about 6ft.
Jane, the assassin with glasses, crossed her knives over each other in an X. She was a redhead with a bob cut. She was around 5ft10.
Zack, the tank, wielded a metal door about 2-3 metres tall and 2 metres in length. His head was small, without hair, and had a muscular build.
Lucas half-heartedly shot his arrow towards the beetle. It bounced off its shell. The beetle seemed to screech in a way that can be interpreted as mockery.
The beetle then saw a smirk on Lucas' face before a shadow covered its face, followed by a long, deep gnash on the part of the shell closest to its eyes.
Lucas shoots the arrow to get the insect's attention just so that Jane can dash towards it to inflict some damage. Followed by—
"HAAA!"
SCREECH!
—Coll delivering an upward slash through a joint in one of its legs - separating it from its main body. Blinded by rage, it dashed towards Coll.
BAM!
While it was dashing at Coll, something impacted hard against the side of its face. It was Zack with a "shield" bash. This caused its face to rapidly turn to the side due to the force.
From the corner of its eyes, it could see a smirk forming on the human, wielding its mandible as a weapon. "We've researched the attack pattern; you damn insect!"
The beetle recovered from its staggered state before an arrow cut through the air and embedded itself in its left eye.
SCREECH!
The front liners (Coll, Zack and Jane) dashed simultaneously at it, "You've always used a charge as a main form of attack!"
***
Everette watched how Coll and his party fought against the beetle before noticing a shadow cascading over him. Looking up, he noticed Ada's concerned eyes staring into his own.
"Are you okay, Everette?!" She used her sleeve to wipe the blood dripping down from his forehead. Everette just shrugged.
"I've been through worst." And that was true; a torn-off arm is way worse than a cut on the forehead. Ada just sighed before looking towards the fight, "Was your plan the beetle?"
Everette gave a wry smile, "I was going to tell you, but it seems like the one I was planning against was the one to find out about it first, ironically enough."
Jack and Amelia also hurried along. Jack running with a large bow attached to his back gave a somewhat comedic view.
"Everette! Are you okay?" He and Amelia knelt down to Everette to see if he had any visible wounds before being stopped by Ada, who had a nonchalant expression.
"He'll be fine."
The two wanted to examine Everette further before noticing a nod from Everette, "She's right. I'm fine. Just a few scratches and bruises here and there, but I'll be fine." He waved his hand dismissively.
He then turned back his attention towards the fight and decided to examine the level of the beetle.
["Mutated Beetle Level 18"]
"..."
'H-Huh?' Everette was stunned, 'Did it go down some levels, or is this...' Just as he was about to finish the end of the sentence in his head, he sensed the use of mana being used.
The beetle was covered in scratches and dents. Several of its legs had been severed, and it was leaking blood all over the grass. A dark green aura erupted from the beetle.
The grass swayed intensely from the pressure. The beetle was pissed that the weaklings that ran from it were now causing it to be in such a precarious state.
It coalesced to its legs while the liquid it used to dissolve food leaked from its mouth. It locked onto the archer's figure and blasted towards him. A current of wind erupted from its dash.
BOOM!
Zack was too far away from the archer and cried out for him to get out of the way:
"LUCAS! GET OUT OF THE—"
SNAP!
The entire upper half of Lucas' body disappeared and erupted into a fountain of blood. The saliva dripping out of the beetle made contact with his body before sizzling.
The pair of legs collapsed onto their knees before tilting over. Coll watched this with a disappointed yet also pained look. The beetle then turned its body towards Jane, who was frozen in fear.
Her looks shook, and the thoughts in her mind fell into turmoil, 'M-Move your stupid legs!' Thoughts such as those erupted in her mind before hearing a BOOM sound.
The beetle appeared before her and swung its mandible towards the upper part of her body. It cleaved through her body before launching the upper half into a wall.
The remaining part of her arms that went caught in the attack fell to the ground, followed by her lower half. Sounds of bubbles popping could be heard as it turned its head towards Coll and Zack, who were right by each other.
Pop Pop Pop
The saliva in its mouth was mixed with the blood of the humans it killed, which gave it a horrifying sight. The appendages in its mouth twitched several times sadistically as it stared at the humans with its last remaining eyes.
The energy around then went to its legs again, but it seemed like it was less than it had been the previous time. It was running out of energy.
Coll then went into thought as he analysed what had happened, 'The upper half.' For some reason, it went only for the upper half and ignored the lower ones.
Coll gripped his hand tightly as he formed a plan he didn't want to do but decided to for her survival. He walked Zack and hid behind him. Zack picked up on this and nodded with a determined look to protect his last remaining friend.
"I guess we'll both die fighting, huh, Coll?"
BOOM!
The sound rippled through the air once again. The beetle wanted to finally end this and devour their bodies before moving on to the spectators. Zack braced for impact before feeling Coll's hand grip his shoulder.
His voice then rippled through his ear, "I'm sorry, my friend. Only YOU'LL be dying." After saying that, he pushed him forward towards the incoming beetle while ducking low to the ground.
Zack's eyes widened at Coll's sudden betrayal as the beetles closed in. Tears welled up in his eyes, "Mommy—"
CREAK! BAM!
His metal door creaked under the force before being ripped out of his hands. And as expected, his entire upper half disappeared. The beetle fidgeted with its mouth appendages in a satisfied manner before discovering the one that severed into the mandible was not there.
It then felt something tapping its back consecutively before a searing pain erupted in the centre of its back.
SCREECH!
Coll stood his ground while hammering his greatsword at the back of it before running up its back and plunging his weapon into the deep gnash created by Jane in her earlier attacks.
The beetle knew its end was near, so it made a last-ditch effort of trying to shake it off before screeching loudly into the sky.
SCREEECH!
This screech was different compared to the others; its pitch was higher, and...
It sounded like it was calling for something... Trembles rippled through the ground, and everyone felt them. The quake kept on louder and more noticeable before the entrance to Trinity was torn apart by a bigger Beetle.
Its shell was covered in scratches and dent marks. It seemed like the one Coll killed was only a spawn of a stronger one...