The moment I plunged into the fray, the chaos enveloped me entirely. The Mad Fomorians charged at me from all sides, their grotesque forms exuding an aura of madness and hunger.
"Come on, you bastards!", I snarled, raising Silver Lining as the first Fomorian lunged at me with a screech. Its malformed claws gleamed in the dim light, poised to tear me apart.
[Skill: Battle Arts has been activated – Iaido.]
I sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the swipe, as its claws whistled past my left ear, leaving behind a thin red line across my cheek.
[You have been wounded.]
I hissed before swinging Silver Lining in a horizontal arc. The blade cut deep into its neck, slashing through several layers of flesh before severing its head from its shoulders. A sickening splatter of scarlet followed as the headless body crumpled to the ground.
[You have felled Level 10 Mad Fomorian.]
[You have gained 50 EXP.]
Just like that, I had slain a Level 10 creature while at Level 6. Such a feat would have caused me to lose my head, but instead, I frowned deeply.
That... took too much strength...
Indeed.
To cut into the flesh of the Mad Fomorian was not easy at all. I had to put my whole-body weight into that last slash just to cut into its flesh. It was Silver Lining's sharpness that handled the rest.
The other Fomorians had made it look easy when they tore and ate each other's flesh. Who knew it'd be so hard?
And to top that, I got wounded in the process.
I hissed as I traced the wound with my thumb; it was deep.
At least I gained 50 EXP... but besides...
"No one said this was going to be easy after all."
Shut out your thoughts and kill!
"Kill," I muttered, immediately pivoting to block another attack. This time, two more Fomorians lunged at me in unison. One from the left, another from behind.
I kicked off the ground, launching myself upward into the air. The two creatures collided beneath me, their claws raking across each other instead of me. Before they could recover, I came down with a powerful overhead slash, yet I only managed to deal a shallow strike to one of their heads.
SPLURGE!
Blood spilled forth into the air, painting my face as I fell into a crouch. Without letting up, I drove my blade deep into the chest of the unsightly creature, vanquishing the light in its eyes.
[You have felled Level 10 Mad Fomorian.]
[You have gained 50 EXP.]
Before I could even catch my breath, the second Fomorian lunged towards me, snapping open its harrowing maw to chomp down on me.
Shit!
I narrowly dodged it before flashing my blade at its exposed abdomen. "HRAH!"
Silver Lining slashed through it and exited from the side, sending a flurry of scarlet blood flying through the air. The creature staggered before crashing onto the Giant's flesh, dead, only to be devoured or stepped over by its 'fellow comrades.'
[You have felled Level 10 Mad Fomorian.]
[You have gained 50 EXP.]
The horde wasn't letting up.
More of them closed in, their twisted bodies moving with inhuman speed. Their shrill cries echoed in my ears, amplifying the tension that clawed at my sanity.
I didn't let up either, immediately lunging towards my next target.
The Fomorian immediately sensed my approach and lunged forward in kind, swiping its large claws in my direction.
"Tsk!" I hissed, gritting my teeth as I parried the wild swipe. Sparks flew as Silver Lining met its jagged claws. The impact sent a jolt up my arm, but I held firm.
With a quick twist of my wrist, I redirected the creature's momentum and drove my blade straight through its chest. It let out a gurgling screech before collapsing.
[You have felled Level 10 Mad Fomorian.]
[You have gained 50 EXP.]
Still not enough! I'll have you, Untethered, pay me back tenfold!
I clashed my blade with several other Fomorians, spilling their blood as they spilled mine. I fought with a careful balance of skill and power, countering the Fomorians' unwavering tenacity and violence.
TANG!
The sound of steel scraping against bone resonated through the air as I parried an attack from a Fomorian's claws. It lunged forward, trying to bite off my head with its chasmic orifice, but I quickly sidestepped it before swinging my leg at its side.
BAM!
I struck with enough force to crack a wall of concrete, yet the Fomorian simply shrugged it off before clawing at my torso.
Veil of the Moon held, shielding me from the slash but failing to protect me from the force of the attack.
"Urgh!"
[You have been wounded.]
I coughed up blood, nearly stumbling to the ground before quickly averting to the side, narrowly avoiding a slash from another Mad Fomorian.
"I can't keep this up forever..." I thought grimly, panting heavily. My stamina was draining fast, and the horde showed no signs of thinning.
I fell to my knee and stared at the monsters, cold sweat pouring down my face.
I need a plan... and fast!
The Fomorians rushed towards me with unrelenting bloodlust, forcing me to jump back into action.
CLANG! CLANG!! TANG!
I met the Fomorians' unrelenting bloodlust with unwavering resolve, refusing to be broken. I swung, slashed, and stabbed at the Fomorians, killing them while also sustaining damage.
BAM!
[You have been wounded.]
I coughed up blood as my body was hurled back with extreme force, crashing against the ground – a small crack made its way to the left pauldron of the Veil of the Moon.
Tch!
I got up immediately, narrowly dodging another attack from another Fomorian before slashing its leg.
ROAR!
With a shrill cry, the monster toppled to the ground, and immediately, I pounced on it, stabbing deep into its eye with Silver Lining.
[You have felled Level 10 Mad Fomorian.]
[You have gained 43 EXP.]
HA...! HA...!
I panted heavily, feeling exhausted.
The horde of the Fomorians seemed to grow even wilder, lunging at me with barely concealed bloodlust.
HA...! HA...!
I let out a weary smile and stepped forward, my eyes glinting with the familiar dark light.
"Come!"
I lunged towards the horde, ready to resume my killing spree before I suddenly heard an ear-scratching noise.
A sudden screech from above caught my attention. I looked up to see a massive Fomorian leaping at me from a rocky outcrop on the Giant's shoulder. Its body was larger than the others, its claws longer and more menacing.
[Level 12 Hulk Fomorian.]
My eyes widened.
W-what the fuck?!
I immediately scrambled away from the monster's drop zone, narrowly avoiding a messy death.
HMPH!
The lumbering mass of a deformed creature looked at me and coldly snorted.
Level 12?! The Lone Fomo-
That was the last thought I could muster before the world suddenly cut to black.