No way.
Bro—seriously?
Stella stared at the corpse of the Holy Knight sprawled motionless on the ground, her thoughts racing like a stampede.
How the hell did you just die like that!?
What made it worse—the body wasn't even teleported away. It just lay there, lifeless and still.
Wait… don't tell me he forgot to bring his Return Crystal!?
Dark lines practically formed across Stella's face. Everyone had already picked up on the enemies' openings—victory was within reach. Yet with the Holy Knight suddenly face-down dead, they now had to divert manpower to deal with the Avatar of Left Bow. The pressure skyrocketed.
And then she noticed something else.
The Holy Knight's chest looked like a pincushion. Dozens upon dozens of arrows jutted out, packed so tightly it was grotesque.
At a distance, the Avatar of Left Bow stood tall—his left hand gripping an ordinary longbow, his right clutching a crossbow, and a massive bow strapped to his back like some deranged walking arsenal.
Wait—where the hell did all those arrows come from!?
Stella considered herself a high-tier ranger, a true master of archery. Even she, at full speed, could only fire about ten arrows in one burst. So how had this Avatar loosed that many in the span of seconds?
Truly, there's always a bigger fish.
She drew a steady breath and focused back on the main fight. Leon was struggling to keep up with the Avatar of Swift Slash's absurd agility. Without her support fire, he wouldn't be able to hold the line.
"Maru! Go help Melga!" Leon barked, pressing the attack.
"Boss, you sure you'll be okay?" Maru asked, glancing between the two battlefields.
"Absolutely fine!"
"…Alright then. I'm on it!"
Across the arena, Melga was locked in a cat-and-mouse chase with Left Bow's Avatar, hurling throwing knives as she ran. But the enemy was slippery—out of ten throws, landing three or four was considered lucky.
After one-shotting the Holy Knight with some unknown skill, the Avatar now found himself hounded relentlessly by Melga's strikes, unable to pause long enough to charge another shot. Forced to run in circles, he darted between obstacles with unnerving speed.
Despite his bulky, padded armor, his movements were lightning quick. Melga had to fight tooth and nail just to keep up, and each time she thought she'd cornered him, he slipped away again.
The Fire Priest tried to lend support, tossing fireballs between his buffs, but his aim was… questionable, at best.
When Maru arrived, Melga grinned wide. "Perfect timing! We'll sandwich him!"
Maru nodded, closing in from the opposite side. Together, they flanked the Avatar like a pair of jaws closing on prey.
"You're finished."
Melga leapt, staff crashing down—
Boom!
The sound made Roger glance over mid-battle. He chuckled. "Looks like they're wrapping up their side. Let's speed things up too."
Terl, panting hard, nodded and fixed his glare on the Avatar of Katana.
The foe's chest bore a gaping wound—straight out of Bleach—yet he still held his katana firm, standing poised in an iaido stance, eyes burning holes into Terl.
Terl was the worst possible matchup for this opponent. His enlarged, monstrous form made him resemble a beast—and that sword specialized in slaying beasts.
Techniques like Counter Cut and Parry Step ripped through him. If not for Drew's constant healing from the backline, Terl would've been long gone.
"Same plan as before," Roger said, twirling his dual-purpose weapon—a staff with a rapier at the other end. In an instant, his figure shimmered and vanished into thin air.
"Why aren't you the damn meat shield…" Terl grumbled under his breath, then roared and charged.
"Fine! After this, I'll treat you to a brothel visit!" Roger's voice echoed invisibly.
…Why's he shouting when he's invisible? Oh, right. That's the point.
The Avatar tracked Terl by sound, spinning into a wide, preemptive slash—
The blade sliced through nothing but air.
Before he could react, a massive shadow loomed over him. Even unseen, the crushing pressure of Terl's body was unmistakable.
The Avatar lashed out desperately, retreating mid-swing—but the shockwave of Terl's landing threw him off balance.
"Swampify!"
Perry had been waiting for the opening. The ground beneath the Avatar's feet liquefied into thick, sucking mud.
Shhk!
Roger struck. A flash of steel—and a rapier pierced the Avatar's kidney clean through.
The Avatar froze, stunned by pain.
Roger didn't stick around. One hit, gone again—leaving Terl to finish the job while he repositioned for another ambush.
This guy's not a mage—he's a damn magic assassin!
Despite the Avatar's veteran combat instincts, the invisibility and coordination proved too much. Before long, he collapsed—the first of the three Avatars to fall.
Roger's grin was audible in his tone.
Meanwhile, Leon's battle with the Avatar of Swift Slash had reached its breaking point.
The Avatar was a bloodied wreck—riddled with arrows like a hedgehog, his armor torn and leaking crimson from countless sword wounds.
And yet, even on the brink of death, he lowered into that same familiar stance—
Slash again.
And again.
And again.
From beginning to end, he hadn't used a single other move. Not one basic attack.
Leon's shield was cracked and splintered, but he held it fast. He knew after this fight, it'd have to be retired.
When the Avatar unleashed Quick Slash, Stella's arrows alone couldn't interrupt him, so the two synchronized.
Right as the skill ended, Stella's charged arrow struck, staggering the foe—and Leon followed up instantly, delivering a flurry of five sword strikes that sent sparks flying.
The moment the Avatar lunged again, Leon braced behind his shield. The sword energy still sliced across him, but it was survivable. Barely.
Then, without warning—the Avatar shifted his target and dashed straight for Stella!
"No!" Leon lunged, intercepting the blow just as Quick Slash activated.
The impact slammed through his shield and into his ribs. Even with armor, he felt his insides twist painfully.
The ambush had failed.
The Avatar stumbled under their combined pressure, driven back step by step.
And finally—
An arrow whistled through the air, piercing the Avatar clean through the knee.
His body crumpled, fading into ash. A faintly glowing purple mote dropped where he stood.
Everyone's eyes flicked toward the treasure instinctively—but no one moved. Not yet. The last enemy still stood.
The Avatar of Left Bow.
Melga's earlier strike hadn't killed him. Instead, he'd tanked it long enough to unleash a devastating counterattack.
A rain of arrows poured from above like a storm. Melga spun her staff to block, but one bolt still punched through her shoulder.
Unlike the others, Left Bow's reflexes were monstrous. He disengaged instantly, kiting across the field, loosing endless volleys that forced both Melga and Maru on the defensive.
"I'll cover you!" Terl roared, charging forward—
—and was promptly turned into a pincushion.
With a body that massive, he might as well have painted a target on his chest.
Leon tried to rush through the downpour of arrows, but his battered shield finally gave out—splintering apart in his hands. It had endured much… and now it retired itself in pieces.
As the Avatar of Left Bow darted around, dodging fire from all sides, an unexpected movement froze everyone in place.
"HYAAAH!"
The corpse of the Holy Knight suddenly sprang to life. His eyes snapped open, and with a primal roar, he lunged—locking the Avatar in a crushing embrace.
"Good lad!" the Fire Priest shouted, grinning wide as he hurled a fireball that exploded squarely against the Avatar's head.
And with that final blast—
The three Avatars were annihilated.
A thrilling victory.
Yet no one felt satisfied.
Skill spam. Arrow spam. Kiting spam.
The whole fight had been painful.
Leon stood for a long moment, then raised his index finger toward where Left Bow had vanished—mimicking that strange, disdainful "point down" gesture.
It was his first time doing it.
And weirdly… it felt good.
Stella exhaled in relief, stepping forward to pick up the glowing purple mote left behind by Swift Slash's Avatar.
[Ash of War: Swift Slash (Elden Ring)]