"Dash!" Sarah activated her skill, going into combat against the Sheep, which went berserk. With her longsword she cut through the animal's torso. "Over here, your demonic wool ball!"
She glanced at me, with fire in her eyes. She didn't need to say anything, because her message was clear. 'Go heal Leo.' After this, she turned her attention to the fluffy demon in front of her, and I ran towards the wounded Leo.
I ran as fast as I could. Any second could be the last in such an intense battle. That was true for Leo, who took major damage, and for Sarah, who was risking her life so our leader could recover. If we had to fight that monstrous beast, we would need Leo's strength.
I reached him, gasping. This body wasn't a very athletic one, but I didn't think that Rick had such low physical endurance.
Leo was before me. I had to check on him quickly. He was pale, with blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
"Rick…" He noticed me. That was a good sign. He was conscious. I had to give him a potion. Quickly. The bag.
I put the potions in my backpack. I opened it, still gasping. I couldn't find the medicine. It wasn't possible. I was sure that it was here. 'So why can't I find it?'
"You… look terrible… Rick." Leo said it slowly, each word coming out with visible effort.
When I heard his voice, I stopped, finally understanding what was happening to me. I looked at my hand, it was trembling. My ragged breathing. My heart beat like a drum.
I was afraid. I was close to death. If not for Sarah, that damn thing would crush me like an insect. And my body was still reacting to the situation. The instinct of running away. Save yourself, and leave others behind.
Even knowing that, I was still frozen in fear. But the fierce battle behind me brought me back to Earth. I turned around, and there she was. Sarah was still fighting the Sheep.
The Beast was tackling, kicking, even thrusting its horns upward in her direction. But Sarah's speed was incredible. She had some scratches on her face and body, but she managed to defend herself against the more lethal attacks.
She was fighting tooth and nail to buy some time. She trusted me. She believed that I would cure Leo, and that together we would kick this lamb's ass.
"Ha… haha…" I laughed at myself. But I wasn't going mad; on the contrary, I was pretty much sane. I was laughing at how pathetic I was.
I said that I would become stronger to protect Sarah. I said that I wouldn't live a shameful life. And I said that I would fight Death. Feeling fear is natural, but I cannot let fear take control and make me act like a coward.
"Stop being a pussy!" I said to myself.
I took a deep breath, calming my senses. Now, with a clear mind, I could help my companions. From my bag, I took my strongest healing potion and made Leo drink it. It was a very pure and concentrated elixir, at least the best that I could make at that point.
The effects were almost instantaneous. The color returned to his face and his eyes were more vivid. He looked like he was ready for another fight.
"Rick…" He looked at me as if he had only noticed my presence now.
"There is no time. Sarah is fighting alone right now." I said with clear urgency in my tone.
He saw the clash between the forces, and instantly understood where he should be.
"Thanks, Rick. Leave this to us now." He said with a youthful smile. But when he tried to stand up, his legs failed him. Leo wasn't fully healed yet.
I gave him the best healing mix that I had prepared. It was a potion with instant effect and could heal major wounds. It wasn't a cure-all medicine; it wasn't enough to make him recover from that headbutt.
"Leo, wait! You're still hurt, and this monster is not our usual enemy." I warned him.
"What do you mean?" He asked. The situation was difficult for him to understand, and only I knew why. At this point, he had never fought against a monster above his own Rank. I had more knowledge about our enemy than him, so it was for the best that I gave the calls from here.
"That Boss is far from our current strength. I don't know the reason, but that creature is above F-Rank. In the best case, it is E-Rank or D-Rank." I explained to him. "It's faster than us, and this headbutt is a killer move. If you cannot defend against it, neither me nor Sarah can."
"So how could we beat this thing?" He asked without any hope in his voice.
"That beast is tough, but he's not S-Rank. If he was C-Rank or above, we would be dead by now." I said to him.
"Rick, what…" He tried to ask me, but I didn't let him finish.
"What I mean is that this Sheep is not invincible. And destroying this at our level is very hard, but it's not impossible."
Leo was looking at me speechless. I didn't know if he was thinking that this was crazy or if I was inspiring him as a leader, but I continued talking.
"However, to defeat him we need to play dirty." I said with an evil smile.
"Play dirty…?" He asked me.
"I have a plan. And you are the key to success." I said in a confident tone.
And from the look on his face, I could tell for sure. He thought I was crazy.
…
After telling him my idea, he still thought that I was crazy, but he agreed to help with my strategy. "It's not like we have other options. So I will do as you say, and trust you."
Sarah's breathing was ragged. She avoided most of the attacks, but her energy was almost worn out at this point.
The beast tried to harm the girl using its horns. Sarah's body didn't have the energy to avoid that, but before she was impaled, Leo stepped into the fight.
"Stunning Impact!" The blond guy activated his skill, and with the flat of the blade he repelled the bone spikes, like a baseball player going for a homerun.
The name says it all. Stunning Impact was a skill that dealt damage, but the utility for our plan wasn't that. What we were looking for was the stun effect. Using this skill raises the chances of immobilizing the enemy for a short period.
Luckily, the monstrous creature toppled to the side. It kept its balance, but the berserk monster was shaking its head. Leo's last attack stunned the Sheep. He created an opening. I was running right behind him, and I wouldn't miss the opportunity.
"Rick?" Sarah said, surprised to see me in the midst of combat.
"Come!" I didn't have time to say more than that. I grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her away from the beast.
The Swordsman was still against the monster while we were running, going for another round.
"AAAAHHHH!" Leo took advantage of this opening and swung his greatsword against its head one more time. After this second blow, the beast finally gave in and collapsed on the ground.
"Yes!" The first part of the mission was a success thanks to Leo. Now it was my turn. From my combat bag, I took the only real damage dealers that I had. I had a smoke bomb and tear gas, which only affect monsters, but none of those would grant us victory.
I needed firepower. The stronger, the better. And thanks to old Rick, there was something to use as a last resort. Fire bombs.
They were red spheres that, after the impact, would erupt in flames in a range of two meters (6'7''). Rick worked really hard to produce those; a single bomb could defeat an E-Rank monster.
"Leo, stay back!" I shouted to him. He was already a few meters away from that demonic fluffy ball, but better be safe than sorry. The Boss Room was spacious. If it wasn't like that, I would never try something that could risk killing us in the process.
I threw the three red bombs that I had. I mercilessly threw all my most powerful weapons against the Mad Sheep, and when the spheres touched the monster, a huge fire explosion blew up.
"Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" The creature let out a guttural bleat, howling in pain as it was incinerated.
The flames that engulfed the Sheep, little by little, lost their intensity, giving way to smoke. What would come out of the dark mist would be the difference between a win and a loss.
"I-Impossible…" Sarah was looking to see where the Sheep was, paralyzed in fear.
I could see why she was like that. The scene before us was the worst scenario possible. It was there, right where the bombs detonated; the Mad Sheep was still standing.
'How much life does this thing have?' I thought in disbelief. We tried everything we had, and that fucking Sheep was still alive and kicking.
After the last attack, the beast was looking straight in my direction. It knew that I was the guy who tried to set it on fire, and now it wanted me dead. It sped up against me with one lethal tackle. At that moment, I was sure that I was done for.
But then I felt someone pushing me away from the attack. I could just take a glimpse of red hair fluttering in the wind before the impact hit Sarah.
The Sheep didn't hit her directly like it struck Leo before, but she was launched a few meters away, rolling on the ground. When she stopped, she stayed lying there, unconscious.
"Sarah…" I could only say that. Sarah saved my life, but she took the damage in my place.