Chapter 37: The Fall of the Brave
"What?!"
"No way. It survived? How?"
"Look at it. It's furious."
Shock rippled through the adventurers. The creature that stood in the wreckage of the ice was no weaker for its prison. It was larger and more savage, and black flames licked across its hide. The arrow Calhoun's ally had planted in its left eye was gone, and the wound had healed as if it had never existed.
The mages felt something worse than fear. Their best spell, a sovereign-level barrage that should have buried an army, had only held it for a few minutes. One young mage, her face gray with exhaustion, reached for the staff lying beside her.
A hand closed gently over her wrist.
"Easy," said the attacker next to her, with a smile that didn't quite hide the fear behind it. "You've done enough. Rest."
"You're in no shape to fight," another added, rising to his feet. "Leave this one to us."
Dextereo, the greatsword wielder, pulled his blade from the dirt. Three others stood up behind him: a hooded rogue with twin daggers, a shield bearer, and an archer. They exchanged one look, and no one said what they were all thinking.
The Commander watched from the ground, stunned. He had expected the sight of the monster to break them. Instead it seemed to have lit something in them.
*Their courage is extraordinary,* he thought. *But will it be enough?*
"AHHHHHHH!"
Dextereo led the charge, and the others spread out behind him. He launched himself into the air and brought his greatsword down in a roaring arc.
The monster turned and swung its fist.
It was too fast to follow. One moment Dextereo was in the air. The next he was flying backward, his sword spinning out of his grip, and he hit the ground far across the clearing and lay still.
The others skidded to a halt and scrambled back, putting distance between themselves and the beast.
"What was that?" one of them gasped.
"I don't know."
"Did it even attack?"
"I didn't see it!"
None of them had. They had seen a man jump, and then they had seen him fly away.
From the shadows beside the monster, a figure in a brown cloak slipped out, using a stealth skill to circle behind it. The rogue leaped, landed on the creature's broad back, and sprinted up to its nape with both daggers raised and glowing white.
"Twin Blade Slash!"
Steel rang against hide. The blades skidded off without leaving a mark.
"Again," he muttered, flipping away and landing in a crouch. He launched himself once more, the daggers blazing even brighter. "Renegade..."
Before he could finish the word, the monster vanished.
He froze mid-leap and landed awkwardly, spinning in every direction. "Where did it go?"
"BEHIND YOU!" someone screamed from across the field.
The creature was already there, fist raised high above him. The rogue threw himself forward in sheer desperation, but it was too late.
BOOM!
The fist hit the ground like a falling meteor. The blast flung the rogue across the clearing, and as he crashed down, his twin daggers burst into pieces. He had crossed them in front of his body to take the impact, and they had absorbed the blow that would have killed him.
"TAKE COVER!"
Chunks of broken earth whistled through the air. The shield bearer dragged his companion down behind a huge enchanted shield and slammed it into the dirt.
"DIVINE SHIELD!"
A shimmering barrier flared into being around them. Rocks battered it and crumbled, and the ground trembled under their feet. The shield bearer gritted his teeth, holding on for as long as he could.
Then the monster was standing right in front of them.
BAM!
It struck the barrier once. The Divine Shield split like a cracked mirror, then burst, and the enchanted shield shattered in the bearer's hands. The force sent him tumbling across the dirt.
That left the archer alone. He knew what he was: a mid-range support who survived by standing behind others. With the front line gone and the monster turning its red eyes toward him, he understood there was nothing he could do. His fingers opened, and his bow fell to the ground.
He surrendered without a word.
Across the clearing, a female mage had seen it all. She planted the end of her staff in the earth and hauled herself to her feet, shaking, and pointed it at the monster.
"Esratea..."
Faint mana gathered at her staff, only a flicker, but the monster's head snapped toward her. A small black fireball formed beside its massive shoulder and shot sideways at her, faster than she could blink.
Her eyes went wide. She dropped her half-formed spell and threw out her hand. A shield of light appeared in front of her.
"Requiem Shield, shine bright and negate all darkness!"
The fireball slammed into it, and the shield exploded into sparks. The force knocked her flat on her back, and her staff rolled away. She had nothing left, not even enough strength to lift her head.
And just like that, every adventurer who had risen to fight lay broken on the ground.