36 Hidarus Challenge Finale Part 2 : Beating The Odds (2/2)
”Helora? Can you hear me?”, I said.
”Oi! What the hell was that? All I heard was a sonic boom and an explosion from your direction!”, Helora said worriedly.
”We can talk about it later. How's your position?”, I asked.
”I'm doing”--woah--”I'm doing fine. I'm immune to fire magic so the Flame Titan has been relying on his Defense. I was able to obliterate one of his arms with explosion magic but I would've killed him by now if the Frost Of Ruin's minions didn't bother me. I don't have any defense so if you could send some help my way, that would be fantastic!”, Helora stated.
Judging from Helora's tone, it was obvious that she was having fun fighting against the Behemoth. Behemoths are some of the most difficult mobs to defeat since they possess both high damage and high endurance while being giant creatures. Helora may be an Offensive Juggernaut but she doesn't have the defense to last very long against a behemoth. The only person who could possibly keep up with Helora was Krotos.
”C'mon! Is that all you got witch? I thought you were better than that?”, Krotos said.
Tattered clothes, blood-soaked weapons, and a pile of slain hostiles. These were the traits that defined Krotos as I landed on the ground next to him. I noticed that some of the Angellic Soldiers, as well as other friendly units, were also scattered around the area in rather...disturbing forms. Krotos was currently dual-wielding two swords as he stood in a duel with a demonic sorceress. As an A rank Healer and Succubus were supporting her, she proved to be rather bothersome to Krotos.
”Hello, Dungeon Master. I see that you have acquired some...destructive magic, correct? Would you mind giving me a hand?”, Krotos asked while smiling.
”Let me guess. You need me to take out the healer and succubus so you can finally kill this bitch, right? I'm on it”, I said confidently.
”You catch on quick, Jordan. It'll be a pleasure to fight with you”, Krotos stated.
”All this fucking talk and not enough blood!”, the sorceress said.
As the sorcerer's hands glowed, the ground underneath Krotos and I began to crumble. As Krotos and I flew in the air, we were met with a barrage of attacks from the Succubus.
”Shit! I'll engage the sorceress up close! Make sure the Succubus doesn't get the chance to attack me!”, Krotos said.
As Krotos descended towards the Sorceress, I decided to throw the trident towards the Healer as I flew towards the Succubus, who was currently hovering in front of me.
”Hm? Fighting me unarmed? What a stupid-”
The Succubus didn't get to finish, as I performed a heavy punch towards her face and kneed her in the stomach. After leaving her stunned, I eagerly performed a sidekick that sent her falling towards the ground. After holding my hand out, Vargoz automatically came back to me.
”Interesting. So that's what Monster Empowerment does? I think I like it”, I said happily.
”Don't get too cocky, my friend. Unless you go into 'War Mode', this is only a temporary benefit from using Hidara's Branch. Even then, Hidara's Branch requires a large amount of magic power so don't think you can just use it willy-nilly. Hidara is trying to entice you into accepting the taint more often by choosing to go into 'War Mode'. Don't end up like the last person, Master Jordan. But while the Succubus is stunned, we should steal the healer”, Vargoz said.
As we dove towards the healer, we caught a glimpse of Krotos's fight.
”Is that all you have, Griffin? Who would have thought that the son of Apollo would be so weak?”, the sorceress taunted.
”I thought you would be a better sorcerer opponent but it seems your nothing without your little female squad supporting you. This battle is already over”, Krotos said confidently.
”I'm not so sure about that. Did you think that I didn't have a backup plan? I'm a sorceress summoned by Hidarus after all”, the sorceress said.
However, despite the obvious transformation process that she was about to partake in, Krotos decided to end it early. Using his sword creation skill, as well as his ability to use most magic, he instantaneously summoned 42 holy lances from the ground that punctured, impaled, and skewered the Sorceress. Since Holy magic was the fatal weakness of all demonic units, she was unable to escape the painful prison and quickly began to spit out large amounts of her demonic blood. As her life force began to fade, she quickly looked towards the Demonic healer, who would be the only person who could save her. However, the healer was currently trying her best to resist manipulation.
”Damn you, Griffin! I'll kill you!”, the Succubus said.
After the succubus regained her composure, she lunged towards Krotos with her scythe in hand and began her numerous attempts to cut him into pieces.
”You like that, you fucking griffin! Die already!”, she yelled.
After Krotos did a large step back, he dropped both of his swords on the ground and took out the sword that he always carried on his person. As he put his grabbed on the sword, Krotos's armor gradually became one of hardened Ice. As both of his eyes began glowing cerulean blue, his frosted armor glistened in the sunlight, as it seemed that he was starting to take this seriously.
”I was saving my true power for the behemoths but you can serve as target practice. I'll admit that you and your friends were very good opponents but Helora needs my help”, Krotos said.
”Tch! You arrogant piece of shit! Who said this battle was over?!”, the succubus said angrily.
However, the succubus' attempt to lunge at Krotos was a futile effort. As she put all of her power into her scythe, it was clear that she was maxing out her scythe for an undeniable kill. But Krotos wasn't your average A+ rank person. Krotos was the son of the Legendary S+ Griffin named Apollo, which meant that the blinding rage she had would prove to be her downfall. As Krotos raised his sword into the air, he uttered a short phrase that would prove to be exceeding lethal.
”Apollo's Deletion”, Krotos said calmly.
Seconds before the Succubus was able to reach Krotos, she was seemingly frozen in time. As Krotos sheathed his weapon, he took the scythe off the Succubus and chucked it towards the effective area of the Dungeon. After drawing a rune on her forehead, Krotos walked towards me as the Succubus began to be reduced to dust, and her existence seemingly erased. I was able to watch Krotos's fight since the Healer didn't stand much of a chance against me. More specifically, she didn't stand much of a chance against 'Monster Manipulation' which was a temporary benefit of using 'Hidara's Branch'. With this power, I was able to effectively control the Demonic Healer but I didn't know how long it would last. But seeing as most of the C rank units were dead, it was important that we had a healer for the remaining B rank units. I did a quick check of the mob demographics and it looked like we had 43 mobs remaining.
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[War Troops Remaining]
Elementals x12 [B]
Golems x13 [B]
Slimes x13 [B]
Orc x3 [C+]
Cyborg x1 [C]
Wyvern x1 [C]
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”Krotos, you can head over to support Helora. I'm going to meet back up with Briggs and Obsidian to plan our next steps. I might also ask Orai for more units so your support is on the way”, I said.
After nodding to the information, Krotos quickly launched in the air and flew towards the Flame Titan, who was being bolstered by the Wyrm Titan. As for me, I scanned the battlefield that was currently cluttered with dead bodies. Most of them were the hostiles that were previously threatening us but some of them were my own units. The only hostiles that were left were the 10 A ranks that Obsidian and Briggs were fighting and the massive Behemoths that we still had to face. Not to mention the seductively sadistic Draconic Valkyrie that was just itching to kill us.
But of course, unlike the troops we faced before, Behemoths were a legitimate threat to us all.
Facing A rank units may have left even the A+ members of the Dungeon somewhat exhausted and bruised. However, with Behemoths being the same rank as my best members and a Valkyrie eagerly awaiting her prey, it would seem that the real challenge was about to begin.
If Only I Knew What Was In Store For Us.