123 I.T. 26 Magic Mushroom 3 (1/2)

The elemental bullet smashed into the mushroom; it was unable to rotate in time as it had most of its concentration split into controlling Hunter. The bullet was not the ice element as last time, Bailey had used her perception to use the element best suited for the current situation. Because the mushroom was currently controlling Hunter through the electric mushroom the purple stripe was in the forefront.

She used the natural counter to this element; her bullet was of the earth element. The mushroom took the hit head on. The brilliant purple florescent light faded into complete blackness, leaving a dead spot on the mushroom. The mushroom let out a telepathic roar that shook my mind. It is pain and frustration were readily apparent.

A few feet from me Hunter rose to his feet. He looked at me calmly for a moment, his eyes a deep shade of purple, but they had a soft look. much like I remembered in the past. He let out a groan as his earthen arm began to lose its shape. A look of concentration appeared on his face as he held his earthen arm. Slowly it began to stabilize again.

Only then was I really able to look at him. His body had deflated into its normal size, and the arcs of lightning had decreased. They had decreased, but there was still one that flashed around him. He spoke to me softly.

”take your time to heal. I will protect you until you can stand on your own. But then you will need to take Leisha's place. I don't know how much longer she can hold on.”

I nodded. Hearing the voice that was very clearly his I knew that the mushroom had lost its influence over him. The florescent purple stripe was gone, and along with that its ability to control the boy in front of me.

He stood in front of me, protecting me from whatever could happen. His actions seemed heroic, but they were ultimately useless as I was not the target of the beast to begin with. I could only laugh softly in my mind. This boy was barking up the wrong tree.

My legs were a mess, but surprisingly the rest of my body was fine, only a little sore. I knew him standing there was useless, but at the same time I did not know if his current lucid state was permanent. It was better to keep an eye on him.

I could feel Hylia's annoyance through our connection. She would much rather anyone else keep watch over me, but our current situation did not provide much room for anything else. She had her hands full shooting arrows at the mushroom. The damage she inflicted was healing at a slower pace than before. The wounds were healing, but it was taking much longer.

This delay in healing also meant that her attacks were doing more damage than before. And she was not the only one. Lucifer was still attacking with his bullets. The wounds he caused were much bigger than before, and each attack would chip away at the edges of the mushroom cap. The wounds were not healing, but the damage was still relatively small. The mushroom in front of us was simply too powerful to be brought down easily.

This did not mean we had no chance of victory. We had already caused significant damage to it by getting rid of one of its seven stripes. I could feel the energy that Bailey was gathering. This one was a fire element shot. I would have known even if I could not feel the energy building up.

Hylia had communicated with the team with her telepathy. The healing fire surrounding Leisha had become much sparser, the number of fireballs barely enough to keep her standing. Instead a barrage of fireballs was being sent to the monstrous mushroom. The red stripe of the mushroom was gradually dimming under the barrage but was rapidly replenish as the other lights slightly dimmed.

The strategy was to gently wear out the red stripe, allowing for us to damage it even more with Sierra's fireballs. Unfortunately, it was not something that would happen quickly. We had gotten lucky with the previous shot, and the mushroom had been unable to counter the direct counter element. We would not have that chance again. We could only hope to slowly drain its colors, and to do that we would have to focus on a single color.

There were no surprises, Leisha was barely able to hold on long enough for the shot to be fired. When the bullet connected the stripe plunged but was rapidly filled again by the other stripes. They had all dimmed considerably with red the blow, their brightness half of what it had been before.

Leisha fell to her knees panting. She was unable to continue guarding Bailey. She was not built for defense, and even with the healing she received from her ability and Sierra's fireballs she had no energy left. Her mana had been spent.