The Kaoslith began to glow. A pulsing, purplish grim light radiating from its surface. The sa eerie light that had bathed us earlier.
"You did it?" Beltimore asked, his voice laced with both hope and urgency.
"Yes, barely," Alice replied. "But it’s not complete yet. It need more ti to finish the reversal."
She turned to look at and Bob, and sohow, she was smiling.
"You two! This is your true trial," she shouted. "Protect the Kaoslith for five minutes. If you succeed, you pass, and we all survive. Fail, and you can forget about ever becoming adventurers."
Her smile did not fade.
’This woman is insane. Even now, she’s turning this into a test.’
Beltimore adjusted his glasses, watching her.
’Still... this might be the best way to see what they’re really made of.’
And he smiled too.
---
After hearing Alice’s words, Bob and I looked at each other.
"So, we just need to protect that glowing rock for five minutes? Easy peasy," Bob said, grinning. He raised his twin swords, pointing them toward the nightmare creature.
I followed his lead, summoning Indra once again into my hand.
We stepped sideway slowly, eyes locked on the creature, until our backs were facing the Kaoslith. Only tres between our distance.
No matter what, we could not let it interfere with whatever Alice and Beltimore were doing.
"Daria!!"
The robed figure near Beltimore scread.
"They’re trying to reverse the spell, stop them!"
Everyone turned to him.
Beltimore’s expression darkened. Without hesitation, he clenched his fist and punched the man square in the face, knocking him out cold.
"You probably should’ve done that earlier," Alice said calmly, without even looking up from her work.
Beltimore shook his hand, wincing slightly from the impact.
The nightmare creature raised its head, as if it understood the robed man’s command.
Bob and I imdiately tensed, bracing ourselves.
But the creature did not co at us head-on.
Instead, it darted sideways, changing direction in an instant.
Its goal was clear now:
It was not here to fight us, it was going for the Kaoslith.
It circled around us like a predator, scanning for an opening.
"It’s trying to flank us," I said, already moving.
I sprinted to the far side of the Kaoslith. Bob mirrored on the opposite end.
We ford a defensive wall, but the creature was fast.
It suddenly leapt toward the Kaoslith, heading straight for Alice, who had not flinched or moved an inch.
"Hyaahh!"
Bob dashed in and slashed the creature mid-air.
Boom!
His [Embersteel Sword] ignited on impact, burning through the creature’s left arm. The limb began to lt away into writhing black liquid.
"Yes!" Bob shouted in triumph.
But the mont did not last.
"What—?!"
The creature kept running.
Even with one arm dissolved, its speed did not drop at all.
I gritted my teeth, took aim, and shouted—
"Firebolt!"
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
I fired again and again from Indra, but the creature dodged in a zigzag motion, sprinting erratically to avoid the blasts.
Boom!
One of the Firebolts landed directly against its torso. A burst of fla and thick smoke engulfed it.
I held my breath.
But then, it erged from the smoke. Still running.
Its body was severely deford, black liquid spilling, flas licking across its twisted fra.
Yet it kept moving viciously and relentlessly straight toward the Kaoslith.
"There is no other way! Bob!" I shouted.
Like he already knew and waiting for my signal, his body was already engulfed in a red aura like fla. His eyes blazed in fiery red.
anwhile, a blue aura started to surge from my body. My pupils turned bright blue.
"Hero Grace!"
Our ultimate skill activated.
Bob and I launched forward, streaking through the chamber like cots, leaving trails of red and blue light in our wake.
The creature widened its eyes as two figures suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
But it still did not stop running toward its target.
Roar!
It let out a screeching roar.
From its body, Dozens of black, spear-like tendrils exploded from its back and shot into the air. They shot upward before raining down on us. Their speed was incredibly fast.
But, we were also fast in this form.
We weaved through the rain of black death, dancing between the falling tendrils.
and Bob then arrived at the creature. We imdiately started slashing like crazy, leaping and striking all around its body.
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Each of our slashes tore open gaps in its body.
The creature roared in frustration, unable to land a single hit on us.
"Faster!" Bob shouted.
We raised the pace, increasing our attack speed even more.
The creature’s body beca riddled with openings from our relentless assault.
Then, its body began to lt.
and Bob stopped our attacks, watching the thing in front of us dissolve.
After several seconds, its form completely lted into a puddle on the ground, like thick black engine oil.
And then, the liquid spread.
In re seconds, it slithered out and covered the entire chamber floor.
I nearly lost my footing as the black sludge passed under .
"What is it trying to do...?" I muttered to myself.
"Everyone, be careful!" Beltimore shouted from behind us.
Sothing was wrong. He could feel it.
Sothing bad was coming.
He glanced quickly at the Kaoslith. It was still glowing green, and every second it grew brighter.
’Please... hurry up!’
He clenched his fists. He wanted nothing more than to jump into the fight.
He could not bear the thought of these two promising newbies dying before they even officially registered with the guild.
and Bob scanned the area cautiously.
Bob stomped the floor, now covered in pitch-black ooze.
Stomp!
Stomp!
"Hey! Co out, you coward!" Bob shouted.
As I glanced at him, a sudden sense of danger prickled across my skin.
Hero Grace did not just enhance reflexes, it sharpened the senses too.
Then, out of nowhere...
a sharp tendril shot straight at my face.
I instinctively tilted my head, narrowly dodging it.
If I had not been in Hero Grace mode... I’d have lost my head just now.
After that, dozens of tendrils erupted from the black floor, all targeting different parts of my body.
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