Alistair watched in horror how lina ran towards the near-invisible monster, her hands lifted for a throw. Barrett restrained the beast to the best of his ability, but with injured hands, he couldn't hold his grip for long. The monster broke free and lina threw the smushed-up feyfruit at it.
She missed. The feyfruit fell on the ground with a sad splat. However, when she tried to close the distance between herself and the monster, she stepped on one of the black vines, which wrapped around her legs like a snare and began dragging her along the forest floor.
"lina!" Alistair called and rushed after her into the darkness. Unlike Remi who used the dagger to keep the vines from dragging herself away, lina had no weapon on hand. "NO!"
He began to panic, imagining the invisible bug monster striking at lina while she was struggling with vines. Sienna let out an angry, desperate roar as she rushed after her master into the dark, illuminating the surroundings just enough for them to be able to keep the girl in sight.
However, Alistair quickly realized that he had once again underestimated lina. Instead of screaming and panicking, she pulled herself up enough to reach the vines tangled around her legs. The mont she did, the plant let go of her as if it had been burned and retreated into darkness.
"Are you alright?" he asked, pulling her up to her feet.
"I'm fine! Don't let your guard down, the nightstalker is still nearby," she said, not bothered by various small bruises on her hands and face. "Everyone, stay close to Sienna."
Sienna let out an angry snarl as she shielded most of lina's body with her own. Illitran and Remi quickly positioned themselves on opposite sides of the wyrm. Barrett and Leon followed after them, however, both of Barrett's arms were bleeding heavily. It was likely that he couldn't even hold a sword.
"Over there!" lina yelled, pointing into a dark patch in the forest near Barrett. Alistair reacted to her words as if on instinct, activating and rushing at the location she pointed at with sword and shield ready. He collided with the nightstalker, producing an audible crunch as the impact's force cracked its carapace.
The creature let out an agonizing screech and a distorted limb shot towards him. He probably wouldn't have even seen the attack if it wasn't for a tiny bit of shimr coming from it—the little bit of feyfruit that lina managed to get on the creature. Alistair intercepted the attack with his sword.
[Skill activated. Each consecutive attack with a sword will be stronger than the last.]
He didn't wait for the monster to jump back, instead slashing at it in quick succession. It felt awkward, trying to hit the near-invisible nightstalker. However, its camouflage was starting to waver. He could see the imperfections of the cracked carapace and aid at it, creating even deeper injuries. Nightstalker let out another anguished cry and retreated into the darkness.
"Watch carefully! It should be possible to spot it now," Alistair commanded. He was counting on the fact that the monster was agitated, making it far more likely for it to make mistakes.
"Let's see how you like this!" Leon called and pulled out his wand, pointing it upwards. A cloud-like mass ford above him and then dispersed in every direction. Snow began to fall on the nearby area.
Sienna let out a dissatisfied growl when so of the small, cold flakes settled on her body, but lina put a calming hand on the wyrm. "Watch the forest, Sienna. Snow will help you see."
Alistair scanned the area in front of them and noticed how in the location close to Barrett, the snow seed to fall in an arc. As if sothing was blocking its path.
"I see you!" Remi exclaid, releasing an arrow at the suspicious place. It collided with nighhtstalker's carapace, not doing any real damage. However, it startled the monster for long enough for Illitran to close the distance and strike with his sword.
Alistair, on the other hand, used to position himself behind the bug, cutting off its retreat path. Thanks to his skill, his attack chain wasn't broken and he kept slashing at the tough carapace of the monster, watching how with each hit the cracks grew ever deeper.
"Get back!" Illitran suddenly yelled, putting distance between himself and the monster. Alistair hesitated for a mont—he was one hit away from finishing his attack chain. That mont proved to be crucial as he felt a strong limb collide with his unprotected side. The hit wasn't strong enough to get through his armor, however it was followed by another and another.
Alistair couldn't react in ti, only barely managing to protect his chest and head from the hits.
"Sienna!" lina commanded.
The wyrm jumped straight at the nightstalker. Alistair was pushed away from the impact and fell so distance away to the ground. The spot where the nightstalker initially hit him, really hurt—he suspected a broken rib.
"Don't let get it away!" lina said in a voice filled with anger, staring at the spot in the ground where Sienna had pinned down the monster. The wyrm's body flared up in hot flas, instantly lting all of Leon's conjured snowflakes and also burning the nightstalker.
It screeched piteously as the fire burned at its hard exterior. The monster beca more clear in shape, its shell no longer pristine and reflective. The wyrm then began pulling its limbs off one by one, mauling it to death in a matter of minutes. In the end, all that was left of the nightstalker was broken bits of carapace and viscera.
Alistair, no, everyone stared at the brutal sight in shock. But what shocked him the most wasn't Sienna's destructive power. He had witnessed it before. What shocked him the most was the cold stare in lina's eyes as she watched the scene unfold. It seed mismatched on the face of such a young girl.
[You've assisted in defeating . You've gained 160 exp.]
The mont notification appeared, lina snapped out of her cold trance, shock marring her expression as her eyes seed to linger on what Alistair assud to be a System notification.
But before he could ponder it, sharp pain erupted in his head forcing him to clutch it. It felt like sobody was trying to split it open from inside and he barely managed to hold himself back from screaming.
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"Alistair! Alistair!" lina ran up to him.
She inspected his body for injuries. Their eyes t for a mont and suddenly he saw a completely different scene.
lina stood strong and tall, older and dressed in rich mage's garb. Her outfit was so distinct that he recognized them as the traditional archmage's robes worn by the head of the Mage's Guild. They had been altered to match her small fra, but despite her size, she looked more powerful than anyone he had ever seen.
Her eyes were cold as she was staring at a bunch of drow who looked bloodied and battered, barely able to keep their heads up to look at her. Alistair stood next to her, sword drawn as he looked at the drow. He felt himself pitying them for so reason.
The vision blurred for a mont and the scene changed.
There were more drow on the ground in front of them, and lina's eyes were filled with cold rage. "Were you rciful when you killed our people? When you dragged the won out of their hos? When you pulled children out of their hands?"
"Die you damned Church dog!" One of the stronger drow jumped to his feet and ran towards lina, dagger in hand. She did not even flinch.
[Your skill
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