Twelve Seconds – Aster

Four seconds. I began running towards the beast, trying to bring it down. It was, without a doubt, a fool’s errand, but my banging headache was causing me to panic. My will to fight had been sapped, but I somehow made my body move. I didn’t understand how nor why.

The beast had billions of times more mana than all of us combined, using it without regard. It was even more frightening than the proctor? Regardless, the beast toyed with us. It obliterated Ai, but I saw her put up a vine barrier, so she was probably fine... Emma was likely with her too. Rufus circled around to the other side of the beast to attack, trying to sync up with mine. It wasn’t going to have any effect, but there was nothing else we could do.

Five seconds. How much time had passed? I couldn’t tell. All I could do was attack. I doubted needles would be able to pierce its skin, so I had to aim somewhere else. I threw them towards the beast’s head, aiming for its eyeballs and nostrils. My needles did end up reaching the beast, but they bounced off harmlessly. Even its nostrils didn’t let the needles pass, instead tangled within its nose hairs. A single breath blew them back faster than I threw. I barely dodged them with a sidestep.

Rufus jumped towards the beast. He seemed to be aiming for its shell, though I had no idea what that would accomplish. If the beast’s eye could deflect a puncture from a needle, its shell could withstand a punch from a C-rank adventurer. Though maybe it could do something if it landed between the cracks.

Six seconds. I jumped towards the shell myself, aiming for one of the openings higher on the beast’s back. It should hopefully be weaker near the top; it was better than no plan. I still couldn’t see myself doing any harm to the beast.

I heard the wind slam against its shell. Somehow, Rufus had managed to land a hit, or so I told myself. Though, the beast hadn’t bothered to protect itself, or do anything for that matter. The attack likely didn’t damage the beast at all.

Seven seconds. I landed on the shell near one of the openings. The cracks weren’t all that deep, but my needles couldn’t pierce its skin either way. I grabbed my sword and pointed it downwards above the hole.

“[Pierce].” I plunged my sword, attempting to puncture the beast. It was going to reach…!

Tchr.

My sword stopped moving, stuck in place. The pieces of the shell closed together. I tried to pull the sword out, but–

Tching.

–the sword snapped in half, making me lose my balance.

And then I heard the beam fire.

The beast looked upwards, something I hadn’t noticed, as it shot the beam this time. It hit one of the crystals on the ceiling, which reflected the beam towards me. These crystals could absorb and redirect mana at will. That meant the beast could hit anywhere inside the cave, leaving nowhere safe. And since it was aiming the beam directly at itself, it likely wouldn’t be able to damage itself. There was nothing I could do.

I was going to die.