Hardened Defense

What the hell was my luck? This wasn’t how we were supposed to work out our differences. Running wasn’t an option. It looked like a giant bear that was a little thinner. It could probably out run either of us or at least out last us. And her description didn’t do it a fair enough justice. It was terrifying to see it starting to lumber towards us. I thought I had gotten a little used to the danger and threats of this world, but this beast rechecked that.

A deep roar unleashed from its maw. Long teeth that looked the size of my forearm bared out for us with a head larger than my torso. It could probably bite me in half if it wanted. I tried to remove the thought. And focus on the fact that Eri'Sol was charging down the hill! “Oh my…dammit! She really is going to be the death of me.”

With a clear target in sight, the giant bear monster locked in on the poor catgirl. Four arms and claws to crush stone, I didn’t know how she was going to be able to defend against such a thing. She didn’t even have an ability to hold the monster’s attention. If it even got a scent of me, she wouldn’t be able to pull it back.

But I couldn’t worry about that. It was all out of my hands now. I just needed to focus on what I could do to keep her alive and safe. I had to attack. Though I waited until they were engaged. She carried her huge sword with grace fending off two of the arms by just the flat of the blade. It might have been nearly as tall as her, but it was just as wide as her shoulders. Such an unwieldy appearing weapon that she could still push back against such a fiend.

A block and return strike locked them in tightly. Though from my view, the scales and hide of the creature proved to be very resistant to her sword. That gave me enough time to call down my spell. The monster remained fixed on Eri’Sol, but it didn’t look like the Lunar Ray did a lot to it. Was it resistant to magic or just that tough? I wished there was a health bar for me to track. I could only guess if we were even tickling it.

My greatest worry still remained the same issue. If I attacked too much I might draw its focus. I needed to measure out my attacks. And yet after a couple of spells, I wasn’t seeing much difference. Even Eri'Sol with her sword wasn’t making progress either. This beast might be out of her depth, not that we could escape anymore.

“Eri! Weaken its defenses, we’re not doing anything like this!”

“Y-Yes! Of course!” She pulled back evading swipes that tried to claim her head. The Vertil seemed just as angry about not having a better success against her as we were on it. It had only been going for body strikes, probably to slow her down or weaken her, but she had a solid defense. That sword worked well as a shield.

Eri'Sol bought herself a couple of seconds. I could see she looked rattled. I had to remind myself this was her first real fight. She charged in blindly and now understood what she did. I had to make sure she survived.

Her great sword flashed a red light briefly transferring down the blade into the grip. Then she thrust it into the ground. “Bloodied Rend!” The blade dug in about a quarter of a meter before lighting the ground red. Veins of crimson jumped in jagged lines towards the bear monster until two meters before it rose. Four bloody spikes shot out hitting the torso and two arms latching down like a vine. In another instant, the semi-fluid state crystallized and the spikes scattered. Deep gem-like growths fixed to the four spots becoming part of the creature. She looked back at me. “The marked locations have been weakened!”

She hadn’t been very clear how her ability worked. It made sense now. Immediately, I started casting my spell. Eri'Sol pulled her sword free lunged in, stabbing her sword into the first of the weakened points. Ruby crystals scattered around her blade as the beast roared in pain. That had broken its hardened defenses. Another moment I finished and struck with my Ray smashing the other fixed on its chest. A dark circular mark seared into the flesh with a little smoke rising off.

It went wild with the second success tossing its whole weight into a swing knocking Eri'Sol back. Off balance, I immediately casted for the barrier. I’m glad I didn’t wait, the monster already charged after the struggling catgirl. The spherical glow of the magic surrounded her just as the beast rammed through. It shattered instantly, but Eri'Sol just took a tumble.

But that wasn’t enough to dissuade it from the attack. She needed time to recover. Protect or attack, protect or attack. ‘Dammit!’ I couldn’t see the other marks from my position, its body was blocking them. But I still saw the bald spot I created. Even if it wasn’t weak, it should be sensitive. ‘C’mon…’ Once more I called Lunar Ray down to hit the same spot.

There was a groan and irritation from the Vertil, but it still wasn’t enough. I hit it again. And it flared its eyes over at me. I pissed it off now! My legs already started to shake. I should have cast another spell, but my mind wasn’t thinking. I could only see the scaly beast. It already began to bound towards me and I couldn’t move. It was going to kill me!

I was dead, again!

Blood sprayed over my face. Yet I didn’t feel any pain. My body could move again. The flaming red-orange hair of Eri'Sol washed in front of my vision. What was she doing?