Protecting My Friends

At the moment we give two steps forward, we enter The Mchafu's domain. The boss and the surrounding monsters turn towards us, their eyes filled with pure animal rage. They scream; an ear-piercing sound emanates from all of them as they rise to attack. They were gathered around a campfire, as if they were cooking something. I avert my gaze before having a better idea of what it is, hoping it’s not humans.

There are seven large Mchafu, all level eighteen, which seem ready to smash me Three smaller ones are level twelve, more agile, charging at us while brandishing their tiny swords.

“I'll take care of these,” I run as well and draw my sword.

Fast Dash.

“Wait, Kaiko.” Too late to wait, there's no time to waste.

I pierce through one of them instantly, then use my agility before it completely fades into the black dust. After killing the second one, I throw my sword while simultaneously charging energy into my legs to sprint again. As the third one shatters, I'm already grabbing the sword from the corpse and feel a breeze behind me.

One of the seven large creatures seems to have teleported and is about to attack me, aiming directly for my head.

Fast Dash & Diagonal Cut.

I manage to dodge by flipping backward and lunge at it, but it shields itself, and I only manage to cut its arm. “I told you to wait!” Yuki exclaims, approaching at an icy pace.

Cross Cut.

She slices off the arm that threatened me and then diagonally beheads it. “High-level monsters are slower and bulkier, but they possess strength and speed spells. Why are you rushing?”

“You didn't want me asking more questions, so I decided to learn on my own,” I say with a shrug. “I'm not waiting for you or relying on you all the time.”

“That's the spirit!” Daichi exclaims from above, leaping behind us and smashing three of them with his hammer.

Gravity Impact.

They're obliterated. Daichi is incredible and hungry for battle, he hasn’t done anything for two weeks and now he kills three in one go, leaving small craters on the ground. “Incredible,” I whisper, I wonder how strong is Daichi?

In a matter of seconds, we defeat the other three high-level ones, leaving only the boss, who roars again with anger. I can see threads of drool coming from its mouth, its teeth all broken, bizarre, with remnants of food and clothing. Did that cursed thing attack and eat people!? The boss summons a large wooden mace, or is it a tree trunk? It's about the size of a tree and wields it as if it's nothing.

“I'm going to paralyze it. Considering its strength, it should last only a few seconds,” Yuki says, and we nod. She runs first, unsummons her sword, and clasps her hands together.

Polar Frost of Darkness.

Her strong blue energy shoots from her hands much faster than mine. This dark blue energy turns into light blue snow and heads straight for the boss's feet. It suddenly halts and almost loses balance, trying to strike the ice with its mace. In that split second, we move in to attack.

I go left. Daichi right. Yuki takes the center. As we enter its range, I attack him with a small cut, it hardly makes a difference. Its mace comes in a horizontal blow straight at me, I duck beneath it and slide with my spell, “Dodge it!” I scream to them.

Daichi runs towards Yuki, as she charges her sword with energy to strike. He blocks his attack and allows her to thrust her sword, but it doesn't go through all the Mchafu’s body.

With his free hand, he conjures a massive shield and uses it to collide with Yuki, while I make cuts in its ribs and shoulder joints. He is losing tons of blood, but it keeps moving as if it were nothing.

We step back as it roars again and shatters the ice under its feet. It approaches Yuki. I run forward, not sure if I’ll make it. Daichi steps in between them and blocks the attacks. I don't stop moving.

Fast Dash & Diagonal Cut.

I hurry as it has its back to me, cutting behind its knees and then its back. It barely seems to hurt it, I need a better sword. I'm not strong enough to defeat it, but if I keep inflicting a hundred cuts, sooner or later, it will fall. It must fall.

Lost in thought, I don't see the elbow coming towards me. It hits me square on, sending me several meters back. The boss charges its mace with energy and slams it down onto Daichi while he shields Yuki. Both of them are flung several metters away and he roars again.

It charges toward them. I get up gritting my teeth. I can't let it attack them again! I charge my spells again and run. My right hand starts to burn. A strong turquoise green energy emerges from my hand and envelops the sword. Just metters away from the monster, I jump.

Reinforcement & Fast Dash.

I fortify my body, my arms, and with the speed I have, I raise my arms, feeling the weight of the sword. I'm about to strike. The boss moves, making me miss the neck, hitting lower. I do a somersault, pushing off from its back, landing on my butt. I couldn’t retrieve my sword.

The boss cries out in pain and turns to attack me. It's about to hit me directly. Once again, Daichi gets closer and takes the blow entirely. “Are you okay, Kai?”

He's badly injured. Two direct hits. I don't know if he can take a third one. “You're bleeding heavily, Dai, move out.”

“Give me a moment, and I'll recover. I'll finish it off,” he says with unwavering confidence and smiles. I see him take a potion, at the same time that the boss is about to lift its mace.

Reinforcement & Extreme Cold Cut.

The monster's arm falls within seconds, freezing gradually. His shoulder is also freezing, but he drops the shield to strike his wound several times, stopping the freezing process. He turns around and grabs Yuki with his other hand, she managed to cut him again, but it isn’t enough. She screams in pain, the boss lifts her off the ground. She tries to escape, but can't. Yuki lets go of her sword as a new scream leaves from her mouth.

I pale as I see in slow motion how it’s about to eat her. Daichi is kneeling on the ground, unable to stand, one of his legs is badly hurt. My blood burns, furious with that damn monster, with myself, with this whole situation. Having to be on the verge of death to kill a horrible monster.

I clench my fists, feeling my jaw tightening. My right hand starts to glow, on my index finger I can see an even stronger golden light. I know what I have to do, I can see myself moving my arm forward in frustration, punching the air.

And that's exactly what I do.

A new golden and turquoise green energy erupts from my hand, creating several filigree of both colors. This energy heads straight for the deformed boss's face. Hits. It cries out in pain and staggers, still not releasing Yuki. It's not enough.

She's gathering energy. She won't stand still or wait to be rescued.

Frozen…

I run forward, towards Daichi. I won't let this end like this.

Fast Dash.

I'm behind Daichi, I don't stop, using his back to propel myself upwards. I leap completely over the boss's height, conjuring a new sword in midair, feeling the energy from my hand enveloping it, as if they're one, forever linked.

Frozen Extreme…

I can't let Yuki perform such a dangerous spell. She's covered in blue energy, shining too brightly. The moment I'm above the Mchafu, I know what to do, something I've always been able to do.

Fast Dash, Reinforcement.

In midair, I plummet like a meteor towards the boss, straight at its head. A new ability comes to my mind.

Bone Crusher.

My sword is about to pierce the boss's head. I feel a powerful magic awakening, gaining a strong momentum, piercing straight through its head.

I end up somersaulting to get off the monster and land on my two feet. I approach my arms where Yuki will fall, hearing my both weapons fall to the floor. She stops her spell while she is about to collapse to the ground. I position myself beneath her and catch her in midair. Although I feel one of my hands grabbing something soft, I know what's coming.

“You know… I don't do it on purpose. But… it's squishy.”