“Fran…don’t…”
“I’ll save you, Zehmet.”
“Ha ha ha! Such beautiful friendship between a Black Cat and a Blue! It’d be funny if it weren’t so twisted!”
“Shut up…” Zehmet spat.
The king turned to the dying leader of Blue Pride with an entertained smirk. “You can still talk? Impressive. It’s a shame, you know? You had so much potential. Kid, you’re about to see what happens to those who oppose me. You’re about to feel the wrath of Rigdith Nalasincha!”
The flames around Rigdith danced more violently. Just grazing those golden flames would be the end of us.
Fran and the Beast King clashed in an explosion of aggression.
“Haaa…!”
Fran made the first move. Instead of leaping back, she charged right at him.
“Ha ha ha! You actually made it through my Intimidate! Very good!”
She shot at him with a water-element Aura Blade, but alas, it was immediately evaporated by the Beast King’s flames. Immediately after nullifying her attack, the flames snaked towards her.
“Hm!”
“Hah! Nice dodge!”
Fran leapt backwards at the last moment. That was close. These things were much faster than I thought.
Those flames are downright deadly!
“Hm!”
“So, what’s your next move? You gonna charge in, knowing you’ll get burned to cinders?”
“Stun Bolt!”
Pale blue lightning shot towards the Beast King. It had no effect on him, though. He grinned as if he knew it was coming.
“Wow, you can use magic, too? Great! You’re gonna have to do better than that to hurt me, though.”
He had Magic Resistance along with a high Magic stat. The golden flames even acted as a shield against spells.
“How about this?! Hexagon Tornado!”
Fran cast a high-level Wind spell. The six-sided whirlwind closed in around the Beast King. Wind blades cut anything inside the hexagonal cage. They were fast enough to chop off limbs; goblins would be mincemeat by now.
The Beast King, however, only laughed. As the six-sided whirlwind closed in, he waved his right hand.
Fwoom!
“You can delay your incantations? What is that, Instant Cast? Good, but not good enough. That ain’t enough to even scratch me.”
Melee didn’t work and magic was ineffective. We were screwed.
“My turn. Ready?”
The Beast King made a gesture and I charged my telekinetic energy. It wasn’t clear what the gesture meant, but primordial fear had taken over. This was the first time I had ever experienced true terror. Fran agreed, and accelerated away with magic. Cold sweat ran down her face, but this was the right move.
Golden flames burned the spot where Fran had been standing. If I hadn’t held the blast back, and Fran hadn’t jumped, we would’ve been a pile of ash.
“Good instinct! How about this?!”
The Beast King waved his hand again. The golden flame split, turning into a kind of fiery hydra, speeding towards us from all directions. He could even control the flame in precise movements!
“Ugh!” Fran dodged, but they got close enough to blister. The intense heat was terrifying.
“Really? You’ve got spunk, kid! Try this one on for size!”
“Urgh…”
The flames chased harder and faster. Fran shot off some water spells and barely escaped being burned alive.
“You’re doing great, kid! Have some more!”
The Beast King howled with laughter as he added more heads to the flaming hydra. He was close to overwhelming us. We only needed to stop him for a second to heal Zehmet and get the hell out of there…but he seemed unstoppable. He hadn’t even moved an inch. The fact that he could chase us down without moving underlined the difference in power. Should we run, or use our trump card? We had to decide.
Fran!
Teacher…we have to use it! Fran wasn’t going to leave Zehmet behind.
All right! Time for our ace in the hole!
I’m sure that’ll work!
You’re right.
The Beast King’s lips curled into a feral smile as he saw Fran drop into a crouch. “What’s this? Are you getting something ready?”
“Haaaa—”
The Beast King changed his stance for the first time in the fight. He felt Fran’s increase in energy and responded in kind. Tensions mounted as they prepared for a battle to the death.
“What do you think you’re doing, Your Majesty?!”
And with that, the tension was immediately dispelled. Two figures approached us. The one in front had the frankness of an annoyed parent as he entered the battleground’s deadly aura, and I recognized him at once. This was Rosch, the coachman of the Beast King’s carriage.
Name: Rosch
Age: 37
Race: White Weasel Tribe/White Curse Skunk
Class: Hunter Mage
Level: 62/99
HP: 556; Magic: 758; Strength: 251; Agility: 539
Skills: Sensitive Sole 4; Dig 6; Stealth 8; Wind Magic 4; Bow Arts 9; Bow Mastery 10; Advanced Bow Mastery 1; Coachman 7; Vigilance 8; Presence Sense 10; Conceal Presence 7; Flexibility 4; Blink 8; Hush 5; Abnormal Status Resistance 4; Everyday Magic 3; Mental Status Resistance 5; Dagger Arts 4; Dagger Mastery 5; Perfumer 8; Jump 6; Climb 5; Venomology 8; Poison Magic 5; Earth Magic 7; Burrow 5; Fire Magic 5; Magic Resistance 3; Mana Sense 7; Nightshade 7; Disarm Trap 6; Trap Sense 8; Lay Trap 4; Spirit Manipulation; Enhanced Olfactory; Enhanced Touch; Mana Manipulation; Enhanced Hearing
Class Skill: Awaken; Curse Strike
Titles: Chimera Slayer; Dungeon Conqueror
Equipment: Hades Wood Bow; Dimension Quiver; Blackshade Beast Boots; Shadowplate Gauntlets; Black Stealth Spider Cloak; Bracelet of Dexterity; Bracelet of Storage
A hunter and a competent scout… This Rosch looked like an all-rounder. He was strong, too—about as strong as an A-Rank adventurer. The man put his hands on his waist. It was a childish gesture considering his age, but it somehow looked natural on him.
“Damn it, Rosch…”
“I take my eyes off you for one second!” Rosch lectured the Beast King. The lean, gray-haired man took a potion out of his pocket and emptied it over Zehmet. It must’ve been a potent one, because Zehmet’s grave wounds immediately started to heal. He was now only half dead instead of nearly dead.
“I can’t believe you would fight a Black Cat… Have you forgotten your mission?!”
“No, look. This girl is friends with Blue Pride for some reason…”
“That is no excuse. You didn’t have to send a blazing inferno after her! You were about to kill her, you muscle-brained dolt!”
“Now now, Rosch,”
