It was the stronger version of the C Iron monster. Its legs were much longer and less bulky, and it was more humanoid, with eyes that shone with predatory intelligence. It raised its three-clawed fingers, red blazing energy gathering toward its hands, and then it shot forward.
Litha didn't have time to construct a shield this time. We all each find a way to avoid it!
I whipped my hand forward and pulled myself into the branch above, while Temur leaped back and Litha jetted herself sideways.
The red energy hit the floor and ate into it like acid on flesh, forming a melted, smoking crater. The monster focused on Litha and shot forward. It reached her in no time and punched her in the gut, slammed her head back into a tree.
Her body bent with pain, and her eyes flashed with anger at having been caught off guard, but there was no time to waste. She pushed herself off the ground and dodged the next punch, then returned one of her own, her fist reinforced with mana to creat space between them.
She didn't let it go to waste. She concentrated a beam of her own on her hand, a glowing blue orb that sizzled and sparked with power. The monster saw it and tried to avoid it by propelling itself back, but it was too late.
A powerful, concentrated beam exploded between them, hitting the monster in the head and melting through flesh and bone with brutal force.
The monster fell, body twitching and smoking.
Litha was breathing hard, she hadn't expected the explosive power of the monster or its speed. "This one looks like a rank A."
She'd used so much power in that last attack.
"Or a very strong rank B," Temur grunted as he checked its skin with his hand, turning the monster sideways. "I've not seen this type before."
"They're not supposed to be in this Zone," I said. These monsters were like Hermit's kin, and I knew they hadn't been here before, or Hermit would have reacted the moment we stepped there.
"We have to make a decision. Should we continue, or should we leave this place?" Litha asked, eyes blazing as she put her hand on her hip, still angry that the monster had caught her off guard.
"I say we continue. We've already paid. And although the monsters are strong, they're not posing much of a threat," I said.
I wanted to fight more, to know just how strong I was.
Temur shrugged. "It's fine. Torvan has to train so this is a good opportunity for him. And you, Litha, are you getting rusty?" He asked it as if he already knew the answer.
I expected Litha to snap, but instead she grinned, her blue eyes burning with cold fire. "Rusty? Come, Torvan. Let me show you how monster hunting is done."
☆☆▪︎▪︎☆☆
Outside the zone, Arkin was getting impatient. Why are they not back yet? They couldn't have defeated the monsters, right? He shook his head. It was impossible. Or had his plans failed, backfired, and they were already killed by the monster?
It seemed possible. But Arkin didn't want to enter the zone himself. He didn't know the type of monsters that had been summoned, there was no reason to take an avoidable risk.
Right. Arkin turned to the masked paladins. "They are not coming out. It's time for you to do your job. Bring them to me."
"Yes, High Priest."
☆☆▪︎▪︎☆☆
Litha's abilities could be explained in several ways. One of them was that she had complete control over her internal energy. She could direct it to desired areas to strengthen herself or cool it down to certain degrees if she wished.
She could also make her mana hot, which she was doing at the moment.
She concentrated mana into her hand to create a blazing orb, then made it float around her before creating another and another until five hovered beside her like bubbles.
She led the way this time, and the rank B monsters fell like flies as they appeared. They had no chance to get close before, pow! a steady scorching beam took them out, their bodies stored away inside Temur's ring and mine.
But the constant flow of monsters finally stopped as we continued deeper, undisturbed. The closer we got to the center of the zone, the more I felt the wrongness in the air. The trees had rotted away into sludge, and the soil had dried up like the beginning of a desert.
We sucked in sharp breaths when we finally saw what caused all this. In the middle of the clearing stood a massive monster. The thing was a mass of rotting flesh without a head or definite body. It had five hands, two for standing, the rest frozen just above it.
We were still several feet away, but I could feel its aura. The power rolling off it instinctively made me turn my hand into a sword.
"That thing must be twenty-two feet," I said, swallowing.
Monster hunting had just taken on an entirely new light.
"Are we fighting that thing? Is that thing even Iron rank?" Temur's eyes were wide.
Litha shook her head. She didn't know whether it was S Iron rank or Silver rank. She had never fought an S-rank Iron monster before, and she didn't intend to start now. She looked calmly before saying. "Let's go back. We're leaving this zone."
I let out a breath. There was no way we could fight that thing, even being among the strongest in our set. The sheer strength of the monster alone was terrifying, not to mention whatever powers it might have.
Temur was the last one at the back and started to retreat without turning, taking small, careful steps. We followed, keeping our eyes on the monster as if looking away might make it notice us.
But it just sat there, like oversized mud with hands.
We had almost left its vicinity when several C-rank monsters like the ones we'd killed earlier burst out from the other side.