Before we could even do anything, a large shadow had covered the only source of light coming from the roof. Its presence was imposing and monstrous. In an instant, it crashed into the middle of the room from the sky through the open roof, creating an earthquake throughout the gallery.
<
It spread its wings to show its overwhelming superiority. With a single wingbeat, it could sweep us all away, so powerful was it. Every second we spent looking at it seemed to bring us closer to death; this feeling was unbearable.
I could no longer control my body, not even my soul. If I was already frightened by its presence before, I felt that since my mana pathways had been unblocked, I could feel this fear growing even more, and I wasn't alone. Estris, Karla, Hiyro, and even Rayzo couldn't breathe, so much did the pressure affect them. As if it had detected us, it couldn't help but prove its superiority and danger to us.
Then it began to roar.
The vibrations from its roar were on the verge of making us faint, in addition to threatening to pierce our eardrums. Any creature hearing this cry would flee instinctively. But that wasn't the case for us. Actually, it wasn't that we didn't want to flee, but that we couldn't flee anymore.
The entrance we had come through was blocked by enormous stones that had collapsed. Even Rayzo would have had trouble moving a single one. We were trapped.
Meanwhile, the creature stared at us fixedly with its blood-red eyes and moved its four gigantic wings and its long tail covered in night-black plumage. Opening its mouth, we could clearly see its sharp teeth perfectly aligned in its rounded jaw, covered in saliva capable of decapitating a trartos in a single bite. But the most dangerous were its front and rear legs, which were enormous and sharp. One strike and it would be over.
Then nothing.
It was calm. No one spoke anymore, no one moved. Hearts were beating a hundred times a minute, loud enough to be heard from afar. But this silence was ephemeral.
The next second, it charged toward us at an impressive speed, and the only person who could react was Rayzo.
He pulled out his shield and placed it between us and the creature. The impact was so violent that it broke some bones in Rayzo's left arm. But without faltering, while the creature insisted on destroying the shield, Rayzo brought out his great hammer and delivered a powerful blow to the left side of its jaw, making it lose its balance and pushing the monster far enough away.
Estris: <
He gave only a slight nod with a sound of breathlessness, showing he was alright.
Estris: <
But it was no time to hesitate. The monster regained its senses quickly and charged again. This time, it was Estris who intervened.
With his greatsword, he managed to deflect the monster's maw once, making it raise its head higher. Then, in a second move, he planted his feet firmly on the ground and delivered a powerful blow to its jaw. Unfortunately, it was ineffective. His sword merely bounced off, making him lose his balance again. But before it became fatal, Hiyro pushed him aside, narrowly escaping the winged demon's fatal bite.
Hiyro: <
The demon had become uncontrollable; it was enraged. It had targeted Rayzo. It charged at him at full speed, but he was calm. He lifted his hammer, placing the spiked side forward, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
And at the last second before being torn apart, he struck the demon's skull with great force. It seemed the damage was multiplied by ten. The ground couldn't withstand the shock, but the demon was still standing. With a whip of its tail, it sent Rayzo crashing into the wall beside him.
Rayzo was barely moving; the blow had affected him too much.
However, the demon didn't care. It charged again at Rayzo, who could no longer move, to finish him off. If it charged at him just once more, it would be over for him.
Yet Hiyro and Estris protected him. As the demon charged ardently at Rayzo, Estris and Hiyro took advantage of its momentum to attack its front legs, making it stumble to the side.
They tried to carry their companion, but Rayzo was too heavy. So, they had no choice but to protect him until he woke up.
Estris: <
Karla was in very bad shape. She was crouched and seemed exhausted, using her sword as support. Her breathing was heavy, and she seemed about to faint.
<
<
<
<
What Karla was trying to explain was that the demon we were currently fighting generated a large amount of negative energy, which disrupted the surrounding mana flows and directly affected all present living beings. Thinking back, I also had an unpleasant sensation, but it wasn't as severe as Karla's condition.
<
<
The bag was much too far from us, all because this demon had sent Rayzo flying and tossed his bag so far away.
<
While Hiyro and Estris fought the black demon with all their energy, I gathered my courage with both hands and sprinted toward the bag.
Unfortunately, it had spotted me and charged at me. Before I could even get close to the bag, it had targeted me.
<
Time seemed to stop. I could already see its wide-open maw in front of me. My heart was beating hard! Extremely hard. And inside me, something changed. It wasn't adrenaline; it was much more than that. My mana core WASN'T BEATING; IT WAS SPINNING! It spun like a top, like a tornado. It sucked in and expelled energy into my body at a crazy speed. In a fraction of a second, my body was covered in a ghostly blue light. THIS WAS HOW MY MANA CORE MOVED!
As if everything was happening at once, I aimed my weapon at the demon, and at that moment, time returned to normal.
My red shell blade tore through the skin of its jaw with difficulty but allowed me to deflect its charge to the side.
My blade didn't hold until the end and shattered into a thousand pieces. It was a miracle it had even torn its skin. Even though I had deflected the charge, I too was thrown aside. It was very painful, but I no longer had time to complain. I rushed to the bag and took two vials of potions.
<
One was for Karla and the other for Rayzo.
<
Once the hardest part was done, I turned around to administer the potion to Karla. But a terrifying shadow loomed behind me.