The game’s Carpen was right on the edge of commencing Phase 2.
Right before it kicked off, there was a pattern where the damage received while gathering Blood Aura would be returned to the attacker.
It was the same in reality.
Luchi and Heinzel received the attacks they had dealt in full.
If they had knowledge like mine, they wouldn’t be getting wrecked like this.
No.
They probably would have dominated.
“Rubia, I really need your support.”
Ignoring Rubia’s response, I walked towards Carpen.
Heinzel’s shattered halberd lay at my feet.
Carpen’s spilled blood soaked the ground.
I stopped in my tracks.
Luchi’s sword, stuck in the ground, became the boundary between Carpen and me.
Carpen’s soft whimper echoed.
I extended my senses to check on Carpen’s condition.
He was still condensing the Blood Aura within his body.
And his beastly form was riddled with deep and gaping wounds.
Not being able to heal the injuries from Phase 1 was just like in the game.
Focusing on those wounds could give me a fighting chance.
If I followed Luchi and Heinzel’s path, victory seemed possible.
brrr-
The Blood Aura floating in the air gathered in an instant, signaling the start of Phase 2.
The heavy armor surrounding Carpen buckled and fell to the ground.
Even the gigantic halberd in my hands shattered into pieces as it hit the floor.
The Blood Aura that gathered to its limits resonated through the air.
Drawing the Great Sword given to me by Hephaestus, I steadied my breath.
And then…
GRRRAAAAAAAA-!!
With a piercing scream that felt like it would burst my eardrums, my arm swung.
The Blood Aura shot out.
I concentrated my senses on one point.
The direction…
The back.
Not towards me but towards Luchi.
In this current situation, Rubia was in danger too.
Even if Luchi was doing poorly, there was no time to spare.
I dashed towards Rubia, grabbing her by the nape and throwing her to the side.
Then, I kicked Luchi, sending him flying towards Rubia.
The aftermath caused a mouthful of blood to explode from Luchi.
I think a few bones broke too…
Putting that aside for now.
I swung my Great Sword diagonally at the incoming Blood Aura.
grrrraak- The chilling sound of the Great Sword scraping against the ground echoed as the Blood Aura punctured the earth beneath me.
As the ground cracked, small rock dust flew up.
Holding my breath, I charged at Carpen.
Immediately, his right hand lunged at me.
I twisted my body to dodge it, and Blood Aura followed in its wake.
I swung the Great Sword with all my might to shake off the Blood Aura.
Right after, Carpen’s claw came again.
The Blood Aura chased right behind it.
Exhaling, I stepped down hard.
Twisting my waist, I brought the Great Sword through a sweeping arc.
With a satisfying ping, I deflected Carpen’s claw away.
The Blood Aura continued to swarm.
I hurled my body in the direction the Great Sword had swung.
I accelerated.
Deep scratches etched into the spot I’d just occupied.
I slammed the Great Sword down to halt my movement.
Expectedly.
Carpen was different from the game.
There was no pattern.
No forewarning.
Even when I parried, he wasn’t getting stiff.
The difference in reach was painfully clear.
The smell, the wind, the dust, every element was a distraction.
And…
There were no second chances.
“Phew…”
I steadied my breathing and charged again.
I couldn’t let him have any distance.
I had to penetrate to where my sword could reach.
I couldn’t let myself get distracted by Luchi and Rubia.
I parried another swing of his claw.
Dodging the Blood Aura, I moved forward, deflecting the sudden snap of his jaws.
I closed the gap.
The Blood Aura emitted from his tail enveloped me.
Biting my lip and twisting my body, I fell back.
My side was cut open.
Dozens of streaks of red splattered out.
Again, I pressed on without pause.
I had to make sure he wouldn’t focus on my back.
Activating my senses to the extreme.
The pain wouldn’t come.
There was no recoil.
Why?
I’ll think about that later.
For now, I have to concentrate on the battle.
I visualized all his movements.
Even the tiniest details.
Carpen’s shoulder muscles twitched.
In response, I swung the Great Sword.
Aahh-
A sharp sound jabbed at my eardrums.
It felt like my body would tear apart just from the noise.
Without a moment’s reprieve, Carpen’s attacks came flooding in.
The Blood Aura shot out.
His tail whipped through the air.
His jaws gaped wide open.
I blocked his attack with the Great Sword.
Sparks flew up.
Even before the sparks disappeared, another attack was unleashed.
Dodge, block, parry.
His tail writhed like a snake, swiping at me.
I kicked off the ground, twisting my body to swing my Great Sword.
But the weak strike was easily deflected by the Blood Aura.
Using that rebound, I spun my body.
The Great Sword that plunged down now shot up.
Crashing into Carpen’s chin.
His jaw snapped shut.
Finally…
Carpen’s droplet of blood stained the Great Sword.
But just as I felt a fleeting joy…
His claws swung again.
I struck at his chest and then retreated.
Then charged forward again.
Blood Aura slashed past where I had stood.
Countless stones brushed against my body.
Clenching my mouth tight, I pushed through the cloud of dust.
Before I could even catch my breath, the tail lashed again.
I planted the Great Sword into the ground, blocking the tail.
With a rough roll, I pulled the Great Sword back up.
I held off the Blood Aura.
Dodge ten times.
Parry ten times.
Block ten times.
Then I could attack once.
The conditions were absurd.
An unendingly disadvantageous fight.
But I was used to it.
I’d always done it alone.
The Great Sword and Carpen’s strikes intertwined in the air.
I blocked his attempts to hook me, corrected his writhing, and untangled his swerves.
In one breath, I lost count of how many attacks crossed each other.
It was incalculable.
While engaging in that unfair back-and-forth…
I couldn’t see his claws anymore.
I couldn’t feel the Blood Aura.
I had missed my moment.
And at that very instant…
BAM-!
Rubia’s Divine Power that came flying from behind blocked Carpen’s attack.
Having one party member made such a difference.
I couldn’t help but smile inside as I charged again.
Thrusting, extending, recovering, swinging.
Every time I dodged or parried, bizarre trajectories unfolded as I surged forward again.
The Blood Aura twisted my joints at will.
There weren’t any movements like these in the game.
Madness, a relentless assault tightened around my neck.
Even grazing against me made flesh fall away.
Blood erupted.
The fierce wind thrust me back.
Gathering all the scattered droplets of blood, I charged again.
The gust was deflected as I swung the Great Sword.
The breaths I lacked were covered by Rubia.
The overwhelming attacks were blocked by Rubia.
Every time I did so, Carpen’s gaze shifted to Rubia.
Who dares look away!
I dashed in aggressively to reclaim his attention.
Carpen’s claws swung.
Rubia’s Divine Power shielded against them.
The ensuing Blood Aura surged forth towards me.
I visualized Luchi’s movements and released the Blood Aura.
I sensed Carpen’s ragged breathing.
The cries, filled with agony, reached my ears.
Right on cue, I swung the Great Sword to strike his wrist.
I aimed for the gap created by Heinzel’s halberd.
SNAP- Muscles tore as I cut the blood vessels.
I severed the tendons.
Carpen’s wrist flopped uselessly.
I didn’t miss that moment.
I lunged at him.
Again, I struck again and again.
Pummeling him relentlessly.
Until his right hand became useless.
Again and again.
The claws were yanked out one by one.
The sickly yellow bones were exposed.
The feral Blood Aura pushed against me.
And then it began to recover his right hand.
Luchi’s plucked right eye served as the axis to spin around.
Carpen’s face turned.
Once more, it turned, finding Carpen’s blind spot.
I rushed forward.
I struck down the knee joint right before my eyes.
Cracking- Carpen’s knee buckled.
Turning to the side, I raised the Great Sword.
His teeth shattered and fell away.
Grabbing the sharpest fang,
I forcefully thrust into the gap between Luchi and Heinzel’s separation.
With immense power, I pierced through the muscle.
But I didn’t stop there.
I slammed the fang buried in his thigh with the Great Sword.
The fang shattered the weakened bone and pierced through his thigh.
Crimson blood surged up towards the sky.
A wretched scream echoed.
I drank the blood, moistening my throat.
Savoring the scream, I heightened my emotions.
The bitter and disgusting taste jolted my senses awake.
The heightened emotions filled my body with power.
I dove under Carpen and swung the Great Sword.
His body lurched back.
Whipping around, I swung at his spine.
I pierced through the tough hide.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Again.
The muscles tore.
Blood vessels burst.
The grotesque spine showed itself.
I plunged the Great Sword into his spine, crushing it.
Carpen’s Blood Aura lashed out.
It shot and radiated everywhere.
Pulling the sword back, I retreated.
The finer Blood Aura was stopped by Rubia’s Divine Power.
I was almost there.
I composed my breaths.
With a half a breath quicker, I lunged forward.
Before Carpen’s Blood Aura encircled his spine.
My Great Sword struck first.
The bone shattered.
Carpen’s lower half lost its strength.
The once immensely large and mighty body crumbled.
His head dropped before my eyes.
But then, at that same moment, the throbbing Blood Aura wrapped around his spine.
It formed bones, then muscles.
Healing started through the Blood Aura.
There was no time to waste.
When Carpen’s Blood Aura focused on recovering his body.
That was my last chance before he could defend.
Now.
I stomped down on Carpen’s thigh and jumped.
With my Great Sword, I struck down at his head.
From above to below.
With a sound like an explosion, the head slammed into the ground.
In the direction I swung the Great Sword,
I turned my body.
Once again.
The Great Sword sliced downwards again.
This one was even more powerful than the last.
It came crashing toward Carpen’s neck.
The Blood Aura wrapped around it.
Grimacing, I pierced through its barriers.
The skin ripped.
The muscles tore.
His vertebrae was revealed.
The Great Sword halted.
I lacked the strength.
“RUBIAAAAAAA!!!”
I cried out for the one who would lend me strength.
In that instant…
An arrow shot through the air, slamming into my Great Sword.
It wasn’t Rubia’s Divine Power.
It was an arrow.
An arrow I had never seen before.
Rubia doesn’t use arrows.
No one here uses arrows.
Then…
Who was it?
I instantly widened my senses.
Carpen’s vertebrae began healing.
Muscles…
Skin…
Everything started to regrow.
Time was running out.
I extended my senses further.
In the direction the arrow was shot from.
The expanded awareness painted a picture of a mysterious woman clad in a robe.
She looked at me with a bright smile.
Expanding even further.
Rubia’s figure emerged.
Rubia, with dozens of arrows stuck in her, blood pouring out, was standing guard over Luchi, gritting her teeth in pain.
GRRR-
Carpen’s healing ended.
From the woman’s embrace, a horn sounded.
The horn that Luchi had smashed.
The horn of the furious beast emerged.
And with that bright smile,
She played the horn.
And then…
The sword shattered.
