BXBX NOVEL Chapter 406 405: Problems?
Jahi PoV
I could hear mana crackling behind me, whatever Kolia and Leone were working on slowly growing unsteady as the two poured what must have been an excessive amount of mana into their spell.
"Just... another... moment..!"
Leone\'s strained voice entered my ears, and I grunted as the creature turned towards us, sensing the large buildup of mana and understanding it as a threat.
Of course, doing so left it very open to attacks from Mom and Nirinia, but the creature had donned a Water Cloak, leaving the enhanced fire attacks weakened whenever they hit its body, though the impact still injured it greatly.
They also took the opportunity to charge forwards and begin to utilize their blades more, imbuing them with mana and chopping at one of the creatures legs, ripping past the scales and injuring it further.
However, the creature deemed whatever Kolia and Leone had cooked up as more of a threat, as it opened its maw and revealed a complex, multicolored Ritual Circle comprised of all four basic elemental manas.
"NOW! OPEN THE BARRIER!"
Gritting my teeth, I shrunk the barrier and created a path for the two mages to utilize, only to curse loudly - I would assume loudly - as a raw beam of amplified Fire and Lightning Mana shot into the creatures maw, shattering the Ritual Circle.
The boom from the lightning striking the creature produced a physical sound wave that pushed me back a step, and I winced in pain as I felt blood seep from my ears, my hearing gone.
Watching what happened next in silence, I could only say that I was in complete and utter awe.
Where the crimson and azure beam had impacted, the creatures scales, flesh, and bone had all melted away, leaving a perfectly clean hole a few feet in diameter straight through its throat.
Its spine was severed, flesh melting still, and its head now hung down at an odd angle, all while arcs of electricity continued to sear its scales.
Flames clung to the hole and continued to burn away its flesh and bone, liquifying everything it touched.
Mom and Nirinia stood in stunned silence as well, staring at the creature with wide eyes, before we all froze.
It\'s eyes had never once dimmed, and before I could react the creature slammed its tail through the opened barrier and pierced my shoulder, its aim off due to its dissolved spinal cord and hanging head.
However, the feeling of metallic bone slicing through my armor and my shoulder was very accurate, and I grunted as I was impaled upon its tail, the others all shocked that the creature... was still alive.
Retrieving its tail, it tried to attack once more, but this time the others erected a barrier to defend against its attacks, all as I fell to my knee to hold my now lame right arm.
Something festered inside the wound, feeling like something was crawling and wiggling around the pierced flesh, trying to find its way further inside my body, but I could only wince as the open wound was cauterized by Leone, the Vampire saying something that I couldn\'t hear.
Pain clouded my vision briefly, and I grit my teeth hard as I began to push my mana towards my shoulder, accelerating the healing alongside Leone\'s own spell.
When I finally could see - and hear - again, I was greeted with the horrifying sight of the creature slowly healing itself of all the damage it had received once more, all while its tail was arcing towards the barrier at rapid speeds, gouging out deep chunks of the mana to reach us once more.
Leone teared up slightly in front of me, her hands trembling against my shoulder as she muttered "I\'m sorry!" over and over again, her eyes filled with fear.
Reaching up, I pinched her shoulder and said "Snap out of it! I\'m fine! Let\'s worry about this damn thing first, alright?!"
She flinched at both the minor pain and the words, before nodding her head and speeding up her spell, making me wince as I felt my flesh knit itself back together while bone grew back.
My shoulder was itchy and in pain, but I bore with it before standing up, rolling out the new muscle before adding my mana to the others, asking "Any ideas whatsoever right now?! If it could shake off that, then what can we do?!"
Kolia was the one to reply - unsurprisingly - and she said "If we can\'t damage the creature, than what about the contact point? Or the Gate? Maybe it\'ll retreat then?!"
I pursed my lips, my eyes moving towards the flickering Gate that floated in the center of the room, before I said "I don\'t think it\'ll let any of us get close enough to the Gate, and it\'ll be wary of any large buildups of mana!"
"Then we just need to pin it! It won\'t get distracted, so if we work to bind it down and cut off its ability to move, we might be able to do something!"
Adelina was the one to suggest that, and I looked towards Anput, who bit her lip as she felt my gaze.
"I... Maybe? This thing is damn strong. But..."
Taking a deep breath, she nodded, her eyes still fixed on the creature as it shifted its attacks onto Mom and Nirinia, swiping out with its claws and stabbing with its tail.
"Come on then! Let\'s try it!"
Dropping the barrier, we all created our own before spreading out, preparing to try to bind the creature first.
Legionnaires were making their way towards the throne room, the eruptions of Mom\'s mana shaking the palace\'s foundations as she attacked the creature, but it was to no avail.
Even her strength barely left nicks on its flesh, only managing to peel away the scales before they were regrown moments later.
With such a high regeneration ability, high speeds, incredible defense, and potent attack, the creature in front of us was... nearly perfect in all regards.
However, everything had a weakness, and what gave this creature its strength - its feral nature and single mindedness to attack - would allow us to take it on.
Spreading out inside the circular room, we all began to swiftly formulate our spells before launching them at the creature, but because none were filled with incredible power, the creature remained focused on Mom and Nirinia, who were whaling away at its front half.
We all threw long threads of mana over the creature, weighing it down and trying to bind it to the floor.
My mana coalesced into a large net, and I clenched my fists as I staked the net to the ground with Light Lances.
Anput drove large metal gates down onto the creatures limbs and tail, pining it with dozens of thick, sturdy three edged squares.
Using those for her own spell, Kolia\'s azure lightning arced over the gates and formed another layer above the creature, while Leone\'s flames dripped onto the creatures scales, weighing it down as she began to dissolve it with her heat.
Mom and Nirinia joined in as well, both stabbing their blades deep into the creatures flesh and anchoring it down, grunting as they poured their strength into their blades.
With that, the creature shrieked in both agony and fear, and we began to turn to focus on the Gate itself.