He took a raggard breath, his eyes drifting left and right to seek support wherever he could.
The other group looked like a wreck. Only a Warrior and a Mage were left, and they weren't in good condition either. The Warrior was badly wounded, but David could tend to that as long as he got close enough. The Mage faltered, her legs buckling under her weight. She looked ready to collapse at any moment—just like Melach had.
"Once the Boss is dead, the Rift will close, right?" David asked Torb, who'd sustained the least injuries. A trace of hesitation lingered in his voice. Deep down, he probably knew how dangerous this task was.
The dwarf was drenched in sweat, his chest heaving with exertion. Blood and bits of something David couldn't recognize right away were smeared across him, but it didn't seem to be his own.
"It should be cleared once that thing is dead," Torb nodded.
Clearing the Rift should prevent any more Fangs from emerging. But defeating the monstrosity of a wolf wasn't going to be easy. Maybe that was exactly what David needed right now—a threat to dive into.
The Rift Boss' claws dug deep into the wet soil as it leaped forward. David's eyes flicked to the side, tracking the monster's trajectory. He barely predicted its path and watched as the Rift Boss stopped before Torb. It lunged at the dwarf and would have ripped him apart if not for Torb's shield jumping into action.
Torb groaned as he moved unnaturally fast to lift his shield arm, blocking most of the impacting force. A loud screech resounded as the wolf's claws scraped across the shield, but Torb's body was still intact—though his pained grimace hinted that he hadn't escaped the attack unscathed.
David tried reaching the injured Warrior to heal him, but his mind went blank when the Rift Boss shifted. It eyed the remaining foes and smacked Torb's shield with its tail. To David's dismay, Torb was shoved aside. The dwarf's movements seemed sluggish against the massive wolf.
His heart thumped loudly in his chest, muffling the noises all around him. He gritted his teeth, applied [Bless] to everyone, and returned to Torb's side. His swords glowed with pristine light as they arced through the air, leaving behind magnificent trails. But that was all they did. The Rift Boss' head lunged forward, crushing the kobold shortsword with a simple bite.
Even recognizing the threat, David reacted too slowly. The wolf's head was eerily close, its predatory crimson eyes lingering on him even after it crushed his shortsword—what else was there to look at? A defiant growl escaped him as his head shot forward. He headbutted the Rift Boss with every ounce of strength in his body.
A crack rang out, but the pain spreading through his head wasn't as severe as expected. Coating his forehead in [Holy Touch] had been a good idea.
His forehead, albeit drenched in warm blood, glowed pristine as he pulled back, but David wasn't done yet. The radiant light intensified as his head bolted forward again.
The first headbutt didn't inflict much damage—neither did the second. Even the third hit was similar. His head slammed into the Rift Boss' unyielding skull three times in quick succession until it spat out the kobold shortsword's fragment.
The wolf growled in fury and returned David's favor by headbutting him. David was pushed back and toppled over a corpse. He fell to the ground, the Rift Boss' blood-covered head looming above him.
The monster's hot breath blasted into David's face, saliva trickling onto his cheeks.
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David's heart skipped a beat, and he nearly botched casting [Cure Wounds] on his pounding head.
This is not how it ends!
He screamed in his mind, ready to thrust the warrior longsword into the monstrosity's chest, when a high-velocity mana projectile struck the Rift Boss in the side of the head. The Rift Boss had locked its bloodlust-filled eyes on him, but the sudden blast of mana jolted its head to the side, saving David from the deadly gaze.
The wolf growled deeply, its head flicking back to its original position, only to be greeted by a metal shield. Torb accelerated suddenly, presumably using [Charge] to appear before the Rift Boss and slam his shield into its face.
David couldn't see anything in detail as Torb pushed his small but sturdy body before him, but it had to be bloody. A cacophony of screams and shouts echoed, all while David's attention was pulled to the body that had sent him sprawling to the ground.
As he scrambled to his feet, David's eyes caught something dim. The faint glow of crimson motes still lingered around the battlefield.
They're still there.
Even now, crimson motes still emerged from the Fang's corpses. They were dim and inconspicuous at this point, but they didn't disappear.
David pulled himself together. However, he didn't return to the fight right away. His attention lingered on the dim crimson motes. They looked familiar—oddly similar to the motes David had been forced to use when he fought the Kobolds.
Maybe they weren't the same, but if he could use his Skill Runes by channeling crimson motes again…
Fuck it!
David's hand glowed dimly from [Holy Touch] as he reached out. He grasped the nearest crimson mote while catching the Rift Boss closing in on Torb from the corner of his eyes. That was bad. Really bad. David grit his teeth watching as the monstrous wolf battered Torb's shield aside with a relentless barrage of claw strikes and surged forward. Its fangs sank deep into the Dwarf's shoulder.
Torb screamed, his body locked in place, impaled by the creature's massive teeth. He was thrashed violently, his cries growing louder and more agonized. Time blurred for David, and before he could react, the wolf flung Torb through the air. The dwarf hurtled toward Melach, who barely jumped aside in time to avoid being crushed.
David couldn't tell when Melach had recovered or how he was holding up but seeing him casting again brought some relief. Still, David's focus remained on the Rift Boss and the crimson motes.
[Holy Touch] connected to the first crimson mote, and he absorbed it. It entered his energy pathways, altering something deep within him. David had no clue what it was—or if it was dangerous—but he didn't know how to materialize crimson motes in his body. He had to use the motes of other beings, no matter how harmful they might be.
Out of the corner of his eye, David caught the other Warrior's expression—a blend of fear and defiance—as he charged the Rift Boss. The Warrior's sword hummed and vibrated with energy as it cleaved down, biting deep into the wolf's left hind leg.
The Rift Boss yelped, but it seemed more surprised than hurt. It swung around, its claws glowing crimson as though soaked in blood, and slashed at the Warrior. The injured man's blade darted to parry the attack, but he was too slow. The Rift Boss cleaved through him in a single, brutal strike.
David broke into a cold sweat, his body heating up unnaturally. Was this the effect of the crimson motes coursing through him? He couldn't be sure. But he did know the dim motes scattered across the battlefield felt just as potent as the ones he'd used against the Kobolds.
He guided the crimson mote into his Holy Sea while reaching for more nearby motes. The mote dispersed within the Holy Sea, staining the holy power with its crimson hue.
A subtle shift rippled through him as the crimson energy merged with his holy power, leaving an unsettling charge in its wake.
The Rift Boss turned to David, its blood-red eyes locking onto him with chilling intensity. For the first time, it seemed to truly see him.
It must have noticed what he was doing. Lowering its body, the creature growled deeply, its claws digging into the ground as its bloodlust surged.
Playtime was over.