"Come on, there are still beasts rampaging all over!" Amir barked, his voice sharp with urgency.
Raze and Jay nodded and immediately sprang into action, dashing forward with intense focus.
The battlefield was a hellish storm of shrieks, growls, and violent tremors, but Raze moved like a phantom through the chaos, his attacks wreaking devastation with the borrowed magic Amir had entrusted him.
"Feel that?" Raze said with a crooked smirk, leaping back with blinding speed.
A massive metal sword whirled past him, slicing through the air and cleaving a charging beast clean in half, spraying black blood across the scorched ground.
"You… you…" Jay stammered breathlessly, locked in a brutal clash with a towering gorilla beast. Despite having only one opponent, the fight was far from fair.
The gorilla slammed its six fists toward Jay's head like piledrivers.
With a surge of watery energy, Jay spun his arms, and a swirling torrent wrapped around his legs, propelling him backward just in time. The beast's fists smashed into the ground he'd just vacated, creating a crater so deep it looked like a meteor had struck.
"I'm what? Speak clearly, noble." Raze quipped, sidestepping as a feral wolf lunged at him from the shadows.
The wolf was fast—too fast. Its jaws were already wide open, fangs glistening, as it flew toward Raze's throat.
But in that instant, a razor-sharp metal spear shot up from beneath the earth, impaling the beast mid-air. It let out a strangled yelp before thudding lifelessly to the ground.
"You're letting the power get to your damn head!" Jay yelled, throwing Raze a glare—but in that moment of distraction, the gorilla lunged, slamming two fists into Jay's face like twin battering rams.
Blood exploded from his nose as he was hurled across the battlefield, his body skipping off the ground like a discarded doll.
"Not my fault you're weak," Raze muttered, still unfazed, his focus now shifting to the five ogres barreling toward him like enraged freight trains.
"Arrogant bastard!" Jay snarled as the gorilla thundered after him. "You won't have that power forever!"
Jay barely rolled aside before the beast's body came crashing down, its landing exploding in a shower of dirt and shattered stone.
"Take that!" Jay roared, thrusting his arms forward. Jets of pressurized water burst from his palms, battering the beast backward and leaving faint gashes in its thick hide.
The gorilla beat its six fists against its chest and let out a thunderous roar that echoed across the battlefield.
"Looks like you pissed it off," Raze said dryly, ducking beneath a wild swing from an ogre. He retaliated with a swift stab, his conjured metal blade slicing across the ogre's side before he sidestepped another hammer aimed at his skull.
"And you think I don't know that?!" Jay growled, his voice strained. The beast charged, knuckles pounding the ground as it accelerated with terrifying momentum.
"Tsk. Good luck," Raze smirked. With a flick of his fingers, massive metal pillars erupted from the earth, one smashing into an ogre's jaw and caving in half its skull in a sickening display.
"Oof. That's gotta hurt," he muttered.
"Look out, you fool!" Jay shouted, spotting another ogre swinging a steel hammer straight for Raze's back.
Raze spun around just in time. A metallic shield manifested in his hands a second before the hammer collided.
The sheer force of the impact hurled Raze backward, his boots digging trenches through the ground. The shield was splintered with spiderweb cracks, and blood trickled from the corner of his lips.
"Curses! Maybe focus on your own fight for once?!" he growled at Jay, spitting blood from his mouth.
"Do you think I want to focus on your fight?!" Jay snapped, flinging wave after wave of water blades at the charging gorilla. The beast crashed through them like a tank, ignoring the damage as shallow cuts opened on its limbs.
"Fine, let's switch it up," Jay muttered and crossed his arms in an X. With a fierce swing, ten sharp slashes of water shot out like blades.
The gorilla threw up its arms to block, but the slashes tore through, slicing deep into its arms and splattering black blood across the ground.
"Aren't you done yet?" Jay called, struggling to keep the creature at bay.
"Almost. Don't rush me," Raze replied. He clapped his hands, and a chorus of metallic spears rose from the earth. With a spinning gesture, they shot forward in a storm of death.
The ogres tried to defend themselves, lifting swords in desperation—but the spears punched through their weapons and into their skulls, dropping them like felled trees.
"Argh…" Raze dropped to one knee, gasping for air. Sweat soaked his hair and dripped into his eyes.
'My mana reserve is still decent… but the mental fatigue, the constant spell casting without pause—it's weighing on me hard,' he thought, his vision blurring for a moment.
"What the hell are you doing?! Help me already!" Jay bellowed as the gorilla loomed above him. It raised all six fists and slammed them downward in unison.
Jay thrust his palms upward, summoning a dome of spiraling water to resist the strike. The water hissed and steamed under the pressure, Jay's knees buckling as he gritted his teeth.
"I thought nobles didn't ask peasants for help. What's changed?" Raze chuckled, watching the barrier shatter.
The water dispersed, and the next blow connected—sending Jay flying again, his ribs groaning under the impact.
"Curse you! Kuuh!" Jay spat out blood as he skidded across the dirt.
The gorilla charged once more, eyes wild and murderous. But before it could reach him, a screeching wind tore through the air.
Four bladed metal swords screamed toward the beast, each one finding its mark in the creature's chest and head. It collapsed mid-charge, thudding to the ground with a heavy crash.
Jay groaned and slowly pushed himself upright. "You couldn't have done that earlier?!"
Raze shrugged nonchalantly. "Didn't feel like it."
"I hate you… I hate all peasants!" Jay roared, clenching his fists.
"Well, this peasant just saved your life. So… you're welcome," Raze said as he turned, dashing into the chaos once more.
"I didn't say thank you, damn it!" Jay yelled after him, his voice full of frustration—and a begrudging hint of gratitude.