Han pulled out another small sword, but this one was different. Sharper, sleeker, and forged from brilliant silver metal etched with intricate runes that glowed faintly along half its length.
"What’s that?" Kaedros asked, glancing at Rauk. He could feel the power radiating from the weapon even from where they stood.
"Probably his strongest technique," Rauk replied, his brow furrowed.
"Those weren’t their strongest?" Taria asked, startled. Just how powerful isa rank two compared to a rank one? The amount of mana they’ve been using is staggering.
And compared to the monster at peak rank two, the difference was even different.
"It’s said the true strength of a Ascendants only begins to show after rank one," Rauk answered calmly. "The rank one is only to build the body’s foundation."
"Still a long way to go then," Taria murmured.
Han raised the small sword, and red energy surged around him. It churned and thickened into storm-like clouds before condensing into a massive sword of solid red energy, pulsing, glowing like congealed blood.
"Well, Kest?" Han called, eyes blazing under the crimson light.
The monster growled in response, sensing the overwhelming threat. Its body tensed as muscles hardened until its entire form resembled walking steel.
Dark eyes gleamed. Then it lunged.
Kest’s dagger flashed, meeting the beast mid-charge. It sliced open a gash on its forehead but didn’t stop its advance.
Jonna moved next. Purple gravitational energy formed spheres of compressed magic around him. He launched them at the monster, which twisted to dodge, but they came too fast.
One slammed into its arm, another struck its leg. It faltered but didn’t stop. If anything, the dark Maulgig only seemed faster, more feral.
"What are they doing?" Kaedros muttered. "They’re going to get themselves killed."
Tension hung in the air as the monster neared. Within ten feet of the White steel team, it crouched, readying a leap that would end them....
Then, something shifted.
Its right arm slammed into the ground as if it had turned to lead. Its left leg refused to lift. It stumbled mid-lunge, collapsing in a heap.
"Incredible," Rauk breathed.
"So that spell did work," Kaedros said, eyes narrowed.
The spell that Jonna used seems to be the type that is slow to react, now it’s turned part of its body to heavyweight.
Taria gripped her spear, body coiled with anticipation as if she was the one that’s fighting.
Rauk simply nodded, unsurprised. Only Vexa looked unimpressed, arms folded.
"He poured all his mana into that spell," Kaedros observed, watching Jonna’s ragged breathing. The monster’s limb and leg had been bound by the immense gravitational weight.
Han stepped forward, his crimson energy sword raised high. The glow intensified, then he swung.
A massive red arc burst from the blade, carving through the air like a blazing crescent. It struck the monster with a thunderous boom, throwing up a storm of debris and dust.
Han stumbled back, nearly falling from the shockwave.
"Is it dead?" Taria asked, waving the dust from her face.
"Maybe?" Rauk sounded almost bored.
Kaedros knew both Rauk and Vexa could have taken care of the Maulgig without effort. But they had let the White steel handle it, to let them claim vengeance for their fallen teammate.
"Well," Han exhaled heavily. "That should do it."
He wasn’t the only one exhausted. All of them looked drained, though Kest still stood tall, his daggers at the ready.
As the dust settled, the monster was revealed, barely recognizable. Just bone now, with scraps of flesh still clinging to its ruined frame.
A strange, rhythmic thumping filled the air like a distant war drum.
Then, impossibly, the monster moved.
It raised its mangled head, one eye glaring with feral hatred.
Han, sore and depleted, reached for his axe, only for its weight to pull him off balance, sending him crashing to the ground.
"He’s spent," Rauk muttered.
"Fool," Vexa said coldly. "Using all his strength before confirming the kill."
Jonna had collapsed to one knee, his mana drained. Kest alone raised his weapons, but even his expression showed hesitation as the creature rose...slowly wrenching its leg and arm bones free from the remnants of Jonna’s magic that still clung to.
Now a grotesque fusion of bone and meat, the Maulgig dragged itself forward, step by agonizing step, intent on taking its killers down with it.
"I’ve seen enough," Thandor declared.
He raised both hands, fingers curling as if gripping something unseen. His eyes flashed green. The ground beneath the monster trembled.
Thick vines burst forth, dull green with iridescent thorns and wrapped around the monster like constricting serpents.
The thorns dug in viciously, piercing through flesh and biting into bone. The monster howled in agony.
Then came the poison.
It flooded the beast’s insides, melting it from within until it collapsed in a steaming heap of black sludge.
Taria shivered as the vines retreated into the soil. Were they... thicker than before? It had taken only seconds. She often forgot just how terrifying Refiners could be.
Kaedros studied Thandor quietly. So this was his ability. Not just vine manipulation, those vines could defend, attack, and now, inject deadly toxins.
Kest let out a long breath, nodding in thanks toward the Refiner.
Thandor only grimaced, as if the act had been distasteful, like wiping filth off his boot.
"What about the others?" Kaedros asked, looking to the surrounding forest. The lesser monsters that had accompanied the darker Maulgig were cowering now, their courage broken by the death of their leader.
"I’ll handle it," Vexa said.
She blurred into the trees.
Moments later, a series of dull thuds echoed back. Kaedros imagined heads hitting the dirt. When she returned, her sword was stained with blood, which she casually flicked away before resuming her place beside Rauk.
Kaedros looked down as Taria tugged at his sleeve. "Who gets the monster’s mana?"
"They’ll divide it among themselves," he answered. "The favors of the kill mana goes to all those that contributed. Whoever dealt the most damage gets the largest share."
They waited as the White steel team caught their breath.
The monster’s mana flooded into them, speeding their recovery. Han’s wounds were patched up as best as they could, and Rauk handed him a couple of potions to help.
The rest of that day passed in relative silence.
They didn’t encounter a single monster.