Arad took a stance, feeling his knees tremble from exhaustion. ^I better finish this quickly. I need their gems to heal my chest.^ He could still feel the throbbing pain at his side.
BAM! One of the monsters jumped at him, swinging her leg with a growl. Arad docked, swinging the flame sword at her groin.
CRACK! The other two jumped forward, turning their arms into sickles and swinging at his neck and chest.
CLANG! Their attacks deflected on the glass-like carapace as Arad smiled, "I might lack my power, but I'm still me," Thud! He grabbed one of them by the hair, pulling her toward him.
"Didn't I tell you not to take Merlin's shape?" His eyes flashed red with fire magic as he glared at her.
KA-BOM! Fire burst beneath his foot, lifting his knee up to meet the monster's nose, caving her skull in like a cracked egg.
CRACK! The second monster bit Arad's flame blade, trying to pull it out of his hand. "You monster!" Arad growled, seeing her jaw burning, but even so, she didn't let go.
BAM! The third one jumped at him, swinging her four arms at his back.
^Shit!^ Arad let go of the sword, bending backward and seeing the claws fly above him.
^Should I use it, no. I need to keep it for when I really need it.^ Arad shifted his torso, pushing on the ground with his hand lifting his leg up, and kicking the monster in the face [Fire Kick]
As she recoiled back, she swung a kick at his face and sent him rolling.
Arad immediately stood back up and pointed his fingers at her.
The monster's second leg lifted from the ground, causing her to fall head first. Arad shifted his stance, lunging at her swinging his fist. [Fire Fist] BOOM!
SWOSH! The first one appeared behind Arad and he turned in a panic, ^She's alive?^ He could see her arm turning into a sickle, rushing at him with a stab.
CRACK! The sickle went right through the barrier, exploiting Arad's rush to make it.
Arad gasped, blood gushing from his mouth as the sickle went right through his guts. "You..." He growled.
The other two jumped in, stabbing him as well in the chest and shoulder.
"ARAD IS MINE!" One growled and the others grunted, "NO! HE'S MINE ALONE!"
CRACK! CRACK! They started punching and kicking him with their remaining arms. Tens of punches and kicks came at once, trying to put an end to Arad.
In front of Arad's house, a wizard rushed toward the city lord and Nina, "I got good news," He saluted the lord.
"What is it? Is the evacuation complete?" Nina stared at the city with a worried face.
"Yes, we managed to get all the people out of the city and into the ant's caverns, albeit some refused due to fear of the monsters, we managed to convince them."
Everyone there sighed in relief, all they needed to find a way to deal with the labyrinth.
"There is something else," The wizard stared at them with a smile, "A wizard had managed to get inside the labyrinth. Albeit we still don't fully understand the rules."
"Really? Who?" Nina stared at him.
As the monster beat Arad, he growled, ^It was foolish to fight all three at once. I should have run away and planned. But...^
A fire sparked in Arad's chest, engulfing his whole body in a blazing flame.
The monsters growled, pulling their sickles from his body and protecting their faces with their arms.
"Burn!" Arad screamed.
BLUGH! But his vision immediately blurred, the sudden blood loss wasn't simple to take on, and his body went into shock. The spell faded and the flames disappeared even quicker.
"ARAD! ASLEEP!" One of the monsters growled.
"FINALLY!" Another added.
As they stared at Arad, they heard something in the distance, so they looked around.
VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
"ABOVE!" The three monsters looked at the blue sky, seeing the sun.
The sun exploded into a tornado of fire, sucking the three monsters in.
"A Thief! Trying to steal Arad from me!" One of the monsters growled.
A woman's voice boomed from the flames, "Horrid creations of Merlin's twisted mind! Repent in the blazing inferno of the elemental plane of fire!"
The monster looked around as their bodies started burning.
"Fire and blaze, the burning hells. Fade from memories like the sparks of the great flames."
VROOOOOOOOOO! The fire tornado turned blue, violently pulling the ground up as it charred the three monsters into dust.
SWOSH! The flames faded a woman wearing a brown wizard robe and hat landed beside Arad, tapping her staff on the ground as she stared at him. "HOI! Kid, wake up." She poked him with her staff.
She sighed, "You're supposed to be stronger than this. Aren't you?" She reached inside her robe, pulled out a healing potion, and poured it on his chest.
"Nina is going to rip me apart if you died," She squatted beside him, poking his face with her finger. "Wake up. Wake up!"
She turned around, seeing tens of monsters emerging from the ground.
"You're spawning too quickly," She stared at them, "I guess. This is the s-rank labyrinth core Merlin was using in the heater?"
She stood, cracking her neck and pointing her staff forward. "Ten layers, each harder than the first. The dragon heart or Merlin should be the power source, which means we have to reach the tenth layer to free her... What a pain,"
The monster rushed at her, and she smiled, "From the endless darkness of the abyss I call forth a torrent of destruction!" She screamed.
With a flash, the monsters exploded to shreds, shaking the whole layer and cracking the ground. As the cloud of smoke reached the sky, it shimmered, and a large white tower appeared in the distance, linking the ground with it.
The woman smiled, "All the monsters of the layer are dead, so the entrance appears."
Arad slowly opened his eyes, confused.
She looked back at him with a smile, "Finally up? How weak can you be? I thought you were a whole lot stronger," She approached him. "Well, I do like it when I'm stronger though,"
Arad stared at her, "Amber, what are you doing here?"