Green volleys of light burst through the air, aimed at me. I managed to block them off with walls of dirt, but it felt like something bigger was coming.

  “Graaaaargh!!” I let out a monstrous roar as another wave of green orbs flew at me.

  My mana pulsed out and commanded the ground in front of me to rise in the shape of a thick wall as it took the brunt of the orb's force. Next thing I knew, the cracks that appeared on the wall had splintered open and were torn apart completely.

  Magic circles gleamed red across the air over my shoulders. Not bad, but can you compete with this? Scarlet flames flared to life in a display of hellish flames.

  The fire bullets launched in a flurry and left specs of golden fire littered across the air as they flew towards the witch's body.

  Its slender hand slowly rose, and an ominous feeling crept over my shoulders as it released a wicked laugh.

  “Kikiki–”

  The thin, wooden ends of its fingers stretched forward to the charging knights around it and impaled them from all directions. The fingers stretched and branched out into nearly endless ends that lifted them off the ground. Head, shoulder, it sank into whatever part of the knight's armour it could and stopped them in their tracks.

  In one foul motion, their bodies were dragged off the ground and flung into the space between the witch and me.

  You bastard…

  Flames crashed against the armoured shield as the witch fell back and escaped into the cover of the mist. Just as its white glare fell out of sight, I extended my Parasite skill and stretched the clearing even larger than it was. I was pushing my skill and mana pretty far, but I couldn’t let it escape. There was no way I’d let it go after that.

  Where the hell– do you think you’re going?!!

  Its slender frame was revealed, along with a horde of rose-infested knights surrounding it. I messed up. I didn’t expect there to be so many of them left; it was a complete blunder on my part.

  Ordinarily, I’d just use my strongest skill, Hell Rain, but I couldn’t risk getting Veyra caught in the blast. It was a destructive skill that I still didn’t have complete control of, after all.

  They charged as one, and by the time I had my magic circles conjured, the gap between us had already been closed.

  “Atas– clear a way!” Veyra’s voice flooded my mind with a sharp clarity that set my nerves aside completely.

  Y-yeah, you got it!

  I turned back to see her bow raised in my direction. No, more accurately, she had aimed at the wave of monsters in front of me. The arrow she had drawn was engrossed with magic. The same ability she used before.

  Without an explanation, I could tell exactly what she was planning. It’s tough to explain, but I think her telepathy had something to do with it.

  My floating hands flew through the air and grabbed the furthest knights on both ends, and brought them all together. With the wave of monsters grouped up, I summoned fire magic right above them. A massive circle of intricate red patterns formed above the monster horde and suddenly rained down a beam of pure flames.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  {50 Exp Gained}{125 Exp Gained}{85 Exp Gained}{50 Exp Gained}{50 Exp Gained}{100 Exp Gained}{65 Exp Gained}{85 Exp Gained}{50 Exp Gained}{100 Exp Gained}

  Veyra– Go!!

  “Right!” She answered back and released the gleaming green arrow in a burst of pressure.

  A pulse of wind exploded back from the string of her bow as the arrow pierced forward and into the witch’s body. Green light enveloped it, and with a sudden flash, green markings rampaged over its body; the witch disappeared into faded remains.

  {500 Exp Gained}

  N-no way, is it really over? It was surprisingly easy to beat, wasn’t it? No, no, we’re just that much stronger! Yay for us, we’re totally stronger than the monsters in this ruin!

  “Mmmgh…!” A murmur stole my attention.

  I turned to singed black armour among the pile of knight remains as something shifted and stood from the pile. A glint of light remained under the helm and focused in my direction.

  There’s still one left? Damn, it totally spoiled the mood of our victory… no fun!

  “Gr–graagh!” Muffled moans escaped its helmet as a vine stretched out from its shoulders and pierced its side.

  It seemed less like a battle cry and more like a cry for help. Something about the scene of it all was a little unsettling, to be honest. I looked to Veyra for any thoughts on the matter, but she seemed even more disturbed than I was.

  “It’s…in pain.”

  You feel it too? I wonder what’s different about this one than the others?

  “He’s asking…for you to kill him.” The corners of her mouth trembled as she held back tears.

  What, you’re able to communicate with it? Is it really begging to die?

  She nodded back and averted her eyes from it. I guess it must have been too painful for her to watch any longer.

  “I can feel…its emotions… there’s another voice mixed with…its.” Veyra grasped the side of her head as her face contorted in pain.

  Veyra! I rushed to her side, but she didn’t seem physically hurt in any way. It was definitely due to her telepathy.

  She said she felt its emotions, but that was the first I heard about a rose knight having any response to her.

  That other voice part seems suspicious… I mulled over.

  {Target has not fully relinquished control over their consciousness}

  {The effects of Parasitic Rose have been weakened due to magic damage, but will soon regrow and dominate the target}

  So that’s how it is. Poor thing, it’s going to be consumed at this rate, and go back to being a mindless suit of armour. Should I just kill the rose and end things? I moved forward and prepared my floating hand at my side.

  {Skill

  can be used on the target to remove parasitic rose. Would you like to activate skill?}

  Wait, what?! I thought Parasite could only be used on incoming attacks. How is this possible?

  {Answer. Parasitic Rose is continuously feeding off of life sources. By focusing your own life force into skill

  , you will divert its attention onto yourself}

  I had no idea Parasite could be used like that– I completely missed that possibility! Wait, should I even save it? I wanted Veyra to level up, but at this rate, she’ll be missing out on even more Exp because of my choices.

  I turned to her direction to open my thoughts for her telepathy, but caught a glimpse at the struggle on her face and decided against it.

  No, I’m sure she’d feel the same. It’s just too tragic to let this thing die like this, not when I’m able to do something here. Please, Oracle, let’s save it.

  {Confirmed}

  {Activating skill

  to eliminate Parasitic Rose from target}

  Following the command, my body moved on its own, and one of my floating hands stretched out to the rose knight. A swirling black miasma poured out and enveloped the struggling knight's body, and retracted back a moment later.

  {Success}

  {All traces of Parasitic Rose have been eliminated from target}

  ?