The nightmare monster approached floating a few meters above the ground, extending its tentacles, claws and saws, all of it producing an infernal cacophony. As for James, well, he had a sword, a shield and a single ability. Powerful, yes, though with a sixty-second cooldown.

  It wasn't exactly a wide range of possibilities, but better that way, he didn't have to think or be paralyzed by indecision.

  In short, James charged back, cutting that mass of flesh, but still, it didn't seem to have any effect.

  The monster tore a chunk from the wall with one of its tentacles and threw it like a frisbee. They were very grouped together, it could hit several at once that way, but the chunk of wall simply exploded. Mary had shot it. She had half a dozen muskets floating around her in a circle, plus a seventh resting in her hands.

  James defended himself as best he could, repelling the tentacles and saws. He was a bit afraid to clash his sword against those things, especially the saws. The last thing he needed was to lose his weapon.

  He was managing, but everything had a limit. Those things were descending on him from several directions at once, and he realized he had no choice but to use his ability. In a life-or-death fight, sixty seconds was an excessively long cooldown. If he used it now, next time he'd be exposed. But he had no choice, so he used it. The saw bounced far away, the tentacles too, and they didn't do anything to him, not even a scratch. He didn't think anything could hurt him. He was invincible like the stone giant, but unfortunately the effect only lasted a few seconds.

  He quickly returned to normal, and now he'd have to wait a full minute to enjoy that impenetrable defense again.

  Less than a minute later, he thought, that's it, I'm fucked, it's going to split me in half.

  But then Lea stepped forward, extending her hands, and immediately manifested a semi-transparent, almost invisible barrier. The barrier could withstand almost anything, and for longer than his stone skin, but not by much more.

  Natalia was bombarding the monster with fire shot from the palms of her hands. James felt especially ridiculous next to her, simply poking that mountain of flesh with a sword whose size was comparable to a needle for a monster that big. If only the monster would bleed or scream, if it gave the slightest sign that this was working, it would be much easier for his peace of mind. But no matter how much this resembled a video game, this boss didn't have a health bar. What a bitch.

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  He looked out of the corner of his eye. His ability had almost recovered. Another blade came at him. He thought about throwing himself to the ground, rolling. He didn't need to. Three spears of light stuck into the saw and then exploded. The spears of light, of course, were Lea's doing.

  This isn't going well, James thought. He felt like his stomach was full of molten iron. They weren't losing, but they weren't winning either. And that was the same as losing. They were probably doing exactly the same thing as in the first attempt.

  Then, James had an idea. It was utterly stupid, could barely be considered a plan, but it was the best he had. There was only one problem: he needed "Stone Skin," and it was no good if he didn't survive the next sixty seconds. And well, that seemed complicated, because the monster was adapting or something. With each passing second, it attacked a bit faster.

  As soon as he had the chance, he stepped back, rolling on the ground.

  "Mary!" he shouted. "Can you fire all the musket at once?"

  "Yes. Why?"

  "Just shoot!"

  Thirty seconds. Fuck, how slow.

  Five tentacles attacked him at once. He managed to get away by jumping just in time for those things to collapse a chunk of the arena instead of crushing him.

  Ten seconds. Fuck, this was endless.

  Five seconds.

  "Now!" Lea shouted, creating another barrier.

  Okay. Then there were no problems. He'd survive until his ability recovered, which meant he had to carry out his crazy plan.

  As soon as the barrier disappeared, James let himself be caught by one of the tentacles.

  "No! Don't save me yet!"

  They were surprised, no doubt, but they obeyed what seemed to be a suicidal wish. The monster did what he wanted: throw him into one of its open maws. He landed between its teeth and the thing tried to bite him, but only bit stone.

  "Come on," James shouted. "Come on, shoot!"

  Obviously, they were astonished, but they knew what was good for them. So they immediately complied, though not without first looking at Mary, as if asking permission.

  They fired, all at once.

  Which meant, of course, all kinds of things flew at him at once.

  They'd listened to him and without thinking too much about it. To tell the truth, he suddenly wished they'd had doubts. Suddenly, he thought that maybe he'd die. So much power flying directly at him would make anyone think that. And after all, stone skin didn't last that long. He'd already become nothing more than an asshole with armor he didn't even know how to put on and take off.

  One more second and the teeth would penetrate through skin and flesh. They'd skewer him like a kebab.

  There wasn't one more second. There were explosions. Right inside the mouth and beyond, explosions that catapulted him back to the platform.

  He rolled on the ground breathless, ribs burning. James got up on trembling legs.

  The fear and pain vanished immediately, echoes of echoes, seeing how the monster came down from within and disappeared wherever it had come from.

  There was no doubt, the bastard was dead, because a portal immediately opened.