Vapor of cold swung down, expunging the gathering lightning as the King's finger cut off. Salar’s finger fell to the ground. And from its stump is a cold, bluish cut that slowly morphed to red by its blood.

  Realization slowly crept into the Kobold King’s eyes. A slight fear zeroed inside those iridescent eyes, and Rue would smile if he could.

  The Kobold roared, snapping its jaw down, and even its teeth are gold somehow.

  How ridiculous.

  Briefly, he had considered receiving the bite, but decided against so. Their level difference is too high for him to play as a punching bag. Rue dodged back, barely avoiding the snapping jaw of the King.

  With a lightning-enhanced hand, the king crushed its molten shield to Rue’s left side. He was barely able to bring his left hand in defense, blocking the shield from damaging his body fully. With the help of his still-attached shoulder guard. Rue’s legs skid over, dragging through the earth. He stopped, managed to block the Kobold attack fully.

  The King raised its shield up, about to bring it down on him again.

  He should dodge-

  So fast.

  The King crashed Rue straight at his chest, sending him sprawling back. He rolled and quickly stood, to be greeted by the sight of the Kobold tried to lift its golden sword, but, unable to do so. His right arm is missing a finger.

  With a deep growl full of hatred for Rue, the Kobold King threw down its molten shield and hefted up its golden Long Bone.

  Rue did not plan to let him move from that spot for a certain reason.

  He charged forward.

  “Rue! Wait, fool!” Alquin called behind him.

  Salar, taken aback by Rue's move, gathered his bearings and swung at him.

  Rue brought his sword up, trading blows with the Kobold. It was clear immediately that the Kobold is not used to his left arm for swordplay. Its grip is awkward, and its swing is flailing – not able to do a straight swing without meandering.

  So the Black Frost Sword of his clashed with the Golden Bristling sword of the King.

  He had thought he would’ve an advantage, but their strength difference is too much. Even with both hands, Rue's sword knocked back each clash. For each clash of swords, it was very clear the Kobold struck much heavier – and faster, thanks to its lightning enhancement.

  He had to play to his only advantage, his Class. The power to slow down the enemy and slowly kill it by freezing it inside out. The frost he had applied two times was weak; the electricity would heal the kobold already. He only hoped it wouldn’t be able to heal severed flesh.

  Rue formed a fist with his left hand, and above the Kobold, a cube spun. The cube split into a needle of blackened ice, taller than the one he had cast against the boar.

  Black needles flew down straight to the kobold's golden scale, piercing its shoulder, and two hit its neck. The ice shrapnel was unable to make it halfway, but his class specialty was not in fancy destruction spells.

  The king screamed, then from its left neck a huge block of black crystal burst through sideways. The creature snapped its shoulders, in a crack of bones.

  Electricity bristles through its body as a rapid response to danger. All but the huge black eye on its neck has been destroyed in an instant.

  This is his chance.

  Rue rushed in, and he noticed the kobold move its right arm, and lightning crackled from it on another finger. But, he also noticed the Kobold would barely be able to see him since its head was burdened by the unnatural ice from its side neck.

  So, he decided to forgo his attack and duck, the lightning crackling still, and Rue shot his left hand toward the Kobold’s right arm. He took its palm and aimed it at its chest.

  The electricity burst into the kobold's own body. A flash of blue overwhelmed Rue's vision. When the spell is done, there’s barely any damage. But what was important, he had dodged the spell.

  Rue swung straight at the Kobold's chest, his sword connecting to pierce its golden skin and scoring a hit as the top of his black sword drew blood. Rue pushed, trying to get his sword to keep going all the way, but in a loud, gritting scream – the kobold smashed his four-fingered arm to his Sword of Frost.

  The Black sword broke apart. Rue almost couldn’t believe his eyes; he did not think that this sword would be broken.

  Still roaring, Salar hefted its shield up and crushed the Black ice crystal on his neck. The ice gave up, as the molten shield destroyed them in one hit.

  Rue resummoned his black sword, a cold tendril zipping forward, barely formed in time as he blocked the incoming shield bash with his shoulder. Pain flared briefly, but that shield attack was one made without proper power behind it; it's sloppy, an attack made from desperation to get Rue away from the King.

  Rue snapped his sword up again at the Kobold chest, his sword skewered straight, drawing blood as he pushed further. The ice crystal appeared and jumped, knocking his sword away. Rue had to strengthen his grip to make sure his sword did not disappear.

  He’s not strong enough to impale the King. This might be a good outcome; he slashed down his black sword to the Kobold’s hip, but this time his attack clanged uselessly. He did not put proper strength into the attack; this was one he made in a hurry.

  With a lightning coursing through its leg, Salar kicked Rue, sending him crashing back. Pain jumped in his stomach, healing immediately offset it, and he was still rolling – his vision switched between the night sky and earth below in a rapid flicker. Then something stopped him. Rue's side hurt, and he hefted himself up to see two shields propping him up.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Behind that shield is a yellow and blue-hair.

  “Rue?” Yom asked, his eyes widening in fear.

  “You okay there?” Gilbert asked. The man's shield was large, a big reason why Rue did not just plop straight into a trunk.

  “That’s really you, right?” Yom asked again.

  Rue lifted his left hand and made a thumbs-up. His black obsidian sword was still somehow in his right arm.

  Yom let out a breath of relief, his shield went down as he let out a huge deep breath, before he tensed again at Alquin's shout.

  “Suicidal! What the hell, kid!” the old man shouted.

  Ignoring Alquin, Rue watched as the archers and mages were still firing at the Kobold King. Each of their arrows and spells was naught, except the earth chunk that flew from the woman mage. That forced the Kobold King to pick up its shield and bash the earth away. The other spell and arrow were destroyed easily by the lightning coating the King had.

  That coating might be more powerful than the Robe Kobold’s. The black Ice he had caused was destroyed, and the frost effect he had caused, too, would probably be stopped by lightning coursing through its body.

  ‘Need to do something about that lightning defense,’ Rue said telepathically. He wondered if he had taken Cold’ O Wisp, would he be able to destroy that lighting spell? The King proved not very smart at tactics; maybe his Arcana surpasses the King's? Rue shook his head; no use lamenting about it; he needed to deal with what he had. Besides, he’s not alone.

  “Rue, how exactly did you kill the Robe Kobold?” Emily asked as she loosed another arrow.

  ‘I decapitate it,’ Rue answered.

  “Doubt, you can do that now,” Alquin winced. “With the strength difference and all.”

  That is true, which is why Rue had not gone for any slashes that could have left him vulnerable earlier. He wanted to overwhelm the King with constant frost inside its body, supported by his Frost Shrapnel. However, now he knew lightning had a strong regeneration property, just like his Cold Healing and Frost Vein.

  “It's doing something!” Gilbert called out as he peeked over his shield. The other is still hidden behind a trunk. Rue is also behind a tree with Gilbert just beside him, shield interlocked with the tree.

  “It's hurting?” Yom asked no one.

  Indeed, the Kobold King screeched to the moon, both of its long arms risen like some werewolf going mad. It’s howled, echoing through the night. The Ice wall seemed to shake under the king's voice. Rue could feel the others beside him tensing, fear settling in like a cold wind.

  Shone by the moonlight, Salar’s shadow dappled like it's under a spotlight, then two bursts of shadow appeared. A wing as tall as his own body burst from his shoulder. The wings are serpentine with green scaly color, a contrast to its golden body.

  Salar flapped the wings, and a powerful burst of wind blew away the leaves and branches around Rue. Even Gilbert almost lost his balance, and Alquin fell on his butt. The arrow, loose by Emily, flew back, nearly hitting Clerence on her gut.

  “A dragon,” The earth mage gaped. Her voice sounded distant.

  A tail grows, slithering as a new shadow added to the arsenal. The tip of its tail is a steel point, meant for death.

  “Get ready!” Alquin screamed. “Let’s not bet it's horrible at flying!”

  In another flap of wings, the wind screamed in exuberance. Salar crossed by them in the blink of an eye. The Kobold King had passed him, and its golden scale was reflected in his eyes.

  But where is it?

  Rue slowly looked behind. The others just blinked and examined around them, confusion written in everyone's faces.

  “What happened?” Clerence voiced out.

  “Where is Jessica?” The archer man asked. His voice turned into a press of horror, “Where is she?” He turned around, trying to find his last friend.

  Who is Jessica?

  Oh, the earth mage.

  Yes, what happened to her?

  Rue saw her then. He shouldn’t even call it her anymore. As she just turned into a heap of bloody flesh, smeared against a tree.

  The Kobold King Salar, having risen, had fallen from that burst of speed and crashed into a trunk. Its golden scale, now hidden by the dense canopy, looked much more terrifying, as its dark molten gold was still drenched with Jessica's blood. It turned toward them.

  Rue quickly charged; he needed to close the gap and disable that wing.

  “Follow him!” Alquin screamed, behind him.

  As Rue ran, he made out a single figure running in front of him, the archer whose name Rue did not remember – charged as he screamed incoherently. He has lost everyone except that one girl that went with Paxwell team.

  Fool! Stop!. Rue wanted to scream, before remembering he could not say anything.

  Rue reached out, able to grasp the tip of his bow, but the man rushed forward, unsheathing one dagger, and jumped at the kobold in a suicide charge.

  Salar, on the other hand, just gave the man one glance. Grass rustled, and its tail sneaked in – impaling the archer straight by his chest.

  The Archer hung midair, held by the tail – as deadly as any spear. Salar shook off the corpses, throwing him to the sky by a flick of its tail, uncaring.

  Rue stopped on his track, his black astral sword held in two hands. In this distance, it can charge the moment it decides to flap its wings.

  Salar the Kobold King hefted up its golden sword.

  Shadow repeatedly approaches the ground between them. The archer's body cracked as it crashed against the hard, unforgiving ground. Blood splurged up like a waterfall – the signal of their battle.

  Rue step in, copied by the Kobold King.

  The Golden Sword swung with full power. And he decided to dodge it, but his slick ice-clad feet slipped against a watery substance, and the world stopped for a moment for Rue.

  It’s the archer blood. He realized.

  Without any care for a proper fight, Salar kept its swing toward Rue.

  Everything is about to end for him. Until, beside him, a shadow moved.

  A hand grasped his shoulder, Rue able to move his eyes to find Benedict, who uncharacteristically held a thin line on his face, unsmiling.

  Shadow engulfed them. And the Golden Sword passed straight to the ground.

  It took Rue a complete second before realizing the situation. The King's sword is between Benedict and him.

  “Dodge!” Benedict shouted, giving Rue a slight push to the left.

  The King bellowed, angling his sword toward Rue. He needed to dodge. Now. And he will…

  And he will what? Content to let the King heal over and over?

  No, no.

  They would die eventually, even if the Benedict team is back.

  Why should he run? He has a sword in his hand, doesn’t he?

  Rue skidded his feet apart, ignoring the upcoming sword at him.

  “You fool!” Benedict shouted.

  The King did not have enough leverage for a powerful swing, even if it were more powerful.

  The Golden Sword connected to his right side, and the pain raked across his whole body. Black ice cracked. But he is standing. Most of all, with the sword ready to strike.

  Rue brought down his black obsidian sword. He cleaved right at the King's left arm – and it dug in halfway to the kobold flesh.

  With his mind in overdrive, Rue quickly brought his sword again – in a quick motion, he struck down in the same spot, severing the King's hand.