Magic Vein: 95%

  Rue dropped to his knees, his black sword evaporating in icy cold air from his hand, his obsidian skin dissolving – trailing up in freezing mist. A sizzling hum spiralled around his body. On his side, where the Kobold had swung at, he was hurt. But, before the pain could fully connect to his brain, the cold vapor from his armor was seeping into his body. His passive skill, Cold Healing, and a sudden long-range familiar healing of Eve numbed the pain and stopped his HP from going down any further.

  What is this? A defense mechanism from the Time of Obsidian Ice? Rue had thought his obsidian skin had gone because of his Magic Vein. But it is still 95%. He can theorize later. For now…

  He spotted the golden hand lying on the ground, still half gripping the Golden Long Bone somehow. He had cut it—the King’s arm.

  The King, Salar of the Kobold looked at Rue with wide eyes, full of disbelief. Then it lunged forward at him – jaw opened wide. As it was about to chomp down on him, a force smacked him right below its jaw, knocking the Kobold head up like some boxer's uppercut. Gilbert slammed again with his enlarged shield, pushing the Kobold back from Rue.

  Salar groaned, with its last hand it held Gilbert advance by pushing against his shield. The blue-haired man stopped in his tracks, suddenly finding himself in a tug of power with the King. That four-talon left arm of the King crushed through Gilbert’s shield – wood cracked and one of its talons drew a sharp blood from the warrior's shoulder.

  “Gilbert!” Alquin screamed. He brought Betty down with a skill that gathered the old man's mana to his axe. He swung his beloved axe right into the frozen stump Rue had created.

  Salar roared in pain, leaves rattled, falling at the mere screech of the skin. Rue watched as Betty cleaved further straight into the ice stump. Blood burst, colouring the ground with the gore of red.

  Salar lifted his left hand on Gilbert’s shield, and he tried to swipe at Alquin, who had no shield. Yom somehow jumps in front of Alquin with his shield. But, unlike Gilbert, the youth did not have any shield skill.

  The four talons raked, slicing off Yom’s shield. With the shield, his hand was also sliced off. Both were severed in gruesome sight.

  Yom slowly looked down at both of his arms. Then the youth fell to the ground; he did not even have the strength to scream. As the king was about to finish the half-dead youth, Benedict appeared in a blue shadow behind the King.

  Salar somehow noticed this, turned to him, flapping his tail to whip Benedict straight in the stomach. Benedict somehow parried the tail-blade in the last second, but still sent it flying to crash against a trunk. With the extra time Benedict had bought, Alquin dragged Yom out of the fight – screaming for the youth to hold on.

  Behind Rue something quiver. Rue turned to see Eve, who, still healing him, had tears streaming down her cheek. Her whole body was dazed, as if she had just seen the world end.

  Rue grasped her shoulder. “Eve!” he called. Her eye response, addressing him, still widen in horror. “Go! Alquin dragged him off-fight, I can heal myself.”

  She blinked; the world seemingly just snapped for her. “R-Right,” She turned toward where Alquin was, the old man tying something to Yom's stump. She ran toward them before stopping and clutching Rue's tattered robe. “Kill it,” She said, before going without any further word.

  You don’t have to tell me. Rue almost grumbled in annoyance. He blinked. Why would he be annoyed? Jealousy? No, he did not want any of them to die, but still, he did not have strong ties to any of them.

  It’s the King. Rue realized.

  He should’ve been able to take it down earlier. Was there any different move that could have ended the King's life earlier? Why doesn’t Rue go for its neck earlier? Its entire body was open to him once he tanked its last strike.

  The answer is simple; his body moved before his mind did. He saw its hand exposed – and his reaction kicked in. And now, he is not going to make the same mistake again.

  Salar now was being attacked from multiple directions. Gilbert, Alquin, and Benedict work in tandem, completely occupying the Kobold king's attention. The King only has two limbs to attack, its tail and left hand. It can use offensive magic, but every time it tried to – One of the three who was free of danger would dive in and attack. Salar was forced to keep using its lighting coating every time, all the while receiving damage constantly as it healed.

  This is the time to keep going, to prevent it from using those wings.

  “Rue!” Rino appeared from a thick thicket. “I’m joining,” he huffed, his face still purple, no doubt not only from exhaustion but also Tobias’s death.

  “Good,” Rue said. They will need everything. “Rino, can you charge first? Cover me while I run behind you.”

  “Why-” Rino cut his question as he saw Rue kneeling, brushing off the lichen from the gold sword. “All right, best plan we got,” Rino hefted up his LongBone and began to charge, caving a bramble in the process.

  Rue followed right behind him, and he kept pace with Rino, making sure to keep him in front.

  The yellow iridescent eye of Salar spotted them. And Rue noticed how they clenched in frustration. The King took a hard, deep breath before opening its eyes in resolution.

  “Something coming!” Rue shouted.

  Electricity bristled around the Kobold's body like a circular shield covering it in a dome. They threaten death if anyone dares to touch them. Grass beneath it fried into white ashes.

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  “The hell!” Gilbert shouted, hefting his shield up like an umbrella. Rino skidded to a stop and joined Gilbert under his huge shield. Rue also took cover as he could feel the brittle of electricity from the ground, but there’s no way dodging those things.

  “Why hasn't he done that already?” Rino shouted; he had to speak over the crackling sound of the electricity.

  “A new skill?” Gilbert asked.

  “No, it would’ve used it already if it were a skill. It probably pushed its arcana to the limit with that lighting coating spell.”

  “Oh! So we can wait until its Magic Vein snapped, right?” Gilber let out a huge grin.

  “No one got caught, right?” Rue asked.

  “Al! Benedict! You two alive?” Gilbert shouted.

  “Here!” Alquin raised an arm, and the old man was taking cover behind a tree stump.

  Benedict meanwhile, just waved his hand. He was far, directly behind the Kobold. He lifted something, a dagger? Rue could make out that darkness swirled to the dagger, as Benedict aimed it while holding its knife point.

  “I doubt it’s stupid enough to let its Magic Vein break Rue,” Rino said.

  “Look!” Gilbert pointed with one hand. “A golden color”

  Rue looked at the electricity dome, which was blindingly white. A single small dot in its middle is a golden light, like some distant sun; it grew. Ever so slowly.

  “What was that?” Rue muttered. A gold. He gripped the Golden Long Bone; the sword is heavy, but he can use it with both hands. “I don’t like this. Any spell?” Rue asked around.

  If only the earth mage were still alive… That earth chunk would be handy.

  Fireball zipped across the dome. As the spell connected, a sizzling euphoria consumed it, and the fire extinguished in a flash of energy. Rue had to shield his eyes at the blinding white that almost took his vision away.

  “Gah!” Clerence screamed out in frustration. The mage's attack has been completely useless from start to end.

  “I can’t use any more spells,” Rino shouted out.

  “Yeah, same here,” Emily called near Clerence.

  Rue wanted to wait until his Magic Vein got better so he could cast another Time of Obsidian Ice. But, he sees no other option now. Rue lifted his palm and began summoning-

  “Heads up! Benedict was trying something,” Gilbert called out.

  Benedict, atop a branch, threw a knife, which turned out not to be a dagger. The knife spun fast – directly toward the electric dome. As it was about to connect, Rue thought it was completely destroyed.

  “Too weak,” Gilbert sighed.

  “No,” Rue said, earning both Rino and Gilbert's questioning look. “It’s working.”

  The Electric dome exploded, but not in a deafening, booming sound. It’s sizzle out, leaving behind a fried ground, beneath Salar.

  Salar groaned as a knife stuck deep in its chest, drawing blood. But what drew everyone's eyes was not the knife. But the Kobold appearance.

  From its right hand is an oversized arm, twice as big as Salar's head, and completely made of gold like some statue. That golden hand has five sharp talons, but something is off; it was resting on the ground.

  Salar tried to lift it, but it was heavy for the Kobold. Whatever it tried to do, Benedict put a stop to it.

  Then a wind pushes against them. Rue falls behind as the sudden gust rustles the leaves, making hundreds of leaves fall and dappling the moving shadows in the night.

  Both of Salar's wings flap. It's about to run.

  “Don’t let it!” Rue screamed. He rushed forward, kicking off Gilbert's shield for an extra jump. Benedict was also running straight at the Kobold with both LongKnives ready.

  The King gave them both a glance before it flapped in a cruel stroke, and shot up upward, now looking down at them.

  “Fuck!” Benedict shouted, his frustration as clear as his voice. He threw another knife up – it disappeared, only to be blocked by Salar’s golden hand as it appeared again.

  The King hung there, staring at them, and its jaw clenched; frustration settled in across its face.

  What was that?

  “Careful, Rue, I know you’re suicidal – but it might try that move that kills the Earth Mage again,” Benedict said. “I saw-“ He paused when Rue walked forward, from below the king to a slight open area where there was no tree that would impede the King's dive. “What are you doing?” Benedict asked, almost laughing at what must have looked like stupidity.

  Rue just stared at the Kobold King, its unmoving – still hung there like it couldn’t move. Rue let out a smile.

  “That hand is too heavy,” Rue said. “It cannot fly higher or do that dive again.”

  Benedict looked up, and a grin crept on his face. “So it is.”

  “You must’ve messed up his transformation,” Rue mussed.

  “Well, we would still need to climb-“ Benedict paused. Before screaming “Attaboy!”

  Atop the King are two green figures jumping in tandem, four needle-like black swords swung down, raking across the King’s shoulder and left side. Salar tried to dodge, but its arm moved too slowly for Both HuGoblin.

  Blood dripped down, like a roof leak. Yomi and Rita landed with grace, tip-toeing. Another figure also jumped, landing a slash at the Kobold with her dagger, but her dagger clanged away harmlessly against the golden scale. The sole survivor of the group, they had just safely landed, looking around for her dead friend.

  “Not over yet!” Yomi, shout out.

  The King, by now, is flailing in the air – it tried to fly away in one direction. But, from that direction, he was greeted with a blue streak of an arrow crushing into its abdomen. The arrow did not pierce the King, but it knocked him down to the ground. In a flap of wind, the King manages to regain its balance.

  But – Rue was there. Salar is just high enough for him to attempt a strike. Golden sword swung down, striking at its leg. Rue felt the resistance of the scale before it eventually gave out – blood splattered down, dyeing the ash-colored ground below. A scaly golden leg turned red among the scorched grasses.

  Now, they've got the King.

  Salar fell to the ground, its wing covering its pathetic, splayed body, still bleeding from the wound Rue had created. Salar begged the moon, and it roared and screamed.

  Benedict was there about to deliver the finishing blow, before the world turned blindingly golden, and in front of them was a different creature completely.

  Its legs are bulky with golden slithering vein wrap around the elephant-like legs. Its barrel-chested scale now covered with a slither of golden thrum – it got fat, with a golden encased balloon-like stomach.

  Salar has become a monster of greed. A creature that somehow made gold hideous to Rue’s sight.

  Deep down, Rue knew something. Even if Salar won this fight, that spell he just used, whatever it was, will still kill the Kobold.

  Benedict jumped back, still shaking his head as he was the closest to the sudden gold light. “What is this now? It is encased in golden armor?”

  ‘Human’ Rue's head snapped, a voice familiar yet distant.

  “Yomi, is that you?” Benedict looked at Yomi.

  The Hugoblin shook his head and looked around.

  Everyone heard it, but no one knew where the voice was originating from.

  But, Rue knew – the blue line of the threat grew stronger, and he turned to see a brown stag with tall antlers smeared with blood appear.

  The past Cel is here.