(12.3) Silver Sword

A rumbling and then, from the rubble, the corpse eater bursts forth, Dent's sword still lodged firmly in place.

It shudders and its previously slimmer body grows and expands. Various holes along its legs flare and suddenly the corpse eater is more than double in size.

"Wow."

It roars a loud, vicious, and primal roar before turning its attention to the trio.

"FS boss, anyone?" Caor chuckles weakly.

The humour is short lived because the corpse eater is lunging at them. It turns its neck sideways and opens its mouth so wide.

Perhaps it was the angle, or perhaps the lighting. Maybe the strangeness of such an otherworldly creature being native to this world and they themselves are not.

For whatever reason, the corpse eater appeared absolutely gigantic. Like its gaping maw had swallowed up the world and was about to devour them as well.

It was the only right thing to do to the dead, after all.

A ray of sunlight peaks through the clouds. Small, weak, and fleeting. Yet that ray came through at the perfect angle to hit Mirra in the eye. That bit of light was all she needed to come to her senses.

The world wasn't gone. The corpse eater was big but not gigantic. They all still lived.

Mana flowed through Mirra's body on overdrive. She stepped forward and threw her arms out, catching the corpse eater's jaw with her hands.

"Don't wear my daughter's face like a fucking mask, monster." Mirra forces her arms together in front of her and slams the corpse eater's mouth shut and, with one large step, turns on the spot, throws it over her shoulder, and slams it into the ground.

Caor and Dent stumble in place, both of them attempting to gather their senses.

"It elicits hallucinations. It can't target multiple directions at once," Dent holds his head tightly with one hand like he has a headache. "Don't let it get all of us again."

"Easy." Mirra cracks her knuckles and leaps on it before it manages to fully recover.

Caor dodges to the right to avoid a random swipe attack and raises his own sword. He attacks with golden light while Mirra repeatedly pounds on its back with bone-breaking force.

Meanwhile, Dent goes the opposite direction, trying to find an opening to recover his sword.

"Mirra, you ever played Dragon Hunter?" Caor shouts, stepping out of the way from getting crushed. "Guide it to Dent!"

She nods and proceeds to rocket her fists into its neck and foreleg to force it against the buildings.

The corpse eater is tough however, and fights back as best as it can, taking advantage of the guidance to slam Mirra into the stone and wood buildings as well.

Yet no matter how hard she's struck, her expression remains the same and her grip stays as tight as ever.

Dent manages to leap up and take solid hold of his sword during the scuffle. Now two people are on the corpse eater while a third attacks with light from a distance.

A strangled sound, almost like chuckling erupts from the corpse eater then and, from Caor's point of view, a pinkish-purple mist sprays from its orifices to cover Dent and Mirra.

"Guys!"

The corpse eater angles its head at Caor, almost mockingly, and lets out a low howl. As if it's saying you're next.

Dent and Mirra still remain on the corpse eater, frozen in place, so Caor can't use any of his more powerful abilities. Meaning he will have to find a way to rouse his allies or single-handedly defend them and fight the monster without getting trapped in a hallucination.

Caor shouts out a battle cry and starts running in a circle around the corpse eater.

The mist sprays out rapidly to try and catch him from one side while the corpse eater attempts to devour him with the other.

"Golden Shield!" Caor shouts. "Golden Shield!"

Light encapsulates him as well as his two party members. The shimmer and the light solidifies like a shell.

The corpse eater lunges again but his quick footed reaction allows him to dive behind a pillar, making it bite solid stone. It pulls back, howling in pain and nearly throwing off the solidly placed Dent from his spot on its snout. Mirra on the other hand, finally slides off and hits the ground hard.

"Mirra!"

His shout alerts the corpse eater to turn and look. Raising its hindfoot, it attempts to crush her.

"I'm your opponent here, pay attention!" Caor slams a foot forward and, with a two-handed grip, swings his sword horizontally with as much mana and force he can muster.

A gigantic blade of mana forms around his weapon. Light flashes so blindingly bright, even the darkness of the daytime from the clouds above looks like no more than an illusion.

The slash connects.

Shell-like flesh splits.

The corpse eater's hind leg has been removed while its other has taken serious damage. Its forelegs are injured but still function perfectly well.

A pained howl resonates from every hole on its body as it wildly waves its head and stomps forward, attempting to escape the area.

Wind swirls suddenly and mana condenses in front of the corpse eater.

"You will fall here." Dent, from his spot on its snout, has managed to break free from the hallucinatory prison.

He switches grips on the embedded sword. Rather than pulling it out, he positions himself so he can slide it out with a slashing movement. Dent lowers his body close to the corpse eater.

As if sensing what he plans on doing, the corpse eater attempts to position itself where it can slam him against a building. Unfortunately, its crippled legs prevent it from doing this faster than Dent can prepare.

"Your end is nigh."

Hurricane winds erupt from the force of the slash. Caor and the still paralysed Mirra are sent flying against the buildings.

Dent's devastating attack cuts deeply into the corpse eater's snout.

Even this kind of monster, with its powerful body and natural strength, cannot fully withstand the power of a hurricane. Half of its face is torn straight from its body.

What remains of its snout is bloodied and broken, yet despite all this, the corpse eater remains standing amid the wind.

Rubble and rocks kick up with the gale, indiscriminately destroying anything they strike. Dent and the corpse eater are no exception to the assault. Something the corpse eater decides to take advantage of by kicking up a frenzy.

Dent dodges left and right, avoiding the rubble and stomping with ease. He almost chuckles at the ease when a shock of pain shoots up his back.

Of course the damage when he was paralysed would catch up now at the worst timing. 

He finds himself with nowhere to go.

"Dent!" Caor shouts.

The corpse eater swipes down on him. Golden light envelops Dent but even this much won't protect him.

"AHHHHH!" Mirra barrels into the corpse eater with such force, the many tonned beast falls over.

With the way clear, Dent manages to jump to safety before he becomes sandwiched by the swirling rubble.

As the wind dies down, Caor and Dent see that Mirra has mounted the corpse eater and is attempting to beat it into the ground.

Roaring, it stumbles into a sprint toward the pair.

"Outta the way!" Mirra urgently warns.

Caor barely manages to leap away but Dent isn't so lucky and gets trampled.

"Dent!" Caor cries out.

"I'm alright." He calls from within some rubble. "Mirra, however, is still on it."

Dent pokes his head out of the stonework. Blood pours down his face and his clothes are torn as if they had been dragged across a grater.

"It's all surface level. Scraped myself to get inside." He wipes at his face with a gloved hand to show to his worried companion. "Rather than to be crushed underfoot, this is an inconsequential price. Now let's go."

"Right."

Caor helps Dent to his feet and together, the two take off after their friend.

Up ahead, not far from where the pair of men are, Mirra can see the two of them are well enough to run after her.

She breathes a sigh of relief.

As if sensing a weakness, the corpse eater bucks, attempting to get her off. It slams against buildings and trees before sprinting further down the road.

Mirra stays firmly on. She slams her gauntlets together, generating a ring of electrical mana around her fists.

They spin faster and faster as the corpse eater sprints.

A high-pitched bell sounds a moment later.

Mirra raises her left arm and swings down on its head.

B O O M!!!

The sound of a powerful thunderclap explodes within the city.

Glass shatters and dust scatters.

Many of the weaker skeletons in the immediate area break apart from the destructive force that was Mirra's punch.

Even Caor and Dent lost their bearings for a moment after their party member's devastating attack.

They shake themselves back to their senses and rush down the city street to find the mangled body of the corpse eater - a pile of fleshy mush where its head once was - and a bloodied Mirra standing victoriously over it with one arm raised. Her left, too mangled to even call an arm.

With as much strength as Mirra can muster, she raises her head and grins at her friends.

"De opresso liber."