Monster wave(end)

The noise caused by their clashing blades was deafening. 

Now Mark and the monster were face to face and as their blades scraped against each other, he could feel that the hobgoblin's strength was greater than his own. 

/GHYAA!/ 

With a maniacal scream, the monster put more force into it, bending Mark's arms and dangerously bringing its sword closer to his neck. 

With the imminent danger, Mark tilted the claymore, deflecting the monster's sword, managing to gain a crucial moment to regain control. With a quick and decisive move, Mark leaped back, putting some distance between him and the hobgoblin. 

The heavy breathing caused by the heat around and his heart pounding did not shake Mark's determination. The creature growled, showing sharp teeth, and prepared for another attack. Mark, aware of the enemy's physical superiority, decided to change tactics. Using agility and cunning, he started to move in circles around the monster, looking for a weak point. 

Suddenly, he saw an opening. With a swift leap, he used all his energy to deliver a powerful and precise blow to the monster's exposed side. The blade pierced the hobgoblin's tough skin, which let out a scream of pain and anger. 

"Damn, it's too shallow!" 

Due to the continuous clashes, Mark's blade had lost its sharpness, and, combined with the monster's physical resistance, only part of the tip managed to penetrate. 

Without hesitation, Mark acted instinctively. While the monster screamed in pain, he grabbed his claymore with both hands and twisted it inside the wound, trying to enlarge the already inflicted damage. The hobgoblin let out an even more agonizing scream, full of murderous rage, and swung its sword. 

Mark barely had time to pull away and withdraw the claymore, but due to the difference in the length of their arms, the monster's sword managed to connect with his body, causing a long cut along his left arm. 

/Clench!/ 

Clenching both his teeth and his grip on the weapon's hilt, he ignored the burning pain in his arm and focused on the monster, which had turned into a raging beast. 

The hobgoblin swung its sword without any trace of technique, making it easier for Mark to dodge and parry, but the force and speed of the monster's attacks made each blow felt deep into his bones. 

/CLANK!/ 

"!" 

A particularly powerful blow glanced off him, forcing him to parry with all his strength. Mark couldn't maintain his balance and fell on his back, his breath knocked out by the impact. 

The hobgoblin wasted no time. With a roar, it raised its sword above its head, ready to deliver the final blow. Mark desperately searched for a way to save himself. In a last, desperate attempt, he grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it into the monster's eyes. 

The monster screamed, momentarily blinded, and staggered backward. This was the opportunity Mark had been waiting for. With a quick movement, he got back on his feet and, with a battle cry, planted his claymore into the hobgoblin's chest and began pushing it with all his might toward the wall of flames. But at the last moment, the monster managed to stop him. 

/GRHAAA!/ 

With an enraged scream, the now disarmed monster dug its sharp claws into Mark's forearms, creating long gashes. 

"AAAAAAARGHH!" /GRHUAAAA!/ 

Both locked in a deadly struggle, screamed with all the air left in their lungs, trying to defeat the opponent in front of them. Both were wounded and had lost a lot of blood, and the searing fire nearby was scorching their skin. But Mark had one last card to play. 

"BURN!" 

Whether directed at the monster or something within himself was unclear, but he surrendered to the same sensation he felt last time and activated overload. He could "see" the energy within his ring go out of control, followed by a surge of strength overwhelming him. 

"GO AND DIE!" 

With muscles charged with energy and bloodshot eyes, he managed to push the monster even further, shoving it into the wall of flames. 

The monster screamed in agony as the flames engulfed it, and using the breach created in the fire, Mark vaulted over it, escaping the circle of fire. 

/heavy breathing/ 

Collapsed on the ground, Mark breathed heavily as the surge of strength he had gained faded away, leaving him with deep exhaustion. Blood trails slipped from his wounds, painting the ground scarlet, but he couldn't afford to rest, not yet. 

Looking up, he could see the chaos caused by the other hobgoblin, which was finally killed after several sacrifices. 

'I don't know if I should consider it luck or not, but all this chaos and the wall of flames must have prevented the others from seeing what I did.' 

That realization made him sigh with relief, and using the little strength he had left, he used the half-destroyed claymore to stand up. 

'And now, where do I find another weap-' 

/BOOOOOM!/ 

Suddenly, the few present could see a building being destroyed by a figure that bounced on the ground a couple of times before stopping. The figure was injured and had damaged armor. Such a scene wouldn't have been surprising, considering the situation they were in, but this was different because the figure on the ground was the strongest man in the citadel, Narak. 

"Wha-" 

Mark was speechless. Even though Narak was a sociopath, he was by no means weak as a level 2, so there was only one explanation. 

/GRUUUUAAA!/ 

The opponent he was facing was much stronger than him. 

From the ruins of the palace emerged a monstrous creature. It resembled a hobgoblin, but at the same time, it seemed like another creature altogether. Its skin was of a brilliant red, pulsating with black veins-like pitch. Its eyes, ablaze with malevolent light, stared at Narak with relentless fury. Its limbs, long and robust, ended in razor-sharp claws. Bony protrusions sprouted from its shoulders, giving the creature an even more terrifying appearance, especially with the enormous bloodied cleaver it held in its hand. 

Mark felt a shiver down his spine as he watched the creature advance towards Narak, ready to finish the job. Thanks to the first skill he had acquired, he could sense that the monster's strength was on a whole other level. 

Seeing the monster closing in on Narak, Mark didn't hesitate for a second. If he had to choose between an uncertain future and one where he would be torn apart by a huge monster, he would choose the former. 

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR! SHOOT EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!" 

Mark's rallying cry jolted the bystanders out of their stunned stupor. A deluge of arrows cascaded down upon the monster, with everyone present joining the frenzied assault. Despite his wounded arms, Mark seized a bow and arrows, unleashing a barrage of shots as swiftly as his injuries allowed. 

The assault of regular and fiery arrows struck the monster but with the only result of annoying it and causing it some scratches. 

/GRUAAAAA!/ 

The monster let out a roar that petrified the crowd as it continued to stride towards its prey, now lying helpless on the ground. 

It approached within a few steps and raised its weapon, when suddenly- 

/FUSH!/ 

An arrow sliced through the air and, as if with a mind of its own, found its target, the monster's eye. 

/GRHHAAH!/ 

The monster howled in agony as it clutched its face. Feeling with its hands, it found the source of its pain and tore out the arrow. 

Another groan of pain escaped the monster's jaws, now infuriated, as it shifted its gaze toward the figure a few meters away. Despite being severely injured, the figure stood menacingly with the bow aimed at it, but the most bizarre thing was the half-smile on its face. 

"Wrong choice to turn your back." - The figure taunted. 

Sensing something, the monster whirled around, but it was too late, and with a furious swing of its enormous axe, Narak cleanly severed the monster's arm. 

Narak had regained consciousness for a while, and even though he would have liked to use the others as a distraction to escape, he wasn't so foolish. He had realized after the brief encounter with the monster that he was weaker, and if he had tried to flee by turning his back, it would have spelled his death. So he waited patiently for an opportunity to arise, and when it did, he acted immediately. 

The monster roared from the loss of the arm wielding the cleaver, but Narak didn't care as he continued to attack, inflicting more and more wounds on the monster. He tried to finish it by aiming for the head, but the monster blocked it with its one arm and, using its sharp teeth, tore a strip of flesh from Narak's arm. 

"FUCK EVERYTHING!" 

Giving up the attack, he jumped back, creating space between himself and the monster. The monster picked up the lost weapon, but unlike what everyone expected, it fled, but the surprise didn't end there. 

/ROOOAAAAR!/ 

At the monster's roar that echoed throughout almost the entire citadel, the other surviving monsters also responded, starting to flee. 

No one knew how to react. It had never happened that monsters fled or, more disturbingly, responded to the orders of another monster. That day too many inexplicable things happened, but still, one thing was certain. 

"We... won?" 

"There are no more, right?" 

The entire citadel appeared to have orchestrated itself seamlessly, resonating with a chorus of jubilation that reverberated in every nook and cranny. After enduring hours of relentless combat and witnessing countless casualties, they had finally vanquished the horde of monsters. As if to herald their triumph, the sun began its ascent on the horizon, casting its golden rays upon the victorious defenders. 

Exhausted and wounded, Mark lay sprawled on the ground, his breaths coming in ragged gasps. He observed the obsidian canvas of the sky transforming gradually, as the first hues of morning began to streak across it. Blood loss had drained him of strength, rendering him unable to even rise to his feet. 

'Seriously, how did I manage to hit its eye, I don't even know.' 

Certainly, Mark wasn't complaining about such a stroke of luck when he heard heavy footsteps approaching him. 

"Was it you who encouraged the others to attack and injure the monster's eye?" Narak asked, looking down at him. 

"The last shot was luck." 

Mark replied sincerely, and it wasn't that he wanted to save Narak, he had simply chosen the less threatening danger. 

"I like honest boys. When you recover, come visit my villa. You, take care of transporting him to the medics," he said to one of the guards. 

"Y-Yes." -The man replied, trembling. 

"Tch, useless beings who freeze at the roar of a monster. Even a half-dead kid has more balls than you." 

With those words, he walked away. Mark watched him for a few seconds before turning his gaze back to the sky thoughtfully. 

Following Narak's orders, they carried Mark as gently as possible to the medics so they could heal him. 

'Anyway, do you know what monster that was? It looked like a hobgoblin if it weren't for being mega strong and having that weird appearance.' 

[I analyzed it during the entire fight, I know it's a hobgoblin and I also know the reason behind its mutation.] 

"Really? Wait, monsters can mutate?" -This information surprised Mark. 

[It's rare but not impossible, also I have good and bad news about the fragment I detected.] 

"Tell me." -Mark's expression immediately became serious. 

[The good news is that I know exactly where it is now.] 

'That's fantastic! Wait, what's the bad news then?' -Mark's excitement disappeared immediately after the Guide's words. 

[It's inside the monster that escaped.] 

'...Excuse me, what? It seems like my ears have a problem. Did you say inside that monster?' 

[Yes. It seems that the monster ate the fragment and due to the energy produced by Origon's protection, it caused the monster to evolve. This explains many things, such as the increase in strength and intelligence, which allowed that monster to lead the others.] 

"...FU-!" 

And so ended Mark's long and exhausting fifteenth day in the new world.