CHAPTER 66(Through Chaos, Know Strength)

Please read the author's notes. (Examples and explanation of moves and appearance+ Monster Sources)

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CHAPTER START---

As the massive chrome bull charged at the adventurers, with Thalie and Welf both hurt, bruises and numb limb from deflecting the volleys of rocks pelted by the Earth Elemental, the Gorgon closes the distance before either of them can even catch their breath.

With one massive leap, it clears the crater or molten stone, the aftermath of Yang's Flame Pillar technique. Welf suddenly feels a force on his shoulder, before the Gorgon can trample them, he finds himself hurtling through the air, tumbling uncontrollably as an intense heat approaches.

"GHA!" Welf takes a deep breath as he tries to regain the wind that was knocked out of him by the sudden movement.

Opening his eyes, he finds himself being held up by his shoulder, with Welf in his right hand and Thalie in his left, Yang hovers above the battlefield.

"ARGH! YOU'RE BURNING US!" Thalie yells out, drawing Yang's attention to the burns travelling across their arms.

"Sorry sorry," He quickly says, throwing them toward the sheer cliff face.

Immediately taking the hint, both adventurers quickly sink their blades, Welf's greatsword and Thalie's shortsword into the wall, keeping themself from falling.

"A little warning next time man," Welf says as he takes out a potion, now sitting on his greatsword as half of it is sunken into the wall horizontally.

"What the hell is up with those flames?" Thalie questions as she stands on her shortsword much like Welf, taking out a potion and pouring it onto her burns.

"This skill locks me into one element but makes it a lot stronger," he says as the Elemental Wheel drops, causing his more intense mage armor to disappear before reappearing when he drops a foot or two.

"Should we fight that thing, I don't know how to deal with someone being turned to stone..." Welf mutters as he stores the empty potion vial away.

"Backing down from fights won't let us get stronger, if we avoid the petrifying breath then we're fine," Yang says before flying down toward the Gorgon below.

"Easy to say when you can fly..." Welf mutters as he pulls his blade out of the wall, dropping into the battle with Thalie on his heels.

As Yang drops onto the back of the Gorgon, a deafening sound of metal hitting metal rings out as his gauntlet smashes into the monster's back.

"RAARRHHH!" The Gorgon cries out, releasing a bellow of green mist from its mouth.

With a wave of his hand Yang send a gust of wind out, dispersing the cloud before strikes the beast with another strong punch.

"Don't forget about us now!" Welf yells out as he drops down with a vertical slash, hitting his target, the monster's hind leg.

"CLANG*

Feeling the vibrations shaking his previously numb arm, Welf winces as he leaps backward, regaining his composure.

"I can't scratch it, what the hell!" Welf yells out to inform his allies.

"Same here, feel like punching a wall!" Yang responds as he jumps backward, landing beside Welf.

"HIT THE EYES!" Thalie yells out from above as she lands on the other side of the monster, drawing their attention to the glowing red eyes within the metallic skull.

'Ugh, I should've thought of that...' Both men think as they mentally facepalm.

"I'll try to keep it still, get ready!" Yang yells out as he rushes at the now-standing monster.

Pushing more strength into his legs, he sprints toward the side of the monster, cracks forming on the ground with every step he takes, his flames gathering toward his feet as he opens both his palms, preparing the thrust them upwards.

As he prepares to engage, Thalie throws a dagger at the monster's face, unable to hit the eyes because of the horn blocking her vision, but hitting the snout.

*CLANG*

As the dagger bounces off the monster's face, it bounces into the air, back toward her open hand as she rushes forward.

As the Gorgon turns its attention to Thalie, it suddenly feels an impact on its underside, placing his hands on the monster Yang forces all the magic he can into his flight technique, making himself into a thruster to tip over the monster.

"ARHHHHHHH!" He cries out, the immense weight of a massive steel bull feeling like an anchor holding him in place.

Focusing all he can into pushing the struggling monster, a voice breaks the tension for a moment.

"DON'T STOP, WE'VE GOT THIS!" Welf cries out as he leaps over the monster, tossing a chain around one of its ankles as he vaults to the other side of the beast, pulling with all his might on the chain, between him and Yang the monsters front leg begins to skid, losing friction and allowing Yang to raise it a bit.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" With one final push, Yang tips the Gorgon over, as Welf puts the last of his strength into pulling on the chain the beast's leg gives and slides out from under it.

With a loud crash, the monster falls onto its side, struggling to rise as Yang bares down on it with all the thrust he can muster from his flames.

Rushing toward the Gorgon's face, as Yang blows a gust of wind from his lips, dispersing the petrifying mist breath, Thalie's daggers strike true.

Leaping forward, she sinks both blades into the glowing red eyes of the monster, a blood rushes out of its eye sockets the beats roars in agony.

"RAAAGGGGGG!"

As it thrashes and struggles, the metallic skin begins to crack, and the same petrifying mist begins to slowly pour out.

With one desperate thrash, a horn gores Thalie's leg, punching a hole through her left thing as it knocks her back.

"Ahh!" She cries out while being ragdolled across the floor, her allies immediately falling back toward her, taking a small reprieve.

"Thalie!" Welf calls out over his shoulder.

"I'm fine, just need...potions... ahhh," She winces while pouring a potion onto her leg, "It pierced my armor like nothing, you got a miracle somewhere up your ass kid?" She poses a question to Yang.

"Uh, I'm hoping so..." he replies, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

Thrusting his palms forward, a massive torrent of wind rushes down the valley, blowing the mist further away. For a moment, the cracks in the monster's metal hide can be seen, a moment later more mist begins pouring out of them.

"I got a plan, Welf, be ready to distract it, it's blind but when I start moving it'll feel and hear me coming..." Yang says before rushing forward.

"I gotcha," Welf says with a firm nod.

As Yang charges the monster once more, with no magic skills active, intentionally saving all the mana he can for his plan. With another wave of his hand, he clears the mist, drawing the Gorgon's attention and causing it to turn to face him head-on.

The blind creature digs into the ground with its hooves, the classic tell of a charging bull.

"RAGHHHH!"

It cries out before rushing forward, the ground trembling with every step, everything in its path is trampled, from rocks to the monster corpses from previous fights, all are flattened.

'Please work please work please work,' Yang chants in his head as he activates flames on his feet.

As both combatants are about to clash, Yang boosts himself upward at the last moment, twirling in mid-air he waves his hand once more and clears the mist around the Gorgons body before boosting himself onto the monster's back.

"AAARGH!" The monster screams before it stops, and realigns its charge, now focusing on his allies.

"WELF NOW!" He yells out while slamming both his palms onto the monster, with wind surrounding one hand and blue flames surrounding the other, his magic begins to swirl as he straddles the beast, with it desperately trying to throw him off he grits his teeth and bears the force.

Forcing more and more magic into the gaps between the metal skin, wind and fire mix and swirl, the metal skin heats up as it charges his allies still.

*CLANG*

Welf rushes forward and blocks the charge with a greatsword against the horns of the monster.

"HURRY UP!" He yells out, his hands bucking and bleeding from the force of the impact, pushing himself past his limits as he can hear his blade cracking. Desperately trying to keep the beast still for Yang to work.

"AHHHHHH!" Welf cries out, blood-red flames bursting forth on his hand as it travels up his blade.

"PRESSURE DAMAGE!" Yang cries out, releasing one of his most powerful attacks inside the creature.

*BOOM!*

Everyone is blown back as blue flames come pouring out of the beast, enveloping the battlefield.

"Argh, what, the fuck..." Thalie groans as she struggles to her feet, fresh burns on her body once more.

"Did we... win?" Welf asks as he rolls over on his back, the hilt of his blade remaining in his grasp, the blade shattered and scattered about.

"I...what..." Yang mutters, looking down at his hands, the tips of his fingers slowly being petrified, transforming into lifeless grey stone.

"DUDE!" Welf yells out as he rushes over and immediately empties a potion onto the stone fingers.

Nothing happens.

"DAMN IT!"

"We need to move, maybe someone at the next safe zone has an answer," Thalie suggests.

"Yeah let---" Welf words are interrupted by the sound of stone breaking, from the smoke and embers, the silhouette of the Gorgon walking forward.

As it walks through the smoke, the metally body can be seen melted together, preventing any more petrifying mist from seeping out, still hot to the touch and visibly warped from the sudden intense heat.

"Can you.. cool it down?" Thalie asks as she leans against the valley wall.

"Yeah just, lemme focus..." yang says while pursing his lips.

'Geyser'

A torrent of water comes out of his mouth and washes over the monster.

With a bit of shaking, the now cool metal stops glowing, no other change.

"I was hoping it would cool and lock in place but, damn it."

"Yeah same here, that's how metal normal works," Welf adds.

As the monster begins to dig its hoof into the ground once more, it immediately charges forward.

With mist pouring out of its mouth and one small gash in its head in two now visible as it gets closer, the Trifecta is literally up against the wall for ideas.

The petrification spreads, racing up to Yang's elbows, as Welf makes to help Thalie up, her leg still injured from being gored, Yang suddenly speaks up.

"No. Running. Keep. Moving. Forward." Yang says between ragged breaths.

Looking back toward their resident mage, Welf and Thalie are every kind of surprised to see the petrification accelerating, spreading all the way to his shoulders before it suddenly stops.

As his Chaos Mark burst to life from his forehead and spreads across his body, as it passes over the petrified skin, the stone fades away. Caramel-brown flesh returns once more, and an unrecognizable emotion burns in Yang's eyes, a deep desire for victory comes bursting forth.

"Should we be worried?" Welf mutters as he quickly moves Thalie away, leaving Yang glaring hatefully at the charging bull.

"I just had to ask for a miracle," Thalie jokes as she hobbles away.

Leaping forward, with no magic on his person, Yang grabs the bull by the horns.

Digging his feet into the stone as he pulls down, slamming the beast's face into the floor as the weight of it pushing his feet through the stone, forcing him back a few meters.

"Holy fuck," Thalie says, wide-eyed as she stares at the young adventurer.

With one swift motion, he reaches down and shoves his fingers into the slash in the middle of the bull's face, and begins pulling.

With all his might he begins pulling each half of the monster's face apart.

"RARRGHH! RAARGHGHGAGR!" The monster cries out as its skull is torn into two pieces.

As the Gorgon becomes dust, with the crystal in its skull shattered and on the floor, Yang shifts his gaze to his allies, with the threat now gone and his desire satiated, for now, the chaos mark fades away as a confused expression takes over his face.

"Huh, what happened?" He asks obliviously.

"A miracle?" Thalie asks with wide eyes.

END CHAPTER---