A Grim Situation (Part 1)

--- Arrowhead Tower, 15th floor ---

~Grawrrr!!!

A Grayhound Bear growled, waiting for Ebonmare and the rest to make their move. Just as they were all at a standstill, a loud shout came from Boras, or rather, it came from something Boras had.

"Requesting backup! Need help now!"

"Huh? What do you mean you need backup?" Ebonmare shouted since he thought it was Boras asking for help, but he was wrong obviously.

...

"Oi! Where are you right now?" Boras shouted at his guild emblem and ignored everything else.

"Glimmertree Sanctuary. I'm currently heading back to the city at full speed..." Bloody Harvest said with panic in his voice.

"Oi! Harvest! Speak up!" Boras shouted because Bloody Harvest suddenly became silent.

...

Boras' actions were a bit eye-catching to everyone, including the monster they were currently fighting. The Grayhound Bear immediately went to action the moment it saw everyone distracted by Boras' actions.

It quickly charged towards Ebonmere, who was its biggest problem, since he was the guardian and main tank of the group.

~ROAARRR!!!

'Shield of Valor!'

Ebonmare immediately used this skill to hold back the Grayhound Bear charging at him. He then shouted, "Boras! Get your s**t together!" After this, he decided to put all of his focus on holding back the monster that kept on banging his shield.

"Ebonmare, that guy ditched us!" Polevar, the ranger keeping watch on their backs shouted.

...

--- Autumn Plains, somewhere near Glimmertree City

"Hey lass, were are you going?" A bandit wearing the usual leather armor said while he licked his lips and looked at Roselia lustfully. Together with him was a large band of bandits which probably had around 80 to 100 people.

"F*ck off!" Roselia cursed since she was currently trying to run as fast as she can, in order to provide Bloody Harvest some backup. But her luck was just really bad and encountered this group of bandits that camped out in this area.

"I don't think so. But I know someone who needs a good fu..." A bandit said this while he licked his dagger. But before he can even finish off what he was saying, Roselia shot him between the eyes with a revolver.

...

--- Golden Phoenix Guild Hall, Hub Center

"Heda, let's go now!" Jay shouted since he knew how dire the situation was for Bloody Harvest. For him to encounter planar invaders... it was just the worst thing that could happen.

"Coming master!" Heda said before the both of them left the Hub Center.

...

Outside the guild hall...

'Complete Transformation!'

Heda went to her monster form and Jay went to his chicken form before the both of them rushed at full speed towards Glimmertree City.

...

--- A distance away from Glimmertree Sanctuary

"Fool. You think you can outrun the great Riku? Niyahahaha!!!" The demon riding the gigantic snake said ecstatically and laughed while he looked at Bloody Harvest in disdain.

Bloody Harvest was currently lying down on the ground, blood flowing off from his face and hands, and two broken daggers on his hands.

'Shadow's Embrace!'

Bloody Harvest was about to attempt to hide in the shadows for the time being, but the gigantic black python's gigantic tail suddenly slammed down on him.

"Riku! Don't be a bad boy. Our highness wants him alive for now." The demon said as he patted the bony crown on the gigantic black python's head.

...

A few minutes later...

All of the core members of Golden Phoenix were currently rushing towards the outskirts of Glimmertree City to look for Bloody Harvest. Everyone busy with their treasure hunting operation stopped whatever they were doing and did their best to arrive quickly.

"Harvest!" Boras shouted since he was the first one to arrive at the bloody scene. He saw Bloody Harvest in a very pitiful state.

Bloody Harvest was currently impaled on one of the spikes of the bony crown of the gigantic black python. The demon riding the python was playing some kind of game with his knife and used Bloody Harvest's body as his target.

AAAHHHHH!!!

Bloody Harvest screamed very loud. Everything in his body hurts. He feels really dizzy from all the tail slams the python did to him. His body felt like as if it was on fire. His blood felt like electric currents that ran throughout his body. It was just too much...

"Damn you!" Boras did not even hesitate one bit and took out a black rifle from his storage ring and fired it at the gigantic python's head.

'Double Shot!'

'Double Penetration!'

'Cluster Bullet'

Boras kept using these three skills over and over again as he fired the black rifle in his hands. The first two skills he used was the usual low-tiered skill gunners used. As for Cluster Bullet, a 4th tier gunner skill, it made the bullets he fired explode into clusters of fire when it hits the target.

"Huh? Riku, frost breath." The demon said casually and not even considered Boras as some kind of threat.

~Fwoooo...

The gigantic black python's mouth opened widely and a freezing beam of wind came out from it. It targeted Boras, who was still firing his rifle like a madman.

"Impossible. Why aren't my attacks doing anything!!?" Boras shouted furiously and used a tier 2 skill called 'Backstep' to dodge the frost breath. But sadly, he was not fast enough and his left arm together with the rifle he was using got frozen solid.

"AAAHHHH!!!" Boras shouted. His left arm just hurts too much, as if some kind of poison was invading his body through his frozen left arm. Not even hesitating one bit, he took out one of the pistols on his belt using his right hand and fired at his frozen left arm to blast it off.

~Bang, bang, bang!

...

"Oh? He actually survived that? To sacrifice his arm without hesitation at all, this human is interesting..." The demon licked his lips in delight as he looked at Boras.

"Riku, capture him. Our highness needs courageous fools like him."

...

--- Arrowpeak Tower, Entrance ---

"Damn. So close. If only Boras helped us, we might have killed the boss on the twentieth floor." Polevar said with a frustrated look on his face.

"Why are you even frustrated with this? Just stop pretending to be a ranger or something and use your gunner class." Molly said while he smacked Polevar's head lightly.

"What about you two? Care for another round later on?" Ebonmare asked Levi and Arthur, the adventurers Boras hired.

Just as the two were about to answer...

~Aghhh..

~Ouch...

Arthur and Levi suddenly felt as if someone punched their bellies really hard. This was what hired adventurers experience when the one who hired them was in serious danger.

"Sorry. Got to hurry up and save that guy. He still has a contract with us." Arthur said with a pained expression on his face.

"Boras? The hell is wrong with that guy? He runs of on us and now he is in some kind of danger..." Beacon said as he sighed.

...

--- A distance away from Glimmertree Sanctuary

The only core members of Golden Phoenix that are yet to arrive were Roselia, Yale, and Roasted Boar. The ones present who witnessed the grim fate of Boras and Bloody Harvest were Jay, Heda, Abby, and Annie.

"Boras! Bloody Harvest!" Jay shouted as he looked at the gigantic python's bony crown. Boras and Bloody Harvest looked as if they were about to die due to the blood loss. The bony crown on the gigantic black python did not even have its usual white color anymore due to all the bloodstains.

"JAY! FLEE NOW!" Not even having a chance to vent out his anger or save the two, the Chicken Lord shouted at Jay.

"No! We need to save those two! I'm not letting them die!" Jay rebutted.

"JUST LEAVE NOW!!! LISTEN TO ME!" The Chicken Lord shouted and pleaded for Jay to leave. He keeps detecting an abnormal amount of magicka from the gigantic python and an immeasurable and unknown type of energy coming from the distant cave, where Glimmertree Sanctuary was located. The only explanation the Chicken Lord have for this abnormality was that the gigantic black python and whatever thing was in the Glimmertree Sanctuary were some kind of powerhouses of the planar invaders.

...

Jay was filled with so much hate and anger right now. He hated himself for not being able to protect them even with all the training he went through. He felt anger towards the demon and the gigantic black python for what they have done.

AAAAAGGHHHHH!!!

Jay did not care anymore even with all of the pleading the Chicken Lord was doing and went to his Moon Warrior form.

A dark-grayish light that looked like an armor set covered him. The pupils of his eyes turned into a shiny gray color. Two longswords made out of thin air appeared on both his hands.

"Damn you!" Jay shouted as he charged towards the gigantic black python.

~Hiss...

"Is that human out of his mind?" The demon smirked as he looked at Jay while he enjoyed slashing Boras and Bloody Harvest's bodies.

"Riku. Kill him."

The gigantic black python moved its tail like a whip as it attacked Jay. It was so fast, the only thing everyone else could see was a dark blur heading towards Jay.

"Jay!!!" Heda and the rest shouted. Annie started casting her cleric skills frantically towards Jay, Heda tried using her skills to slow down the gigantic python, and Abby started casting spell after spell as she targeted the gigantic black python's head.

~Hiss...

The gigantic black python got enraged with all of these spells and it unleashed a roar. A dragon's roar.

~ROOOOARRRR!!!

"Watch out!" Heda tried her best to warn Abby and Annie but it was too late. Due to that roar, blood started flowing out of the ears of the two girls as they lost their sense of hearing.

"Annie! Can you hear me! Annie!"

"My ears... I can't hear anything!"

The two of them panicked and started crying. Abby even slumped down to the ground and started crying.

...

"You f**king piece of s**t!!!" Jay cursed loudly and used Shadow Phase Rush. His main target was not the gigantic black python, but rather, the demon riding it. He knew that he stood no chance against the monster. But if he could just kill the demon and save Boras and Bloody Harvest, they can all retreat as fast as they can.

"Huh?" As Jay suddenly vanished into thin air after 'getting hit' with the tail of the gigantic black python, the demon was a bit weirded out by the situation.

"DIE MOTHERF***ER!" This was the last thing it heard before getting decapitated by Jay.

After killing the demon, Jay pulled Boras and Bloody Harvest out from the bony crown of the python. The two did not even feel the pain of getting a large bony spike getting pulled out of their stomachs due to the torturous pain they were feeling.

Jay immediately grabbed the two and used Shadow Phase Rush and targeted Heda's shadow.

...

"Annie, heal them now! We're leaving!" Jay shouted but did not know that Annie was deaf due to that dragon's roar that the gigantic black python did.

Annie just stood there, as if she was a lifeless statue.

Jay shouted even loudly but decided to just put Bloody Harvest and Boras in front of her.

"Heal them now!!!"

Annie snapped back to her senses and casted 'Grand Cure' on them. Grand Cure was the strongest healing spell she knew and can heal anyone instantly. The only downside to this spell was that it used up too much magicka and she can only cast it up to three times before she passes out.

After healing the two, Jay signaled everyone to run immediately, carried Boras and Bloody Harvest, and took out his guild emblem.

"Boar, Yale, Roselia! Return to the guild hall now!" Jay shouted. And at the same time, his Moon Warrior form disappeared.

"What?! It hasn't even been an hour!" Jay thought to himself and suddenly saw the gigantic black python chasing all of them. And while chasing them, the tip of its tail kept gathering an immeasurable amount of magicka and for some reason, it also drained them of the magicka from their bodies.

"Master, I don't feel so good..." Heda said before she suddenly collapsed.

"HEDA!!!" Jay shouted and tears flowed down his face as he saw the gigantic black python coiling around Heda's body and opened its mouth widely, ready to chomp down and eat...

~Hisss...

Just as the worse was going to happen...

~ROOOOOAARRR!!!

A gigantic blur suddenly crashed on the gigantic python's head.

"Stay away from her you beast!"

It was Lydia in her dragon form. And when Jay looked up in the skies, he saw three other dragons with her. One of them was the Dragon King, Ori.

"Jay, take Heda and flee!" Lydia shouted as she used her tail to throw Heda's unconscious body towards Jay.

'Monster Essence!'

Jay turned Heda into a blob of monster essence for the meantime since he cannot carry her around due to her being in her monster form. After that, they all fled, leaving the four dragons to deal with the gigantic black python.