Monster Ambush (2)

'Fuck! This is really bad!'

At that moment as the huge mass of black slime was brought crashing down on Adriel, the time froze and a seed of doubt sprouted within me.

'Can the hero of this world really die? Before he completes his duty which was bestowed upon him by fate itself, which was confirmed by the Oracle of Delphi later.'

The black mass came down closer and closer to Adriel's lying body. It was a matter of moments before everything would turn black for Adriel.

*Swoosh∼*

"Aargggghhh!!"

A silver arrow pierced through the air, leaving a trail of divine energy behind it. What followed the arrow was the reverberating groaning of the monster. The monster's attack was disturbed as the arrow dug into one of its eye-like red glowing circles on its face. The monster held its eye with both of its hands and fell onto its butt. The ground shook a little as it fell.

When I looked at who shot that error, I wasn't surprised to see that It wasn't Amelia. Nadia had shot that arrow. Although it was probably her first time using a bow, her aim was almost perfect. After all, she was the daughter of Artemis, the goddess of hunting. The information on how to use the bow was coded in her genes.

The monster had recovered from the arrow and stood up, preparing to finish the job it had started. But the time won thanks to Nadia's efforts was more than enough for me and Eleanor to arrive at the battleground.

Before the monster could take a step towards Adriel, I lifted my arms and commanded a solid sand barrier to appear out of the ground. This time the wall was much thicker and taller. The high divine energy usage caused a cramp on my arm but the wall had successfully risen, confusing the monster.

While the monster tried to figure out what was going on, Eleanor snatched Adriel from the ground and we backed away, beside Amelia and Nadia.

"Any plan?"

Nadia asked with a nervous smile. I peeked at Adriel, his body was full of bruises and wounds. His complexion was dead pale. He must have had many broken bones as well.

"Eleanor, can you heal Adriel too?"

"No. Although it is fine as long as I use it on myself, It consumes too much divine energy when applied to another. I can't possibly use it twice in a row."

"I see..."

Without Adriel, it was hard for us to defeat this monster, considering we were already exhausted prior to the incoming final fight. I tried to remember how Adriel had won against this monster in the novel.

Then it hit me. I faceplamed myself in my mind, unable to believe that I missed such an obvious clue. In the novel, the main cast had figured out that the two glowing red circles were the these monsters' weak spots. The main cast was able to find its weak points after assaulting the monsters altogether.

The fact that that huge monster was knocked down by just a single arrow, which had hit right in those red circles, proved its weakness. I examined the face of the monster, which was just a mass of black slime, with one red circle glowing under the layers of slime.

'One circle?'

The other circle that got hit by the arrow had lost its glow and become hollow. 

'So that's how it is...'

"You all see the red glowing eye-like circle on its face? It is its weak spot! If we can strike at its last eye, just like how Nadia did, we may have a chance."

"Are you sure that is its weak spot?"

"Yeah, just trust me."

Eleanor nodded and decided to trust my words. Even though it was vague, a plan was formed nonetheless.

"Amelia, take Adriel and Nadia and escape to the camp, it shouldn't be that far away from here. After arriving, call for help."

"No! We can't leave you two behind! This monster might kill you!"

"Don't get me wrong, I am not sacrificing myself. I am just getting rid of burdens."

"W-What... What are you saying?"

"How are you going to help us in any way if you can't even shoot an arrow?! Just leave so that at least we can focus all our attention on the battle."

"B-But..."

Looking at her with empty eyes, I was really annoyed with how she was behaving. I didn't understand how she couldn't get her head around such a simple fact. Thankfully, Nadia intervened between us before I opened my mouth to spout some cruel facts.

"Amelia! Let's go! He is right we are only being a burden for them..."

Amelia took a last look at me and Eleanor. Her head dropped and her eyes teared up. She clenched her hands into a fist and bit her lips. But she finally gave away and complied with my request.

"Okay..."

Just before we separated, Adriel, who was on Nadia's back, opened his eyes one last time and whispered before they began running off in the opposite direction. 

"Don't you guys die..."

'Like I would die here...'

With that, I and Eleanor were left with the boss monster alone. The monster broke out of my sand walls and began advancing towards us. With each step, the ground quivered. I extended my hand to grip the hilt of my daggers but my hands were left out in the air.

*Sigh...*

'I forgot to take back my dagger since we hurried our way here to help Adriel...'

"For your information, I don't have my daggers on me right now."

"Really?"

*Roar!*

The loud roar of the monster jumped high, planning to squash us with its feet. I rolled right while Eleanor dashed towards the left to dodge the monster. As the monster landed on the ground, chunks of sand were sent flying into the air.

The chunks of sand obstructed our sight. As the masses of sand settled in, I saw the monster coming at me with quick steps. It swung its punch which was surprisingly cumbersome.

'It is already weakened because of its one eye getting abolished.'

Instead of avoiding the punch I decided to pair it with my own punch since its strength was much lower than I had anticipated. I directed my divine energy towards my hand. A black and red hue covered my punch.

As the black slimy mass beard down on me, I slid my right foot back and punched it back with all I got. Upon collision, a mini shockwave emanated through the air, dispersing grains of sand away. Although I was feeling considerable pain, it was nothing compared to the damage it caused to the monster.

The power in my punch was transmitted to the hand of the monster. The mass of black slime wobbled and the force was propagated through his entire arm, creating a wave on its arm's surface. Following these reactions, its arm was blown up due to high inner pressure, revealing what seemed to be its bones. Big drops of black slimy matter were sent into the sky and rained down on the area.

The monster needed a few seconds to comprehend what just happened to its arm. But this bewilderment only put it at more disadvantage. Eleanor didn't waste the opportunity to attack while the monster was in bewilderment and lunged on its head from behind. Her sword was coated with her green-blue divine energy. One strike from the sword would be deadly for the monster.

Eleanor tried to thrust his blade into the back side of the monster's head, aiming for the blade to pass through the monster's skull and destroy its red eye. Unfortunately, the monster barely reacted in time and blocked Eleanor's blade by using its other arm as a shield. During the process of saving its life, the monster lost its second arm, and a block of black slime fell onto the ground.

*Thud*

Although it had lost both of its arms, the monster still possessed the means to fight back. The monster swung its leg at Eleanor. She put on a guard with her sword yet the force of the kick was enough to send him flying into the sea, which was not so much of an intelligent choice regarding she was the daughter of the sea.

The monster retreated a few steps while Eleanor came out of the sea with bodies of water carrying her through the air. She gently landed next to me.

"I thought we had to destroy those red eyes to defeat it. It seems like it will be dead before we can even reach the eye."

"Don't be so hasty. We're just getting started..."

"Hmm?"

Following my words, the giant monster began trembling and its last eye shined bright, scattering red light beams in different directions. The trembling scaled up until it abruptly ceased. After a moment of silence, masses of black slime emerged out of its shoulders, forming two new arms.

Eleanor stared at the monster in disbelief, mouth agape.

"I told you. We're just getting started..."

"I see..."