Chapter Eighteen

Chrome's body begins to glow with a faint white light as he invokes his skill, Cover Move. The air around him distorts and ripples, as if reality itself is bending to accommodate his movement. In an instant, Chrome vanishes from the inn and reappears on the battlefield, his cleaver and shield at the ready. With a swift and deadly strike, Chrome plunges his cleaver into the neck of the nearest Ursagorath, aiming to sever its head from its body. However, the toughness of the undead surprises him, sending it flying instead. Elara, still shaken by her near-death experience, stares at Chrome in awe, her cheeks reddening in a blush. Elara and the Stormbringers gape as the unknown warrior regards the two undead monsters before him with an impassive look.

"It seems to work after all," he says casually, as if he isn't facing beings of pure destruction.

Chrome's thoughts, however, are anything but casual.

'Oi!! How do I get rid of a summon? Ehh? It's gotten stronger, way stronger.'

Sensing his own magic within the two undead monsters, Chrome attempts to sever the connection between them. The difference is immediate as both undead begin shrinking, losing their mana source.

"One hit, and it's already in such a state. Incredible!" Kai cries out in disbelief.

Shin, however, runs towards Elara and a dying Holga.

"Hang in there, Holga." He fetches a purple vial from his storage pouch.

Chrome's expression remains calm, but his thoughts race.

'Okay, so I can control the summons. But how do I get rid of them for good?'

He focuses his magic once more, attempting to dispel the summons entirely. The Ursagoraths let out a deafening roar as they begin to dissipate, their bodies slowly crumbling into nothingness. A sigh of relief escapes Chrome as he watches the undead monsters fade away.

"Ehh?" he mutters, "At least that's what I think they're about to do, but life is never so straightforward, is it?"

Chrome and the members of the Stormbringers watch in horror as the remaining Ursagorath, now five meters tall, suddenly pounces on the dying half of the other Ursagorath's body. With a vigor even greater than when it had attacked, the Ursagorath devours its brethren. The Ursagorath's fading form immediately ceases, as it is instantly covered in dark miasmic shadows, releasing an intense wave of darkness and lightning.

'It's... resisting the dispel,' Chrome sweatdrops.

The rest of the Stormbringers who can move immediately jump out of the wave's path, with Chrome raising his shield to protect Elara and Holga.

As the dark miasmic shadows envelop the Ursagorath, its body begins to twist and contort, its form elongating and distending in ways that defy human comprehension. The air fills with an unholy energy, as if the very fabric of reality is being torn apart. The forest cries as souls of the dead are sucked into the forming eldritch horror.

"What in the world...?" Shin's voice trails off in horror as he watches the Ursagorath's transformation. "It's absorbing the residual lightning energy from Holga's attack."

"It's evolving?!" Kai's eyes widen with fear. "We need to get out of here, now!"

But it's too late. The Ursagorath's transformation is complete, and it rises from the ground, its body now a nine-meter mass of dark energy and shadow, with two new arms. Its eyes glow with an otherworldly yellow light, as yellow and black lightning run down its form. It lets out a deafening roar that shakes the earth. Chrome's shield glows with a faint grey light as he prepares to face the monstrosity.

"Well, this is fun," he says, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Just what I needed. Another existential crisis."

Elara's eyes are fixed on the Ursagorath, her face pale with fear.

"What do we do?" she whispers.

"We fight... We win." Chrome's expression, somehow visible through his mask, shows a predatory grin. Standing before the newly evolved Ursagorath, he looks awfully tiny in comparison. "This thing is even bigger than Syrup. Hopefully, it doesn't have the same—"

He doesn't get to finish his words, as the Ursagorath opens its mouth, an immense amount of lightning, miasmic, and destructive mana converging at the entrance.

"...attack skills," he finishes, eyes fixed on the Ursagorath's maw. "Spoke too soon."

The air around the Ursagorath's mouth distorts and crackles with energy, as if reality itself is being torn apart.

"Well, that's just great," Chrome says, his voice laced with sarcasm.

With a fierce battle cry, from monster and souls alike, the Ursagorath unleashes a torrent of lightning and dark energy.

|| Ghost Cannon ||

A blast that threatens to consume everything in its path. Chrome raises his shield, planting himself in front of Elara and Holga.

|| Cover ||

Boom

Several seconds later, the blinding light fades. The terrain around them is in ruins, torn to pieces. A testament to the sheer power of the Ursagorath's attack. Chrome stands at the center of those ruins, shield held high. His stalwart defense has allowed Elara to escape the lasers of death.

Still smoking from the attack, Chrome trembles.

"Damn, that was heavy." Maintaining a facade of confidence, Chrome stands with a chuckle.

Elara and the members of the Stormbringers stare in awe at the unharmed warrior who has taken the equivalent of an A-rank explosion spell, unaware of the amount of pain coursing through said warrior's body. This is the first time Chrome feels pain since coming to this world.

'If my equipment wasn't indestructible, it wouldn't be in one piece.' Chrome feels his pain alleviate. 'Looks like the passive effect of Soul Syphon works on ranged attacks too.'

Soul Syphon, just like Chrome's other skills, has changed upon arrival into this world. The original skill, which allowed him to recover when taking damage from an attack, has now become a passive ability. As for the new active ability, well, let's just say the name of the skill is not a bluff.

"Whew… Not my first time trying to solo a boss, but… I guess I'm not actually solo."

Looking behind him, he glances at the party as they seem to have found their resolve, grabbing their weapons. Chrome raises his shield with a grin and then gets the battle rolling. Thick shadow vines spawn from the ground around the Ursagorath, quickly grasping at Chrome at insane speeds, but a few slashes from his cleaver end that idea. With a leap, Chrome charges forward, his cleaver slicing through multiple shadow vines and aiming for the Ursagorath's dark energy body. The Undead roars in response, its yellow eyes flashing with fury as it swings one of its four massive arms at Chrome.

Boom. Chrome's cleaver meets the Ursagorath's claws in a duel of strength. The air crackles from the clash between the two, neither giving an inch. Slowly but surely, Chrome begins to push back the undead creature, grey energy coalescing around his blade. The Ursagorath, now finding itself being pushed back, swings another arm at Chrome. Chrome immediately swings his shield to block, but without a foothold in the air, he is sent flying into multiple trees with a crash. The members of the Stormbringers can barely move after witnessing such a display of power from both the warrior and undead creature. The Ursagorath quickly takes advantage, sending dozens of shadow vines at the party.

Chrome quickly scrambles to his feet, his shield arm numb from the impact. With an energetic laugh, he launches himself.

|| Cover Move ||

Appearing in front of Elara yet again, Chrome swings his cleaver horizontally, a savage grin on his face, releasing a grey slash that speeds towards the Ursagorath, cutting through shadow vines on its path. Slamming into the Ursagorath, the slash pushes it back, slicing through trees along the way. Chrome waves his cleaver before the Stormbringers.

"Hey, you guys okay? The name's Chrome." Snapping the party out of their shock and awe, Chrome smiles nervously. "Just so you know, I'm a shielder. So feel free to jump in anytime."

Deflecting a claw-shaped projectile with his shield, Chrome hacks at the Ursagorath with his blade. But offense is hardly the purview of a tank, so he doesn't make much headway. And given how hard the Ursagorath is hitting, drawing out this fight would be unwise.

Figuring he needs a new approach, Chrome counters an attack and shouts, "Move!!" The members of the Stormbringers join the fray. Jarred leaps high into the air, raising his claymore, now shining with radiant light. Kai nocks five blazing red arrows into his bow, pouring every bit of mana at his command. Elara, leaving Holga with Shin, launches herself at the Ursagorath's neck.

Boom. The force of their sudden attack and the Ursagorath's lack of balance overwhelm the creature, creating a crater.

"Try that on for size!" Chrome cheers.

As the light fades, he hears a rumbling sound. The Ursagorath is down. But that isn't entirely a good thing. There's a crackling noise, and the Ursagorath stabs its four arms into the ground. Skeletons start pouring out from all corners.

"The hell?" Chrome's eyes widen in shock as the skeletons emerge, their bony bodies clattering as they move.

The Stormbringers stare in horror, their weapons still raised from their previous attack. Elara's eyes flash.

"We can't let them overwhelm us! Focus on the Ursagorath, we'll take care of the skeletons!"

With a fierce battle cry, the Stormbringers charge forward, their weapons slicing through the skeletons with ease.

Chrome launches himself towards the Ursagorath. Keeping one eye on the weakening party, he chips away at the Ursagorath. As long as he can avoid the Ursagorath's attacks, Soul Syphon will take care of any damage the skeleton hordes manage to do.

But despite their best efforts, the skeletons keep coming, their numbers seemingly endless. The Ursagorath, still in combat with Chrome, continues to summon more and more skeletons, its dark energy fueling their undead bodies.

|| Shield Attack ||

The Ursagorath barely defends, so it's easy to land blows, and that's a huge help. Reeling from the knockback, the Ursagorath is totally exposed.

"Damn thing has the same powers as me." Chrome mutters, "this'll never end."

Focusing too much on his combination attacks could leave him open to a nasty counter, so Chrome backs off after a few hits. Again and again, he brings the Ursagorath close to defeat, but only because the Stormbringers are around. And the incredibly helpful party is keeping the bulk of the skeletons busy. Without the Stormbringers, Chrome would have likely had to erase the entire forest area, and he doesn't think that's a good idea.

"I better thank them for this later… Flame Slash!"

After his blade becomes wreathed in grey flame, he lands a diagonal strike on the Ursagorath's torso. And with that, the Ursagorath howls in pain. It retreats to the center of the crater, calling the skeletons to its side. As they collapse to the ground, black orbs emerge from each for the Ursagorath to absorb.

Seeing this, Chrome turns to the party.

"Yeah, this isn't going as well as I planned. It's too tough for me to take out without going overboard. Not with you all here."

"So there's nothing we can do?" Elara, shaken by the aura emitting from the center of the crater, shudders.

"On the contrary, there's a final move to play," Chrome smiles, a confident look on his face.

The members of the Stormbringers, apart from Elara, stare at him skeptically. What final move is he talking about that he refused to use until now?

"Maple Tree's Ultimate Technique," Chrome takes his stance, a wild smile on his face.

The members of the Stormbringers prepare themselves for whatever attack Chrome is about to unleash on the undead.

With a booming voice, Chrome yells, "Let Maple handle it!!"

Yes, it's time to unleash the Maple.