Gauntlet

Emma and Roman slowly retreated towards the muddy wall. Emma kept her spear up and in a position to block. Meanwhile, Roman guided her back, alerting her of bumps or logs that could trip her.

But their retreating couldn't continue forever, sooner or later one of the many beasts in the crater would grow the confidence to rush in. Speaking of, a great-value corrupted gorilla pulled a tree from the debri and lobbed it over its shoulder.

The dark haired abomination dug its fingers into the wood, cracking the bark and crushing the log. It swung the log around and threw it into the air, barreling towards Emma and Roman.

Emma rushed towards the log, she had to be proactive. She leaped into the air and split the log in two before it could reach the ground.

Still in the air, Emma used her spear like a bat and swung into one of the halves of the log. The log slightly nudged back, and then Emma boosted it.

The half of the log accelerated backwards and plummeted towards the monkey, crashing into its chest and settling on the beast's neck. Pinned beneath the log, the monkey roared in agony.

Its voice curdled and its short legs spasmed before its punctured lungs finally gave out.

[Corrupted Black Howler Slain]

Emma landed on the ground, but the attack already commenced. With the momentum from the Black Howler, the rest of the creatures charged towards the unlucky duo.

Emma jumped into the air and flew across the crater until she collided with a Corrupted Rabbit. Emma beheaded the beast and then arched her shoulder.

A loud bang cracked Roman's eardrums as Emma launched her spear into the air. It split the raindrops and buried itself in the chest of one of the corrupted squirrels that was plummeting down onto Roman.

[Corrupted Rabbit Slain]

[Corrupted Tree Squirrel Slain]

Emma sprinted across the mud and recalled her weapon. She slid in front of Roman, blocking another strike from a Corrupted Rabbit.

Emma reversed her grip on her spear and began blocking with the spears shaft, allowing her to maneuver her spear's blade below the beast's vision.

She slashed down, cleanly splitting one of the rabbit's legs off. The creature buckled and dropped onto one knee, Emma spun her spear around and appropriately held it then sliced the rabbit's head off.

[Corrupted Rabbit Slain]

"Emma!" Roman's muffled voice fought through the onslaught of rain and war.

A white pincer suddenly lunged forward, wrapping around Emma's shoulder and crushing her arm. Pain surged through her body as the Corrupted Dungeness Crab tightened its grip.

Emma recalled her spear to her other hand and quickly struck the beast, piercing its main body thoroughly.

[Corrupted Dungeness Crab Slain]

[Relic Obtained]

Emma's eyes widened, she immediately summoned the relic before checking its details. It didn't matter what it did as long as she could use it.

A wave of white sparks fluttered around Emma's bleeding arm. The pieces of essence collided and hardened, forming a pristine white gauntlet around her left arm.

Made from the same white material as the Dungeness Crab's claws, the gauntlet coated her arm from her clavicle to her wrist and a monstrous shoulder guard erected towards the sky. The shoulder guard resembled the crab's original claws, two sharp crescent blades protruded next to her head.

Emma blocked another blow, but the enemy's numbers weren't decreasing. Suddenly, another flash of light consumed the sky.

A toxic green beam of energy ripped into the mountain, eradicating mass groups of corrupted beings. Emma tackled Roman to the ground, burying his head beneath the wet mix of mud and leaves.

Emma felt the vibrations subside and poked her head out of the mud, darkness returned, but a subtle orange glow lingered behind. The last blast of energy tore through the mountain, piercing through its base and erupting on the other side of the island.

Emma pulled Roman from the mud and dragged him across the debris towards the newly formed canyon. The canyon that split the mountain led straight to their boat, all they had to do was cross it.

Their legs splashed in the swampy water, heavy and slow, held back by the knee deep sludge. Behind them, twenty different creatures rampaged in their direction.

Emma checked her essence, halfway gone.

"Run to the boat!" Emma yelled, "I'll stop them here!"

"What?!" Roman immediately argued, "Are you crazy?!"

"Go!" Emma screamed.

She turned back towards the monsters, brandishing her spear in the rain. She could have traveled with Roman, but protecting him took too much of her attention.

And how could she give up such a plentiful harvest of souls? Emma struck first and launched her spear towards the creatures.

It tore into a shoulder, pierced another's chest, and lodged itself between the abdomen of a beast. Emma leaped into the air, boosting herself high above the remaining beasts.

[Corrupted Lava Lizard Slain]

Her spear pulled itself from the creature's stomach, flying towards her grasp in the sky. Emma caught her spear and collapsed down onto a Corrupted Dungeness Cab, splitting its body in two.

[Corrupted Dungeness Crab Slain]

The remaining monsters surrounded her and collectively charged towards her. Emma flipped her spear onto her forearm and reversed her grip.

Using the smooth crab's exoskeleton as a stage, Emma spun around like a whirlwind. The tip of her blade ravaged the remaining beasts, slicing apart fingers and bodies alike.

Corpses began to pile up around her, preventing the other creatures from reaching her. Emma stopped spinning and rushed towards the remaining beasts.

She pierced one, slashed another, and shoulder bashed the last. The claws protruding from her shoulder guard ripped into the flesh of a corrupted beast, tearing its insides apart and splattering blood across Emma's face.

But the horde finally died. Mostly slaughtered by the sinkhole and the Scarab's beam of energy, but Emma managed to kill more than a handful.

The pile of corpses dissolved into essence and Emma began trudging through the mud towards the boat. Roman should have already boarded, but Emma's yet to see Timi at all.

Has he made it to the ship? Did he slay the Scarab? And if he hasn't, can he?