Chapter 155 - Slay the Hound

A wave of force lifted the snowy wind to the walls of the room and crumbled the pillars under its might.

The silhouette of a powerful pink dragon surrounded me and took a monarchical stance over the room as it roared out. I was at its centre, howling out with a roar of my own.

Both monsters were frozen but Arga and Veldor were free to move. Even better than that, they had been fully revitalised.

Their health bars had both risen and a small status buff had graced the sides of their icons. I had seen it once before, it was the buff I received when Alice used her roar. The same one that filled me with strength.

{Queen's Roar has been used 3 times, maximum usage has been reached}

{This skill was obtained through a weak source, devour selected monster to regain skill}

{Dragon Queen has been erased from Skill Tree}

The dragon that towered over me vanished into an evaporated mirage of pink aura and left me alone between both monsters. My health hadn't changed, the skill must have only given the status effect to my allies. I on the other hand was close to reaching zero.

Stomp

The boss took a wobbly step forward, it gripped the side of its head in a daze. The large, two-handed sword that it carried, rose from the ground as its head came right again.

Shit, are you telling me that attack didn't take him out?! I guess the damage was minimised because they were so far apart…I put too much range on it!

"Grrrrrrr!!"

I turned my attention to the ravenous snarls that escaped the Guardian Beast's mouth. It crept towards me at a slow pace.

Both of them had perked right up after that. From a glance, it only seemed like they took a small hit to their HP. At most, I wasted that skill just stunning them. It helped in saving Arga and Veldor's lives, but I was disappointed to have lost such a great skill in the process.

The system said that I got it through a weak source, I guess it meant the hair that I devoured from Alice. If I wanted that skill back, it said to get the entire body…there was no way I'd even consider killing Alice, even for a skill as powerful as that.

Arga raised her sword and stepped to the front of the line-up, with Veldor closely behind her. His shield was pretty banged up but still usable.

Us against them. Adventurers against monsters.

Crackle!

Lightning surrounded the guardian as it ran towards us. It circled us through the air, running on it like there were invisible steps in the air.

The skeleton boss ran in from the ground and took a straightforward approach. Its sword flowed through the air at its side and swung up with an aggressive round hook at Arga.

"Switch!" I called out.

Arga stepped back and the surface of Veldors shield took her place. It collided with the boss's sword and the reverberation alone shook the icy floor. Veldors strength had improved with his new status buff, it was enough to hold the boss back.

Bolts of electricity surrounded us, the guardian beast arrived with a flashy entrance. Its teeth separated as it opened its jaws at us, ready to pounce.

"Stein Guard!" My hand extended out and the skill protected us against its electric surges. "Arga, it's now or nothing!"

She reacted perfectly and stepped in with her sword raised at her side. She carried a lot of force behind her attack but just as much raw speed. It was clear that the buff had affected her too and gave her a much-needed edge against that beast.

She shot forward like a speeding barrel that had been shoved off a cliff. Her sword swung around and connected with the beast's cheek and shot it back nearly as fast as it came towards us.

I ran past her with a toothy grin and both chakrams at my side,

"That was some great power there!"

"Nothin' to it," she replied in a cocky tone.

I cast out my blades, both flew past the beast's sides and carved into it. Arga's attack took a serious toll on the Beast. The guardian Hound barely put up a struggle, my blades managed to cut it with ease.

As long as Arga keeps hitting it like she did before, we'll bring this thing down in no time. I'll just have to do what damage I can before helping Veldor.

My hands rose at my sides and a dark black aura engrossed them. My grin straightened as the aura thickened into an endless black void around my arms,

"Shadow Claw," I muttered.

I raced forward and drove my claws into the beast's shoulder, it roared out in pain as blood escaped its body. Lightning surrounded it but I had already backed away.

One hit was enough to end my life in an instant, I didn't want to risk letting it land a lucky hit on me and ending things there and then. 

I put some distance between us but the beast wouldn't have it. It charged at me, surrounded by surges of bolts and blue electricity.

My lips curled up as the words left my mouth,

"Switch."

I fell back and Arga stepped forward in my place. She drove her sword into the beast and carved a deep cut into its stomach. Thick red blood sprayed across the ground and painted her sword as the beast flopped around through the air.

She stepped to the side and struggled to keep herself standing. The force that hit her was enough to topple over Veldor, I was surprised she managed to dodge it as much as she did.

The lightning surged through her sword and hit her. Arga stumbled back but then immediately jumped back into action and delivered a round swing to its leg.

Usually, an attack like that would numb someone to their very core but she shook it off like it was a punch to the arm. My eyes widened as the realisation hit me.

Of course! The effect of Queen's Roar must have protected her against the status effect! If that's the case, I don't have to worry about defending as much.

Arga swung her blade around like a wild animal, I wasn't sure who was the beast between the two. The Guardian darted back and tried to get away, it stomped the ground and took off into the air.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"I rushed to Arga's side and shouted out, "Give me a boost!"

She lifted her sword to her waist, and the moment my feet touched the surface of the blade, she swung it out and threw me towards the beast.

{Shadow Claw has been activated}

{Profeciency for skill has been reached}

{Shadow Claw has reached its Final Form}

The shadowy claws that surrounded my hands lifted from my skin and hovered in the air over my hands. They mimicked my actions in real-time.

My eyes locked on the beast that flew through the air and one action surfaced from my thoughts. The unrelenting urge to sink my claws in its body took over and I cast both hands forward as if I were slashing the air.

Four large slashes of black aura flew forward and cut through the beast's back. Its escape had been foiled completely and its bloodied body fell back to the icy ground.

A cold breath left my mouth, my eyes still glued to the beast's wounded body.

{Rush has been activated}

I shot forward and waved my hand, a large claw the same size as my body, flew past me and dug itself into the beast's mangled body. 

Again.

Again!

Again!!

{You have successfully slain the Guardian Hound}

{3500 Exp gained}

{Level Up}

As the info screens came into view, I had my hand hovered over its body. The mist absorbed its body and new skills were added to the menu. My attention turned back to the main boss, my next target.

"Now then…let's end this, shall we?"