Bloodied Sword

When the dagger came into view, the harpy snapped her neck toward Arthur's direction. She gazed at him with a blank expression as black tears rolled down her eyes. For the shortest moment, Arthur saw a thin smile appear on her mouth. The next second, her expression turned into one of pure suffering as it screeched so loudly that Arthur doubted her vocal cords could take it. A black stigma appeared on her forehead as the monster's eyes turned red with rage.

"Gyaaaah!" She roared as she spread her wings. With a flap of them, she flew threw the air toward the group. Jin and Hazel summoned their monster while Miko disappeared from the battlefield.

"Minotaur!" Jin roared and the giant bull-headed monster rushed toward the Dark Queen. However, it was clear that the harpy had an advantage over them as it could fly. That's why Arthur dashed, closely behind the minotaur, and jumped on its body after it reached a certain distance from the harpy.

Arthur jumped and placed his feet on the minotaur's giant club. With a command of Jin, the minotaur launched Arthur at the harpy like it was striking a home-run.

Arthur had the golden dagger in front of him, being a human-spear as he launched toward the monster. This was one of their strategies as the strongest weapon they had against the monster was the golden dagger that Arthur had.

The harpy wasn't so dense to forget dodging, and it flew upward away from Arthur. It was then that Arthur sighed in relief since it didn't dodge sideways, choosing to further increase the gap between the two teams.

Miko appeared above the Dark Queen as she landed on its back, landing several strikes that made the queen scream again. She fell downward toward the trajectory Arthur was heading in. This was one of the plans they had, and it proved successful as the Dagger easily pierced the dark harpy's flesh, embedding itself deeply only left to the wound the harpy already had.

The monster screamed in agony as it used its wings to strike Arthur and Miko, sending Arthur flying through the hall but Miko managed to disappear in time.

A giant six-limbs bear appeared behind Arthur, catching him in time to negate the impact. Arthur stood up and examined his body, slightly wounded but he could still fight.

If this has been a month ago, Arthur would have been easily frightened by being in pain. Now, however, after many life-and-death situations and the strengthening of his body, he was no longer afraid. The wounds could heal, but he needed to survive.

"Attack!" Arthur roared, determined to leave the harpy no chance of recovery. Annabel appeared as she sent several ice spears at the monster, decreasing the temperature by several degrees. Miko, who had appeared next to Arthur, was about to launch herself forward again when the harpy screamed and sent a shockwave that deflected the ice spears.

In the end, it was still a high-tier monster, being extremely difficult to kill for their team. With a flap of both of its wings, a hundred black arrows appear made out of mana.

"Behind me!" Jin roared as he commanded the minotaur to shield him, and the group rushed behind him. Hazel had Annabel construct an ice wall in front of them as an extra layer of protection.

Barely making it, an ice wall rose to block the hundred-something arrows. Booming sounds reverberated in the hall as the arrows were breaking the wall down, destroying it completely in the end. The minotaur followed Jin's command as it guarded them with its armored body.

After a few moments, the bombardment ended and the minotaur fell to the ground panting heavily. Its back was filled with wounds that had a black liquid gushing out of them.

"Attack!" Jin roared and the group launched itself forward again. Miko held into Arthur's arm as the two teleported above the flying harpy.

This time, the harpy wasn't easily fooled and was able to dodge in time. Arthur used his boots that had a Force-II rune, applying force underneath him to propel his body toward the harpy. Using his golden dagger, the nemesis of the dark creature, he slashed its wing in half before falling to the ground miserably.

He picked himself up, face full of dust, witnessing the harpy fall to the ground with its wing wounded. From then on, they had a bigger chance of killing it.

As it fell to the ground, it roared as it used another skill of hers. Black shadows exploded from underneath her attacking all of them. Miko was able to teleport in time, and Jin and Hazel were able to block it using their summoned monsters. Arthur, who was the closest to the harpy, wasn't so lucky as a shadow impaled itself in his left shoulder.

"Dammit!" Arthur cursed in pain and used his right arm to slash the shadow away with his dagger. The shadow withered away leaving only a deep wound on Arthur's shoulder.

"Arthur! Are you okay?" Miko rushed to his side while the other two attacked the harpy to prevent her from attacking again.

"I am, let's end it!" Arthur gritted his teeth. He just wanted to go back home, see his family, and escape this bloody trial.

Miko wanted to ask him to retreat, but she closed her mouth. She looked at the Dark Queen, who had wounds all over her body, battling the six-limbs bear and Annabel. They needed to end this now.

"Distract her," Arthur said, looking calmer than earlier. She nodded her head and rushed toward the queen. She teleported in and out while attacking her endlessly, emptying her mana in the meantime. She left nothing to use as she knew this would be their last stand.

Angering the queen greatly, Miko knew now was the chance. She revealed an opening that the queen didn't miss to attack her. Before she was struck, Miko used the last of her mana to teleport a distance away, making the queen strike empty air.

The Dark Queen was about to attack her again due to her anger, and she fell in their trap. Arthur appeared out of nowhere, using his Shadow Swap skill to appear behind the queen. Holding the dagger in his left hand, he poured all of the remaining mana into it. Even after weeks of training, his mana was still unstable and left him damaged if used too suddenly.

This was their last chance to end this. Arthur attacked the queen with the dagger, that was now shining blue and golden, at the queen's wound from the back. It pierced right through its flesh and the queen issued a dying scream, as it fell to the ground.

The hall was quiet. The four of them stood there, wounded and emptied of mana, but they did it. Arthur fell to his knees as he was in the worst condition of them all.

"Arthur, are you okay?" Miko walked over to him and so did the other two. Hazel was barely standing as her legacy drained mana that she barely had, as she still lacked the mana to supply it. She also fell to her knees and Jin held her body, offering her a mana-replenishing potion.

"I am… We finally…" Arthur smiled thinly, his eyes blurring. Words were appearing in front of him but he was too emotional to read them.

"Tack, tack, tack." The sounds of footsteps came from the entrance of the hall, and Arthur snapped out of his joy. He lifted his head in alarm, only to see Erin and his group entering the hall.

"You guys did it, wow." Erin looked surprised, looking at the harpy's body in greed. Arthur felt his body turn cold at this sight and picked himself up, despite his energies. If push comes to shove, he could use his Restore rune.

"What are you doing here?" Arthur took a step forward, glaring at them with hostility. He had no idea how they found them, but things were not looking good. Even if he could fight, his group could not. He needed to stall for time until he picks up the mana core from the Dark Queen to use it with his dagger, teleporting them out of here.

"How about you ask him?" Erin grinned, looking behind Arthur's back. Arthur was bewildered and followed his gaze, trying to turn around.

It was then that he felt extreme pain. His back was burning as Arthur looked down, seeing the bloodied sword, penetrating his back, and coming out of his abdomen. He turned his head, looking at Jin who was holding the handle of the sword with shock before he fell to the ground.

He could hear Miko's scream and he could see Hazel lying on the ground as well, unconscious. He felt his body turning cold on the inside while being warmed from the outside by his blood.