The monster was terrifying, to say the least. It was over 8 feet tall had similar features to the blade demon that Cain had fought, and was many times more intimidating than its weaker counterpart.
As soon as it came in contact with their group, it spat in an unfamiliar language laced with contempt,
It stretched its arms out using the full force of its acceleration to clash with David, who attacked from the front. David, unable to stop the attack, was sent flying far away, slamming into a concrete wall. Even though it spoke in a completely alien language, they were oddly able to understand its words.
"Fuck, it's strong!" cried the fatty, as they all cringed at the sound of David's body slamming against the wall.
"We are all going to die if you guys don't focus!" Cain cried out angrily. For the first time that day, he finally felt a hint of urgency. He wasn't arrogant and was able to understand the situation. A single mistake, and he'll be dead in seconds...
He rushed forward immediately to intercept the monster, striking it with the edge of his blade at full force. He was shocked to notice that although he managed to cut through the carapace of the monster, he was only able to leave a tiny cut behind. He didn't even manage to draw blood.
The monster looked at Cain with venomous eyes, laughing in an eerie manner.
'Such a small increase in defense affected my damage so much?!' Cain gritted his teeth as he continued to dodge the creature's attacks by a hair's width, looking for opportunities to counterattack. He hadn't expected its defensive to be so disgusting.
Meanwhile, Vincent was trying to shoot at the monster with his crossbow but was having a difficult time, as the damned thing had high movement speed. It was hard trying to lock onto it, especially with the fear of accidentally hitting Cain. If he did that, especially with David out of commission right now, things would surely become worse than they already were.
On the other hand, Blaze circled the area as Cain and the monster engaged, approaching the monster from behind. He planned to launch a surprise attack, hoping it would be enough to give them an advantage.
'If I managed to get one in, this fight will be as good as over!' Blaze thought to himself, his eyes wide open, taking in every single action they took.
'Now!' He didn't hesitate one bit when he saw his opening.
The temperature of the air spiked abruptly...
Blaze initiated his attack on the monster by getting into a thrusting position, something he had practiced for years.
His pose made it seem like the weapon was an extension of his body. He held the spear parallel to the ground, his legs spread apart with one placed slightly before the other. His arms were placed on the shaft, as he pointed the tip at the unsuspecting monster's back.
"Scorching Spear: Tornado of Flames!" Blaze yelled.
Like a bullet, he moved faster than the eye could follow, thrusting his spear forward. The spear's rotating speed sped up with every revolution, burning the oxygen in the air up, causing it to ignite with flames.
However, the flames did not harm Blaze but served to boost the power behind the attack even further. As the spear made contact with the monster's back, an explosion blasted a hole the size of a bowl into the back of the monster.
The sickening sound of flesh being torn apart was heard. Blaze had let his guard down after the attack, not expecting the monster to recover so easily. Blaze's eyes widened in shock, as his blood rapidly pooled in his mouth.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood when he looked down at his mangled chest. It made an inch-deep laceration across his chest and abdomen, causing him to bleed profusely.
The attack didn't pierce through, so the monster simply pulled the spear out of its back with a grunt. He grabbed the bleeding Blaze and slammed him into the ground.
The monster had Blaze pinned to the ground, ready to be dealt the killing blow, Blaze's eyes burned with fury as he struggled to get out of the monster's grasp, but it just tightened its grip. All Blaze could do was watch as the monster slowly squeezed his life out of his body with a sadistic grin on its face.
Vincent, in a moment of desperation, activated a skill that could change the tides of the battle...
"Elemental Snipe: Lightning bolt!"
The fat teenager took a very deep breath to steady his emotions, before pulling the trigger to release an arrow with trails of electricity flashing across its shaft from his crossbow.
Like a bolt of lightning, the arrow blitzed through the air before embedding itself into the back of the monster.
The arrow transferred a huge amount of electricity into its body. The monster cried out in pain and confusion, as It had suddenly become stunned.
Vincent then turned towards Cain almost in tears, shouting at the top of his lungs;
"The stun won't last long. Make it, or break it!"
Without waiting for a reply, he continued firing normal arrows at the now-stunned monster.
Cain gritted his teeth in frustration, 'I can't afford to waste any more time or someone might die here!'
Cain finally had enough of being toyed around with by the ugly monster. He felt his blood boil for the first time in a long while, this time not because he was excited.
"A mere monster and you dare be this arrogant? Die for me!" Cain roared at the monster, rage bubbling within his voice.
A faint golden glow ran across the surface of his body, golden veins appearing on his skin. The color of his Irises changed into a pale red as well.
Cain felt the sudden surge of power accompanied by a proportional influx of pain and discomfort running throughout his body.
The pain was very severe, but it was nothing he couldn't endure, especially with his stats now doubled.
Hence, he fought to ignore the pain...
He could hear the sound of his blood racing through his veins as he lunged at the monster, his mind sharpened thanks to the mind-numbing pain.
Skills: Golden blood.
Free attribute points: 1.
The activation of the golden blood technique meant all his physical capabilities had currently been doubled.
'With just 28 points in stamina, I have less than 39 seconds to end this fight.'
Even though he was currently boiling with rage, his mind was still as clear as a spring...
As all his stats were data representations of his physical state, if his stamina ran too low he would be too exhausted to do anything. In a worst-case scenario, he might even pass out.
The devil fighter, now freed from the stunned state, grunted in annoyance as it pulled the arrows Vincent had shot into its body, only to be greeted with the glint of a blade swinging down from above.
Startled, it brought its bladed claws up to defend itself on instinct. The monster could feel that this strike from Cain was at least twice as powerful as it had been previously.
Cain's attacks could finally draw blood...
Although strength-wise, Cain still couldn't compete with it, he still had a bit of a speed advantage.
This was when the extra points granted by the {Bloody Katana} were taken into consideration.
Although he could finally deal some damage, Cain wasn't satisfied yet because his cuts were too shallow.
He had to find a way to increase his damage. He could feel his blade shaking in his palm. His vision started to blur slightly due to exhaustion.
'My stamina is running out. I have to think of a way!'
In the heat of the moment, maybe due to desperation, or something else, Cain felt something.
Something surreal, like a breeze. He could feel it, yet couldn't touch it. He couldn't see it, yet oddly enough, he could exert some control over it...
He could feel it leaking from his body into the blade in his hands. The ethereal energy wrapped itself around the edges and surface of the blade.
Cain was filled with confusion, 'W-what is this?!'
The blade began to glimmer with a faint blue light, creating a sharp glint that enveloped the entirety of the bladed part of the sword, almost like an extra layer covering the entire blade. Cain was extremely surprised, as it was so sudden, and he didn't expect it.
The monster felt something wasn't right...
The aura the blade exuded made it feel threatened. In its caution, it activated a skill of its own. It didn't want to create any chances for Cain due to its negligence.
The blades attached to the forelimbs of the creature flashed with yellow light. It closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye and swung its claws at Cain.
Cain could tell that the monster's attack speed had increased dramatically. As the increase in speed was just too sudden, Cain wasn't able to react in time.
He still attempted to dodge, but as he was too hasty, he made a mistake. A mistake he paid for with an extremely nasty injury across his chest.
The creature kicked him away, letting out guttural laughter as it walked towards Cain slowly.
"Ha... Such is the fate of the weak. The only point of your existence is to become food and sustenance for us, the strong and mighty."
As Cain lacked the defense necessary to offset most of the damage, that attack of the devil fighter drained more than half of his HP.
Feeling his life drain out of his body to form a pool of viscous blood, Cain immediately felt an immense amount of pure unbridled rage spew forth from the depths of his soul like a dam had been broken.
He suddenly heard a draconic roar coming from the depths of his consciousness, within it, anger so dense, it could blow realms away, and turn worlds into dust.
He ignored the immense pain he was feeling, as well as the feeling of exhaustion from having his stamina drained, and burst towards the monster with only one thought on his mind...
He knew he was short on time. Just a few seconds more, and he would be completely powerless.
So he pushed his body to its absolute limit. With that final burst of strength, he managed to parry the attack dished out by the monster.
Cain instantly counterattacked by plunging his sword deep into the body of the monster once again.
The sword cut through the monster like a hot knife going through butter.
The coating of energy on the blade made it so sharp, that the tough carapace he was having difficulty cutting through was split so easily. The {Blade Devil} began to panic. Never had it thought that Cain would possess the ability to inflict such harm upon it.
Once Cain was on the offensive, the monster was unable to do anything. All it could do was howl and screech in agony, whilst it tried to defend itself as Cain cut it apart.
Bits and pieces of bloodstained flesh and organs were sent flying everywhere until there were no parts left together sufficient enough to call it a body.
The entire place looked like an unsanitary butcher's shop once Cain was done. Blood dripped from his hands, face, and clothes but he didn't register any external stimuli.
The only thing that mattered to him at that moment, was that he had one.
{Congratulations to Host... You have killed an Elite Blade Devil... You have also obtained a new external active skill, Mana Blade... }.
{+3 points to Agility}.
{+5 points to Strength}.
{Congratulations to Host... You have reached level 7... }