"Sihyun, are you okay?"
"...Just help me up once."
Startled, Jihye hurried over and extended her hand to Sihyun. With her assistance, Sihyun stood up, turned his head, and spat out the blood that came up again, making a loud noise, then wiped his mouth. His sleeve was stained with dark red blood.
"Block it from moving!"
"Don't let it attack!"
"Charge to the right! Its vision must have narrowed down!"
As the Decuminus approached Sihyun with heavy stomps, sounding furious, his companions shouted. Following the urgent cries of Uiheon, five Awakened Individuals moved in unison. Sherri swiftly maneuvered at a speed invisible to the eye, firing mana bullets to halt Decuminus's movements.
While they were holding off the Irregular, Sihyun focused on healing. With Jihye supporting his body, she glanced at the frozen eye of the Decuminus.
"How did you do that?"
"I used a skill. It was my first time trying, so I was nervous, but it worked. Though... it doesn't seem like it dealt a significant blow to it."
Blinding one of its eyes was the most substantial achievement among their attacks so far, but it wasn't enough to significantly weaken the Decuminus.
Even with one eye frozen, the creature was still formidable. Sihyun gripped the ice sword that appeared and disappeared in his hand more firmly.
The mana consumption made it hard to maintain the sword. The remaining time for the Weakness Insight skill was 6 minutes. Only 2 minutes had passed, but it felt like they had been fighting for 20 minutes.
Using the skill, Sihyun's eyes sparkled. He had little expectation when he used it, but still, no weaknesses were revealed. Instead, the ferocious Decuminus came into his view.
The aura of the Decuminus, facing five Awakened Individuals, was ominous. If it had been playing with its prey before, now it seemed determined to tear the throats of its prey. Sihyun's attack had provoked it.
These were not opponents to be taken lightly.
Entering combat mode, the creature did not merely scuttle about; it swung its massive hands threateningly, opened its mouth, and shot out sonic waves. If there was a gap seen in any of their defenses, it would charge with its sharp horns, a far cry from the leisurely and irritating existence of the throne before.
A savage beast.
This was its true nature.
As it engaged in full-fledged combat, the damage to the group intensified.
Struck by its swinging hand, Uiheon and James were repeatedly knocked back, and Tom was impaled by a horn, suffering a wound identical to one Haewoon had sustained. Sihyun's gaze wavered as he looked at Tom. Thanks to Emma's immediate use of a large amount of mana for healing, Tom, whose life was spared, managed to stand on his knees and diverted Decuminus's attention to himself with a taunt skill.
He was determined not to let his comrades be freely attacked, even at the risk of his own life.
"Everything else is fine! Just avoid the horn attack!"
Boom!
Tom, having exhausted all his strength to withstand another charge from Decuminus's horns, shouted. His hands trembled as he held the large, heavy shield.
Sssss.
Decuminus, having charged aggressively, slowly backed off and turned its head. Its gaze shifted from the other members back to Sihyun.
"Damn it!"
Realizing that Sihyun's mana was nearly depleted after successfully freezing the eye, Uiheon's eyes widened. Brownish mana flared up on his sword. Swinging his sword, Uiheon sent a blade of energy that burrowed into Decuminus's jaw.
Not just once.
If a single attack couldn't inflict significant damage, then the solution was to stack the attacks. The dozens of energy blades Uiheon sent cleverly below the right eye of Decuminus finally succeeded in leaving a long cut on its jaw. Since one of its eyes was frozen, it couldn't see the attack properly and failed to evade.
Annoyed by Uiheon's persistent interference, Decuminus furrowed its brows and inhaled.
Huff.
The sound of inhaling air was heard.
It was a sonic wave.
Sihyun, who had sensed this beforehand, opened his mouth to warn the others, but Decuminus was a beat faster.
Kwagagaga!
As Decuminus opened its mouth and emitted the sonic wave, the ground cracked, and a ringing noise pierced their heads. Their bodies momentarily twisted, and blood flowed from their ears. The vibration was so strong that it made their flesh tremble.
Sherri, who had been shooting at Decuminus from atop a flying rock, also had blood dripping from her ears. The piercing sonic wave shook her mind. Deciding that this was untenable, Sherri forcefully struck the rock with the back of her gun, picking up the fallen fragments.
Then, without any hesitation, she used the sharp shards to pierce her eardrums, damaging them.
If the sonic waves impacted the battle, being unable to hear anything would pose no issue.
Thump.
Sherri, covered in blood, regained her posture and aimed her gun again.
Beep.
Despite the ongoing sonic assault from Decuminus, Sherri, squinting through the pain, targeted the inside of its throat and pulled the trigger.
A tiny bullet, condensed with mana.
This bullet ignited and propelled forward, rushing towards the throat of Decuminus.
Though the fierce vibration made the trajectory waver, Sherri's determination only intensified. The mana-charged bullet pierced through the vibrations and hit its mark inside Decuminus's throat.
The bullet's impact halted the sonic wave. Gagging, Decuminus clutched its throat, screaming in agony.
"Now!"
Even without sound, the visuals were clear. A woman with veins bulging in her neck shouted, and the Awakened Individuals, regaining their senses, poured mana into their attack. Sihyun, too, squeezed out his remaining mana and joined in. The diverse energy blades wielded by three individuals merged into one, rushing towards Decuminus like a tidal wave.
"Don't stop!"
As Uiheon, who had been expending mana to protect the group, showed signs of faltering, James rebuked him. Barely keeping himself upright, Uiheon heeded the call and attacked again, but Sihyun, having depleted all his mana, could not do the same.
He could only hold the barely maintained ice sword and watch.
The energy blades that ambushed Decuminus successfully inflicted damage. Sherri's bullet struck its other eye, and with this attack believed to be the last, Jihye wrapped the gigantic Irregular in a flame vortex.
It was an all-out attack.
The onslaught of attacks they had prepared to die for sliced, burned, and penetrated Decuminus. Watching it fall apart, Sihyun, convinced this would finally work, used Weakness Insight.
This felt different.
Unlike previous attempts where the skill did not seem to convey any sensation, this time there was a definite feeling of its use.
Yet, no weakness appeared on Decuminus's body, making Sihyun question his senses. Scanning the space, hoping for a clue, it was then that he noticed a flicker of light from the ceiling. The blinking, beckoning light seemed almost to plead for his attention. Fully tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling, he saw three eyes painted there.
The middle eye was twinkling.
Could it be?
A thought flashed through Sihyun's mind, prompting him to use Weakness Insight once again. With the skill applied in succession, the gleaming light from the ceiling intensified.
"It's not him!"
"What?"
"It's not him we need to attack! It's above! The middle one among the three eyes painted on the ceiling!"
With no time to spare, as they couldn't predict how long they'd be trapped in Decuminus's barrage of skills, Sihyun urgently communicated this. Grasping the situation, James and Uiheon climbed the walls toward the ceiling.
As Decuminus, belatedly realizing what was happening, prepared to launch another sonic attack, Sherri shot at it, halting its action. Jihye also created a stronger fire ring, tightening around Decuminus's breath.
Emma timely applied healing skills, and Tom, battered and under Emma's protective barrier, taunted Decuminus, diverting its focus. The support from four individuals allowed the two swordsmen who had reached the painting described by Sihyun to successfully distract the giant Irregular.
The moment both thrust their swords into the middle eye painted on the ceiling was pivotal.
Beep.
Decuminus, persistently breaking through the interference to emit a sonic wave, howled even more forcefully than before.
"Argh!"
James and Uiheon clutched their ears. Not having used flight skills but rather climbing the walls to reach the ceiling, their inevitable fall was beyond their control.
The attack wasn't sufficient yet...!
They hadn't unleashed enough attacks to exploit the weakness, yet both had fallen. This could lead to their total defeat.
Nearly all mana was spent.
Drip, blood trailing down from his ear, wetting his earlobe before dropping to the ground, but Sihyun's consciousness grew sharper. His blue eyes quickly assessed his comrades.
Sherri was aiming her gun to stop the sonic attacks, and Jihye, Emma, and Tom were fiercely blocking Decuminus from approaching Uiheon and James, who had reached the ceiling but now suffered the pain of their fall and the sonic assault.
It's up to me.
He was the only one left who could move properly. Gathering every last bit of mana he could muster, Sihyun concentrated power into his fingertips. His hand, holding the ice sword, pulsated with the effort, the blade flickering in and out of existence more erratically than before.
Coughing, his body signaled its limit, protesting the strain until he spat out blood from the intense focus. Taking a deep breath, Sihyun threw his sword with all the strength he had left.
Given the lack of strength, under normal circumstances, the sword wouldn't reach its target. However, the mana he had scraped together added propulsion, enveloping the blade in a blue aura that accelerated its speed. When the ice sword reached its peak velocity, it finally pierced through Decuminus's weakness as identified by Sihyun.
Crack!
The sword struck the ceiling, fracturing the painting.
Success.
It was a moment of triumph for Sihyun, a mix of relief and exhilaration.
Screech!
Decuminus contorted in agony, its eyes spinning wildly before it dashed off, faster than anyone could block. Its speed was a blur, a manifestation of pure frenzy.
This was Decuminus's last desperate struggle, exerting all its remaining strength before reaching Haewoon.
"No!"
Sihyun's eyes widened in horror.
Bang! Bang!
Decuminus, reaching the corner where Haewoon was located, lashed out at the protective barrier Sihyun had erected. Not just striking, but tearing through it.
Its sharp claws trembled as they dug deep into the barrier, eventually ripping it apart. Sihyun, shocked, attempted to rush forward, but his body, drained of all mana, collapsed after a few steps.
Having breached the first barrier, Decuminus inserted its hand through the gap, seizing Haewoon. The protective armor was still there, but such encasement did nothing if the creature merely wrapped around it.
It was a disaster.
A brief look of despair crossed Sihyun's face.
The companions, in panic, tried to stop Decuminus, but it was already too late.
With its weakness exploited, Decuminus's body dissolved, its form becoming amorphous as it drew Haewoon towards its mouth.
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