CH.247 The Battle against the Behemoth
<strong>[3rd person POV]</strong>
<span style="font-weight:400">“Alex. Can you Harpies start the attack?” Zay asked. Out of everyone, he had been the first to recover.
<span style="font-weight:400">“... Zay… That… that is a behemoth, right?” Alex asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah. I think so.” Zay confirmed.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Not a lesser behemoth. A behemoth.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes. Most likely.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“An SS-rank monster?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“... and you want to fight it?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Do we have a choice?” Zay asked. “Either we fight and die, or try to run and still die. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather fight.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well, whatever. I guess we can try.” Alex said. “Harpie Lady Sisters.” He summoned his monster, well monsters, to go along with the Harpie Lady 1 he already had summoned for scouting.
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<span style="font-weight:400">A total of four wingeddies moved to attack the behemoth. Someone else with Card Summoner might call that cheating, as most people could only summon two monsters at the same time, but Alex’s card was special, as it could summon three monsters with just one card.
<span style="font-weight:400">Sadly their ws couldn’t do anything to the massive monster. Maybe if you imagined it, you might have been able to spot a scratch on it, but nothing more than that. And the behemoth didn’t let them keep buzzing around him either, as on the third pass the birddies did, it let out a strong pulse of magic, which turned into hundreds of small stones which struck down the Harpies.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Arhg.” Alex grunted, as the Harpies disappeared. He felt as if small stones were being embedded into his skin.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Alex?” His old team leader asked worried. “Are you alright?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“... Yeah. I just… it felt like … those stones hit me as well.”
<span style="font-weight:400">There was, of course, no way the attack itself would have hit them. They were still over 2 kilometers away from the behemoth. But unknown to them, the attack of the behemoth had been so powerful that it was able to overpower the regr protection of the Pack Opener cards, and cause damage to the summoner of the defeated monsters.
<span style="font-weight:400">“How much damage did you take?” Zay asked his friend.
<span style="font-weight:400">“... 800 HP…” Alex admitted, after taking a quick look at his status.
<span style="font-weight:400">As the reality of that statement hit Zay, he called out: “Someone take Alex to Josh. He needs immediate healing.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Had it been a lower level adventurer, or an adventurer with a different set of skills, just the secondary impact caused to the summoner could have killed them. That really helped Zay realize just how bad of a situation they were in. Every attack. Any stray rock flying because of an attack from that monster. They could kill.
<hr>
<span style="font-weight:400">After dealing with the flying pests, the behemoth was on the move again. And it only had one target to aim for. The town right in its sights. The massive beast likely didn’t think much of anything, just driven by its will to destroy everything and kill everyone who held mana in their body. And with how weak the initial attack of the town had been, it wasn’t scared of anything. It was the scary beast and what could scare something like it?
<span style="font-weight:400">Looking at the humans, they were desperately trying to do something to it, but the beast didn’t care. They tried digging arge moat which he would either have to go around or fall into, but the beast used its own magic to fill it in and kept walking.
<span style="font-weight:400">Then came a few insects, but they were nothing more than literal bugs, so the behemoth would simply shoot rocks at them, and they died.
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<span style="font-weight:400">After that, came two steel golems. They were durable enough that just the stones couldn’t take them down. But the behemoth could still stomp on them and crush them beneath its massive body, so they too were nothing but <span style="font-weight:400">speed bump.
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<span style="font-weight:400">But now, the behemoth faced something he considered worth fighting. A pair of humanoid beings. One fully armored and holding arge sword, while the other was flying in the air with its 6 wings.
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<span style="font-weight:400">The power emanating from those two was somewhat higher than the previous things the behemoth had faced. It was still nothing he couldn’t handle, but for the first time, he might have actually had to focus on his attacks, instead of just randomly shooting out small rocks into the general direction of the enemy.
<span style="font-weight:400">As the behemoth gathered some of its magical power, itunched the first real spells it had used. Huge spears of earth and rock flew at the two monsters that stood in front of the behemoth.
<span style="font-weight:400">The fairy flying in the sky dodged the spear with just a light p of its wings, while the swordsman on the ground cut through it with ease. Seeing that, the behemoth was happy. Something it could actually y with, without breaking it on the spot.
<hr>
<span style="font-weight:400">“... they are… holding their own?” Zay was surprised that the two monsters he had summoned hadn’t died yet. Sure it might be a little grim to send summoned monsters to their death, but it was still better than having to send people there. The monsters on the cards, at least ording to Brian, cane back after they die.
<span style="font-weight:400">“No.” Mrs. Moon said coldly. “The behemoth is just ying around with them, and they are still struggling to stay alive.”
<span style="font-weight:400">She wasn’t wrong. To this point, the behemoth hadn’t focused any real attacks, and had just been throwing some weak magic around. Well, weak to it. If you were a human, you’d have to be skilled to be able to use magic on that level.
<span style="font-weight:400">After another few minutes of ying, the behemoth got bored and was ready to take out the two opponents. For that, it gathered power in its mouth and let out a massive roar, inflicting damage to anyone close by. This was the behemoth’s first mistake, as it allowed the humans to use a powerful card.
<span style="font-weight:400">“A Hero Emerges!” Even with his monsters having taken massive damage from the roar based attack, Zay sensed a difference in the card he had held in his breast pocket. He took it out and activated it. And this time, it did activate.
Spoiler
<span style="font-weight:400">Yes. Zay clearly has a third arm with which to hold the third card. Don’t question it.
[copse]
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<span style="font-weight:400">“Wait? Where?” A very confused nobleman appeared next to Zayaan. He had just been in the emergency shelter of the Sawyer manor in Sawyer city, but now, he was standing in the bright sunlight of the Alewatch ins. On the wall surrounding the town he ruled.
<span style="font-weight:400">“M-my Lord?” Zayaan questioned. This was not at all what he expected. He had honestly assumed that Brian would show up and solve the issue. He did get that card from Brian after all and Brian had already saved him twice.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Zayaan? What is going on? Why am I..?” As Brandon questioned where he was and why he was there, he spotted the massive behemoth, still fighting against the now injured pair of monsters. “Th- The behemoth.”
<span style="font-weight:400">As he saw the beast, all color drained from the Baron’s face. Many, many times, he had dreamed of this day. The day when the prophecy woulde true, and he would get to watch as his daughter became a legend. But now that it was here, he realized how foolish he had been.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes. My lord, it appeared from some sort of miasma … thing a little while ago. We have been trying to hold it off, but it isn’t going well. Then when I activated this card I got from Brian, you appeared.” Zay quickly exined, but as he tried to show off the trap card he just activated, he realized it had vanished. With no toploader there to protect the card, it was a one time use.
<span style="font-weight:400">“... alright. I think I understand…” Brandon said, as he lowered himself onto his knees, as if he was praying.
<span style="font-weight:400">“... my lord? What are you doing?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Praying.” Brandon answered, not caring at all that his fancy clothes which he was still wearing were getting dirty. “That is all we can do now. If Alice isn’t here, the prophecy cannote true. We will die.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“But my Lord, we can’t just give up. Shouldn’t we… at least try?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“What difference will it make? The prophecy has note to be, so we will die.” In Brandon’s mind, the only way that behemoth could ever be taken down would be by the way of that prophecy. And because he thought it couldn’te true, he had given up all hope.
<span style="font-weight:400">“But my Lord, won’t Briane to help us?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“... shut up.” Brandon said quietly. “There is nothing left.” That was what he thought, but he was wrong. And the world, the very prophecy he had always preached about, always dreamed of happening, would make it so.
<span style="font-weight:400">Divination magic is a powerful tool, but it is also immensely dangerous. A simple prophecy can turn an impossible situation possible and the most mundane everyday problem into a disaster. That is, if used wrong. But luckily for all present, the first summoner was skilled at it. By controlling the future she saw, she was able to set forth a prophecy which would now save everyone from certain death. Even if not everything hade to pass like she foresaw. Not that even someone of her caliber could have seen the abnormality that is Brianing.
<span style="font-weight:400">As the Baron kept praying, Zay was hit by a powerful impact out of nowhere. In truth, it hadn’te from nowhere, but had insteade from the cards he held.
<span style="font-weight:400">Wingweaver, the fairy he had summoned, had been hit by a boulder the size of a small house, while Buster der, the swordsman and dragonyer, had been crushed under the body mass of the behemoth. Both of these overkills had sent some of the impact to the summoner, Zayaan, causing a decent amount of damage to him.
<span style="font-weight:400">After he fell to the ground, the other adventurers on the wall began to panic a bit. Unlike the other summons, his had been able to keep the behemoth busy. Even if only for a bit of time.
<span style="font-weight:400">But now, there was nothing standing between the behemoth and them. They would be the next to feel the might of the behemoth.
<span style="font-weight:400">“EVERYONE!” Mrs. Moon raised her voice to gather everyone''s attention. “We will have to fight. Mages and archers, prepare to attack.” She had to take control of the situation.
<span style="font-weight:400">With Zayaan out because of the impact from his summoned monsters getting pummeled and the Baron in no state to lead anyone, she figured someone has to step up.
<span style="font-weight:400">But as they were preparing for that, the Baron rose back to his feet. Had anyone looked him in the eyes, they would have seen that his eyes had glossed over, as if his soul had left his body. Or perhaps as if some greater force had taken control of his body.
<span style="font-weight:400">From the inside pocket of his suit jacket, he then took out a single card. The only one Brian ever gave him. Holding it up to the sky, he said its name in a voice thatcked any emotion.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Ultimate Obedient Fiend.”
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[copse]
<span style="font-weight:400">The card caused the appearance of another being that could only be called a monster. Well, someone might call it a demon as well, or even the demon king, even if it was neither of those things.
<span style="font-weight:400">The red-skinned demon stood up and faced the behemoth. While it only reached a height of 25 meters tall, it was still by far the closest in size to the behemoth, of all of the summons who had faced the behemoth thus far. Standing between the behemoth and the town, the two monsters were ready to sh.
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<span style="font-weight:400">As the behemoth saw its next opponent, it shuddered with excitement. Something it might be able to fight seriously. It had expected something from the previous two monsters, but they had gone down as soon as it got even a bit serious.
<span style="font-weight:400">But this one. Maybe this one will be more fun, the behemoth thought.
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<span style="font-weight:400">“Everyone!” Brandon called out, his voice still emotionless as anything. “My fiend will keep the behemoth busy. We shall strike at the behemoth at any chance we have. We will weaken it as much as we can, then Alice shall appear to finish the fight.”
<span style="font-weight:400">That was what he said. Well, more like someone else said it, just using the mouth of Brandon Watchman to speak those words.
<span style="font-weight:400">He knew exactly where to move everyone. From where to direct attacks so that no one would get hit, but so that their attacks wouldnd. And for about 15 minutes, the assault on the behemoth seemed to almost be going well.
<span style="font-weight:400">That was, until the behemoth didn’t feel like ying around any longer. It began gathering arge amount of power into its body, ready to crush its y partner, the Ultimate Obedient Fiend into oblivion. Charging forward, the behemoth used its body mass to tackle the fiend.
<span style="font-weight:400">Then, massive spikes of rock and earth grew from the behemoth''s hide, piercing the body of the fiend and causing it to scatter into specks of light.
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<span style="font-weight:400">“Fall Back!” The ssy-eyed Brandon ordered, as he saw his monster disappearing. He knew the time hade. No, not the time to panic, nor the time to die. The time for her to appear on this battlefield.
<span style="font-weight:400">The card that he had held in his hand broke apart, just like his monster, only to reform into a new card. A card, that the Baron didn’t hesitate to activate.
<span style="font-weight:400">“The Heroine Appears!” He called out, emotions returning to his voice. After all, his role in the prophecy was done, so its effect on him was now over. At this point, only one could save everyone, and that one person had just appeared on the frontline.
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<span style="font-weight:400">When in time of absolute turmoil, call forth the one that shall fulfill the prophecy.
<span style="font-weight:400">[Cannot be used in a duel] [Art by IntiArt]
Link to the art used:
And some battle music for you all:
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<span style="font-weight:400">Alice didn’t know why she was there. She knew where she had been, she knew where she now was, and most importantly, she knew what to do.
<span style="font-weight:400">The overwhelming power of all of the times anyone had thought of the prophecy flowed into her body. This power, gathered over thest one hundred and fifty years, was now hers tomand. And with only one objective, Alice knew what to do.
<span style="font-weight:400">Take down the behemoth.
<span style="font-weight:400">Her mind was clear. She didn’t need to think. She knew what to do. What skills to use, what spells to cast. And most importantly, what cards to summon.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Pitch-Dark Dragon. Element Dragon.”
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<span style="font-weight:400">Truthfully, she had only brought one card with her to her grandfather''s party, but when she thought about her cards, they appeared in her hands ready to be used.
<span style="font-weight:400">Still in her party dress, Alice jumped on the back of the Pitch-Dark Dragon and they took off to the skies. As they soared, Alice began her first chant.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Dark, embrace us, Shade.” Covering the area in darkness, she made the battlefield more optimal to her, and less so for the behemoth.
<span style="font-weight:400">Then, she began her assault.
<span style="font-weight:400">The breath attacks from her dragon, as well as her own spears of darkness soon pommeled the behemoth. While powered up by the prophecy, something so weak was still only slightly hurting the behemoth.
<span style="font-weight:400">But for the behemoth, this was something new. This small insignificant human was hurting it. The behemoth couldn’t sense any power from that girl, so he didn’t think she was a threat, but he had been proven wrong. While ever so miniscule, she was damaging him. And because of that, the behemoth knew it had to strike back.
<span style="font-weight:400">The behemoth began to gather mana into its mouth, only to be interrupted by a roar much stronger. A card, set on Alice by Brian, had activated. Threatening Roar.
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[copse]
<span style="font-weight:400">The card’s activation bought Alice a bit of time, so both her and her dragons could attack the behemoth again. But sadly, the behemoth quickly recovered.
<span style="font-weight:400">It again gathered mana into its mouth and this time, it was able to let out its roar. But it wasn’t just a roar, it was an attack. An attack that should have hit Alice as if she had flown straight into a brick wall. But lucky for her, Brian didn’t set just one card on her, so the second one activated.
<span style="font-weight:400">Draining Shield. It turned to roar into not much more than harmless noise, while also giving a massive amount of HP to Alice.
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[copse]
<span style="font-weight:400">Confused as to why its attack, which had blown away the shade spell Alice cast at the start, hadn’t knocked the flying lizards out of the sky, the behemoth immediately attacked again. This time, shotgunning small stones into every direction at speeds greater than the speed of sound. But again, Alice was protected. This time, by a giant mirror surface which turned all of those small stones back on the behemoth.
<span style="font-weight:400">Mirror Force had activated, and turned the behemoth''s attack back. Because it had put some force into that attack, the behemoth took significant damage.
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<span style="font-weight:400">Getting even more angry, the behemoth attacked again. Again, pulling mana into its mouth, before letting out a massive roar. This time, there was nothing left to stop the attack.
<span style="font-weight:400">Both of Alice’s dragons instantly burst into specks of light, as they couldn’t take that sort of damage, but luckily for Alice, the special power of her Pitch-Dark Dragon had kept her safe from the damage.
<span style="font-weight:400">As Alice fell, she used her Mana Flight skill to stop her fall and began floating in midair. It wasn’t something she could do on her own yet, but that didn’t matter at this time. Her entire being was powered up by something much more powerful than skill levels.
<span style="font-weight:400">Letting go of the two grayed out cards in her hands, she imagined the next two. As her previous two disappeared, likely returning into her magic bag, the next two appeared to take their ce.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Getsu Fuhma. Dark de.”
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<span style="font-weight:400">Two sword wielders appeared on the ground below Alice. Alice quickly recast the Shade spell, which had been broken by the behemoth’s roar, just so her swordsman and swordswoman would have the cover they needed to approach the behemoth, so they could strike at it.
<span style="font-weight:400">While they were doing that, Alice kept flying through the air with her skill, while attacking the behemoth with spell after spell. Spears, bullets and waves, whatever she could use, she did. After all, with the prophecy which was trying toe true actively giving her tons of mana, she didn’t have to hold back in fear of running out. All she had to do was keep damaging the behemoth as much as she could, then when she summoned her next monster, she would use the final technique and take the behemoth down.
<span style="font-weight:400">With the sword wielders buzzing at its feet, and the annoying pest flying in the dark skies, the behemoth knew what to target first. It raised both of its front legs, getting up on its hinds. Gathering arge amount of mana into its front legs, it struck them to the ground causing an earthquake andrge spikes to pierce upwards from the ground. And because the spikes were everywhere, it had been impossible for the two sword wielders to dodge them. Their cards, still in the hands of their summoner, lost their color.
<span style="font-weight:400">But Alice knew this would likely have happened. If this beast went down that easily, the Ultimate Obedient Fiend summoned by her father could have taken it down. So Alice once again let go of the two gray cards, so she could pull out thest one. It had been in the small hidden pocket of her dress.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Dark Magician Girl.” She called out to summon the monster.
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<span style="font-weight:400">Now, with the two blond haired magicians both flying in the sky, it was time to end this fight.
<span style="font-weight:400">