At one moment, the frenzied Deep-Dusk Dullahan was reading a ranged attack, aiming it at the fortress town of Koboldia….
"...!"
At the next moment, it was frozen in fear and disgust, staring speechless at the pale, monstrous hand that grabbed the building's roof for support as it began emerging from behind it.
The hand itself could be described as belonging to a humanoid. It had four fingers and a thumb, but that's where the similarity ended, as proportions were completely off, with each finger being elongated enough to be considered a limb on its own.
Not to mention that the number of joints in those fingers exceeded a dozen each.
Each.
Whether it took eternity or a fraction of a second, what the Dullahan was staring at next was the bulbous head covered in white spider-silk-like hair. The venomously green eyes were taking most of the upper part of its face, as the lower was completely overtaken by jaws so disproportionately gigantic they didn't make any logical sense.
As those jaws spread apart, they showed rows upon rows of vibrating, rapidly gyrating triangular barbed teeth glistening from viciously corrosive saliva.
From deep within the monstrum's throat, a fake tongue split apart, revealing itself to be not one but two pairs of sickly-white arms with clawed hands wiggling and moving around in a nauseating manner.
A beast so terrifying that even the boss monster, like the Deep Dusk Dullahan, stumbled as it backed away instinctively.
"THRAAAAASH"
"!!!"
The white-haired monstrosity howled and launched itself off the fortress city, flying jaw-first at the startled monster.
But in the end, Dullahan did not flee in fear or retreat! It stood its ground proudly, his sword-arm beginning to shine brightly, only to unleash a devastating swipe that sent out a howling shockwave intended to bisect the oncoming monstrosity's head.
"...!?"
But although a grave wound did appear on the monstrosity's face, spouting out blood everywhere in its wake, it did not stop or even slow the monstrosity, causing the Dullahan to stagger and hurriedly raise its enormous shield.
*WHAM* *SCREEEEEEECH*
From the sound of the impact followed by the screech of gyrating teeth against the metal, anyone observing the scene would have to assume the charge was blocked…
…but the visuals alone would paint a slightly different picture… that being the shield being crushed against the ground with dark mass spreading out from beneath it!
Was the Deep Dusk Dullahan crushed like a bug!?
"GHET BHAAACK EEREE!"
The white-haired monstrosity certainly didn't think that as it planted its feet and knees firmly on the ground and stabbed its fingers under the battered-up shield.
"NHOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!"
The follow-up deafening roar shook the heavens as the monstrosity bent backwards, bending the whole shield, prying it open like a lid and revealing…
Only a mass of shadows in which the Dullhan disappeared into and the remains of the shield seemingly fused with it…!
*STAB*
"GHAAAAAAAGH!?
The next moment, the mas of shadows spread around and beneath the monstrosity, only for the black blade to emerge from within! It shot out and stabbed into the creature's abdomen, forcing a cry of pain as it ripped through its gut.
"GHET UPH EEEREEE!"
But the monstrosity did not falter and growled hauntingly, one of its arms growing several more segments, allowing it to wiggle like a tentacle as its hand sought and grasped the blade.
*SPLUURT*
"!?!?"
Not caring for worsening its own wound, the monstrosity pulled on the blade, ripping its own torso open but also forcing the horrified Deep Dusk Dullahan out of its shadow!
*CRUNCH* *SPLURT*
Before the Dullahan could react, the monstrosity's other hand shot out from behind its back and crushed all three decomposing heads attached to its neck.
"GHAUUUFGHGHG!?"
The unleashed howl of agony did not come out from the remaining head, the panther's skull, but rather from the humanoid torso instead!
*SQUELCH*
The monstrosity's attack did not end with just getting rid of the heads of its former companions, and it dug its fingers into the Dullhan's neck and began to pull down as if it wanted to rip it apart…
"GH-GHAAAAUUUUUUURG…!"
And it did just that with an ear-splitting howl! The Deep Dusk Dullhan's whole torso split, separating its chest from its back and exposing a gaping maw full of thin razor-like teeth and a yellowish-white disfigured tongue that looked just like a human spine!
But when it comes to nightmarish tongues, Deep Dusk Dullhana's spine-tongue couldn't hold a candle to four hauntingly ghastly pale arms within the monstrosity's jaws!
As the monstrosity pulled back and glared down, those very arms slithered out and grabbed onto the Dullhan's torso-mouth.
It appeared that the back part was the upper jaw, with the shoulders and arms growing out of it being something akin to a mustache, but also at the same time being the perfect spot to grab onto and hold it in place.
*CRACK*
Both the sword-arm and the shield-arm of the boss monster were snapped and rendered useless, and with its own hands free, the monstrosity wrapped them around the front and hind legs of the main body.
"!!!"
The Deep Dusk Dullahan could try to flail as much as it wanted, but there was no escape for it!
"PHERHISH!"
*CRACK* *SQUELCH*
With a bloodcurdling roar, the monstrosity ripped the Deep Dusk Dullahan in half, spilling all of its guts and viscera onto the field, almost filling up the entire courtyard of Koboldia town.
*THUMP* *THUMP*
"Haaah… haaaah… haaa…"
The monstrosity dropped the halves of the defeated boss monster and staggered back, slumping down as it breathed out heavily.
"...!"
Then, a sudden sound of someone clapping their hands caused the creature to flinch, and as it turned its bulbous head, what it saw was a certain gold-haired girl approaching it with an encouraging smile.
"Hey there, big guy~ You did good."
Melinda walked right up to the monstrosity and said while affectionately touching its leg.
"I'll take care of the rest, alright? You should re…"
Melina was reassuring the monstrosity, already raising her hand to flick a finger at the Deep Dusk Dullahan's remains when she froze up…
The hind part of the boss monster, the one hosting what had to be the upper part of its actual body, has sunk down into the shadowy mass, causing the gold-haired girl to shut her mouth and tense up.
"Zane, we have t…!"
*WHAAAAAAM*
She called out in an alarmed voice and stepped to the side, but right then and there, the shadowy mass that spread under her and the monstrosity without them noticing because of the layer of monster guts split apart as two giant hooves launched out from within!
"WHGAAAAGH…!"
Even the giant monstrosity was flung to the side as one of the hives struck it…
…which meant that the petite gold-haired girl struck by the other hoof was launched into the air and disappeared out of sight before she could even let out a peep…!
"Y…! YHOU FHIIIIIIIILTH!"
Noticing Melinda's absence, the monstrosity scrambled up on its hands and knees and howled, launching itself at the remains of the Deep Dusk Dullahan.
As it chomped down on the boss monster's front half, its hands slithered forward, grabbing the hives before they could retract into the darkness, and ripped the Dullahan's hind part out of the shadowy mass.
"FHILTH! FHILTH! FHIIIIIIIILTH!"
*SQUEEELCH*
The monstrosity ripped the remains apart and tossed both into its jaws while howling in a frenzy.
Only then system's messages about the Boss monster defeat pop up in the creature's vision, stirring up even more of its hatred and aggression.
"MHEL… MHELHINDHAAAAAAA!"
Since the party was disbanded the moment that the gold-haired girl left the range of the bond, the monstrosity had no idea whether she was alive or not, leaving it to unleash a deafening, heart-wrenching howl towards the heavens.