The four of us ran towards Irun and the ochelons. Edryd and Roburn had bested the creatures around them, and they converged on the ochelons as well. The roars were deafening and sent chills down everyone's spines, save the Master and Anwill, who had many more years of experience in fighting them.
"Thoma, Edryd, Roburn, Irun. You four take the male on the right. Bernar, Anwill, and I will take the other three on the left," the Master ordered. "Yes, Master," we replied as we spread ourselves out, leaving the remaining chaos behind us to the others. The ochelons noticed us charging them and roared their challenges, rippling the air between us.
I felt the Master's mana surge as his eyes glowed even more brightly to cast a massive globe of fire at his target to draw its attention. Anwill and Bernar did the same to their targets, and led them away from the four of us as the spells seared their fur.
"Ah, it's been a long time," the Master said with a smile, watching the annoyed beast approach him. He got in his guard, the Vom Tach, and held his longsword with both hands just above his forehead.
For whatever gods-forsaken reason, he just stood there, waiting.
The others and I circled around our own challenger, closing in around it. The ochelon swung its muscular arms, though each blow was dodged quite easily as it couldn't pick a single one of us to focus on.
Why is he just standing there waiting? I thought, dodging a claw that aimed to crush me into the ground, then immediately turned to swing at the others.
As I looked at the Master and Anwill, I turned back around just in time to see another blow coming straight for me, forcing me to move out of the way and cut off one of its fingers with a single cut.
Meanwhile, the Master was still standing his ground, while Anwill and Bernar were already engaging their enemies, combining spells and sword strikes to weaken the ochelon's tough hides. The Master focused on his enemy, who now came at a charge ready to strike.
He watched the large claw as it rose into the air with his peripheral vision, keeping his eyes fixated on its center of mass. The beast swung down from its right side, and the Master simply stepped out of the way, removing its wrist from its arm with one swift cut. The ochelon roared in pain and swung again at about waist height. He rolled backward and was quickly on his feet, keeping his eyes fixed on the beast.
It tried to slam the ground where he just was, and he stepped out of the way of the stump that tried to crush him in quick succession. He dashed forward, cutting the tendon at the ankle, forcing the beast to stumble in front of him.
His speed is hard to follow. I can hardly even tell what he's doing when he attacks, but I feel like he's still holding back, I thought, dodging another attack that cracked the ground beneath me.
He rushed forward once more, stabbing a vital organ. The beast roared and swung again with its claw in an attempt to swat him like a fly. The Master leapt over the attack, severing its wrist in the process. "Two bloodied stumps and a strong bite are all you've got left," I heard him say, already back on his feet.
The beast roared and tried to squash him with both of its stumps. The Master dodged the blows and jabbed his sword into its face, piercing an eye. The beast roared again and swung blindly, desperate to find its target. He dodged the attacks and went around the beast to strike at the remaining tendon above its heel.
It fell with a roar to the ground, unable to get back up, swinging one last time to reach its mark of empty air. The Master had rolled out of the way and was now in front of it, raising his sword, and turning it on its point.
He struck downward, pinning the beast's head to the earth below. It gurgled blood, as his eyes glowed more intensely, pushing mana into the creature's head with such force that it caused it to explode, leaving nothing but a puddle of blood where its head once was.
Holy fuck! I exclaimed, repositioning myself behind the creature as Ed and Roburn struck the ochelon's tendon behind its knee.
Anwill was finishing off his enemy with a stab to the gut and a burst of mana, leaving a hole the diameter of a wine barrel in its chest. Bernar, on the other hand, had managed to get on top of his ochelon and sliced into its nape. It fell to the ground with a resounding thud, twitching for a few moments as he stepped down from the creature, getting a nod of disappointment from Anwill.
"I thought you would have killed yours more quickly," he sighed. "Nah, I wanted to show off a little for my little brother. Who knows? Maybe it'll give him an idea for his target," Bernar chuckled with a swift swing to get the blood off his sword. "Should we help them?" Anwill asked with what I thought was genuine concern. "Nope. Let them work as a team. I want to see how they do," Bernar shook his head as the two of them, along with the Master, approached us.
Ed and Roburn were dodging swats from the large claws aimed at them, while Irun and I tried to get close enough to cut its legs at the same time. The beast saw a flicker of sunlight off of Irun's sword and swung its claw, which met its mark, sending Irun into the air for a few moments.
"Irun!" I called out, watching him land in a heap a few meters away, almost entirely unconscious.
Shit. That could've been me. It's too tall to try and strike its chest. I've got to bring it down to our level and make it an even fight, I thought, remembering my own battle just a few days prior.
I dodged another swat aimed for me with a roll, and got in close enough to hack at the flesh behind its knee, causing it to roar in pain and drop to a knee. "Aim for his eyes!" I yelled at Edryd, feeling a slight sting of pain from the scar on my back after the roll.
Edryd's eyes went black as he cast a fireball aimed at the beast's face, doing little to no damage. "Use your sword!" Roburn shouted. Edryd understood the command, and through the plume of smoke, he thrust his sword, just barely reaching its target.
Roburn, sliding under the hunched-over creature, sliced into its gut. "Damn it, too shallow," he grunted. As the beast reared from the attack, it slammed the ground just beside me, sending me flying high into the air. As I reached the apex of my impromptu avian mimicry above the beast, I saw its bare nape and aimed for it.
I have to land this strike. If I can just cut its nape, that will be enough, but how can I deal that much damage to it? I thought.
I brought my sword up just above my forehead, my sclera blackening for a moment as I did so. However, I could feel a familiar warmth streaming from my eyes toward my temples as my eyes began to glow intensely, leaking a mana trail behind me as I fell.
I gripped my sword with all my might and infused it with mana, striking its nape as I fell, using whatever momentum from my weight and rotational velocity I could muster. My sword, severing the head from the large body, continued into the ground, leaving an explosion of blood, dirt, and mana in its wake.
"Holy leather-donut of the Kingdom of Assecheeks, that was amazing!" Edryd exclaimed, as the beast's corpse fell to the floor, rumbling the ground beneath it. "Thanks," I said weakly, reaching for his hand to help me to my feet. I looked over at Bernar and the Master, who were smiling from where they stood, visibly impressed by what they had just witnessed.
Anwill, however, blanched as if a memory had just appeared in the forefront of his mind.