Dust fell from the ceiling as the beams trembled and creaked, almost at the breaking point, from the inhuman scream.
The weaker people in the building clutched their sore ears, while the normal people's eardrums instantly burst, with blood dripping from their ears.
Paul, or what was left of him, lunged forward with unnatural speed, moving on all fours like a predator, using his claws to grip the floor.
Erik raised his sword just in time.
Paul's fist struck the metal with such force that the weapon vibrated, and Erik was pushed against the wall.
"My prince!" shouted Alfred, raising his flame covered sword.
Paul turned toward him with an unnatural twist of his neck, that you could hear his bones cracking. With a growl, he leapt at Alfred to grab him.
"Fire Sword!"
Alfred swung his burning sword in an arc, but his wrist was caught by one of Paul's skeletal hands.
Alfred's eyes widened, and in that moment, he bent his neck backward, barely dodging Paul's strike, though his cheek was still cut open.
Switching his grip, he slashed horizontally toward Paul's chest, wounding him.
Alfred was thrown back but managed to stand guard again, and to his horror, saw the wound healing much faster than expected.
"Damn it! The artifact should only grant minor regeneration, but how can this be called minor?!" growled Alfred, gritting his teeth.
If Adel had been there, he too would have found it suspicious, but what would have truly caught his attention was Paul's change.
Paul roared and, with a leap, was upon him again. His claws nearly ripped Alfred's chest open, but he managed to block part of the attack. The recoil, however, drove Alfred's sword deeper into his own shoulder.
Alfred gritted his teeth, trying to break free, but Paul kept pressing, making the blade sink deeper.
He managed to deflect Paul to the side and immediately ducked, avoiding Paul's forearm from crushing his head.
He tried to counterattack, but Paul's fists felt like metal, and the fact that he was regenerating didn't help.
With each confrontation, it was Alfred who took the brunt of the blow, shaking his bones, but he continued his assault.
Except that with the final attack, he unbalanced his guard, allowing Paul to anchor himself to his arm, using his sharp claws, causing Alfred to cry out in pain.
"Alfred!"
Erik, recovered from the earlier hit, seized the opening and struck the creature's side. His sword cut into the flesh, slicing part of the muscle, but Paul twisted his torso unnaturally to avoid a fatal wound.
Seeing the attack had failed, Erik grabbed Alfred and pulled him back several meters, now also watching how the wound he'd made was stitching itself back together.
"There's no way to stop him like this…" Erik thought, clenching his jaw.
"Not necessarily," Alfred said weakly, immediately drinking a potion to recover a bit. "Even if he can heal, blood loss will begin to take its toll. I doubt he can keep regenerating at that speed every time."
Erik nodded, keeping his focus on Paul, who was glaring at them with a crazed look.
With a prodigious jump, Paul hurled himself at the young man, opening his mouth in a deformed scream.
Erik slid his foot back, raised his sword, and shouted: "Sword Energy Wave!"
A blade of pure energy shot forth, striking Paul straight in the chest. The blow blew apart his flesh, slamming him into the wall. Stones shattered, the ceiling shook, and finally collapsed.
"Oh shit!"
As the ceiling gave way, the entire floor collapsed too, and both Erik and Alfred were buried under debris, falling to the lower level.
Cough! Cough!
"Alfred!" Erik shouted into the dust cloud, unable to see anything.
"I'm fine!"
Hearing Alfred's voice, Erik sighed in relief, but just then, he sensed movement nearby. Too slow to react, he was hit in the side by Paul's fist, his body bending before being thrown away.
Paul gave no time to think. With monstrous speed, he charged again. Erik finally hit the ground, spitting blood and gasping in pain.
"Damn it!" he spat, struggling to stand despite the pain.
Alfred rushed to his aid, unleashing another attack. "Fire Sword!"
A column of fire burst from his blade, engulfing Paul in a crimson furnace. The creature's shrieks filled the room, a sharp, inhuman sound that made their ears bleed.
Yet, when the flames died, Paul was still there. His body was charred and blackened, skin falling off in pieces… but still alive, and his wounds were regenerating.
Erik staggered to his feet and stood beside Alfred.
"We can't keep this up much longer…" he muttered through clenched teeth.
At last, the two realized just how wide the gap was between them and an existence at the peak of Grade 3.
'To think Adel played bait for a Grade 4 monster… how absurd, ' Erik thought, and suddenly, his pain lessened.
The mere idea that he could lose even if he was in a much more advantageous situation than the one Adel had experienced kept him from giving in to pain.
Paul charged again, striking with both arms like monstrous claws.
Their swords moved in sync, blocking and deflecting the blows, but the impact was devastating. Each clash made their bones vibrate, and Erik's hands were already cut and bleeding.
"Let's kill this thing!"
Alfred nodded, breathing heavily. "Never agreed more."
Paul lifted one deformed arm and swung it down like an axe. Erik dodged at the last instant, but the strike tore open the floor, leaving a deep crack.
"Now, Alfred!" Erik shouted.
Alfred charged his sword with both fire and lightning, merging his skills. "Dual Flame Lightning Strike!"
He struck Paul in the abdomen, the explosion tearing through his torso and blasting the creature back.
Their breath froze as they thought it was over.
But hope died quickly. The wound started closing, and in less than a minute, Paul was standing again, though this time, he looked more drained.
"He… doesn't die…" Erik muttered, while his irritation rose.
Fighting against a constantly regenerating opponent was psychologically depressing. The main problem was that their injuries were piling up, and their mana and stamina reserves were rapidly depleting.
Paul roared and grabbed Alfred by the arm, lifting him with inhuman strength before slamming him to the ground. The floor shook as Alfred screamed in pain, his arm dislocated.
"ALFRED!"
Erik threw himself forward, slashing Paul's side, but the creature ignored him, as if pain meant nothing. He grabbed Erik's head and began dragging both his and Alfred's faces along the wall, destroying everything in his path. Then, using Alfred's body like a club, Paul swung Erik hard and hurled him down to the lower floor.
"Lightning... Bolt!"
Still stunned and bloody, Alfred glared at Paul with bloodshot eyes, placed his hand on the creature's face, and unleashed his magic.
The bolt burned Paul's face, making him release Alfred, who jumped down the hole where Erik had fallen.
He helped Erik drink a potion and took one himself, but their bodies were so battered that the potions only gave minimal relief.
Paul too dropped to the lower floor, and the two barely managed to stand guard.
"By all the gods, what the hell is that?!"
Jasmine appeared on the other side of the corridor, her face twisted in disgust.
Beside her, Anthony drew two hatchets, spitting on the ground. "Aye, the likeness be there… but tell me it ain't Paul."
Paul turned toward them, growling.
Erik collapsed, gasping, while Alfred tried to rise again.
"Don't treat it as human anymore! Strike without mercy, or its regeneration will undo everything!" Alfred shouted hoarsely.
Paul let out another scream, louder than before, and charged at the newcomers.
This time, though, four of them faced him.
Jasmine's whip coiled around one of the creature's legs, yanking hard to break his balance. Anthony seized the moment, charging with his hatchets, hacking at Paul's skeletal arms and cutting flesh and tendons.
Erik, though exhausted, charged his sword for another energy wave, while Alfred, with his arm still aching, poured the last of his mana into an electric strike.
"NOW!" Erik roared.
Their weapons struck together. The room shook with an explosion of light, fire, and lightning. Paul's body was torn apart, but at the last moment, he clung to the ceiling, avoiding most of the damage.
Silence fell for an instant. All four were panting with their weapons raised.
Jasmine and Anthony stared in shock at Paul's regeneration, while for Erik and Alfred, it was becoming a grim routine.
Jasmine clenched her jaw, eyes wide in horror. "This… can't be possible."
Anthony spat on the ground, gripping his hatchets. "By thunderin' seas… the bastard won't stay dead."
Erik raised his sword, though his hand trembled. "His regeneration is slowing down. We need to attack him more fiercely."
The news brought some relief, yet Paul was still far from being an easy foe.
He lifted his deformed head and, with a scream dripping with bloodlust, charged them again.