The battle raged on with Zach on the defensive, scales tough as steel, strength as tough as three elephants, and an attitude of a savage beast.
The first chance he got, he killed a random fiend; the second chance he got, he killed a reaper, but each time he came back stronger.
And this time it was it.
Zach slid underneath the giant amalgamation, carving a silver arc at the monster's leg.
Arthur was battered, bleeding from a cut on his forehead, which was grazed by the huge beast's axe.
****
"Come on, you bastard." Darius was on full-on attack, dashing towards the dark-scaled abomination with a devilish grin.
"You...?!" The abomination paused.
"You bastard." It hissed with a screech.
Darius's figure collided with the fiend with the force of a hand grenade, raising the sand into a dust cloud.
The fiend was fast, but Darius was faster; his sickles pulsated with a red light, lacing each of his strikes with devastating poison.
The fiend dodged a slash, but the blade grazed its forehead, making black blood spew out of the creature's head.
The area around the wound throbbed, and veins of rot spread fast into the abomination's bloodstream.
The beast skidded backwards, touching the cut on its forehead.
"Oh...." It looked with bewildered eyes, like a child who just discovered his toy could do hidden tricks.
Darius grinned; fighting a Thyxar was obviously a dangerous position to be in; the Thyxar's scary regeneration abilities fought against his poison effects drastically.
Darius was aware of this fact himself. He couldn't fight against the fiend for long periods of time; the Thyxars have more stamina, so if he prolonged this, it could get dangerous.
On the other hand, the rest of the group struggled against the Thyxars.
Isolde bled from her shoulder; the chameleon-type Thyxar made scales reflect the surroundings around it, turning it completely invisible, so she had to fight blindly.
The crab and snake hybrid was onto her too, launching its terrifying pincer towards her; she jumped back, receiving another slash from the chameleon.
She looked around; if this continued the way it was, she would die; her heartbeat faster, not out of fear—out of excitement.
Her lips curled into a bright smile; finally, a situation that would require her to give her all and risk her life; she was so stuck training; the feeling of battle had slipped from her, making her forget the feeling of looming death.
She twisted her body, dodging another pincer strike, then she swung her rapier in a circular arc, slashing the invisible chameleon.
"There!" She launched at the spot she felt the resistance in her blade, successfully stabbing her blade through the fiend's shoulder.
The monster appeared in sight; its compound eyes locked on Keal; Keal swung upwards, spraying a bloody mist into the air.
Lysander, the arcane knight, faced off against what looked like a shadowy beast.
"Why do I get left with the creepy ones?" He sighed.
The beast charged, and Lysander got ready to defend himself, raising his blade.
The beast writhed like a shadow, splitting into three identical copies mid-lunge.
"Tch... figures." Lysander's eyes glowed as his blade pulsated with a white light.
The moment the first shadow swung its claws, Lysander defended it; another shadow lunged for his neck, but Lysander twisted, dragging the blade through the air; he severed the two shadows in a single swing, turning them into dust.
"Gotcha!" The dust rattled, merging back into the same humanoid beast it once was.
Lysander's expression cracked, but he quickly regained his composure.
Further away, Keal ducked, barely avoiding a jet of purple venom, melting the sand like acid.
Her opponent, which was a spider-type Thyxar, moved with precision; its eight sharp limbs hissed through the air.
"Damn freak." She hissed, sliding backwards; the fight went on with Keal just dodging and evading attacks.
"You're just gonna keep running...?" The Thyxar hissed, thick purple venom spewing from its mouth.
She looked down at her trembling hand. "Fine, I guess I'll use it." Thick threads materialized out of thin air, wrapping themselves around the pommel of the blade.
Curious ability: thread fluid.
The daggers at her disposal lunged forward with scary precision, wrapping themselves around the spider claws.
The Thyxar's eyes widened as it was bound by these thick threads.
Keal clenched her fist, and the threads tightened into the Thyxar's scales.
"Tch, its armor is too hard; I'll have to go with a different approach."
Meanwhile, Orion was clashing with the minotaur-type Thyxar, wielding a double axe.
"You human." It hissed; saliva dripping from its mouth.
"I prefer my name, thanks." Orion's hand trembled; the minotaur had incredible strength; it was harder to deal with it.
They exchanged clashes for a while, each strike sending ripples around the battlefield; Orion skidded backwards; he looked up to see the minotaur's axe directly above his head; he raised his blade to block, sending sparks that tore through the battlefield.
'Damn, this guy is strong.' Orion's blade glowed; the beast charged in.
Orion's lips curled into a smirk for some reason.
He twisted the halberd, letting the blade slide along the minotaur's axe, deflecting the force sideways; using the rebound, Orion spun low, slicing along the beast's thighs.
The beast's leg spewed out black, oozing liquid; it sizzled on the sand.
Orion grinned. "Feel that, bull boy." The beast paused for a second to stare at Orion; its horizontally slit pupils reflected Orion's calm self.
Each of the contenders were platinum knights; they've been through so many battles and know talking to a Thyxar won't bring about any reasonable information.
Keep your mouth shut and fight; that was a common principle in the academy.
Not too far away, Seraphina faced off against a siren-type Thyxar.
The Siren Thyxar was unlike any of the other beasts; its body was half humanoid, half aquatic nightmare, standing upright with a grace that felt almost regal.
From the waist up, it resembled a pale woman with skin like polished porcelain—but her "beauty" was corrupted.
Blue-green veins pulsed under translucent flesh, and where her eyes should've been, there were hollow sockets glowing faint turquoise light.
Her mouth stretched unnaturally wide, lined with rows of needle-thin teeth that shimmered like glass shards.
From the waist down, her form dissolved into a mass of liquid tendrils, each moving like living water—constantly reshaping, dripping, reforming into blades, hooks, and fins that sliced through the air with every motion.
When she saw Seraphina, her lips curled into something close to a smile.
"Pretty one…" the Siren hissed in a distorted, echoing voice. "Let me wear your song."
Then the sea behind her rose up as if answering her command, forming a massive wave shaped like a serpentine halo.
"You freak." Seraphina braced.