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The bristleback leaped high into the air, its shadow expanding beneath them, wider and wider, until—
"Move!" Ember shouted.
They scattered as it slammed down, dead center of the group.
Ember scrambled up, wiping grit from her eyes. Why would it willingly let itself get surrounded? A predator always wants its prey in front. But one look at the dense cluster of razors on its back gave her the answer: there was no angle of attack. The beast crouched low like an armored tortoise, its armored shell protecting its side and rear completely. It hadn't panicked—it had isolated a target.
Jareth.
The creature's massive claw lunged for him, but Jareth threw his weight against its grip, gritting his teeth as an energy shot hit the beast's side with a hollow clack. It didn't even flinch.
"Side attacks have little to no effect," Veya yelled, sprinting toward its head.
"No openings here either!" Elle called, closing in from the other side.
Shards flew at their heads — Veya dropped into a slide while Elle flipped out of the way. Each of them nearly missed their throats.
With one claw pinned down, the creature slammed its free hand into Jareth's back—not once, but twice. Each blow sent him staggering, barely conscious. Then it grabbed him and squeezed before lunging in for a bite.
With what little strength he had left, Jareth quickly activated his third skill, slamming his fists together.
"EXPANSION!" he shouted.
A sphere of force ballooned from his hands, shoving the creature's jaws back and forcing its grip open. Jareth hit the dirt, but before the energy bubble fully dissolved, the bristleback's heavy arm swept back, catching him across the chest and blasting him into a nearby tree. His body went limp as he collapsed to the ground.
Ember reached out. "Jareth!"
Behind it, Mira moved. "Sprites—Knights Transformation!"
Her four metallic sprites broke into pairs, their mechanical limbs fusing, heads retracting, and wings extending with a sharp hiss. Within seconds, two waist-high armored constructs hovered in the air, jetpacks flaring. Energy blades ignited in their grips.
"Ready for your command," they said in unison.
Mira pointed at the creature's back. "Attack!"
Their jetpack screamed, propelling them forward and driving their glowing blades directly into the middle of its back.
Again, the bristleback didn't flinch. Instead, its rear plates flared, shards punching both sprites out of the air. They retreated to regroup while the others swarmed in to patch the damage.
"It's useless to attack the back," Ember said, wincing as she tried putting weight on her leg. "Its thick hide has a 90% damage reduction to attacks from the rare, and side attacks are reduced by 70%. We need to force it to stand."
The bristleback turned on Veya next. Dust kicked up in heavy clouds like a runaway bulldozer as it dragged its massive bulk toward her.
Veya panicked. "Aww — help!" She bolted.
Ember tried to run, but her leg buckled, still badly wounded from her last encounter. "Mira, get me over there!"
"On it!"
The bird-sprite scooped her up and dropped her at the beast's front. Then she channeled her yellow flame, unleashing her fourth skill.
"Sun Spark."
A blinding flash of golden light and searing heat erupted right in the creature's face, causing it to rear back, roaring and clawing at its blinded eyes.
"Now!" Ember shouted. "This is our chance!"
Veya skidded to a stop and spun. "True Sight!"
Her panicked expression instantly sharpened, focusing, then closing her right eye while her left pupil disappeared. Then three concentric blue rings appeared.
Ember gasped. "She has the Rune family ability! That's right — she's Veya Rune."
She knew the name from her father — a bloodline built to take down any tank. At level one, the ability reveals the target's weak point for five seconds. Any attacks hitting there while activated does true damage, ignoring all defense stats. Once the ability ends, the next attack will do 200% critical damage. And if that wasn't enough, the ability can be leveled up five times, gaining a new sight and ability.
Ember felt a sudden surge of relief. She had originally dismissed Veya as a weak ranged carry, but watching that eye open now, she understood exactly how wrong she'd been.
The world drained of color in Veya's vision, shifting to monochrome grey—until a hot, glowing red spot illuminated.
"There it is. The base of the neck."
Veya fired two rapid shots. Both hit the same pixel, forcing the beast to its knees and choke for air. As it twisted, a second red glow flickered near its liver.
"Again!" she shouted, landing two shots on her target.
The bristleback instinctively lashed out in pain, whipping a wave of shards straight at her.
"Shit—!" Veya shielded herself with her arms. "I can't dodge it."
The shards hit her shooters, both detonating on impact, and throwing her into the grass, where she lay motionless.
Blinded and enraged, the beast lunged toward Veya's limp body. But something cut across its knees first, dropping it hard.
"Don't you dare touch her," Elle said, skidding across the ground. A dark aura swirled around her blades.
"Shadow Blade."
Her daggers turned black, and as she moved, four afterimages trailed behind her like a lingering film reel. "I have five seconds."
"Phantom Shift."
She instantly shifted to its side and unleashed a deadly whirlwind of blades. Her dagger struck first, followed by four shadow blades that tore into the beast in rapid succession. Before it could react, she spun through again, her second dagger and four more shadows flashing through the opening.
Then, just as quickly as she had appeared, she vanished from its reach.
Two large explosions rocked the beast sideways as her passive activated twice in an instant. She didn't let up, repeating her Phantom Shift and whirlwind of blades.
BOOM! BOOM!
Two explosions erupted along its left side, instantly followed by two more on the right. Again. And again. Each detonation knocked the beast higher, keeping its massive body suspended in a brutal aerial juggle. Elle darted around it in a blur, striking from every angle, never giving it a moment to regain its footing.
Then she saw her opening.
She shifted in for the finishing blow—
But instead the beast's arms began to close around her.
"Phantom Shift," she said to escape, but nothing happened. She had miscounted her Phantom Shift charges. The beast's heavy arms clamped around her midsection, crushing the air out of her lungs as it squeezed her against its chest.
"Elle!" Ember cried, raising her hands before freezing. "I can't hit it without hitting her!"
"I've got her!" Mira yelled, unleashing everything she had left.
"Sprite Rush!"
Her knights attacked it from its side, swords clashing against the armor.
"Falcon Kamakazi!"
Her two mechanical birds swooped down, slamming straight into the monster's face and exploding on impact.
"Sprite Grenades!"
Her remaining sprites transformed into dozens of grenades and hurled themselves beneath the bristleback. One explosion followed another, pounding its underbelly until the beast finally released Elle.
Mira and Ember watched in horror as Elle dropped to the ground, motionless.
"Elle!"
They rushed to her and quickly dragged her out of the beast's reach.
"She's still breathing," Mira said, checking her.
Then she looked at Ember.
Ember was fuming. Heat radiated from her body, growing hotter with every passing second. Mira could feel the temperature rising—and she knew Ember was barely holding herself back.
"Watch her," Ember said softly, her three flames burning brightly. "I'm ending this."
She circled the beast, positioning herself so the rest of the team was clear.
Ember's abilities work best when stacked — a combustion chain, building from the weakest flame to the strongest: speed, force, and finally sustained fire.
First came the red flame: ignition.
"Red — Ignite!"
A crimson spark struck the creature's hide, catching fire and searing its skin.
Second, the orange flame: force.
"Orange — Fire Ball."
A massive sphere of orange flame condensed above her, slamming down like a meteor to crack the beast's hardened plates.
She chained them together.
"Orange, Red — Combustion Burst."
She flicked a red spark at the burning fireball, and the reaction detonated right against its neck.
Finally, the yellow flame: sustain fire.
"Yellow — Solar Wall."
A thick wave of radiant yellow fire surged forward, swallowing the creature whole. It roared in agony as the heat cooked it inside its armor.
"Orange, Yellow — Volcanic Prison."
Ember finished the sequence. The ground beneath the bristleback ruptured, knocking the massive body into the air as a geyser of molten magma burst upward, engulfing it completely.
When the dust finally settled, the charred, smoking corpse of the bristleback collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Ember fell to one knee, panting heavily, her essence completely depleted.
"Ember!" Mira ran over, helping her to her feet. "Are you okay?"
Ember looked at the smoking husk. "It's... over."
"Yeah. You did it." Mira managed a weak smile, wrapping Ember's arm over her shoulder. They slowly limped back toward the others.
As they walked, Mira frowned, looking around the quiet clearing. "Hey... I don't feel anything."
"What do you mean?"
"You know... from the kill. A monster like that should have given us enough experience to level up."
Ember stopped dead in her tracks.
Mira took another step forward before noticing Ember had frozen. She turned back—and the blood drained instantly from her face.
Standing tall behind them was a shadowy silhouette, its towering form outlined against the smoke like something pulled from a nightmare.
"Run—"
A single, blinding swipe tore through the air. The impact hurled both of them across the field.
Mira hit the dirt and went limp instantly. Ember landed hard on her back, gasping for air that wouldn't come, her ribs shattered.
Then she heard it, the throat of the Rare Bristleback rumbled with a wet, gurgling growl. It towered over her, dark and mocking, stepping forward to finish them off.
This was it. This was the end.
Her vision blurred, her eyelids slipping heavy.
Then—
hiss…
hiss…
HISSSSS!
Out of nowhere, a black blade whistled through the air toward the beast. Just before it struck, a figure flew in and caught the blade midair, then brought it down in a powerful swing.
SLING!
The blade flashed through the air and struck the bristleback's neck with one clean swipe.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then the beast's head slowly slid free, tumbling from its body and crashing into the grass.
A tall figure landed lightly between Ember and the collapsing beast, the black blade still gripped in his hand.
"Ember," he said, kneeling down towards her. "Stay with me."
She attempted to keep her eyes open, trying to piece together the blurred shape above her.
"Is that you — Landen?"
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