Chapter 33: Mini Boss (part 2)

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Mini Boss (part 2)

"What is that?!"

Darian immediately drew his sword.

"Everyone, back!"

The wind exploded outward. Two creatures emerged from the swirling currents.

They possessed vaguely humanoid bodies made entirely from condensed wind, with long limbs and sharp, blade-like extensions around their arms. Their bodies constantly shifted and distorted, as though their forms were being held together by invisible forces.

Their eyes glowed pale blue. One released a low, vibrating roar. The sound shook the entire chamber.

Elric’s face became pale.

"Wind Elemental Beasts..."

Darian tightened his grip.

"Prepare yourselves!"

The first creature vanished.

"What?!"

A violent gust suddenly tore through the room.

Darian barely raised his sword.

Clang!

Something struck his blade with tremendous force.

The impact sent him sliding several meters across the floor.

"Leader!"

"I’m fine!"

Darian planted his foot and stopped himself.

The second creature suddenly appeared behind the formation.

"Behind!"

An adventurer turned around. The wind beast swung its arm, and a blade of compressed wind shot forward.

The adventurer raised his shield.

Boom!

The shield was instantly split apart, and the man was thrown backward, crashing into the wall.

"AAAGH!"

"Attack!"

Several adventurers rushed forward. One swung his sword at the nearest wind beast.

The blade passed directly through its body.

"What?!"

The creature’s body dispersed into wind, the sword struck nothing.

Then the scattered wind gathered behind the adventurer.

"Behind you!"

Too late.

The wind beast struck him across the back.

The adventurer was thrown forward and rolled across the floor.

Darian’s expression became grim.

"Don’t attack randomly!"

He immediately understood the problem. These creatures had no solid bodies.

Their movements were incredibly fast, and their bodies could disperse whenever they were struck.

"Elric!"

The mage immediately understood.

"I’m trying!"

He raised his staff.

"Earth Bind!"

Magic spread across the floor. Stone erupted upward, attempting to trap one of the wind beasts.

The creature twisted away. But the spell slowed it for a moment.

"Now!"

Darian charged, his sword became covered in energy.

He swung with all his strength, and the blade struck the condensed wind.

For the first time, the creature’s body distorted violently.

A shriek echoed through the room.

"It works!"

Darian’s eyes sharpened.

"Don’t let it escape!"

The adventurers surrounded the weakened creature.

But the second wind beast immediately attacked. A powerful gust exploded outward.

Several adventurers were knocked off their feet.

"Stay together!"

Darian shouted.

The wind beast raised both arms, and the air around it began spinning violently.

Elric’s expression changed.

"Everyone, get down!"

A storm of razor-sharp wind blades erupted.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The adventurers raised their shields and weapons, desperately blocking the attacks.

Several blades slipped through, blood sprayed across the floor.

One adventurer screamed as a wind blade cut across his shoulder.

Another dropped to one knee, Darian gritted his teeth.

"These things are stronger than anything we’ve encountered so far."

Inside the throne room, Ragnar watched the battle through the floating screen.

A satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Beside him, Veyra watched with considerably more interest than before.

Ragnar opened his system interface.

[Windfang Beast]

[Level: 10]

[Type: Wind Elemental Beast]

[Quantity: 2]

[Cost: 4 Soul Points]

Ragnar had deliberately purchased the two creatures after gaining Soul Points from the deaths of the six adventurers.

He had immediately placed them inside the treasure room.

The chest had been nothing more than bait. Ragnar leaned back against his throne.

"Let’s see how they deal with these."

Veyra smiled.

"My Lord certainly enjoys watching them struggle."

Ragnar didn’t deny it.

"They’ve already lost six people."

His eyes remained fixed on the screen.

"If these two can take down a few more, their numbers will fall even further."

Inside the dungeon, the adventurers continued fighting desperately.

The two Windfang Beasts moved like storms given physical form, disappearing and reappearing across the chamber while unleashing one attack after another.

Darian blocked a wind blade, but another struck his shoulder.

He grunted and staggered backward.

"Everyone, focus on one!"

The adventurers immediately concentrated their attacks.

One wind beast was surrounded.

Elric repeatedly used Earth Bind to slow its movements while the warriors attacked whenever its body became condensed.

Little by little, the creature began to weaken.

Then Darian saw an opening.

"Now!"

He stepped forward and swung his sword with everything he had.

Slash!

The blade tore through the center of the wind beast.

The creature released a deafening shriek, and its body violently dispersed.

For a moment, the chamber became still.

Then the wind slowly faded.

One of the two beasts had been defeated.

The adventurers stared in disbelief.

"We killed it..."

Someone whispered.

Darian didn’t relax.

His eyes immediately shifted toward the second Windfang Beast.

It was still standing, and it was staring directly at them.

The creature’s body began to spin faster. The adventurers raised their weapons once again.

Darian tightened his grip.

"Don’t celebrate yet."

His voice was grim.

"We still have one left."

The second Windfang Beast was even more difficult to deal with than the first.

Without its companion beside it, one might have expected the creature to become easier to defeat, but the opposite happened. It focused entirely on the remaining adventurers, constantly changing its position and attacking from unexpected angles.

Every time someone attempted to strike it, its body dispersed into a violent stream of wind before reforming several meters away, and whenever it appeared again, razor-sharp blades of compressed air immediately followed.

"Don’t let it separate us!"

Darian shouted as he blocked another wind blade with his sword.

Clang!

The impact forced him backward.

His boots scraped against the stone floor, and a thin line of blood appeared across his cheek as another blade narrowly missed his face.

"Left!"

An adventurer shouted.

Darian immediately turned.

The Windfang Beast had appeared beside one of the injured adventurers.

"Get away!"

The man raised his weapon.

The creature’s arm transformed into a long blade of condensed wind.

It swung downward.

Darian rushed forward.

"Get down!"

The adventurer dropped to the floor. Darian’s sword collided with the wind blade.

Boom!

A powerful shockwave erupted between them. Darian’s arms trembled from the impact.

"This thing..."