Chapter 226: Fell
The others didn't wait to know what's happening or if there's anything happening at all. If Azaroth should suddenly start running then they don't want to stay in such area. So they ran after him.
And not a second too soon as a thin black vertical line appears in the air close to the dead drake. The line cut forward easily cutting through the hard body of the stone drake like knife to butter.
It was then that the air above the dead monster warped, twisting until a new drake stopped there bigger than the dead one with scales of such darkness that it leaked the dark like smoke. The monster tilted it's long neck and studied the running human but it didn't ran after them.
The shadow drake content itself by warping it's tail around the dead drake and settled down to eat, fangs tearing into the inside flesh of the dead drake. The humans will meet their end soon anyway.
Stallus gritted her teeth, all her essence forge sent to her legs and side to keep up with the others, even then she was the last and was doing her best to catch up.
So she was the first to see another monster crashed into the woods beside them, another drake, serpentine body twisting clumsily as it smashed into trees. She didn't need to sound warnings then because they could all hear it.
The monster was brown with thick skin, overlapping dry shiny scales, from its shoulder down is like the other stone drake but it's neck to the head is bulky and filled with sharp bony spikes.
The drake has no fangs and it's mouth is more like a hole with long fang like spikes jutted straight forward. Stallus shuddered and carefully didn't think how such monster eat.
Azaroth did a rough calculation. The monster will catch up to them and it's better to fight face to face than to get taken from the back. So he slow and stopped, turning towards the monster. The other cursed but they followed his example.
But the monster didn't stop, it pounced forward, flinging itself at them and then brought its mouth down the fangs spikes shooting forward like a mosquito taking a bite.
Azaroth stepped out of the way of the spikes but not entirely, the drakes claws raked him and his lifted sword did little help as he was slammed Into a tree while the spikes punched into a tree, and then with a woosh and snap, the tree shivered and dried, turning brittle and into flakes.
So the monster drinks fluid with that spikes, Azaroth accessed mildly. The monster turned to him, yellow eyes gleaming and then the monster opened its jaws, showing a hole without teeth. Azaroth thought the monster might breath out its breath but instead the drake gave a shallow breath and then breath in sharply.
The air around them was yanked away and the immediate space around the monster collapsed, everything around twisting and getting sucked into its mouth.
Azaroth found himself lifted from his feet and pulled forward. He didn't really like that very much so Azaroth reached inside and pulled out his chaos essence, using to technique as he blasted it out, invisible power ripping out and resisted the pull from the monster.
Azaroth slammed back down into the ground and he using that opportunity to warp himself in the essence from his chaos core and latched into the ground to stabilize himself.
The others weren't so lucky. Alex was yanked up and straight into the monster's mouth. Fortunate for him Catena who was pulled together with him sent all his remaining essence into his Earth Manipulation technique.
The ground churned, handed and a big chuck was ripped away, forming into the biggest Earth ball he's ever made that slammed into the monster's mouth and stalled the force pulling them. Catena and Alex also slammed into the earth ball, narrowly missing the spikes that jutted out.
They fell and scrambled out of the way.
Azaroth began to gather fire around himself, and the air grew hot as the monster released the attack and the earth ball covering its mouth fell, it let out a roar, claws flexing to use another attack but then a crystal the size of a spear slammed into it from the side with such force it penetrate its shoulder and punched through its chest.
The monster bellowed and turned towards Stallus, it's eyes burning with hatred but she wasn't done. Her face still in concentration and sweat beaded her body. She trembled slightly as she wring out all her power for the second time that day.
The crystal spear glowed with intensity, pulsing with blue white light that shone coldly in the sun. The monster felt the power of the attack and pounced forward to kill her before she continue with it.
But it was too late. With a sharp bang and the cracks of bones shattering the monster's left side was ripped away in a shower of blood and chunk of flesh.
Everyone seems to froze, even the monsters as they saw the destruction that Stallus had just caused. But even her was swaying, eyes fluttering as her energy weaned. The monster was also in the same position but it stumbled forward, it's uninjured leg pulling it forward.
But Azaroth won't let it. He had already began running forward at the first hint of Stallus attack and now he gestured for Alex to get ready. They will be using all their remaining energy in this one.
Azaroth lifted his hand and called fire. It answered with a crackle and he made no move to contain it, instead he sent it forward to wash over the monster in a sweeping jet of intense heat and scalding hotness that made the creature's scales to blackened and pop.
It had the desired effect, the monster turned and howled, mouth opened in pain and it was then a lightning cracked through the air and straight into the monster's head. It's skull collapsed and brain exploded outward.
It fell without a twitch.