Heavy Metal

The tunnel had transformed into a nightmarish battlefield. Rusty stood at attention as the skeletal army rose, accompanied by the grotesque humanoid spiders. Each enemy emanated an aura of malice, the green glow of necromantic energy mingling with the faint silver shimmer of Gleam's light. She chirped nervously, her antennae quivering as she perched on his shoulder.

" ( •̀ - •́ ) "

"It's fine Gleam, they only have numbers as long as there aren't any D ranks among them… we will be fine!"

Rusty unsheathed his twilight-iron blade and held his shield steady as the monsters attacked. Their focus seemed to be on Gleam rather than on him. It was clear that these creatures were drawn more to the living than to the inanimate magical object he was perceived to be.

" ( •̀⤙•́ ) "

"I don't think they are underestimating you Gleam…"

His friend pouted as the monsters seemed to regard her as the easier target of the two. Moments later, the battle erupted in an echo of clashing metal, shattering bones, and piercing screeches. Rusty surged forward, his sword cleaving through zombie heads and undead spiders alike. Although their enemies were numerous, they proved to be surprisingly weak - especially after Gleam unleashed one of her new spells, the Lesser Shield of Light.

The result was unexpected and not something Gleam had planned. Once the shield materialized around Rusty - its intended target the monsters recoiled as though stricken with fear. While the shield was designed purely as a defensive ability, it seemed to have an unintended secondary effect on the undead creatures. They were repelled by the light, behaving as though it functioned as a persistent debuff spell.

"Good going gleam, keep that shield up and stay on my shoulder!"

" ( •̀ᴗ•́ )و "

Gleam chirped as the shield enveloped them in a radiant glow. The spiders with humanoid heads screeched as they lunged forward, undeterred by the shield's damaging effect. Their grotesque forms became a blur of motion, but as they neared, the radiant magic halted them in their tracks. This gave Rusty the perfect opportunity to strike, his blade plunging into their twisted bodies and defeating them with a single, well-placed blow.