Chapter 61: Fool (I)
<Zero>
This was a problem. Not only did it have two heads, but it had a voracious appetite for the living. It devoured, it killed, it grew, and even hacking off its arms didn't stop it.
"That's going to be a problem, isn't it?" asked Agnis.
"Yeah," replied Zero. He stood there watching. That's one ugly beast, he thought. I wonder how it uses the bathroom?
He wasn't too worried about what was laid out in front of him.
"Aren't we going to go in to help?"
"Not yet. Aldran and his guild mates are down there helping out. I'm surprised that his group is already there. The KillemAll guild is there too. It would be best if we stay out of the way till we are needed."
"But…"
"Plus we need to see what our opponents can do. One day we might be up against them," Zero stated. There are a lot of tough opponents I'll have to face. Even this enormous quest is just the beginning for me, and rushing towards the top will be a never-ending battle. A battle in a dog-eat-dog world. He was already sizing them up for future reference.
"But what about the bet? Are we going to sit here and watch their whole fight?"
"No. We'll keep going after the small fries while the big ones are taken care of for now. I think they can handle it pretty well by themselves," stated Zero casually.
Charging in carelessly after the giant one won't give enough points. One difficult kill will still only give me one point, while there are many easy targets to go after. I'm not going to spoil this opportunity and lose this bet. I'm so going to win. He quietly considered what to do next.
What he saw before him was an epic fight. Zero couldn't help but watch with amusement. Aldran had summoned his magical white gryphon and was fending off the manslaughters by himself. His teammates were down. Whenever Aldran pulled back to regroup, Kyo would rush in and go berserk, wiping away both the small manslaughters and the large ones, devastating the monsters around him. He dismembered them with strong fire magic by enchanting his sword.
Fighters from each guild surrounded the large manslaughter, firing away with magic arrows. There were three main forces: One was a large force that enclosed the manslaughter with two heads by creating a ring around it. Second were the small groups of players that pushed back the other manslaughters that were trying to break through. They were gathered in pockets a bit further away from the double-headed manslaughter. The third was the archers from the wall that shot arrows down at any stragglers that the others couldn't get.
The main force rushed in to help their leaders battle it out with fire, sword, and arrow. Their hoarse voices yelled out to one another summoning magic to launch at the hideous beast. It thrashed and spat out acidic spit that sizzled and crackled, melting everything it touched.
"Move. Move. Move!" yelled one of KillemAll guild mates.
"Aim for the legs!" Another rushed forward, hacking away at the thousands of legs. Many more swung their swords at the manslaughter, trying to immobilize it. The screams of the dying could be heard echoing in the battlefield. The players had the upper hand now; the tide of the battle had turned.
The manslaughters were dying by the dozens, but then the two-headed manslaughter sounded out a hideous cry for help. Stopping what they were doing, the other manslaughters turned their heads towards the cry and began to rush over. Hundreds and hundreds surrounded the guild mates, trying to get through, but they were held back.
"Time to go," said Zero. He and Agnis bounded forward. It wasn't a difficult run, but it did cause some unwanted attention from the manslaughters. They began to chase after him. He noticed all the manslaughters were converging to one spot and this gave him a precious opportunity to score more points.
"Finally," Agnis replied, "Here I thought you'd given up."
"You kidding me? This is the perfect opportunity." He raced in towards the nearest small manslaughter that was running towards the two-headed manslaughter. Their cry sounded off in a scratching high-pitched tone, and he had to pull back his ears to drown out the horrendous sound.
Running side by side, he snapped at its heels. Agnis jumped off his back and onto the manslaughter. She struggled to get on, trying not to fall off its sleek, shiny, hard shell.
"This is so gross," Agnis said. "I hate giant bugs. It's like you can already feel it creeping up underneath your clothes." She shivered.
"Say what?" shouted Zero. The sound of yells, clashing metal, and the screams of the manslaughter made it difficult to hear.
"I hate bugs!" she screamed. She quickly pulled herself up and scaled towards its head. Its ugly deformed human head turned towards Agnis. Its jaws clicked with anger. With one of her small hidden daggers that she pulled out from her armor, she quickly used a downward thrust and impaled the soft tissue of the creature's head.
Zero finally was able to clasp down onto one of its legs and stopped abruptly. The leg popped out of its socket, while the manslaughter faltered to its side from the vicious yank, making Agnis and the manslaughter tumble in the air. Zero sprinted forward to catch Agnis before she hit the ground.
"Zero!" Agnis yelled as she flailed in midair.
Maneuvering in between the flailing legs and tumbling body, he was able to catch Agnis on his back in midair. Agnis's hands grabbed on hard onto his coat, almost to the point of yanking another fistful of fur. His eyes watered from the pull, and he bit down trying to muffle a painful cry. She pulled herself up and made herself comfortable again.
The pain… His eyes teared up and he grinded his teeth against one another.
He didn't have time to cry because the downed manslaughter was not completely dead and was lying on its side. It was trying to get back up but was disoriented from the knife in its head. He turned around and bounded back towards it. With his claws outstretched, he slashed, and tore through soft tissue. Agnis leaned over to the side and grabbed her dagger. For a split moment she dragged it across leaving a large gashing wound on the head when they passed by.
"I thought I would lose this dagger." She stashed it back away. "It's my favorite one too." The manslaughter stopped moving and lay dead.
"Keep it safe or you might lose it for real this time," replied Zero. He bounded forward towards another. It was a constant battle from one manslaughter to the next. Either they chased the closet manslaughter or they were chased by them. Each time Zero or Agnis gave the finishing blow. They were like the wind moving from one spot to another. There were a couple times where it was a close call, but each time they won.
While Zero and Agnis were running around in the outer circle fending off the manslaughters that were trying to move towards the two-headed one, Aldran pulled back a moment too late and was slashed on his arms. His left arm went limp and he dropped his shield.
"Aldran! Move back!" Gullifer yelled and rushed forward to cover for Aldran. Another blinding-fast attack was coming towards him. Gullifer raised up his shield to block the attack. Its sharp pincers grazed across the shield. More of his guild mates rushed forward to block and help out while Aldran pulled back to recover.
"Don't let it through. Keep Aldran safe!" Gullifer commanded. A large group of players surrounded Aldran, creating a protective circle. A group of priests that were in the back rushed over to examine his wound. A majority of them consisted of female priestesses squealing to be the first to heal Aldran.
"Healing hands!" a female priest yelled before she was close enough to heal Aldran.
"Heal!"
"Flash of light!"
More and more female priests began to cast their healing spells upon their leader.
"Focus your healing on your other guild mates. One is enough for me. Angrist," commanded Aldran. He raised his hands to hold the others back. The female priests pouted with disappointment. They each wanted to be close to Aldran. Reluctantly they followed orders and went on doing what they were told.
"You have quite a few fans." A middle-aged dwarf snickered. He walked over next to Aldran. His heavy armor matched perfectly with the Hercules colors.
"It is not the time or place for it," Aldran replied with a slight agitation in his voice.
"But who wouldn't want to personally heal our great leader?" Angrist grinned mischievously.
"I don't know what to do with them. If I hog all the priests then our guild will lose. I have told those girls so many times. They never listen."
Angrist burst out laughing. "That's what you get for being popular." He smiled and examined the wounds. "It seems that mass healing healed up a majority of the wounds. It would be better if you have another priestess to finish healing the rest."
Angrist pulled out bandages and wrapped them around Aldran's arm.
"Yes, I know. I expected as much. I didn't need any more. Your skill for now is much more needed. I need your buffs. The one you casted before is about over."
Angrist sighed. "You're never going to get a girlfriend like this if you keep pushing them aside."
"Girlfriend? That's a random thing to say. I don't need one," replied Aldran. He got up and picked up his shield.
"Strength of the Lion!" Angrist called out his spell. A golden aura circled around Aldran. A lion's crest magically appeared on his chest. "This is why you are living your life as a hermit." Angrist shouted back.
Aldran rolled his eyes. "The last one didn't work out. I'll find one eventually." He waved his hand as if it was nothing and strutted forward towards the battle.
"I can send you some pictures for the next group date meetings if you're interested!"
"No. I'll be fine," Aldran shouted back.
"For your old battle buddy's sake!"
Aldran stopped and sighed. "Fine," he grumbled. "Last one."
"You won't be disappointed." Angrist chuckled and ran back into battle.
"Why the hell do I always cave when he states it like that." Aldran rushed forward into battle. His teammates moved out of the way when he began to cast his spells.
"Are you back from your nice nap?" yelled Kyo as he snickered. He was not too far away from Aldran. "Here I thought you ran away." With a swing of his heavy sword he sliced through the legs of the manslaughter.
"Hardly," Aldran monotonously answered. Slashing, dodging, and casting magical attacks, he looked like he was dancing around the two-headed manslaughter.
"You should've stayed behind. I could handle this by myself." Kyo rushed in and slammed down into one of the pincers, breaking it in half. The monster reeled back in pain, and the other head rushed in for an attack snapping its jaws towards him.
"Behind you!" Fielian shouted. She sprinted in from the side to defend him.
Fielian slammed into its body, pushing it off course as the attack struck dangerously close to Kyo's face.
"I could've handled that!" Kyo yelled. He slammed his heavy sword into its head and broke both of the pincer-like jaws clean off.
"I know, sir. But your life is important to keeping our guild intact. We cannot lose you in this battle," she replied, fending off the two-headed manslaughter.
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