Civilization

Acknowledging Kingston's plan, David and the others dash to the left, whilst the rest went to the right, leaving me in the middle as the monster glares at me. The dark rings pulse out of its body, sending shockwaves toward everyone but that didn't stop us. Ken and Yor sped in front of the group as their bodies glisten ebony and silver respectively. The contrast makes it seem like they were drawing power from each other increasing their speed and leaving a small trail behind them.

Baring their claws, I see that both of them were morphing slightly into more beast-like forms. Their humanoid faces start to morph into their respective animals, as dense fur starts to grow on their faces and their fangs and claws enlargen. Surprisingly, Luna reaches their speed as she runs beside them, she howls inciting them to howl along with her before the three of them reach the monster way in front of anyone else.

"Silver Flash!" - Ken

"Blood Hunt!!" - Yor

With a series of 14 dashes all around the monster dodging the black rings, Ken's claw digs deep into the monster's flesh, tearing and bleeding the monster. Attacking the same place as Ken, Yor's speedy and agile movement also dodges the black rings, tearing the exposed flesh into a bloody mess. Luna faces the monster head first, biting the monster's ear off before she gets sent flying by a black ring.

Arriving not long later was Gibing, Gopopo, Kingston from the left and Song, and Tsugi from the right. Fortunately for this group, the black ring that sent Luna flying was the last one but the problem was the monster no longer stood in front of them helpless. Screeching at us and sending a soundwave that momentarily stuns us, the monster attempts to fly upward but awkwardly angles to the side as its injured wing didn't fully heal.

Taking advantage of the situation, the pair of Oni, leap off the ground, cracking the floor in the process. Enveloping their bodies in a bloody aura, both of them smashes their fist into the body of the monster forcing it to slump down, screeching at Gibing and Gopopo.

"Demon Lash!" - Gopopo

"Demonic Battle Pact!" - Gibing

Forming two long whips with the bloody aura, Gopopo lashes at the monster's body creating multiple white marks while Gibing's aura burns brighter, focusing on his fists. As his attack lands, a small explosion occurs as the monster screams in pain. Desperately retaliating, the monster sends a wind blade along the ground but Song and Tsugi dive in front of the wind blade.

"EARTH WALL!" - Song, Tsugi

Slamming their shields into the ground, a metre-high wall formed from the same materials as the floor rises to block the attack but cracks and starts to fall backward. Reaching their side just in time, David rams through the rubble with a Charge. Crushing the rocks with his body to dust, he saves the two that were still on the ground. Dashing right past them, Kingston's body also changes and a familiar mask covers his face, along with a crimson crystalline armor.

"Rage! Demon Trigger!" - Kingston

Drawing his knife with his left hand, Kingston stretches his right palm in front of him, casting not one but two skills at once. The first being the flames which couldn't be extinguished and the second being the green aura skill. Standing its ground, the monster creates several wind blades, pushing Gopopo and Gibing away as they retreat to dodge the attack. However, Kingston pushes through.

The increase in Agility from Demon Trigger boosts his speed, allowing him to dodge the attack while the green aura skill is constantly active and doing damage. Slamming straight into the chest of the monster, the Poison Fang stabs as deep as its blade can go before ripping through the flesh as Kingston slices to the side. Pushing off its body, and somersaulting through the air, Kingston lands next to David.

Screaming at the continuous assault it had just received, the monster starts to charge at us along the ground. Instead of risking the awkward flight again, it chooses to engage in ground combat. Surprisingly the monster was quick even on the ground and arrives in front of Kingston in the blink of an eye, attacking with a swing of its right wing.

"Iron Defense!" - Travys

Blocking the first attack, Travys shields everyone and with Howard attacking the monster's wing with his ax, Travys is able to push it away. Ken and Yor come back and swipe at the monster's leg drawing blood as the monster bites forward aiming for Kingston. Ready for the attack, Kingston prepares to block with his armor and knife but David stands in front of him.

"Flame Body!" - David

Gripping onto one of the top and bottom monster's exposed fangs, David stops the attack only after being pushed back a metre but the free Kingston, Song, and Tsugi execute a three-prong attack. Leaping over David's body, Song slams his ax down on the monster's head while Tsugi wraps around David's right swinging his ax at the monster's eye, as Kingston stabs the left eye.

Successfully damaging both eyes, the monster screams, desperately swinging its head and wings around warding off any attempts for us to attack. Unfortunately, for us Song, Tusgi, Gibing, and Gopopo were hit by an unsuspecting attack and were flung across the room, landing somewhat far away.

"I think a big attack might be coming, Kingston!" - Travys

"Maybe, but it is blind right now. How are we going to make it aim correctly?" - Kingston

"Shouldn't we just keep attacking it?" - Howard

"No. We got it to this stage before but it was still able to retaliate and recover. The monster might seem close to death but I feel like it is at its strongest when it is." - Kingston

"So, what do you suggest to do?" - Travys

"Give it a second. It's going to use its biggest attack. Luckily it is an attack along the ground. We were able to block it once with David's shield attack." - Kingston

"I can't use it anytime soon though, I don't have enough flames." - David

"That's fine because we have someone else to tank the attack." - Kingston

"Right, Kingston's counter skill." -Travys

"Yes. we just need it to aim for him." - Kingston

"Don't worry I'm not too far away." - Ian

Turning around, they see me standing behind them, looking confidently.

"Even if my Agility is cut in half, it doesn't mean I can't get over here." - Ian

"You are totally right." - Kingston

"So, what's the attack? What do I need to look out for?" - Ian

"It's about to happen… You just need to be in front of us. Nothing had right?" - Kingston

"It will be fine. I think it can still see us as well. After all, it's still looking in our direction." - Ian

Covering itself in a dense black aura, similar to its black rings, the monster screeched to the sky. The wounds on its body slowly heal, including the two damaged eyes, as the aura comes thicker and thicker almost like it was surrounding itself in a jet black armor. Spreading its wings wide, it flaps them behind it blowing dust everywhere, extinguishing the blue flames along the walls.

In the darkness, its body glows slightly as Kingston's flames rage on, creating a silhouette in the dark. I could hear our hearts racing as our breaths quickened in anticipation. Stepping forward, I reach into my pouch pulling out my trump card, the Code of Hammurabi. No matter how strong this monster's attack, it will be defeated by the Code of Hammurabi.

Charging at me, the monster screeches at the top of its lung. An ear-piercing sound bursts my eardrums, making me kneel down but I keep my eye on the monster as it approaches. Spinning along the ground, a black tornado covered in Kingston's HellFire looms closer. Gripping onto the artifact, I call out the skill pushing my hand out the moment the monster reaches me.

"CODE OF HAMMURABI! EYE FOR AN EYE!" - Ian

Appearing in front of me, the white stone slab glows brightly. Towering in front of me, it blocks the monster's attack absorbing the impact in a flashy fashion. Sparks eject to the side as the monster spinning at the stone and only when the monster stops spinning does the Code of Hammurabi perform its counterattack.

Immobilizing the monster with its mysterious powers, it ejects out a carbon copy of the spinning monster covered in jet black armor. The counterattack lands on the monster's chest and as it spins through the chest and out the other side the monster could do nothing but scream in pain. Collapsing to the ground once the attack finishes and bursting into purple smoke, the Code of Hammurabi returns to its small mobile state in my palm.

"Well, there we go. Finished." - Ian

"Absolutely disgusting. What a cheat move." - Kingston

"Agreed. Why didn't you use it earlier?" - Travys

"Just in case. We all have tricks we don't want to reveal to others." - Ian

"Right, and in good faith, I'll tell you something. I have no choice but to kill everyone here." - Travys