All the bowls were lit, burning with a bright blue flame as well as the eight runes on Ent's chest. Gradually the energy spread throughout Ent's massive body, filling his eyes with light.
"Well, well, looks like we'll be starting soon, doesn't it?" Luis smirked as he spun his spears in his hands, preparing for battle.
Jane's sword was covered in a dense layer of ice as Dave stepped forward, holding his new shield tightly. His job was to protect his partner, and he was going to do it as he always did.
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
Ent slowly began to move, moving his massive arms and turning his head as his gaze fell on the Players. Ent stepped forward, and the branches on his shoulders lit up with azure flame, spreading an unusual aura.
[You faced the final boss of the ruins!]
[Flames of the Stone Ent make you weaker, reducing your stats by 10%!]
[You have lit all eight bowls, so Stone Ent is at the peak of his powers! This is going to be a hard battle!]
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtJane, Luis, Dave, and the others got the expression looks, they've been waiting for this moment since the beginning, and it's finally here. For them, the boss battle was always the most interesting and exciting part.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
With each step of the Stone Ent, the ground shook, and fire particles emanated from the monster, spreading like flames all around, hovering in the air.
"Damn, isn't that too pretty for something so dangerous?" Dave grinned.
"Well, that's what a final boss battle should be like." Luis waved his spear.
Stone Ent stopped, glanced at Dave, and brought his hand back up. Dave's gaze instantly changed, becoming deadly serious as he prepared to attack.
Stone Trent took a deep breath, then his fist came at Dave, colliding with his shield. The impact caused a shockwave to spread around and send a wind current, but Dave didn't budge.
"Fuck... I thought my arms were going to break..." Dave muttered, in mild shock.
"Fine, we've already started, so we should keep up the pace!" Luis said confidently as he rushed forward, attacking Stone Ent. Jane and the others followed him.
Their attacks were fast and strong, but Stone Ent had a great defense that kept them from doing too much damage to it. Jane's sword left a scratch on Stone Ent's arm, and Luis's spear only chipped a small chip off the monster's leg.
Stone Ent was slow, but each of its attacks was powerful and crushing, so gradually Dave stopped managing as his hands were already shaking.
"Agh..." Dave threw up a mouthful of blood, blocking another punch as he frowned, "Hey, I need a little break... I can't keep up this pace for long!"
Jane and Luis grew serious. They looked at each other, nodded to each other, and activated their skills. Luis's spear was covered in darkness as he split into several shadowy spears, while Jane's sword increased in size.
Whoooooooooooosh.
Luis attacked Stone Ent's chest with several phantoms simultaneously, thrusting their spears into the sturdy armor.
"Alright, I'll do the rest." Jane exclaimed as she jumped high, swinging her sword and launching a massive cone of ice at Stone Ent.
This time Stone Ent didn't ignore the attack and put its arms out, defending itself. The cone failed to do any serious damage to it, but once it exploded with cold steam as Stone Ent's hands were covered with a dense layer of ice and it could not separate them.
"Yes!" Jane exclaimed cheerfully, clenching her fist. This time her attack was successful and it was against the final boss.
Dave got a brief respite, Stone Ent was disarmed, and after a while, the fight continued at the same pace. Gradually the Players suppressed the Stone Ent, and though they could not win quickly, they were sure to do so.
'Hmmm... Why is he inactive...?' One of the Players inwardly muttered with a glance at Zayne.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmSince the beginning of the fight, Zayne had done nothing. He just stood still with his arms crossed on his chest and stared intently at one point.
"Roooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrr!!!" Stone Ent roared, echoing throughout the space and running forward wildly. Its arms were covered in blue flame as its branches flashed much brighter than before.
"Dave! Dodge!" Jane exclaimed with a worried expression.
"Yeah... I figured that out without you... I can't take a blow that powerful." Dave gulped, grabbed his shield, and ran away to the side.
Everyone tried to get as far away from Stone Ent as possible, no one wanted to die because of one attack, so Stone Ent was lost, it just didn't understand who to run into. However, one silhouette remained stationary and quickly became the only target of the Stone Ent.
"Rooooooooaaaarrr!!!" Stone Ent rushed toward Zayne, gathering all his power in his fist, and unleashing it on Zayne.
Everyone froze. Someone only now realized that Zayne hadn't yet taken part in the battle, but it didn't matter since they couldn't lose him. Jane's eyes went wide as deep inside her fear arose, since she didn't know if they could handle the final boss without the strongest on their team.
However, what happened next made their eyes widen even more as Zayne simply moved forward, as if not noticing the huge fist rushing toward him.
Stone Ent's attack swept behind him with a mighty torrent of wind, lifting up the small rocks like a tornado and making Zayne's coat flutter.
"What the hell...?" Luis muttered as he stared at the dark silhouette that appeared above him. Like a wild beast, Zayne paid no attention to what was not threatening or important to him, he just went to his goal, where his instincts led him.
"My participation is definitely unnecessary... Another stone adversary is not what I am looking for... I must find the one the knight spoke of..." Zayne whispered so no one could hear him as he reached the wall with the shattered moon sign.