Monsters typically had a significantly lower IQ compared to any other intelligent being, and the same was tragically true for the bone dragon.
Despite having been a prideful, majestic dragon in its past life, they lost a significant portion of their intelligence after awakening as a bone dragon, a condition that only worsened as the long, empty years passed.
But the same thing could not be said for its battle IQ. Despite its low intelligence, the bone dragon's battle IQ was exceptionally high, a lethal combination sharpened by its raw, natural instinct for survival and destruction.
It wasn't giving them a single moment to even catch their breath. It was driven by a singular, overwhelming desire to subjugate these two threats as quickly and brutally as possible.
Even at its absolute weakest, it was putting an immense and exhausting amount of pressure on both Esdeath and Maruti.
With Maruti being sent flying again, Esdeath was once again left to desperately block and dodge the bone dragon's relentless flurry of attacks.
As she struggled to keep up with the bone dragon's blistering pace, a huge phantom hand materialized from behind her. The hand was glistening with roaring fire, and it descended with incredible force, landing directly on the bone dragon's skull.
BAM!...
The force of the impact was staggering. It sent the massive bone dragon stumbling and sliding back by several meters, its colossal body grinding against the ground beneath it. Esdeath finally seized the opportunity to catch her breath, looking up to see where the attack had come from.
Of course, it was Maruti. She had healed herself once again and launched a revenge-fueled punch at the bone dragon, making it pay dearly for what it had done to her.
"Was that a killer move?" Esdeath asks, a hint of impression in her voice despite her exhaustion.
Maruti descends gracefully to the ground, the phantom form around her dissolving into the thin air like smoke.
"Yes, although I didn't name it. Shouting the names of your moves out loud feels kinda cringe to me," Maruti sighs, a faint blush on her cheeks. It didn't look as cringe when she was in the heat of battle, but afterward, when she remembered herself from a third-person perspective, it definitely gave her a wave of second-hand embarrassment strong enough to make her want to slap herself.
"Giving names to killer moves makes them easier to remember and cast, though," Esdeath replies, not fully agreeing with Maruti's reasoning. She saw the practical value in such things.
But then, the ground crumbled again as the bone dragon started to rise once more, its eye sockets burning with renewed fury, ready to attack.
"No time to waste. I got a plan. Just hold him off for a few seconds," Esdeath says, her gaze intense as she looked directly into Maruti's eyes.
Maruti nods with a firm, determined expression. "Only if I don't get sent flying again," she says with a flat, deadpan tone. Turning around, she readied herself for an all-out fight with the bone dragon.
She lets out a loud groan, a primal roar of effort, as she starts running directly towards the towering skeletal beast.
She raises one hand high above her head and concentrates, The next second, several huge, intricate magic circles appear in the air, positioned directly above the bone dragon's head.
And before the bone dragon could even process the threat, a huge pillar of brilliant golden light descends from the circles, crashing down directly onto the bone dragon.
Although, just before the pillar of light could touch it, a dark, crackling shield of energy materialized all around its body, protecting it from the blinding assault.
Still, Maruti didn't stop there. Her fist erupted in flames as she leaped high into the air.
A massive, ethereal silhouette of a sabertooth tiger appeared behind her, its form flickering with power.
As she descended, she delivered hundreds of lightning-fast pinches, each one filled with a supernatural strength that threatened to shatter bone.
*****
Meanwhile, at the same time, Esdeath quickly opens her status screen once again, her eyes scanning her over 120,000 SP points.
Description: The time will slow down for the next 18 seconds. Cooldown: 8 minutes. All sub-abilities will remain the same.
<80,000 SP points deducted>
Esdeath looks at her status screen, a frown on her face. There seemed to be almost no changes to the skill, except for the reduction in cooldown. It felt like a massive expenditure for such a minor upgrade.
But then, she noticed one more line added to the description.
She didn't waste a single moment more and sprinted towards Maruti.
Maruti was busy barely keeping the bone dragon in check, her movements a desperate dance of attack and retreat.
The moment Esdeath saw a fleeting opening, she shouted at the top of her lungs, "Step aside!"
The instant Maruti heard her voice, she reacted without a second thought. She immediately side-stepped, leaping as far away from the bone dragon as she possibly could.
Meanwhile, at the exact same time, Esdeath willed the ZK-20 in her hand to shift its form. It flowed like liquid darkness, transforming into a deadly, wicked-looking scythe. She then activated her newly upgraded skill, via will.
ZOOP!...
An invisible, silent wave of energy pulsed outwards from Esdeath, washing over the entire battlefield. Maruti's movements, as she retreated, became incredibly slow, as if she were wading through thick, invisible mud.
As for the bone dragon, it was still considerably faster than Maruti, but the change was shockingly visible compared to the last time she had slowed down time.
This time, it truly felt as if the bone dragon was genuinely affected.
And that was precisely what Esdeath wanted. For it to be just slow enough to be unable to dodge her next attack.
Esdeath hovered into the air, her body rising gracefully. With a fluid, powerful motion, she sliced her scythe horizontally through the air in front of her.
And in the next moment, the slice wave shot from her scythe dissolved, transforming into a massive, crescent-shaped wave of pure shadow. The arc of darkness shot forward, a silent blade of nothingness that sliced through the air directly towards the bone dragon.
The bone dragon's eye sockets burned with a sudden, sharp alert. It tried to put up a barrier of crackling energy, but the shadow slash was just too fast, too absolute.
In just one clean, silent sweep, it beheaded the dragon, the dark energy slicing directly through the massive, weakened crack in its neck.
It didn't stop there. The shadow arc continued its deadly path, slicing through the remaining stony wall of the lair and then cleaving the massive desert hill behind it in one go, as if it were nothing more than a knife cutting through soft butter.
The bone dragon's severed head fell to the ground with a heavy, final thud. The malevolent purple fire in its eye sockets flickered for a moment before going out completely.
A moment later, its entire body broke apart, crumbling into multiple bony pieces that scattered across the dusty ground.
But because the the strike, A part of it's core was broken as well, Although it could still be of some use as refining material, It wouldn't be as valuable as the fresh unhurt bone dragon core.
Meanwhile, the sheer, overwhelming impact of the attack left both Esdeath and Maruti completely stunned.
Esdeath instinctively floated back down to the ground. As the flow of time snapped back to its normal state, Maruti immediately rushed over to her.
"That was some S-rank level shit! Don't tell me you're already an S-rank?" she asked, her voice filled with awe.
The aftermath of that one single attack was so vast and destructive that, in comparison, Esdeath and Maruti looked like tiny insects against a landscape of scars.
It seemed Esdeath had severely miscalculated her skills. It was a Rank A skill, so she had assumed it was basically like having a Rank A essence stone, albeit a purely offensive one.
But it turned out she was wrong. To describe this skill more accurately, it would be better to say it was an S-rank killer move. Every attack caused by it would be like using an S-rank killer move.
****
Maruti collapsed to the ground, taking deep, ragged breaths. Then, she started to laugh, a sound of pure relief and exhaustion.
"Phew... finally defeated it. The dragons might give me PTSD someday," she sighs, sprawling out on the ground, her arms and legs spread wide.
"I'm feeling quite happy," she adds, a genuine, satisfied smile on her face. She was truly feeling happy after such a thrilling fight, even though she had been sent flying not once, but twice.
But unlike her, Esdeath wasn't happy at all.
A deep frown was etched onto her face. She had already been thinking of relying on her system as little as possible, wanting to forge her own strength.
Yet today, she had not only been forced to upgrade one of her skills but also had to rely on another Rank A skill just to finish the fight.
She didn't like the outcome at all.
Still, whatever happened, happened. At least they had killed the bone dragon. That was the only victory that truly mattered in the end.