[Audun's' POV]
I let out a brief sigh, sword at the ready.
The Carapace Demon stood a mere few strides away, eyeing me warily with its murky scarlet eyes.
It let out a snarl, its foul breath smelling of rotting seafood.
The demon had yet to make a move, its four arms flaring in a cautious manner.
Noticing the nightmare creature's apprehension I was initially confused but
I had slammed into the ugly bastard pretty hard earlier, so I couldn't really blame it for being scared.
Clad in my aura, I shot forward like a bullet and intercepted its pounce with a tackle of my own, the deviously optimal positioning and angle of the charge resulting in the abomination getting ragdolled like a child getting shoulder checked by a big brolic alcoholic stepdad..
Not to mention,
If the tiny crack in its shell was the extent of the damage it received as a result of its rough tumble down the hill and after receiving an aura enhanced drop kick, its shell was probably around a similar strength to the iron spider matriarch I fought way back when.
I had been able to fight against the arachnid easily while still at a sword expert level, so realistically this should've been a relatively trivial fight.
Forget holding it off, I could probably slaughter the beast right here.
But…
I was unfortunately extremely sleep deprived and a victim of serious performance anxiety, not to mention, the curious gazes of the two sleepers further up the barrow felt like they were boring burning holes through my soul.
Their combined gazes exacerbated the turbulent emotions gnawing at my stomach and threw my entire body into a state of disarray, but my trait was able to prevent any sign of distress from showing.
Unfortunately, it seems that my crustacean companion cared little for my plight.
The demonic scarlet eyes of the abomination grew fervent as it prepared to attack.
My whole purpose in tackling the ugly bastard was to hold it off long enough to allow Sunny and Nephis to ascend the hill, but the two were currently preoccupied gawking at me like I was some kind of zoo exhibit.
It was frustrating, but I currently had bigger fi- I mean, bigger crabs to fry…
Pushing past its previous apprehension, the demon lunged at me, four razor sharp appendages attacking me from different directions.
The world slowed down as my hazy consciousness sharpened.
I took a steady breath in as I tried my best to block out everything except for the beast in front of me.
Focus.
My eyes narrowed, pupils glowing the same amethyst color as the haze surrounding me.
The four shell clad limbs of the abomination cut through the air with brute force, each of its strikes lacking precision.
Precisely calculating the distance, I jumped just far enough out of its range for the strikes to miss, staying just close enough to completely hold the creature's attention.
I ducked and weaved, occasionally closing the distance and slipping through the miniscule gaps in its offense.
But, as my mind became more engaged and I grew more used to the monster's attacks, a very rational thought crossed my mind.
'Wait… Shouldn't I just… Kill it…?'
My brows furrowed as the frenzied beast launched another coordinated attack at me.
Realistically, sharing a hill with a deranged demon crab didn't seem like the safest idea…
I dodged its viscous swipes as the gears in my head slowly began to turn.
Killing the carapace demon, the apex predator of this hill would guarantee us a few days of relative peace.
Carapace scavengers and centurions generally avoided this place, only occasionally popping by to pay tribute, and the barrow was tall enough to shelter us during the rising tides.
I was quite mentally exhausted, but after a bit of thought, the pros seemed to far outweigh the cons.
My mind raced as I ducked underneath a particularly wide swipe.
How tough…
Though I had plenty of aura to spare, my flaw rendered a majority of it inaccessible and after over two weeks of continuous battles, the strain on my mind made it difficult to use my Stars for long periods of time.
I could control enough of my aura to do basic enhancements, but coating my blade with it or using my intent were completely off the table.
There was no way for me to end the battle fast, and prolonging the fight would put me at a genuine disadvantage.
I had to go on the offensive.
Unfortunately, in order to do it, I'd have to make a few strategic sacrifices.
Peering into my soul, I could feel the presence of a couple hundred weapon memories.
One of the upsides of my nighttime strolls was the vast arsenal I had accumulated after slaughtering swathes of abominations in the Dark Sea.
I had about 400ish weapon memories at the ready, and I'd unfortunately have to part ways with many of them today.
For the first time so far, I raised the blue short sword in my hand and deflected one of the demon's strikes, opening up its guard.
Closing the distance I exploited the gap I created and forcefully slammed my blade into a slight gap in its shell.
SKIERHHH
The Carapace Demon let out a shriek, and continued to attack.
But instead of dodging, I remained within the range of its arms, swiftly redirecting its aggressive swings before launching a counterattack of my own.
Slamming the azure blade into its obsidian shell with as much strength as I could muster, the sword memory promptly shattered.
[Your memory has been destroyed]
Undeterred I summoned a pristine white estoc, glittering jewels engraved in its platinum hilt.
Unfortunately, the beautiful sword memory barely lasted a few seconds after its debut.
Adeptly parrying all of its attacks, I aimed a powerful riposte at the demon's joints through a gap in its guard.
And after a rather pitiful snap, the estocs blade snapped in half.
[Your memory has been destroyed.]
I clicked my tongue in slight annoyance.
'Maybe heavier weapons would work…'
Taking a step back I manifested a hulking greatsword, its titanic blade resembling a club more than a piece of sharpened steel.
Ducking underneath a particularly mean looking swipe, I spun, rotating as if I were on an axis.
Pivoting my entire body into the swing, I hammered the large blade into the side of the demon's shell.
Illustrating the swing's devastating momentum, the thick steel blade of the silver greatsword shattered upon impact with the abominations midnight armor.
[Your memory has been destroyed.]
While the strike had clearly rattled the beast, its shell still held up strong.
My eyes narrowed.
Summoning another blade I continued swinging without any regard for the safety of my blade.
If the order of the sword saw what I was doing to their object of worship, they'd lynch me and publically execute the next 28 generations of my family.
CLANG
[Your memory has been destroyed.]
BANG
[Your memory has been destroyed.]
THUNG
[Your memory has been destroyed.]
KANG
[Your memory has been destroyed.]
....
For the next couple of minutes, I slammed blade after blade against every single identifiable weak point in the Demons shell, but other than a few lines or scratches on its shell, every single weapon I've employed shattered against its impregnable armor without actually doing much harm.
[Your memory has been destroyed.]
After the zweihander I had just used snapped, I summoned a jet black greatsword, using its wide blade like a shield, absorbing the force behind each impact and blocking the demon's furious flurry of attacks.
Planting my feet in the ground, I scanned its shell once more for a weakness while guarding against the abominations offensive.
However this time, I noticed something I had overlooked earlier.
My eyes gleamed as I stared at a barely noticeable mark on the beast's chest.
It looked old, but it was rather large, the entire mark covering a large portion of its chest.
In the dusk, it merely looked like a bit of discoloration, or a result of lighting, but after further investigation, the marks slash like pattern was too distinct and uniform to be a result of anything natural.
With one last strike, the greatsword I had been using like a shield shattered.
[Your memory has been destroyed.]
The spell whispered its message into my ear.
Just as the particles of light that composed the weapon dissipated, a blood-red claymore took its place.
Adjusting my footwork slightly, I weaved through a series of coordinated attacks, and predicted the nightmare creatures' next move.
My eyes glowed with faint platinum light.
The Carapace demon, using its eight powerful legs, repositioned itself to my right, it's four arms raised high as it prepared to slam them into me.
Unfortunately for it though, I had seen through its simple plan instantly.
Closing the distance, I thrust my crimson blade forward, the point of the claymore aimed precisely at the mark on its chest.
Through the handle of the blade, a distinct sinking sensation was transmitted to my hands.
A small smile graced my face.
KRIEEEEEHHE
The demon let out a desperate cry, attempting to strike me, but my sword was hilt deep in its chest.
I was far too close for it to do anything.
I twisted the blade buried in its chest forcefully, and with a sad snap the bloodred blade of the claymore broke off from the hilt.
The carapace demon let out a pained shriek, frantically swinging its 4 arms at me, but it was too late.
Undeterred, before the hilt could disappear, I used it like a hammer, slamming it into the blade sticking out of the demon's shell.
Its frantic swings slowed to a stop, the light in its scarlet eyes flickering out like a lightbulb.
Leaping away, from the collapsing form of the demon, I watched as it's body slowly drooped to the ground.
I let out a tired yet content breath.
[You have slain awakened demon, Carapace Demon.]
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(A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!
I was a lil busy yesterday, so it took a day extra…
I swear when I get back home, the updates will be more consistent ;-;
I'm not sure if this development/fight seemed reasonable to you guys, but it was certainly fun to write, and I hope it was also fun to read.
Thanks for all the support, and leave a comment!
Even the Tftc or small greetings mean a lot to me, and any constructive critiques are welcome.
I'll see you guys in the next chapter, which should hopefully be coming out either tomorrow or Saturday…)