Gray had barely moved his face even though Enrico had used a lot of his physical strength in that attack. Still, he didn't retreat—this time he used fire magic, physical enhancement, and magical amplification to make another kick with his left leg.
"Sorry, that was my weaker foot."
Hitting with his other kick, Gray—who had shown an arrogant instinct after seeing the first strike as weak—was completely surprised when his head was twisted backward. A second later, he went flying, rolling across the ground for several meters.
"Now that's my stronger foot. And just so you know, the hand I use is my right one, so I'm good on both sides—with small differences."
"Wait, friend Enrico, you have control over different parts of your body?"
"I know, weird right?"
"Yes, very weird. I've never seen an orc like that… you humans are strange."
Coming from an orc, that was painful to hear—especially since it wasn't a big deal. From what Enrico knew, it didn't really affect anything important, just how the body reacted. It wasn't that strange either; in his world, many people were the same way. Elowyn approached, massaging her own shoulder with a faint expression of pain.
"Just so you know, I was about to awaken a new power, so I definitely would've taken him down."
I don't know if she's telling the truth or not—then again, this is a fantasy world.
[Of course she's lying, just look at her face—she was about to die.]
Sweat ran down Elowyn's face as she realized that if Enrico had been one second later, they would have been severely wounded.
I'm still far from catching up to my consort, and that irritates me.
"Guys, I can poison the air with my magic. His strength should be fading with time, so this is our chance."
"Good work, Narisse."
"Thank you, my lady."
Stepping forward, Enrico and Grark took the front while Elowyn and Narisse stayed behind. They had been rivals for a long time until now—but this was no time to let rivalry interfere with survival.
"I'll go first, so try to keep up."
"What do you mean?"
A second later, they noticed Enrico's expression turn completely focused as he watched Gray stand up.
Total concentration. Ring…
Pushing hard off the ground, he dashed forward at high speed. His crimson shell appeared on one palm—but this time it was more complete, as he had transferred power from the left to the right, covering even beyond the hand. Raising his arm, he struck Gray's head, destroying the house behind them from the force of the punch.
"I won't fall behind, human friend!"
Using earth magic on his axe, Grark tried something new after seeing Enrico's crimson shell. With his maximum mana concentrated, his axe changed appearance.
"Let's go."
Channeling his impact magic into the weapon, he slashed through the air toward Gray. For a moment nothing happened—then an explosion blasted Grark backward, and Gray's chest was torn open, gushing black blood while everything in the attack's path was obliterated.
"Hahaha! Did you see that, human friend? I managed to combine my magics just like you said—I just needed an idea!"
That would have impressed Enrico, no doubt, if he weren't in total concentration mode. But as he was, the only thing that mattered was finishing the enemy in front of him.
Impact CC.
An explosion of fire from his hand tore through Gray's right arm, sending him flying sideways. Taking advantage of the opening, Narisse dashed forward and placed her palms on the Nartheis's back.
"Poison Palm!"
Injecting poison into Gray's body, the creature's insides began to rot. With a roar of rage, Gray produced ten clones from his body, striking all three and sending them flying backward.
"Condensed Piercing Sword!"
Creating a golden sword, it expanded for a moment before shrinking and spinning at extreme speed. She launched it directly at Gray's arm—the blade pierced through his head.
Looks like the core's in the head—I have to find—
A clone slashed her back with its claws while the others began spewing endless magic attacks at the three—Enrico, Narisse, and Grark.
Damn it, even if it's just a clone, it still hurts this much?
Raising her hands, Elowyn summoned several golden weapons—large and thin swords concentrated with mana, piercing spears, bows with arrows, and daggers. Lowering her hands, all the attacks rained down upon the clones and the original.
"With this, he'll take massive damage."
Grark, Enrico, and Narisse unleashed multiple magic attacks around the original, hitting them directly. The only problem—Gray became intangible, avoiding all damage.
"Shield—"
Before Elowyn could raise one, Gray appeared in front of her, jaws open for a bite.
Maximum Flame Shot!
Taking advantage of the five-second window, Enrico fired a flaming arrow that pierced Gray's jaw, leaving a hole. Through it, they could see a piece of the core—it must have been turning intangible each time his head was hit.
"Friend Enrico, look out!"
Realizing the wolf had swapped places with a clone, Enrico spun around, channeling mana into his body for defense. Even so, Gray's claws tore through his guard and flung him away. In seconds, Gray switched places with another clone while Enrico summoned his own, starting a pursuit battle across the area. But it didn't last long—Enrico had only one clone, while Gray had at least ten, relentlessly striking him.
Damn it—my total concentration!
Forced back to normal from the onslaught, it wasn't an exaggeration to say he only survived thanks to his body's resilience.
"I have to focus—"
[Enrico, an abnormal amount of mana is concentrating in his claws—get out of there now!]
Even with the system's warning, the claws were already centimeters from his face, too close for him to use his charged burst or fire steps.
"No—"
Pulled suddenly, Enrico was thrown backward—realizing Grark had saved him. Judging from his shattered back, he must have used his impact magic there to move fast enough to rescue him.
"I thought you wanted me to follow you, Chief…"
"Grark…"
There was just one problem with that move—Grark, who had been only a few meters behind Enrico, had to pull him out of harm's way, taking his place instead. With one final smile, Gray's claws pierced through his chest, slicing the ground and the house behind them clean in half.