Amon felt shivers going up and down his spine. Just being able to see the Stats of each of the battle's participants made him feel exhilarated.
[Species: Half-Vixen
-State: Weakened
-Stats:
Strength: 17
Agility: 19
Perception: 27
Endurance: 8
Vigor: 12]
'Her Endurance and Vigor Stats are the lowest. Her body is fragile, I have to make sure she doesn't take too many hits. Plus, she is in a Weakened State, which must be why her Endurance is so low.' He thought. 'Of course she's weakened. A good meal and some water aren't enough to completely solve a near-starvation and severe dehydration.'
[Species: Corrupted Draconic Spawn
-Stats:
Strength: 21
Agility: 12
Perception: 15
Endurance: 14
Vigor: 30
Mana: 40]
'Its Vigor Stat is the higher than mine and hers combined. Still, with our superior speed, we should be able to slowly bring it down. Its Strength is the highest amongst us, so we'll obviously have to be warry of its attacks. Mana is another problem. Its highest Stat… Mana was used to heal and raise the dead. Mana must be used for its other Skills too, Corrupted Healing, Slithering Shadow, and Corrupted Skin Manipulation.' Amon was particularly interested in that last Skill, Corrupted Skin Manipulation. 'As for me…'
[Species: Elite Beastly Hobgoblin
-Stats:
Strength: 18
Agility: 18
Perception: 25
Endurance: 15
Vigor: 13
]
'I was happy with my Stats. I'm leagues above Hobgoblins and Black Wolves, but those aren't what I need to compare myself to. Not anymore.'
The Corrupted Draconic Spawn's chest seemed to inflate for a moment.
"Dodge." Amon ordered with a whisper.
Both he and Akane jumped back at once, as the area on which they had been standing on was showered by the black liquid emanating from the monster.
'It's nice, being able to communicate with whispers.'
It certainly wasn't the most useful thing now, since the Corrupted Draconic Spawn couldn't understand their words. Still, Amon was thinking ahead.
If the two stuck together, it was likely that they would have to face Hobgoblins together, the Hobgoblin Chief, and perhaps even Demons.
"Don't let that touch you." Amon said as he landed on the edge of the hut's roof, crouched. "Would probably be pretty bad." He added, staring down at the pool of bubbling black goo.
"Yeah, I bet." Akane nodded. "We're safe up here though, right?"
"Except if it tries to throw up on us. Could probably reach here."
"How come it's not coming to us?"
"You mean why it's not climbing here?"
"You said that it can move through shadows and… This hut isn't burning. Half of it is dark."
"Yeah." Amon nodded, scratching his chin. "When it's underground, it moves slightly faster than it does on ground. It's not like its body temporarily becomes weightless or anything."
"Huh? Oh, I see. You mean that if it climbed up while in the shadows, the hut would still break and fall?"
"Probably, yeah."
"Hm…"
While he was crouched at the edge of the roof, Akane was standing by his side. She glanced in his direction.
'His scent isn't the same, but it's similar. Strange…'
The only time that scents felt this way was when they came from creatures that were related. The difference in scent between a mother and her child was very similar in nature to the difference that Akane was sensing now.
"It's Amon, by the way."
"Amon…?"
"My name."
"Oh… Ah… Right… Amon…" Akane blushed slightly. It was rather rude that she hadn't asked before, though now wasn't really the time to think about rudeness or politeness.
He glanced at her momentarily, flashing a slight smile. His gaze went back to the Corrupted Draconic Spawn.
"You're stronger than this, aren't you?"
Akane raised an eyebrow at his words.
She wasn't. In fact, Akane never felt as strong as she did now. It's not like she used to be this strong before she was captured.
"I don't know… But I can feel something."
The Corrupted Draconic Spawn screeched like a beast trying to bait its prey.
They didn't respond to the bait.
"What do you feel?" He asked.
"Earlier it was like something was surrounding my body, like something was tightly wrapped around my limbs, forbidding me from moving. Now, it's like that thing has… Melted."
"Melted?"
"Yes, like it's melted and seeped into my muscles. It's like I can feel it in there but… I don't know." Akane bent her elbow and stared at her palm momentarily. "For some reason, I'm scared. Scared of it."
A shiver went down Amon's spine.
If she holds an unknown power that scares her, then it's more than worth using. Just seeing that power would be exciting.
"It's going to knock down this one too." Akane muttered , tearing her gaze away from her hand.
"No, it won't." Amon said as he stood up. "It's going to take a lot from us to take it down. We don't want it chasing after us forever, do we?"
'We…?' Akane tilted her head slightly. "Right."
"I'll open up a path for you."
"A path?"
"We can't bring it down with punches and kicks. We can't bring it down with claws and blades either. We need that something of yours. Whatever it is."
"But-"
Akane's words trailed off as Amon stepped forward.
"Don't think about anything, Akane. I'll keep it busy for a bit. You just wait for the right time…" He stepped off the roof. "And unleash that something."
"But how do I do that?" She asked.
"Don't think about it. That thing wants out, and you'll keeping it inside." Amon answered as he landed. "Just let it out. I need you to let it out, Akane! If we both want to make it out of here!" He shouted, forced to run while the Corrupted Draconic Spawn followed him.
Screech!
"Let it out…?" Akane whispered to herself as he ducked to dodge another projection of black, corrupting liquid. "Amon…"
Meanwhile, Syl's hand was shaking, gripping her spear with all her strength.
'Those two…' She thought, her teeth clenched. 'Those two are…'