Feyd bent his legs and gripped his blade tighter, cautiously watching the rat king. Ray's eyes darted around the large frame of the rat king while communicating telepathically with Feyd.
(... And then you came here? Why didn't you just Rift out?)
'Because we're too deep underground to do it quickly!'
(Hahh... We're in a though spot. If what you said is correct then we'll have to try and whittle away at it and take care of its minions)
(I fought two large rats in the other room. I could almost kill them with a normal clean strike so if I get the chance I should be able to take care of the smaller ones one by one)
'Alright, then I'll take care of distracting them. Any plans for the big guy?'
Ray paused for a moment as he thought deeply for a moment.
(No... I don't think I can damage it properly even if I tried my... best)
The last few words seemed slightly unsure, but Feyd wasn't planning on putting his hopes on a small, vague chance. Ray probably had a good reason to not be sure, since if he had even a slight, tangible chance he would call out its existence even if not to follow through with it.
'Alright, no problem. Let's think of something while fighting'
(Yeah)
As the two finished communicating the other three rats also reached the room. They huddled around the rat king while growling at Feyd. Ray had already stealthed into the shadows.
The room had many rocky formations and a strange, irregular shape that seemed to be in the middle of being dug out, thus providing ample space for Ray to stealth.
The rat king glanced back at its children before giving a soft screech at them. All three immediately crouched and prepared to dash forward at Ray.
The telepathic connection had already been cut off since Ray mentioned it carried some risks for him, though Feyd didn't know what kind, and so he shouted out what he wanted to say.
"I'm trusting you to help me dodge! Cause my body probably can't handle another Rift!"
Feyd felt a slight tremor from his shadows which reassured him.
A slight grin plastered itself onto his face as he braced for combat. He preemptively infused flames into his boots and blade while keeping his full focus on the rat king, who he expected to attack first.
Although Feyd was right the rat king's attack was still way too fast to properly handle. Flames bursted out from his boots as he jumped to the side while parrying the claw aimed at his chest.
However just as his feet touched the ground the rat king leaped at Feyd with unnatural agility and poised its claws for a devastating strike!
Feyd hastily brought his sword horizontally infront of him and placed his other arm on the blade, blocking the incoming attack with the flat side of the blade.
The heavy impact sent him flying backwards and towards the three rats who were already running forward. Two leaped and opened their mouths to bite Feyd.
Turning his body with the help of some fire blasts he swung his blade horizontally in an attempt to slice the rats in two!
But just as he was about to hit them the third rat jumped upwards and was about to bite face. But just then a shadow materialized and connected him with a membraneous rope and pulled him away. The shadow rope remained materialized and connected to the ceiling, somehow extended mid air.
His blade then cut into one of the rats and the flames infused created a blast that sent the rat skiding across the ground.
Ray seemed about ready to launch an attack at the injured rat, either stabbing it with his rapier and hopefully killing it or further injuring it with a Shadow Spike. But the moment he was about to attack he noticed a black blur rushed towards him.
Activating Shadow Shift, Ray appeared behind a rock somewhere as the place where he was previously hiding was destroyed by a head long rush by the rat king.
Thinking back to its reaction when he used shadows to pull Feyd away he realized it probably could sense him when he used his shadows.
(It can sense when I use my shadows, so if we want me to kill the smaller rats you'll have to manage dodges alone)
Feyd's expression faltered slightly as he felt his aching bones and shaking body.
'It will be real difficult but I can try tanking some hits to give you a chance. Just make it count!'
Ray nodded solemnly to himself with a resolute expression.
(Alright. Just don't die)
He then quickly cut the telepathic connection as he began to feel Eribos' attempts at interference grow increasingly stronger.
'What a bastard, tch'
Ray could almost feel a chilling whisper, though he knew it was just Eribos disturbing him.
The rat king then immediately lunged at Feyd once more after looking around and failing to find Ray. It's large mouth barely missed Feyd as more flames were used to dodge its attack.
Now prepared for immediate consecutive attacks by the rat king, Feyd's feet barely touched the ground before he stepped away from his position.
This proved to he the right call as he managed to dodge an attack without using flames. However this now placed him in a precarious scenario.
His back now faced the wall as the three rats inched closer while the rat king was preparing to charge at him. However Feyd's expression conveyed his confidence at this situation as he gave a thumbs up at a random rock.
Ray silently followed the direction of his thumbs up to see that it was aimed at a random rock, 'Maybe that was for me'
The rat king then rushed at Feyd at full speed. Its body blurred as it seemed to blink infront of Feyd in a second, yet Feyd was prepared.
All the attacks by the rat king were the same. Dash forward and bite, crash or claw. Feyd had already blasted himself into the air and dodged the attack as the rat king crashed into the wall.
However he knew it could do a second attack immediately after as he then immediately kicked off the wall and flew forward dodging another attack by the rat king who hit its head on the ceiling.
The three other rats leaped forward to attack Feyd and they all almost hit, if not for a rope made of shadows that was stuck to the ceiling. Grabbing a hold of it and pulling himself to swing to the otherside of the room Feyd felt satisfied at escaping all the attacks but also knew he couldn't continue being in such a passive situation.
So just as swung past one of the rats he extended his leg and released a blast of fire that sent the rat flying straight at a rock. A rock behind which Ray was hiding.
A silver glint flashed for a moment before a long, black rapier pierced the rat's head. The rat king immediately shrieked in grief before rushing at Ray.
Ray smirked before dissapearing, leaving only the dead rat behind. And with a loud crash the rat king created a cloud of dust around itself.
The other two rats paused for a moment while staring at the corpse of their brother. The rat king mournfully whimpered for a moment, nudging its child slightly with its nose.
Feyd looked slightly unnerved at the sight and thought sorrowfully for a moment:
'It is sad really, seeing a parent mourn for its child. But monsters are monsters first, then parent/child.'
'If only monsters and us could co-exist and live in peace, how refreshing that would be'
Monsters are inherently driven by desire to grow their numbers, territory and power. Just like any other creature.
Even though they grieve for their own, they themselves would not care to give time for the parents whose children they kill to grieve.
Once their numbers were to grow to a certain extent they would try to expand, and most likely come into conflict with the humans who live in the town nearby, which is one of the reasons Feyd continued to try fighting instead of turning tails and running.
The rat king slowly turned around and looked for Ray but could not find him, so he shifted his focus onto Feyd. Pure anger spilled from its gaze as it let out a roar that shook the cave.
Its body grew larger and its red pupils green larger and larger untill its entire eye was red. The same happened to the other two rats as they too began to grow stronger.
Instantly sensing the critical situation both Feyd and Ray simultaneously attacked a rat each. Ray's rapier was black in colour and shadows bound the rat he targeted. Feyd's blade glowed red as he blasted forth with even greater speed than Ray.
However just as Feyd was about to slice through the rat his instincts screamed at him. With a quick turn he swung his sword and exhausted a large amount of fire to sent a crescent blast at the area behind Ray.
Ray had perceived something just a split second after Feyd instincts did, however he did not give up his attack. 'Taking out even one of these rats before they grow stronger will be worth it!'
Shadows extended from behind Ray and formed a solid blanket that aimed to capture whatever was coming towards Ray. And in the moment it took for Feyd's attack and Ray's shadows to reach their target, the area just behind Ray, a black visage appeared.
The flames blasted against its side with greater power than any fire it had previously tanked, yet it slowed for only a moment. The shadows enveloped its body but were torn to shreds.
And just as Ray's blade pierced the flesh of the rat, the rat king had reached Ray. Ray saw the rat king just behind him in the eyes of the rat.
The rat king's claw swung out with devastating speed as Ray braced himself, feeling his blade about to pierce the heart of the targeted rat.
But just then Feyd extended his hand forth and created a tiny Rift in the rat king's claw's trajectory. This tiny rift caused a momentary resistance as one of its nails went through, but it was too small for its entire claw to go through.
The Rift shattered and sent slight shockwaves throughout the air as the rat king's claw hit Ray. But just as the rat king was about to smash Ray into paste he dissapeared into shadows.
"BAM!"
A crater formed on the floor as numerous cracks and fissures extended out it. The rat king slowly scanned the place for Ray, ignoring its dead child.
The other rat however immediately charged at Feyd who began hastily blocking, dodging and parrying its attacks which were much more powerful than before.
'Why are you even more reckless than me!?'
Feyd shouted in his head hoping that Ray could hear him. No one responded.
'Tch, It was the right call in the end'
Ray remarked in his mind with feigned annoyance as he used shadows to cover his wound and take out two potion from his bag.
'Health potions from that Adventurer's Shop. Let's see how effective this is'
He applied one of them to his wounds after making gaps in the shadow bandage and drank the other.
'I am running out shadow energy, onky about 35 percent left...'
Just then he felt a strong vibration through the floor and heard the parting of air. Immediately using his Shadow Shift barely saved him as the rat king destroyed the rock he was hiding behind.
'Dang it, he can sense me through Shadow Stealth!'
Ray's ability Shadow Stealth allowed him to blend in with shadows and use shadows to muffle his presence.
Feyd's eyes bulged slightly when he saw the rat king attack a random rock– No, it couldn't possibly be a random rock. It has to be the rock Ray was hiding behind.
Blood was drawn as the momentary distraction gave wat for the rat he was fighting to claw at Feyd's right arm.
"Argh, that hurt you know?"
Feyd slashed at the rat who deftly dodged. It's power was now on par with the berserk rat, and thought weaker in strength, it was more agile and less crazed. The rat jumped up at Feyd and attacked with all if its deadly weapons.
It's teeth, it's claws, and even it's tail were all used while Feyd began to be worn down by it. His strength had begun to deplete ever since he got hit by the rat king. Feyd's body was simply too injured to fight at max capacity.
A nasty bite tore off a small part of Feyd's left shoulder while he tried to send blasts of fire to burn the rat. Unfortuantely it used its tail like a whip and simultaneously hurt Feyd while pushing itself away.
And just as it propelled away Feyd felt a gnawing sense of danger. He immediately attempted to blast himself away but his eyes, in the beat of the moment, caught sight of what endangered him. The rat king.
The black blur that was the rat king seemed to become slightly clearer in Feyd's eyes as its movements slowed slightly. And as he observed the monster Feyd knew– He could not dodge.
A loud crash and the scattering of blood resounded throughout the cave as dust was kicked up into the air my the rat king.
Drip.
Droplets of blood flowed down the rat king's mouth which retched slightly. It's body squirmed for a moment as its arms reached for what was in its mouth. A sword.
Feyd, whose eyes were wide open, barely began to comprehend what was happening as he felt himself soaring through the air and towards the ground. And with a slight thud he landed on the ground, a black shadow connected to his chest.
Ray looked down at him with an inquisitive look as he mumbled.
"Did he get brain dead from the scare?"
Feyd's eyes twitched for a moment as he turned to Ray, "Did you say something?"
"Nah, you're probably hearing things"
Feyd's brows furrowed for a moment for he got up and looked down at his empty hands.
Just as he expected imminent death, as his fire blast wasn't strong enough to push him away fast enough, he felt something attach to his chest and pull him forward just ever so slightly, just enough for him to escape.
He had Instinctively tilted his blade and let it go while he was sent flying through the air towards Ray. Although he couldn't tell why he was sure his blade had damaged the rat king.
As the dust cleared the rat king turned to loom at the two, looking unharmed except for the few blood stains near its mouth. However as it roared its insides could be seen, with a deep, mangled wound that was continuously bleeding. A bloodied blade was underneath its claw.
The other rat immediately began to run towards Ray and Feyd as the two entered a combat stance.
"Need a weapon?"
"Nah, I've actually–"
An oval-shaped Rift opened above Feyd's hand through which his blade fell through and a black furred claw.
The leg scrambled to find footing for a moment before freeing itself from the Rift while Feyd grasped his blade to face the rat.
"–Got one right here"