"What do you mean, the Doomsday Beast is 'yours'?"
Himeko turned her head to look at Caelus, a hint of confusion in her eyes.
Caelus's answer was brief. "It just means I get to land the final blow when it's about to die, and all the materials it drops are mine."
"Is that so." Although Himeko didn't understand what Caelus wanted with a Doomsday Beast's materials, she agreed without much hesitation.
"Fine, I accept your terms."
The Doomsday Beast was an invading enemy. Defeating it was the top priority. As for who got its remains, as far as Himeko was concerned, that barely qualified as a condition.
"Great, then let's go!"
Caelus hefted the baseball bat onto his shoulder and had already started walking.
Himeko said no more. She turned and gestured to Dan Heng and March 7th, and the three of them followed Caelus toward the command room exit. Just before leaving, Himeko paused and turned to Asta, who had remained by the control console. "Activate the protective shield as soon as we leave."
She added, "Just in case my judgment is wrong, and the Stellaron isn't the Doomsday Beast's target."
Asta nodded, her hand already resting on the control panel.
The command room door slid shut behind the four of them. Himeko knew the internal layout of the space station like the back of her hand. After a few turns, she led the group into the main corridor leading to the platform area.
---o---
They encountered no obstacles along the way. Through the arched viewport at the end of the corridor, the deep black chassis of the Astral Express was already visible, parked quietly at the platform.
But as the four of them were about to enter the final stretch of the corridor, Himeko suddenly slowed to a halt.
The ceiling of the corridor was made of a large pane of transparent glass, offering a direct view into the void of space. Looking up through it, the massive form of the Doomsday Beast was gliding just above them. It was moving slowly, its wingspan eclipsing a large patch of starlight.
It had arrived before them and was now circling above the platform. With every beat of its powerful wings, a faint tremor ran through the glass surface of the corridor.
Himeko looked up, her gaze tracking the beast's flight path for a moment, her brow tightening.
The situation was not good. The corridor was a long, narrow, enclosed space. If the Doomsday Beast attacked while they were inside, there would be almost no room to evade. But if they stopped here, things would only get worse.
"We need to move, now," Himeko said.
The words had barely left her mouth before she was already sprinting.
Caelus, Dan Heng, and March 7th followed close behind. The sound of their four sets of footsteps echoed urgently down the corridor. Above the transparent glass, the Doomsday Beast's enormous body kept pace with them for a few brief seconds before they pulled ahead and left it behind.
The gate at the end of the corridor was open. The four of them burst out of the corridor almost simultaneously, their feet landing on the metal plating of the platform.
But a sound of tearing air suddenly came from above.
The Doomsday Beast folded its wings and dove straight down from above the platform. A claw the size of a car ripped through the air, hurtling toward March 7th with a piercing shriek.
"March! Look out!"
Himeko and Dan Heng shouted at the same time.
March 7th looked up, her pupils constricting. The massive black claw expanded rapidly in her vision, blotting out the stars as it descended upon her. Her face went pale in an instant, but her hands reacted swiftly. Six-Phased Ice began to rapidly condense in her palm, a frigid blue light seeping through her fingers. At that moment, a figure shot past her from the side.
Caelus planted his feet firmly, his whole body launching off the ground as he swung the baseball bat high over his head, aiming for the descending claw and putting all his strength into the blow.
The metal bat met the claw head-on. A dull thud exploded across the platform as a shockwave rippled through the air. The Doomsday Beast's massive body was knocked clean off its trajectory. It tumbled sideways, its claw missing March 7th's head as its enormous frame skidded across the ground with a deafening screech of scraping metal.
In stark contrast to the flying beast, Caelus landed with his feet planted firmly on the ground, his body perfectly still.
The icy light in March 7th's palm slowly dissipated. She stared blankly for a second before realizing what had happened and quickly turned to Caelus. "Th-thank you!"
Caelus glanced at her and gave a nod. His eyes then locked onto the crooked form of the Doomsday Beast in the distance. The next second, he was charging towards it.
"Caelus, be careful!" Himeko shouted from behind him.
Without hesitation, she shot a look at Dan Heng. He received the signal, and the two of them accelerated, rushing toward Caelus to support him. March 7th immediately broke into a run, following at the rear.
---o---
At the other end of the platform, the sideways-tumbled Doomsday Beast had righted itself. Just as Caelus closed in, its counterattack came.
A massive claw swept out horizontally, aiming straight for Caelus's upper body. Caelus held the baseball bat vertically to his right side and turned to block.
The moment the claw and bat collided, Caelus felt an impact force far beyond his expectations travel from the bat into his arms and surge through his entire body. His feet scraped a shower of sparks from the metal floor as he was sent flying back a good two meters before he could stop.
The health bar at the bottom of his vision shrank drastically.
20 max HP, dropped straight to 7.
Caelus scrambled back to a sitting position and looked down at the baseball bat in his hands, frowning.
Something's not right.
The baseball bat's stats were identical to a Netherite Sword's. He had assumed it would be classified as a 'sword' type weapon. In older versions of MC, swords could be used to effectively block attacks. But the feedback from the hit he just took clearly indicated the bat had offered almost no blocking effect.
Is the baseball bat not classified as a 'sword' in the MC system? Or does the MC system I have now not include the blocking mechanic for swords?
He couldn't figure it out right now, but he knew he couldn't take another direct hit like that. With so little health left, dying would just mean having to run all the way back from the Curio room, which was way too much trouble.
Just as Caelus was about to retreat and create some distance, he suddenly noticed a golden layer of temporary health appear over his health bar, its thickness far exceeding his original maximum health.
[March 7th's Blessing V: 3:00]
Temporary HP increased by 50.
Caelus froze for a second, then whipped his head around to look behind him. March 7th was standing a dozen meters away, her hands pushed forward, the residual ice-blue glow in her palms not yet fully faded.
50 points of temporary health?! That was more than two Enchanted Golden Apples!
The only difference was the lack of regeneration, resistance, and fire resistance effects that Enchanted Golden Apples provided. Otherwise, it would completely blow them out of the water.
Caelus looked at the thick golden layer above his health bar, and his previously retreating footsteps came to a dead halt.
He was going to fall back because his stats weren't high enough. But now that they were, why would he dodge?
When Steve has enough stats, he always stands his ground and trades blows!
He tightened his grip on the baseball bat and turned back to face the Doomsday Beast. The beast clearly had no intention of backing down either, raising its massive claw once more and bringing it down with full force toward Caelus.
Himeko and Dan Heng, who had just caught up, saw Caelus move to meet the attack again. They instinctively assumed he would repeat his earlier move and use the baseball bat to intercept the Doomsday Beast's attack head-on.
But the next scene made both of them stare wide-eyed.
Caelus's baseball bat wasn't aimed at the claw.
His bat scraped just past the outer edge of the claw and, without any hesitation, smashed into the Doomsday Beast's forearm. The dull thud of the metal bat sinking into hide and muscle was clearly audible.
The Doomsday Beast's claw, now unobstructed, slammed squarely into Caelus's body.
But the full-force blow only managed to knock Caelus back a mere two meters. He even remained steady on his feet, not stumbling in the slightest.
Himeko, frozen in place, understood what Caelus was doing. It was intentional!
The baseball bat had deliberately missed the claw's trajectory. He made no attempt to block or dodge, actively abandoning all defense to pour every ounce of his power into the attack.
He was trading his own health for the Doomsday Beast's!