266 [BONUS] To Get the Mask 5
The Night Thing’s eyes shot open, and a loud shriek pushed Sharina back. The loud wave flung back the Orcs as well before it rose from the ground and shook its head, and the Dizziness status effect disappeared.
Its eyes were bloodshot, and its HP was cut to more than half. It was about to go after the Orcs when its eyes caught Evie behind a crushed tree.
Evie was hiding behind the lush trees and bushes, carefully making her move as her attention was focused on the Night Thing. When the Night Thing was hammered to the ground, she got curious when it got silent.
But a single peek proved to be a fatal choice as the Night Thing’s eyes shot open before it steadied to her.
Evie backed away and went into the protection of the Orcs while immediately casting [Butterfly of Deceit]. She needed seconds to get the spell done, and she hoped the Orcs would protect her in that window of time so she could get away.
However, her hope was crushed when the Night Thing’s silent assault threatened to overwhelm her with its oppressive weight. Without thinking, Evie sidestepped to the side just in time for the Night Thing’s massive head to go past her. Its gaping mouth mowed the trees and dirt in its path.
It paused and rose its height when it noticed that it didn’t kill the she-sprite. Its eyes then locked on Evie, who was escaping into the rows of trees.
The Night Thing’s tail violently swung onto the trees, and Evie ducked just in time that the foliage and everything in her path were wiped out. The force of the blow sent her flying, and she was crushed against the ground. She rolled on the dirt and stopped when a tree broke her momentum.
She suffered serious damage from just that blow, and her HP was reduced to a single digit. She wasn’t out in the woods just yet, though, as the Night Thing loomed over her, ready to kill her in one bite.
A feral growl rumbled on the Night Thing’s throat, and within a fraction of a second, it bit Evie together with the tree behind her.
The Night Thing felt good that one of its prey was dead, only to be confused that butterflies overflowed from its mouth. It released an angry roar when it realized that it was dope.
From a distance, Evie reappeared next to Ren, who was looking at her with a worried face.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Y-yeah,” Evie stuttered. The air was tight all of a sudden from their close proximity.
“Sorry. I got curious.” She took multiple potions before she peeked at the Night Thing, who was so mad that it went on a rampage, searching for her. It would only take another minutes before it totally destroyed everything, clearing the ground for anything to hide.
“This wouldn’t last long,” she said.
“I know.” Ren pushed Evie towards an area with foliage that could hide them when the Night Thing turned in their direction.
“However, we have no choice. Until the Orcs can kill it, we will drag this as long as we can.”
Ren stared into her and said, “I only have one Butterfly of Deceit and Teleportation left. While you have one, and Ragnar used up all his life-saving skills.” Since Evie’s Butterfly of Deceit could only be cast two times a day, Ren was also restricted by the spell.
“But we still have Phantasmal Distortion that would give us five seconds. Let’s pray that the Orcs already killed that thing before our spells are all used up.”
Evie nodded.
“Stay here.” Ren peeked at the Night Thing before he crept towards another area away from Evie. The both of them knew that staying together was dangerous since the two of them could die with just a single blow from the Night Thing.
However, Ren stopped when a nudge from his shirt halted his stride. Looking over, Ren was confused as to why Evie was holding the edge of his armor.
“What’s wrong?”
At Ren’s voice questioning her, Evie was stunned. Her eyes slowly went to her hand that was holding his armor, and she gasped. Like she was burned, she quickly retrieved her hand and lowered her head.
“Ah . . . be careful,” she could only say to mask her embarrassment. Why did she do that? She didn’t know. It was just that . . . being alone while a gigantic creature was chasing you was scarier than it seemed.
Ren didn’t give any meaning to Evie’s actions and just nodded before going to the opposite side.
Ten minutes passed, and the Night Thing almost cleared a kilometer of natural resources from where it was situated. If this continued, Ren and the others wouldn’t have any more areas to hide.
Fortunately, another rounds of Divine Magic shot towards it like piercing bullets while Sharina and the Orcs relentlessly pursued it with their blades.
Bloody and broken from fighting the Night Thing head one, Sharina didn’t mind the pain, even if one of her muscles seized up and it succumbed to a vice-like cramp. The rage and grief made her numb. Nothing was on her mind but revenge.
The Orcs shared her sentiments. The casualty they suffered were already enormous to stop now.
With another round of smoke and dust, the Night Thing shrieked so loud it shook the ground. Everyone’s eyes glowed in focus, for they could see the Night Thing’s end in sight. Its HP was quickly decreasing until it stopped at three digits.
A pulse pulsated in the air and vibrated into their skin, clawing the fear from their hearts. Smoking heat hissed from the Night Thing’s scales while it glowed red in rage.
[The Night Thing entered Berserk Mode!]
[All Stats doubled!]
Within a blink, The Night Thing bit Sharina but the Orcs on her side quickly pushed her away.
Sharina fell to the ground, but she didn’t register the pain of the fall as her eyes took in the two Orcs that the Night Thing swallowed in her place.
Sharina grinded her teeth until it bleeds. She shot to her feet and struck the Night Thing with her axe with all her might. The force of the strike reverberated through her body, threatening to paralyze her limbs from The Night Thing’s metal-like scales. It’s defense doubled so her attacks meant nothing now.
“Sharina!” Zukulum roared when the Night Thing’s eyes narrowed at the Chieftain.
Her rage blinded Sharina that she didn’t notice the head of the centipede closing in on her from her back.
But before it could chew her in the end, the Night Thing stopped when swirled of disturbing colors flashed before its eyes, halting its movement for five seconds.
“Get away from there!” Evie shouted at Sharina.
Her voice woke Sharina from her rage, and the latter only noticed that she was too close to the Night Thing, and if it weren’t for the she-Sprite, she would have been dead.
Sharina immediately took a step away from the creature just in time for the Night Thing to wake up from the nightmare, and its eyes narrowed at Evie.
Evie didn’t have [Multicast] yet, so she could only cast one spell at a time. It was too late to release her last [Butterfly of Deceit] to escape. She didn’t intend to. In the first place, she knew what she was doing. They had planned for this.
Sharina couldn’t die. That was another important thing in the quest.
And just on cue, Ragnar’s voice rang in the area, drawing the Night Thing’s attention away from Evie.