Chapter 136: FFA

*What the hell is that?* Dealla shifted her stance, holding her weapon out before her. She took up a position near Shula, as was the plan for their defensive position.

*Get ready! Those are Grimlock! Defend yourselves!* Gates warned.

*Grimlock? No way!* Katrin exclaimed. She'd never seen the 'birth' of a Grimlock before, but she had no reason to doubt Gates' words. This was largely because the masses were indeed taking on monstrous form.

*I've seen these..they are the same creatures from before…* Dealla's eyes widened as the masses quickly formed into short, stocky creatures with large forearms and stodgy bodies.

Everyone went on guard, realizing the situation they were now in. That is everyone except the attack team.

*Where the hell did all of these Grimlock come from? Oliver. Can you do something about this?* Vivian asked. Until that moment Oliver had been stricken with shock from all the rapid developments he'd been confronted with.

This caused him to stand, mouth agape, even as Grimlock began to bloom around his feet like mushrooms. One statement from the Doyenne was enough to pull him out of his stupor though.

*Ryo. Destroy that shard.* Vivian next commanded as she turned towards the growing number of creatures which had begun to take sentience.

What happened next was beyond everyone's expectations.

"UGH-HA!" The sound of Ryo being struck in the abdomen was second only to the noise which echoed through the air as he skidded through dirt, rock and shattered tree branches. His body seemed to fold in response to the sheer force levied against it.

Vivian's eyes widened as she wheeled herself around just in time to notice the aggressor. Black, darkness, and as her eyes trailed upwards she realized the creature was tall and towering.

*This is…*

*That's it. That's the one that attacked us!* Dealla's transmission of her voice held a dire tone, it was obvious that she was scared. Whether it was her apprehensive tone or the fact that her body was now shaking uncontrollably -- it was apparent that something within her had been triggered.

A deep, primal fear.

*No one move. Not yet!* Vivian ordered. She realized the absurdity of the situation, the numbers were quickly painting a dismal picture yet the creature before her was attracted by sound. It was the entire reason she wanted to keep verbal communication to a minimum. Suddenly a realization came to mind.

*It must have been attracted by the sound of Ryo's attacks.* She thought inwardly. She felt a newfound tension coiling around the area as she got an up close and personal look at the creature's impressive countenance.

It's arms were thick and muscular, broad shoulders which were well chiseled and forearms at least two sizes larger than the creature's biceps. Despite this, it's body was rather lean and humanoid. Vivian couldn't help but notice the faint presence of miasma which gathered around the creature's body as well. Much like adventurers used Mana Skin to avoid the adverse effects of miasma, the creatures here seemed to use it as a coating.

The now defeated vortex creature was an extreme example of this, one that gathered the miasma and amplified its effects until both a sword and shield were made of the poisonous mist. Vivian's mind raced, partially because any movement would initiate a battle she wasn't prepared for, but she didn't have any choice. The creature before her craned its head at the slightest of noises, she had no doubt that it would pounce the instant she made a move.

There was one major problem with the creature's appearance despite the obvious -- it's features had changed. According to Dealla's detailed description the creature had changed in two troubling ways. The first was its size. The dragon kin always described her dreaded foe as tall, but this surpassed even Dealla's description by almost half a meter. The second, and perhaps more shocking difference was a large, circular crystal of irregular shape and symmetry which protruded from the Grimlock's chest.

Vivian realized that Dealla would never have forgotten a feature that was so noticeable. This meant that the creature had most likely consumed a shard core. This was further supported by Bracha's statements before all hell broke loose. For some reason, these unique Grimlock were consuming the cores of the shard realms. Doing so didn't seem to have an adverse effect on the realm itself, but most likely made the Grimlock consuming it much stronger.

Surrounded by enemies and ambushed by the very target they were supposed to be avoiding at all costs, the situation had taken a dire turn for the worst. Vivian was now cursing her earlier decision not to go all out against the octo Grimlock. Her thinking was that she would need to reserve some energy in case a dire emergency occurred. Such an emergency was now facing her down, and she was at a complete disadvantage. She dared a glance over towards Ryo's direction. It was obvious he was still alive, but he wasn't moving. The blow must have caught him completely unaware, thus he was most likely unconscious.

*Bracha, help deal with the small fry then offer support. Oliver, you know what to do. Rescue team, stay close and help each other out. Don't move until my command.* This was all the instruction that Vivian gave as she felt her heart skip a beat. Seeing the creature up close she finally understood, it was stronger and far more imposing than she originally believed. What's more, to send Ryo flying with a single strike, this creature's potential for destruction far surpassed the other's.

*Now!* She ordered as she made a move.

Vivian swung her Katana, focusing her senses so that the strike would cleave upwards and diagonally. Before the blade could find it's mark, the creature lifted its forearm and swatted. It was the most casual of movements, as if it was backhanding a bug. Yet this was enough to disarm Vivian entirely and send her sliding several meters backwards.

She had no choice but to grit her teeth and endure the force behind the blow. It became dreadfully apparent that Ryo might be more seriously injured than she initially believed. After all, she'd only experienced a fraction of the creature's strength and it was enough to disarm her, breaking her battle stance in the process. She could feel a numbing sensation in her hand, the creature was monstrous in the strength department.

*Shula! Dealla! Follow our initial plan, you're in charge of wellbeing. If you see anyone in trouble use a potion on them -- starting with Ryo.*

Oliver gritted his teeth. It had been a while since he was placed into a situation which seemed so dire and hopeless. As an Archmage he had dozens of spells at his command, a few of which were originals. He felt he was prepared for almost every situation possible and yet, for the briefest of moments, he secretly felt checkmated. This, more than anything, was enough to bring Oliver Pagnal's resolve to new heights. It was simply a matter of pride, he refused to admit having been backed into a corner.

*You bastard.* He thought to himself as he began feverishly constructing a magical rune. He summoned forth a great deal of mana and allowed his spell to activate as the magic circle expanded outwards.

*Let's see how you like this. I made this one just for you! Soundless Sonata!* A purple light quickly expanded outwards, pulsing as it grew into a dome of sorts. The area of effect was so large that it easily encompassed the battlefield and then some.

As the magic took hold everything fell silent. The spell cast muffled all sound for everything and everyone within the bubble of influence, everything except telepathically shared messages.

*Get rid of those damn stragglers. I can't hold this forever.* Oliver transmitted to everyone else.

Vivian immediately understood, having worked with Oliver to develop a contingency plan to defeat this very same creature beforehand. Without sound the creature would have no idea where to strike, stealing its only ability to find its prey.

Vivian stomped her foot, a cautious move used to double check the effectiveness of Oliver's spell. When the creature remained docile, Vivian set her attack into motion. She reached out her freehand and called forth her disarmed blade. It quickly freed itself from the dirt and within seconds she gripped the blade once more. Next she circled around the creature and leapt upwards, both of her katana glowing alight with Fox Fire. As she reached the apex of her jump, Vivian twisted into the fall, causing her to spiral into several 360 spins. The result was a falling slash that was designed to cleave the creature into thirds with a single blow.

Vivian's strike was perfect. The blades sliced through the creature's body with accuracy and power, while the enchanted Fox Fire easily destroyed what little miasma defenses the creature may have had. Vivian felt the effectiveness of her attack, the feedback through her hands as she landed on the ground just centimeters away from her foe.

Though she couldn't hear the sound of slicing flesh, her other senses told her that the blow had to be a sure kill. To be doubly sure, Vivian allowed her Fox Fire to run wild, flaring it into wounds which were undoubtedly created by her strike. She allowed herself the briefest moment of triumph as she crouched. And then, she was sent flying.

Her perfect blow had indeed found the mark -- the issue was the creature's insane muscle density. Her blades sliced through skin like portioning cake, but the wounds were superficial at best. Her katana barely cut to the bone of her foe and in the end the creature reacted with swift retribution.

Vivian suffered an unguarded counterblow which sent her flying uncontrollably. She bounced and skidded, the sight was like a stone being skipped across the surface of the lake as splinters of fallen wood and dirt sprayed up into the air.

Oliver seemed to be the only person who noticed the ferocious blow dealt out by their new foe. Everyone else was locked in the heat of battle. Bracha stood next to Oliver, protecting him from the dozens of Grimlock which attacked anything in sight. His spell was pivotal to avoiding ruin and this role could only fall to her in that moment.

Meanwhile Agni, Katrin, Gates and Gigi formed the "front line" against the four dozen or so creatures which were now surrounding the group of five. Dealla and Shula stood between Bracha, Oliver and the other four to offer support.

"Drake's Valor!" Soundless words activated one of Dealla's buffing techniques. The spell offered protective grace for all members of the alliance within distance as golden threads of magical energy streamed outwards and coiled around each person nearby. She also mercilessly struck down any Grimlock which dared to stray too close to her Dragon's Longing-- the Sleep Daemon Shula.

Meanwhile Shula was busy accessing her inventory. She quickly grabbed and used two healing potions, one on Ryo and the other on Vivian. She next activated a mana potion and used it on Gates, who was busy fending off three of the small Grimlock golems, the creatures known as Lithe Golems.

[Lithe Golem

Miniature golems that seem infatuated with rocks and metals. When they consume such materials their body undergoes a transformation -- making them as durable as a mass of minerals.]

Gigi and Agni focused on taking out as many of the creatures as possible with hand to hand combat. Katrin on the other hand made deft use of Earth magic. Due to the creature's composition, her affinities were a bad match to deal damage. Instead Katrin used vines and earth shifting to disrupt the balance of her foes at awkward times, engineering their almost certain demise.

Thanks to Dealla's tips for defeating the creatures, the rescue team managed to fare quite well. Oliver, spurred on by the people fighting valiantly behind him, pushed himself to the limits and managed to double cast original spells. Magical constructs, hooked chains, erupted from the ground and slithered along the flesh of the hulking Grimlock. The chains quickly wrapped around its ankles and moved upwards along its thighs, settling along its hips before embedding themselves into the creature's flesh.

Oliver had no illusions about whether this would help. He didn't expect it to work at all and even if it did -- it would only be a nuisance to his foe. He was right, however he absolutely needed to buy some time for Vivian and Ryo to recover from being knocked away.

*What's causing all of these Grimlock to appear? We won't ever be able to get rid of these things if they won't stop spawning!* Shula transmitted. It was apparent, she was growing more annoyed by the second, despite not being directly engaged in battle.

Her items were limited and finite. At their current rate, her supplies simply wouldn't last much longer. This was the first time Shula felt the urgency of battle on a personal level. She'd been with Agni though many situations, yet somehow there was a sense of detachment. Now, risking life and limb was beginning to weather on the Imp's mental.

*Tsk. I spent all my time screwing around. I should have...done something to better prepare.* Shula thought inwardly, even as one of the Grimlock barreled towards her. The swift swing of Dealla's longsword mercilessly cleaved into the Lithe Golem's face, spurting black blood outwards. The spray of it caught Shula on the cheek, further driving her sense of agitation.

"Fucking gross!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, though no one would hear due to Oliver's Soundless Sonata.

Oliver closed his eyes, his focus was intense and total as he attempted to lower his mana consumption to extreme limits. With each movement by his confined foe, Oliver could feel his mana dipping. He could no longer allow his focus to stray, he decided to place all of his faith within the Runemaster fighting on his behalf.

*How the hell is this thing so strong? I know I'm a rank two but...do creatures like this even exist?* Oliver couldn't help but think about the countless adventurers who manned the front lines in places like Kirlunst. He'd always heard stories, ones he chalked up to embellishment. Tales of insanely powerful creatures in the depths of the mists.

Stories of blood shards and adventurers who'd only made it out by the skin of their teeth. He'd always thought himself as better than most, having been ranked as second to only Vivian in Mystic Chapel. He took pride in the fact that only she had driven him to use his best spells and ultimately snuffed them out with her power. It was the sole reason Oliver even joined Mystic Tower to begin with, that and to acquire as many forms of magic as he could. Yet, after seeing her in action today Oliver was sure of one thing. Vivian had barely even used a quarter of her true strength against him.

The thought was sobering, yet also strangely motivating. He pressed his hands together, as if taking part in a heartfelt prayer to whatever Gods might be listening. He mentally prepared himself to give his all for his wounded comrades -- no matter the cost.