TIna's gauntlets—Glacial Wrath and Emberfury—which had little opportunity to show off previously, were now showing their full power. The 16th floor's OP Rogue Boss sustained heavy damage from a single combo!
*SCREECH!*
However, that moment was actually the best moment to finish the fight. Tina and Liz both missed this chance, which led to their predicament—the Shadow Weasel stopped holding back.
Indeed, the monster was merely teasing them, showing no signs of seriousness, and only employing a single attack skill. However, just that was enough to incapacitate both Liz and Argus, as well as severely injure Tina upon arrival.
Now that it had received a "significant" blow, the Rogue Boss became serious.
*WHOOSH!*
A powerful gust of wind covered its body, like a barrier of sorts. The wind pressure alone pushed Tina back a meter!
Liz, who was already able to move again, was watching the scene with fear in her eyes. She could see the mana surrounding the Shadow Weasel expanding to over ten times its previous level, increasing the gap between their strengths even further!
"This is hopeless..." she grumbled while feeding Argus with a potion. "Even escape seems impossible now!"
The next moment, the Shadow Weasel's body blurred. It happened so quickly that even Liz didn't notice.
*BAM!*
But Tina, who was facing against it, suddenly got blasted away, crashing to a nearby tree, and breaking it from the impact. Even Tina was shocked. She couldn't even see the attack. The next thing she knew, she had already smashed against the tree, with pain emanating from her back and chest.
But it didn't end with just that.
"Tina, watch out!" Liz warned, seeing the countless wind blades chasing after her. If she failed to defend herself, the inevitable outcome was clear—she would become minced meat!
"E-Echo Fist...!"
Squeezing her last bit of strength, she punched upward. The attack hit nothing, but a powerful shockwave exploded, sweeping all the invisible projectiles heading for her, and neutralizing them.
Tina found herself unable to move for a considerable period after exerting her body. Liz quickly acted, leaving Argus' side and facing the enemy once more. "Knight's Challenge!"
Thankfully, the cooldown of her taunt skill was over. Without wasting the chance, she forcefully pulled the Shadow Weasel's attention to herself! The monster screeched in anger once more, before sending another wave of shockwave—the same one that sent Tina flying!
"...!"
"Invulnerability! Guardian's Embrace! Vengeance Strike...!"
She cast all her skills at once, without holding anything back. The Shadow Weasel felt a sizeable threat coming from the glowing mace, making it panic.
But when it tried to escape, it realized that it was stuck. Tina froze the windshell around it, and connected it with a thick pillar of ice to the ground, sealing its movements! Escaping was still possible, but it would be too late. In a split-second decision, the monster decided to fight back instead—a decision it would regret if it knew Liz's skill's effects.
Over 50 wind blades flew, slashing at both Tina and Liz. However, Guardian's Embrace's protection prevented them from suffering any injuries.
"Hurk...!"
Instead, Liz's mana dropped to rock bottom quickly. Her vision faltered for a moment, but she bit her lip and forged on. Miraculously, her mana was able to take on the full onslaught of the wind blades, leaving nothing behind.
"DIE!"
With a harrowed cry, she swung the mace down toward the frozen sphere. Then, it cracked instantly, before slamming against the weasel's little body.
*BOOOOOOM!*
A powerful explosion resulted soon after, sending both girls flying away. Damage that was equivalent to threefold of Liz's life, and one of Tina's hit the Shadow Weasel in one go!
"Did we get it?!" Liz cried, worried, while staring at the spot the enemy was on. "...!"
However, her breath caught when she noticed that it was still in motion. It had a bloody appearance and was obviously heavily injured, but it was far from dead. As expected of a Boss Monster, it survived solely due to its great vitality!
"No... way..." Tina grumbled, holding her hurting chest.
That attack was the best they could do, and both of them were now drained. It was impossible to continue the fight. All they could do was wait for their end...
*CRACKLE!* *BOOM!*
But then, a single pillar of red lightning fell on top of the enemy. Weakened, and still stunned from the heavy damage it received, it had no way of dodging out of the way.
With hatred and shock in its red eyes, it stared at the perpetrator of the final attack.
*Arf!*
The little bugger, Argus, was watching its final moments, tongue out while wagging his tail.