My eyes widened upon seeing the beast, its massive body spread throughout the roads, a corrosive scent entered our nostrils as the path melted with its every move.
"How are we supposed to fight this?!"
The young Knight asked out loud, I could see the desperate attempts to not run away in his eyes.
"...I would like to ask the same, does any of you have strong offensive ability?"
My voice came softer than, I thought. Seeing this beast my anxiousness increased as well.
I don't have any strong ability to deal with it.
Even without fighting it, I could tell doing damage to its viscous body would be hard.
"No— We don't."
The knight's voice cracked under the weight of his question. His hand tightly gripped the hilt of his sword, the metal cold and unforgiving under his trembling fingers.
The beast's ooze had started to seep into the cobblestones, leaving a trail of decay behind it. The air grew thick with the smell of burning stone, and the sound of its labored breathing filled our ears.
"Both of you stay behind and try to look for any openings."
I instructed both knights, the oldest of them Lanchesto nodded, his eyes looking at the beast with a burning gaze.
"What a pitiful being." He muttered.
These monsters were pitiful, that was correct. But I won't let it stop me.
Then it moved, dragging its massive body.
Does it even have eyes to see us? Well hope it is just mindless or we will be in bigger trouble than I anticipated.
Taking out my sword, I got ready to face it.
"I will create an opening, try to find its weak spots."
With that, I accelerated forward.
The world around me slowed down as I activated Kairosflow, my speed increasing exponentially. The beast's movements grew sluggish as time dilated around me, allowing me to study it closely. Its skin was a sickly mix of purple and black, pulsing with an unnatural energy that made me feel queasy just looking at it.
I searched for any sign of an eye, a mouth, or any indication of how it sensed the world but found none.
The creature's sheer size and the way it ignored us made it clear that it did not need sight to track its prey.
Then in sluggish moves, it shot forward, melting the house it was attached to.
"Change of plans! One you go inside to see if some is inside or not."
I yelled at the younger knight, as I knew speed alone wouldn't cut it.
Hearing my call he dashed into the house.
"Mathew! Do it faster!" Lanchesto shouted along with me, he raised his shield and positioned himself near the door.
The beast's sluggish movement made it seem like a mountain moving towards us.
Its speed was surprisingly fast for something so large, but with Kairosflow, I could dodge its swipes easily.
How is it even attacking? Wasn't it supposed to have no eyes or ears?
Annoyed at this, I struck one of its tentacle-like bodies. Like mud, it flew away. I didn't feel the sensation of cutting it, rather it was more like scratching the surface.
But the beast didn't react, it's movement remained the same.
I need to do something more than just scratch it.
The beast's indifference to pain was unnerving. It just kept coming, the ground melting with every step.
"Crap!"
Suddenly a purple substance flew out from its body.
"Watch out!"
In time as I stepped back, Lanchesto came forward with his shield raised above me.
A heavy bulge hit it, as we both knelt from the impact.
"Gah!" The older knight groaned as some of the viscous liquid touched his hand. Burning it immediately, following that he threw away the shield.
"Are you alright?"
We both stood up, maintaining some distance to let the creature move away. He looked at me and nodded.
"Are you two alright?!"
Following that the younger knight came, and following him was a family of four. They almost stepped on the melted surface from the beast's attack only to be saved by Mathew.
"What does it look like?"
I asked the younger knight, Mathew.
He looked at the acidic pools surrounding us, then licked his lips.
"Not so good, I guess."
He muttered, giving the family a last look he let them run to the other side.
"Take refugee in someone's house!" Mathew shouted. With that, he joined us, as we looked at the beast.
"Sir, if I die today tell my family that I fought bravely."
Mathew said with a small pause, as he looked at me.
I fell silent hearing this, before speaking.
"With all due respect, I don't even know your name. And shouldn't you be saying this to your colleague?"
His face instantly turned red as he coughed.
"Mathew, that's my name. And this is sir Lanchesto."
As amusing as this situation was, Lanchesto doesn't seem to be enjoying it. He looked at both of us with a bewildered face.
"I am surrounded by idiots." He muttered in a small voice, but sadly I heard him.
'Me too.' I almost replied but managed to keep it inside.
The beast was getting closer, and we had to come up with a plan fast.
"So any idea on how to kill it?" I asked.
"People generally say how we should escape or drive the beast away... Not kill it."
As an awakener they couldn't understand the confidence of an awakened but it was clear, that Reaper had no plan of retreating.
"Well, we don't have much choice, do we?" I responded with a smirk, my gaze never leaving the beast. "We can't just let it destroy the town."
"We can always try to stall for time till Lady Morgana notices us," Lanchesto muttered.
I stared at him in silence before nodding.
"That's true... but still let's try to kill it."
Taking the melted frame of shield from the ground I held it firmly in my hands.
"I would prefer a shovel now rather than a sword."
Hearing my words even Lanchesto smiled, while Mathew could only nod in agreement.
Swords won't work a blunt object to shove away its viscous body would be better right now. If let alone maybe this beast could end up eating this whole city.
'That's scary.' I shook my head rapidly at such thoughts.
"Let's see if it has a core or not, try to give me cover if you can."
I instructed Mathew, who nodded quickly, his eyes focused on the beast.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped mid-air, climbing the sky like a ladder.
I could feel the heat from the beast's body as I ascended, and the smell of decay grew stronger.
My grip on the shield tightened as I came near it, with a deep breath I shoved the shield inside.
The beast didn't react, but the ooze was definitely getting thinner, and less viscous.
"Alright, this seems to be working."
My heart raced in excitement, as I dug deeper, throwing its body away with each move.
"Seeing him like this is... weird," Mathew mumbled.
"Why?" Lanchesto who had been staring at Asher intently, for any opportunity to help asked with a raised.
Mathew rubbed his hands and looked embarrassed before saying. "...He looked while fighting those newborn monsters... but now seeing him shoveling a beast like a labor is quite a change in perspective."
Lanchesto fell silent hearing this and gave him an awkward stare.
"Ah I mean I do respect him even more now— He is doing great. Yes, keep it up!"
Seeing my stare toward him, Mathew hastened his words, his hands flying around as if trying to cover something.
If you have time for such bullshit, why not come and help me.
I cursed inside but managed to keep some decency.
Let's ignore them— Or I might end up throwing him inside this beast.
"Grrrr—!" The viscous liquid finally moved toward me becoming denser.
As if finally noticing my presence it stopped eating the streets, its body shivering and covering the shoved area. Then it threw the collated acid everywhere.
I jumped back, but my eyes didn't waver.
My lips curled up as I landed on the ground, sliding back.
For a split second, I saw it— A purple heart came into view as the liquid had moved, now less dense than before.
Victory seems certain now.