Chimaera's Conquest: The Legend Of The Devourer
Chapter 205: I Need But One (1)

Chapter 205: I Need But One (1)

Before Adrian could make sense of things, his chest tightened as if a vine was being twisted around his heart. It felt like all the air from his lungs disappeared in an instant, leaving him gasping for breath.

He staggered, his vision blurring as his stats plummeted. Sophia and Amelia immediately noticed his distress and rushed to his side.

’So... this is how it... feels to lose your... stats...’

Forget about standing, he was having trouble keeping his mind straight as his legs gave away.

"Adrian, what’s wrong?" Sophia’s voice quivered as she tried to support him.

Amelia’s eyes widened in alarm. "...he’s suffering from the drain like we did when Libra struck us. Only this... seems to be much worse."

Amelia was correct. While Libra only siphoned 30% of their stats, it was 60% in Adrian’s case. However, they had bigger problems to worry about. There was an intruder in their midst, and Adrian needed to inform the girls about it.

Adrian struggled to speak, his throat constricting with every breath. He managed to point ahead, his hand trembling before he collapsed to his knees, his strength waning with each passing moment.

His struggle didn’t go unnoticed, drawing Sophia and Amelia’s attention to the chamber’s entrance. There, five figures clad in white tiger fur coats strode in, the leader brandishing a menacing black crossbow.

"Apologies for stealing your kill, Mr Fenrir," the man sneered, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "But you see, business is business, and I was paid handsomely to put an end to your little rise to power."

Sophia’s grip tightened around the Shaman’s staff as she stood between the intruders and Adrian. Amelia did the same, picking up Adrian’s fallen broadsword.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Sophia asked them, trying to distract them while silently chanting for a spell.

"Why don’t you come with us, and we’ll let you know?" one of the others smiled, staring at the girls. "Hell, if you can impress us with your skills, we might even let you join us. What say?"

Adrian struggled to maintain composure. Not because he was worried about them. It was quite the opposite. His increased stats were keeping the Minotaur’s heart in check. But now that his stats had been reduced severely, the monster’s heart was raging within, itching to break free.

’Shit... I can’t let that happen. Not with the girls here. But getting the heart under control will take time, and we don’t have that luxury.’

He knew they were in trouble. The enemies before them were A-rank, just like Sophia and Amelia. But fighting five against two was a fool’s chore. If they were lucky and Sophia’s spell hit two of them, things would be troublesome for them even then.

"Sophia... Amelia..." Adrian’s voice was barely a whisper, but they both turned to him, looking worried. "Buy me some time... I’ll get used to this pain in a minute or two.

He continued, "Just hold them back until then... Don’t even think of doing something heroic... Is that clear?"

Sophia hesitated, but Amelia nodded instantly.

"Don’t worry," she said. "I have no intention of stealing the spotlight from you."

"We won’t let them touch you, Adrian," Sophia nodded. "You just focus on getting better."

"How touching," the man with the crossbow remarked, clearly mocking them. "But I’m afraid getting sentimental won’t save you now."

He continued, "Besides, we were only paid to deal with Fenrir, not his pets. But I’ll ensure you beauties don’t feel neglected."

"We’ll see about that," Sophia mumbled, unleashing a devastating lightning spell.

The assailants were so confident of their victory that they didn’t even bother preparing a countermeasure. Taking advantage of the blinding light, Amelia made her move, repeating the move she had seen Adrian use countless times before, [Minon Fury].

The mage within the enemy group managed to nullify Sophia’s spell, but the damage was done. Amelia had severed one guy’s head while seriously injuring the other.

The overconfident smile the white tigers once boasted had disappeared as their fallen comrades’ blood stained their pristine white cloaks.

The girls expected the group to counter them, but to their surprise, the masked leader stepped forward, clapping slowly as he did.

"Well done, ladies," he said, acknowledging their strength. "You’ve managed to take down two of my men. Impressive, truly. But let’s see how you fare against a real challenge."

With a menacing grin, he raised his hands, and a dark energy crackled around him. In a flash of blinding light, the remaining gang members multiplied, and their numbers kept growing until twenty-one adversaries stood before Amelia and Sophia.

"This won’t be as easy as we thought..." Amelia commented, tightening her hold on the sword.

"We don’t have a choice," Sophia replied, gritting her teeth. "We’ll just have to give it everything we’ve got. At least till Adrian is back on his feet."

The two girls fought with all their might, their weapons flashing in the dim light of the chamber. Blades clashed, spells crackled as they battled against the horde of enemies.

Despite their best efforts, it was only a matter of time before the sheer number of adversaries overwhelmed them. Amelia gritted her teeth as she parried blow after blow, her muscles screaming with exhaustion.

Then, disaster struck. While dodging the strikes, Amelia failed to notice one of the leader’s clones aiming for her. By the time she did, it was too late, and an arrow struck her thigh.

"Argh!" Amelia yelled, her face contorted in agony as she clutched at her wounded leg.

Taking advantage of the situation, the white tigers were about to jump on her. Sophia noticed it from the corner of her eyes.

She directed her attention towards Amelia, intending to cast a healing spell on her. But before she could, a volley of arrows rained down upon her, forcing her to conjure a shield to protect herself.

’Damn it!’

Sophia cursed the raiders in her thoughts. However, she noticed something. The volley of arrows had stopped, and as she cautiously peeked out from behind her cover, she saw Adrian grappling with two of the leader’s duplicates.

But what caught her off guard was the sight of Adrian wearing a red cloak that she hadn’t seen before.

"Thanks for holding out till now," Adrian smiled. "Now you can focus on healing Amelia, and I’ll deal with these runts."