The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 163: A desperate fight

Chapter 163: A desperate fight

Screech!

The Disaster’s shriek hurt their ears but they couldn’t afford to shut them. If they dropped their guard, they would be done for.

The creature shrieked. To their surprise, as it continued to do so, its body started to vibrate. Waves of heat radiated outward, while its frame shrunk. Soon, it looked smaller and thinner. But it wasn’t weaker.

Hex’s intuition blared like crazy inside his heart.

"Watch out!"

Hex’s warning came timely. The Disaster took a step and in the following moment disappeared from their sight. The next moment it appeared behind their team, slashing at the two men tasked with support.

The two men felt the shadow of death fall over them. They shivered. But just as they sensed a touch a sudden punch and kick came out of nowhere and sent them flying.

While the others were slow to react due to losing the Disaster out of sight, Hex used his senses to locate it. He intervened, pushing the two men out of the way.

The creature didn’t like its prey being taken from him. It seethed with anger as it attacked Hex. It swiped its talons at Hex, trying to claw him. Hex used his sword to take the attack. The attack was powerful. The impact caused his arm to become partially numb.

But Hex didn’t have to worry about it. The creature attacked in a frenzy. Hex used his sword to parry everything but the talons were sharp. Each hit chipped a bit of the sword. The continuous hits shook his arms and shoulders and his joints felt almost dislocated.

"Some help would be fucking fantastic!" Hex complained loudly. Luckily, this time his call for help was heard. Tarquin and Gabriella jumped to the back and Elsa spread a thin layer of ice on the ground. The Disaster stage Heartless seemed aware of the threats the ice-based attack posed.

It tried to jump back but Hex executed his Flex Step, stepping in the air and flipping over its head. Once behind the Disaster, he pushed his feet against the air and rammed his body into the creature, sending it tumbling onto the smooth surface.

The Disaster struggled to gain a footing but its sharper-than-sword talons failed to penetrate the surface. It glided and tumbled.

"Attack!"

Hex shouted while he stepped in the air and swung his sword at the creature. Its superior regenerative abilities healed the wounds in its abdomen and face. Hex knew they could only kill it by wounding it more than it could heal.

Luckily, the others knew that too. Although they didn’t have a technique like the Flex Step, they had movement techniques that allowed them to cross the air and attack the Disaster.

Tarquin pulled a whip from his belt, setting it ablaze. He stood a distance from the creature but his whip split the air and burnt a deep gash into its flesh. It shrieked and crawled toward the edge but before it could leave the slippery ground, Gabriella rammed her hammer into it, pushing it back from the edge.

The Knight responsible for the debuff ran up to them and pulled a dart blower. He dipped his darts into a concocted liquid and blew it at the creature who had trouble deflecting them. It already struggled to remain on its feet and block Hex’s continued attacks.

"Once the potion starts working it will reduce its physical regeneration for a limited period. Please, focus your attacks then."

Even though no one stopped their attacks, they head the man. At the moment they took turns to keep the creature contained on top of the mirror-like surface.

Hex glanced at Elsa as she continued to apply energy to her conjured surface. Despite not withholding his attacks, he kept an eye on the people around him. Elsa’s display of power was abnormal.

’Her energy is a bit less than Tarquin’s yet her reserve of the Ice element is abundant. That isn’t normal. A refined crystal always has more energy inside than the amount of elements.’

As a refiner, Hex was familiar with the ratios of the substances inside a crystal. Elsa’s display defied reason. A person required energy to maintain or increase their rank. It was the basis to live, perform techniques, and maintain strength. The elements were required to perform elemental attacks. To keep the ice surface Hex estimated she needed a few thousand of the Ice elements.

Screech!

The Disaster suddenly shrieked and used the talon on its forelimb to cut deep into its legs. The corrosive nature of its blood burnt the surface. Plus, the ragged soles of its legs gave it enough friction to move.

Before they realized what happened, the Disaster shot through the ai, going straight to Elsa. A Disaster stage Heartless was intelligent enough to know where the biggest threat was.

Hex was the first to chase it but he was still one step short. It reached Elsa in the blink of an eye. Hex was perhaps the only one to have a clear view of her expression. It was calm. No fear. No hesitation.

Just as the talon-like finger of the Heartless was to slice through her neck, the air froze around her. Even Hex didn’t see the ice appear but the creature sat encased within it the next instance.

It screeched and struggled but more and more ice appeared. The ice wasn’t smooth. It was ragged and turned into spikes. When Hex reached the ice block he saw the creature bleed all over its body.

Hex didn’t pause nor did he show any of his distrust towards her on his face. He pushed his sword in its neck. Even with his enhanced physical power he had to grit his teeth and push till it entered, whereas the spikes seemed to break through its skin with ease.

By the time the others reached them, the shrieks started to grow weaker.

"The potion is doing its job!"

The man with in charge of the debuffs, exclaimed happily. Hex continued to twist and turn his sword inserted inside the Heartless’ neck, aggravating the wound as much as he could to let it bleed more.

It took almost an hour when the creature stopped moving or making noise. Its limbs were limp and hung to the side. Elsa, however, never let of her focus. The ice remained intact.

When the group saw the Heartless die, they sighed in relief. Only Tarquin stood at the side, eying Hex with a frown.

"If you helped us sooner my cousin would still be alive."

Tarquin’s words were accusatory, causing the two support and Gabriella to be on alert. But Hex wasn’t looking at them. He thought about Elsa’s face. Or better, the changes in her face. It was already dark but Hex didn’t doubt his sight.

’Her eyes turned into blue slits and her face was covered with tiny crusts of ice that resembled scales.’

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