The knight moved in a burst of speed, heading straight toward Duncan before anyone could speak. The wide sword cut the air with a howl and Santi cast a series of [Air Shields] as fast as he could. Each of the shields burst apart in a tempest of wild winds that scoured the platform of any dust or debris on it. Duncan was moving, his shape blurring around the edges as he tried to fade away.

  The knight’s sword passed by where Duncan’s neck had been, but he was quick, spinning around and using the momentum of the missed blow to aim for the assassin's waist. Duncan bent in half and the sword cut apart nothing as the assassin disappeared from sight.

  The knight just snorted and then spun on the rest of them, lunging across the platform in an explosive surge of momentum. The huge knight was angling toward Tank, who was looking up with wide eyes, and Santi was forced to cast [Gust]. At Tank.

  The big man was picked up and thrown backward and he avoided the knight’s landing. A ripple rolled out from the monster, shadow undulating like waves, grabbing Bo and Trevor and tossing them toward the edge of the platform. Santi bit out a curse and grabbed them with [Air Manipulation], blowing them toward the ground. Both men bounced hard, but were scrambling to their feet in moments.

  Santi darted toward the knight, [Gust[ hitting the waves of shadow and they blew apart, the force of the blast rattling Santi’s bones. He gritted his teeth and kept moving, blade transforming into a longsword as he stabbed at the knight. The monster was nimble, spinning on a heel and swatting aside Santi’s thrust. Santi recovered, stopping his charge and retracting the blade into a shield to block the knight’s riposte.

  It felt like getting kicked in the chest by an elephant. The air rushed out of his body and his bones creaked dangerously as Santi staggered several steps, the knight not letting him recover. The huge broadsword swinging toward him in an overhead chop as if to cut him in half.

  Santi dodged, leaping to the side and rolling on his shoulder. The broadsword hit the ground in a thunderous explosion, sending shattered pieces of stone flying about as if a bomb had gone off. Santi used an [Air Shield] to stop from being pelted and darted back at the knight. They exchanged three blows in the space of a moment, their blades ringing like bells as Santi was forced to push himself as hard as he could to match the knight’s strength. Even with the coat on to push his strength, it was all he could do to stop from being blown away.

  He disengaged, rolling under a crosscut, and darted a few steps back. The knight looked unbothered, stomping forward as Santi tried to lead the knight close to the center of the platform. Trevor and Bo were going to be useless in the fight, the level disparity too high for them to even begin competing in it. Santi looked at the shadows and started to pray that Duncan would come and land a blow soon.

  The only thing Santi had that could bother the monster was going to be [Wind Blade] and he didn’t want to expose that to Duncan and give the man time to figure out how to counter it before their final duel.

  “Incessant ant. Just die,” the knight said. Its voice was flat and tired as it lifted its broadsword up and started toward him. Trevor and Bo decided to be dumb, leaping at the knight and their hammer blows coming in to bounce off of the armor. Santi had to cross the distance in a heartbeat, morph slashing at the knight’s throat, to stop them from dying. Shadow spikes erupted out of the back of the knight’s back, piercing the two men who screamed in agony.

  The knight blocked his blow, the morph sliding across the broadsword, peeling a thin layer of steel off of it. Tank was quick, grabbing the two men and pulling them back as Santi sent two more quick thrusts at the monster’s face. Santi extended the blade at the last moment and skin parted, a thin line of inky black trailed out of the cut on the knight’s cheekbone.

  It froze as if shocked and one gauntleted hand touched the thin line. Its blood didn’t flow so much as slink, thick and gooey like webbing, and the knight looked at its finger with a puzzled look.

  “You managed to cut me. Impressive.” It snapped its wrist and the drop of blood was thrown away and toward an empty place on the platform. The blood exploded, expanding in a wave of webbing that forced Duncan to materialize, trapped in the webs as he was closing in on the creature’s blindside. It looked at Duncan and snorted contemptuously.

  “Did you really think you could hide in the shadows from me? I am the shadow,” the knight said. Santi cursed and cast [Wind Blade], a crescent of air forming at his hand and then rushing forward. It didn’t howl like his other spells, but screamed. The blade crossed the distance in a heartbeat and the knight moved at full speed for the first time.

  Its sword swept up and intercepted the spell, breaking it in a shriek of dispelled air. The knight’s void-like eyes glittered as it locked onto Santiago with its full attention. It leapt and Santi was immediately forced to use his second hidden spell, [Wind Step] to avoid being split in half.

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  The burst of speed sent Santi flying away from the knight and his injured comrades. Duncan was busy hacking away at the webbing while Tank worked tirelessly to try to keep Bo and Trevor alive. Santi was alone with the boss and he had its full attention.

  The knight came rushing towards him and Santi leapt to the side, [Wind Blade] cast and directed towards the knight’s knee. Santi attacked as the knight blocked, [Wind Step] letting him redirect himself up and towards the knight. He slashed at the knight as he flew over the knight’s head, the whip tendril slashed into the creature’s trapezius muscle.

  The knight blocked the [Wind Blade] and cried out in pain as his neck muscle was sliced apart. Santi landed easily, casting [Gust] and reinforcing it with [Air Manipulation], driving the knight further toward the edge of the platform. The knight stabbed its blade into the ground and ground to a halt, feet from the edge.

  It growled, rattling the air as it snarled. Duncan finally finished cutting through the webbing and was moving further along the edge of the platform. Santi was hoping the assassin would hurry up and start helping him.

  The knight pulled its sword free of the platform and started marching forward, the ground shaking under its feet. Blood was running down its neck and under its armor as it marched forward without blinking. Duncan disappeared, fading away from view again. Santi wanted to shake his head in annoyance, the man had been beaten already, but he wasn’t willing to learn new tricks.

  “Fucker is annoying,” Santi whispered under his breath. The blood the thing was leaking wasn’t triggering his curse and there were small favors indeed. It was built like a tank, absorbing every thing that Santi could throw at him while having several crowd control abilities. Its movement speed was based off pure stats; there had been no trace of mana when it had blitzed them, just pure strength.

  Santi hit it with two [Gusts], cast back to back and watched as it dug in its heel and refused to budge. But it stopped moving forward for a second. [Wind Blade] flew at the creature, disguised in the howling gale. The knight brought its blade up at the last moment, breaking the spell right before it hit the knight’s neck.

  Santi hadn’t waited for the knight to defend itself, shooting toward it with [Wind Step]. He crossed the distance in a heartbeat, the speed causing his eyes to water. Santi fell to his knees, sliding across the ground, scraping the hell out of his knees as he did so. The knight’s reflexive attack sailed over Santi’s head while Santi’s attack hit the thinly armored knee in a burst of sparks and black blood. The knight roared in agony as its leg buckled and it staggered a step.

  Duncan made his appearance as it staggered around, his knife was wreathed in abilities and skills as he buried it in the creature’s neck. Blood gouted out and the knight swung a thick arm, connecting with Duncan’s ribs. Bones broke like kindling and the assassin was flung away.

  Santi didn’t relent, rising to his feet and stabbing at the creature's face. The knight’s blade blocked the morph blade and it was strong enough that Santi’s wrist went numb. Santi cast [Crosscurrent-Orb] at point blank range. The blast of wind ripped at the knight’s face, shredding flesh and taking one eye. Santi stabbed at it, blade lengthening and aiming for its neck.

  Then he was flying backward.

  The knight had punched him with its free hand, bone breaking in his chest as he was flung backward like a limp rag. He landed, the sensation distant as he skipped across the stone, rolling twice as he torturously coughed once.

  Time slowed, red hazed his vision and his next breath was full of molten nails that ripped at his lungs. His arm twitched, the morph weapon flinching as steps rattled the platform again.

  Then the pain was fading. Bone cracked back into place as the comforting taste of a healing potion wreathed his tongue. Tank’s face loomed up and into his field of view, his scowl deep and concerned. Santi coughed again, weakly, as he struggled upwards. His chest wasn’t fully healed and every breath hurt as he rose up.

  The knight was only a few feet away, looming up and over them both. Santi wasn’t going to make it up. Tank looked up and rose, a titan of flesh as his heavy club came up, wreathed in red as his only attack skill came into being.

  “No,” Santi tried to say. The words weren’t coming out, panic setting in as his friend stood alone. Not again. Not again.

  Tank stepped forward, placing himself between the knight and his patient.

  The knight came forward, sword rising in the air.

  Tank lifted the club and lunged at the knight.

  So slow.

  Then Tank hit the ground and a burst of red light lit the platform.

  The knight was thrown backward and Santi managed to get fully to his feet. The knight landed and rolled to its feet as the rest of the potion finally finished its work. It was looking ragged, face shredded, blood pulsing out of its neck, down its leg, and now its free arm was jagged and broken.

  Santi lurched toward it as the knight struggled to get up. [Wind Step] sent him across the distance in a second, but he was still too late. Duncan appeared, knife in hand and rammed it into the knight’s neck, twisting and ripping it free. Blood geysered out of the knight as Santi saw his kill being stolen right in front of him.

  The morph lengthened into a lance and punched through the knight’s remaining eye, erupting in a spray of gore. The kill notification dinged through his head and then Santi saw the alert.

  Dungeon Cleared

  Grade: A

  Rewards: Calculating