[The Demonic Beast ate two already. That amount should begin the process of numbness, depending on the dosage Ester placed inside. But don't grin yet. Overheat has less than two minutes remaining, and you have four minor heals in your arsenal.] [You could use one heal on yourself, but I have an idea why you are hardheadedly resisting the pain. The wound will sap most of your energy if it gets healed, so let's finish this quickly.] Vincent felt relieved while hearing this. The partner inside his Soul Domain was on the same page, and these words allowed him to continue fighting while enduring the pain. The two of them soon noticed the Demonic Beast acting a bit strange. It slowly stood up with a hint of difficulty, and its actions appeared a bit slower than its previous speed. The plan seemed to be doing its wonders, and the numbing effects were becoming apparent by the second. The Demonic Beast was slowly becoming paralyzed by the weak numbing effect. [This simple yet effective plan is working. If a person has two legs and they can't feel one of them. Then they can't walk or at least only be able to stand.] [Let's see how long the Demonic Beast will last until we see it losing balance from the exploitation of its fruity weakness and low IQ.] Vincent grinned at her brief description of their current weakness exploitation plan. He grit his teeth and ran towards the Demonic Beast, intending to see how much the numb paste robed its balance. Vincent shortly reached striking distance. The Demonic Beast raised its arm to swing, but at a slower speed. As the large rocky arm tried to strike Vincent, he swiftly slid on the red grass and dodged the attack. *Boom A devastating strike intended to smash Vincent into pieces missed and landed on the ground. It was a strike far stronger than the previous attacks. The Demonic Beast began to lose control of its strength and balance, giving a favorable result. The swing force ended up making the Demonic Beast lose its balance and soon fell on the ground. [Vincent, it worked! Hey, look at its back. A part of it has become exposed from plucking and throwing too many rocks.] With Kazumi giving Vincent this valuable information, all he had to do was focus on the fight, resist the pain from his shoulder, and nothing else. Vincent pulled himself up, ready for another sprint and slide. His intention was perfectly clear. It was to repeat the process, force the Demonic Beast to fall by losing balance, and take advantage by attacking its unprotected back. However, the enraged Demonic Beast stood up and quickly shoved its tail in the ground not to fall again. It wanted to keep itself steady at the cost of robbing its movement. The Demonic Beast turned its vicious glare at Vincent and plucked two rocks from its back, removing more protection from its back. Demonic Beast twisted its upper body. It faced Vincent with the intention of its next action visible in its cold bloodlust filled eyes. Vincent understood the plan he was about to do couldn't work anymore. He glanced at his sides and noticed a dried tree a few steps behind him. Vincent quickly hid behind the dried tree, and a second later. *Boom *Boom Two rocks crashed against the dried tree with deadly force. The impact almost broke the trunk as the unchecked throws' power was far more potent than what the dried tree Ester hid behind received. [Now is the chance to get the frozen horn. The Demonic Beast almost fell from throwing the rock and is trying to balance itself from falling. It should be hard for the Demonic Beast to turn and evade the horn in its exposed chest or back.] Kazumi used the third-person view to her advantage while Vincent hid behind the dried tree. She could allow Vincent to know what was happening in his surroundings without the need to peek and get shot to death. The Demonic Beast tried to stay standing with a pair of trembling legs, tilting from side to side to maintain its balance. It seemed Ester filled the bananas with a high dosage. Enough to enter all of the Demonic Beast's body circulation and take effect. "Ester! Throw me the horn!" Vincent went out of hiding and shouted. Ester kept a watchful eye at what Vincent was doing to help at a moment's notice. She dropped a numb banana from her hands after hearing his order to throw the horn. "Here, take it!" Ester shouted while throwing the frozen numb horn. [Oh, no! Ester watch out!] Kazumi shouted, but only Vincent could hear her words. Vincent's attention was on quickly catching the horn and plan his next attack. Vincent caught the horn and turned his gaze at Ester. The expression on his face soon changed, from a hopeful one to a terrified one. The Demonic Beast chose Ester as its next target after she dropped a numb banana from her grasp. She became the primary target for possessing the Demonic Beast's precious treasure. The Demonic Beast plucked two rocks from its back and threw them at the defenseless Ester with great force. Ester felt a heavy gaze filled with bloodlust directed at her forcing her body to shiver while she picked up the short sword from the ground. Instinctively, her fear-stricken trembling arms automatically raised on their own to protect herself. She didn't even know two rocks flying like a cannonball were about to hit her, but her survival instinct to live tried its best to save her life. *Crack *Clang Two rocks shot simultaneously at Ester. One landed inside the damaged dried tree, causing it to break from being unable to withstand any more punishment. The second rock crashed against the mudcrab shield with deadly force. A few sparks along with tiny chip fragments of the shield flew in the air. This powerful impact created a few cracks on the mudcrab shield. But it wasn't enough to break in one strike. Ester suddenly felt a strong force violently lifting her feet from ontop the red grass, pushing her off the ground and tossing her a few meters in the air. Then she violently hit the ground a few seconds later. One second, two seconds, three seconds. After ten seconds passed, Ester didn't move an inch. Vincent began to worry for the worst while clenching the frozen horn with a furious tight grip. He quickly focused his worried gaze on Ester and used Inspection. 'Please don't die!' Repeated in his mind. [Name] Ester [Condition] Medium Injury, Broken Limb (Left arm), Unconscious, Energy Boost (5:35), Minor Bleeding [Soul Synch] 30% [Class] Sigil Mage *Roar The Demonic Beast roared while beating on its chest like a celebratory drum. As if it had just won. This action infuriated Vincent with rage and resentment. Blinded by rage, he took out the cooked mudcrab meat and wolfed it down in seconds. 'I have to hurry and save Ester. Her condition might worsen, or the Demonic Beast might target her again. But... this feeling of intense anger, ugh...' 'I have to kill... KILL!' Vincent thought before intense anger consumed him. 'Will you let your family die again?... ' 'Will you die and let them die after?... ' 'No one should touch your precious treasures... ' 'Death would be their payment... ' 'Kill, Kill, Kill, Kill, Kill, Kill...' 'KILL!' The mutation fueled his anger as if someone encouraged him to lose himself while the mudcrab meat enhanced this feeling two-fold. His mind became clouded with thoughts of hate. Only to kill could regain his peace of mind. Kazumi felt relieved Ester wasn't dead, but the relief didn't last long. The Soul Domain began trembling. New emerald grass sprouted, increasing the size of the patch of crystal grass. The emerald grass swayed as if it danced along with the wind. However, no wind existed inside the Soul Domain. New grass stopped grow and soon started shining, lighting the Soul Domain green. [Something is happening in here! New emerald grass grew. Now it's glowing and moving as if it's alive.] Kazumi tried telling this to Vincent, but he seemed to ignore her from the intense anger coursing in his veins. [Hey... what's wrong? Can you hear me?] However, her telepathic words didn't reach his reason. The Energy Boost Buff and the mutation encouraged him to kill. To fight until he kills what hurt his most precious treasure. A person he could blindly trust and a person who he considered as family. Vincent heavily breathed. Sweat slithered from his body, yet he didn't do anything to cause such an appearance of exhaustion. The glow in his eyes flickered like a raging wildfire, and the cloud of steam escaping his body intensified. Vincent held the frozen horn with a grip strong enough to produce cracking sounds and then rushed at the Demonic Beast like a wild beast. The Demonic Beast noticed his strange behavior along with the increase of potent mutated scent. It readied its rock covered fists to counter with a strike of its own. Vincent arrived at striking distance. He swiftly extended his arm and shoved the frozen horn in the Demonic Beast's chest with all he had. But this action had a price to be paid. Vincent sacrificed his injured shoulder, taking a powerful blow. *Crack A cracking sound originated from his injured shoulder. The enraged Vincent however ignored the pain. He released his grip and punched the horn a couple of times, shoving it deeper inside its hardened flesh. Vincent quickly backed away after his wild survival instinct warned him of danger, leaving the frozen melting horn stuck halfway inside the Demonic Beast's chest. "Die!" Lupa shouted. She jumped down claws first at the Demonic Beast with powerful killing intent. Lupa was resting on a branch to continue dropping bananas on the ground when she heard Vincent call out for the horn. She gazed down and saw a sight she never wanted to see. Her golden eyes swayed in disbelief at the scene they witnessed. The tree broke, and Ester flew in the air from the force, momentarily freezing her in place. "Please, sister, don't die!" Lupa focused her sight to notice any change in Ester's condition, but no matter how much she wished for Ester to stand up. Her body didn't move, as if she was dead. Deep anger welled within Lupa, making her feel a surge of anger she never felt before. It was a desire for revenge, to kill the Demonic Beast at all costs. It was more intense than when she wished to kill the Great Gray Wolf. Now she had a lot to lose. She didn't want to lose anyone anymore as the death of Kass lingered in her thoughts. Lupa took out the cooked mudcrab meat. She furiously wolfed it down and jumped at the Demonic Beast with the intent to kill. The boost of energy, adrenaline, and bloodlust, fueled Lupa to attack at all costs no matter the price.