The chainling jumped away from Dallion, just in time to avoid a series of glowing red knives that hit the ground.

“I told you to run.” The Cleric said a short distance away, holding several throwing knives. That was both impressive and unexpected. If anything, Dallion thought of him more as a quarterstaff fighter.

Barely had the Cleric made his move than another party emerged. Appearing out of thin air, Dame Vesuvia swung her weapon at the chainling. Faster than the eye could follow, her sword struck the creature’s skull, sinking in at least half an inch. A bit further and it could have split the chainling’s head, and eye, in two. Sadly, the monster’s bones rivaled the Dame’s sword in durability.

The woman realized this and did another attack, this time from the side. Watching her, Dallion felt like a level one guardian of a cheap wooden bowl. Looking at her, Dallion recognized specifics of the attack skills he had used while improving items. Vesuvia, though, used them on a totally different level. Saying that she used attack skills was like comparing a condor to a butterfly. The instant leap, the multi attack, the disappearing and reappearing act, those were all things that the markers had helped Dallion do in the awakened state.

Three arms with three swords appeared from Vesuvia’s shoulder. A triple attack. Dallion had never seen one before, but the slight blur around the outlines of her hands told him that it was the extreme speed creating that illusion. Just witnessing it was incredible!

More blades split the air, making their way to the target. The majority were evaded with ease, but this time a few managed to land a hit.

Dallion blinked. A ranged attack had hit its target? And not a rocket propelled ranged attack either. That could only mean one thing—the chaining was weakened.

“Shoot at it, you idiot!” Gloria shouted from behind.

Dallion was already ahead of her, reloading both of his dartbows; and he wasn’t the only one. Several more darts flew the creature’s way, followed by a charge of soldiers with swords. Considerably slower than the Dame, they flashed in and out of existence, following the same movement technique awakened guard skills offered.

Similar to a knot of frogs—frogs only in the most positive sense—the main force of the hunting party surrounded the chainling. They were followed, at a distance, by the rest of the volunteers, who like Dallion were shooting bolts in their own attempt to contribute to the battle somewhat.

Everything was moving so fast that Dallion couldn’t keep up. The Dame and the beast had evolved to a series of afterimage blurs shifting from spot to spot in the nearby area. The speed was such that he could no longer follow the specifics of the fight, only able to catch an occasional “frame” of one side landing a blow on the other’s defense.

That’s what a true awakened is…

“Keep your guard up!” Dame Vesuvia shouted, her words slower than her actions.

Several soldiers tried to pull back, but were too late to avoid the black paw that emerged from the creature’s body and slashed right through them. Initially, it looked like a few rips on their tabards. A ball of flame followed, engulfing three people, then knocking them on the ground.

Neither the massive chain mail armor nor the Cleric’s emblem had done anything to save them. The single chainling attack had left three dead, and things were just getting started.

“Keep the line!” Vesuvia ordered. “Large spread.”

I couldn’t have stopped that. Dallion stood up. Both his dartbows were loaded now, but the chainling moved so fast that he couldn’t target it. Glancing over his shoulder, Dallion got a glance of Gloria and Veil. They were moving in towards him—the least safe thing they could do.

“Stay there!” Dallion rushed towards them. As much as he wanted to be the hero, he knew he didn’t stand a chance. It was a miracle he hadn’t ended up dead along with the soldiers. I owe you one, Cleric.

“This is wild.” Veil smiled, looking at the fight with absolute admiration. “Only a noble can do that.”

It was impossible to disagree. For every five strikes that the chainling blocked, Dame Vesuvia managed to get one in. Slice by slice, it was being pushed back. Each jab, each faint cut weakened it, though not to the extent that it would give up and die. Four more soldiers burst in flames.

“She’s weakening,” Gloria said.

“Come on,” Veil snorted. “She’s winning. Just look.”

“I am looking,” the girl hissed. “And I’m telling you she’s getting weaker. Her hits aren’t landing as well as they did at first. And the soldiers are incompetent.”

The words were harsh, but ultimately correct. Only the Cleric was of any use. When he ran out of throwing knives, the albino took his staff and switched to melee combat. His actions were by far not as impressive, though he still managed to keep himself from getting hit, and on occasion strike the chainling.

“They’re not that bad,” Veil crossed his arms moments before another one burned up. This universe definitely had a wicked sense of humor. “Don’t look at me! I didn’t cause it.” The blond stepped back, defensively.

Think! Think! Think!

Dallion focused on the fight. From what he was seeing, he agreed with Veil that the Dame would most likely win… but could he leave it at that? If there was a chance of failure, he had to think of something. At this point, the more reckless the better.

“The chainling can’t change the weapons, right?” He turned to Gloria.

“What?”

“Sky silver. Things made by it can’t be changed through awakening, right?”

“Well, it might be possible in theory, but it’s extremely difficult. That’s why they forge them instead of trying to improve them—much faster that way.”

“In that case, I have an idea.”

Without warning, Dallion rushed forward straight at the battle. Vesuvia and the chainling kept flashing in and out from spot to spot, slightly slower than before. Both were focused on their immediate opponent, pretty much ignoring everything else.

“Cleric!” Dallion pointed his dartbows forward. “Help me modify two more bolts!”

It has to work! It has to!

“Just two more hits and we can take the chainling down!” Dallion yelled as loud as he could.

The quarters of the surviving soldiers glanced in his direction. For a single moment their curiosity bested years of training, diverting their attention to see what the commotion was about. So did the chainling.

For a split second it turned its head towards the boy, giant eye meeting those of Dallion. It would have taken a thought for the creature to reach him and slice his head off, finally punishing the human that had hurt him. Before it could, Vesuvia thrust her sword deep in its throat.

“You lose,” Dallion smiled. The creature was highly intelligent, as he suspected, and it also held grudges. Now the grudge was gone, along with its life.