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Three pairs of ears stood up.

Mandibles twitched.

As if on cue, four different Beasts pointed their gaze in a certain direction at the same time.

...

A distance away, Monsters stood around a structure made out of tough rocks.

Clink-

They repeatedly used their weapons to bring it down, but progress was slow.

Something had been trapped inside that structure.

Something had hidden inside.

And they needed to bring it out.

Clink-

Twelve Corrupted Dark Elves took turns attacking.

Again, and again.

A stone hit the floor.

Another one.

The repetitive hits were, slowly but surely, chipping away at the tough rocks.

It took a couple of minutes for a hole to be made.

The Corrupted Dark Elves kept attacking.

About ten minutes after the structure had appeared, a hole large enough for an arm to enter had been made.

A Corrupted Dark Elf approached.

The target had hidden.

But it was still heavily wounded.

Letting it bleed out was an option.

But the Corrupted Dark Elves didn\'t waste time considering it.

After all, they had witnessed a fight between the target and another fearsome foe.

They knew that the target was capable of recuperating from even the most serious injuries.

Yet, it hadn\'t.

Why hadn\'t the target healed the inflicted injuries?

There was only one conclusion the Corrupted Dark Elves could arrive at.

The target simply couldn\'t.

For now anyway.

And therefore, the target couldn\'t be left alone, lest it would recover its ability to heal.

The Corrupted Dark Elf, through the hole made, stared at the darkness that resided inside the structure.

Nothing.

It couldn\'t see a thing.

Had the target escaped somehow?

The Corrupted Dark Elf stepped a bit closer.

Had the target disappeared somehow?

It tilted its body forward a bit more.

The next second, ferocious and gleaming eyes stared back through the darkness.

Shake-

Before the Corrupted Dark Elf could step back, an arm had exited the protective structure.

\'Got you, fucker.\'

"GRR! ARGHH-"

The Corrupted Dark Elf growled and let go of its weapons.

It was being pulled by an extremely powerful arm.

The Corrupted Dark Elf, with its palms against the structure, used all its strength to try and push its body away.

Quickly realizing its blunder, it raised a hand and called out its weapon.

The "Timeworn Elven Dagger" it had previously let go of shook before taking into the air.

It had to be cut off.

The long ashen hair that had been grasped.

But unbeknownst to the Corrupted Dark Elves, the target had pulled its other arm back.

BAM-

Rubble was launched with great force.

A single powerful punch had, by many times over, widened the hole that the Corrupted Dark Elves had struggled to create.

The despised target was finally visible once more. Only its upper body could be seen though, as the rest of the structure remained intact.

Before it could cut the hair from which it had been grasped, a second hand was laid on the trapped Corrupted Dark Elf.

Lacking the strength to put up even an ounce of resistance, it was pulled into the structure.

Immediately, the rest of the attackers tensed up.

One of their comrades had been stolen, but they couldn\'t break their formation.

They couldn\'t afford to do so.

After taking a couple of steps, the Corrupted Dark Elves stood in a circle once more.

Their side still had the advantage.

And yet, their hands slightly and sporadically shook.

Had something changed?

Were the ten minutes gained by the target enough for it to fully recover?

That could\'ve been the case.

But even then, the battle was still theirs to win.

After all, they just had to repeat the actions they had previously taken.

Slowly but surely wounding the target.

But what if the target decides to, once more, hide inside its impenetrable fortress?

It had proved its ability to buy time.

If the target is capable of buying about ten minutes worth of time...

Additionally, if that time is enough for the target to recover then...

The same scene would unfold again and again.

Infinitely.

Had they arrived at some kind of stalemate?

Despite their advantages?

No. It wasn\'t a stalemate.

Far from that.

The scene couldn\'t take place again and again. Not infinitely anyways.

After all, they had just lost a fighter.

And if one fighter were to be taken out at every exchange then...

BAM-

Rubble was launched.

A dust cloud rose, veiling the target.

The tension felt by the Corrupted Dark Elves was apparent, as they had closed their mouths and stopped growling.

Forgetting about their lost comrade, they waited for the answer to their question to reveal itself.

The veiled Monster brought a hand to its neck.

\'I couldn\'t get exactly what I wanted but...\'

Crack-

\'This might be enough.\'

The dust settled, and the Monster reappeared.

The Corrupted Dark Elves\' shaking immediately grew in intensity.

They opened their mouths.

Their lips curled up.

\'Come.\'

Blood was still leaving the target\'s body.

The inflicted wounds were still there.

The arrows piercing its back hadn\'t even been pulled out.

The Monster hadn\'t recovered by much.

Actually, it didn\'t seem to have recovered at all.

Excited and overjoyed, the Corrupted Dark Elves shivered.

With curled-up lips, they exchanged glances for a moment.

\'I should have recovered enough Mana to disrupt their-\'

A Corrupted Dark Elf stepped forward.

And so did the Monster.

STUCH-

Clink-

BAM-

Low growls immediately followed the short exchange.

\'The archers aim for my fists when I attack...\'

The Corrupted Dark Elf\'s body hit the ground.

\'Not happy it went this way, huh? Well then...\'

A skull had been broken.

The Monster raised its arms, ready for anything that could be thrown its way.

\'What now?\'

The Corrupted Dark Elves stared as they growled.

Something covered the fist that had shattered their comrade\'s skull.

Something had protected that fist from the incoming arrow.

\'Golem Armor shields my body with the same rocks that make up the bodies of Golems. It could\'ve protected me from their attacks, but I wouldn\'t have been able to move using it. Still, I should have thought about using it sooner...\'

What had the appearance of an armor piece was wrapped around the Monster\'s fist.

\'This on the other hand...\'

It was as if one had taken a portion of a Golem\'s body, polished it, and refined it.

\'Mm. Truthfully, this doesn\'t change much. But at least...\'

The Monster clenched its fist, breaking the protective gauntlet.

\'It won\'t hurt anymore.\'

The Corrupter Dark Elves\' growls got louder and louder.

\'Now that I\'ve killed one in front of them...\'

Their movements became agitated.

\'Will they come at once, or...\'

The Corrupted Dark Elves tightened their grips around their weapons.

The archers took aim.

Mark extended his claws.

But before any could do a thing, a third party interfered.

The archers immediately noticed it, but it took longer for the others.

From above, something was descending upon the fighters.

Upon the circle they made.

They seemed to be streams made of flames, but the way they moved was truly bizarre.

Despite being made of fire, they moved like solid objects.

As if flames had been turned solid somehow.

Whips.

They looked like whips. And moved like whips too.

Five extremely long whips of fire had been swung.

And they were quickly descending upon the battlefield indiscriminately.

Whether they hit the Corrupted Dark Elves or not didn\'t matter.

Whether they hit the lone Monster or not didn\'t matter.

Disturbing the current state of the battlefield seemed like the only objective.

As soon as the Corrupted Dark Elves noticed the incoming whips, they immediately stepped away and dodged.

The lone Monster, on the other hand, didn\'t move a finger.

The burning whips hit the ground and,

BOOM-

On every spot the whips had descended on, a series of explosions ensued.

ARGHH-

One, who had deemed barely dodging the attack to be enough, had lost its right arm.

Another, its left arm.

On the other hand, the rest of the Corrupted Dark Elves had only been slightly burnt.

The damage wasn\'t negligible.

Still, the damage taken wasn\'t what worried them most.

A cloud of smoke rose.

The Corrupted Dark Elves quickly stepped away.

An unknown variable had entered the battlefield.

Or so it seemed.

"Seems like you\'re in dire need of help."

Covered by a thick fog of smoke the lone Monster stood, uninjured.

\'Took you long enough.\'

The next second, a being made of flames appeared behind the Monster.

Scattered due to the unforeseen attack, the Corrupted Dark Elves didn\'t dare enter the thick fog.

"Well, what can I say? I trusted you to take care of them. Was I wrong to?" The Fire Spirit asked mischievously.

\'Mm. I guess you were.\' Mark answered, while cautiously checking his surroundings.

He refused to let his guard down in the midst of the dark fog.

"Oh. Don\'t tell me you were scared or something?"

Despite the gravity of the situation, monstrous chuckles resonated through the smoke.

\'Yeah. If you really want to know then... Yeah. I was scared shitless, to be honest.\'

"PFHAHAHA! How the mighty has fallen! Guess playing around costs, huh? HAHAHA! Guess you learned something new then!"

Unwilling to waste time on futilities any further, Mark turned towards the bright flames that made up the Spirit.

"Tsk. Can\'t even joke around with you, huh? I ran out of steam. So I had to save as much as I could."

At those words, Mark turned away.

\'Right. Forgot you could make yourself disappear.\'

"It\'s the best way to recover some. Anyways, the ten around you don\'t seem keen on getting closer. Those waiting further aren\'t as patient. They\'re starting to take aim. Probably about to shoot at random-"

\'Wait. You can see them? Through the smoke?\'

The Spirit chuckled at the question.

"Haha! Well, no. I can\'t see them per se, but I can sense their movements."

\'How-\'

Not allowing time for further discussion, a dozen arrows pierced the smoke at random.

None hit their targets, but the threat was enough to cause worry.

"Should probably get rid of it now. Helps them more than you."

\'Me... Huh?\'

Successive powerful tail flicks split the smoke.

\'You\'re saying we\'re not in this together?\'

The Fire Spirit clicked its tongue.

Mark\'s question seemed friendly enough, but his tone definitely held some animosity.

Seconds later, the smoke faded.

The Corrupted Dark Elves\' pupils dilated.

The target was once more visible.

But something they did not want to see had appeared.

Mark waited, but the enemies did not move.

"Seems like they\'re intimated..."

\'Guess so-\'

"By me." The Fire Spirit added after a short delay, definitely aiming for the words to sting.

\'Yeah. Prove them right then. You must have amassed plenty of Mana after leaving me alone, right?\'

"Oh..."

For a short moment, it seemed like his side had taken back some control over the battlefield.

"Nope."

Mark\'s hand shook momentarily.

"That was most of what I had."