New Fantasy World: Galeia

The strikes grew in power and speed, forcing the air to compress and explode, each carrying a devastating shock-wave that disrupted the air within my lungs, threatening to burst inside my rib cage.

I couldn't keep up with my eyes.

What seemed like a stalemate at first soon turned into a frenetic assault. Each second meant a centimeter of ground won. Each second meant one more blow landing where it should. Each second clearing the muddy uncertainty of what the outcome would be.

The Protector was losing.

Each time her spear cut into the Blood Fiends, blood would spray out and stain the ground, her armor, and her weapon in deep crimson.

For every drop of blood one Blood Fiend lost, the other gained. For every drop of blood gained, their wounds closed, their speed increased, and their strikes grew more powerful.

"IT'S MOVING!" Pokh'Orra warned. "CUT ITS ARMS OFF ALREADY! SEAR THE WOUNDS WITH FIRE! NOT A DROP OF BLOOD ON THE GROUND!"

The sound of a flurry of strikes striking different metals came from behind, forcing the hairs all over my body to stand.

The third Blood Fiend broke free from Natasha's skill. A monster with a level of 1217 versus a Halve with a level of 1351. The logical conclusion would be the other two Blood Fiends had bolstered it as well whenever any blood got out of their bodies.

The Protector struck along with the golden mantle above her, piercing and slashing the aberrations of blood, also becoming faster and stronger with each passing second and meeting the relentless onslaught.

"They're healing the curse," Lady Alyssa muttered in realization. "Look carefully," she suggested. "Whenever Natasha cuts into them, the curse doesn't spread."

Those details escaped me, unfortunately. I am but a Performer. No skill in my repertoire could aid me in sensing such events. All I saw was blood spraying for an instant, only for the wound to close shut the next.

"THE THING IS SLOW!" Pokh'Orra's voice came. "CUT THE LIMBS FIRST TO REACH THE HEAD! BONTE! HANNA! GO FOR THE SAME LIMB TOGETHER! THELEA! YOLIN! GIVE THEM AN OPENING!"

A drop of sweat ran down my brow. The temperature behind me had reached well over one thousand degrees Yiama considering my Constitution and the bonuses the party was providing. It was stuffy, uncomfortable, and sound had great difficulty moving in such a medium, which made singing and playing the Cioline a challenge.

The many strikes pushing air that cut through sound only increased the struggle.

True to the task given to me by the Party Leader, I retrieved a light quordatta along with a flute, then activated [Lord Popabotta's Wrongdoings to Gentleman Fabiano and the Tragic Happenings that took Place Thereafter, Volume I].

The instruments floated a few centimeters away, then started playing as if ten of each, pushing back against the air pressure with robust and packed harmonics, effectively forming a 600 meters domain in which only the party could affect air, negating shock waves up to a certain point.

Originally a skill to be used in social events to provide safety to the audience so they could speak freely without being eavesdropped, it was also incredibly useful for other purposes. Luckily, the Blood Fiends had no skills that directly manipulated the environment in a similar way.

The Protector struck again and again, covering the ground with blood and flesh, only for the monsters to gain an edge due to the carnage.

"I can't stop their healing," Lady Alyssa commented with great annoyance, then clicked her tongue. "They're too powerful for me to influence."

"Well, duh," came Elena's amused retort from behind us. "They're over five hundred levels above you. Aim at the blood instead of them. Increase its acidity or spoil it."

I quickly peeked behind.

The ancient Elf was aiming her staff at the third Blood Fiend, a purple, arching beam striking the monster's head.

The monster's limbs were ignited and burning, open gashes a full meter long covering the cords that made its body.

Bonte and Hanna circled around it at neck-breaking speeds, cutting and stabbing at it while evading its whip-like arms flinging about.

Lady Yolin was standing in front of it, arms crossed to protect her face and neck, yet being pummeled by its many strikes. Her resilient body took them in strides, but flinched slightly whenever her head was hit. "Weaker than Natasha!" she mocked the monster. "Too weak! Far too weak!"

Thelea stood next to Lady Yolin, shield raised and under attack by the whips just like her fellow tank.

Whenever a whip would strike the two Scouts, an ethereal shield or arm would get in the way, completely blocking the attack but bursting it in a small flash of light.

The monster's eyes, covered in shadows, were full of ethereal arrows similar to a Seamster's pincushion.

Each time a blade or arrow opened a wound, it would burn by either fire or lightning, leaving a charred hole that prevented any blood from leaking.

A gasp next to me made me quickly turn my head.

The Halve was not in the middle of the two Blood Fiends anymore. Instead, twenty three spears impaled them to the ground, each different from one another.

A loud crash came from the ceiling, where Natasha was lodged into the stone directly above us.

I felt the world go quiet despite not stopping my music.

A golden liquid dripped down from above, splattering in front of me. Its glow and richness was unmistakable.

"..." Lady Alyssa was quiet.

"..." I stopped singing.

"..." Elena had no witty remark.

The Protector was made to bleed.

"AII HOOOOOOH!" Natasha screamed unintelligibly.

Then, suddenly, a brightness akin to the death of a giant star enveloped my vision, blinding me in burning pain.

"YOU SIPHILITIC WHORE CUNT!" A scream that threatened to rip open the cosmos echoed in the cave, chilling my spine and preventing me from complaining about the pain. "PREPARE TO DIEEEEEE!!!"

A violent gust of wind knocked me down. Then, a pair of hands grabbed me and unceremoniously threw me somewhere, where another pair of hands caught me and handed me to someone else's pair of hands.

"PUT EVERYTHING ON DEFENSE!" Pokh'Orra's voice demanded with urgency. "USE EVERYTHING! NOW!"

My eyesight returned as soon as those words were finished.

Yolin stood in front of the group, arms stretched wide. Fifty floating arms were tightly arranged in the form of a net with no gaps in front of her. Behind the arms, a wall of shields and spears stood, providing further protection.

Thelea stood behind Yolin, two tall and wide shields covering both tanks.

A barrier encircled the entire party, which stood against the wall of the cave.

Bonte, Hanna, and Pokh'Orra stood in front of me, Lady Lapia, Elena, and Lady Alyssa.

It all happened in an instant.

Pokh'Orra finished her words, my eyesight returned, and a sound that was similar to the ripping of clothing reached my ears.

Through the ethereal images of shields and arms, Natasha floated mid-air not even half a meter below the cave's ceiling, arm extended downwards and glowing the brightest she had.

The ground cracked below us, then rose a full ten meters, taking us with it. Then, the ground gave in and went down five times that.

Heat, sound, light, and pressure assaulted my senses at the same time, pushing the entire party against the wall with colossal might.

Groans of pain and effort left all our mouths at the same time.

My ribs shattered at once, but were healed the next moment.

"DIE!" came the second scream of the Protector.

The already cracked ground shattered further, taking us up a full ten meters, then going down ten times that.

The pressure was greater this time, and so was the heat, the sound, and the brightness.

Once again my ribs were shattered, then healed the next instant.

Air moved violently, rustling my hair and clothes, robbing me of the capacity to breathe, hear, and speak, leaving me in a world of silent pain.

"BRACE!" Pokh'Orra warned. "SHE'S USING GAE BULG AGAIN!"

"DIE!" came the third edict of death.

But nothing happened. The sound of stone cracking and falling, only to shatter on impact against something was all that could be heard.

"What happened!?" I urged, scrambling to sit up in confusion.

Lady Alyssa met my eyes, wearing a complicated expression. "Natasha got injured, and I'd assume her survival instincts kicked in."

"They're different beings, after all," Elena panted, laying on the ground and looking up at the ceiling. "Halves suck E'er into themselves like a starving vacuum when that happens."

"I'll pull hear ears real good after this," Lapia hissed in anger.

"You all signed up for this," the ancient Elf retorted from her position on the ground, giving the younger one a chastising look. "If you don't like it, stay back and become a researcher like I did."

"It's not over," Lady Yolin pointed out, gesturing forward.

We turned to the cave.

Or what once was a cave, more accurately.

Ten meters from the wall we were pressed against, a massive chasm had replaced the cave floor, going deeper than light could reach.

Within that hole, one glowing golden dot was climbing up at a fast speed. Its many tendrils and scythes helping in the task.

Elena let out a long, defeated sigh. "That Blood Fiend got a hold of Halven Blood," she voiced the collective conclusion. "This is going the get really ugly."

The Halve landed with heavy steps in front of us, facing into the dark chasm of her own making. Her glow had reduced significantly, no longer hurting the eyes.

Lady Yolin walked to her and placed a hand on her lower back. "How-"

"Eugh!" Natasha bent at the waist and vomited, golden blood coming out of the gaps between her helmet and her breastplate. "Cough! Haaa..." she sighed while straightening up.

Lady Alyssa rushed forward, followed by Lady Lapia and Pokh'Orra. The three surrounded her, wearing worried expressions.

The Halve stored her helmet, revealing a mess of hair and viscous blood, then spat at the ground between her feet, where a long piece of flesh landed. It was her tongue. "...Tasmat sariputra sunyatayam na rupam, na vedana, na samjna, na samskara, na vijnanam," she muttered in a low, trembling voice full of almost physically palpable anger. The sound of metal grinding on metal came from her armored hands holding her spear.

The party leader's face morphed. Her eyebrows rose, her eyes opened wide, and her lips parted slightly in realization. "Oh, shit..." she whispered and took a careful step back. If not for the circumstances at hand, it would be a funny reaction. Slowly, she pulled the other two away with her. "Let's back off for a bit."

Lady Alyssa and Lady Lapia gave Pokh'Orra a concerned look, but acquiesced.

The Protector spat again, this time ejecting a piece of glass that bounced off the ground with a loud clink. "Na caksu srotra ghrana jihva kaya manasa, na rupam sabda ghanda rasa spartsavya dharma..." she hissed through ground teeth.

The four moved back a couple of steps, giving their lover space.

Bonte gave me a look and a short, inquiring nod.

I nodded back two times.

He smiled and shook his head.

I chuckled and shrugged.

A loud and shaky sigh left Natasha followed by some quiet muttering, letting the words flow out with a calm tone of release, as if she was simply letting go. Upon the last utterance, her glow increased to the point of near blinding luminosity, yet gentler than before.

Almost like an acceptance of something when, instead of surrendering to a challenge, it is embraced instead and incorporated.

She extended a hand to the side and a suit of armor identical to the one she was wearing fell to the ground below it. The Eternal turned her head to Lady Yolin and pointed at the equipment.

The Tank moved to it and stored the pieces, then equipped them one by one. She stopped and stored them back. "Give me a second, this is more complicated than I thought," she explained, once again producing the items and fiddling with the belts and clasps.

The helmet reacted to her body, leaving two holes for her horns. Something similar had happened with Thelea and the armor she received, having changed to fit her much larger frame.

Halven items are a thing of wonder.

Unlike Natasha's helmet, Lady Yolin's had no hole at the back, probably due to the Oni having much shorter hair.

I stared into the massive hole in front of us, where the golden dot was still climbing the wall across the chasm.

How much stronger is it now? I wondered, fixing my hair. Tongues bleed a lot.

"Done," Lady Yolin announced, testing the gauntlets, where her fist weapons were attached. The platinum-looking metal seemed to have changed shape to accommodate them.

"So you bit your tongue off," Lady Lapia pointed out with relief, visibly relaxing. "That's what you get for laughing while fighting," she added, slightly amused.

Thelea snorted. "Happens more often than you'd think," she shared. "A Warrior finally finds fun, then gets lost in the thrill of the challenge."

There were many things I would have liked to say to that, considering the fun Natasha had resulted in the loss of my instruments. Still, I held my tongue. Casting criticism at a time when tensions were high was not productive in the slightest. Once the dive was over, I would say my piece.

Hanna took a step towards Natasha and presented herself in accordance to Eternal Worship etiquette. "May I join Your Excellency?" She requested, her voice coming out without issue even through the thick cloth that was her new head protection.

The Halve simply nodded, not looking away from the golden dot still climbing the chasm.

We fell into silence while watching the Blood Fiend.

When the monster was nearing the edge of the hole, Natasha took a step forward while equipping her own helmet and producing her shield.

Hanna and Yolin followed.

The three then broke into a sprint, circling the Halve-made gorge, and quickly reaching the transformed creature.

"What strategy do you think-" Pokh'Orra started.

On the other side of the hole, Natasha charged to the Blood Fiend at supersonic speed, impaling it against the wall with her spear, plunging the weapon into flesh and rock until it was barely visible. Then, she produced a large blade wreathed in flames, with which she cut its limbs off with two swift swipes.

Hanna arrived second, delivering a powerful kick to the monster's head and stabbing it with her daggers. Five Hannas appeared out of thin air and joined the beating.

Yolin was the last to get there and proceeded to rain punches onto the monster's torso and head while using ethereal arms to hold the writhing limbs for Natasha and Hanna to cut whenever they regenerated.

"Ah..." the party leader uttered. "Looks as if they're mugging the thing," she commented, a slight pity in her voice. "What a way to go out," she whispered and aimed with her bow, then quickly released an arrow.

A very loud yet harmless twang came from the string, probably a skill.

The projectile flew across the abyss, then split into five. They all hit the mark, piercing the monster's torso, embedding it further into the wall.

"Nice shot," Bonte praised. "How far can you hit a target?"

The three women ganged up on the monster, leaving no chance for it to retaliate. They lacked class and finesse.

"About fifty kilometers in ideal conditions," the Archer replied. "And fifteen if it moves as fast as Natasha."

My brother whistled. "What are ideal conditions?"

A whip struck a Hanna, pushing her into the chasm. She vanished and landed next to Yolin. Another Hanna, however, replaced the falling one. The clone dissipated after hitting a rock on the way down.

Pokh'Orra hummed for a second. "Not a typhoon, tornado, or storm. I perform best in forests and deserts, too, since I trained in Uuruhk and got my Ranger Class while in the army."

"Aren't Blood Fiends a little... weak?" Lady Lapia suddenly voiced her thoughts after watching the one-sided beating.

"A Halve Warrior, a high level Cleric Tank, and a high level Scout are decimating it, yet it still lives," Elena pointed out the facts. "That is not a weak monster. You could say they're weak if you consider their Strength alone, but that regeneration speed and the their ability to gain power from blood makes them extremely dangerous monsters. We also learned that, if in groups, they can bolster each other with the blood the other spills, going so far as breaking free from a higher level person's skills."

"Right," the younger Wizard accepted with a nod.

"They're dangerous because we can bleed," Alyssa added. "Hence the name."

"Oohh!" Pokh'Orra breathed out in realization. "I always wondered that. Fiends and Demons were similar in nature in my mind," she chuckled. "But now I know better, I guess."

A few heads turned her way, including mine.

"How?" Elena inquired with a drop of confusion in her voice, mirroring everyone's feelings.

The Elmari Elf shrugged, but did not elaborate further.

"I can't see how, though," the oldest Elf insisted, a pensive look on her face. "If you appraise it," she said, pointing in the general direction of the Blood Fiend under attack, "while thinking of the information being in Elvish you get Laaf'Khur Jhezh'Mhei. There are no similarities with Pleqe'Haakh."

"If mheol comes from her understanding of Haakh, there is," Lady Lapia suggested, taking Pokh'Orra's side. "It's not inherently wrong to link the two in that context. A harmless mistake, wouldn't you agree?"

Elena looked at both Elves, her eyes squinting a little as they jumped from one to the other, studying them. She slowly relaxed and nodded. "You're young, after all," she sagely accepted, letting the matter go.

We watched the fight in silence. The atmosphere was odd to say the least. Apprehension had been replaced by an awkward sense of unjustified tension. The monsters were incredibly powerful, being a bit less than double our levels, and yet there was no evidence to it other than the information provided by appraising them.

"It's the equipment, isn't it?" Thelea voiced everyone's conclusion.

"Definitely," Pokh'Orra agreed with a slow nod. "We all have Legendary gear."

The Goliath hummed. "But for it to boost us enough to face three Blood Fiends into a stalemate? I have a hard time coming to terms with it. The fight with the spiders in the dungeon was more believable, if that makes sense."

"I get around three hundred levels worth of stats," Lady Lapia shared. "It's a flat increase, though, but still quite impressive."

"And the five of you have Mythical weapons," Bonte pointed out. A cheeky smile spread on his face, then snickered, "Is Natasha looking for a man, by any chance?"

Thelea laughed, patting his back with mirth.

Lady Alyssa, Lady Lapia, and Pokh'Orra laughed as well, but exchanged complicit glances between the three.

The Healer cocked an eyebrow, offering him an inviting smile. "If your tool can survive it, go ahead," she taunted.

The feline Scout's eyes widened a little, his eyebrows went up, and his ears flattened against his head. "I was joking," he clarified. "I'm not into Higher Beings."

Laughter escaped my lips, and I covered my mouth with a hand.