"Kraaghhgh!!"
The chief roared in pain. Though small, the sphere contained a massive amount of concentrated fire mana, allowing it to burn through the skin of the goblin and giving the rest enough time to reach Tara.
"Sorry for the delay," Terra said as they reached her sister. "Luke wanted to make sure his 'gift' was good enough for the chief."
"No worries."
"Sorry to cut the pleasantries short, but we need to finish this fast," Harry said wryly, causing the group to glance at the decent-sized horde of goblins being held back by Freya and Luke's summons.
"I agree," Terra added, "But we have bigger problems to handle first."
"Grrrrraarararrrrrr!"
(!!!)
Alarm bells rang as the group heard the chief's wrath. To their utter shock, the wounds dealt by Luke were nowhere to be seen as they had already healed.
"What the fuck?!" Harry exclaimed
"It seems our friend is a Mutant," Terra said dryly. "A strong one at that."
"..."
*Boom*
The four quickly scattered, barely dodging the chief's axe as it split the ground in two.
"You guys should go and take care of the minions," Luke said suddenly as he smiled widely. "I can handle the big guy for a while."
"..." The group looked at the boy as if he had gone mad.
"I forget you Raizers lose brain when you see a strong opponent," Terra muttered.
"!.." Luke's smile threatened to crack, but he managed to keep his cool. He needed to be calm if he wanted to accomplish what he was going to do.
"You guys should really put more faith in me."
Tara smiled derisively. "Whatever you say."
"It's your funeral, though," Terra added.
"It isn't Luck, but I suppose your death can satisfy me," Harry muttered as he flashed Luke a thumbs-up.
Luke's eyes twitched repeatedly, but he managed to keep his cool as he ignored the three and entered a fighting stance.
"I guess there's no saving you," Terra said, shaking her head sadly. "Either way, we'll honor your last wishes."
Luke finally lost it, as he began to turn around. "You know what-"
"..."
His crew had already left him as they ran towards the 'villagers'.
(Calm down.) Luke took a deep breath and looked at the goblin chief, who was looking at him, its lips curled in obvious mockery.
"You think I can take you, eh?" Luke sneered as he took up his fighting stance. His veins began to glow as his body slowly began to be filled with fire mana.
(Fire Infusion: Surge!)
A fiery aura burst from Luke's body as his strength skyrocketed. "We'll see about that."
*Boom*
The ground exploded beneath their feet as the two vanished, reappearing in front of each other, blades clashing.
The chief's face was the epitome of surprise as he watched the boy, who was barely the height of his knee, match his strength.
Luke sneered, "Surprised?" Luke said as he managed to deflect the orc's eyes, leaving him open to attack.
And Luke took that opportunity.
(Fire Infusion: Augment.)
Luke's blades glowed as fire mana coalesced in them. With a smile of a predator, he slashed at the goblin chief's shins.
The goblin let out a pained shout as it backed away quickly, saving its foot from being completely decapitated.
He swung its axe in an attempt to buy time.
It failed miserably.
Luke flickered through its sight as he appeared by its head, his hands pointed towards it.
"Scarlet Explosion!"
*Boom*
The chief was blown back, half of its skin burnt to cinders. It managed to stabilize itself as it looked at its opponent with unbridled hatred.
"Don't die on me now," Luke said lightly.
The lost skin quickly grew back, as if in response to Luke's taunts.
Seeing this, Luke twirled his blades with the chain that attached them as his smile widened to an unnatural level.
"Good."
. . .
Tara moved like a phantom as she passed through the horde unhindered, leaving trails of bodies in her wake.
Of course, she took extra effort to avoid the places where the 'big shots' gathered, leaving them for her sister and Harry to deal with, thereby avoiding trouble.
Alas, though, it seemed trouble was taking extra effort in finding her.
From the corner of her eye, Tara caught several objects approaching her at high speed, causing her to jump in evasion.
"Tsk," Tara clicked her tongue as she switched her daggers for her guns. "Damn shamans."
*Bang**Bang**Bang*...
A rain of bullets shot towards the group of shamans that seemed to have it their mission to disturb her. Several shamans cast defensive spells to defend against the onslaught.
"Eh?!" Several hobgoblins made their way towards Tara, leaving her dumbfounded.
Shamans? Hobgoblins? Surely, she was not that important!
Still in the air, she noticed that the same thing was happening to her two team members.
(I see; divide and conquer.) Tara thought as she landed on a golem's shoulder. Her eyes narrowed as a small smirk played on her features. "This should be fun."
Tara jumped off the golem and sank into its shadow, reappearing in front of the hobgoblin squad and catching them by surprise.
She had switched to her daggers by this point, as they glowed dangerously.
"Violent Strike"
*Flash**Boom*
Arcs of concentrated mana left her blades, slicing through several hobgoblins in one go, then taking out another five in an explosion.
Tara smiled dangerously, causing a shiver to run through the remaining hobgoblins. With just one move, she had taken out more than half of them.
"Now here comes the hard part," Tara muttered as she dashed towards the remaining hobgoblins who charged in response.
Tara smiled even more. The fight was going to get harder, now that she had lost the element of surprise. Or had she?
"Flash step."
*Crackle*
Lightning danced around Tara's feet as her figure blurred, appearing in front of the nearest hobgoblin.
*Flash*
A head flew, but Tara didn't really care as she had already moved onto the next target.
The target swung its sword in fear. After all, who wouldn't be afraid of someone who could eliminate their kind so easily?
Tara flipped forward, avoiding the blade as she switched to her pistols and took aim mid-air.
*Bang*
The bullet entered and exited the head as the hobgoblin dropped to the floor, dead.
Tara rolled upon touching the ground, avoiding another attack while simultaneously closing the distance between them.
The hobgoblin, feeling the gun's muzzle against its chin, didn't have time to comprehend its death before the gun blew out its brains.
Tara watched as the remaining hobgoblins backed away in fear.
Not wanting to let her hard-earned advantage slip away, she attempted to pursue.
Until she didn't
*Boom*
Tara watched with amusement as the spells the shamans meant for her decimated the remaining squad of hobgoblins.
(Well, I can't let such courtesy go unrewarded.) Tara mused as she stepped into the shadows and reappeared by the shamans.
Unlike the hobgoblins, though, they seemed to be prepared for her as they launched several spells at her.
(No matter.) Tara thought as several metal walls arose to provide cover as she ran around the shamans.
Her guns sparked with electricity, causing her arms to begin to numb as it licked her skin.
But she didn't care, though
"Lightning Bolt: Chain Effect"
Tara shot several bullets constructed of lightning that raced towards the shamans, passing them, and converging at their center.
*Crackle**Boom*
Tendrils of lightning struck every goblin magician, rendering them paralyzed.
Then the slaughter began.
Everybody was completely focused on bringing down the village as soon as possible.
Maybe it was because of this they didn't notice a little goblin grab a horn almost as big as itself and-
*Voooooooooooooommmmmm*