"Noooooo!" Derek screamed, as memories resurfaced. He may have been deaf, but he had a family to return to—and now there was no body to bury.
Derek was visibly shaking, but not out of fear—it was rage.
He reactivated his Reinforcement skill and dashed forward, faster than ever before. The centipede let out a screech that carried waves of Mythical Force, tearing through everything in its path. But Derek didn't relent. He jumped into the air and activated a skill called Last Stand. A red hue enveloped his body as he sliced off one of the centipede's antennae. But he wasn't done. He stabbed his sword into the beast's scales and dragged it downward, tearing into its body.
Derek's attack had clearly wounded the beast.
The centipede didn't appreciate this gesture. It launched itself into the cave wall—but luckily, Derek had leaped off just in time, letting the beast slam into the rock.
The centipede was bleeding. But then… it stopped moving.
And just then, a green light began to surround it—it was healing from Derek's attack.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Mike muttered.
The beast let out another screech, unleashing a wave of Mythical Force at the group, pushing them back and further intimidating them.
"If it can heal, why didn't it heal from my attack? Wasn't it lethal enough?" Raizo asked.
"Either that," Harden replied, "or it couldn't."
"What are you talking ab—" Raizo began, but before he could finish, Harden had already run off.
I think I can do it, Harden thought. In fact… I can practically feel it. It's that same feeling as before.
His eyes began to glow yellow.
I think he did it like this… Harden thought, his movements now faster than ever.
"Isn't that... Reinforcement?" Derek thought, astonished.
Harden leaped into the air, and the centipede launched its body toward him like a snake striking its prey. But Harden was unfazed. He grabbed one of its antennae and swung himself, landing on its back. Then he used the martial arts skill Rupture, delivering a devastating palm strike.
The centipede began spewing blood from its mouth and crashed to the ground.
But the group didn't give it a chance to recover.
Derek and Raizo rushed in and sliced off several of its front legs. The centipede screeched in pain, but it wasn't done yet. Mike was already upon it, activating the Knight's skill Piercing Strike as he drove his spear into the creature's back. A loud bang echoed through the cave, and the centipede screeched louder than ever, releasing a massive wave of Mythical Force that sent the entire group flying.
The beast stopped moving, and once again, a green hue started to envelop it—ready to heal.
But just then, a fireball struck its face, canceling the process.
"I may not be able to damage you," Annie shouted, "but I'll still fight!"
"Nicely done," Harden said, charging toward the injured beast.
The centipede no longer crawled—it now took the stance of a coiled serpent, ready to hunt. It rushed toward Harden, but he dodged using Blink Step, landing on its back once more. Using the momentum of his jump and the power of Reinforcement, Harden grabbed hold and pulled down with everything he had.
"Just go down already!!" he roared.
Annie then used a spell called Flame Chain, wrapping it around Harden and pulling him down, dragging the beast further until it was slammed into the ground, exposing its chest.
BANG!!!
The beast shrieked in pain, struggling to rise—but Raizo, Derek, and Mike were already on it.
"This is for Dylan," Derek growled, as the trio unleashed a flurry of attacks on the injured centipede, finally killing it.
"Whew… it's finally over," Raizo said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Let's just take its core and scales and go home," Mike added.
After their extraction, the group made their way to the entrance of the Abyss—but something was off. It wasn't collapsing. In fact, they couldn't leave at all.
"What's this supposed to mean?" Harden asked.
"Beats me," Mike replied.
"Does this mean… that wasn't the boss? What's going on?"
The group was still in disarray when a deep, intimidating voice echoed from behind them.
"Bring the Thermal Mythril… and you'll get to see tomorrow."
"No way… why now? Why here?" Raizo thought, his heart pounding.
What the heck is Cataclysmic Revolt doing here...?