Mash swung his tail at the three demons flying towards him. Even if they were estimated to be past level 100, Mash had a lot of bonuses running through him. He didn’t think that the creatures would be able to take the blow. Not that they didn’t try, like the one on the far right held out its arms to catch the swinging tail. Mash was surprised when it succeeded in stopping the blow for a moment, though it was only a moment. With another push, Mash was able to slam the demon into the ground. Although the creature seemed unfazed as it rose from the crater the impact had made, without any serious problems. There was some blood and one of its arms looked broken, but Mash could see it healing already.

Another enormous attack of black fire crashed into him, this time the explosion was large enough that the attack itself killed dozens of lesser demons. It had been a lance of fire that crashed into him and attempted to drill through the wood. After a moment it had exploded burning a big chunk of Mash’s wooden imitation. The size of his imitation was providing a lot of benefits now as his body was hidden deep within. If these demons wanted to get to him, it would take a lot more than some fire.

To Mash’s surprise, the next attack did manage to hurt him. It was unexpected because the attack had been lightning-based, although it was also black like the flames. The lightning had rained down from one of the demons, and it had spread throughout his body when it hit. He only took the damage as it coursed through the wood, but he was not expecting them to be able to damage him. It struck his soul as the surge passed through him, shocking it. It felt like he may as well have swallowed literal lightning with how much his insides felt like they were burning.

Mash needed to boost his toughness and power, so he began changing to his dragon form. As he changed forms from the treant form he felt his connection to the imitations of Priscilla diminish, but actually felt that his connection to the draconic imitation strengthen. He also felt more connected with the wood now, which he thought was strange considering the change. Matching his form to his imitation must provide some additional benefit that he was unaware of. Something to be tested later, for now, he took advantage of the sudden boost of speed and power.

He swung his wooden claws down on the two demons, ignoring the one that was still trailing slightly behind. The speed of the swing was far faster than even he expected, and the demons were similarly unprepared. It seemed like his bonuses were applying to the dragon form too, and hunt was giving him a huge benefit with the stacking effects. The demons managed a half-formed shield of fire, but that did nothing more than singe his wooden claws. The hand slammed them into the ground, as he filled his throat with lightning. The demons that were slammed into the ground were still alive, but he opened his mouth towards the one that was charging at him.

He let out a stream of lightning. It came out as a single continuous bolt that was as thick as a house. The sound of thunder was deafening as the blast hit the charging demon. It was launched by the force and dragged off into the distance, and he had no idea how far the demon had been sent. It didn’t matter though as Mash felt the rush of a level up from the attack. It seemed like for all of its physical defense it was not built to deal with lightning. What about the anti-magic from the demon he had fought earlier? He remembered how that demon had caused his magic to degrade. It seemed like not every demon-possessed that ability. Now, he was doubly glad he had killed that one when he did.

That was one of the three and he turned to face the remaining two, as new attacks were sent his way. Mash raised his hand to intercept the blast of black fire and lightning. There was something else mixed into the magic, and his arm started decaying where the fire struck. His wooden imitation had taken significant damage at this point, and the decay was only exasperating the damage. Honestly, Mash wouldn’t be surprised if the imitation collapsed, but Mash would make the most of it.

Charging another blast of lightning, he used his tail as a whip to slap the demons into the ground again. The demons just fired more attacks at him, seeming to ignore the damage they had sustained and not even attempting to block his tail. It seemed like they were blinded by rage and madness, as they ignored their looming death to attempt to kill Mash in the process. The decaying effects of their attacks crawled over his imitation, and he would be lying if he said it didn’t hurt. It felt like the decay was directly causing him pain.

Mash trusted in his defenses though and worked through the pain. His tail pushed the monsters into the ground, but it was still not enough force to kill them. However, that was only the first part of his attack. He followed up by opening his mouth at the grounded demons, attempting to eat them. The huge wooden maw of his imitation tore up a chunk of the earth itself as he closed his mouth around the demons. Even that, was not the final part of his attack as lightning exploded within his mouth as he chewed on the demons. The demons didn’t give up either, or he felt the burning sensation of the fires within his mouth. He didn’t stop his lightning or the chewing though, not until he felt the rush of a level up. Only when he knew that they were dead did he stop.

Looking around at the demons on the ground, he was surprised in seeing how many had died from the result of his fight with the three demons. Mash’s draconic imitation was mostly useless now, and the decaying effect hadn’t ceased spreading. Abandoning the imitation, Mash decided he would fight the remaining demons with his dragon form, and the surge of power he felt coursing through his body. He was truly embodying his class today, and the amount of power he had gained from these beings would not be insignificant. Mash leaped from his imitation, slamming into a pack of demons, and letting out a wave of lightning from his hands. Even with his smaller size, he was able to produce a lot of power.

______________________________________________________________________________

Red P.O.V

Red was close, so close to leveling that even a single demon would be enough. However, the lesser demons had been avoiding them ever since Luke killed the first with his golden fire. It seemed an antithesis to their black flames, and they were terrified of it. If only Luke would steal their souls, he would have been able to gain power like mad. He restricted himself though, his honor doing him no favors in these fights. She had tried convincing him several times, arguing that stealing souls would let him save more lives because of it, but he refused adamantly. Apparently, his conviction was going to win against reason, and she guessed that was a good thing in the long run.

She focused on the road in front of her. Luke led the way, and she fired ranged attacks at enemies they encountered. However, it was clear that Luke was doing most of the work though, as she still hadn’t gained that final level despite killing a few of the mutated vermin. This city was really annoying to defend too.

The streets themselves were empty, but they had to walk around several pieces of debris and several corpses. Even with the fast response in the city, everyone could not be saved. There were too many buildings for things to hide in, and the paths in between buildings were too dark to notice any monsters lurking in them. Honestly, they had been jumped by a few packs of mutated creatures. Although, those moments only showcased how many stats Luke had really gained from his advancement. She was more than a little jealous of the others. While her class path was certain to be better than average, her friends had already far exceeded the notion of average. Did any nobles have classes that could compete with theirs? Years of determining a class path had been shown insignificant, in comparison to those existing around Mash.

She felt like that was the most probable cause, especially with all the events that kept chasing him. Her father had mentioned that there were people like that, who always seemed to be around the center of major events. Despite leaving the family, she remembered their teachings well and knew the benefits that would come from associating with someone like Mash. She doubted that she was the only one that had noticed either, the princesses had been very determined into worming their way into his family.

She caught it, a small shuffling out of the corner of her eye. It was a piece of paper that had collided with an object that she could not see. Without hesitation, she attacked the invisible obstacle attempting to cleave it in half. Her attacks cleaved into its side but got stuck. However, the attack did break its invisibility so that she could see the black flesh of a demon’s hand lunge at her chest. She held up her arms in a defense, but the demon’s claws pierced through them. It was a lot stronger than the ones she had encountered thus far, and her meager defenses couldn’t stop the hand as it plunged into her chest.

Pain lanced through her body as it felt like time had slowed down. She could feel as the fingers tore through her forearms, cutting them like a hedge. She wanted to scream but couldn’t as the creature’s hand pierced through her lungs soon after. Her first thought was not for herself, but for Luke who would have to face the invisible opponent alone. Even with all his benefits, a sneak attack would be able to kill him, she needed to do whatever she could. Accepting somewhat that she was going to die, she focused instead on attacking, drawing blood from her severed arms and chest to dig into the demon’s eyes, ears, and nose. To enter through any gap, she could find and flood the creature’s brain. She would at least damage the thing.

She heard a thump and felt the rush of a level up soon after. Luke had probably reacted by now and finished off the creature. She could vaguely see as the arm was pulled out of her chest, taking with it chunks of her flesh from God knows where. She vaguely heard shouting, though it was indiscernible in the cloud that was covering her thoughts. Panic set in quickly as death closed in, and she tried to do anything she could. Although she couldn’t focus to use her magic.

Regret seeped in as her mind struggled in desperation. She knew that assassins were the most dangerous classes. That a single powerful blow was usually all it took to kill someone, regardless of what their health status would indicate. She should have been more prepared against it, no, she just shouldn’t have joined. It had been a rash decision to try and keep up with her friends, and she barely caught up while dying in the process.

In her last moments, she focused inwards more out of curiosity than saving herself. How far had she gotten, and where could she have gone? That question led her to spending her last living moment checking her next advancement. Darkness swamped her vision as her consciousness was whisked away.