Mist spread out across the city like a low hanging cloud. For Kesstel’s sake, I didn’t poison it or make it that thick. I also had a feeling that my mist wouldn’t impede the Volpoda that much. No matter where it was, one antenna would always be pointed at me and the other would point at Kesstel. It could be flying on the other side of the city, but it would stay zeroed in on us.

And keep coming back.

As soon as the Boss entered the mist, I Warped right onto the back of its head where one armor plate overlapped with the next one. The wind was thick with the stench of the gigantic monster, and its body was slick with a clear liquid that leaked from between the plates. The moment my feet touched the shell, the Boss arched its head, almost bending at a ninety degree angle. I was forced to step back as the top plate rubbed on the one I was standing on, like a razor over a smooth surface.

Even though the exoskeleton was thicker than my hand, its edges were razor thin and laid together perfectly. When it arched its back like this, there were no openings I could slide a sword into. At least not directly facing me.

The bottom of its exoskeleton, so smoothly put together when it was straight, slightly parted to accommodate the Boss bending backwards. As soon as the gaps spread, two of my kindjals stabbed into the holes. Unfortunately, Mist Blade only applied to the sword in my hands, not the ones that flew around me. A two-foot-long sword wasn't that effective against a twenty-foot-thick monster, but if I needed to bleed this monster apart one HP at a time, that was fine.

The monsters shuddered, the pieces of its exoskeleton rubbing against each other. More clear, stinking liquid leaked out from between the armor plates and dribbled down the tiny grooves in the armor till it oozed over and around my boots. My stomach twisted and I wrinkled my nose. If only the smell was the worst part. The traction between my boots and the Boss’s back was instantly gone. The wind ripped at me as the Volpoda streaked through the air, sliding me farther and farther back. It was hard to stay in the center, so I didn’t slip from one side to the other.

Suddenly, the two antennae arched back toward me. I jumped back, just before they touched me. Instead they touched each other. An electric explosion boomed so far and hard between the antennae that I didn’t have time to react. The electricity rippled all the way down the Boss’s body, crackling along the liquid lines that covered its body. The electricity shot through me from the liquid on my feet and the spark created by the antennae touching. The explosion was so bright that it almost overshadowed the sun. I was blasted right off the Boss’s back.

I yelled in pain as ten percent of my HP was blasted off just like that. A dull ringing echoed in my ears, muffling the sound of air rushing past me as I fell limp through the air. I could feel the mist rippling around me, but my muscles were all still seized up from the shock and my mind was fuzzy. I vaguely understood that I needed to do something. I was falling from hundreds of feet in the air, like a doll from a skyscraper.

Jyn! Dimly, I recognized Goddess’s voice, but I couldn’t seem to respond to it.

Strong arms wrapped around me and I was hugged against a wide steel breastplate. Not the most comfortable, but as soon as I was hugged, I felt safe.

The gray haze that clouded my vision receded, just in time for me to see the Volpoda’s ugly, open mouth closing in on us.

Kesstel swung his sword and sent a blue tidal wave of magic at the gigantic centipede monster. The Boss ducked its head down again and deflected the magic attack into the rubble of buildings north of us. Dirt clouds exploded into the air, and piles of rubble were flattened wherever Kesstel’s power hit.

Kesstel landed on one of the few remaining standing buildings, his eyes following the movement of the Volpoda as it arched through the sky. “Are you okay?” he asked.

I took a breath and nodded slowly. The ringing in my ears was already starting to go away, and I could finally feel my limbs and fingers again. I pressed on his chest and he set my feet down. “That’s one helluva electric shock.” It blasted four thousand HP points off in one go. That’s worse than any attack the Orc Boss did.

Kesstel glanced at me and rubbed his gloved hand gently over my cheek. “Don’t let that happen again.” He didn’t tell me not to go back or suggest that I hide away while he fought alone. He just wanted me to be more careful. Even if I wasn’t, I knew he had my back.

“Yes. You watch out for it too. That thing’s a lot faster than I thought.”

He hummed in agreement. “I’m having a hard time getting high enough to attack it before it moves on. I can’t run on air like you. I’d like to just blast it out of the air, but I’m worried about hitting you.” We both turned our heads and looked up as the Boss closed in on our location again. “Ready to jump back in?” he asked.

I nodded, grateful for Regen. My HP hadn’t had time to climb back up, but I could at least move again. My eyes narrowed as I thought of several ways to deal with the Volpoda’s super powerful attack. “Let’s try again.”

“Can you make it arch again?” Kesstel asked. “I was too far away last time to do anything.”

“Sure.”

“When you do, get out of there as fast as possible,” Kesstel warned.

I nodded and grabbed his hand. “Come on.” I jumped sixty feet up, Kesstel an inch behind me, matching me height for height. I created a block for us to stand on, just on the bottom of the mist cloud.

The Volpoda entered into the mist cloud again, aiming to swallow us.

“Let’s do this again,” I muttered and Warped.

I landed on the back of the Boss again. My feet landed on its back, a section behind its head, and I started to run down its body. Even with Feather Step, I was sure to avoid the wet clear goo along the long body.

The Volpoda instantly arched its head back, the antennae reaching for me. At the same time, I felt Kesstel’s power roar to life.

I Warped to the other far side of the mist cloud, just to make sure I was far enough away. I landed on a block and turned just in time to see a massive wave of Kesstel’s bright magic shoot up from where he stood, growing bigger with each foot it ate up. The blue magic, nearly fifty feet wide, hit the Volpoda just as the two antennas touched. The two magics exploded together creating a ball bigger than the Boos, the white-yellow and bright blue fighting for dominance. A sonic boom that rippled through my mist.

I winced as both the effect of my mist displacing and the sound of the explosion made my body ache. The light was so strong, I couldn’t even look at it. Even when I closed my eyes, I could see a glaring afterimage. The ring from the explosion ripped through my mist, getting closer to me. I knelt down and grabbed onto my block a second before the boom’s ripple hit me. The mist around me was knocked away, but I forced the solid stuff I was on to stay still. It hit me, the force of it like a giant hand that was squeezing me into a ball on all sides. It was so fast, I was left a little disoriented when it was gone.

Breathing slowly and evenly to settle my rattled nerves from the whole thing, I opened my eyes.

The blue-yellow sun in the middle of the city’s sky began to fade. As it faded, the long shape of the Volpoda dropped to the ground. It landed with an earthquake rumble, sending a huge dust cloud into the air.

Kesstel was still on the pedestal that I made for him, but he bent over and braced himself on his knees. That attack must have taken a lot out of him. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to kill the Boss.

The Volpoda rose out of the dust cloud and arched its body, as if agitated. Its hundreds of feet stabbed into the ground as it jerked and withered, streams of black blood flowing from between the armor plates on the first fourth of its body — the plates that had opened up when it bent back to attack me when I was running on it. Electric bolts flared all over its body as it thrashed around, frying the Mega Annelids that were attempting to flee from it.

I Warped over to Kesstel and quickly collected all my mist, except for the block that we were standing on. “You okay?” I rested a hand on his arm.

He nodded. “Fine.” His eyes zeroed on the Boss below. “Ready to kill it.”

I agreed. “See you in a minute.” Then I jumped forward. Mist exploded out from me and fell over the Boss.

The Volpoda jerked, the vapor obviously agitating it more. Then I Warped just to the right of it. One of its legs had been blasted off on this side, and several other limbs were missing a couple plates of armor. But most interesting to me were the small gaps broken off from its body armor. I couldn’t — or shouldn’t at this point — get under the Boss to see what the place leaking black blood looked like, but I could still make do with this. A split second later, I Warped right on top of a leg and stabbed my Mist Blade into the tiny gap between the armor plates on its body. The outside of the Boss was nearly impossible for me to stab through. But as soon as I got past that, I found that the inside of the Boss was like poking melted butter. There was practically no resistance.

The Volpoda convulsed, a small shock crackling down its body. Since I wasn’t standing in its liquid, it didn’t do enough damage to force me off. The leg I was on jerked and the surrounding legs thrashed, attempting to stab me. The body quickly turned and rolled up, trying to catch me in the middle of it. I was too fast and Warped away before it could catch me. I landed on the ground twenty feet away, all four kindjals out and ready to find more holes in its armor.

The antennae lifted, reached out towards me. Before they could touch, I encased the right tip with a mist block and slammed the block to the ground. The other antenna sparked, but there was no massive electric explosion because they couldn’t touch. The Volpoda’s mouth opened in a soundless wail as it jerked its head, trying to get the antenna free. Inch by inch, it started to slip out of the confinement.

Careful of the other antenna, I landed on top of the stuck one. The Mist Blade shrunk down to normal size and I slid it between the armored layers that made up the antenna. As soon as it was in, I activated the Mist blade. With a crack, the end of the right antenna broke off.

The Volpoda thrashed its giant head. The mandible on the side of its mouth jabbed out at me. I lifted my kindjal just in time and blocked the attack. It was still strong enough to make my boots slide back on the pool of black blood I stood on. Tiny lightning arcs danced all over the Boss’s body. I couldn’t tell if it was on purpose or not. The only thing I knew for sure was they were half the strength as before. Cutting the antennae must have affected its lightning magic somehow. As for what exactly, well, I’d take what I can get.

A small arc of lightning ran down the mandible to me. Before it could touch me, I Warped to its other side.

The Boss turned its head, trying to attack me. It stabbed its many pointed feet at me, swung its head and lashed out with its mandibles. Every time it stepped down, the ground shook in a mini earthquake. I Warped from one place to the other, slashing at the joints when I could. My flying kindjals shots around its legs, searching for weak spots to jab into. Unfortunately, I was on the move so much, I couldn’t find too many good spots to attack. There were just too many appendages and parts I had to dodge. I thought the Boss would be slower on ground. Guess I was wrong.

Suddenly, Kesstel appeared on the Volpoda’s head. For whatever reason, it didn’t notice him until he stabbed his sword down into its black right eye. The Boss flung its head back so fast that Kesstel was thrown into the air. He twisted and landed cleanly on the Boss’s back. He glanced at me, our eyes connecting for just a split second.

I understood him instantly.

I Warped in front of the Boss’s vulnerable chest, and stabbed my Mist Blade into the still-bleeding opening. The Volpoda withered violently. Its pointed legs convulsed and curled in, clawing at me. The sharp tips of the armored claws hit a mist bubble around me. Furiously, it stabbed and gouged at the bubble, but it couldn’t puncture more than inch into it.

I gritted my teeth and hung on to my sword. Tiny little lightning jolts pulsed through my body, but I refused to let go. Even with my ten foot blade wiggling around inside the Boss, I still couldn’t reach the energy crystal. I was two feet too short. But my hilt was pressed all the way against the small opening I found. But that didn’t mean I was willing to give up stirring up the Boss’s insides.

The Boss violently dropped to the ground. Not because it was injured enough or out of energy, but because it obviously wanted to smush me under its weight.

I gasped and got ready to use my barrier as a shield. The movement of the Boss was causing the mist around me to be thin, but maybe I could still Warp out of here. It just depended if the mist that touched me was connected to the mist away from here. Even so, I was reluctant to leave this spot because I was so close to the end goal.

Kesstel appeared beside me. He lifted his hands and caught the weight of the Volpoda. He grunted, his knees bending, but he forced the gigantic centipede’s body to tent around us.

Several of the Boss’s legs stabbed at him. I quickly expanded my barrier to cover him too.

I was grateful for him trying to protect me, but now we were both caught under this thing. I might be able to Warp out, but I didn’t want to leave Kesstel behind and I didn’t know how his movement worked. Could he even get out if I did?

The Boss continued to stab at my barrier as it pressed down on Kesstel. Tiny electric jolts arced between the gigantic centipede’s body and ours, each one shaving off chunks of HP. The constant zings were almost more nerve wracking than they were painful.

Suddenly, something exploded on the Volpoda’s right side. The monster jolted and eased up a bit on us. From the small gap between the armor’s legs, I could see the expedition Hunters sprinting closer.

*****