The warrior's scythe-blade struck the insectoid in the chest.

A thunderous sound of metal clashing against metal echoed through the chamber as the creature was sent flying against the cave wall. Broken pebbles and dust erupted upon the monster's impact, but from what Red could see, there was no damage to its chest.

Just as it sought to recover, Viran was already upon it. His large, dark weapon pounded the insectoid's body, making the air scream with each swing. His opponent was hammered against the wall after every blow, sparks flying off its exoskeleton. It was disoriented under the storm of attacks, but Red saw no cracks emerging in its carapace.

Finally, the insectoid managed to raise its hands and block the man's weapon more effectively. Viran's swings didn't connect with the creature's torso any longer, but he kept the pressure up. With its back pressed against a wall, however, the monster finally found an opportunity.

Ducking under one of the human's slashes, the thing's hand glowed green as it thrust forward into a punch under its opponent's guard. Viran, however, managed to react just as quickly. Moving aside to dodge the blow, his free hand grasped the striking arm of the insectoid and the man hurled the creature across the room like a ragdoll.

As Red saw the battle shift toward him, he decided to retreat to a safe corner of the chamber. The boy was glad to see that Viran managed to keep his advantage against the monster thus far, but not even his new sword was able to damage the thing's thick carapace.

The insectoid crashed against a stone pillar, the green glow dissipating from its hand. When the monster tried to pick itself up, however, it saw a shadow thrusting down toward its head. The creature threw a punch against the scythe, shifting its trajectory and causing it to stab the ground beside it instead.

It didn't have any time to react, though, as a fierce kick to the gut sent it soaring towards the cave walls once again.

The same scene repeated itself a few times, as Viran threw the insectoid around the room against the rocky surface, while the creature desperately tried to defend itself. Red thought back to the words of the man before the battle started. The importance of seizing the initiative was amply demonstrated in the fact that the monster was relegated to a punching bag. Still, no noticeable damage had been done to its carapace.

The insectoid was protecting its vital areas with more expendable parts of its carapace, but even those Viran could only scratch. Such a level of combat expertise was not something you would find in a normal monster. This led Red to feel as if the old soldier's situation was more pressing than what one might think from watching the combat so far.

Even if you could hit something a thousand times, what did it matter if you weren't able to leave a mark on it?

Sure enough, his worries were soon validated.

The insectoid was flying through the air once more, and Viran's figure followed a few meters behind. Suddenly, however, green spiritual energy exploded from the being's body. Its momentum was suddenly arrested as the force allowed the monster to reposition and land on its feet skilfully.

Viran didn't stop his charge, but this time the creature was ready for him. Ducking under its opponent's weapon, the insectoid whipped around and delivered a vicious kick against the man's stomach. This time, it was the soldier's turn to be launched a few meters back.

His feet slid back against the ground, but despite the pain, Viran retained his balance. He took up his combat posture once again, expecting the monster to charge and follow up on its attack. However, when he looked up he only saw a green light.

"Fuck!"

Viran jerked his body sideways, allowing the green energy bullet to slash across his chest, but not through it. Though his blood spilled across the ground, Viran was safe.

Once the insectoid had the initiative, though, it also wasn't keen on losing it. Seeing that its attack drew blood, the creature circled towards Viran's back, and spiritual energy covered its entire hand. Then the creature swung its arm in front of itself as if to deliver a chop, and a large green blade of light shot forward in the human's direction.

Red had never seen so much Spiritual Energy gathered into one place, and his entire body shivered, sending him a warning of danger. Viran's expression darkened, but this time he managed to throw himself entirely out of the way before the blade light managed to cut him in half.

The manifested energy crashed against the wall of the cave and a deafening boom rang out as the attack collapsed the rock surface in a large explosion. Red felt the ceiling tremor, and fear consumed him as he witnessed the display of what Spiritual Energy could do. Dust covered his vision for a few seconds, but the boy could still hear the sounds of battle happening in front of him.

Green spiritual light illuminated the chamber, as the insectoid sent a barrage of condensed bolts of energy in Viran's direction. The man continued to narrowly avoid them, but the strain was visible on his face. Red was aware of his situation and he could see that blood had started to drip once more from his bandaged stomach.

The creature didn't use the blade of light again, simply relying on shooting small round projectiles from its hand to put pressure on its opponent. The monster was in no hurry to push its offensive either, seemingly aware of Viran's deteriorating condition. Even now it kept its distance from the man, repositioning itself every time he tried to move close enough to attack with his weapon.

Ducking behind some rocks so as not to be hit by some stray bolt, Red could barely keep up with their movements. The boy didn't know the capabilities of a creature that had opened its Spiritual Sea, but there was no indication that it was going to run out of energy any time soon. It was a bad situation for Viran, and the man knew this too.

His efforts redoubled, but the insectoid was too fast, dancing around the chamber while shooting spiritual bullets at him. Eventually, the warrior failed to dodge a bolt in time, being pierced straight through his thigh. Viran’s steps faltered, and the insectoid saw an opportunity.

Spiritual energy started to gather on the monster's hand, and not willing to waste its attack again, it closed the distance to its opponent. The creature's right arm charged up while Viran did his best to move out of the way, but suddenly a shadow moved from the corner of their vision.

Red approached the foe from the flanks, chopping at the insectoid's side with his cleaver. The thing was surprised to not have noticed the kid's approach sooner, but it was still able to react appropriately, its left hand shooting back to slap the weapon away. The cleaver shot off from his grasp with incredible force, and Red almost felt his body go along with it as he fell to the ground.

The insectoid, however, didn't even spare the boy any more of its attention, turning back towards what it considered to be the real threat.

CRACK

The creature turned to Viran just in time to get the side of its skull smashed by his scythe. The monster's body soared away under the force of the blow as shards of broken carapace fell onto the ground.

"Get up, you fucking moron!" Viran screamed at Red. "I didn't give you my signal yet!"

"You were going to die..." The boy replied, but the man was already off.

Looking over, he saw the insectoid holding its head with one hand, green blood flowing down between its claw. Even after taking a heavy blow directly to the side of its skull, the creature still stood effortlessly. That, however, did not change the fact that the monstrosity had suffered its first real injury in the battle.

Viran crossed the distance between them quickly, even with his wounded leg. The creature, still stunned, could only raise its arms to protect itself as the scythe crashed down on top of it. With renewed fury, the man relentlessly smashed his weapon down against the monster.

The creature was pushed into the stone floor by the repeated blows, the ground cracking beneath it under Viran's overwhelming strength. Red eventually heard more sounds of shattering carapace over the thundering sounds of clashing strikes. The man had forced the insect into a terrible position, and not even its sturdy defenses would be able to last much longer under this kind of assault.

That was, however, when a sudden premonition of danger came over Red.

As if by instinct, his hands shot up to block his ears, but it was too late.

TCHRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

The deafening sound crashed against his mind, and the boy collapsed down onto his knees, his vision darkening for a second. The scream was shorter this time, but it still brought Red to the brink of unconsciousness. By the time he recovered, he heard the sound of splattering blood.

Looking over, Viran had 5 deep claw marks going across his chest from where the insectoid had slashed him. The man stepped back with unsteady balance, the screech having pulled a number on him from this close. The insectoid, however, was merciless with its attacks.

In a frenzied state, the monster jumped at the human, slashing with its claw. Viran barely had enough time to put his weapon up to block it. Scratching and clashing sounds echoed in the tunnel, as the insectoid unsparingly struck the scythe, forcing its opponent back step after step.

Eventually, another shattering sound was heard, but this time it came from Viran's blade. The weapon snapped in half, and one of the monster's claws dug into his already wounded side. The man, however, took the opportunity to strike back with whatever remained of the scythe at the creature's head. The insectoid was sent back stumbling as another piece of its carapace cracked and fell from its skull.

Viran, however, didn't push his advantage and instead limped back. The wounds were starting to mount on him, and his movements had noticeably slowed down since the battle began. Heavy and raspy breaths came from his figure, a noise Red recognized very well. The gasps of a dying man.

Seeing the situation, Red tried to approach him.

"STAY THERE!" Viran shouted, freezing the boy in his steps. "You still have your part to play..."

The man fished around his pouch, before taking out a white glassy rock. The insectoid, which was still recovering from its wounds, froze as it saw the object in the human's hand.

Red felt it before he even laid eyes on it. The Spiritual Stone.

Viran tossed aside the broken remnant of the scythe and reached down towards his ruined bandages, tearing them off his body. The gaping wound was exposed to the air once more and blood started to pour out of it at a much faster rate than before.

"Well, then... I guess I'll have to gamble a bit more." With that, Viran shoved the stone into his punctured abdomen.

A glow started to be emitted from the wound and Red saw white energy seemingly starting to flow around the man's body. Channels started to glow under his skin, like roots covering and spreading throughout the warrior's frame. The boy first thought they were blood vessels, but suddenly another image came to his mind. The wall of that cave where he had trained so many times.

Then it hit him.

12 Spiritual Veins on Viran's body glowed with energy. The man’s roar echoed throughout the whole underground.