A mighty cry signals the beginning of battle. With the skill [Warcry], I force the World Breaker's attention upon me whilst the rest of the warriors spread out, as we have planned beforehand. When fighting [World Breaker Behemoth] back in Elysium Online, she tended to move around her boss arena a great deal and uses a variety of area-of-effect attacks. The key to victory was to spread out as much as possible to minimize overall damage done to the party while dealing as much damage as possible during moments when she would stop moving, usually after an attack. Careful maneuvering and knowing when to spot an opportunity to attack are required of the players in that raid, something I trust the Dragonbrood warriors here can perform more than adequately. I can only hope it's enough.

With her eyes glaring me down and I with my sword raised, the World Breaker and I circle around one another. I suspect that she knows; that I will use the skill [Guarding Stance] and following it up with a [Counter Blast]. She won't attack carelessly. In that case, we'll just have to go after her ourselves.

From behind and from her sides, the warriors move in to strike, from these angles, she should have no way of dealing with them other than to evade, and the move she'd use to evade and move around the arena was a great leap, repositioning herself on more or less any part of her arena. However, while it was an annoying maneuver to deal with, once you are able to track her trajectory and predict where she would land, the moment of landing can provide a great opening for dealing damage.

As expected, the World Breaker shoots up into the air in a single bound the moment the warriors close in on her. While I have never thought of it in the game, the maneuverability she displays is surprising for a creature of her size.

I raise my massive sword, charging after the World Breaker, aiming for the moment she lands. She'll be at the very edge of the cavern, against the walls, likely in an attempt to avoid being flanked. A sensible move on her part, but it matters not as I plan to cripple her with a single swing. Since this isn't a game, which has limited interactivity due to the engine limitations, this world is real, and I should be more than capable of damaging her foot. Once that's done, she should lose her mobility and be cornered against the wall. Looks like this is going to be a swift battle, or so I thought.

As I run after her, I realize that she had jumped a little higher up than I expected, and if she keeps going, she'll hit the wall. The thought that she might have miscalculated crossed my mind for just a mere instant, an instant before realizing my mistake.

With her hind legs, the World Breaker bounces off the cavern wall. This was unprecedented, something I've never seen before, not in the game that is, as the [World Breaker Behemoth]'s boss arena was an open field, with no walls to jump off from.

Seeing this, I immediately hit the brakes, boring my foot into the ground to grind my charge to a halt and quickly enter the [Guarding Stance], expecting her to hit me with a [Ground Slam], one of the area-of-effect damage moves the [World Breaker Behemoth] uses. However, instead of attacking, the World Breaker hits the ground, sliding towards me with the momentum from her kick off the wall while maintaining a low posture. From her low position, she then further twists her body in a way that can only be done by a creature as dexterous as a cat and swipes her massive claw at me with an upward swing. The swing sends me into the air, but nevertheless, I have blocked the blow. Still in midair, my sword glows with a brilliant radiance from the World Breaker's attack, and though I am without footing, I manage to swing my sword forward for a [Counter Blast], sending out a devastating shock wave that fed off the damage the World Breaker had given me. Unfortunately, with her feline reflexes, the World Breaker easily rolls away, completely evading the attack.

The disappointment of missing what could have been a hefty blow hit me hard, but not as hard as the ceiling hitting my back. I was careless. Having fired off the [Counter Blast] in midair without proper footing, the force of the attack propelled me right into the cavern ceiling, slamming my back against it. Thanks to my armor, I have not sustained that much damage from the impact. For the landing, however, I am not so sure, if I even get to land in the first place.

Once more, the World Breaker leaps into the air, towards me who had just bounced off the ceiling. In midair, where I can neither fight nor flight, the World Breaker bears her fangs at me and I foresee clearly my own death. It's just like last time, back in the mountains. Just when I thought that I had trapped my foes, they went ahead and turned the table against me. I guess I am just that easy to read. Corona... Even though I said that I was going to get us home, even though I was supposed to be the one who is stronger, physically at least, you're the one who always had to save my ass.

Blood spills in midair and my heightened senses from the adrenaline pumping through my system allows me to see the smallest detail on them as they flutter like petals in the air. All I can think of at the moment is: 'Thank god those aren't mine'.

An arrow cut across the air and struck the World Breaker in her left eye, causing her to wince and snap her jaws where I am not, missing me completely to my relief. However, I don't even have the time to breathe a sigh before my body slams into the ground by the pull of gravity and then promptly bounces off it like a rubber ball. Not even my armor was able to protect me from this one.

The fall stunned me, making it so that I am unable to move immediately and leaving me at the mercy of the World Breaker who landed right after me with much, much more grace, and like the colossal feline she is, the [Corrupted] Keeper pounces at me like a cat upon its prey.

I raise my sword to defend in panic, but without a proper stance, I am more than sure that she'll break through. I am not sure how much damage I'll take, but as long as I don't die, I can still do something. Someway, somehow, I just have to get back on my feet.

I brace myself for damage, but just as I steel myself, from the left side of the World Breaker, from where she is now blind, a total of five warrior slams into the [Corrupted] Keeper with their shields, using the skill, [Shield Charge], and successfully knocking her to the side. At the same time, I can feel a pair of burly arms hooking under my own before finding myself lifted and pulled away.

"Quickly, heal the Champion! The others can't hold the Keeper for long!"

From some distance, I hear Nibal shouting, and once I am far away enough from the World Breaker, the two burly arms lay me down on the ground and a pair of Dragonbroods begin casting healing spells upon me.

"Hah, that was a close one wasn't it?"

"By the Holy Serpent, I thought it'd be the end of you there."

My two healers start chatting, both looking somewhat in shock but still finding ways to cope. I am grateful that they're as capable as they are.

"You guys truly are the best warriors of the Dragonbroods. I would have been dead without you."

"We are merely performing our duties as warriors. Come, you should do your part as well. You are our proud Champion, no?"

Oh great, pushy healers, but I'll let it slide. Besides, they're not wrong. We won't win if I don't do my job right.

***

Upon recovery, I charge back into battle, letting out a thunderous [Warcry], pulling the World Breaker's attention towards me. With the World Breaker's attention on me, the warriors move in to strike once again, and again, the World Breaker leaps into the air. Of course, this time, I have no intention of letting things play out the same as before.

I lift my left leg into the air before swinging it back down, all the while swinging both my arms down with sword in hand. Then, I let go, as the arc of the swing is at the point where my sword is just about to reach the point furthest from me, I release my grip and send the sword flying forwards. This is the modified version of the Assassin skill, [Blade Toss], something I've been toying with, but never found a practical use until now. Of course, back in Elysium Online, there's no system for modifying skill behavior, but here, without system restrictions and limitations, I get to mess around with them a bit more by altering my own actions. That said, due to the massive size of the object I've just flung forward, I fall right into the ground face first, the skill is imperfect and causes damage to myself, but this is minor comparing to what will happen next.

Spinning as it flies through the air, my greatsword heads directly towards the World Breaker at high speed just as she is about to kick off the cavern wall. Urgently, she twists her body, redirecting the force of her leap, and instead of coming right at me like last time, the World Breaker was forced to land to the side, all according to plan.

"There, do it!"

"No need to yell, I know!"

From the dust clouds raised by the World Breaker's abrupt landing, a shadow comes slithering through, and with the pair of shortswords I've lent to him, the shadow, Seif, strikes at the tendons of one of the World Breaker's hind legs, gouging a wedge off with the twin blades.

The World Breaker hisses in pain as a flood of blood spills from her heel, the hair on her back standing on ends and her reptilian tail rises stiffly into the air before it begins thrashing about.

With [Shadow Step], Seif narrowly avoids the tail's wild swings, and with his escape, I allow myself to breathe easy. Had he been struck, he would have died. Unlike the rest of the Dragonbroods, Seif is simply not as large or strong, something that he's made up with dexterity and stealth. Without a doubt, he's good, but I was reluctant to have him approach something as large as the World Breaker alone. After all, one misstep and he could have been crushed.

"Lord Oro."

One of the warriors approaches me, presenting me with the greatsword I have just thrown. Gratefully, I receive my weapon before turning towards the World Breaker.

There, against the wall, the World Breaker glares right at me with foam bubbling from her maw, and though the [Warcry] skill is still effective, I am sure she knows that I'll be dealing the final blow. I am the only one that gets to approach her directly and get out in one piece. My defense is the greatest of those here and my strength is the highest of every one of the Dragonbroods. I knew that, and because of it, I always thought that I had to be the one to take the brunt of everything, that I have to carry everyone else to victory, and I am the one who has to, and is able to, do so.

With my greatsword raised up high, I charge at the World Breaker, and seeing my approach, the World Breaker, swipes her large claws at me in desperation. Just in time, I raise my [Guarding Stance], taking on the blow with minimal damage. Upon hit, I adjust my stance, preparing for the [Counter Blast]. However, just as I shift my balance, the World Breaker sees her opportunity and twirls around on her forelegs, and along with her body comes her massive tail. She's coming in for a [Tail Sweep], an area-of-effect move that not only deals damage to everything immediately in front of her, but deals high physical damage. It'll one-hit-kill anything that isn't a tank. If I'm hit, I doubt I'll recover any time soon. I knew that, I saw this coming, that's why I never intended to lower my 'guard' in the first place.

The massive tail struck, but my feet are still firmly planted on the ground, my greatsword steadily in front of me, still maintaining the [Guarding Stance]. In Elysium Online, once you go into [Counter Blast], there is no way to cancel it, and that is true in this world as well. Once you begin the skill, it must go through. Perhaps I may hold it for a few seconds before shooting out the damage, but there's no going back once the skill activates. The reason why I am still in [Guarding Stance] is because I never intended to go for a [Counter Blast] in the first place. Twas but a feint, one could say. It is a common tactic, to attack immediately as a player is shifting from [Guarding Stance] to [Counter Blast], and once the player is hit with a [stun] or [knockdown], [Counter Blast] would be canceled. As such, only a beginner would go into [Counter Blast] immediately when hit every time. Sometimes, you simply need to hold your guard.

Surprised that her attack was stopped, the World Breaker froze for but a moment, but a moment was more than enough. In that half a second, an arrow cuts across the air, piercing into the World Breaker's remaining eye with a soft whistle. In pain, the Keeper trembles, holding onto its urge to thrash about carelessly before letting out a low growl. But, growl as it may, my blade is already swinging. With a [Counter Blast], I cleave the World Breaker's forelegs off with ease.

The Keeper falls heavily onto the ground, bleeding from all but one of its limbs. She growls in a low menacing voice but she no longer moves, with the only motion on her being her heavy breathing.

It is exactly as the Grand Keeper said. The Beastkin Keeper has weakened significantly. She didn't even try to heal when injured or use any of her spells.

"Let... it end..."

A faint voice resounds in my head. The Keeper is trying to communicate. Is she asking me to end her quickly? I suppose if I'm just lying in my own pool of blood with my arms and legs cut off, I'd want to die too.

"...... End the cycles... Nine..."

"Nine? What's that supposed to mean?"

From my side, Seif asks the question, a question I think I might just have the answer to. But, it seems like the World Breaker isn't talking to me specifically, she's just broadcasting her thoughts to whoever listening.

"... Let... it end..."

Not wanting to prolong her suffering, I raise my sword and bring it down upon her neck, removing her head from the rest of her body, spilling most of what's left of her blood onto the ground she had just been napping on before we came in.

"Looks like we did it."

"I guess we did. So, what are our loses, Seif?"

"Five injured two dead. Considering that we went up against a Keeper, we've done pretty well."

"I see..."

"Here, these are fine blades, as expected from something forged from the Holy Serpent's scales. I am glad to have a chance to wield them."

Seif returns my swords, the ones I lent to him, the ones that immobilized the World Breaker. I did so when I was being healed, calling Seif over so that I could hand the twin blades to him. However, I probably should have entrusted my shortswords to Seif from the start. It was like this as well back at the Beastkin fortress to the east, where I decided to charge in on my own rather than wait for Corona's [Meteor] to cool down and follow along with her plan. In the end, I got into trouble and Corona had to go in to get me out. It was like so in the mountains too, where I should have let Corona come with me rather than telling her that it would be dangerous and insisted on going alone. As much as I like to think otherwise, when I try to do things on my own, I tend to fail or mess up somewhere. I am afraid that I am just not good enough to take on the brunt of everything on my own. I may have the greatest defense and the highest strength, but I am simply not good enough to carry everyone through to the end.

"Keep it, Seif, you're better with it than I am. Things are only going to get tougher, so I'll be depending on you, you and everyone here more from now on."

Seif stares at me with both of his two independently moving eyes. Then, he gave me the cheekiest of grins, as cheeky as a lizard face can look like anyways, before patting me on my shoulder.

"Will do, friend. Will do."

As the [World Breaker Behemoth]'s body breaks off into particles of light, we tend to the injured, and when the last speck of light from the World Breaker's body fades away, we were ready to leave, carrying the bodies of the dead with us. When we get back to the cave entrance, we'll have Asha resurrect them as undead, as per Dragonbrood tradition, and have them walk home with us so that we can bury them in their homeland.

***

End of Chapter 59