“The vial!” Shouted the leader of the Hashashin as he dashed in the direction of Gaffron. It seemed that he didn’t care about the thick green mist shrouding the entire laboratory.

Likewise, Arthur didn’t go out of his way to stop the Hashashin as they weren’t targeting him.

He shot toward the injured Devil Doctor while simultaneously casting a timely shining barrier that blocked an attack from the gargoyle before shattering.

“It is you again!”

The monstrosity was surprised to see a familiar soul, nevertheless, it didn’t hesitate to attack.

When it was about to strike again, its body was lifted in the air and then viciously slammed on the ground, causing a crisp sound of breaking scales to resound in the laboratory.

Sephron didn’t just attack the Gargoyle, he also targeted the unknown assailant.

Arthur felt his body jolt backwards, and unable to resist it, he was blown to the back like a cannonball.

[Law of Resilience]

[Law of Perception]

[Magick Sense]

[Spell-casting: Black Swirl]

[Spell-casting: Fireball]

[Spell-casting: icicle]

Dark, red, and icy-blue projectiles shot from Arthur as he got to his feet, his body turning half-tangible and merging with the Mist of Decay.

The Devil Doctor easily overpowered the incoming spells, so did the Gargoyle, but Arthur’s magic bought him time to close in the distance.

[Air Decay]

A powerful explosion imbued with pure and concentrated Mana broke part of the Laboratory. Gaffron faced all the Hashashin and surrounded himself with multiple layers of shiny blue barriers.

However, when the air grew still due to Arthur’s skill, everyone but the Gargoyle choked and were unable to react for a couple of seconds.

“Out of my way!”

The Gargoyle was about to stab Sephron again only for Arthur to intercept him: He caught the monster’s fist and immediately used [Wither Touch].

“Rrrgh!”

Feeling the Light Energy being slowly sucked out its body, the Gargoyle stomped the ground and spun its body in an attempt to push the parasite away.

[Berserk(Active Lv5)]

[Frost Blast]

The ground froze as Arthur used more strength and managed to lift the Gargoyle and throw it a distance away.

He didn’t follow up with an attack, instead grabbing the nearby Devil Doctor and fleeing out of the laboratory.

The Mist of Decay grew thicker and began swirling rapidly before it vanished.

The Hashashin were the first to recover, their sword hacking and slashing at Gaffron’s barrier.

Meanwhile, the Gargoyle unfolded its bat-like wings and shot toward the exit with unprecedented speed.

It had grown stronger thanks to the Light energy, but Arthur’s recent power-up was even more impressive. He didn’t even have a sword, which would have given him more of an advantage, yet he was able to briefly fight the Gargoyle and even push it back.

The chase lasted for barely two minutes before Arthur appeared in the ruins he was supposed to find.

“W-who… are…”

The Devil Doctor no longer had the strength to fight back. His index finger was pointing toward his wounded chest, emitting an ever-so-slightly white light.

“For now, I’m your savior.”

Arthur let go of the Devil Doctor and turned around to face the Gargoyle.

“No more running?”

It seemed pleased to see its ‘Master’ coughing blood and unable to even stand up properly.

Arthur, in the short dwarven body, smiled and shrugged his shoulders

“We haven’t finished our last fight.”

“Or you can walk awa-”

The Gargoyle was cut-off as the Parasite kicked the ground and shot forward as green mist burst from his hands.

The two clashed against each other a few times before they retreated to their initial positions.

“You’re not actually blaming me for what happened to you, are you?” Asked the Gargoyle, sounding a bit confused.

“I just want to kill you.”

Arthur bent down and put his hand on the ground.

[Wither Touch]

He felt a surge of power swell within him as his body turned into a sponge that absorbed all energy, ambient or not.

The ground itself turned colorless and withered while his body glistened with an azure light.

“It’s a shame. We could have achieved so many things together.”

[Pyromancy]

[Spell-Casting: Fireball]

A ball of flame that kept expanding appeared above Arthur.

The Gargoyle’s scales turned white and a massive quantity of Light Energy emanated from his right hand.

His left one had a mass of ominous Darkness.

“Light? W… what have you done!”

Sephron struggled to his feet, his breathing heavy as blood kept gushing from the gaping hole in his chest.

He needed his potions and equipment to treat the wound. It wasn’t something that could be healed with just Magic, especially since the Gargoyle had infused his surprise attack with Darkness-aspected energy, which was known to render the target vulnerable and weak.

The massive fireball descended upon the Gargoyle, which extended both of its glowing big hands and unleashed waves of Darkness and Light.

Opposite types of Magic, which should have been incompatible, merged together and upon coming into contact with the fireball, they consumed it in the blink of an eye.

[Sanguis Barrier]

A yellow-ish translucent wall appeared in front of Arthur, absorbing the impact and not breaking.

However, the Gargoyle was already charging toward him and shooting projectiles made of Light.

The wall-shaped thin barrier moved to the side and blocked the projectiles, which were targeting the Devil Doctor.

Arthur was about to intercept the enemy only to feel a familiar yet strange sensation.

Two figures appeared on his left and right: Isabella and Lucy.

“We need help.” Said the young girl, and when Arthur focused on her, he could see the half-destroyed laboratory.

It didn’t matter how they got there, but Chris and the rest were currently facing the Hashashin.

“I’ll need my storage artifact. Also, try to get those corpses once you’re back in control. You… fight him!”

Lucy, who was the target of his words, frowned but didn’t object.

…

“Fuck! I didn’t mean… ah!”

Christopher instinctively raised his hands as a Hashashin dashed toward him and slashed down with his sword.

Fortunately, Arthur intercepted it with his barrier and then, using Isabella’s body, grabbed the assassin’s sword and pulled it out of his hand.

[Sword Blast]

That Hashashin, along with another one who stood a bit close, were sent flying by the blast. They crashed into some wooden tables and when they tried to get up, Evelyn appeared next to them and thrust her blades into their heads.

“Master, take care of that one!”

She pointed at the leader of the Hashashin, who had a savage red aura around his body.

“I…I’ll need some assistance!” Screamed Gaffron as he gritted his teeth and raised his staff, which let out a blinding light that momentarily bound the enemy.

There was chaos all over, but two of four Hashashin were dead.

Evelyn bent forward and leapt at another assassin while Arthur used the Mist of Decay to obfuscate himself and close in on the rampaging Hashashin leader.

The man was relentlessly attacking Gaffron, paying no heed to the death of his comrades or the arrival of Chris and the others.

Arthur reached him in just two seconds, first swinging a long misty scythe at his back, and when that missed the mark, he thrust his sword at him.

The Hashashin side-stepped, pulled back his sword and then slashed at the floating mist, splitting it in half and forcing Arthur out of his semi-stealth.

He quickly followed-up with another stab, his sword turning blood-red and emitting a haunting scream.

[Slime Me Not]

Isabella’s body turned into a liquid and avoided all incoming damage.

[The Crescent Moon]

The Hashashin, yet again, turned his attention to Gaffron and was about to strike with his red sword only for a silvery moon to flash in the air and let out a frighteningly strong explosion.

The entire laboratory shook and the ceiling was about to collapse at any second.

Arthur, through [Magick Sense], saw the aura around the Hashashin growing even stronger despite him getting hit.

The man’s clothes were shredded and he sustained a couple of bloody wounds, nevertheless, he was still on his feet.

Calm, his flashing crimson eyes suddenly closed, both of his hands holding the sword, which he raised upwards.

“Fuck you!” Shouted Chris while pointing his open hand at the Hashashin.

[Space Fracture]

[Space Fracture]

[Space Fracture]

The three spatial tears forced the assassin to move out of the way only to be hit by [Sanguis Barrier], which took the shape of a spinning pyramid.

Like a drill, the barrier pierced through the man’s left shoulder and almost dug through into his chest.

A groan of pain escaped his lips as he hastily retreated. Alas, a fast silhouette, which he hadn’t noticed, jumped at him from the rear.

[Frost Blast]

His feet were frozen as Evelyn’s twin blade, criss-crossed together, struck his back. She had disposed of the other Hashashin and joined the fight against the leader.

The assassin was blown forward, rolling on the ground while leaving a fresh trail of blood.

“Isabella!”

“I’m on it!”

Arthur gave her back her body but he didn’t return to his. He could see Lucy fighting the Gargoyle and, surprisingly, overpowering him.

“How? How? This doesn’t make sense! No!”

The monster was freaking out as half its body was burnt and the other half was covered in bits of ice.

The dwarven body, controlled by Lucy, flared up in golden flames before jumping in the air and cascading on the target like a golden meteor.

“I will not be bested!”

The Gargoyle let out a hellish cry and opened its mouth: Behind the rows of disgusting and pointy teeth, a ray of light shot forth and, in an instant, struck Lucy before she could reach him.

She fell from the air and crashed into the ground with a loud thud.

“Let me!”-Isabella

More than half of the dwarf’s body was gone due to the overwhelming Light energy. However, when Isabella took control for just a couple of seconds, the body healed back to full as if it sustained no damage whatsoever.

Arthur was the next to control the dwarf. He raised a barrier and blocked another ray of light.

The Gargoyle kept shooting quick blasts of Light from its mouth but Arthur’s [Sanguis Barrier], strengthened by the energy absorbed from [Wither Touch], was able to block them.

A minute later, Evelyn, Chris, Charles, Gaffron, and Isabella appeared in the ruins.

“Hah!”

Noticing their arrival, the Gargoyle sneered. It spread its wings, which turned pure white and shone with a Holy aura.

“The bind is broken, Master.”

It stared right at the Devil Doctor while grinning. Its body was slowly recovering from the wounds. The process was slow but visible to the naked eye.

“I will not waste my time with pests like you!”

It took to the air, clearly about to escape.

“Don’t let it! Stop it!”-Sephron

Arthur was about to attack, but when he sensed the arrival of at least ten Hashashin, he stood his ground and directed the barrier close to Chris and Charles.

“I only managed to get one body.” Whispered Isabella before the connection between the three of them ended, at last.

Lucy didn’t say anything, though her eyes kept following the Gargoyle until it was out of sight.

Chris and co edged close to the Devil Doctor and the Parasite while more and more Hashashin revealed themselves.

They numbered no less than 20, all of them armed to the teeth and positioned around the group.

“You… how?”

Gaffron stared at the leader of the Hashashin, who arrived a couple of seconds later. The man was bloodied and barely able to walk properly.

They had fled the laboratory just as the ceiling collapsed, so they didn’t expect him to survive, much less chase after them.

Arthur leaned closer and whispered,

“Can you teleport us away, Chris?”

“I’m out of Mana.”

Arthur sighed and swept his eyes across all the Hashashin.

Even individually, they were strong fighters capable of surviving multiple hits from him.

Evelyn could hold her own against three to four of them, but Charles, Chris, and Isabella would be killed.