Inside of the wide, open chamber, there were creatures standing guard. Three large antlings, all of them completely different from a regular antling. The first was serpent-like, large, spiked mandibles on a giant purple head. Its body was slimmer, with almost no legs. Its armoured plates on its body reminded him of the giant magma worm they’d fought inside the cinder bastion.

The second, the one standing in the middle, was armoured beyond imagination. It reminded him of a Goliath, but a Goliath that had relations with an armoured vehicle and this was the grown up, oversized offspring.

The last looked almost ethereal. Wisps of energy floated from it like a spectre from the depths of hell, crafted by a demon. Its limbs and body constantly moved and morphed like a breeze. Leo got the worst feeling from this one. Punching a ghost didn’t sound all that easy.

Leo identified them:

Royal Guard - Level 75

Royal Guard - Level 78

Royal Guard - Level 79

The screeching began instantly.

All three of them in various volumes and intensities that made Leo wince with how strong it was. The middle, and most armoured, charged first, aiming to trample the group that had trespassed its queen’s lair.

“Formations!” Cecelia roared and people got into groups, splitting apart as Cecelia commanded. Leo was assigned to the snake-like antling, along with Ron and Ashley. Cecelia offered more units but Leo declined, he knew which ones were the most dangerous here, and the snake one wasn’t it.

But before he moved off, he had a job to do.

To stop this thing’s charge.

Power flooded through his body, Fuel the Fire eating up his stamina with reckless abandon as it pumped his muscles full of energy. His body hardened, his Earth Stance taking hold within him. A creature like this needed some internal damage to stop it.

“You awake Ells?” Leo asked his sleepy companion. She responded with giddy delight in preparation for what was about to happen.

Leo cracked his neck and made two fists. Gauntlets coated his arms, greaves covered his feet and lower legs, ending in sharp talons that dug into the ground beneath him.

His Elementum was at max, thankfully it stopped decreasing if it maxed out during combat. At least for a while. So Leo was going to, respectfully, fuck this thing up.

He walked forward, metal clanking off the tile as his companions watched, unmoving. They could all feel the power he was emanating, and knew to step back for now.

“Don’t break your arm now,” Ashley said.

Leo smirked to himself.

He was far beyond that now.

His body warped into motion, lightning moving him in a flash as Leo was suddenly face to face with the giant monstrosity.

It didn’t stop, continuing its charge. Leo’s fist slammed into its head as he uttered the words,

“Fracture.”

A low, heavy boom echoed out within the hall. Dust flew, carrying on the force of the blow.

The Super Goliath kept running with Leo standing atop its massive head. He didn’t move, just waited.

Its armour began cracking along its joint lines, the shockwave tearing it apart from the inside. The cracks spiderwebbed out, causing its legs to buckle under the pressure as it tumbled, tearing up the ground beneath it.

Leo jumped off, landing beside his friends once again. He dismissed the gauntlets and greaves, Ellie jumping out to land beside him, looking for praise.

“That should make things a little simpler,” he said, dusting himself off.

The creature wasn’t dead, but it was heavily wounded. But before they could finish it off, the other antlings had begun their assault in retaliation. The ghost antling summoned ghostly spectres, rising from the ground. A veritable army rose from nothing.

Leo was glad to not have to deal with that… for now.

A large splatter of acid spread over the air above them like a blanket, raining down upon them. Ashley lifted her hand and everyone was suddenly beneath a dome of light, completely protected by the spray. It was effortless.

“We have our assignments. Move out,” Cecelia said sharply.

The acid dispersed, taken to the ground by Ashley’s shield. Leo, Ellie, Ron, and Ashley ran to the left, getting into the path of the large serpent ant. Ron unleashed arrows of blinding orange light, each one dodged as the creature bobbed back and forth like a swaying cobra.

Leo was impressed by its speed, considering its incredible size. It towered above them all, easily five times the height of him. It suddenly felt a bit more dangerous than it was a moment ago.

It clamped its mandibles together threateningly as Leo dashed in, he still wasn’t using his Lightning Drive, opting to save it. The downside to the skill was extremely annoying when it came to consecutive fights. He’d already used all of his Elementum, and his Crownfall. He also wanted to recharge the Resonance he’d used.

So it was time to slug it out.

The creature kept them at range, spitting sharp darts of acid from between its mandibles. They hit the stone next to him, sizzling loudly as Leo dodged like the wind.

“This thing is so fast!” Ashley yelled. “Use your Zoomies!”

“Stop calling it Zoomies!” Leo called behind him.

“Hit it with a Frosty boy then!”

“A wha— Oh for f-”

Leo coalesced a Frost Lance into his hand, throwing it at the base of the creature. The serpent moved to dodge, the lance passing it by a tiny margin. Leo smiled, holding his hand up.

“Snapple!” Ashley cheered as Leo snapped his fingers.

This was his life now.

The Lance erupted into shards of ice, slicing into the Royal Guard’s flank. It shrieked in pain as it bled, surprising Leo at the damage caused. He expected it to be plated and armoured when he first saw it. But it was just a ruse.

“It’s fragile!” Leo called. “Pepper it with as much as you can.”

Ron started rapid firing arrows, some that curved and some that tripled in number. The creature lit up with a dim glow and started moving even faster, slithering about the area. It suddenly pounced on Ron, passing Leo in a flash of movement.

Ellie didn’t miss the attack, spinning in the air with claws extended. They slashed across the belly of the creature as it wailed.

The slice wasn’t deep, but it was effective in making the beast lose momentum. Ron was able to dash away, coating himself in sunlight that lifted him into the air.

“Keep it distracted,” Ron said. “I’ll hit it hard.”

“Do my best!” Leo called back.

He dug deep inside his soul, pulling forth his Stormforged Presence. He tried to mimic the pinpoint clamping he did when he lost his cool with Ruby, but it wasn’t quite working.

It did do enough to draw its attention, however. The snake-ant spun towards Leo and screeched in fury. It wasn’t afraid of him.

“Come on then,” Leo muttered.

The beast tore along the ground with fire in its eyes. Its massive, jagged mandibles were open wide and ready to cut him in half. Ellie tried to blast it with frost, but it manoeuvred around them, tilting parts of its body independently.

Leo breathed. Long and steady.

Fire coalesced into his hand, coating it in flaming hot sparks. He let it build, growing until it would take no more. Power flared. The serpent ant suddenly struck out, crossing the distance in a rapid motion.

Leo’s Nerveflash warned him with a sharp spark down his spine. In the same instant, he jumped, combining it with a Spark Dash that had him directly above it. He swung his fist down, aiming to blast a fiery hole in its head.

At the last second, even after his dash, the serpent ant moved. It tilted its head up like an autocorrection and Leo’s Nerveflash went wild. Instantly dismissing Scarlet Impact, he brought his hands together as fast as he possibly could, forced to activate Lightning Drive to do so for a brief moment.

Time felt like it slowed as the creature closed in, barely a second away.

*Clap*

A loud, echoing clap came together directly in front of its face and the Royal Guard was hit hard. It staggered, clamping early and missing him entirely. Leo grabbed onto its mandibles, and with a boost from Tailwind and his Cloak of Wind, amplified by Lightning Drive, Leo slammed the beast into the ground.

“Now!” he yelled, hoping whatever Ron was doing was ready.

“Shield him,” Ron said, and a shield formed over Leo, one of Ashley’s strongest.

“Horizon Piercer.” Ron’s words drifted out, carried on a wave of aura.

Leo’s eyes widened as he felt Ron’s skill activate. He briefly spotted the glowing light sitting in his bowstring, pulled back taut. He tilted his bow in a small half circle as the skill was unleashed.

Nerveflash sent a spark of danger up his spine as Ron released the string. All the speed in the world wouldn’t help him dodge that attack if it was aimed for him, apart from the emergency function that is.

Sunlight pierced through the back of the Royal Guard, boring a hole straight through it. It impacted part of the shield Ashley had coated him in, sending him flying backwards, completely unharmed but like a speeding bullet.

He watched on as the Royal Guard writhed in agony, green ichor splattering everywhere before it was cauterized by the heat of the sun burning from within.

Leo crashed into the wall, embedding into it as the shield dissipated.

Holy shit, that was some attack, Leo thought, pulling himself from the hole.

A notification came in shortly after he did.

You have slain Royal Guard - Level 75
Experience increased for defeating a higher-level enemy
+3500 Store Credits

Along with it came some level ups.

Your Elemental Adept class has reached level 70

Stat points distributed

+3 Free Points

Anchored Progression:

+1 All stats, +2 Free Points

Level 70 Elemental Adept Skill selection available

Ellie has reached level 66

Stat points distributed

+3 Free Points

Ellie’s gains from race:

+5 Free points

A level up for both of them, and a lot more fighting still to do. The skill notification would have to wait, there was no time for it right now.

After getting the notification for the serpent-like Royal Guard, Leo realised he hadn’t gotten the notification for killing the super goliath yet. He had expected his allies to finish it off after he’d stripped the armour and torn apart its insides, but after taking a look at the chaotic battlefield, it was nowhere near done.

The two remaining Royal Guards were rampaging, both of them seemingly working together now that one had died. The super goliath was visibly regenerating when struck, but thankfully not regenerating its armour plates. The Vitality on it must have been insane.

The ghost-like creature was hiding behind its horde, sending ghost after ghost into waves of flames and attacks. Leo couldn’t tell if it was wounded or not.

“Coming in!” Leo called, dashing into the fray.

“Get to the ghost! The army is overwhelming!” Cecelia called, cutting apart the ghost of a large antling.

“Got it!”

His Lightning Drive was no longer active, opting to let it fade so he could use it with more ease against the Queen. It came with a bit of a weakness, but not enough to slow him down too much.

He swung around the outside, footsteps barely touching the dirty stone. His head was kept low, trying to avoid detection. Even without Lightning Drive, he was quick enough to get to the ghost in seconds.

It noticed him as his fist lit up with scorching hot power. Wyrmstep sped him up further as he tried to land a decisive strike. It shrieked briefly, its body turning to smoke as it tried to avoid him. It vanished.

Leo’s fist hit the air, the skill fizzling as it found no target. Ellie was suddenly beside him, and spat out a breath of frost, aimed directly at him. Leo’s eyes widened, ducking just as he felt Nerveflash spark him with danger.

A frozen storm of breath cascaded above him, tickling the hairs on his neck with how close it came to hitting him. It wasn’t like Ellie to attack him so recklessly, and Leo instantly realised why when a shriek of pained annoyance made his ears ring from directly behind him.

He flipped up to his feet, handspringing forwards. He pulled a wall up with him as he did so, forming a protective barrier for him and Ellie.

“Nice shot Ells,” he said. She grinned at him.

Leo ran out from behind the wall, noting the frost that was somehow coating the form of the Royal Guard. It shifted in place, dodging back, wisps of ghostly energy started forming, changing into…

“Uh oh.”

Its mandibles, or what looked like mandibles, opened widely. So shockingly wide that it became a gaping maw of ghostly void.

Flames of white and green bellowed out of it like a waterfall from the lakes of hell. They licked across the ground in deathly spirals, barely touching the ground as it approached like a sea of fog.

Ellie jumped in front of him, and Leo felt she was going to roar again with Elemental Interdiction, but he scooped her up before she could. Something in his mind told him to stay the hell away from that fire. It wasn't a natural flame born from the Fire Essence, that was for sure.

She squeaked a little at the sudden grasp, but was delighted when he started carrying her.

The flames started spreading, coating its own ghostly soldiers in flame that consumed them and spread the flames further.

“Ash!” Leo called, panic in his voice.

“Get to me if you want to live!” she yelled.

When the flames reached the super goliath, it curled up into itself, and the flames somehow just washed over it, unmoving and unphased.

That’s unfair.

All the fighters grouped next to Ashley, with Leo fast approaching. The moment he was in range, Ashley slammed her hand into the ground, erecting a solid white shield around them in the shape of a dome.

The flames crashed into it a moment later, rattling the shield. Spiderweb cracks started creeping over it.

“Take this moment to drink a potion if you need it,” Cecelia said, slightly breathy.

Leo drank a stamina potion, restoring him up to almost full. Others did the same, having burned through a lot of resources already in the fight and not being entirely topped up after the initial assault.

“Do we have a plan for these things?” Bjorn asked, wiping his brow.

“I think the army it summoned has dissolved,” Leo said. “They seemed to absorb all the flames, making it stronger somehow.”

“No kidding,” Ashley said, wincing with the effort. She was pouring mana into the shield at a rapid rate in order to hold it up.

Leo pulled a mana potion from his ring, offering it to her. She opened her mouth wide, saying “Ahh.”

He rolled his eyes, but fed her the potion.

“Thanks,” she said, grinning. “That should hold me until these flames die out.”

“I think we should go all out on the ghost, take that thing out and the big one we can cut down over time. It’s deadly, but it’s slow,” Gordon suggested.

“We should focus only elemental, or magical attacks on it, I think,” Leo said. “Ellie’s frost stuck to it, but I get the feeling I can’t really punch it.”

“Don’t have the spare energy to comment on that,” Ashley said with a groan.

“I’ll scorch it. Easy peasy with the army gone,” Ruby added. “I’ll show it what true fire really is, none of that impure stuff coated with death.”

Something about the way she said that had Leo’s mind wandering, but he shook it off. He couldn’t spare the attention at the moment.

The flames started petering out, becoming little more than wisps in the air. Ashley dropped the shield when it was safe enough.

“Thank god,” Ruby said. “The smell of the beast was overwhelming in that cramped dome. Maybe add some air holes next time.”

Cain growled, but Matilda put a hand on his shoulder, calming him.

Cecelia spoke quickly. “Split up again, we just need to hold off the larger one while we focus on the ghost. Work together so we can get through this. The longer we take, the more likely it is for reinforcements.”

Leo knew what to do, and now he had a full party and then some with him.

This ghost was getting punched.