The four of them hadn't yet drawn the attention of the vestiges, so they still had the element of surprise on their side.
—So, do we just go in and kill them?— Sein asked as he summoned the golden sword.
—Are you an animal or something? If one of us rushes in recklessly, we might provoke the brute, and that'll be the end of us. The best option is to kill one of them and lure the rest over. Defending a position should be easier for us, while charging in headfirst is suicide—except for Kaze. He can pretty much do whatever he wants on this battlefield.
—I agree with your analysis, Shoun— Deuz said briefly as he loaded his bow. Kaze didn't say anything but nodded, showing he agreed as well— I can kill one of the grunts with a single shot. Given their position and resilience, I doubt I can kill a wretch in one shot. Let's say it's a 50/50 chance. I don't need to mention anything about the brute, do I?
—If you kill the grunt, we lose a point... Let's do this: you, Sein, and I will shoot at two grunts and a wretch respectively, all at the same time. Ideally, all three will die, but if not, at least one should go down.
—Sounds good. But before that, let me enhance you with my ability— Sein approached each of them and spent a bit of spiritual energy to apply the enhancement. Since he hadn't used much energy, the enhancement was very light on Deuz and Kaze.
—Perfect. Let's get into position— Shoun positioned himself slightly to the left of the battlefield, while Sein took the right. Deuz stayed back with his bow loaded, and Kaze positioned himself at the front.
Shoun positioned his right hand to mimic the shape of a gun and aimed at one of the nearby grunts. It was about ten meters away and seemed to be asleep.
—(I've never shot at something this far away. Missing would mean wasting a lot of electricity... I should've practiced this when I had the chance. I can't afford to be lazy)— Shoun took a deep breath and made sure he had the creature in his sights. He signaled to his companions— On the count of three... one... two... three!
A powerful bolt of electricity shot from his finger, traveling quickly through the air and striking the vestige's body. The bolt pierced through it, causing the abomination's body to convulse violently before it finally disintegrated into dust.
[You have killed the grunt "Incorporeal Abomination"]
—(I was aiming for the head... If that hadn't been a specter, which is super vulnerable to electricity, I might not have killed it... I definitely need to practice)— After a moment of self-reproach, Shoun turned his attention to the battlefield. He saw that there were now three grunts and one wretch left— (Looks like Deuz managed to kill his target, but Sein missed)— He watched as a grunt and a wretch quickly charged toward Sein. He wanted to worry, but he remembered that Deuz was aiming at the remaining wretch. Besides, he had his own problems to deal with— (Two grunts are coming my way. I can handle this.)
Shoun had already used about 20% of his total electricity between that shot and keeping himself grounded. Knowing there was still a long fight ahead, he decided to stop channeling energy into his feet. Instantly, he began to float.
The two abominations quickly closed in on Shoun. Unlike other vestiges, these two seemed to work together, moving in a way that limited Shoun's ability to escape. Noticing this, Shoun quickly came up with a plan. He kept retreating until he positioned himself on top of one of the floating cars.
Once on top, he formed his right hand into a gun again and fired a bolt of electricity at the grunt on the right. The vestige saw the projectile coming and dodged by moving backward and to the side, then continued charging toward Shoun. Shoun had no confidence that the shot would hit, but he was almost certain it would slow the vestige down, which was his real goal.
Moments later, one of the two specters appeared, crossing the entire car. Shoun, who had already enhanced his entire body, quickly approached and punched it with a right hook. The vestige convulsed before disintegrating into dust, but Shoun didn't pay attention to that. The remaining abomination was already behind him. With no time to turn around, he flexed his entire body and enhanced his head, then launched himself like a spring, easily piercing through the specter and causing it to disintegrate.
—Haaah... haah, these things can barely take a good hit. That's why they instinctively attack humans in groups... It seems the phrase "divide and conquer" is truer than ever— Even though the creatures weren't a major threat to Shoun, he didn't let his guard down and used a reasonable amount of electricity to win. He decided to take a brief breather before rejoining the others.
At the same time as Shoun's fight, Sein watched as two vestiges, including a higher-ranked one, approached him. When he fired his "Eternal Light" attack from the palm of his hand, he missed his target by a wide margin, alerting the vestiges and causing them to charge at him along with the remaining wretch.
The boy didn't panic. He knew that in the middle of a battle, the most important thing was to focus on the objective. Regrets and wishes were for later. He got into a defensive stance and noticed out of the corner of his eye that Deuz was covering him, aiming at the wretch charging toward him.
As he waited for the grunt to enter his attack range, he saw Kaze being chased by the brute in the background. The vestige caused destruction wherever it went, easily smashing through cars or swatting them aside to crash into nearby buildings. The masked man didn't have his cloak fully activated because his goal was to keep the brute focused on him until his companions dealt with the minions and could help him. In the process, Kaze launched wind slashes from his sword at the vestige. Most of them hit, but they didn't do much damage, as the specter's body parts were simply erased before regenerating.
Watching Kaze launch wind slashes from his sword gave Sein an idea.
—(What if I use my sword as a catalyst for my ability?)— The boy didn't know why, but the idea gave him a good feeling. With no more time to think, he began executing his attack. He activated "Eternal Light," causing his hands to glow with a golden light. He tightened his grip on the golden sword and felt something different. Without fully understanding what it was and with no time to spare, he swung the sword forward.
The result of Sein's improvisation wasn't what he expected. Instead of a slash, a golden triangle appeared in the direction of his swing. The two vestiges were already within the triangle's area.
—Graaa!— The grunt let out its final cry before disintegrating into the air. The wretch, on the other hand, could be seen losing parts of its body, but they regenerated at the same time. The attack wasn't powerful enough to finish off the vestige, but the beret-wearing boy was ready for that.
Seeing that one of the vestiges had died and the other had been slowed by Sein's attack, Deuz didn't hesitate. He fired a fully charged arrow at the wretch. Upon impact, the arrow pierced through the abomination's body, leaving a black hole where the creature convulsed before disintegrating.
—Phew, that was close! Thanks for covering me, Deuz!— Sein sighed in relief before walking over to the beret-wearing boy for a high-five.
—Hehe, anytime, buddy. Let's go help Kaze— Deuz said as he loaded another arrow into his bow. A few seconds later, Shoun floated down from above.
—Right, killing that thing will be harder— The three of them could see Kaze struggling to evade the vestige. Seeing this, Shoun began to think of a plan, but Deuz interrupted him.
—Shoun, I have an idea, though I'm not sure if you'll like it.
—Don't be mysterious, just say it quickly. We don't know how long Kaze can hold out.
—I saw your shot earlier. It was pretty powerful. My idea is for you to be the bait while you're enhanced by Sein. Kaze and I will cover you. Between the three of us, that thing should go down.
—...Why do I always have to be the bait?... Sein, hurry up and enhance me.
—Good luck, Shoun! I know you can do it!— The boy did as asked and used the rest of his energy to enhance Shoun with "Eternal Light." Shoun felt much more powerful.
—You'd better not let me die.
—It would never cross my mind— Deuz said before Shoun took off running. He was much faster now, reaching the area below where Kaze and the vestige were moving in just a few seconds.
—Kaze, hide! I'll be the bait!— The masked man heard these words, but unlike usual, he hesitated for a moment. However, he finally disappeared by fully activating his cloak.
The brute, having lost sight of its target, began searching for it but soon found Shoun on the ground. Being easier to spot than Kaze, it charged at him at high speed.
Shoun enhanced himself with electricity and began running while being chased. He wanted to turn around and shoot with his ability, but he was surprised by a car flying rapidly in his direction.
—Shit!— The young man jumped and narrowly avoided the explosion caused by the vehicle crashing into the pavement. Shoun quickly recovered—after all, he was being chased by a massive vestige. The brute was slowly closing the distance, but Shoun could keep it from catching him completely thanks to his enhanced speed from both his electricity and Sein's ability— Deuz, you'd better hurry up!— After that shout, the vestige finally caught up to Shoun, but before it could attack, a large dark arrow pierced through its body, leaving a massive hole in its chest.
—I told you I wouldn't let you die— Deuz commented as he loaded and fired another large arrow, this time creating a hole in the vestige's stomach. Shoun didn't waste any time and quickly charged the rest of his electricity into a powerful shot that hit the vestige directly, blowing off one of its arms.
In the next second, before the creature could react, Kaze appeared above it and sliced through its neck with a wind slash. Finally, the vestige convulsed before disintegrating into dust.
[You have killed the brute "Calamity Abomination"]