Chapter 118: The Great Lightning
The forty one Storm Wolves leaped. Arthur didn’t even look at them.
Instead, he immediately opened his bag, very carefully sliding the crystal egg inside as if it was glass. Then he crouched as the Storm Wolves were already only seconds away. And then he suddenly threw the bag through the Treasury doorway.
It slid across the crystal floor, further, further, until it disappeared behind several treasure chests.
Kyne watched the bag the entire time, its eyes narrowing.
Kyne’s gaze shifted to the Treasury entrance and its ears twitched once. "Clever."
It immediately changed direction.
Arthur smiled. "You’re too late," he said.
Immediately a Storm Wolf jumped toward the doorway, and Athena slammed Aegis into its face.
Boom!
"You’ll have to get through us first," she said.
Arthur and Vedas moved straight toward Kyne.
Athena rushed to the Treasury entrance and slammed Aegis into the ground.
BOOM!
The first Storm Wolf crashed into her shield. A second leaped over it, but Athena twisted and slashed her sword through its side, then hurled her shield toward the third one that was coming and was pushed back.
Sun stepped beside her, and Long spun through his hands. The staff struck another charging wolf.
[Point Shockwave]
The invisible blast erupted through the entire pack, sending three wolves tumbling backward.
"Kong!"
Golden light covered the little monkey.
[Buff]
Kong laughed before he charged straight into six wolves and kept swinging his arms, bodies scattering in every direction.
Mithra, on the other hand, kept disappearing, only a flash of gold crossing the battlefield. Then another. Every time she appeared, another Storm Wolf collapsed before she vanished again.
Melo’s eyes shimmered, and suddenly the chamber filled with dozens of Arthurs sprinting in different directions. Half the wolves chased illusions instead of the real group.
Everyone had a job, and everyone was doing it.
Arthur smiled. "Ready?"
Vedas grinned. "I’ve been ready," he said.
The two charged together without another word like they had already fought this battle a hundred times.
Kyne lowered its head, lightning crackling through its dark fur. Then it lunged straight at Arthur with lightning crackling on its teeth. .
Arthur met it head-on.
Clang!
Its fangs slammed against the shaft of his spear, sparks bursting between them as Arthur slid backward across the crystal floor.
"Strong!" Arthur laughed.
Kyne twisted in midair, its tail whipping around like a bolt of lightning.
But Arthur ducked. The tail smashed through a pillar behind him, showering the chamber with glittering shards.
"Vedas!"
"I’m here!"
Vedas thrust toward Kyne’s shoulder.
[Armor Piercing]!
The spear punched through its thick fur and carved a shallow wound across its side. Kyne snarled, lightning exploding from its body as blue arcs raced across the floor.
"Jump!"
Arthur and Vedas kicked off the ground together, and the lightning swept beneath their feet before racing into the walls, leaving long black scorch marks across the crystal. Kyne landed lightly and attacked again, this time going for Vedas. Its jaws snapped shut where his head had been only a second earlier.
Vedas twisted away and drove the butt of his spear into Kyne’s muzzle. Arthur appeared beside him.
Both spears glowed.
[Magic Burst]!
They thrust together.
Twin explosions erupted against Kyne’s chest.
BOOOOM!
The blast threw the massive wolf backward through two pillars.
For a moment, the chamber fell silent.
Kyne slowly climbed back to its feet, blood dripping from the cuts across its body. Its eyes swept across the battlefield.
Storm Wolves were falling one after another. Kong had already crushed another pair beneath his fists. Mithra’s blade flashed across another throat. Athena held the Treasury entrance without giving a single step.
More than twenty Storm Wolves now lay scattered across the chamber.
Kyne looked at them, its ears slowly folding back. The lightning surrounding its body grew brighter, and the air became heavy. Even the remaining Storm Wolves instinctively stepped away from their own leader.
Arthur’s smile faded. "...Now it’s serious."
The wolf’s blue eyes slowly began to change. Kyne lowered itself, and its body disappeared while lightning exploded across the battlefield.
Crash!!
Arthur barely reacted in time. He swiftly raised his staff as felt the crash but it was useless as the impact launched him across the chamber, and he crashed through three crystal pillars before finally coming to a stop.
Arthur stood, blood running from his forehead. He laughed. "Again," he said.
Kyne paused, almost confused.
Arthur had actually enjoyed that.
Lightning swallowed Kyne completely and the wolf disappeared again. A streak of blue light exploded across the chamber.
BOOM!
A pillar shattered.
Before anyone could turn—
BOOM!
The ceiling exploded.
Arthur searched for Kyne but he couldn’t find it. Another explosion erupted behind him and Vedas barely raised his spear before lightning slammed into him.
He crashed through a statue.
Arthur lunged toward where Kyne had just stopped but it was too late. It had already become lightning again and appeared behind him before smashing into him.
BOOM!
Arthur flew backward.
Lightning flashed.
Then flashed again.
Then again and nobody saw Kyne anymore. Every burst of blue light meant another impact somewhere inside the chamber.
Vedas suddenly roared with the power of War Shout.
The entire Temple shook, and Kyne froze mid motion.
Arthur smiled. "Got you," he said.
[Armor Piercing.]
His spear drove straight toward Kyne’s skull.
Everyone thought it was over.
Then a dead Storm Wolf on the ground suddenly twitched. Lightning burst outward, and a wolf made entirely of crackling energy rose from the corpse. It didn’t attack but it intercepted. Arthur’s spear pierced straight through it.
Boooooom!!
Arthur was blown clean across the chamber, his spear flying from his hands. Everyone froze in place.
Arthur coughed. "Seriously?" he said.
Mithra appeared behind Kyne and her blade flashed. But then another corpse came alive and intercepted the attack.
Another explosion.
Athena hurled Aegis and Kyne released a beam of lightning that sent the shield flying.
Arthur slowly stood. "...Every time."
Kyne vanished once more as lightning tore across the chamber straight toward Vedas. It was too fast and Vedas had only just opened his mouth.
Arthur saw Kyne before seeing Vedas and instantly grasped. Vedas wouldn’t dodge in time and there wasn’t time to think. Arthur didn’t think and he rushed in front of Vedas.
Crash!!
Kyne slammed into Arthur’s chest instead, launching him across the Temple. He smashed into a statue hard enough to crack the Goblin King’s stone likeness down the middle. Blood spilled from Arthur’s mouth.
Melo screamed. "Arthur!!"
Kyne didn’t stop.
It attacked again immediately, aiming with fangs at the stunned Vedas. But then Athena appeared in front and blocked the attack. She was sent skidding back while Mithra appeared above Kyne with her descending down.
But once again a lightning wolf intercepted.
An explosion echoed out again.
Kyne stopped attacking and it simply looked around the battlefield. Athena was breathing hard. Kong’s fists were bleeding.
Sun leaned on Long.
Arthur was still struggling to stand.
Satisfied...
Kyne turned away.
It slowly walked toward the Treasury. Every step echoed through the chamber as if nobody could stop it.
But then it dashed to the side as Mithra sword slashed down on where it was. Kyne growled at the woman before it once again vanished.
"Mithra and everyone, group up!" Arthur shouted as he rushed forward.
The others did the same and soon, they were all together as Kyne once again began blasting off the walls. Before it blasted towards them Arthur instantly used Guardian Shield to summon a golden dome.
A massive golden dome surrounded everyone before Kyne crashed into it.
Boom!!
Again.
Boom!!
Again.
Boom!!
Cracks spread across the surface, the dome shaking with every impact. Every strike felt heavier than the last.
Sun groaned. "Of course this one is tricky," he said.
Arthur nodded, wiping blood from his lip. "And it hits hard as well," he said.
Mithra flexed her fingers, wincing at the numbness still crawling up her arm. "But the biggest issue is the lightning," she said. "A Beast Tamer has a natural resistance to all powers in the world. But constant exposure will lock our body down."
Mara frowned from atop her Lion. "I see. Attacks will work on it," she said. "But those lightning wolves keep appearing to block any follow up."
Arthur held his chin, thinking, when he noticed Athena had gone oddly quiet. He glanced over and saw her and Athy both tilting their heads at the exact same angle.
"Athena?" he said. "Did you figure out something?"
Athena hummed. "The lightning wolf doesn’t seem to be created from Kyne," she said. "It seems to be coming from the dead bodies of the Storm Wolves."
Melo’s eyes widened. "I see," she said. "So even with its pack dead, they can still help out."
Athena nodded. "I won’t try to figure out how many times it can summon them," she said. "The issue now is how many at once."
Kong tilted his head, then shrugged. Athy sighed.
Arthur said, "Actually, we can just simply strike it continuously."
Everyone paused, blinking at him with the same questioning look.
Vedas’s eyes widened as he saw the image Arthur had just described in his own head. "You want to use War Shout to pause him," he said, "and then Mithra attacks, and after the lightning wolf comes, you want me to use War Shout to freeze it again?"
Arthur nodded. "I don’t believe he can summon another one so fast," he said.
Athena nodded slowly. "That can work," she said. "But we can take it further."
Everyone looked at her.
"After Vedas uses War Shout," she said, "Kong will attack Kyne again. Me, Arthur, Vedas, Sun, and Mithra will attack from behind. While this is happening, Melo can use her illusions to make it focus on Kong, so it doesn’t notice us. And if it does summon another wolf, it will still be wide open for a strike from all four of us."
Mithra’s eyes widened, and a smile spread across her face. "I see," she said. "That does sound like it can work. And if we all connect, it will be the end."
Athena nodded. "So let’s do it," she said.
Arthur grinned. "Let’s do it," he said.
At that moment, the dome finally shattered from Kyne’s continuous assault, golden fragments raining down around them.
Nobody hesitated.
Vedas planted his feet and roared.
[War Shout]
The Temple shook, and Kyne froze in place.
Kong exploded forward, fist crashing into its side hard enough to send it skidding sideways. Melo’s illusions bloomed instantly, Kong’s shape multiplying into a dozen charging copies, and Kyne’s head snapped toward the nearest one, lightning already gathering to retaliate.
It never saw the rest coming.
Arthur and Vedas closed in from behind, spears glowing.
[Armor Piercing]
Twin thrusts struck first.
CRACK!
Sun followed immediately and Long slammed into Kyne’s side.
[Point Shockwave]
BOOM!
The shockwave ripped through its body.
Athena charged from the opposite side and Aegis crashed into Kyne’s shoulder, pinning it in place.
Before it could move—
A golden flash appeared behind it.
Mithra with her blade pierced straight through Kyne’s heart and ended this strong beast. The lightning faded as Kyne slowly collapsed. The Lightning Wolf that was beginning rise froze before it faded away after the last strike.
"Your reckoning," it said, "will come soon."
Arthur frowned. "What?"
Kyne died without another word.
[Level Up!]
[Goblin Commander]
[Level 28 → Level 29]
Everyone celebrated.
The tension that had gripped the chamber for what felt like hours finally broke apart into relief.
Arthur suddenly remembered the egg. He ran toward the Treasury doorway, dug it out from behind the treasure chests, and checked every side carefully.
No cracks.
He exhaled. "Good," he said.
Sun walked over, still catching his breath. "So," he said, "what exactly is inside that thing?"
Arthur opened his mouth to answer.
Crack.
A tiny line spread across the shell.
Everyone froze.