Hard-Fought Victory

Maxwell's body is laying in an expanding pool of blood while Jasmine and two other healers rush into action, attempting to save the life of the slayer.

The healing energy gently enveloped his body, only to quickly and suddenly flicker and fade, leaving just a few scratches on his hand slightly healed and the many deep, open wounds in vital areas still gaping.

The twin fox girls cried over their unsuccessful attempt as Jasmine extracted the shards and gently closed his eyes.

"You bastard!" Rick bellowed, swinging his hammer to shatter the monster's left ankle. The creature stumbled to one side, yet swiftly regained its balance and propelled itself off the ground. It countered with a rapid right kick, smashing the front of Rick's armor upon impact.

The force of the attack was so immense that it caused Rick's body to wrap around the foot as if he was a piece of cloth.Within seconds he rebounded from the stone floor and tumbled pass the barrier before skidding to a stop as a bloodied heap.

"Fuck!, my ribs are killing me; I can barely breathe!" As he coughed up blood his vision began to blur.

Enraged, Sarah let out a scream, leapt onto the hand that was used for balance, and drove her weapon deep into its flesh. She then surged upwards, slicing two long, deep cuts all the way to the shoulder.

As she leapt back, her eyes widened in shock when the monster flexed its injured arm, muscles bulging and blood spraying, then leaned back and launched a swift punch.

She swiftly countered the oncoming punch, but it shattered her left blade and arm, causing her to cry out in agony and drop her other blade, which clattered to the ground.

"What the hell, this was supposed to be a silver door!" That was her last thought as she burst through the barrier and collided with the wall, resulting in a resounding crack.

"Die!" Mandy yelled, thrusting her poison coated spear swiftly towards the boss monster's face, puncturing its right eye in a gush of blood.

Her smirk swiftly transformed into an expression of sheer fear as the creature gazed at her with its left eye, apparently unfazed by the pain. Suddenly, its left hand lunged forward with the speed of a bullet and seized her entire head.

The boss's grip tightened, transforming her stifled screeches into cries of agony. Cyrus, already in mid-leap towards the boss, was ready to strike at its wrist to release Mandy when a sudden gust of wind diverted his attention.

He swiftly rotated his body into a defensive stance, just in time to brace for the impact as a heavyweight crashed into him.

"CYRUS!" Jasmine screamed as she watched the large hand connect and crack the ground on impact.

The boss cackled at the failed rescue attempt before turning its attention to the wriggling person in its left hand. A wide smlie grew on the monster's face as it squeezed its left-hand tightly sending blood, brain matter and other fluids splattering onto the ground.

"Come on, hurry up! You're not a gold rank for nothing!" Henry roared, flexing against the zapping chains that began to crack as he forced himself onto one knee.

The boss nonchalantly flung the headless body beyond the barrier as Jasmine wielded her magic to mend Rick and Sarah's wounds.

Cyrus could only groan in pain as his right arm and left leg took the brunt of the impact, undoubtedly breaking them. The boss brought its hand up to go and squash him again as he struggled to recover.

"I'm still here, you bastard!" Henry yelled furiously as he slammed his battered shield into the hand and shoved it away making it crack the ground. With a snarl he swung his glowing axe downward and cleaved the monster's hand in two.

The scream was so intense that it not only made those beyond the barrier clutch their ears in shock but also burst Henry's left eardrum, throwing off the balance of the gold slayer.

Left defenseless, he was unable to prevent the boss from swiftly engulfing him halfway into its mouth and biting down with full force. The creature's razor-sharp teeth effortlessly tore through his flesh, eliciting a guttural growl from Henry as he swung his axe at the beast's tongue.

This only caused the monster to clamp down harder. With each successive strike and bite, the intensity of their battle grew, and a mixture of black and red blood stained the ground beneath them.

"Get up!" Cyrus commanded himself with the intensity of a drill sergeant. He forced himself to stand on his quivering, bloodied injured leg, while his other arm dangled limply at his side. "You only need one arm and one leg; it's almost over!"

The vision of a tall man enveloped in a golden aura flashed through his mind for a brief moment, causing him to clench his knife so tightly that blood began to seep from his grasp.

"Put him down!" he yelled, leaping and crashing into the boss's torso, then biting down to get a mouthful of fur to keep himself from falling.

The creature went to grab him, but Henry continued to hack away, stopping its progress. At the same time, Cyrus let out a muffled growl while aggressively jabbing with his knife in a wild attack.

His blade found its way into a wound previously inflicted by Sarah. With a forceful push, he managed to penetrate something solid, causing the boss's eyes to widen in shock.

The body spasms was so powerful that it knocked Cyrus to the ground. From there, he saw the boss expel Henry, amidst a torrent of blood, before it fell to its knees and toppled over with a resounding crash.

Silence enveloped the area, only to be broken by the labored breaths of the two slayers within the barrier. Henry groaned as he laid in the bile while Cyrus limped over to him.

"Come on, we're getting out of this place," he grunted, hoisting Henry's large arm over his shoulder. He moved toward the barrier, only to collide with it and stagger backward in shock.

"But that bastard is dead!" Rick exclaimed, his voice a blend of anger and fear, as he and Sarah scrambled to their feet, desperately attempting to shatter the barrier.

"L-Leave m, kid. I-I can't feel my legs" Henry pleaded with blood spewing out of his mouth "Y-You...got so many years ahead of you"

"That's not going to happen," Cyrus declared, the pain clear in his voice as he searched for a way to break through the barrier.

"You invade my domain and destroy my sole amusement!" thundered a voice, causing a ripple of shock among all present. "Confront me and demonstrate your right to existence, or run and be pursued as prey!"

A wave of fear swept through all those present as booming thuds shook the entire temple. The slayers outside the barrier gazed in utter horror as three towering, muscular monsters with black fur suddenly materialized behind Henry and Cyrus, their glowing red eyes and broad, twisted grins exposing sharp, jagged teeth.