Demonslayers (5)

Isaac was slightly ahead and aiming to circle the behemoth from the right — the side where the demon had both his last remaining scythe and eye.

Changing Star was a step or two behind him, aiming to circle the creature from the left — the side where his pincer arm was slowly rising into the air with Sunny accompanying her.

In this battle, Isaac's role was to take the brunt of the enemy's attacks, letting his partners deal the lethal blow when the time was right.

Through the tacit understanding that they had developed through surviving dozens of life-or-death situations, the three of them were able to cooperate without speaking a single word, fighting almost as one.

This was their main advantage.

As they were closing in, Isaac felt a slight shift in the demon's posture.

Instantly, he knew that hell was about to break loose.

He had warned Nephis and Sunny about the speed of their enemy, but he also had to deal with it himself.

Isaac knew that he was much slower than the giant creature, but he still had to find a way to dodge the massive, terrifying scythe.

That wasn't as bad as it seemed.

Speed wasn't everything in a fight.

Take, for example, Changing Star's training fight against the proud scion of the Han Li clan.

Caster possessed an Aspect Ability that made him ten times faster than the silver-haired girl — at least.

However, in the end, he only won by a hair's breadth.

Nephis had almost smashed his face with an unexpected elbow strike.

She had been able to catch Caster unaware not because of her fast reaction — with that big of a difference between their speeds, no amount of reaction could have helped her.

Instead, she was able to predict and manipulate the opponent's attacks, starting the strike even before Caster himself knew that he was going to end up in the path of her elbow.

She was in control of the battlefield.

And now, they had to repeat that feat against the ancient demon of the Forgotten Shore.

Luckily, his speed advantage was not nearly as insane as Caster's.

Almost simultaneously, Isaac, Sunny, and Nephis lunged forward, attacking the behemoth from different sides.

He also moved, ready to tear them apart.

Both his pincer and his scythe rose into the air.

Isaac was running as fast as he could, his Blade outstretched behind him.

A fire of cold resolve was burning in his heart.

However, in the next moment, Sunny leg seemed to slip into the sand, and as his eyes opened wide, Sunny stumbled.

Isaac was in momentary disbelief.

'You're not even leading the charge like in the original novel but you still managed to slip'.

Not wasting the opportunity, the Carapace Demon attacked.

The terrifying scythe tore through the air, aiming to cut the helpless human in half...

But the terrifying size never reached Sunny.

Allowed metallic sound to ring out within the ashen wasteland.

Due to his currently enhanced body, which elevated his physical capabilities to the of a Dormant Demon, he was more than fast enough to parry the blow.

Of course, under normal circumstances, the terrifying size would've pierced through the blade and torn into his flesh mercilessly.

But at the current moment, the abomination was extremely weakened from its fight with the harrowing depths.

Sunny then appeared slashing with the Azure Blade, feeling it hit the polished armor and bounce back without leaving even a slight scratch on it.

Dull pain radiated through his hands.

On the other side of the behemoth's massive body, Nephis achieved more success.

She had attacked the already injured front leg of the monster, cutting deep into his flesh through the wide crack in the metal plate.

Severely damaged, the leg wasn't able to support the weight of the giant creature anymore.

It buckled, sending the demon reeling.

At this point, a scavenger or a centurion would have lost their balance and fallen to the ground.

However, the Carapace Demon was too smart and experienced.

He compensated for the loss of another leg by shifting his body weight to the opposite side and thrusting his scythe into the ground to remain stable.

'Damn it!'

Isaac had hoped that the bastard would fall.

Because then he wouldn't have had to do what he was about to do next.

But now there was no other choice.

Cursing inwardly, Sunny briefly looked up at the massive body of the giant demon.

God only knew how much that thing weighed.

Then, he held his breath and ducked right beneath the Carapace Demon's steel abdomen.

The only thing he had to avoid was going directly under the behemoth, thus putting himself in danger of being crushed to death by the demon's giant body.

Coincidentally, that was exactly what he had to do.

'Crap, crap, crap!'

Glancing up at the massive armored creature, Isaac cursed and dashed forward.

A moment later, he dove underneath the Carapace Demon, feeling the thick shadows swallow him whole.

Instantly, Isaac was covered in cold sweat.

There was nothing but polished metal and murderous intent above him now.

All the monster had to do to turn the tiny human into a puddle of blood was to rest his body on the sand.

Under the crushing weight, Isaac's organs would burst and his bones would turn to dust.

There wouldn't be anything solid left of him at all, only a thin layer of bloody goo smeared across the ground.

Not the best situation to find yourself in.

With his nerves on the verge of melting, Isaac brandished his sword and rushed forward.

His eyes were glued to the joints of Carapace Demon's legs.

He was utterly focused, looking for the slightest movement.

Waiting for it.

Time moved excruciatingly slowly. It felt as though hours had passed, but in reality, it was only a couple of moments.

Isaac was only at the second pair of the giant monster's legs.

It was then that he finally noticed the almost imperceptible change in the demon's posture.

The tension in his joint changed slightly, indicating that the behemoth was about to move.

This was the sign that Isaac was both hoping for and terrified of.

Now, his survival was wholly dependent on whether or not he was fast enough.

As soon as his eyes had registered the change in the creature's posture, Isaac pivoted on one leg and dashed to the side, trying to get away from underneath the armored giant.

A small cloud of sand was sent flying by his sudden turn.

But the demon was incredibly fast.

He threw his body down, determined to squash the odious invader like a bug.

With inertia and the limits of his enhanced human body slowing Isaac down, he felt the metal surface of the carapace begin to fall on his head long before reaching the safe zone.

Death was approaching with abhorrent speed.

One step, two... was he going to make it in time?!

The Carapace Demon fell to the ground with a thunderous crash, sending large clouds of sand into the air.

The impact was so strong that the whole island trembled.

The furious mass of falling metal and spikes missed Isaac by just a few centimeters.

He flew from underneath the demon's body at the last possible moment by performing a desperate dive.

Crushing into the sand, Isaac rolled away and jumped back to his feet, slightly disoriented by the shockwave of the giant's fall.

'Huh... I managed to survive.'

Sometimes, life was full of surprises.