The Behemoth's dark-wreathed claws descended like judgment. Mike activated Pattern Shield, burning 1,825 mana instantly as the ability scaled to the creature's level. A shimmering barrier materialized just as those corrupted talons struck, the impact sending Mike skidding backward through dirt and debris.
"Holy Light!" Aldric's blade erupted with radiant energy as he charged the creature and struck at its flank. The blessed steel bit deep, drawing black ichor, but the Behemoth merely laughed.
"Insects," it rumbled, backhanding the Lord Governor. Aldric flew twenty feet, armor crumpling as he hit a tree.
Mike's mind raced. His shield had held, but that single use had cost over a third of his mana. He couldn't keep trading blow for blow.
Sister Mara rushed toward Aldric, staff glowing. "I have a mana infusion ability" she called out to Mike, her voice carrying across the battlefield. "If you need it, just say when!"
Mike filed that information away, surprised. A healer who could transfer mana at range? But there was no time to process it as the Behemoth turned toward her.
"Stay back!" Mike shouted. The creature's massive paw swept toward the healer. She managed to raise a protective ward, but against a Level 73 creature, it shattered like glass. The impact sent her tumbling, robes tearing as she rolled across rough ground.
Two knights charged from opposite sides, trying to divide the creature's attention. Their swords sparked against its hide, leaving shallow cuts that healed almost instantly.
"Its regeneration is too strong!" one knight yelled before the Behemoth's tail caught him across the chest, sending him crashing through the remains of a logging shed.
Mike knew he had to get close. His ranged options were limited and costly. He sprinted forward, Enhanced Perception highlighting the creature's movements before they happened. The Behemoth's paw swept toward him. Combat Flow kicked in, his perception of time slowing just enough to duck under the strike.
He drove his fist into the creature's foreleg, aiming for what looked like a joint. The impact jarred up his arm, but Weakness Threading had highlighted a critical point. His strike found a nerve cluster, and the Behemoth's leg spasmed.
But the creature's other paw caught him across the ribs. Mike flew sideways, reinforced vest cracking under the impact. He hit the ground hard, health dropping by 850 points as ribs broke. Out of Chaos Comes Order converted some of that damage to temporary stat boosts, his strength and perception sharpening.
His eyes found Sebastian's corpse, the young knight's sword still clutched in dead fingers. An idea formed, desperate and possibly insane.
"Cover me!" he shouted, activating Thread Manipulation. He wrapped an invisible thread around Sebastian's sword hilt, and something unexpected happened. The mana cost was much lower than he expected. He realized that the thread wasn't interacting with the Behemoth at all, just the sword. A Level 1 object.
His mind raced with the implications as he yanked the weapon free and into his hand. This changed everything.
"What are you..." Sister Mara started, struggling to her feet with blood running from a gash on her forehead.
"Everyone, distract it! Keep moving!" Mike commanded, renewing the thread on the sword.
The knights responded instantly, years of training overcoming fear. They darted in and out, strikes coming from all angles. None did serious damage, but they kept the Behemoth turning, snarling, unable to focus on any one target.
Mike began to spin the sword, the thread allowing perfect control. The blade whistled through the air, building momentum. The Behemoth's eyes tracked the motion, confused by this strange attack.
"Now!" Mike released the thread with a snapping motion, sending the sword flying like a missile. His Weakness Threading skill had already shown him the optimal target: the joint where the creature's jaw met its skull.
The blade struck true, sinking deep. The Behemoth roared, genuinely hurt for the first time. Black corruption leaked from the wound as it pawed at the embedded sword.
"I'm sending mana now!" Sister Mara called out, still fifteen feet away. Her staff pulsed with warm light, and Mike felt energy flow into him across the distance. Not much, she was only Level 19, her reserves limited, but his mana climbed back to 2,400.
"Save some for healing!" he warned, already moving. The Behemoth, enraged by the sword in its jaw, focused on him with murderous intent.
Mike charged in again. Pattern Prediction gave him a base 15% dodge chance, but with his Perception at 100, it climbed higher. He weaved between strikes, each near miss feeding information to his Enhanced Perception. The creature's patterns became clearer.
He landed a solid punch to its injured knee, Weakness Threading having revealed hairline fractures from the earlier combat. The critical hit sent spiderweb cracks through the joint. But the Behemoth's tail whipped around, catching him in the stomach. Mike doubled over, tasting blood. Another 600 health gone.
A knight's scream cut through the chaos. The Behemoth had caught one of them, claws punching through armor like paper. The man convulsed as dark corruption spread from the wounds.
Stolen novel; please report.
"No!" Aldric, back on his feet despite his damaged armor, charged with renewed fury. His blessed blade carved a glowing line across the Behemoth's flank, actually making it stumble.
Mike saw his chance. The creature was off-balance, the sword still lodged in its jaw limiting its head movement. His Logical Processing and Enhanced Perception worked together, revealing something crucial: the way its corrupted healing was struggling with the holy energy from Aldric's strikes, creating temporary vulnerabilities.
"Hit the same spot!" he yelled. "The holy energy disrupts its regeneration!"
The knights adapted instantly, focusing their attacks on the glowing wounds Aldric created. The Behemoth snarled, trying to protect its injured flank, but that exposed its other side.
Mike sprinted in for another attack. This time, he knew what to look for. Weakness Threading highlighted points along the creature's spine where corruption hadn't fully integrated. He had to time this perfectly.
For the first time, he activated Recursive Strike.
The mana cost hit him like a physical blow, 1,460 per second against the Level 73 target. But as his fist connected with a glowing weak point on the creature's spine, the effect was devastating. Sister Mara had infused him with additional mana, he could feel. He was able to land a few quick strikes, each impact building on the last. Vertebrae cracked, corruption splattered, and the Behemoth's rear legs buckled.
Mike cut the ability after just a little more than a second, gasping as his mana dropped dangerously low. But he'd been too focused on the attack. The Behemoth's paw caught him squarely in the chest, claws raking through his vest. He flew backward, blood spraying from deep gashes. 800 health gone in an instant.
Out of Chaos Comes Order surged, converting more damage to temporary boosts, but Mike was running on fumes. His health sat at just over half, his mana critically low.
"Now! While it's down!" Aldric commanded.
The knights pressed their advantage, but the Behemoth wasn't finished. Dark energy exploded outward in a wave, sending everyone flying. Mike hit a tree trunk, stars exploding across his vision.
"The sword!" he called out, struggling to breathe through broken ribs. "Keep that sword in place! It's limiting its abilities!"
Sister Mara crawled toward a fallen knight, hands glowing with healing light despite her own injuries. She pressed them to his wounds, but Mike could see the strain. Her mana was nearly depleted from the infusion and healing.
The Behemoth rose on three legs, favoring the damaged spine and knee. Its eyes found Mike, burning with hatred now rather than amusement.
"Clever little pattern-speaker," it growled around the sword. "But cleverness won't save you from what's coming. The deep forest has awakened. Ancient things stir. Your little civilization will burn, and I'm just the herald."
It gathered itself for another charge, dark energy building despite the holy sword disrupting its jaw. Mike had maybe 900 mana left, several abilities on cooldown, and his body was screaming in pain.
But he also had a new understanding of Thread Manipulation. The sword was still there, still Level 1 as far as his ability was concerned.
"Adrian!" he called to the young hunter, who was helping drag an injured knight to cover. "When I pull that sword out, shoot for its mouth!"
Adrian's eyes widened, but he nodded, readying his spear with shaking hands.
Mike reactivated Thread Manipulation, wrapping it around the embedded sword. Only 15 mana per second. He could have laughed at the discovery if breathing didn't hurt so much. He yanked the blade free just as the Behemoth charged. Adrian's spear flew true with a massive throw, striking the inside of its mouth where corruption couldn't protect it.
The creature's roar of pain shook the trees. It stumbled, crashing into the ground, black ichor pouring from its mouth and jaw.
"Everyone who can still fight, now!" Aldric commanded, leading the charge himself.
They fell upon the wounded Behemoth like hawks, striking at every exposed weakness. Mike wanted to help, but even standing was a struggle. Blood ran down his chest from the claw wounds.
The Behemoth was weakening, but still dangerous. It had already killed two knights and wounded three others. They needed to end this.
Mike wrapped thread around Sebastian's sword one final time, but differently now. Instead of spinning it, he pulled it back like a slingshot, the invisible thread stretching. At only 15 mana per second, he could build tremendous tension. The blade hummed with stored energy.
"Get clear!" he shouted, voice ragged.
The knights jumped back just as Mike released. The sword shot forward like a ballista bolt, all that stored energy released at once. Pattern Prediction and Weakness Threading worked in concert, his aim perfect despite his injuries.
The blade punched through the Behemoth's eye and into its brain.
The creature convulsed once, twice, then collapsed. Dark corruption leaked from every wound, hissing as it touched earth. The Behemoth's massive form shuddered and was still.
Silence fell over the destroyed logging camp, broken only by the groans of the wounded.
"Is it...?" one knight asked.
"Dead," Aldric confirmed, blessed blade still ready. "But at great cost."
Mike collapsed to his knees, utterly drained. His health sat at 350 out of 2,600, his body a mass of bruises and cuts. He never fell so low, much too close to 0. Around him, Sister Mara moved between the wounded, barely able to stand herself but determined to help with what conventional healing she could manage without mana.
"That mana infusion ability," Mike said to her quietly, each word an effort. âthat saved the day"
She gave him a weak smile. "Rare skill. Useful for keeping damage dealers in the fight. Though at range like that, it's less efficient. And as you saw..." She gestured at her exhausted state. "Supporting a Level 100 fighter drains me fast. Can't imagine what would happen if I tried this against something stronger."
Level 100. She'd figured it out, or at least suspected. Mike met her knowing gaze and saw she wouldn't speak of it publicly.
"Its last words," Lucian said, approaching. "Ancient things stirring. What did it mean?"
Mike looked at the Behemoth's corpse, remembering that malevolent intelligence, the certainty in its voice. This creature had been Level 73, and it had called itself a herald.
"I don't know," he said, tasting copper with each word. "But I don't think this is over."
Aldric sheathed his sword, face grave. "We need to return to Millhaven. Prepare defenses. Call for aid from the capital immediately." He looked at Mike with new understanding. âIf this was just a herald..." He trailed off, looking toward the deep forest where shadows seemed to writhe with new menace.