"Dammit!" Cursing out loud, Herald jumped to the air to create a large distance between the skull wolves' location.
`I cant see! Herald though while trying to see through the darkness, obviously with no success.
The only thing he could do was try to predict the skull wolves' steps and their growls.
Even if he could vaguely sense danger, that was only for nearby attacks. Although helpful, it wasnt enough for him to counterattack or even defend himself against attacks.
Worse of all, Herald realized that those undead were capable to see through the dark.
Meaning that he was blind while his enemies were not.
"I shouldnt have rushed like an idiot-!" Herald cursed stupidly while raising his life force.
`I will have to work at what I have! Otherwise, I will die like a dog!
Raising his hands, he clapped them to each other and created a small fire that appeared through the use of life force.
Unfortunately, the fire appeared as quickly as it disappeared, making Herald only too briefly see the three terrifying undead rushing to get a bite out of him.
"Ugh! I should even practice more on my fire technique-!" Herald cursed
Creating such a small spark of flames at the 3rd-tier was no doubt a bit embarrassing to see. Since he mainly focused on enchanting his body with the earth attribute and using the wind element as his primary attack method. Herald didnt put any type to all the other elements.
Everything he learned of the fire element was simple so that he could light up a campfire. As he was much better on the other two elements, thats where the path of using life force arts for fire ended.
Essentially making him have only a brief moment where he could uncover that darkness around him.
Gathering the wind around him, he send another one of those wind cannons towards the location where he saw one of the undead. Specifically, the one undead who killed the two explorers.
The target who was Skull Claw who saw this, moved a bit to the side, making the pressured wind only cut a small chunk of her back.
Making it that she neither would receive fatal damage nor slow down her rush towards the so hateful living.
Noticing that there was not any difference in the steps that the undead was making, Herald realized that his attack wasnt fatal.
"Tch, did I miss!?"
Clapping his hands together, another spark of flames appeared that illuminated the surroundings for just an instance.
"Gweaaagh!
"Gweaaagh!
Out of the illuminating darkness, the first thing that Herald managed to see was how two of the undead were just a few meters away from him. With the two having their mouths wide open, it was a picture that made even Herald quite surprised.
"What the-!" Yelling in surprise with wide-up eyes, Herald used his life force to gather both the earth and wind elements.
Stomping his foot forward to the ground, the wind that was gathering around him moved forward like a huge wave towards the left undead.
Though the wind-wave didnt put as much of a punch as the wind cannon of his, it was strong enough to push the much bigger undead skull wolve to the side and make it fall to his steps.
"One down-!" Herald yelled as he clapped his hands to light a spark once again.
And what appeared through the darkness was a huge mouth who only 2 meters away from biting and shallowing him whole.
Using his life force, the earth elements run through his hands, turning them slightly pale in the process as the earth element made his two arms more fortified and much stronger.
Grabbing the jaw of the undead with one hand, Herald raised his other arm above him and caught the mouth that closed down.
Though most people would be directly shallowed whole by doing that or being crushed and bitten down to death.
Herald wasnt one of them.
By holding the jaw of the undead, he stopped it from moving any further.
And the other hand stopped it from eating him alive by doing that.
Effectively holding the undead in his place while it struggled to close his mouth and fulfill their lieges command.
"Gweaahhhhh-!"
While hearing the growls of the huge undead in front of him, Herald flexes both muscles on his legs and arms. The next moment Herald faced the other direction and forcibly dragged the undead he was holding to the side by his shire strength alone.
"-and thats the second down!" Herald yelled as he threw the undead to the side.
"Ha~Ha~Ha, dammit, there is still the other left."
Clapping his hands together, he once more illuminated the surroundings.
His eyes darted all over his surroundings, but he got confused as there werent any signs of the biggest undead in front of him.
As confusion was about to hit him, he felt a terrible sensation of danger from behind him.
Turning his head slightly behind, the very moment the fire had gone out.
He saw the biggest undead raising his metal-like claw.
"Gweaaagh~"
Reinforcing his body to make with the earth element, he raised up his guard on where the sensation of danger was coming.
And the moment he raised his guards, he felt the metal-like claws sweeping through the side.
"This-" Not even able to let out his curse come out,
He saw send flying by the much bigger claw than his.
Even if he essentially were stronger than her, Skull Claw was much bigger than him. Making him unable to keep his feet to the ground.
Flying through the air without being able to stop himself, Herald crashed to the walls of towers.
*Brgogh!
Falling to his knees while the sand of the walls came falling to him, Herald groaned.
"Ugh...to think that such weaklings could do so much to me...this cant go on."
Standing up from the ground, he rested his back to the falls while gazing towards the endless darkness where his enemies were.
Hearing the steps of the undead near him, Herald ground his teeth.
"If it werent for this darkness I would already grind their bones into dust."
As he was about to clap his hands once more to create some light, Herald came up with another idea.
"Dammit, to think I would do such a stupid thing!" Herald yelled as he let a burst of life force out of his body.
Raising his hands, he put his whole concentration into creating flames.
With flames appearing in his hands, Herald forced himself to keep them up while creating the flames into his hands.
"Argggh!" Screaming out of pain, he looked at his hands who started to burn his flesh and armor.
`I just need to fuel the flames myself! Even if the fuel is my own flesh!
Having successfully ignited both his arms in flames, Herald was now able to see the three incoming undead rushing towards him.
"Now I can see you, bastards!" Herald yelled while the nearby wind came around him.
`Dammit! this feels like hell! But once I got rid of those undead bastards I can ask the priestess to heal those wounds!
Having gathered the wind around him, he stepped forward and realized the wind together with the flames of one of his hands.
"[Wind of Swarm]!" Yelling out loud, the pressured wind flew towards their target.
But unlike the wind cannon he used, this attack although weaker, the wind itself split into many parts similar to a shotgun rounds.
Knowing that he just needed to crush their skulls, Herald consider this attack much more suited.
Skull Claw who was running between the two bodyguards' undead skull wolves, instead of leading the charge slowed his charge and let the two undead overtake his spot while he was running behind those two.
Thus letting the two bodyguard skull wolves receive the whole attack from the wind.
Each hit of the wind opened a small hole through their decayed flesh, but not big enough to see through. The closer they went the more hits they received.
And with the wind hitting their skulls at last and destroying them completely, both the bodyguards fell to the ground without showing a sign of moving.
The duty that they have been granted in their lives, has been fulfilled.
Stepping at the now corpses of the bodyguards, Skull Claw rushed towards her target.
"To think it would use his comrades as a meat shield!"
Gathering another bunch of wind from his surroundings using life force, using his remaining burning had, he send out a burst of wind, essential the wind cannon of his.
Though the flames went away, the moment he has done as such and letting the darkness once more set in this room. Herald who a second later heard a bone-cracking sound sighted internally in relief.
"Finally..."
Supporting his body to the tower walls, the gate that was separating his group with him burst open, with the faint glow having completely disappeared.
"Dammit...right when I dealt with everything they come bursting in." Herald mumbled annoyed at these comrades' timing.
Coming out of the door, was Sean holding his sword to the side while his shield was in front of him. Beside him was a girl with golden hair while holding a staff with both arms.
Raising her staff high, a warm light surrounded the whole floor.
"[Holy Light]!"
Frowning for the blinding light, Herald froze as he stared in front of him.
"Huh!?"
Seeing the biggest undead he heard bone-cracking sound mid-air coming in front of him with a destroyed jaw and a big hole through her neck. Herald's eyes widen up.
`It isnt dead!?
Frecking out, he gathered reinforced his body with the earth element while gathering the wind to finish the leaping undead in front of him.
`Without a jaw, it will probably sweep these claws once more at me! Once it does I will send another of my wind cannons and then- While Heralds though were racing to the extreme to respond to this surprise, he soon widened his eyes as he saw Skull Claw who stepped the ground to jump directly at him!
"W-Wait! You cant be meaning-!"
With a terrible thought coming to his mind, Herald tried to jump to the side and dodge but was unfortunately too late.
Ramming directly Herald, the wall of the tower cracked before it completely crumbled and created a hole to the outside. But Skull Claw didnt stop there.
Instead of stopping there, she continued pushing her body forward and dragged herself free fall together with Herald into the air from the fifth floor.
"Noooo! What have you done!?"
Screaming desperately, Herald looked how he was getting further and further from the hole in the tower.
"I cant die like this!"
And the next moment he knew, all lights of the world had disappeared with the last sound he heard being a *Splash.