The moment the magic is gone, we see four cerberus.
One of them is disappearing, so it looks like it shielded the others.
But when we see the three that are left, we stop. Actually, it’s one in particular.
It’s a humanoid monster. Appraisal tells me it’s a cerberus, so we can tell it’s this floor’s boss.
“Did it transform?”
The humanoid cerberus has one head, but it has additional faces on the left and right shoulders.
We’re already surprised, but the changes don’t end there.
The other two cerberus also turn into a humanoid form.
“Ah, this is good actually. They look like they’ll be easier to fight.”
“Dear, look at…”
The beast king doesn’t hear Nene, and dashes forward.
I don’t know if he’s doing this because he has so much experience fighting people, or because the fact that it transformed into a humanoid shook him.
But since one person is on the move, we can’t just stay back. Moving out alone increases the danger of him being surrounded.
“I’ll attract the boss’ attention! You cover him, and Kaina, take on one of them.”
I use Provoke, and the boss and the other one the beast king isn’t targeting turn my way.
A good use of Provoke manages to attract two of them, so I start firing magic to get their attention even more.
Kaina is right behind me, so I’ll take on the boss, and Kaina the other one. The problem is that I’m caught between them, but I just have to get over it with skills.
But then a cerberus approaches and Kaina hits it with a sharp thrust, so it switches targets to her.
“Kaina, don’t overdo it.”
I swing my sword at the boss, and it blocks with its gauntlet. It then steps forward to kick me, and when I hold up my shield, the impact reaches me through the shield.
It’s pretty heavy, despite the Absorption effect.
Its body is smaller in this humanoid form, but has its power gone up?
The cerberus doesn’t care that I’m blocking with the shield, and keeps punching and kicking.
These movements aren’t at all slick, but it’s too close for me to swing my sword.
It’s a series of attacks that really follows the idea that the best defense is a good offense.
Being this close isn’t good for me, so I try to counterattack.
…………………………
……………………
……Now!
I activate Shieldmaster just as it kicks me, and the attack bounces back.
Cerberus loses its balance but doesn’t fall, but I swing my sword before it can fix its posture.
Now I’m on offense and cerberus is defending.
It uses its gauntlets to repel attacks, and it counters, but if I can keep a good distance between us, its attacks won’t reach me.
I don’t have a lot of experience against people fighting bare-handed, but my experiences against the beast king are coming in handy now.
I didn’t like it back then, but now I’m a little, just a little, thankful.
Still, even if I have the advantage, it’s still not going down.
The reason is mostly those faces on the shoulders. Those aren’t decorations, they support by using magic and breathing fire.
Still, by using Parallel Thinking, I can counter it with magic of my own.
Kaina on the other hand, is fully on defense, and the back row is supporting her. Hikari throws out a Projectile Slash and closes the distance, but the target being smaller means that support doesn’t go the way she wants.
There’s the danger that she might hit the wrong target because they’re so close.
I start wondering how the beast king and the others are doing, but the fact that they’re not here tells me they’re still fighting.
The beast king, Rurika, and Sera are fighting, but they’re probably having a hard time because of the magic. After all, the humanoid monsters still use Hellfire and Hellwall.
I can attach elements again on my own, but Kaina has to keep being supported by Mia.
I feel a constant holy magic reaction from Mia, so I think she’s also supporting the beast king and the others.
I attach holy magic on the shield again after blocking Hellfire, and I start to feel a little flustered.
Growing with experience is a trademark of this dungeon, and the cerberus in front of me symbolizes that perfectly.
Its haphazard movements are now more polished, and there’s less and less pointless moves.
The moves that were very simple now include feints, and when we’re firing magic at each other, it attacks without giving me room to breathe.
Three claws suddenly emerge from the gauntlet, and the distance between us widens.
But the worst is the effect on those claws.
“Don’t touch the claws!”
I yell, even though I don’t know what’s going on with the other cerberus.
The holy effect on my sword is suddenly gone.
When I cast Appraisal on the claws, I see they have the same effect as Hellfire.
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