My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 201: Failed Instinct

Kace grinned maliciously as he became certain that his provocation had been effective. Phillip was taking his time to gather enough mana into a powerful spell. This, in turn, eased the pressure on Kace and his small band as they closed the distance, not having to worry about a constant flurry of fireballs anymore. A few heroes leapt into action, trying to buy Phillip enough time to complete his spell.

They dashed out from the surrounding rocks and rushed to meet Kace in battle. The Earth Shield User did not budge and instead kept a wary eye out for a surprise attack. Kace was surprised by the man's diligence. Instead of seeking personal glory, he was sticking to making sure his job in the whole thing was completed successfully. In this case, Phillip surviving the battle.

Kace used Cursed Weapon on his stave, preparing to meet the first blow that would soon arrive. The hero to reach him was a woman wielding two, one-handed hammers. She swung her right hammer in a wide arc, and when deflected the blow with the tip of his stave, she stepped inside of its reach. A triumphant smile was on her face as she was now in range to strike his chest with her left hammer.

A moment of doubt flashed across her mind as she noticed that Kace was not even paying attention to her anymore. His eyes were fixed on the second hero that was drawing closer. Her doubt became a reality as purple vines shot out of the stave and caught her arm swinging the hammer. She attempted to pull herself away, only to feel extreme pressure on her left forearm. 

She screamed out as the bones within were crushed to dust, her hammer in that hand fell to the ground with a soft thud. The vines tore her away from Kace's side and began to slam her like a rag doll against the rocky ground. The woman lost consciousness as blood poured from her mouth and ears. Satisfied with the results, Sylvan tossed her limp body directly into the path of the third hero, behind the one that Kace was focused on.

The man grunted as he dropped his sword to catch his companions body, it would have been too cruel to let her crash against the ground. He realised his mistake too late. As his head darted upwards, he saw the lifeless body of the man who had just been in front of him, falling to the ground. His armour's chest area had been dented so far inwards that it was obvious his entire ribcage had collapsed inwards on his chest cavity.

Kace was already but a few steps away from the man. Forgetting about the woman he had just lain down on the ground, he glanced around for his sword. Spotting it just out of reach, he dove towards it and performed a roll while grasping its hilt during his manoeuvre. He pivoted on his heels to fix Kace back in his sights as the sword swung upwards in a diagonal from left to right into a defensive posture. 

The physical strike that he had been expecting never landed on his blade. He felt confused as a cold feeling spread out through his from his gut. Warm liquid bubbled up in his mouth as he watched Kace speed past his original position, not even sparing him a glance. When he looked down towards the coldness source, the rear quarter of an ice spear could be seen.

It had passed through his bowels so quickly, and with the effects of his adrenaline, he failed to notice when it had happened. The spear had gone straight out of his back with such a force that the tip and then some were embedded in the rocky ground behind him. Rooting him to the spot. The bluish ice was turning a crimson colour as his blood trickled down it to nourish the dirt.

Phillip's spell was almost complete, but he relied too heavily on the grunts that had gone to slow Kace down. He was shocked to realise that the Chimera's growth had exceeded his expectations. Especially his combat awareness and prowess. Having focused entirely on forming his spell, and expecting the grunts to hold Kace off, he felt confused as he felt his gathering mana become disturbed.

He had closed his eyes to avoid getting distracted, so he never even saw Kace's Silence spell approaching him. The gathered mana went haywire before dissipating into nothing. Cancelling the powerful magic that Phillip had sacrificed precious time to form. Phillip cursed his recklessness as he noticed the icon that appeared in his own system, Letting him know that he had been silenced along with a timer.

He knew that he would have to hold out until it reached zero if he wanted their assault to show any signs of success. However, the opportunity to strike with powerful magic was already lost to him. He drew the blade at his side and moved to a more favourable spot nearby. Where the ground was flatter and more even. The last time they had met, Phillip had not been especially proficient in weapon handling. In the past few years, however, he had worked to overcome his shortcomings.

Kace dodged past the remaining two heroes who had come to intercept him. Trusting Sophia and Dao to take care of them. His eyes were fully focused on boring into Phillip's skull. It was only now that he could sense that Phillip had definitely grown by quite a large margin since the last time they had clashed. The thought stunned him a bit, but there was no helping it now.

""KACE!"" Vaskra roared shrilly from a distance, having detected magical fluctuations that she had gotten too familiar with by now.

""Too late!"" Phillip laughed as he felt the same thing that Vaskra did. 

Kace felt his hairs stand on end at a danger approaching him too quickly for him to avoid. The smell of burning ozone permeated his nostrils as he activated Kinetic Vision to see what was approaching. With time seemingly slowing down out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Sarah. Purple lightning danced on her skin as her sharp eyes bore into Kace's. Her dagger was already within two inches of his throat.

[Instinct (Passive): Failed]