Civilization

Glancing in my direction, Sabrina stretches her arms upward, letting out a slight moan as she releases her pent-up frustration. With a smile, she places her hands on her waist before calling out to me.

"So, who attacks first?" - Sabrina

"What do you mean? It's all of us." - Nina

"Oh… Strongest moves?" - Sabrina

"Nope, weakest. We just need to give the monster a little waking call, nothing more and nothing less. The focus will be on Devel and the others,while we do our best to just damage the monster. Any damage is damage, it doesn't matter how little we do to the monster, we just need to do something." - Nina

"Makes sense. The only problem I can think of is, what if the monster is intelligent enough to bypass Devel and the rest? We are in major trouble if it does." - Sabrina

"If that happens, we just have to trust the tanks in front of us to do their jobs and keep the monster away from us as we retreat. Devel and the others will obviously come back in time and deal with the monster." - Nina

"You know, you strangely put a lot of faith in them, despite showing such a cold front." - Sabrina

"I got no choice. They are our current strongest players." - Nina

"Yo! Enough chit-chatting. Let's get this show on the road." - Devel

With everyone finally in position, I take in a deep breath as I stare at the black-clad monster. Taking out an arrow from their quiver, each archer readies their bow, inhaling sharply as they take aim. Adjacent to them, each mage readies themselves to let loose their magic attack, including myself as I open my book and take out my wand.

"On me, everyone! 3…2…1… Fire Bolt!" - Nina
Following my Fire Bolt, similar magic skills were released alongside a volley of arrows, as they fire across the sky above Devel and the others. Arching down, as gravity starts to take effect, the arrows and magic skills start to edge closer to the unmoving monster, before eventually landing on it. Unfortunately for us, the arrows narrowly miss, just grazing the monster's sides while the magic skills create a pitiful explosion on its body.

"ELECTRICAL CHARGE!" - Devel

Seeing the attacks hit, Devel yells out a battle cry as he coats himself in electricity, zooming toward the monster within seconds. Exploding upon contact, a small black cloud envelops both of them, as Sylvia, Helioc, Mikki, and SanShiGo position themselves near a stone pillar. Cutting through the cloud, Devel's sword clashes with the hammer. Looking at it closely, I originally thought it was just a black hammer, however, with the electricity zapping off Devel, I could see the hammer more clearly. Wrapped in the same black bandages, the hammer could be seen connected to the monster, tied around its wrists. Forcing Devel away, with a slow swing the monster slowly stands, looking in Devel's direction despite having its eyes covered.

Grinning wildly from ear to ear, it reveals the lack of teeth that grow out of its gums, with only a few disgustingly yellow incisors and canines left. Greenish, white liquid trickles out of its agape mouth, as it sways on the spot, dragging the head of the hammer along the ground. Repositioning his sword, Devel calmly gathers energy as his sword glows brighter and brighter.

In the meantime, Sylvia also gathers energy around her fists, as Helioc brandishes his knives. Mikki looks at the situation calmly, unmoving from behind the stone pillar whilst, SanShiGo glances around, observing the whole situation. Glancing at the other groups, I see that they were ready for another volley of attacks.

"Everyone! 3…2…1…FIRE BOLT!" - Nina

As another volley of attacks flies across the sky, Devel launches himself at the monster, sending a downward slash at its head. Jumping backward, while lifting the hammer, the monster blocks the attack with the long handle but I guess the monster didn't think things through as Devel slams the monster to the ground, through sheer strength. Stepping on the monster, while holding down the hammer with his sword, Devel glances at Helioc.

Dashing out from behind the stone pillar, Sylvia follows Helioc's lead as Helioc disappears from behind his pillar. Reappearing, behind Devel, Helioc leaps off his back, doing a low barrel roll as he reaches the monster's head, stabbing it with both his knives. Tearing through the bandages, and into the flesh of the monster, Helioc successfully damages it, before rolling onto the ground, and jumping away.

Reaching the monster right after, Sylvia's holy energy-clad fists, are sent directly into the torn's monster's face. White, yellow, and orange explosions erupt out of Sylvia's fists as she sends a series of punches at the monster before leaping away after the tenth attack. Noticing something was wrong, Devel also leaps away, landing safely as his eyes narrow slightly. Gripping the handle of his sword tighter, everyone watching notices the strange movements, that the monster was making.

Squirming on the ground, writhing in what looked like a mix of pain and pleasure, it continues to smile, even though it had two large gashes across its face, and it had been punched several times. Before long, a quiet maniacal laugh starts to resound in the quiet area. Chills run down my spine as the monster lifts its legs high into the air. Spasming crazily, its legs dance around, as the laughter intensifies.

Suddenly, like the moment a gun is shot, the monster slams its feet to the ground, lifting its body with nothing more than its legs. The bandages wrapping around the hammer slowly peel off, one by one, revealing a crimson skull with ruby eyes as the head of the hammer. As the bandages peel away, it also separates the twisting obsidian handle with its hands.

"HEHEHE! You, cheeky little humans~ OH! Some of you aren't even HUMAN! HAHAHA! INTERESTING! INTERESTING! Or is it even interesting? WHO CARES?! WHO CARES?! What now? Do I introduce myself? YES! YES! Humans and non-humans have this naming thing, yes? I am…? Hehehe~ Smile. Why you might ask? Because I SMILE!" - Smile

Pointing to his wide grin, Smile glances at us, turning around so that even Helioc and Sylvia who were behind him could see his grin. However, due to the silent treatment that we gave him, Smile lets out a low sigh, shaking his head in the process. Pointing toward Devel, who was the closest person to him, he speaks in a relatively calm voice.

"You. Yes, you with the big sword. How are you? How's your day? Having a good time, waltzing in here with your friends, killing a zombie here, smashing a skeleton there? Must be FUN, isn't it? Shouldn't you be smiling too? What is with the frown? Just turn it-" - Smile



Before Smile could finish his sentence, Devel charges at him, slashing at his chest. Tilting his whole body backward, Smile narrowly dodges the attack, before letting go of his hammer. Pushing off the ground with his hands, Smile kicks at Devel's chest, only to be met with Devel's Thunderous Aura but contrary to Devel's expectations, Smile's feet pass through his electric armor. Slamming into his chest, Devel is launched across the air, smashing into a stone pillar, and collapsing it.

"FIRE BOLT!" - Nina

Retaliating immediately, I order another wave of ranged attacks while, Mikki surprisingly dashes forward, stabbing at Smile with Ian's spider legs. Catching Smile's attention, as well as bringing a smile to his face, Mikki and Smile, engage in a series of exchanges. Dodging each attack swiftly with the aid of the lower spider legs, Mikki counterattacks with the upper spider legs, controlling the space around them with the rest of the spider legs.

Laughing at the attempt to hit him, Smile, and lunges forth, trying to tackle Mikki. Noticing the change in attack pattern, Mikki retreats, letting Helioc who had been hiding in his shadow to leap out, slashing at Smile's face once more. Following his attack, Sylvia sends a hook to his left side, backing off immediately once the attack lands, just in time for the combined ranged attacks to land on his back.

"That was a harder hit than I expected." - Devel

Crawling out of the rumble, Devel brushes off the dirt and rocks that were on his body. Small scratches could be seen on his face but nothing worth taking note of, as he instantly rushes back into the fray. Dashing away from Mikki, Smile smirks at Devel as he meets him halfway, right next to the hammer.

Letting Devel's downward slash cut across his body, Smile grips the obsidian handle with one hand, lifting the hammer off the ground and swinging it at Devel's left side at a frightening speed. Quickly changing into a defensive position, Devel stabs his sword into the ground on the left, as the attack lands, pushing the sword and himself away. A deep mark on the ground could be seen as Devel skids to the side.

"Insanely disproportional strength, coupled with extreme speed and a durable body… What a wonderful mid-boss we have to fight." - SanShiGo

"Hehehe~ Did you think you could attack me from behind? I can see you coming from a mile away. OH WAIT! I CAN'T EVEN SEE!! HAHAHA!" - Smile

"Can't see? I call bullshit on that one. You can see me clearly, can't you?" - Devel

"No, no, no. Are you an idiot? LOOK! LOOK! Use those eyes! Can't YOU see, my eyes are COVERED! Hahaha~ I can't SEE anything. BUT! You can. You can see my SMILE~ LOOK HOW MUCH I AM ENJOYING THIS! HAHAHAHA!" - Smile

"The monster is insane…" - Sylvia

"Insane is an understatement." - Helioc

"Nina, do we keep firing at the monster?" - Sabrina

"I think at this point, we just attack whenever we are ready. That monster is too much of a threat to keep alive any longer than it needs to be." - Nina

"Then…" - Sabrina

"Strongest attacks, everyone. Don't hold back. Kill it, ASAP!" - Nina