The thing that Mark had quietly feared for a long time.
The thing he was worried about.
The reason why he didn't want her.
The exact thing he feared, had finally happened.
The uneasiness that was always creeping.
The uneasiness he felt in Krista's presence. And now, more recently, in Elisa's presence.
A feeling he knew was right.
Or perhaps, a hunch? A premonition?
A terrible fact. Logical, but also, in a way, tragic.
The reality that the beautiful can and will bite just as ferociously as the ugly and terrifying can and will.
Cat or Leviathan.
Elegant Elf or depraved Demon.
Their fangs can still reach you. And perhaps, they will.
A fact that is as obvious as it is sad.
It couldn't have been surprising.
After all, even Roses grow thorns.
Even a delicate flower won't hesitate to spill one's blood.
Mark had stopped his approach.
He stared dead ahead, a hole through his stomach.
"Kekekekek-" The Guardian snickered.
[Amount of Damage Incurred has been analyzed!]
Mark remained immobile.
In front of him, words floated. But it didn't seem like he was reading.
[Additional Effect for your Skill "Berserker[SSS]" has been triggered!]
The ground below his feet cracked violently.
[Your Strength Stat further increases by 40%!]
Advanced Body Reconstruction-
[Your Agility Stat further increases by 40%!]
The wound immediately closed.
His performed organs were, as the Skill's name suggested, reconstructed.
Mark's eyes were cold and distant, as he rapidly approached the Guardian.
An arrow had hit him.
His fears were confirmed.
The emotions he had been fighting for so long.
None of these things mattered.
Why?
Because Mark wasn't even aware of the events' passing.
With total focus, he had moved as fast as possible towards the Guardian.
Each eye movement, each step, each breath he took. Each action was performed with absolute and, almost, psychotic focus.
To the point that everything around him seemed to disappear.
Everything seemed to fade away.
Leaving only himself, his body, and the goal he was approaching.
But in the middle of his approach, something had suddenly broken his focus.
Something had poked his lower back.
A finger? A tree branch?
Mark wasn't sure what it was, but that poke was enough to break his focus and make him stop for a moment.
Indeed, a Wind Arrow had passed through his stomach.
Yet, Mark had barely felt a thing.
A vague feeling of something grazing his back.
How could that be?
A message that had appeared the instant the "Berserker[SSS]" Skill had activated:
[You have temporarily developed Pain Immunity!]
The numbing of his senses, the disappearance of pain, and the psychotic focus necessary to utilize that Skill.
These, were enough for the events to escape him.
Had he realized what had happened, had he known of Elisa's...
He hadn't. But it wouldn't take long for him to do so.
Mark had stopped moving, and so had the Guardian.
Relying on its sense of hearing, the only thing the latter could detect was an arrow made of Wind passing by, missing it.
"Kekekek!" The Boss Monster snickered.
Mark took a deep breath in.
His focus might have been broken, but it simply needed to be brought back.
Without even thinking about doing so, his S-Ranked Skill "Advanced Body Reconstruction" activated.
Despite the wound and visible damage disappearing, despite his injuries immediately healing, the "Berserker[SSS]" Skill's Additional Effect did not deactivate.
Why not?
Because there was an important distinction to be made between Reconstruction and HP Recovery.
The former focuses on healing wounds.
Or rather, on using Mana to Reconstruct lost or damaged body parts.
An important thought to keep in mind. The "Advanced Body Reconstruction" is a Skill created so that, as long as Mana is plentiful, the user can never be incapacitated.
So that the user can never be found at his enemy's mercy.
The Skill might heal all of the user's injuries, but just because those injuries healed doesn't mean that the user's Health Points had recovered.
Indeed, despite the wounds being healed instantaneously, time was necessary for the recovery of Health Points.
An incredible Skill, that ensured that severe bleeding or even the loss of a limb wouldn't be the end of the user's life. It ensured that despite those injuries, the user could still fight or flee.
An incredible Skill, with a, somewhat, heavy drawback.
Mark moved towards the Guardian.
His body was faster than ever, lighter than ever, and more powerful than ever.
Mark was in peak condition, or so he seemed to be.
His heavy steps could not be missed by the Guardian.
It quickly moved its arm, aiming what its hand held at the approaching Mark.
The distance between the two was only a handful of meters.
But the dark rays were incredibly fast.
Both Mark and the Guardian knew that.
The crying eyes on the Boss Monster's decapitated head blinked.
The dark Aura emanating from those eyes turned into tiny spheres of dark energy and-
'Now.' Mark ordered telepathically.
Before those spheres could turn into deadly dark rays, something made its return.
A seed that had been planted a while ago.
Before the Guardian had even lost its first head, the seed had already been planted.
It had simply been laying low, waiting for the perfect moment.
And that moment had come.
Silently and stealthily, the Demonic Dark Wolf known as Light leaped out of the Guardian's shadow.
The white-scaled Monster got faster. Its steps louder.
The spheres of dark energy seemed to compress at the sides.
The next instant,
Fwoosh-
Dark rays swept the Boss Room indiscriminately.
A long arc was drawn, as a potion of both wall and floor disappeared.
"KIIIAAA!" The Guardian screamed while the Demonic Dark Wolf growled.
It hadn't heard a thing until now.
It hadn't felt a thing approach, yet something had taken hold of it.
Light's fangs lacerated the Boss Monster's only remaining forearm.
The Guardian hurriedly raised its arm, and the Demonic Dark Wolf's body with it.
Still, Light didn't let go. And he didn't stop growling.
Grrrrr-
His growls, were all the Guardian could hear.
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