Execution

"Roaaar!" The Mist Demon howled toward the sky, the searing pain throwing its body off balance and forcing it down onto one knee. This gave Marcus the exact opening he needed to finish it. Marcus stepped forward, swinging his round shield with a rushing gale of force, smashing it brutally down upon the Mist Demon's hideous head! *Crack!* Nearly half of the Mist Demon's skull caved in, spraying thick red-and-white fluid in an explosion of gore. Dazed and disoriented, its head tilted to the side, exposing its neck. A cold glint cut through the mist as Marcus's war blade slashed down in pursuit, cleaving straight toward the exposed throat! *Slash!* The blade bit deep into flesh, and dark blood sprayed outward. Yet the faint energy barrier clinging to the Mist Demon was still at work; Marcus's war blade caught halfway through its neck, unable to drive any deeper! The beast's feral ferocity surged to life. "Roaaar...!" It twisted its head desperately, dense muscle and bone clamping tightly together. Not only was Marcus unable to wrench his blade free, but the metal edge began to warp under the strain! Both gritted their teeth in a fierce contest of strength, neither able to yield an inch! But the war blade was on the verge of breaking. If this continued, the bending would exceed the metal's limit. The Mist Demon gaped its jaws wide, fully exposing rows of needle-sharp, pale fangs in a terrifying display. Inch by inch, it lunged toward Marcus, determined to bite off the human's head! "You wretched beast...!" Vallis's expression darkened. Drawing the scimitar at his waist, he prepared to rush forward to help. *Fireball!* At that critical juncture, Zelier's second Fireball finished charging and struck the wound on the Mist Demon's neck with pinpoint accuracy. *Boom!* "Beautiful!" Marcus's eyes lit up. Sparks erupted as the Fireball detonated against the Mist Demon. Magic clashed with the energy barrier, melting it away until its final defense vanished into thin air. With all resistance gone, nothing remained to stop Marcus's war blade. The Mist Demon froze, the savage snarl on its face locking in place. "Die!!!" Roaring at the top of his lungs, Marcus brought the blade down with everything he had! The edge sliced cleanly through muscle, sheared brutally through the spine, and tore out the other side! *Squelch!* The Mist Demon's severed head rolled across the ground as foul, black blood geysered into the air like a blossoming firework. The massive, headless corpse wobbled once before crashing heavily down. The Mist Demon was dead! Zelier's taut nerves finally slackened. He slumped to the ground, his chest heaving as he let out a long breath of relief. [Party cooperated to slay Mist Demon (Juvenile). Gained a massive amount of EXP.] Lv. 2 -> Lv. 3, Level Up! Gaining two levels in a single day granted four more unallocated attribute points. This time, instead of Spirit, Zelier chose to invest them into Intelligence. His Intelligence attribute rose from 66 to 70. All at once, Zelier felt his control over magic grow smoother, and the spell structure of Fireball appeared noticeably clearer in his mind. At the same time, due to the system's strong correlation mechanism with Intelligence, his Charisma increased by one point to 46. Having allocated his points, Zelier focused his gaze on his talent skills. The panel remained completely still, gray text indicating the unlock requirement for the next talent skill: [Reach Lower Mage.] In the Candia Continent's mage classification system, the ranks from lowest to highest were Magic Apprentice, Lower Mage, Intermediate Mage, and High Mage. Once one surpassed High Mage, they had to choose a specialized path of class advancement, each with its own field of expertise. But individuals at that level were all renowned powerhouses; Zelier was still leagues away from them. As for Lower Mage... Zelier naturally hadn't reached the level of a Lower Mage yet. *I don't even know if I qualify as a Magic Apprentice...* Zelier mused to himself. The evaluation of mages was entirely separate from that of warriors, rangers, and assassins. The Adventurers' Association held no authority over it; only the Mages' Guild could conduct examinations and confer certified mage insignias. Gazing at the Mist Demon's colossal headless corpse, Zelier felt immensely fortunate. It was fortunate that it had only been a juvenile, and just as fortunate that he had sensed its movements ahead of time, allowing the party to successfully slay it. Otherwise, the outcome would have been grim. After slaying the Mist Demon, Marcus and Vallis also collapsed onto the ground. They panted heavily, trying to steady their racing hearts, their faces filled with the relief of surviving a near-death encounter. Zelier looked toward Gray, who was lying nearby. "Gray? How are you holding up?" "Still alive..." Gray's voice was weak and faint. His luck had been fairly good as well. The Mist Demon's second strike hadn't landed on his chest again; it had only shattered his longsword, and the flying metal fragments hadn't struck vital areas like his eyes or throat. Even so, Gray's face was cut up, and several shards of iron were lodged in his shoulder, blood trickling out steadily. Vallis pushed himself up and walked over to Gray, gently holding him down. "Don't move. Let me see." Vallis ripped away Gray's ruined boiled leather armor and undershirt, revealing the skin beneath. The Mist Demon's whip-like blow had been horrifying; Vallis could clearly see that Gray's chest had caved in slightly. Several of his ribs were definitely broken, but the fragments didn't seem to have punctured his lungs or any other vital organs; otherwise, Gray would already be dead. There were no lacerations on his chest, yet blood still seeped through his skin, forming a dark, bruised mass across his breast. Zelier watched from the side, secretly shaken. *If I took a hit like that... I'd probably be dead on the spot.* Nothing could be done about the internal bruising right now, so Vallis turned his attention to the iron shards embedded in Gray's shoulder. Cleaning the wounds and stopping the bleeding took priority. "Zelier, go start a fire and heat up a blade. Bring over the Firethroat Liquor and the medical kit too." Zelier carried out Vallis's instructions without delay, while Marcus stood watch in silence, guarding against any unexpected threats. Vallis took the heated knife Zelier handed him and blew gently on the rising heat. "Bear with it. Don't go howling like a banshee," Vallis said. "Do I look like some delicate maiden to you?" Gray cracked a weak smile. Vallis deftly used the tip of the knife to peel back the flesh snagged by the metal shard, then pinched its edge. The corner of Gray's eye twitched, his body tensing up instinctively. Zelier shoved a piece of cloth into Gray's mouth just in time for him to bite down. With a firm grip between two fingers, Vallis yanked hard! *Squelch!* Accompanied by a sickening sound, a twisted sliver of iron tore free, followed by a thin spurt of blood. "Urgh... ahahaha..." Gray's body locked rigid, his screams muffled behind the cloth until, toward the end, his agonizing wails bizarrely sounded like laughter. Whether it was Zelier's imagination or not, he thought he caught a fleeting look of amusement flicker across Vallis's face.