The horrible grinding of the obsidian door ceased as it opened wide enough for the group to pass. Darkness and the sickening smell of moldy floral perfume greeted them again, familiar yet still repulsive. Goro, buckler raised, hatchet ready, crossed the threshold first, followed closely by Junichi and the rest of the group, who quickly deployed according to the established pn.
The room was as they had left it, or rather, fled it. Vast, dark, lit only by the flickering glow of torn paper nterns hanging high above. In the center, the floor was marked by the dark silhouette left by Takeshi's body, a brutal reminder of their first encounter's failure.
And there, near the mark, stood the Rokurokubi.
She didn't seem to have moved. Still in her dark, worn kimono, her body motionless, almost rigid. But her neck, impossibly long and thin, unduted zily in the air like a curious snake, and on her floating face, the same wide, fixed smile, devoid of all humanity, was fixed upon them. Her dark, empty eyes gleamed with ancient malice.
Rokurokubi, the Smiling Nightmare - Lvl 7 | HP: 350/350 | MP: 100/100The information imposed itself on the minds of Renji, Kenta, and Junichi as they focused on the enemy. Level 7. Two levels higher than them. 350 HP. Not insurmountable, but it would be difficult.
“Goro, now!”Junichi ordered.
“HEY! SNAKE FACE! OVER HERE!”Goro roared, activating his 'Provoke' skill. He banged his buckler with his hatchet to draw more attention.
The Rokurokubi's floating head slowly pivoted towards Goro, her smile widening, if possible. She ignored the others for the moment, her target designated. The serpentine neck hissed through the air and lunged towards Goro with blinding speed.
“Defensive Stance!”Goro grunted, pnting his feet.
The neck struck the metal buckler with a dull thud. Goro held firm, but the impact forced him back a step.“She hits hard!”He announced.
“Attack!”Junichi yelled.
Kenta charged forward, aiming for the boss's immobile body with his sword. Haru burst from the shadows on the opposite fnk, daggers ready. Renji began to circle, looking for an angle of attack. Aiko and Junichi took positions at a distance.
“Arcane Bolt!”Aiko incanted, unching a dart of energy that struck the boss's kimono with no visible effect.HP: 348/350
Junichi drew his bow, using 'Steady Aim' for a second before loosing an arrow with 'Precise Shot'. The arrow hit the body, sinking in slightly.HP: 340/350
The fight truly began. Goro, sticking to the pn, kept the boss's attention, parrying or dodging the swift, vicious strikes of the serpentine neck with his buckler and Defensive Stance. He tanked, grimacing under the force of the impacts, but held his ground.
Kenta and Haru harassed the main body. Kenta attempted a 'Power Strike'. The sword came down heavily, leaving a clearer mark.HP: 325/350But the attack's slowness left him exposed, and the boss's neck, incredibly fast, turned from Goro for a split second to whip him violently across the chest, sending him rolling, breathless.
“Kenta!”Misaki cried out.“Light Heal!”A faint glow enveloped Kenta, easing the pain.
Haru, taking advantage of the diversion, used his 'Quick Dodge' to avoid another neck strike and pnted his daggers into the boss's back.HP: 315/350
Renji, seeing an opening, activated his 'Minor Stealth' and slipped behind the boss. 'Sneak Attack'! His improvised dagger sank into the kimono's fabric.HP: 300/350
The fight was a chaotic, desperate dance. Goro valiantly tanked, Misaki healed the blows that got through, Aiko and Junichi dealt consistent but low damage from afar, while Kenta, Haru, and Renji looked for openings to strike in melee. The Rokurokubi, however, was fast, her neck unpredictable, and her blows powerful. The fixed smile on her floating face never wavered, adding a yer of psychological terror to the physical confrontation.
“HP at three-quarters!”Junichi announced, after checking the stats.
They pressed on, following the pn, but it was an exhausting struggle. Goro was starting to tire, his buckler marked with multiple impacts. Kenta and Haru were covered in scratches and bruises from the neck's swift strikes. Misaki's and Aiko's MP were dwindling.
“She’s tough!”Kenta panted.“We’re hurting her, but slowly!”
“Keep going! Don’t let up the pressure!”Junichi ordered.
They redoubled their efforts. Strikes, bolts, arrows, heals... The cycle continued. Slowly, painfully, the boss's health bar descended.
“Half! She’s at half!”Kenta yelled, after nding another blow.HP: 175/350
At that precise moment, the atmosphere in the room changed. An icy chill ran down Renji's spine. The Rokurokubi's smile seemed to stretch even wider, becoming grotesque. A dark, indistinct aura pulsed briefly around her immobile body. And suddenly, her speed... exploded.
The serpentine neck, already fast, became a blurry fsh. It struck Goro's buckler with such force that the metal buckled and the Padin was thrown backward like a rag doll. Before he hit the ground, before anyone could react, the Rokurokubi... vanished. Her immobile body and floating head disappeared in a swirl of shadows.
“Where is she?!”Haru yelled, frantically searching around him.
“GORO! BEHIND YOU!”Renji's warning cry, whose Assassin eyes had barely tracked the lightning-fast movement, came too te.
The Rokurokubi had rematerialized right behind Goro as he tried to get up. Her smile was a chasm of madness. Her serpentine neck didn't strike, it coiled around Goro's right arm with blinding speed. Then, with monstrous strength and a horrific sound of tearing flesh and bone, she pulled.
“AAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!”
Goro's scream was inhuman, a sound of pure agony that froze the blood of everyone present. His right arm was ripped from his shoulder in a spray of scarlet blood that spttered the floor and nearby walls. The Padin colpsed, conscious but overwhelmed by unimaginable pain, staring in disbelief at the bloody stump where his arm had hung seconds before.
The Rokurokubi held the dismembered arm with her neck, swinging it almost nonchantly, her demented smile fixed on the group.
Chaos erupted. Daichi let out a piercing scream and fainted on the spot. Misaki screamed in horror, but her healer's instinct took over, and she began desperately crawling towards Goro, ignoring the danger. Kenta, eyes bloodshot, roared in rage and charged the Rokurokubi with his sword, a suicidal attack born of fury and fear. Haru and Junichi froze for a split second, paralyzed by the brutality of the scene.
The Rokurokubi, amused by Kenta's charge, prepared to meet him with her deadly neck, dropping Goro's arm.
That's when Yuki moved. She didn't attack, didn't scream. She simply took a step forward, pcing herself between the boss and Kenta, and between the boss and Misaki who was approaching Goro. She looked up at the Rokurokubi's floating, smiling face. Her expression was still neutral, but her eyes... her eyes burned with a cold, ancient intensity, a depth that seemed to contradict her young age.
The Rokurokubi, her neck poised to strike Kenta, stopped dead. Her smile flickered for the first time. An indefinable expression, a mixture of confusion, recognition, and... fear? crossed her inhuman features as she stared at Yuki. She seemed frozen in pce, her neck unduting slowly, as if hypnotized or paralyzed by the young Warlock's gaze.
Renji, despite the chaos and the horror of Goro's injury, was the only one to distinctly notice this silent, deeply strange interaction. The boss, who had just mutited Goro with terrifying speed and brutality, was now frozen by Yuki's mere stare.
What the...? Is she... afraid of Yuki? Why?
The fight had stopped as suddenly as it had escated. Silence fell again, broken only by Goro's pained groans, Misaki's sobs as she tried to stop the bleeding, and Kenta's ragged breathing as he halted his charge. The boss was motionless, its empty gaze fixed on Yuki.
“NOW!”Junichi's voice, hoarse but firm, broke the stupor. He had regained his senses and was already drawing his bow.“ATTACK HER WHILE SHE’S STUCK! Misaki, take care of Goro! Everyone else, FIRE AT WILL!”
