Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

The moment the four attacks were created and released, Atlas had already started moving at the same time. He had been watching the Boss from the beginning and had already understood that ordinary Spirit-based attacks were not going to be enough. Himalton’s latest attack was clearly several times stronger than the previous one because of the amount of Spirit Energy and Gravity concentrated into it, but even that didn’t make Atlas believe the Boss would be defeated so easily.

’Ordinary Spirit attacks won’t do much to this Monster, Even that attack Himalton just used is several times stronger than his previous one, but I still can’t see it being enough to kill this thing.’

His thoughts continued while everyone else was taking their positions around the area. Atlas had already seen enough of this Divine-rank Ruin to understand that allowing the Boss to continue attacking freely was not an option. Two members of Asfalon had already fallen from its first movement, and even after that the combined attack had not given them any information about its actual strength.

’But...what if I inject Null into those attacks?’

That thought had been enough for Atlas to make his decision, ’Then maybe the result will be different.’

He didn’t waste any more time after reaching that conclusion. Atlas moved toward the upper part of the chamber while keeping his presence concealed through his Traits. His goal was simple. If the Boss couldn’t be defeated by the others, then he would have to make sure it was defeated before the situation became even worse. He had already seen how dangerous the inside of this Ruin was, and if the Boss was allowed to continue moving around freely, he couldn’t guarantee that anyone here would leave the Ruin alive.

Atlas eventually reached the ceiling directly above the Monster’s head.

He remained there without producing any sound, and the reason he could stay in that position was his Crowbeast Wings extending from his back. The black wings allowed him to remain above the Boss while his presence continued to stay concealed through his Traits. From that position he could clearly see the Monster below, especially its massive head, which was still focused toward the roots that had wrapped around its legs.

Atlas then formed another weapon.

A Bow.

It was similar to the one Himalton had created using Spirit Energy, but Atlas’s version was much smaller. He had created it through his Spirit Weave Trait, using the same basic structure he had seen from Himalton’s attack and reproducing it through his own understanding. The Bow was far smaller than Himalton’s massive three-meter weapon, but Atlas didn’t need a larger one in the first place.

He only needed something capable of creating an attack that could reach the Boss’s skull from directly above.

’This should be enough.’

Atlas held the Bow firmly before looking toward the Boss again. His position gave him a clear route toward the top of its head, and because the Monster was currently focused on the Roots around its legs, it hadn’t noticed his exact location yet.

He pulled the almost invisible string.

The moment he did, an Arrow began forming from the center of the Bow. Spirit Energy condensed into its shape and stretched toward Atlas’s right arm as he continued pulling the string. Unlike Himalton, he did not need to gather an enormous amount of Spirit Energy because his purpose wasn’t to overpower the Monster with Spirit alone.

Atlas only needed one thing.

Null.

His sole intention was to inject Null along with those other attacks, and as Null Interfered or erased with anything Atlas calculated it could penetrate the Skull if those Spirit attacks only scratched it.

The moment the Arrow was formed, Atlas placed a tiny amount of Null at its tip. He deliberately kept the quantity extremely low because he didn’t want anyone below to notice it. The Null mixed into the Arrow without changing its visible appearance, leaving only a normal Spirit-based Bow and Arrow for anyone capable of seeing it.

’Now!’

At the same time, the four attacks launched by Himalton and the three members of Asfalon were already approaching the Boss from all the four sides. Atlas watched their movement for a brief moment before making his own decision.

He released the Arrow.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

CRACK!!

The attacks reached the Boss’s head almost together.

Himalton’s Arrow entered first, followed by the hundreds of Spirit-powered punches from Raison from the left corner, Heddeon’s X-shaped slash and Armado’s invisible crescent. Atlas’s Arrow reached the same location from above and struck the top of the Boss’s head at almost the same time.

The impact produced a much larger explosion than before.

Smoke immediately spread from the Monster’s skull while the force of the combined attacks shook the chamber. Pieces of the surrounding stone broke apart and fell from above, while the Roots around the Monster’s legs continued tightening their hold and prevented its massive body from moving away from the point of impact.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Everyone remained focused on the Monster’s head.

Himalton, Alberion and the remaining members of Asfalon had all already moved away after releasing their attacks, but their attention remained fixed on the same location. The three members who had launched their strongest techniques were already breathing heavily, their Spirit consumption becoming obvious after using such powerful attacks twice in succession.

’Did that not work?’ Himalton kept his gaze fixed on the smoke.

He had already used one of his strongest attacks previously, and this time it had been several times more powerful as he had poured something other than Gravity...it was another Fundamental force he could use, that was combined with the attacks of the other members as well. Atlas had also attacked, meaning the Boss had received five separate attacks at nearly the same moment. If even this didn’t Kill it, then they would have a much bigger problem than they would ever dream of.

The smoke slowly began to spread away from the position where all five attacks had struck, and as the visibility returned, the first thing everyone noticed was the Boss’s head. The attack had actually damaged it, a large portion of the upper side of its skull had been torn apart and the dark flesh beneath it could be seen clearly. There were also cracks running through the remaining part of its head, showing that Himalton’s Arrow and the attacks from the others had managed to reach it properly rather than being completely stopped by its defense.

Himalton’s eyes narrowed as he observed the damage while remaining where he had scattered to. He had personally put a huge amount of Spirit Energy and that Fundamental force along with gravity into that Arrow, and the three members of Asfalon had also used their strongest attacks immediately after it. Atlas had even attacked from above, making the Boss receive another attack from a completely different direction. For the first time since it’s emergence, they had managed to damage the creature in front of them, and that alone should have been enough to make Himalton feel relieved.

But that feeling didn’t last.

The moment the smoke thinned enough for them to see the wound properly, everyone noticed something strange happening inside the damaged part of the skull. The flesh around the broken section started moving on its own, slowly spreading toward the missing portion as though the Monster’s body was rebuilding itself from the remaining flesh. The broken sections of bone-like material began connecting with each other while the torn surface started closing little by little, and the speed at which all of this happened was so fast that everyone could clearly watch the damage disappearing in front of their eyes.

"Huh...?"

One of the members of Asfalon couldn’t help making that sound as he stared at the Boss’s head. He had expected the combined attack to leave a serious wound there, at least one that would take some time for the Monster to recover from, but the wound was already becoming smaller with every passing moment. The exposed flesh disappeared beneath a new layer of the same dark material as the missing section continued forming until the damage had completely vanished.

Within only a few seconds, the Boss’s head looked almost exactly the same as it had before the attack.

Everyone became quiet again.

Himalton stared at the Monster for several moments while trying to understand what he had just seen. His attack had been strong enough to damage the Boss, and that had already confirmed that the creature wasn’t completely immune to their attacks. However, the recovery speed was another problem entirely. Even if they managed to damage it again, what was the point if every wound they created could disappear in only a few seconds?

’It...recovered in an Instant? Shit!’ Himalton thought as his expression became more pale and serious. ’Then we can’t simply keep attacking it without knowing the limit of that ability. If it can continue doing this without any reduction in its strength, then our Spirit will run out long before its body does.’

The other members also seemed to arrive at the same problem. Raison’s breathing had already become heavier after using his attacks twice, Heddeon’s grip around his dagger had tightened while his chest moved faster than before, and Armado’s breathing had also become more noticeable after using his Long Sword technique. They had already spent a huge amount of Spirit Energy just to damage the Boss once, yet the result had disappeared almost immediately.

Atlas, however, remained above the Monster and continued observing it while hidden.

’Damn bastard regenerated completely, it must have a Regeneration trait.’

He had expected the attack to damage it because the Null he placed at the tip of his Arrow had successfully reached its head. Null had already shown its ability to reduce things to nothing when used properly, so Atlas had expected at least a lasting injury. Yet even after that attack, the Boss had restored the damaged portion of its skull as if the injury had never happened.

His gaze moved across the Monster’s head before shifting slightly toward the rest of its body.

There seemed to be no sign of weakness.

Even after receiving five powerful attacks at almost the same time, it still remained standing while the Roots continued holding its legs in place. that amount of power would have been enough to reduce a city like Lumivale to ashes in an Instant...yet...it only damaged only one portion of it’s head?

And...they still had no idea how strong it actually was as it had only shown the speed of only it’s one hand till now.

Just as Atlas and everyone was staring at it with shock as countless thoughts and strategies formed in their head...they saw it move, it finally moved.

"ROAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRR!!!" A deafening roar came out from it’s mouth.

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