Creation system
Chapter 44: Boss battle

Chapter 44: Boss battle

Leya attempted to dodge, but the petal adjusted its trajectory mid-flight as if guided by malevolent intelligence.

Her shield proved worthless, the petal sliced through it like parchment before biting deep into her shoulder.

The organic projectile crumbled to dust immediately after impact, leaving behind a wound that burned with unnatural fire.

"Watch OUT!" Mitch’s warning came almost too late as another petal streaked toward Leya.

Desperate, she raised her sword to intercept the attack.

Her shield lay in useless pieces at her feet, bisected cleanly by the previous assault.

The ice on her blade flared to life as steel met organic razor, but instead of deflecting the petal, her weapon was cut cleanly instead.

Only a desperate twist at the last second saved her life, turning what should have been a killing blow into a deep gash across her neck. Blood flowed freely down her throat, warm and sticky.

The wooden woman retained only two petals now, but their demonstrated lethality made them more dangerous than their beautiful appearance.

Mitch had closed the distance during the exchange, his ironwood sword transforming as he channeled power through it.

The blade darkened to midnight black, its edge humming with destructive energy that could cleave through tier-two defenses.

A petal moved to intercept his strike with the same deadly precision it had shown against Leya.

This time, however, the sword’s enhanced cutting power met resistance. The petal fought back with surprising durability, its surface hardening like diamond.

But Mitch’s strength and the blade’s enchantment proved superior, the organic shield parted with a wet, tearing sound, though barely. Crumbling to dust.

The final petal launched itself at the now-weaponless Leya with inevitability.

She had lost both sword and shield, leaving her nearly defenseless against the killing stroke.

In desperation, she extended her finger toward the incoming projectile and summoned flame.

A ball of fire erupted from her palm, streaking through the air to impact the petal with explosive force.

The collision altered the petal’s trajectory enough to send it crashing harmlessly into the earth, where it withered to dust.

But the assault wasn’t over.

"AHH!" Leya’s scream of pain echoed through the chamber as a root, unnoticed during her focus on the petals, punched through her back.

The pointed tip emerged from her chest, slick with blood, before withdrawing with cruel deliberation.

Witnessing Mitch’s powerful move, cleaving her last petal, the driad became enraged. Green energy erupted from her wooden form like flame, and the very air around her began to writhe with barely contained power.

She gestured sharply, and a blast of wind struck Mitch with the force of a charging bull, hurling him across the arena. He hit the ground hard, rolling to absorb the impact as best he could.

The leaves from every tree within the chamber began to tremble and detach.

They swirled through the air toward the driad, gathering into a massive tornado of razor-sharp foliage. Each leaf gleamed with metallic sheen, transformed into miniature blades by her magic.

With another gesture, she directed the deadly whirlwind toward Mitch’s prone form.

Walls of roots erupted from the earth around Mitch, trapping him in a cage of living wood just as the leaf tornado descended. He activated his personal shield spell, pouring mana into the protective barrier as the cyclone of cutting edges enveloped him.

The magical shield held for mere seconds before shattering under the relentless assault, its blue light fragmenting into dissolving specks.

Immediately, he cast another, stronger barrier, this one more robust, less transparent.

This was his bracer’s enchantment. The magical item flared to life, projecting a barrier that lasted nearly fifteen seconds before dissipating in cascading blue mana.

Drawing on his magical energy, Mitch cast one more shield spell. Through the whirling death surrounding him, he noticed the leaves beginning to dry and crumble.

The spell was reaching its natural conclusion. If he could endure just a little longer...

When his last barrier finally shattered, the tornado was already beginning to collapse, its component leaves falling to the ground as lifeless debris and crumbling to dust.

Free from the need to maintain the tornado, the driad resumed her root attacks with renewed vigor.

Mitch assessed Leya’s condition and felt his heart sink. Her sword was destroyed, only the handle and a few centimeters of blade remaining.

From his dimensional storage, he retrieved a tier one sword he had been saving and hurled it toward his partner.

While she still carried her knife, its short blade would be useless against the thick roots threatening to impale them both.

She was way more experienced with a sword.

He charged toward the wooden woman with grim determination, closing the distance despite the forest of deadly roots sprouting around him.

The driad’s antlers began to pulse with concentrated mana, energy building between the white antlers like lightning preparing to strike.

A beam of pure green energy lanced from between the driad’s antlers, moving too quickly for human reflexes to avoid.

The ray punched through Mitch’s left side, burning through armor and flesh with searing heat. Agony flooded his system, but he forced himself to continue forward.

Within striking range at last, he raised his darkened blade and brought it down with all his remaining strength.

Unlike her petals, the driad’s body offered no supernatural resistance. The enchanted sword cleaved through her from the crown of her head to her left foot, splitting the high-tier two creature in half.

The animated trees toppled immediately, crashing to the ground as lifeless timber. No new roots sprouted from the earth. The oppressive magical presence that had filled the chamber dissipated.

They had won.

The driad’s corpse didn’t dissolve into mana particles. Mitch would be able to use his gathering skill to harvest valuable materials from the remains.

In the center of the arena, a silver chest materialized, their reward for surviving the trial.

Mitch channeled every remaining point of mana into healing magic, desperately trying to stem the blood flowing from his torso wound. Leya was in better condition but still required treatment for her injuries.

"Hahaha!" Both warriors began to laugh despite their pain. The battle had been impossibly close, yet once again, they had emerged victorious against overwhelming odds.

Their laughter echoed through the now-silent chamber, a sound of pure human triumph in the face of supernatural terror.