The trio watched as the Hollowbane was getting closer.
Ash summoned the dark gauntlets, black particles flashed on both of his hands. The gauntlet took the same shape and size of Ash's hands. The sword he had got from Nyro was sheathed behind his back.
Aeris didn't need to prepare anything, his sword was already held tightly in his right hand.
The sword wasn't made to be held by both hands, it was just a short sword, light enough to be held with only one hand.
Nyro summoned his daggers. Violet particles appeared from nowhere, shaping the two blades in between his grip. The daggers were sharp enough to cut through hard steel with its slightly-bent blade that looked almost like a karambit.
The trio took their initial stance, getting ready to fight an abomination that was clearly out of their league.
The Hollowbane kept approaching, slow and steady, staring silently at the three figures standing ahead of it. Until reaching a specific point, the Hollowbane stopped in his tracks and took a fighting stance as well.
The next 10 seconds were absolute silence. A 3v1 fight that will eventually won't end good for both sides. Sweat started beading on their foreheads. They were nervous but determined to fight.
'We don't have a plan. What should we do?!' Ash thought, evaluating the information he knows about that specific Fluffbane.
In a moment that felt like eternity, Nyro raised his leg and kicked Ash from behind. Ash widened in surprise, trying to hold himself still and not fall.
After a few attempts that took only a second, Ash fell to the ground.
The Hollowbane saw its chance and lunged forward to exterminate the fool who had fallen.
'Did he just... threw me to death?! That backstabbing bastard!' Ash thought. Fury taking over his emotion as he raised his head and saw the Hollowbane above him, descending its claws toward his skull.
"AH SHIT!" Ash said as he rolled to the right side without thinking. The claw flashed near his head by a breadth of a hair, leaving a shallow slash on his cheeks.
"TCH!" Ash, irritated by the flow of events, rose as fast as he can to block the harrowing attack coming to take his life.
But what could a level 3 traveler do against a Hollowbane of level 10?
'At least I would die fighting for my life.' Ash thought while trying to straighten his spine.
However, in terms of speed, the Hollowbane had no rivals. Before Ash could muster what happened, claws of steel was just mere centimeters away from his eyes.
Ash had no choice but to raise his gauntlets in a defensive form and shut his eyes closed.
CLANK!
Stunned from the clangor of steel, Ash slowly opened his eyes to see Aeris has blocked the attack, forcing the Hollowbane to dash backward to avoid the slash.
"Stand back, Ash. I'm level 6 now, I should be able to take him down." Aeris said, holding the sword more tightly. A smile crossed his face, His eyes illuminated a blue hoe that made his surrounding shine.
Ash noticed the subtle change in Aeris. It wasn't only his eyes that shone! No, his sword casted the same blue light as if it was an enhancement. His legs shone too and dug deeper into the ground while raising the rear, indicating a fast dash.
And so it was. Aeris dashed ahead with surprising speed, closing the distance in no time.
As soon as he reached the abomination, The Hollowbane dashed somewhere else.
Ash widened in shock, as he saw Aeris catching up to the Hollowbane once more.
'Aeris... what the hell have you become?!' Ash thought, feeling the superiority of Aeris's power. The gap between them had became bigger again.
Aeris wasted no time and slashed the Hollowbane before it could dash to another point.
The slash landed on the Hollowbane, specifically at its torso. A diagonal wound appeared on its carapace, though not deep, the effect was clear. Streams of blood flowed from the wound.
The abomination groaned in pain and stood still, covering the wound with its left claw.
That moment of silence made them both stop and study each other.
"Sorry, Hollowbane... But, you are already dead."
The abomination seemed to understand what Aeris said and Aeris saw it in its eyes.
"No matter what you do, no matter how fast your dashes are, I can see it. I can see where you are heading and where you would stop." Aeris said in a low tone, pointing his finger toward the Hollowbane.
The abomination dashed again, but stopped mid way, staring in shock at Aeris. The Hollowbane saw Aeris's finger tracing the end point of its dash. It knew that Aeris can really see the patterns of its dash, the hollow dash.
"See, I told you. Now farewell, Hollowbane." As if confirming his declaration, two sharp blades shimmered from nowhere around the Hollowbane's neck.
"As he said... Farewell, two-horned rabbit!" Nyro said as he emerged from behind the Hollowbane. A swift execution slash came to existence, forcing the Hollowbane to fall on its knees. Its blood railed down its body, painting almost all of its upper-body full of red.
Fallen on its knees, raising its head to the sky as it was on the verge of death. Nyro stood behind it as its executer, cleaning his blades as its blood droplets kept railing.
Ash was stunned from the devastation his fellow travelers did.
'So that's why you pushed me, Nyro. You--' Ash thought. Fascination clearly written on his face as well as shock.
"I didn't intend to do it, Ash. Though it was Aeris's plan, it was the only way to kill that beast. Remember, No one should be called an Assassin if he got caught." Nyro said, a smile formed on his face. He was amused because the title of killing the first Hollowbane will be on top of his head.
'Aeris knows my limits. If that was his plan, then he only used me as a prey to catch the Hollowbane. The predator hid himself in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to execute. That's a solid plan if I think about it that way.' Ash calculated the whole plan that took place, clearly unaware about when they planned such a whole thing.
'Could they have planned all of this while I was unconscious? It must be. That's the most logical explanation.' Indeed, Aeris and Nyro were discussing something important before Ash gained his consciousness.
Aeris walked and gestured to the other two to follow.
"Come on, guys. Let the Hollowbane rest in peace." Aeris said, taking a couple of steps away from the massacre. Nyro followed right after.
Only Ash remained motionless, staring at the Hollowbane. Uneasiness caught to his senses. something wasn't right.
The Hollowbane, motionless, staring at the sky which was covered by leaves and huge trunks of tress. Its hand flickered rapidly.
'Assassination first rule: Strike from the shadows!' Ash's instincts kicked in and rushed as fast as he can with a dash that surprised even himself. Ash dashed toward Nyro and... Aeris?
Ash didn't have time to pull out his sword. Instead, he channeled every bit of his strength into a one devastating blow with his dark gauntlets.
Both Aeris and Nyro were giving their backs to Ash and the Hollowbane, unaware of anything happening behind them.
Ash reached them with his punch ready to strike. With a rotation so fast that his bones were about to crack, Ash jumped high enough to strike from above. But neither Aeris nor Nyro of course. No, it was the Hollowbane that emerged behind them in no time.
Fortunately, Ash was already there. Before the Hollowbane could penetrate their heads from behind with its two claws, each one heading for the other, Ash sent a destructive blow from above, landing on its eyes just a mere second before Aeris and Nyro could be on the verge of death.
The Hollowbane, shocked as he never anticipated the upcoming attack, received the devastation without any defenses.
The blow was proved to be more than destructive! The Hollowbane once the blow landed on its eyes, its head descended to the ground as fast as his hollow dash! Causing a small shockwave that ran through the area.
Aeris and Nyro rotated as fast as they could, ready to counter. But to no need to do so. Ash landed on his feet, standing near the fallen Hollowbane with a furious look on his face.
"Nyro, you were right. No one should be called an Assassin if he got caught. Remember, you are not the only Assassin here."
[You have slain a LV.10 Old Times Twitchling, Hollowbane!]
[100 EXP gained!]
[You have received a Skin Fracture!]