Descent of a God

Plan

|Jude|

As we huddled inside the hollow dome of earth, the sheer number and strength of the bears we had encountered became apparent. We both knew that a direct confrontation with them would lead to our defeat. Fortunately, the bears seemed oblivious to our presence, allowing us to plan our attack.

After assessing the situation, Cordelia and I came up with a strategy. She was better suited to dealing with large numbers of enemies at once, while I preferred to focus on individual opponents. We decided to set traps to thin out their numbers before engaging them directly.

"We'll need to take out as many as possible before we even think about fighting," Cordelia said, deep in thought. "Traps are the way to go."

I nodded in agreement, impressed with her quick thinking. Together, we dug out several "killing pits" with narrow walls that would force the bears to come at us one by one, making them easier to kill. However, this strategy was only effective against the weaker lance-level bears, as the stronger ones could easily break free.

To lure them into the traps, I conjured an illusion spell to disguise our presence and attract the bears. The spell was powerful enough to fool even the bear king, who was unable to sense mana. Cordelia and I then took turns luring the unsuspecting bears into the traps and slaughtering them with ease.

In order to avoid alerting the rest of the pack, we also cast a sound suppression spell to muffle the noise of the traps. It was a tedious process, but we managed to eliminate the majority of the lance-level bears.

With the easy part of the plan completed, Cordelia and I turned our attention to the stronger bears. We knew that we would have to engage them directly, but we were more confident in our abilities now that their numbers had been significantly reduced.

As we reached the second part of our plan, the pressure intensified. The king bear had become suspicious of our actions and it was only a matter of time before he would discover the extent of our attack. We had to act fast.

I coordinated with Cordelia, dividing our attention and focus, knowing that it was the only way to take down such formidable opponents. I took on the task of confronting the king bear, while Cordelia faced the rest of the pack.

We took a deep breath and locked eyes, silently communicating our resolve. I counted down, and then we simultaneously launched our assault.

I moved with lightning speed, using the aetheric fruits to distract the higher level bears, and then landed a surprise blow on the king bear. But it wasn't enough to take him down. I needed to do more.

Cordelia quickly opened a portal, and we jumped through, ending up in a deserted area away from the pack. I drew my sword, ready for the fight of my life.

I unleashed [Wind and Lightning Flurry Strikes], but the bear was tough, and my attacks didn't seem to do much damage. It roared, and I stumbled back, my thirteenth strike missing its mark.

I knew that I had to be faster and more strategic if I was to stand a chance against this massive beast. I activated [Twelve Thunderbolt Steps] and danced around the bear, dodging its powerful swipes.

With [Time Acceleration] and [Purple Thunderclap Impulse], I moved even faster, my sword striking with deadly precision. The bear was barely able to keep up with my movements, but it still managed to land a blow on me, breaking my ribs.

But I didn't give up. I summoned another sword and charged at the bear again. This time, I unleashed [Sword of the Sky: Heaven Breaking Slashes], combining fire and ice mana to deal devastating damage to the bear.

It was a fierce battle, and the bear wasn't holding back anymore. We clashed, our weapons shattering upon impact, and I was flung away, crashing into a rock wall.

But I refused to give up. I healed my broken ribs with aether, and I knew I had to be more aggressive. I charged at the bear again, my sword glinting with aether.

Cordelia was also facing a tough battle, using her mastery of spatium to teleport around and evade the attacks of the other bears. I could see that she was being pushed back, and I knew that I had to end my fight quickly if I was to help her.

I knew I had to hurry and help Cordelia who was struggling against the remaining bears. 

Without a second thought, I activated [Burst Step] and followed it up with [Twelve Thunderbolt Steps], which I combined to create my new technique, [Black Lightning Step]. My feet were now covered in black lightning as I charged towards the group of bears. 

With a swift swing of my sword, I unleashed [Solar Flare], a powerful fire-based spell that incinerated several Scythe level bears in one strike.  I then focused on the mid-asuran level bear, shouting to Cordelia to take aim at the bear on the left. 

As she began casting spells, I activated [Black Lightning Step] once more to appear behind the mid-asuran level bear, catching it off guard. With Cordelia's spells weakening the bear, I unleashed [Star Buster], followed by [Sword of the Sky: God's Thrust], a devastating attack that combined aether and mana, piercing through the bear's defenses and killing it instantly. 

Cordelia shot me a grateful smile before returning to her own battle, while I turned to face the king bear once again. Dodging its claw attack aimed at my head, I attacked with the same technique as before, this time drawing blood. 

The bear roared in pain and fury, but I shielded my eardrums with sound magic and continued to fight. Siphoning more mana and aether, I charged at the bear with my strongest attack. At the last moment, I sidestepped to deceive the bear before striking it with full force. 

But this time, the bear was ready for me. It saw through my deception and met my sword strike head-on, shattering my sword into pieces and sending me flying. 

I crashed into an earthen wall, causing it to cave in for hundreds of meters. Blood oozed from all over my body, but it was mostly coming from my right side. My vision started to blur, and I could barely hear anything around me. 

"Jude! Jude!" I could hear her screaming as she ran towards me, her eyes wide with shock and terror. 

I tried to stand up, using my right arm to support myself, but there was nothing there. I looked down in horror to see my right arm missing, leaving only an empty sleeve dangling from my shoulder.

[A/N: Now that was unexpected! I did cut these two chapters short because I wanted to build up to the next one.]