EFate: An MMO Story Chapter 62: A Sense Of Unease (5)

Still infusing mana into the spell, Eric watched helplessly as the Swordclaw turned towards him, ignoring his companions as they struggled to extricate themselves from each other.
The spell was still absorbing all the mana Eric sent towards the rune formation, it felt like a mana blackhole, requiring even more mana than even Multi-linked Flame Strike had required.
As Eric was desperately attempting to finish casting his spell, the Swordclaw bent low - its gaze fixated upon Eric. Gathering its strength, it pounced towards the half-elf, claws extended to rip him and his rune formation apart.
As he watched the Swordclaw soar through the air towards him, Eric's face lit up. The spell formation glowed, signifying that the spell was ready to cast. Without hesitating, Eric aimed towards the leaping cat, firing his prepared spell.
With the roar of rushing wind, nine enormous Wind Darts blinked into existence, appearing in a halo around Eric. Whistling slightly, the nine darts sped towards the Swordclaw, still mid-leap.
With a regretful expression, the Swordclaw could only watch as the nine darts came closer, emitting a whistling sound as they started to converge upon a single point in the air.
Before the darts could meet however, they met the Swordclaw in midair, slamming into the giant Lynx only a meter away from Eric's position.
With another roar of wind, the darts exploded, slamming into the Swordclaw and releasing the mana contained within. Letting out a pained howl, the Swordclaw twitched violently, its paws flailing wildly as it experienced a pain unlike anything it had ever felt. Gale force winds also rushed out from where the spell had met the beast, kicking up an enormous cloud of dust as the winds scoured the cave, picking up dirt and debris that had remained undisturbed for centuries.
Feeling suddenly woozy as the spell finished casting, Eric swayed on the spot. As his eyes slowly closed, the last thing Eric saw before fainting was the oncoming ma.s.s of claws and fur.
Unable to dodge the oncoming Swordclaw, half-elf and Lynx collided in a mess of flesh and fur, skidding across the rocky cave floor as Mark and Griffin watched in horror.
"Eric!" shouted Mark, losing sight of his friend as the dust cloud rolled across the cavern.
Coughing and choking on the dust, Mark and Griffin jumped to their feet, fumbling through the dust cloud as they made their way towards their friends position.
As the two fumbled their way through the dust cloud, a sc.r.a.ping sound could be heard echoing off the rocks ahead. Putting up his arm to slow Mark down, Griffin raised his shield, pressing forward cautiously.
Suddenly, without warning, an enormous form soared overhead, causing the dust to whirl through the air like crazy. Whirling around, Mark's eyes widened as he beheld the Swordclaw Lynx, heavily wounded with blood matting its fur, and dust marring its formerly glossy coat, but clearly alive, glaring at the two.
Raising his mace, Mark prepared to fight as Griffin rushed forward, only to watch in surprise as the Lynx turned, limping off in the opposite direction. As the Swordclaw disappeared from sight, swallowed once more by the slowly settling cloud of dust, Mark let go of the breath he'd been holding.
"That was close," he managed.
Griffin nodded heavily, "Do you think it's actually gone?"
"I'm sure we'll find out soon. Come on, let's find Eric," Mark replied
Trudging through the thickest part of the dust cloud, Griffin was the first to find their fallen friend, stubbing his toe against Eric's p.r.o.ne form. Bending down, Griffin checked for his friends pulse.
"He's alive."
Nodding, Mark knelt down, grabbing his rosary and casting a healing spell on Eric's p.r.o.ne figure. Watching nervously, Griffin grinned as Eric stirred, his eyes fluttering as he slowly came to.
"Ugh. What happened? Did we win?" Eric asked, sitting up slowly.
His head felt like it had just been torn apart and then rea.s.sembled by a team of half-blind chimps with hand tremors. Clutching his head, he checked his status which instantly made it clear what sort of a state he was in.
His mana was now at zero. Even after a small amount of time had pa.s.sed, it still hadn't regenerated, most likely due to the mana rebound status he was afflicted with.
He also had numerous wounds and other status effects that were slowly disappearing, several as a result of the Swordclaw crashing into him after getting hit by his spell. The worst of which seemed to have been cured by Marks healing spell.
Checking the remaining time on his mana rebound status, Eric held his head, feeling his headache slowly ebbing as the status faded. Opening his eyes, he looked up at Griffin and Mark, both of whom were looking decidedly worse for wear, having been coated in dust on their way over.
"What happened to you two?" Eric asked in amus.e.m.e.nt as he looked at their dusty clothes.
"Psh you should see yourself. You look like something the cat dragged in," Mark fired back.
Looking down at his own body, Eric winced. His armour was torn in multiple places, with bloodstains and dust lining every visible crease and tear in the leather.
His skin was also caked with grime, the blood and dirt having mixed together to give his normally pale skin a strange dark colour as they ran together across his now uncovered arms.
"Is the Swordclaw gone?" Eric asked, accepting Griffin's proffered hand and hauling himself to his feet.
"We think so?" Griffin replied.
"You think so?" Eric echoed, arching an eyebrow at his friend.
Griffin shrugged helplessly, "It limped away in the other direction. But we have no idea if it's gone or if it's just hiding and waiting for the right opportunity to attack."
"Well as long as we're not in imminent danger of being brutally murdered I suppose," Eric said dryly.
"I hope not. Because that was the last of my mana that I used to heal you just now," Mark added, brushing some dirt off his clothes.
"So what now?"
"We look for the wolf pup I guess."