Sam steadied himself.
Pain pulsed in his ribs, but his focus sharpened. The two airborne Rainicorn hovered cautiously, circling. The injured one on the ground struggled, its long body twitching as it tried to rise again.
He couldn't let it rejoin the fight.
Lightning surged across his body.
This time he didn't hold back.
"Static Field… activate."
Electricity burst outward from him in a wide circular radius. Blue-white arcs crawled along the ground, jumping between broken trunks and shattered metal fragments. The air crackled with ionized energy.
The effect was immediate.
The hovering rainicorns slowed slightly as they entered the field. Their movements became less fluid, rainbow light flickering as static interference disrupted their flight.
"뭐야… 움직임이…" one hissed.
Sam moved.
He launched forward, using the speed from his boosted agility. His body blurred through the trees, zig-zagging unpredictably. A rainbow beam fired toward him, but its trajectory lagged... slowed just enough by the field.
He ducked under it.
Slid across the dirt.
Closed in on the grounded rainicorn.
It tried to lift itself.
Too late.
Sam thrust his hand forward.
Lightning discharge at point blank.
CRACK—!
The bolt surged through the creature's already damaged body. Its colors dimmed violently.
Sam followed with a horizontal slash.
The Demon Eye Sword cut deep across its core.
The rainicorn let out a strangled cry.
Its body lost cohesion, dissolving into fading rainbow particles that scattered into the air.
One down.
For real.
The remaining two reacted instantly, anger replacing caution.
They dove simultaneously.
Twin rainbow beams crossed toward Sam.
He jumped upward, lightning bursting from his feet to propel him sideways. One beam grazed his shoulder, burning cloth and skin, but he rolled midair and landed on a fallen trunk.
Static Field still crackled around him, slowing their descent.
He fired rapid mana bolts upward.
PEW
PEW
PEW
One rainicorn twisted away; the other took a shallow hit along its flank.
They separated again, circling wider now, trying to stay outside the static radius.
Sam adjusted his stance.
Lightning danced across his arms, more intense than before.
Breathing steady.
Two level-20 hunters remained.
But now…
The numbers were much more favorable to him...
The fight continues...and the air changed up as Sam's plan was set in motion...
Subtly at first.
Wind began circling through the broken forest, lifting ash and sand into spirals. Above the ruined canopy, clouds.. thin at first... slowly gathered, pulled together by Sam's upgraded storm magic.
He kept moving.
Constantly.
Never standing still.
The two remaining Rainicorn hunters circled wider now, trying to stay out of the crackling Static Field, but still firing rainbow beams whenever they saw an opening.
Sam fired back.
Rapid mana beams.
Short lightning lances.
Not meant to kill... just to pressure and injure...
PEW..
CRACK
PEW
One rainicorn dodged left.
The other dipped low to avoid a lance.
They were being forced to stay mobile.
Exactly what he wanted.
Every second they stayed occupied…
The clouds above thickened.
Sam sprinted across fallen trunks, vaulting over shattered branches.
A rainbow beam sliced behind him.
He slid under another.
Fired two mana bolts upward.
They scattered again.
His breathing remained controlled, but inside, mana gathered steadily... feeding the sky.
The wind picked up.
Leaves and dust spun around him.
A low rumble echoed from above.
The rainicorns noticed.
"구름…?"
"이상해…"
One tried to climb higher.
Sam immediately fired a barrage of mana lances, forcing it back down.
"Nope… stay here you bloody flying noodle."
Lightning flickered faintly inside the forming clouds.
Static charged the air.
Sam continued circling, widening the battlefield.
Giving himself more time.
More charge.
More storm.
The rumble grew louder.
The rainicorns grew uneasy now, their movements sharper, less confident.
Another beam fired.
Sam rolled.
Jumped.
Landed.
Then finally
He stopped.
Raised one hand.
The storm answered.
A massive bolt of lightning tore down from the clouds.
BOOOOOOM...
CRACK!!!
It struck the center of the battlefield, exploding outward in blinding light. The shockwave blasted dust and debris in every direction.
One rainicorn barely dodged, but the edge of the strike caught its tail, electricity surging along its body.
It shrieked.
The second wasn't as lucky....the lightning clipped its midsection, sending it crashing through broken trees.
Smoke rose from its body.
Sam staggered slightly from the mana drain but kept his stance.
The storm above still rumbled faintly.
One rainicorn airborne but injured.
One grounded and heavily damaged.
The balance had finally tipped in his favor.
Lightning flickered across his shoulders as he prepared to finish the fight.
The smell of ozone filled the ruined forest.
Burned wood smoldered where the lightning had struck. The ground was blackened, cracked in branching patterns from the impact.
Sam's chest rose and fell steadily, though his mana reserves had dropped sharply from calling down such a massive strike.
One Rainicorn lay tangled in broken branches, its rainbow body flickering weakly, smoke drifting from scorched sections. The other hovered unsteadily in the air, clearly shaken.
They were no longer confident hunters.
They were wary.
Dangerous.
Desperate.
The airborne rainicorn shrieked in Korean, voice sharp and angry.
"같이 공격해! 지금!"
It dove.
At the same time, the grounded one forced itself upright, wobbling but functional. It fired a rainbow beam from below while the other attacked from above.
A crossfire.
Sam's perception screamed.
He sprinted sideways, lightning enhancement flaring again. The beams crossed where he had stood, blasting apart a cluster of dead trees.
He slid behind a fallen trunk.
Mana gathered in his palm.
Two quick bolts.
PEW
PEW
The airborne rainicorn twisted, avoiding one but getting grazed by the second. Its flight dipped lower, forced closer to the ground.
Sam took advantage immediately.
He burst forward.
Lightning wrapped around his legs, boosting his speed. He closed the distance to the grounded rainicorn first — the weaker target.
It tried to retreat.
Too slow.
Sam jumped, bringing the Demon Eye Sword down in a vertical strike.
SLASH
The blade cut deep into its body.
Lightning surged through the metal, amplifying the damage. The rainicorn convulsed, colors flickering wildly.
It dissolved moments later into fading rainbow particles, drifting away like mist.
Only one remained.
The last rainicorn hovered, clearly rattled now. It climbed higher, trying to regain distance, horn glowing brighter as it prepared a stronger beam.
Sam didn't wait.
He fired a concentrated lightning lance upward.
CRACK
The shot struck near its head, forcing it to dodge and lose altitude again.
They circled each other briefly.
Wind still stirred from the fading storm.
Sam's mana was lower, but his opponent was injured and alone.
The rainicorn lunged in desperation, firing a wide rainbow beam.
Sam rolled beneath it, feeling heat scorch his back.
He rose and launched upward with a burst of lightning, closing distance midair.
Palm forward.
Point-blank discharge.
CRACK !
The bolt slammed into the rainicorn's side.
He followed instantly with a horizontal slash.
The sword carved through its weakened body.
The last rainicorn let out a sharp cry before dissolving into fading colors, drifting into the smoky air.
Silence returned.
Only the crackle of burning wood remained.
Sam landed, breathing hard.
Three level-20 hunters… defeated.
The storm clouds above slowly dispersed as the battlefield settled back into stillness.