Uriel's gaze swept across every possible direction in a single second, to which the flesh monster responded by quickly retreating. Uriel was startled, ready to rescue Ininise; however, the flesh monster ignored them both and headed toward the imps climbing the stairs.
Quickly, the monster began grabbing and devouring them with its many mouths, while its size rapidly increased. Uriel understood that, somehow, they were connected, and the monster was regaining its power by consuming its companions.
To Uriel, it was a horrifying act. He was used to protecting others; however, this creature would gladly devour its own kind just to save its life. From the depths of his heart, he felt the need to rip a creature like this—one with such despicable habits—out of this world.
Finally, Uriel used the small window of time they had gained, noticing that one of the windows led to another of the ruined houses, specifically to a rooftop that could be reached through the broken ceiling. Maybe he wouldn't make it and would end up smashing his body against the ground, but honestly, it was better than nothing—and as long as Ininise could get out alive, he felt he had to try.
Uriel picked up Ininise in his arms. She didn't resist; she was already used to this.
"Wait a little longer. I won't let our struggle be for nothing."
Ininise looked resolutely at the creature, voraciously feeding on its companions, and a large amount of black liquid rained down over the monster and the imps trying to climb the stairs.
"Disappear."
Still in Uriel's arms, Ininise summoned a small spark, which quickly burst, consuming the black liquid and burning both the imps and the flesh monster.
"WUUUUUOOOOOHHH."
The flesh monster screamed as its body was kissed by flames, but it didn't stop; if anything, it only seemed to grow more frantic, devouring some of the imps that had already been set ablaze in desperation.
The flames spread through the room. If Uriel didn't leave now, he would be caught in the fire, though Ininise didn't seem too concerned about that happening.
Uriel quickly ran toward one of the windows and covered Ininise as best he could with his body, leaping through. His body followed through, and with a bit of luck, he landed on the rooftop of the second floor, with Ininise on top of him.
The broken glass would have embedded itself into his body if not for his tough skin ability; in situations like these, it was quite convenient. When he opened his eyes, the beautiful horned woman—with white hair and pale skin—was above him, unharmed. Her dress was slightly red from the bloodstains that had smeared onto it when Uriel held her.
For a moment, it all felt worth it to Uriel.
If she was safe, then he felt he had done a good job.
However, they quickly had to separate from each other. The sound of heavy footsteps, the smell of burnt flesh, and the neighboring house burning all proved that the flesh monster was still alive; in fact, mimicking Uriel, it lunged at both of them.
Uriel threw Ininise away, kicking her with his legs. Fortunately, the legs were one of the strongest parts of the human body, which meant that when Uriel pushed her, he managed to send her several meters away.
Ininise landed gracefully—something that couldn't be said of the flesh creature, which crashed violently onto the ground. Uriel rolled to the side, dodging the monster's fierce charge. A jump from that height, with a body weighing over a hundred kilos, would have been enough to break a few bones upon impact; it wasn't a risk he was willing to take.
The flesh creature lunged at Uriel, preventing him from getting up with its tentacles; it was determined to keep him on the ground. He defended himself with his shield; however, the mouths on the creature's tentacles bit into it, pulling it away from him.
Now he had lost his means of defense.
"Disappear!"
Ininise shouted as a magical missile—far larger and more powerful than the others—was launched at the flesh monster. This time, the explosion was much greater, preventing the creature from continuing its assault on Uriel.
He didn't waste the opportunity and stood up, mace in hand.
Now it was his turn to strike the damn monster.
Midas swung his mace toward the body of the flesh creature. No matter how small the damage, it was still damage—even if minimal.
Another blow from the flesh creature struck his side, which he endured with his tough skin; however, even so, his ribs cracked from the impact.
Another equally powerful magical missile flew in, causing the flesh monster to lose its balance.
Uriel clenched his teeth, enduring the pain of his broken ribs, and struck the creature, knocking it to the ground. Uriel pounced on it, raining down blows without stopping, almost possessed. This monster was far too dangerous; if he let it go, it would return as if nothing had happened.
But unlike Uriel, the monster could still fight even while pinned to the ground. Numerous whips of flesh lashed out, marking Uriel's skin with wounds. However, what were those wounds compared to the damage of letting it escape? The lashes were painful, no doubt—but despite that, the damage wasn't too severe.
Uriel had to endure it again; fine, so be it. But any monster or person who dared to harm him had to be ready to stake their life, because Uriel wouldn't stop until any threat was eradicated.
The creature continued attacking fiercely, but with each blow, Uriel only grew angrier, fueling his desire to finish off the flesh monster. Even when the tentacles finally stopped causing harm, Uriel kept striking the monster, as if he believed that unless he reduced every part of it to pulp, it might one day return for revenge.
The only thing that managed to pull Uriel out of his bloody trance was Ininise.
"It's okay, Uriel! It's dead! You did it—you can stop…"
"Hahh…"
Uriel breathed heavily. Only now did he realize—he had lost himself for a few brief moments. Finally, the adrenaline left him, and the pain in his body surged forth, momentarily paralyzing him. He fell backward, exhausted.
[Congratulations, climber: you have slain an elite monster.]
[Congratulations, climber: you have obtained the soul of an elite monster.]