Leo felt the hair on the back of his neck rise as he looked up at the towering monstrosity approaching them. He knew that he had to fight but he couldn't see how he could fight effectively at all.
After all, Enkiba was wearing an armor of literal flames! Up until now he had fought with basically his fists in close quarters combat. He glanced back at his companions who were sporting equally concerned expressions.
Luna's magic was essentially Plant based in nature which is extremely weak to fire while Horo's main weapon was a dagger. Yes he could throw and retrieve it but the flames would still dampen his combat ability.
Nyx and Luna were also at a disadvantage but their weapons had a longer reach so they were better off if only slightly.
The only one who wouldn't be affected by that flame armor was Sonata. The issue there was that while Sonata could attack with her Dissonant Shriek and the various applications of it, her mana pool would not be enough to deplete the BOSS's HP.
Leo gritted his teeth, ready to charge—until Astra's voice cut through his panic
'Don't be Stupid Leo! You have a ranged option now!'
'I do?!'
Mors chimed in with a crazed chuckle.
'Leave it to Boss to forget about the new stuff he got after feeding us~!'
Then it clicked inside Leo's mind. He did have a ranged weapon! The alchemical pistols!
Closing his eyes to focus, he crossed his arms in front of his chest. His party members were confused but they didn't have the time to question him as Enkiba let out a monstrous roar that shook the cavern walls.
The first to charge in was Luna, a faint bloody moon glowed behind her back as she swung her axe with reckless abandon. Her eyes were bloodshot as she glared at the Beast almost three times her height with uncontrollable rage.
Enkiba did not stand still and swung its clawed hand at Luna in an attempt to crush her. With a grunt, Luna was swatted aside, her axe cleaving deep into its palm as she crashed into the wall with a scream.
[-80]
[-110]
[+6]
"Luna!"
Lily cried out, rushing to Luna's side and uncapping a potion bottle, desperate to pour it down her throat before it was too late. Enkiba shot Luna a murderous glare as it held up its bloodied palm.
To everyone's horror and shock, Enkiba stopped the bleeding by cauterizing its own palm with its flames. The nauseating stench of scorched flesh began to fill the cavern.
Nyx was next to act after that disgusting sight as she used her Shadow Clone Skill and Blink to serve as a dodge type tank, garnering aggro with a series of annoying albeit weak attacks.
[-8]
[-21]
[-14]
[-12]
Even still, Nyx could feel her skin heating up as she remained in close quarters to Enkiba. An invisible sound bullet streaked by her ear, causing Nyx to panic and respond a bit late to Enkiba's strike. She managed to dodge it at the last second but a few strands of her hair were singed as a result.
"Sonata! Watch where you're aiming!"
Nyx complained without looking back, not allowing her concentration to drop even for a second.
"S-Sorry Nyx!"
Sonata was flustered as she hadn't expected Nyx to dodge right in front of her attack. Fearing that she might cause another Friendly fire accident, Sonata began to buff everyone with a song.
"Rise now Heroes of the Earth~!
Echo the Power of the Mountains~
And Strike your Enemies Down
Prove your Worth"
Hymn of Strength: Verse 1 has been used.
Increased Attack Power 5%
Increased Vitality 5%
Increased Defence 5%
Horo felt like an idiot as he swung his dagger around like it was some sort of Martial Art. The others may think that he was helping in whatever way he could, only he knew that what he was doing was essentially flailing his weapon around like an idiot.
"Leo! We could really use your help buddy!"
Horo turned his head to glance at Leo and was shocked by the changes that had occurred in the brief gap that he hadn't paid attention to him.
In Leo's hands, he held two long cylindrical objects: One a mixture of silver and gold while the other was obsidian and ruby in nature. It strongly resembled a pair of ornate blunderbusses.
"Since when did you have a gun?!"
Horo gasped as he saw Leo aim both of the guns and fired them both at the boss.
[-33]
[+33]
Leo felt extremely confused when he saw the notice that Enkiba had been healed just as much as he had damaged it. Just as he was about to ask the Ego's what had just happened, Astra chimed in.
'Leo. You can't use both of us like that in this form. I am the aspect of Life. Mors is the aspect of Death. I heal wounds in this form…technically'
Leo frowned as he glared at his silver gun that was connected to his wrist by a gold band.
'Technically?! Astra that doesn't really inspire confidence you know!'
'Well what I do is take pain and convert it into ammo for Mors to fire…'
'So it's like my sis is making me bullets to chuck at bad guys~!'
'This is crazy! But if what they said is true…'
Leo turned with a snap as he pointed the silver barrel at Nyx. He opened his mouth and shouted.
"Nyx I need you to do me a favor. Trust me for a second!"
"Sure thing Cutie~! What do you need me to do!"
"Don't dodge this!"
"Ehh? AHH!"
[+21]
A resounding crack noise filled the room as a silver bullet soared through the air, embedding itself in Nyx's back. However, instead of pain, she felt good like her injuries had been healed. Seeing that the experiment was a success, Leo tried to fire the Astra Blunderbuss but all he heard was an audible clicking noise.
The gun was out of ammo.