"This is it..."
Konata Izumi brandished her sword and with a devilish grin, she turned around to face her friends.
"You guys ready?" She asked with eagerness in her tone.
They all nodded their heads, drawing their weapons.
"As ready as we'll ever be, Konata..."
Turning back towards the large double doors in front of them, Konata gripped the handle of her weapon tightly.
"All right then..."
Her blade began to glow a dark maroon.
"LET'S GO!"
With one swift swing, she smashed through the doors, pieces of it flying everywhere. Rushing forward through the dust and smoke, Konata and her friends moved to surround the creature that resided within the center of the wide open room. It had huge wings mounted on its back and its eyes were covered by what looked to be bandage wrappings. The monstrosity seemed to be connected to the floor as it had no legs, but its arms, which were tentacles, were longer than itself.
"What the hell kind of monster is this?" Asked Misao Kusakabe, wielding a battle axe that was twice the size of her body.
"I think it's a 'Hermit'." Sig Asgrimur answered, pulling out an arrow from his quiver.
"Hermit?" Misao raised an eyebrow. "It doesn't look like a crab to me."
"Not a hermit crab, Misao." Konata told her. "Sig meant hermit as in from the arcana in tarot cards."
"Oh! That makes sense! I see the roman number for nine on its forehead." Misao exclaimed. "I was wondering why that was there."
Then she realized something.
"Hey...How come it isn't doing anything?"
The monster in question lifted its head up immediately after.
"You just had to ask, Misao! You just had to!" Kishor Draggarh shouted, conjuring up a spell.
The beast screeched loudly as lightning bolts stuck them all. Konata suffered the most due to that element being her weakness.
"Ow! Son of a bitch, that hurts!" Konata cursed.
"Hey! Watch it, Konata! There's kids reading this!" Misao yelled.
"Wait, what?" Sig asked, casting a healing spell on himself.
"Never mind that, focus on the enemy!" Kishor told everyone as he fired earth spells at the Hermit before it launch another wave of lightning.
"Right! Misao! Let's blitz it!"
"All right, let's do this! LEEERRROOOOY JENKKKIIINSSS!"
Misao and Konata rushed at the Hermit, jumping up into the air to avoid its arm which swept down low along the ground. Misao was the first to reach the fiend and slashed at its skin with her axe. It howled in pain, responding by grabbing Misao and tossing her across the room.
"I regret nothing!" She managed to shout before crashing into the ground face first. "Ow!"
"Take this!" Konata cried out as she struck the creature multiple times with swift blows due to having a lighter weapon. The Hermit raised its arm, ready to crush Konata, but an arrow quickly halted it from coming down, giving Konata enough time to roll out of the way before it came crashing down. "Nice shot, Sig!"
Sig only nodded his head before firing more arrows with his bow.
"Misao, get back into the fight! We could use your help!" Kishor said as he cast a healing spell on her.
"Whew! I needed that!" Misao said, getting back up on her feet and reclaiming her axe. "Back in action!"
Konata continued her assault while dodging the Hermit's arms. The battle was going fine until it began to glow a dark blue. The boulder Kishor casted was about to collide into the creature, but it bounced off, heading straight for Sig instead. Knowing it was coming too fast to avoid, Sig shielded himself with his arms, ready to take the hit.
"Don't call it quits yet, Sig!"
Misao landed in front of him, cutting the boulder in half. She looked at him and grinned, winking playfully.
"This fight isn't over till it's over!"
Sig nodded his head and Misao sprinted forward, rushing to aid Konata in her attack. He turned to see Kishor concentrating on recovering mana since he just depleted all of it in his last attack. Suddenly, the realization hit him: Without Kishor, nothing was stopping the Hermit from unleashing more lightning magic!
ZAP!
Konata flew back, sliding along the ground until she hit the wall. Attempting to get up only made her scream out in pain as the waves of electricity coursed throughout her body.
"I'm paralyzed! I could use some help here!" She called out.
"Hang on, Konata!" Kishor broke out of his recovery state, running over to Konata. "I'll be right-"
Before he could finish that sentence, another bolt of lightning struck Kishor from the side, knocking him out cold. Misao swung at the Hermit with all her strength, cutting a big wound into the beast, diverting its attention onto her now.
"Come on, big boy, let's dance!" She taunted it. "Show me what ya got!"
Now that it was distracted, Sig moved to help the unconscious Kishor since he was the closest to reach. Placing an orange feather on top of his chest, it dissolved into his body and Kishor opened his eyes, quickly getting back up on his feet and healed himself before curing Konata of her paralysis.
"Thanks! I owe ya!" Konata said, charging back into battle.
"Looks like he switched his weakness attribute. Try scanning for its new element weakness." Sig told Kishor.
"Got it."
Sig swapped his bow for two daggers and ran to assist Konata and Misao who were busy doing their to strike while anticipating and evading its rapid lightning spells. He barely slid to a stop as a random lightning bolt struck the floor in front of him, leaving a nasty mark on the floor. That could have been him!
"I'm so sick of this thing spamming out lightning! Take this!" Misao tossed her axe at the Hermit out of pure agitation, which surprisingly hit and stunned the Hermit. "Hey, that actually worked! Sweet!"
"It's in a daze! Now's our chance for an All-Out Attack!" Sig suggested.
"All right, let's do it!" Konata nodded her head, approving of the tactic.
"Ready or not, here we come!" Misao shouted gleefully, grabbing her holstered spiked mace.
The three charged at the Hermit, battering it relentlessly under a cloud of smoke. Konata, Misao, and Sig eventually eventually ceased their from their assault out of exhaustion.
"Did we kill it?" Konata asked.
When the fog lifted, her question was answered with the Hermit still standing, though very badly injured.
"Guess not..." Sig grimaced.
"Man, this guy is one tough son of a gun!" Misao grunted, scowling out of annoyance.
The Hermit began to shake violently.
"What the hell? Is it having a seizure?" Misao asked.
Then it froze like a statue. Pieces of its skin started to break off and bright lights shot out from inside the Hermit until it exploded, body parts flying everywhere. Now standing in front of them was a golden skinned gargoyle wielding two large scimitars in hand and wings so tall that it touched the ceiling.
"You have got...to be kidding me..." Sig spoke in a defeated tone.
"ARGH!"
The trio looked behind them to see Kishor collapse onto the floor with a knife jammed into his back. Stepping on Kishor's corpse was a knight in bulky black armor wielding a broadsword. Behind him were about three dozen armed goblins with axes and clubs.
"Well...We're screwed." Misao stated bluntly, shrugging her arms.
So quick to contradict yourself, Kusakabe...
Everyone, including the gargoyle looked around, wondering where the mysterious voice came from.
Were you not the one to say, "This fight isn't over till it's over"?
From where Konata and the gang entered, a girl judging by the figure, entered the room. She had glowing black wings and a pure white robe and a hood over her head, masking her identity. She held a naginata that had blades on both edges. Pulling off her head, she revealed herself, earning the collective gasps of Konata, Misao, and Sig.
"Minami!" They cried out, happy to see her.
Minami Iwasaki smirked and turned her attention to the small brigade of monsters.
"Holy Light..."
Rays of energy shot out from around Minami and flew at the small goblin army led by the armored knight in the blink of an eye. Upon contact, the they exploded, eradicating the monsters instantly. The gargoyle finally reacted, roaring at the top of its lung before soaring at Minami. She snapped her fingers.
"Divine Spear..."
Energy formed around her naginata as she threw her spear, piercing it straight into the beast. The force of the throw sent the gargoyle crashing into the wall at the other end of the room. With a quick glance at Kishor's corpse, she twirled her fingers.
"Salvation..."
The small blade in Kishor's back evaporated into particles as the wound sealed up magically. Kishor gasped for air as he pushed himself up off the ground, sweating excessively. Konata, Misao, and Sig cheered loudly.
"Just like you said, Kusakabe..."
The gargoyle, who had been bleeding at the other end of the room, rose back up to its feet, roaring defiantly, not ready to accept defeat or death just yet. The naginata vanished from being jammed inside the beast's chest returned to her hand as Konata and the other three stood alongside Minami, battle ready once again.
"This isn't over..."
Minami's ocean blue eyes flashed white as all four gained their own pair of wings.
"Till it's over."
The fiend flew straight at them head-on, challenging them to one final battle.
"Well...I said it once before and I'll say it again..."
Konata stood in front of everybody, her sword glowing that same dark red hue before they had entered this room. A wicked grin spread across her face.
"LET'S GO!"
And so they clashed one last time.