I land with a barely audible thud as I quickly but sloppily regain my balance and gather my composure. This boss seems tougher than it should be, seeing as how we are only on the 15th floor. This boss (appropriately named Dark Shield) wasn't like any we had seen so far, it was fairly human-like but was much larger. He stood around 20 feet tall and wore armor made from what appeared to be bones of his victims. Oddly enough though, he seemed to show some remorse in attacking us. I shake my head, clearing my thoughts and get ready to attack the creature again. His health was in the yellow, just a little more and it would be in the red. We didn't know what to expect when that happened, but we couldn't give up. That just wasn't our way.
"Akime!" I heard a girl yell, I looked around the room and spotted Misa, a brunette who was 15 years old, although she had a smaller build, she was one of our tanks. She didn't look it, but she was as tough as any other tank in the game.
"Yeah, I got it!" I reply, having to yell over the sounds of the other member's swords clashing with the boss' shield. I knew it was time, time to take Dark Shield's health into the red, hopefully he wouldn't be too full of surprises.
I quickly look for an opening for my attack, since the other guild members were keeping the boss busy by attacking his shield, I had a chance to attack his head. I smirked as I sprinted and jumped into the air. I ran up the "man's" arm and quickly switched to my rapier, I saw, what looked like a glimmer of fear in Dark Shields eyes, as I plunged my weapon into the eye closest to me. I jumped backwards, flipping in the process, and landed on the ground as the boss stumbled backwards and, holding his injured eye, let out a rumbling growl that vibrated throughout my ribcage. The boss started growing and changing his shape. I have a bad feeling about this I thought, while unconsciously taking a couple steps back.
"Everyone, fall back!" I yelled, trusting my gut feeling. Everyone took a few steps back and switched to their defensive positions.
We all watched as the boss began to almost glow, a strange, black, smoke-like aura surrounded him as his body finished changing shape. It was then that I truly knew why he was named Dark Shield. The creature that now stood in front of my team and I was nothing like he had been before. There was no human resemblance in this new being at all, no regret or fear shone through his one good eye. No emotion at all. As he swung his shield, now more deadly with its lighter weight and sharpened edges, we all had the same look on our faces. Panic.
It took a while of fighting the beast but eventually Perez (a scruffy, blonde-haired man in his late 20's) had come up with a theory about Dark Shield's power lying in his horns that had been acquired during his transformation. We tested his theory, and sure enough, he was correct, the boss' horns had created a protective invisible shield around him. After this realization, we formed a new plan instantly.
"Misa! You and Koya will protect Perez and Yuri while they distract the boss!" I yell out the orders of the new plan while avoiding attacks from the creature. "Titus, you stay back and have plenty of healing crystals ready, alright? We are counting on you so don't let us down."
The young boy known as Titus replaces the look of fear and panic on his face with one of pure determination. He gives a thumbs-up as he grabs a couple crystals from his inventory, one for each hand.
"Tess!" I yell over the boss' continuous growls resulting from his attacks. "Tess, where are you?" I look around until I notice that Tess, an expert at close combat just like me, is in behind the creature. I run and slide in between the creatures legs, dragging my blade across his ankles as I do. Can't hurt to get a little extra damage in, I think to myself as I run up to Tess. "You and I are going to attack Dark Shield's horns with everything we've got, then we are going to switch out with Perez and Yuri so they can attack the boss with their special sword skills. Okay?" Tess nods in agreement as we take our offensive stances.
"Everyone ready?" I ask, then receiving determined nods and grunts from the others, I let out a battle cry as Tess and I charge the boss.
"Switch!" Tess yells as her and I land behind the protective shields of our tank members. At the same time we land, Perez and Yuri jump in to battle, as they fight, Titus heals Tess and I. Perez sends Yuri flying into the air so that he can reach the creature's horns. With one slash, he not only erases the protective field around the creature, but he also drains the boss' health until it is almost nonexistent. As Yuri's feet hit the ground, the beast lets out a shriek, a very memorable, inhuman shriek. That's when things really get tough. Dark Shield starts swinging around his shield at an alarming pace, everyone steps back in fear of getting sliced by the massive creature. I switch from my rapier to my best weapon, I plant my feet firmly into the dungeon floor. As I slide my dagger from its sheath I focus all of my attention on the boss, then I charge. I run towards the beast, jumping to avoid his occasional frantic attacks, then with a single stab of my dagger, I paralyze his arm and he drops his shield. As I fall back towards the ground, the creature's working hand swings towards me and I barely twist in time to stop him from taking my head off. His claw connects with my face and just that force alone is enough to send me flying into the stone wall of the dungeon.
"Now's your chance!" I yell at the others, "Kill him now!" I yell, using the last of my strength to urge them into action. Titus runs over and crouches beside me, he holds up a healing crystal. "Heal!" He demands from the item as he looks at me and gives a half-hearted smile "You are one crazy leader…" He says, letting his sentence trail off and end.
Titus helps me up so that I can see the final blow that kills the boss. Perez and Yuri (the two swordsmen) knock the creature back and it falls with a deafening thud that seems to shake the entire room, then they give orders to the tanks, Misa and Koya, who at the same time, deliver the killing blow by piercing their lances through the creature's chest. The death of the boss sends thousands of tiny glass-like particles into the air and spawns a giant congratulations sign above our heads. We all sigh in relief as we leave the dungeon and return to the nearest town to celebrate.
