“Damn, he spotted it too soon!”

Cinnamon aimed at Naitaka’s head and fired the Stun Bullet.

At the very same moment, Yoma and Beowulf sprang up. The Legendary Two-Handed Sword Balaur, and the Rare Naginata of the Nine-Tailed Fox, stabbed the serpent in the neck almost simultaneously. Naitaka roared and thrashed about with his tail, trying to knock down his attackers. The battle-mage and the paladin struggled to stay on their feet. A small shadow flew out of the darkness and under the arch, then landed on the monster’s head.

“Sorry, my Masking didn’t work on him,” Katze said, thrusting both blades into the golden eye which was blazing with fury.

This time, the roar was simply deafening. Naitaka shook his head, tossing the girl to one side, and only the Lighter-than-a-Feather spell saved her from injury as she fell. Katze did a backwards somersault and landed on a limestone boulder which was protruding from the water. She glanced at the green strip above Naitaka’s head and clenched her teeth: they had only grazed him slightly, since the serpent’s defences against both physical injury and magic had been increased.

“This is going to be harder than we thought.”

While Yoma, Katze and Beowulf circled around the monster, evading the sporadic lashes of his tail and striking wherever possible, Cinnamon methodically tested the effectiveness of all kinds of bullet.

The Acid Bullet exploded, forming a green smudge on the serpent’s scales, and dealing almost no damage whatsoever.

“Well, try some explosives.”

The sniper fired and gave a satisfied smile when a small plume of flames flared up on the serpent’s tail.

“Bon appetit, little one… Yoma! He has the lowest resistance to fire! Zen, I need some mana!”

“Wulf, I’m leaving him to you!”

Yoma struck naginata again and leaped behind the paladin, far enough away to avoid being hit by the tail.

“Who could have doubted it?” the paladin said, with a satisfied grin as he blocked the monster’s blow with his broad sword.

So, for starters, a Fiery Aura on Beowulf and Katze. And now, a Meteorite.

“Five, four, three…”

He raised his left hand towards the sky and it was engulfed in a scarlet flame.

“…two, one…”

A huge ball of fire fell down onto the monster, leaving a tail of black smoke. The explosion was so powerful that the earth shook. The mage fell down onto one knee. Being nearer to the epicentre, the paladin and the thief were thrown to the side, but the auras on them served as protection from fire damage. Yoma had used nearly all his mana, but it was worth it, since Naitaka’s life total had been significantly reduced.

“Dammit, Yoma, you could have warned us!”

Katze leaped up, preparing for another attack.

“I hereby warn you,” the mage said, taking a phial of a mana-restoring potion out of his bag, “that you have a minute until the next Meteorite.”

“Ha! Are you planning to use up half of your experience?”

Yoma didn’t manage to reply before the girl flew, using Dash, towards the serpent which had been stunned by a powerful spell. The Fiery Aura enveloping her body had increased the damage dealt by the blow, as well as that of the next skill – Blade Storm. She flitted around the monster with her two daggers, easily dodging out of the way and inflicting low damage but frequent attacks.

It was more difficult for Beowulf to avoid damage, but he was fully focused on restraining the serpent, so that the monster would not turn on his more vulnerable companions. Nemesis's healing spell meant that he did not have to worry about his health, but lengthy battles were not the paladin’s strongpoint.

“Yoma?”

“Fifteen seconds more.”

Unexpectedly, Naitaka stopped lashing his tail and lowered his head. A purple icon showing activated abilities lit up above the monster. The serpent opened his jaws and a deafening roar resounded over the lake.

The Sound Wave made the water foam up, and reached as far as the shore. Only Beowulf remained standing, having thrust his sword into the bed of the lake. Nevertheless, as he was in front, he took the most damage. His health plunged into the red zone.

Naitaka lifted his tail to strike – this blow could be the paladin’s last. If it were not for the shots in the neck which distracted him. The monster turned his head towards the shore.

“You…” the paladin swore. The priestess, the bard and the sniper would be swept away in the blink of an eye if this hulking creature managed to reach them.

“Hold on!”

The earth reared up beneath his feet, and water splashed into the air and evaporated in the flames. For a few moments Beowulf’s world was transformed into a fiery hell.

“Four per cent! Get him!!!” Cinnamon cried out from behind.

Naitaka’s scaly body was lit up by three coloured flares as Yoma, Katze and Beowulf made one last effort, using their most powerful skills in close combat.

The golden eye was extinguished, and Naitaka crashed down into the water, sending up a mass of splashes. The serpent’s long body was wracked with convulsions for the last time.

“Oh yes!” the thief shrieked in delight.

Yoma and Beowulf stood there for another ten seconds or so, clutching their weapons and glancing around cautiously.

“Well, everything seems to be calm,” the mage sighed.

Cinnamon walked over to them with her rifle slung over her shoulder. The bard and the priestess hurried along behind her.

“Good work, Cin,” the mage said, patting the sniper on the shoulder. “Zen and Nemesis, you were great too.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to buy a grenade launcher to use against bosses like that. Your Meteorite came in very handy this time. So what now? Shall we go on?”

Yoma glanced at the spiral staircase which led down to the water, and then looked upwards. There, in the eerie darkness of the ruined temple, was their target.