Normal Skill “Soulsuck.” Siphons MP from any opponent via physical contact. The skill’s effect is greatly increased by sucking directly through the lips. If the target’s MP is fully sucked out by this skill, their soul will become property of the user.
Wh-whoa… This one sure matched the banshee description. It had to be one of their signature skills. Seemed like a stronger version of Mana Drain.
Normal Skill “Cursed Song.” A song that sounds like a pitiful cry. Temporarily reduces status of its target. Those enthralled by the song will lose the ability to move even a finger.
Yikes… Another nasty skill. The description said it reduced stats, but from the way it was written, it sounded like it lowered overall attack and magic power. And I’d already heard the cry. Was I already enthralled? I didn’t feel any weaker, at least…
‹Leave it to me, Master! Sit back and watch me put my new levels to good use!› Treant shouted. It charged straight at the banshee, still in its tree spirit state.
“M-me too!” Allo added, running after Treant.
‹H-hey! Be careful, you two! There’s probably a bunch of these things floating around here out of sight!› I warned. Although she was ranked lower than Allo and Treant, the banshee was a higher level. And there was definitely more than one of them.
I raised my paws in anticipation but stayed behind. My goal was to level Allo and Treant up and preserve as much of my own MP as possible. I’d only interfere if they ran into trouble.
‹Let’s do this! Clay Sphere!› An orb of clay appeared above Treant’s head and flew toward the banshee, but she sidestepped it with ease. The banshee’s status was pretty balanced, slightly favoring magic and agility. Her speed meant Treant would have a hard time hitting her with any of his magic attacks.
“Dark Kaleidoscope!” Black light enveloped Allo’s silhouette, which then split into three figures. All three of them shot toward the banshee from different directions, trapping her between them. The three Allos raised their hands in unison and conjured orbs of black light in their palms.
“Dark Sphere!”
While Allo’s agility wasn’t quite as high as the banshee’s, she made up for it with her technique. The banshee dodged two of the orbs, but the third one hit her in midair, and she cried out as black light exploded around her. When the light faded, she was nowhere to be found. But this was a rank A monster; despite Allo’s high magic power, I doubted she’d be able to wipe her out in a single hit.
‹Watch out, Allo! She’s gotta be hiding around here somewhere!› I called.
Allo’s six eyes scanned the area.
“Aaaaaaaaah!” The banshee suddenly reappeared out of thin air and tackled one of the Allos to the ground.
“Eep!” Allo yelped.
The banshee had sustained major damage from Allo’s Dark Sphere; her left shoulder had been blown off, and her hood had fallen from her head. Beneath it, I could see she was covered in murky brackish fluid. With the hood up, she looked like a girl, but the face hiding under her hood was far from human. Her mouth gaped unusually wide, and her eyes stared, unblinking—she didn’t have eyelids. Her skin looked like crackling, rotted bark. Long, venomous claws stretched from her flailing fingertips.
‹Allo!›
“Aaaaaaaaah!” The banshee sank her claws into Allo’s chest.
Damn it! The banshee’s invisibility skill is bad news! I’d wanted to leave this fight to the other two because they were strong enough to handle it, but a high-level rank A monster was still a dangerous foe. Maybe I should’ve let Allo fight from on top of me instead…
Whether this Allo was the real Allo or not, I had to save her. I moved to unleash my Dimension Claws at the banshee. But at that moment, Allo’s outline collapsed, then expanded to fully cover the banshee. A set of huge fangs appeared in the air along with what could only be described as a monstrous, gaping mouth.
“Ah!” The banshee froze, caught between the mouth’s fangs. Then the mouth bit down hard on her, spraying her brackish blood in all directions. The banshee flailed wildly, trying to escape, but the mouth opened and chomped down once more. This time, the banshee went limp, her arms dropping to the ground lifelessly.
Th-that was sick… Allo had bound the banshee in place, then transformed into a mouth that could counterattack quickly. This was one of the skills she’d gotten from evolving into a Walpurgis.
Normal Skill “Ravenous Venom Fangs.” User’s entire body opens into a gigantic mouth to bite any target in front of it, stealing both HP and MP from the bitten target and inflicting a variety of status conditions.
I’d thought this sounded like a crazy skill when I first saw it, but it was even crazier than I thought.
The giant mouth disappeared with a puff of smoke, and Allo emerged, back in her normal form.
“D-did you see that, Master Dragon…?” she asked shyly.
I slowly lowered my eyes to the ground. ‹Uh…I just happened to be looking down, so I didn’t see anything.›
Allo peered at me with narrowed eyes, suspicious.
‹H-hnng… Once again, I didn’t get a chance to earn any experience points…› Treant moaned, dropping to its knees.
But at that moment, another cry echoed from the clearing.
‹Hey, watch it. It’s not over yet. We’ve still got company!› As I spoke, another dozen or so banshees appeared at the same time, surrounding us. Some sat on tree branches above us, while others crawled along the ground.
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