Chapter 138: Fire Roar

A copious amount of poison flew through the air, splashing out of the Dokumotsu's mouth. Yoichi slowed down his run, witnessing that event helplessly, without knowing how to react.

The splashes of poison split, going their separate ways and covering a large area of the natural cavity. Poor Nobu, who had done nothing but stay in mid-air to help the Nightblades warriors with its white light, came face to face with a giant bubble of purple liquid.

Simultaneously, other sketches travelled dangerously to Enatsu and Shioko, still stationary a few meters away from the spider demon. "Fuck, fuck! Rokuro!" Enatsu yelled, trying to awaken his pet from its stasis.

As the fat bubble of poison continued to float towards Nobu, Rokuro leapt forward. The mole demon stuck its claws into the red soil, gathering a hefty amount in its hands.

A moment before its tamer and Shioko could be hit by the corrosive jet, the Moruba raised the terrain, using its mighty hands as shovels.

An earth wall raised in front of the two tamers, hindering the advance of the purple liquid drops. The venom impacted Rokuro's wall, disintegrating part of the soil and amalgamating with the residual slag.

*tssss* the breakup reaction of the rock particles that made up the red soil echoed into a hissing sound.

While Shioko was busy saving her life, her Hotasagi could not wait for the direct order of its tamer: it flapped its wings forcefully, creating a forward air current.

The wind generated by Nobu's wings struck the purple bubble. Due to its very low viscosity, the corrosive liquid split into many tiny particles: some of them went back to the spider that had shot them without causing it any harm; others, on the other hand, continued their parabolic path to the butterfly demon.

The archer turned her head towards Nobu, feeling a strange sensation in her chest and sharing her anxiety about being hit. A second earlier, in the dark side of the cave, someone had seen what was about to happen, calling himself to the action.

Yoichi, with one of his unpredictable moves, allowed Kenji to jump on his arm. Then, leveraging the strength of the draconic upgrade, the young tamer threw his Oracle towards Nobu, communicating with him with his mind only.

"Screek!" flying high, Kenji was hurled against the butterfly demon. The little dragon grabbed it with its feline paws and pushed it away, causing it to lose altitude.

Thanks to that unusual and violent rescue manoeuvre, Nobu managed to get out of the trajectory of the venom drops, avoiding the corrosive jet of the spider.

*tss*tsss*tsss* - Just below the two oracles, the Dokumotsu's venom hit the wall rock, dissolving in a few seconds. Not satisfied, Yoichi charged forward, taking advantage of the enemy's pause moment to attack.

At a slightly reduced speed due to sticky mud, he headed for the giant dark spider. It growled in his direction, opening its jaws and preparing for a close combat.

Yoichi knew that he would reach his target more quickly if he upgraded his legs instead of his arms, but that certainly wouldn't kill it. The incredible healing ability of demons possessed by that unknown substance forced him to kill his immortal enemies in a few quick moves.

"Get out of the way!" he shouted at Enatsu and Shioko, still standing in the same position. Then, aided by the archer, the merchant stood up and, with his arms still trapped, began to run across the room.

Rokuro followed its master, reaching the two tamers and Nobu, slightly stunned by Kenji's tackle. To the surprise of Shioko, the little dragon demon had snapped in the same direction as Yoichi, ready to activate its game-changing skill.

The acid venom stopped flowing into the spider's throat and dripping from its wound: the huge amount fired before must have exhausted stocks in its venom sacs.

Unwilling to surrender, the Dokumotsu fired two sticky orbs at Yoichi. He dodged both the cobweb-bullets, moving sideways and being careful not to crash into anything.

Nobu was still on the ground, and the light from its tail was too dim to illuminate the wild monster lurking into the darkness.

After a scream from Yoichi, a few seconds of silence seemed to stop time in the mine. The wide-open eyes of his companions were pointed at the shadowy area. Shioko and Enatsu hoped that Yoichi's power would be sufficient to end that battle as with the other two' anomalous' demons.

When Kenji's small flaming tail also became extinct in the void, a strong red glow lit up the entire room. Scorching Breath had again been successfully activated.

The young tamer's scaled arms caught fire instantly, burning the carbon dioxide molecules exhaled by the decomposition of corpses hanging from the wall like trophies.

Under the black scales of his upper limbs, the dragon flame roared with all its power, leaving a red trail along its trajectory. The intense heat generated by Kenji's magical fire spread throughout the room, gently touching the skin of fellow adventurers who could not hold back their amazement.

The roar of the flame joined the screams of the young warrior, who, relying on his innate feral instinct, punched powerfully in the direction of the Dokumotsu.

As a hostage now resigned to its fate, the spider hesitated before trying to counterattack. Its small green eyes reflected that burning light, leaving the rest of its healing body motionless like a stone.

*boom* - An explosion forced Enatsu and Shioko to shut their eyes. The flames of Yoichi's fist spread up the wall behind the spider, extinguishing in the middle of the ceiling.

The flame at the tip of little Kenji's tail had grown in size, and a thin fiery trail had appeared along its spine, stopping where its neck began.

The shreds of the meat of the arachnid rained from the top of the room like hail, crumbling and disappearing in contact with the red soil at the bottom of the cave.