Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Copying Aran's movement and drawing enough mana through the air to compensate for the difference in strength, Mono punched him before he could punch Raven. However, just as her cold iron fingers touched his skin, a layer of iron scales grew on top of the left side of his face and dampened the blow. Even so, his feet skidded a few steps away from Raven and smoke began to rise from the base of the astral ship. Had it been for the fact that he would fall as well, Aran would've turned the ship phase-through and let the two have a dunk in the sea.

"That burns a little," cracking up with his raspy voice, Aran stretched his right hand and tried to call back his greatsword.

Held by one of the tentacles herself, Regalia yelped a little as she felt a strain being exerted on the summoned creature, but thankfully, the sword was far too deep into the hells to be brought back to the surface of this world.

Straightening his body and brushing off his loose hair off the eyes, the king turned towards the two standing before him. One a creature of metal and the other carrying a whiff of a fairy, nothing he hadn't faced before–yet somehow he knew this fight would be like no other.

"Come on then, what are you waiting for?" He said, beckoning the two closer.

Held in the sights of Choux, he expected the girl to shoot him as well, however, having been told a thousand times to help the others and not face the king herself, the witch hunter reluctantly changed her target to yet another ship that was rebuilding itself.

The snarling of undead pirates and the cackling of countless bones, raised again and again despite the party's best efforts to put them to rest. The most injured of the group both Arche and Amedith, had lost consciousness and were in no shape to fight. Making up for their part, Mel and Linkle were helping from a distance with arrows, lighting, and elemental attacks, and as for the monster girls, both Mino and Maine had kept their distance from the undead by fighting from atop the spirit minotaur.

After a quick assessment of everything that had happened, Raven turned to face the king with daggers of darkness held in both hands. Mono too whispered something under her breath and copied Aran's ability to form steel dragon scales on top of her fists.

"Fascinating…" Looking at the iron queen, the king was beyond impressed by her ability to adapt even though he could sense that her version of his skills was forced into existence by excess mana instead of pure skill. "Galleria, I think I'll have another treasure for you to guard when I get back."

Uttering those words, Aran zapped closer to the two like a lightning bolt. Unable to keep up with his speed, both Raven and Mono were struck with electricity emanating from Aran's body. But as if that wasn't enough of a shock, he grabbed them by their head and knocked their heads together.

"AAWKK!"

"OWWW!" Read latest chapters at empire

Although pain rang inside their heads like a bell, the two stepped away from the king and tried to land an assault of their own. However, yet again catching up with their speed, Aran punched them in the guts and sent them tearing through the ship's interior. As their bodies tore through the astral ship, he stood on deck blowing the smoke off of his iron gauntlets. Turning to the thundering sound of their allies shooting down through the ship's interior, the others grew worried sick over what had happened.

"Are you done alre–" To their surprise, a sharp pike of darkness emerged from the ship's torn interior and stabbed right through Aran's chest. Then within seconds, both Raven and Mono emerged from the hole and punched the shocked king in the face.

As the spike was removed from the king's face and he flew to the ship's edge, the two stood beside each other looking at him with their fist burning a blue flame. Laying on his back for a moment, Aran drew a deep breath as his wound closed up on its own. As he tried to get up with a laugh, the ocean around them began to ripple and out came the merfolk under the command of Riyanzah.

Jumping on each ship–mostly the one with the king, they surrounded him quickly with their tridents pointed to his neck. Despite that, Aran picked himself off the ground and glanced past the crowd at Mono and Raven.

"You're the only one with tricks up their sleeves!" Curling his fingers he raised his arm and the gauntlet began to glimmer with a beam of light. Power surged through the gauntlet and as Aran brought it down a beam of scorching light flew towards the two, but once again–he was outsmarted by the sorceress.

"AEGIS!" Mono's body unfolded into tiny cubes and out came from within her a diamond-shaped shield with the absolute reflective shield aegis. Unlike a regular strike, however, the energy from the beam nearly flung her off the ship and had it not been for Raven holding her from the back, Mono would've been struck down just as Aran's blade had done to Amedith.

"WHAT IS THAT CRAP! I NEED IT!" Screamed the king, smiling in elation at the thought of getting his hands on Aegis as well. But to his surprise, the moment his beam of light grew weak–his power was turned on him and the scorching beam burned and shot him off the ship.

Taking a mark just as Aran was flung away and still floating in the air, Choux didn't let the opportunity slip and shot him into the ocean before Mono's strike was finished. Like a stone being cast into water, Aran's body sank deep into the ocean. A moment of calm took over and the effect of the necroflower came to an end. Falling into the water with no signs of the undead anywhere, the party–thankfully could still swim, unfortunately for the automatons, all of them sank to the bottom and even Mono was left thrashing.

"H-help! HE-HELP MEEEE!" She screamed at the top of her lungs before eventually, a merfolk helped her stay afloat.

A moment passed once the machina had gone quiet and the sea finally began to settle…or that's what the party thought for a moment before the giant hand of a scaled dragon shot out from the ocean and grabbed Choux and Daema's body.

"AHHHHH!" Feeling her bones being crushed between the dragon's fingers Choux let out a visceral scream.

"WHY DON'T YOU DIE ALREADY!" That scream by Linkle was exactly how everyone felt while flying towards that dragon's closed fist.