Although Mark felt the connection with the giant, white-colored eagle. The beast was no longer obeying his orders. It not only underwent a strange transformation and became enormous and even stronger than before, but it seemed possessed by many phantasmal ghosts, to the point it exuded a powerful aura of phantom flames.
If the Great Spirit was here, she would qualify this powerful monster as nothing less than C Rank at the very least! The pressure it exuded was completely otherworldly as well!
"T-That's my Familiar! Don't attack him!" Mark said, rushing towards the bird. "Falco! It's me! I am relieved you're alive but what happened to you?!"
"CRAAAAAH!"
Falco, however, had no intentions of hearing his master. His beak suddenly glowed with large quantities of Phantasmal Energy and Mana, as it suddenly peeked the ground furiously.
CLAAAAASSSHHH!!!!
If Mark didn't jumped before, he would had ended completely crushed by his own Familiar's attacks. The giant bird looked at him furiously, with glowing red eyes.
"CRAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
It cried furiously, generating a powerful shockwave of mana and phantasmal energy, and forcing the trio to step back due to the enormous quantity of power this bird held!
"Oi Mark it's not working, your damn bird's gone berserk!" Said Rita.
"Just what happened to him?! He was such a good bird before…" Mark was surprised.
"Its just what you think it is." Josuke said, his flames flickered around his body, generating a powerful aura around him in the shape of a gigantic vermillion bird. "Just like animals that get infected by miasma and mutate into aggressive monsters, a familiar could easily undergone the same process in this kind of dungeon. We're surrounded by Undead and ghosts everywhere. They most likely caught your familiar and decided to turn it into the vessel of hundreds of ghosts, powering him up to this state. I'm sorry Mark, but we should take it down before it takes us down."
"But…" Mark muttered, feeling afraid to hurt Falco. He remembered his childhood and how he never had a pet, as his parents never allowed him to have one either.
Falco might had been recruited recently, but he had already grown fond of the bird. He liked crackers, and sitting over his shoulders, and sometimes it would end up pooping his clothes, but the bird still loved him, grooming his head sometimes.
"Mark!" Rita roared. "Maybe we could purify it? Using Whitey's Holy Light Magic! If Elayne was here, it would be much easier but we'll have to do it this way."
"Ah, that… That's right!" Mark realized, quickly summoning several Holy Light Beast Spirits. "[Holy Light Tiger]! [Heaven's Dove]! [Sunlight Bear]!"
FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!
"I'll also join in the exorcism then!" He said. "Sorry Josuke, but we are not willing to kill it!"
"Sigh… I should had expected this." Josuke sighed. "Fine! But before you even try to exorcism that thing, we need to weaken it! Let's smack some sense into it!"
"Right!" Rita and Mark agreed.
"CRAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
However, Falco had no more time for their bullshit, immediately spreading his enormous wings and shooting hundreds of feather projectiles as fast as arrows against them. Each one imbued with phantasmal flames, which caused explosions whenever they touched the surface of something.
BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!
Mark and Rita used their shields and activated the Magic Shield Ability within them to defend from the constant explosions, while Josuke sneaked behind the bird while it was attacking, utilizing this opportunity to hit it.
"[Blazing Vermillion Falling Kick]!"
FLUOSH!
He flew into the air using his blazing wings and then immediately followed it by falling over Falco's back with a powerful, blazing kick!
CLAAAAASSSHHHH!!!!
"CRYAAAKH…!"
BAAAM!
The bird immediately fell into the floor, incapable of being able to detect an attack coming from behind. Falco struggled to get up again, only to see countless chains made of flames wrapping around his body.
"CRYEEEEH!"
The angered giant bird wouldn't let them do as they pleased. The Phantasmal Aura suddenly expanded wildly and summoned small birds made of ghostly phantom energy, as Falco ordered them to attack everyone!
FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!
The Phantom Birds started attacking everyone furiously, peeking them, slashing them, and exploding one after the other. Mark and Rita couldn't take a break, and Josuke was already spending enough time restraining Falco.
"Rita, cover my back!"
Mark roared, slashing apart dozens of Phantom Birds that flew towards him using his Magic Knife, slicing them apart using the sharp knife and the powerful flames wielded by the magical weapon.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLAAASH!
"Agh dammit, why me?!"
Meanwhile, Rita covered his back, using her shadows and tentacles to pierce through the bodies of the Phantom Birds and making them disappear in an instant. Whitey jumped over her gun, as she started shooting several Holy Light Bullets, instantly purifying faraway Phantom Birds readying some kamikaze attacks from above.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Falco! Wake up!" Roared Mark, jumping over the gigantic bird and quickly gathering the power of all the Holy Light Spirits he summoned into the palm of his hands. "[Spiritual Exorcism]!"
FLUOSH!
A bright light emerged, covering the gigantic bird's entire body. The phantoms possessing it started to scream, slowly beginning to disappear one after the other. It was working!
Rita's Whitey also joined in, jumping over Mark's hands, and imbuing his little power as much as he could.
"CHUUUUU!"
FLAAAAAASSSHHHHH!!!!
An enormous explosion of light erupted from the bird's chest, covering the entire hall, which some minutes ago belonged to the Giant Rat Queen.
"CRYAAAAAHHHHHH…!"
Falco cried in fury and agony as it was being purified. But then stopped moving. Mark exhausted all of his Mana, as he gasped for air, looking at the giant bird's face.
"Falco…? Are you there?"
Falco slowly opened his eyes, looking at Mark.
"Falco!"
"CRYAAAH!"
"Eh?!"
However, Falco was not purified. His eyes shone bright red once more, attacking Mark with his sharp beak and piercing his chest with it!
CLAAAASSSH!
"U-Unngh?! F-Falco…!"
Mark vomited a mouthful of blood, feeling his lungs being pierced apart by Falco's merciless attack, incapable of moving, he fell into the floor, like a puppet that lost his strings…
"MAAAARK!!!" Rita screamed in horror.
"W-What?!" Josuke was shocked. "Dammit! MARK!"
FLUOOSH!
An enormous shockwave of Phantasmal Energy was unleashed from Falco's body, throwing both of them away, as the gigantic bird pointed his claws at Mark.
"F-Falco…" Mark muttered. "S-Stop… You're… not… li… like this…"
"CRYAAAAAH!!!"
CLAAAASH!
