"Graaaoooo!!!" Although it had already been around ten minutes or so since the second wave had begun, with Myst doing her best to keep the entire wave in check all this time, the limits of her strength finally started to become apparent at this moment, with a far greater number of monsters now able to slip past her and charge their way towards the frontlines.
"Agh!" Nevertheless, even though she felt like almost all of the energy inside her body had been spent, Myst still slashed out at the monsters that got past her, sending out a blade of white light that was barely enough to kill the stragglers, keeping the status quo.
"I think I've found my limit." Catching her breath as she watched the battlefield before her, Myst noticed that the power behind the five [Perpetual Crescents] she had sent out earlier was now less than half than what it was at first. Though it was still more than enough to kill the monsters it came in contact with in one hit, the speed at which these arcs of white light traversed the battlefield was significantly slower than before, allowing her to realize why it was gradually becoming more and more difficult to keep the monsters in check.
Letting out a low sigh, she turned around to look at the defenders at the frontlines, eventually focusing her gaze on Valyr and the others. After a couple of seconds, Myst noticed Valyr nod at her, which caused her to nod back in response as she had a feeling she knew what the young man was conveying through the nod.
"I hope my hunch is right." Taking in a deep breath, Myst turned around to face the wave of monsters once again. Then, letting out a loud roar, the white light surrounding her blade grew brighter than ever before as she felt energy well up in her body.
After that, she raised her blade up into the sky before slashing down in one swift motion, causing a column of monsters to swiftly disappear from existence. At that moment, the monsters that seemed to have gained hope in being able to break past the young woman fighting against them had lost it once more.
After all, it seemed that she still had more left in the tank.
"[Perennial Blade Arts]."
"[Ephemeral Slash]."
…
"I see what you mean now." Noticing that some of the monsters Myst was pushing back had finally been able to break past her, Tristan had a look of realization on his face as he shifted his gaze towards Valyr, his expression turning into a solemn frown not long after. "So, what now?"
"What else?" Valyr shrugged his shoulders in response, turning his head to look at the man that had been watching the fight unfold all this time. "Damian, I think it's about time."
"I had a feeling." Damian nodded in agreement, letting out a faint sigh not long after. "Though I'm sure Myst could still last for a bit longer, I don't want to lose a strong member of the regiment from such a stupid decision."
"But more importantly, I don't want to lose a member of the village like this." Taking in a deep breath, Damian infused his mana into his voice in preparation for the order he was about to give to the others at the frontlines. However, just as the first word barely escaped the man's mouth, Damian was forced to stop as he felt someone placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to turn around to see who it was.
"Mind if I give it a shot?" As the question escaped Tristan's mouth, an eager grin appeared on the man's face while looking at Damian.
"You sure?" Unsurprisingly, Damian did not reject the idea outright, instead asking his good friend if he was certain with his decision.
"Relax." In response, Tristan let out a light cackle. "I may not be as strong as Valyr here, but I'm still a Rank 2 class holder, you know?"
"Plus, my hands have been itching for action for quite some time already." Saying these words, Tristan clenched his fists in slight excitement as he raised them up. "Especially since I want to see how much of a difference these metal gloves Valyr made me would make."
"Haah…" Listening to Tristan's explanation, Damian eventually let out a low sigh as he looked back at him. "Pretty sure you'd still go there even if I say no, right?"
"You know me very well." Tristan laughed in response to the question as he nodded.
"Go and give them hell, I guess." With that, Damian shrugged his shoulders as he gave Tristan the freedom to move out into the battlefield. "Just make sure to not get too caught up in fighting."
"But that's what makes it fun!" Grinning, Tristan nodded as he soon dashed at the fastest speed he could muster, prompting those at the frontlines still waiting for orders to focus their attention on the new person to arrive at the battlefield.
Of course, Myst also took note of Tristan's appearance in the battlefield while she continued to push the monsters back as much as she could, causing her to let out an inward sigh of relief as she felt like she would finally be able to take a break. With the thought lingering in her mind, Myst decided to push herself just a bit longer, hoping that Tristan would be more than ready to take her place.
"[Battle Mania]!" With a loud shout, Tristan's body started to glow a faint red as his eyes gained a slight crimson hue to them. Not long after, the faint light surrounding him swiftly transformed into a billowing flame, turning into a manifestation of his nature as a Battle Junkie as it gradually grew stronger the closer he got to the horde of monsters.
"Let's do this!" Letting out a loud cackle, he eventually ended up beside Myst, sending out a few punches around their immediate surroundings to give the latter some time to rest. Unsurprisingly, Myst took the chance as soon as possible, retreating a few steps back before thanking him as she caught her breath.
In response, Tristan nodded with a smile before turning to look back at the monsters before him, his expression quickly turning serious as he clenched his fists as tightly as possible. Just as faint cracks resounded from his fists the tighter he clenched them, the translucent billowing flame surrounding him grew in intensity, only to reach its peak as he sent both of his fists out.
"[Pinnacle Blow]!"
