"Sorry but we're fighting too." Emma said, walking over so she could stand beside me.
Fang stood on the other side of me, "yeah. We promised this woman we'll deal with this issue so that's what we'll do."
My eyes widened a bit as I was caught off guard by their willingness to fight. I hadn't really considered them to be the fighting type so seeing them like this motivated me a little more. The monster stood back and observed me for a bit, waiting to see if I would make a move.
"So, what's the plan?" I asked.
"Fang's been keeping the monster preoccupied so I have enough time to cast spells but I haven't been able to cast anything super powerful. So unless something unexpected happens, just keep the monster over there busy!" Emma ordered.
I nodded, "you got it!"
I planted my left foot forward and blasted off with an explosion. Using the momentum, I slammed my right foot into the side of the monster's head and caused it to stumble back. Fang quickly ran to the monster's side and bit its front leg before running off.
"Wait have you guys just been doing this the entire time? Just nipping away at him bit by bit?" I looked over at Emma who still looked tired.
If this was in fact what they had been doing this entire time, it would certainly explain why they both looked so tired. Effective as this strategy might be, to keep doing it would eventually drain one's stamina. It's not like they had much choice though since I don't believe any of them have some sort of big attack like me, Steven, Alice, Akari, or even Felix for that matter.
"We have been. It's been working pretty well up until now since this thing just won't fall." Fang said, struggling to keep up with his own attack pattern.
"Seems I came in at a perfect time then. I'll do what I can to wear him down but you guys gotta be the one to deal the finishing blow."
I unsheathed Genki and looked down at him, "you ready, partner?"
Although Genki couldn't physically nod, his eyes told me that he was in spirit. I grinned at him before taking up a battle stance. The monster had grown wary of my little exchange with Genki and had taken a more defensive stance. Understandable, considering what I'm about to do to it.
Once more, I used a small explosion in my step to blast me towards the monster. This time, I stopped right before it and aimed Genki right at its forehead.
"Fire!"
Genki shot a beam which completely encompassed the monster, blasting it back into the wall at the end of the ravine. Wasting no time at all, I dashed towards the monster again, slicing through the cloud of debris which would have hidden where the monster was located.
"Talk about fast!" I said to myself, looking at the giant empty crater the monster had created on impact.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to feel if there were any oddities around me. Although it was only for a split second, I noticed what looked to be a dark purple aura in the corner of my eye. I quickly turned myself just in time to block the monster's strike with Genki.
"What did I just do?" I asked myself, quickly jumping backwards to where Emma and Fang were.
"What do you mean?" Emma asked, still preparing a fireball spell.
"It was like I saw the monster's aura… It was only for a split second but I was able to find where the monster was and block its attack."
The monster snarled at me, clearly irritated by the fact I had managed to block its surprise attack. It probably thought I could do that regularly so I should keep it that way to make it avoid doing whatever that was ever again.
"Is there anything else you need me to do or should I keep doing this?" I asked Emma, keeping my eyes locked on the monster.
"Just keep it distracted. Basically I had Fang knock it off balance so I could blast it with a spell." Emma answered.
That was simple enough. The only real danger of this monster was its speed. At least I think it was its speed. It could have also just gone invisible which would cause me a lot more trouble if that was the case.
"Be careful though! If you leave it alone it can go so fast it's almost invisible." Emma shouted, still charging up her spell.
"Noted. I'll make sure you can get a good shot on the thing." I gave Emma a thumbs up while staring down the monster that stood before us.
"Don't forget that I'm here too, John. I might not be a heavy hitter but I can still catch the monster off guard." Fang said, standing beside me.
I nodded at Fang, "yeah. Let's do our best to support Emma in this fight!"
The two of us charged towards the monster, with Fang running behind me as a way to hide his next action from the monster. I stepped right in front of the monster, positioning myself as if I were to punch it but instead stepped aside. With the monster raising its guard up to where it thought I was gonna strike, it left itself open to Fang's claw attack to its stomach.
With the monster flinching in pain, it gave me an opening to perform an axe kick which slammed the monster's head into the cold stone ground. Despite such a heavy hit, the monster managed to recoil quickly and jump back before Fang and I could do anything.
"No matter how hard we hit it, it just won't stay still!" Fang said, his legs visibly wobbling.
It's clear he couldn't keep going for much longer so I needed to find a way to settle this quickly. Fang wanted to finish this fight and I'll do what I can to help him see it through.
I looked back at Emma, "how much longer until you can fire that spell you've been charging up? It doesn't take long to charge a spell like that so I'm guessing your stockpiling power, right?"
She nodded, "yeah, that's what I'm doing. I should be done soon so I just need you guys to try and stop him just this once!"
I looked down at Fang, "one last push. Are you ready?"
Fang managed to muster some remaining strength into his legs, "yeah let's do this."
I nodded and put Genki in his sheathe, "right! I've got a plan as well if you've got the energy."
"Lay it on me!"