The Innkeeper

As the group walked up towards the Kraven, they spread out and assumed their proper formation. Ness, Bearin, Jade 2 and Tim were at the forefront, as they would be attacking. Behind them were Lex and Cwinheld. This was so that Lex could quickly move forward if he needed to block an attack, but mostly it was so that Lex could stop any attacks towards the rest behind him. Cwinheld was close enough to attack as needed, but also a step back so she could coordinate the group.

Behind the two were Jovi, Sohee and Jade 1, to provide support, with the rest farthest back as not only were they the weakest in terms of combat ability, their actual roles allowed them to work from a distance.

Lex recalled everything he had learnt about Kraven so far. First of all, other than the usual sight, sound and spirit sense, Kraven had another sense that made them extremely sensitive to any changes on the ground - whether it was the pressure of someone walking, the moisture from a single drop of sweat, the mild change in temperature due to body heat, all could be sensed by the Kraven.

Their superiority on the ground was unmatched, not because they could manipulate it, but because it basically served as another sensory organ for them. Furthermore, they were completely equipped to not only absorb all that information, they could fully process and act on that information in real time. This meant it was effectively impossible to ambush a Kraven unless one could fly.

Secondly, Kraven had an incredibly muscular structure, but in weaves and layers that somehow multiplied their strength. They had two legs and two arms, but a majority of the time they stood and moved using all their limbs, similar to a gorilla. In lieu of skin, their bodies were covered in a thick, gray leather like material. But, at all times, their bodies excreted and were covered in a viscous, black slime that moved around their bodies. Kraven could use and control that slime as they wished, but not only was it poisonous to almost every other living being, it was very selectively sticky.

That meant that normally the slime would not drip from the Kraven's body, but if a creature came close to it, the slime would latch on to their bodies and was almost impossible to take off conventionally. This way, the slime would often end up endlessly poisoning all of a Kraven's enemies.

Thirdly, Kraven's bones and joints functioned differently from humans, or most other creatures, for that matter. It had to be repeatedly emphasized that Kravens had a very muscular structure, but also that the muscles were layered in weaves, with the Kraven maintaining fine control over every single layer. What did this mean? It meant that while human limbs, for example, were limited in the directions they could move due to their joints, Kraven could move any limb in any direction it wanted whatsoever - a fact that made it incredibly difficult to predict their movements.

After all that, only a few minor details and specifics remained, such as nails that could cut through metal, teeth that could endlessly regrew matched with jaw strength that could allow it to eat a building, not to mention any individual strengths, talents, skills or affinities any individual Kraven may have. Also, its only physical weakness, its energy core, was hidden in its chest surrounded by a dense, metallic structure.

That's correct, its ONLY physical weakness. Even if you cut off a Kraven's head, or even went as far as dicing up its entire body, so long as the core existed, the Kraven would still be alive, and could eventually recover. It was this single fact that allowed the Kraven to fight the entire realm on their own, and still come up as the winning side. This was their own form of immortality, and some believed they were even superior to the Crystal race in this regard. Of course, the fact that the Kraven had not been able to affect the Crystal race in any way whatsoever said otherwise.

Lex took in a long, deep breath before slowly letting it out. This was the first time he was going to participate in killing an immortal - it was alright if he was slightly nervous.

As if Lex's sigh was the signal, the obviously preoccupied Kraven turned around, pointing its long ugly face towards them.

It growled aggressively, the sound causing the groups advance to slow as they coped with a sudden wave of dizziness.

Oh yeah, the Kraven could also launch spiritual attacks with their voice Lex suddenly remembered. It was not an overwhelmingly strong attack, but still an incredibly frustrating one to deal with, especially in the heat of battle.

He was so nonchalant because he was the only one unaffected by the spiritual attack, since his natural defense worked against all paths, body, spirit and soul.

The next moment, the fight abruptly started. There was no probe or buildup of any sort. The Kraven lunged towards the group, swinging its right arm to cleave the entire group in half with a single attack. Yet instead of the distracted humans affected by its growl, what awaited it was Lex, standing in its path with both his arms held forward.

This was yet another alteration he made to Talk to the Hand. By using the technique in both hands simultaneously and overlapping them with each other, he fused them together, making them much stronger.

The Kraven's attack landed on the barrier, but did not manage to break it! Lex was pushed back, his feet digging deep into the ground, his arms nearly buckling under the weight of the armageddon he just blocked, but he managed to hold.

Ness and Bearin raced past him as they kicked off the battle with their strongest attacks. Jovi, though slightly late, had used a technique to increase their resistance to spiritual attacks to prevent such mishaps in the future.

Ness and Bearin's technique did little more than cause the Kraven to stumble backwards, and as they attacked with their weapons, the ever vicious slime coating the Kraven's body absorbed the strength of their attacks. Just as it seemed that their weapons would get stuck in the slime, a familiar shriek filled the air, followed by purple purple ribbons flying through the air to surround the Kraven - Sohee was using one of the numerous attacks that made her profession as a witch so revered. It tried to dodge, sensing danger, but as it happened Tim was standing behind it, prepared.

A massive, fiery explosion occurred. While the Kraven remained unhurt, it had been slowed just enough for the purple ribbons to wrap around its body. The slime on its body sizzled and then was lit aflame in a purple fire.

The Kraven, in pain and angry, let out roar that shook the very ground, but its anger could do nothing about the fact that it had suddenly become naked of its slime!

Still, the roar disoriented the group once more, for even with Jovi's support, the effect of the spirit attacks had only been weakened, not eliminated.

The Kraven, still on fire, smashed down a palm to kill Tim, but Lex appeared once again in the nick of time. This time, Lex was using his shield to cover his body as he pushed Tim away just in time.

Still, without the barrier to block the attack, Lex would have to face the full brunt of the Kraven's anger - or so it seemed. When the Kraven's palm landed on the shield, instead of the expected sound of metal being crushed, only a solid thud was heard, followed by the sight of Lex sliding back, relatively unharmed.

Lex had used Ripple shell on the shield, so any impact on its surface was equally distributed over its body, making it easier for Lex to manage. But the fact Lex's left arm had dislocated said much about how successful that plan had been, and even more about Lex's own ridiculous endurance.

But there was no follow up attack for the split second it took the Kraven to attack Lex, Cwenhild had launched her own attack. The Kraven, of course, was not at all surprised by her attack and used its other arm to block her attack.

But she was Cwenhild, the daughter of a woman who dared to blackmail even the King, so how could her weapon be simple.

Her glaive encountered little resistance, and cut through the Kraven's hand like, well like a hot glaive through butter.

"WHAT THE SHIT?" the Kraven roared, genuinely surprised. But, for Lex at last, it's yell was by far the most surprising thing. Oddly enough, no one told him Kraven could talk.

But Lex didn't have time to be surprised, or enjoy Cwenhlid's successful attack, as a feeling of dread fell upon him.

"Ambush!" he roared, and used Home Sweet Home, throwing his body at full speed, just in time to block a black arrow with his shield, saving Cwenhild. But the rest of the group had not been so lucky, and their cries filled the air.