125 Smoking kills

Purple energy spilled from Brayden's hands, covering the ground before them and solidifying into a dull, crystalline structure. It stretched out across the ground, quickly covering the surrounding red grass all around them.

"This'll keep the roots from breaking through beneath us," Brayden said. "Watch out for roots that come over the sides and don't step off unless you don't value your life."

A sudden series of loud cracks beneath their feet proved Brayden's words. Noah could just barely make out several roots bunch and splatter against the Shield beneath their feet, failing to break through it.

The more I see Brayden use that Shield, the more I realize I should get my hands on one as soon as I can. They're clearly more than just basic defensive tools.

"I'll slow its feet," Allen said, frost gathering around his feet as he ran beside Moxie. "Moxie, focus on restricting its movements. You should be able to control it to some degree, right?"

"I can try," Moxie replied. "It's still a monster, not a plant. But I can probably bind it up."

"Then do it," Allen said. "Brayden, can you handle finishing it off, or should I?"

"I'll focus on keeping us alive," Brayden replied. "If things are looking bad, then I'll step in – but our defenses go down the moment I stop concentrating on them."

The Root Fiend's roar shook the air. It lifted a foot, bringing it down hard on the purple sheen that Brayden had covered the ground with. A loud clang echoed out and Brayden's lips thinned, but his magic didn't falter.

Allen accelerated, growing half an inch in height. Noah nearly missed a step and fell flat on his face. Ice had formed into skates on Allen's feet, and he was literally sliding across the ground – and with more speed and confidence than any Olympic skater that Noah had ever seen.

Do a pirouette! I'll give you extra style points if you land it while killing the Root Fiend.

Smoke trailed behind Noah, slithering at his back as he gathered enough to work with. The biggest drawback of the pipe was its lack of ability to generate a lot of ash immediately, as he had to wait for it to kick up and give him enough to work with.

It didn't look like it was going to matter much for this fight. The Root Fiend was so huge that, even though they were sprinting at it, Noah was pretty sure it would be at least a minute before he reached the monster.

Allen was another story. The Rank 4 professor peeled away from the rest of them quickly, ice frosting the ground beneath his skates as he continued to accelerate. His arms took on a white sheen as two massive axes formed in his hands.

A ramp of ice formed before Allen and he launched into the air, hurtling toward the Root Fiend. The monster spotted his approach and swung an arm in his direction, roaring a challenge. A pillar of ice erupted from the ground to Allen's side, piercing up to rise beside him neigh-instantly.

Allen slammed an axe into the pillar, redirecting himself and releasing the weapon. The Root Fiend's hand demolished both his pillar and the axe, and Allen slammed into its chest. He drove his axe into the monster, then reared back.

Ice condensed into another axe. He drove it into the Root Fiend's chest, then ripped the first axe free. Using the weapons like ice picks, he started to ascend the monster's chest. Noah resisted the urge to slow and stare in awe.

He's a prick, but a capable one. Noted.

Noah grabbed his flying sword and threw it to the ground. With the Root Fiend's attention on Allen, he was more than willing to get closer. It jerked to life and he launched forward, shooting past Moxie and nearly splattering himself on the monster in the process.

His flaming ash hurtled behind Noah like the tail of a dragon, desperately trying to catch up to him. His whistle was lost to the wind, but its effect weren't. The fire instantly swirled and shot for the Root Fiend's head, striking it between the eyes.

The monster's skull singed. It roared, taking an earth-shaking step back and batting at its face. Wind whipped in Noah's face as he flew around it, checking how much damage his attack had done. The results were far less than he'd hoped.

He'd scorched its head, but the Root Fiend was already starting to heal the damage he'd done. If he was going to do serious damage to the monster, he'd need to use more energy or a different approach.

Wood creaked as the Root Fiend's body rippled, with spikes. Noah quickly put distance between himself and the monster, but Allen was still on top of it. He craned his head back to see how the older professor would handle the attack.

To his surprise, the Root Fiend had frozen midway through. The spikes that had started to emerge from within it trembled, as if it were locked in an invisible battle. Moxie stood at its feet, vines trailing from her arms to the monster. Her hands shook with concentration, but she'd managed to lock it down.

Allen continued his ascent, climbing to the monster's neck. Ice swirled into another huge axe in his hands and he reared back like a woodcutter before bringing the blade into the Root Fiend's neck.

A loud crack echoed through the day. The axe bit deeply into the monster, burying itself several feet into it. Ice spread from the wound, worming deeper into the Root Fiend's body. It roared lashed out with its leg, ripping Moxie's fines apart.

Ice flashed across Allen's body an instant before the Root Fiend brought its hand down on its neck with a brilliant crash. In the distance, Noah dimly picked up the sounds of Gavin and Jess's fight against the other Root Fiend, but he'd completely zoned them out. His eyes were focused on the spot where Allen had been standing.

Is he dead?

The Root Fiend's arm jerked. It shuddered, pulling at its neck. Fingers of frost curled over its palm and down its fingers. A grin crossed Noah's features. The monster's hand was stuck to its neck. Allen had frozen it.

Noah launched himself at the Root Fiend's head once again. It spotted him coming, one of its burning eyes flicking up toward Noah. Roaring, it swung its free hand. Noah jerked down, barely avoiding getting swatted like a fly before readjusting his course and flying himself straight into the monster's forehead.

He grit his teeth, trying to slow, but hit it with more force than he'd been intending. The impact nearly knocked the pipe from between Noah's teeth, but he managed to grab onto the monster's craggy features. His sword slipped from his feet, plummeting to the ground below.