Reincarnated as the Weakest Magical Beast-Chapter 104: Amaras battle second stage (5)

Meanwhile...

While Emilia was swallowed by the black smoke, facing all four Deathguards alone, the others remained far behind.

Mary and Aron didn’t join the fight—not because they didn’t want to help, but because jumping in would only slow Emilia down and put them in unnecessary danger.

But there was another reason.

There was still one more threat they had to deal with...

The danger lurking in the shadows.

The thing is...

Amaras had five Deathguards, his five most loyal warriors.

The Twin Knights, the mage, the Lich... that made four. But the final one was actually the worst of them all, the most pain in the ass to deal with.

The Deathguard Assassin.

Yes, there was a literal undead assassin hiding somewhere, watching them, waiting for a perfect moment to strike, while having a skill that allowed it to stay completely invisible to normal sight.

But then, a question naturally came up:

Why wasn’t the Assassin targeting Emilia?

Shouldn’t it be working together with the others to overwhelm her?

The answer was simple.

Because it wasn’t designed to draw aggro onto her.

In games, "aggro" referred to how enemies chose their targets. It was basically the invisible threat meter that decided who a monster would chase or attack first. Arventia Online followed the same logic; every enemy had its own set of rules for picking a target.

Sometimes the aggro simply went to the player standing closest.

Sometimes it locked onto the strongest person in the party, the one dealing the most damage.

And other times, it was drawn by a player with a taunt skill—someone whose job was to force enemies to focus on them.

However, in the Assassin’s case... things worked very differently.

For one, taunt skills didn’t affect it at all. No tank, no matter how strong, could force the Assassin to change targets. It simply ignored every attempt to pull its attention.

And second... the Assassin’s target was never the strongest player, nor the one standing closest.

Its AI was built for something far more cruel.

It always went after the weakest member of the party—the lowest level, the lowest defense, the most vulnerable. The Assassin existed for one purpose: to slip past the front line and eliminate the weakest link in the chain.

That was why, in any proper raid group running this dungeon, players always assigned a tank or guard to the back line to shield the fragile members.

*****

A shadow shot past at the speed of a bullet.

Woah! I saw something—!

Mimi’s ears sprang straight up, her whiskers trembled, and her tail puffed in alarm.

Oh no...

Because Aron had taken a few steps away from Mary earlier—after she insisted he go help Emilia—their formation was completely broken.

And just like that, Mary became exposed. Wide open.

A perfect target.

"Meow!!"

"MREOWWW!!"

Mimi frantically urged Aron to return to Mary right away! The assassin could strike at any moment. Even half a second of carelessness could mean death.

Vzzzt!

Another shadow streaked by—something darting straight toward Mary at frightening speed.

"Damn it!"

Aron whipped around and dashed back toward his position.

Mimi prepared to sprint with him—they needed to stay together now more than ever.

But then...

A sudden chill crawled down Mimi’s spine, cold as ice water. Every hair on her body stood up. Her pupils thinned. Her heart dropped for an instant.

A wave of pure dread swept over her. Her senses sharpened to an unnatural degree.

And then she caught it.

A faint scent drifting through the air...

Death.

And cats were said to have a sixth sense.

Wait...

Mimi’s eyes widened dramatically as realization slammed into her.

Mary wasn’t the weakest link.

It was—

"WATCH OUT!!!"

CLANG!!!

Thank the gods of Arventia—Aron managed to react in time!

Because that guy just saved Mimi’s life.

One second earlier, while holding his massive shield, he had thrown himself toward Mimi, scooping her into his arms and covering her completely. And he did it just in time—because dozens of knives came raining down!

Fwk! Fwk! Fwk!

"Urgh...!"

Aron groaned from the impact.

"Aron!!!"

Mimi let out a terrified meow.

"Are you alright?!"

That attack just now—

It was the Assassin!

And it had targeted her instead of Mary!

Most of the dark knives slammed into Aron’s shield, but a few still slipped through and hit him.

Drip...

Warm blood splattered onto Mimi’s fur.

"Fuck!" Mimi hissed under her breath, furious at her own carelessness. She had completely counted herself out of the threat—thinking a magical beast like her wouldn’t be considered a valid target. Back in Arventia Online, Deathguard Assassins only targeted players, not their pets!

But clearly, this wasn’t the game anymore.

And that attack had been way too close. If Aron had reacted even a second slower, she would’ve been skewered like a porcupine.

But this wasn’t over.

The Assassin would strike again. It always attacked in rapid succession, capitalizing on chaos. It never gave up after just one attempt.

Wsssh! Wsssh! Wsssh!

More shadows sliced through the air.

"ARON!!"

Mary screamed and rushed toward him.

But in Mimi’s horrified eyes, she saw it— A shadowy figure materializing right behind Mary, raising its blade like a reaper of death!

But Aron, once again, reacted with incredible speed.

He hurled his sword without hesitation.

VZZT!

It flew straight toward the shadowy figure’s head—

—but the blade passed clean through as if slicing smoke.

The enemy vanished.

Turns out, that one was just an illusion. A decoy!!!

And then—

VZZZT!!! 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Not one, but five new shadows burst into existence, lunging straight at Mary!

"Ah!" Mary yelped.

"Damn it! Protection Shields of Light!!!"

Aron was originally saving that spell for Emilia in Phase Three, but he didn’t have the luxury to wait. Mary was in mortal danger now!

Five glowing shields formed around her.

They blocked the five incoming strikes, but shattered instantly because each one could only be used to block one attack, even if they were fake ones.

And turns out... "Damn it!" Aron cursed.

Those five were fakes too!

And now, clutching Mimi against his chest, he sprinted back at full force, and thank gods, he made it just in time!

A dagger sliced down toward Mary’s neck, only for Aron to shove her out of the way at the last second!

SLLT!

The dagger missed Mary... but carved deep into Aron’s arm instead.

"Aron!" Mary gasped.

"Argh—don’t worry! I’m fine!" he growled through clenched teeth.

The danger was far from over. In the span of seconds, it had nearly killed both Mimi and Mary.

But at least now, the three of them had regrouped! Their chances of survival had been greatly improved!

"Mary! Fluffybottom! Stay behind me. I’ll protect you both—even if I die trying!" Aron declared.

"N-Nn!" Mary nodded, swallowing hard.

Meanwhile, Mimi stayed frozen in Aron’s arms, her fur standing on end, too terrified to even squeak.

And then the nightmare escalated.

This time, not one... not five...

But dozens of assassin shadows surrounded them, circling like wolves ready to tear into their prey. Their eerie laughter echoed through the air: half chuckle, half teeth clacking, mixed with sharp, whistling breaths that made the atmosphere crawl.

This monster wasn’t just dangerous—it knew how to dig fear straight into the mind! It was actually having fun messing with them!

Anyways, out of more than ten shadows here...

Which one was real?

There was no way to tell.

Mary fired three arrows in rapid succession—

SWHIP! SWHIP! SWHIP!

But each one pierced nothing but illusions.

"Tch... what a pain..." Aron muttered, eyes darting left and right.

And without wasting any second now, he decided to do it.

"Arrgh! Absolute Defense!"

Aron slammed his shield into the ground. Holy light erupted in a burst, sweeping around them like a tidal wave.

A thick golden dome formed instantly, enclosing a tight two-meter space—like a tiny sanctuary carved out of the chaos.

And right on cue—

SWSSHH! SWSSHH!

Dozens of daggers clattered and scraped against the barrier from every direction, sparks dancing along the dome’s surface.

For now, Aron’s defense held firm.

But...

This skill would last two minutes at most.