Day 3 part 3

"Isadora, we've got to go!" I call out, breaking away from the group.

With a final, powerful push, Isadora forces her adversary back. She jumps back, her eyes scanning the scene quickly before landing on me. "Let's go."

In one fluid motion, she scoops up Biana like a sack of potatoes. Biana yawns, obviously not bothered by the sudden movement. "This is the worst," she grumbles, her words falling on deaf ears as we take off.

I lead the way, my eyes darting back and forth to confirm the locations of all the monsters. Behind me, Isadora is matching my pace, her steps quiet despite her size. I glance over my shoulder, spotting the monsters changing their trajectory to follow us.

A sigh escapes my lips. It's frustrating, but I had anticipated this. After all, what type of monsters would leave a snack that ran into their playground? "Tsk, what a pain," I mutter under my breath.

As we continue to sprint through the forest, a thought occurs to me. Stupid system, show me the map, I need to find that one bastard.

Almost instantly, a map materializes in front of me. It's a 3D representation of our surrounding terrain and the locations of the Islavores. I squint at the map, my mind working quickly to interpret the information. It doesn't take long for me to notice a small dot moving towards us underground. "Damn, that burrowing bastard is planning to cut us off."

Without thinking, I change our direction slightly, veering away from the path of the underground Islavore. "Come on," I urge Isadora, my voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through my veins. "These bastards won't be giving up any time soon."

As if on cue, three trees suddenly fly out of nowhere, aimed directly at us. I flinch, ready to dive out of the way, when Isadora speeds up. With an impressive display of strength and precision, she slices the trees in half, clearing our path.

"Thanks, but be careful with that thing," I warn her, pointing at Biana who is still slung over her shoulder like a bag of rice.

Biana groans, finally showing some signs of discomfort. "How cruel~ I guess I'm just a 'thing'~" she complains.

I look back at the map, sighing. The fast bastard and the underground one are still coming, and straight ahead to boot. The trees are densely packed around us, leaving no room to maneuver. "Isadora," I call out, making a stabbing hand gesture and pointing towards the upcoming bush. She responds with a curt nod.

Without a second thought, I coat my dagger in aura, mentally chastising myself for the expenditure. My resources aren't unlimited and these beasts are showing no signs of giving up. As we near the bush, I plunge the dagger into the ground with force, right on top of the underground bastard's location. Two screams rip through the air, one from the creature I had just stabbed, and the other from Isadora who had just split the bush in half.

The fast one is slim and it manages to narrowly dodge Isadora's attack, but not without a cost. Its arm comes flying off, a grotesque display of flesh and bone. Ignoring the disgusting sight, we press on, the sounds of pursuit growing closer.

From the corner of my eye, I see Biana shifting around in Isadora's grip. The usually lazy Biana is now holding her bow in an awkward position. "What the hell are you doing?" I ask, genuinely curious.

"I see the annoying shit thing that keeps shooting darts~," she singsongs, her eyes never leaving the bowstring.

I glance at the map, trying to make sense of her words. "What the hell," I mutter. "Is it riding the flying one?"

As we continue our desperate race against time and monsters, I can't help but marvel at the situation we're in. What a day, huh? Ugh, I want some sleep.

"Hey Biana, do you think you can knock them both down?" I ask, trying to sound nonchalant despite the frantic pace of our escape.

I have a plan brewing in my mind. The fast one won't be coming in for another attack just yet, and if Biana can bring down the flying duo, Isadora can take them out in one fell swoop. With the bulky one lagging behind, it should give us a breather.

Biana sighs in a tired drawl. "I don't know~ Maybe I can~ After all, I am the greatest. But if you want me to do anything, you'll have to let me sleep for a bit~"

I can't help but groan in frustration, and I'm not the only one. Isadora's grip tightens on Biana, causing her to yelp in pain. "Alright, alright. I can't hit it like this though, I need to be standing up," Biana concedes.

Quickly, Isadora adjusts her hold on Biana, making it look as though she's carrying her upright. "So 'greatest,' can you hit your mark?" I prompt as we continue our relentless sprint.

Biana raises her bow, her arrow gleaming with mana. The arrow flies off, and my heart sinks as it seemingly misses its target, tearing through a large branch high up in the trees. "I can't believe the 'greatest' would miss~" I taunt.

"Miss? Who? Me? No way~" Biana replies, her voice as cool as ever.

In a surprising move, Isadora tosses Biana towards me and charges back at full speed, climbing up trees with impressive agility. Just as the flying creature carrying the dart shooter flies past, the large branch Biana hit can't hold on any longer. It comes crashing down, taking them by surprise. Before the flying beast can regain its balance, Isadora is already there.

Out of nowhere, the fast one reappears, its lost arm no longer bleeding. But Isadora doesn't falter, instead, she whips out a dagger with her free hand. She uses the dagger to parry the fast one's attack, while her sword sweeps down with deadly force, slicing through the other two.

Isadora, not missing a beat, takes advantage of the ensuing chaos. Her aura flares up as she uses the corpses of the freshly slain creatures as a launch pad, propelling herself towards the fast one that's back for seconds. Before it can even attempt an escape, she slices through its neck like it's made of butter.

"Wow~ look at her go, she truly is from the Alister family. Her father must have personally trained her," Biana remarks, her voice taking on a hint of genuine admiration.

I'm about to reply when my eyes catch a glimpse of the map. My heart skips a beat. In a split second, I throw Biana to the side and envelop myself in a cloak of aura, just as the burrowing monster launches itself from the ground right underneath me. Fucking son of a bitch, why does it only do surprise attacks!?

Thrown into the air, I let out a grunt, a string of curses following as I draw my two daggers to defend against its incoming attack. My muscles scream in protest as I lock its claws with my daggers, the beast flailing wildly in an attempt to escape.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Isadora rushing back towards me, her face the same as always. But before she can reach us, Biana's voice rings out, laced with disdain, "Idiot~."

Just as the word leaves her mouth, an arrow comes whizzing past me, burying itself in the monster's head. The sudden death of the creature throws off our locked positions, and I find myself falling back towards the ground, daggers still firmly in hand. Fuck you Biana! That shit scared me.

I let out a sigh of relief as I get up, brushing the dirt off my clothes. There are only two monsters left and their positions have changed according to the map, showing that they're backing away. "Alright," I declare, drawing in a deep breath. "Those bastards are running away, they've been chasing us for a while, we can't let them escape."

The bulky one can be left to Isadora, she is only slightly sweating so it shouldn't be a problem. The last one just gives orders and is relatively weak. But before I can even form the plan, Biana's voice rings out, interrupting my thoughts. "We've been running for who knows how long~ Can't we just let them go and take a nap?"

I resist the urge to uppercut her, instead replying tersely, "Tsk, you think I don't want to sleep as well? Let's hurry up and end this." In one swift motion, I scoop up Biana in the same way Isadora had earlier and point at a direction. "Isadora, that fucker that annoyed you earlier is that way."

Her response is immediate, her body tense as she takes off, running in the direction I had pointed. Her stamina is truly impressive. I turn to Biana, raising an eyebrow at her. "Alright Biana, let's get rid of the fucker that orchestrated this attack."

Biana yawns, obviously not phased by the situation. "Why don't you just let Isadora take care of it~ She's good at this sort of thing~" she murmurs, her words slurring slightly.

"It's using the bulky bastard as a distraction, don't worry it can't run too fast, we'll catch up soon." I assure her. As we run, the eerie sound of monster screams from Isadora's direction reaches us, sending a chill down my spine.

Biana then breaks the silence with her observation. "Hey, don't you think Isadora is a bit weird? She's so strong yet so quiet~ She refuses to talk to anyone."

In response, I merely shrug. "I'd say half the class is weird. Look at yourself, a lazy ass who talks back to her professors. Look at your brother, although it's unnoticeable most of the time, when he goes in a lab he behaves differently right? The prince and princess are not any better."

Her response is almost immediate. "Ouch~ you know disrespecting nobles is a crime~"

I scoff, shaking my head at her comment. "Tsk, not while we're in the academy." Without warning, I halt, causing Biana to yelp in surprise. "He's here," I state, scanning our surroundings.

My eyes finally land on the damn monster perched on a tree. I can't help but laugh, dropping Biana onto the ground without a second thought. "Ouch~ what was that for?" she complains, rubbing her back.

I point towards the creature, my eyes never leaving it. "This scared bastard is the one that bossed around the other five. It has no will to live anymore since its companions are dead. Can you shoot it down?"

Biana groans, reluctantly pulling out her bow. "Sure, sure," she says, already coating an arrow in mana. "You better let me sleep soon." With a flick of her wrist, she sends the arrow flying, piercing the monster straight through. It falls dead, landing with a thud that echoes around us.

I approach the fallen creature, my eyes drawn to the staff-like object it was holding. I know there's a piece of Antrestone inside of it, which is pretty explosive. Picking it up, I inspect it closer, a sense of satisfaction washing over me. "Well, that's done," I mutter, glancing over at Biana. "Now, let's find Isadora and get out of here."