Chapter 23 - War

Chapter 23

Slight rework, a quarter of VIT is now effectively Defense.

An attack 2000 points of damage strong hitting someone with 500 VIT reduces that number down to 1875.

Hopefully I don't forget I've implemented this change because I already kinda forgot about Nana's passive when writing the previous chapter, almost did here too if I hadn't actually payed attention to my notes.

Good going, me.

Memory of a goldfish with ADHD, you have. - Yoda

~

"Where the hell is she?" Abaddon grumbled, lightly panting as he reaped another life breaking his [Stealth] before swiftly retreating searching for an opening, the Imperial Hell Hawk circling high in the sky raining down swathes of hellfire across enemy ranks and the Shockwave Lion having re-joined it's brethren in the castle.

"Oop-" Hastily leaning back and jumping to the side to dodge a ray of malicious green haze he was invited to the sight of a handful of Crisa soldiers' flesh quite literally melting away amidst their agonized screams, leaving armor and bones clattering to the ground in their place.

"Shit." Abaddon, not for the first time, cursed out loud leaping right back into the fray.

He didn't know if his memory was degrading or if things had changed because he had no recollection of either Crisa nor Grephiten when it came to the resurgence of demons breaking back into Grand Terra.

Anyhow, he was pretty sure it was one of the two seeing as the whole battlefield was currently blanketed with an oppressive bloody atmosphere almost giving the illusion of the sky darkening into a foreboding viscious crimson.

The eyes of the Grephiten forces had been completely taken over by a glowy yellow gleam acting like rabid animals, mindlessly snarling and growling as they relentlessly pushed and tore at the wall of Crisa's Tanks disregarding injuries and comrades alike.

Even prone to act out against their fellow men when it was required, trampling the dead into paste forming a horrifying carpet of flesh and bones.

Unfortunately whereas the enemy was seemingly untiring and unwavering, they were not.

At least two full days of constant war, exertion and bloodshed unsurprisingly lead to fatigue and exhaustion spreading inevitably, having already began doing so long ago.

Also, whether for good or bad, Players were present on both sides of the conflict, more and more trickling in with time after having caught wind of the event from either forums or one of the hundreds of streams currently broadcasting the situation live, POVs of those spectating from afar and of those actively participating in combat, both plenty bountiful.

...

"Oh, motherf-" Abaddon stalled in place hearing a jarring, grinding ripping noise, unconsciously taking a step back as his head swivelled to land on a large ominous red-black portal swirling into existence on Grephiten's side.

Emerging from it with a deep booming glee-filled roar was a 4 meter tall bulky red-skinned demon with a wide tusked jaw, spiraling brown horns and a prominent nose-ring. Thick spiked pauldrons were fastened onto it's shoulders, shackles and clipped chains clamped onto it's wrists whilst an enormous rough jagged axe rested in it's hand.

A Demonic Brutus, or, well, as most called them, simply Brutes.

With it's call, as if a dam promptly broken, a sea of Imps swarmed out of the portal with a series of manic cackles that echoes out across the battlefield, shortly after followed by robed figures clutching a staff resembling a human's spine and skull, the eye-sockets of which housed toxic green flames.

". . .What's with the massive overkill?" Abaddon could only watch on as more and more demonic troops flooded out, another 4 Brutes and an increasing number of Hazard Mages.

The effect was immediate, the low Tier 5 beasts took off in a run crushing Grephiten soldiers under their wide feet, barreling into Crisa's defensive line wildly swinging as a volley of spells flew from the Hazard Mages only needing seconds to break through the shield Crisa's Mages had put up.

Meanwhile the Imps took to the skies, swooping down to harrass the back-line, insidious claws aimed at eyes and throats, pulling hair and clothes, chucking whatever they got their grubby little hands on at whoever was unfortunate enough to be targetted and wantonly spitting noxious acidic saliva.

Spotting Clovis, Alexander, Marcus, Diana and Doxa moving over to meet the giants in a clash which they candidly lost Abaddon quickly rushed over to provide some backup as he fired off an [Appraise].

---

[Demonic Brutus]

[Rank: Tier 5]

HP: 23 000/23 000

---

Deciding to start with Alexander's since he seemed to have the most trouble, outclassed in STR and to a lesser extent AGI, Abaddon moved in as fast as he was allowed without breaking [Stealth], lashing out with a strike piercing into the Brute's thigh during their next clash just as Alexander was blown away, drawing a red shallow line across it.

[Severing Stab]

Quickly using [Dash] to dodge away from a wide sweep of it's axe accompanied by a roar of anger rather than pain, Abaddon alongside Alexander who instantly got right back into the fight after shaking off the worst of the damage and receiving some scattered support from the besieged Healers slowly but surely managed to wittle it down.

...

"Move!" Abaddon suddenly shouted urgently upon seeing the axe lighting up with a burnt orange-black flame, inwardly berating himself for not keeping an eye on the Brute's HP as it swung strongly producing a vast wave of flames shooting out charring the earth in it's path, entering a rage phase.

Abaddon's figure shattered like glass before reforming into multiples of him which each took a safe distance.

[Mirage Scatter Step]

Alexander flashed a bronze-golden color as he slammed his tower-shield into the ground with a loud bang, a barrier springing to life which blocked the first volley though visibly dimming in luster, unfortunately the Brute continued it's wild savage assault sending out more slashes of fire which hammered into the man like a physical force gradually battering and pushing him sliding backwards.

The spells a few particularly fast-chanting Mages from Crisa's side managed to slip in splashed weakly against the demon's thick hide-like skin only serving to further heighten it's fury to an even greater stage fuelling the ramping field of boiling heat emitting from it's body distorting the surroundings.

Abaddon, unable to approach any closer, saw Alexander's barrier ultimately shatter, the attack which then went on to engulf him in a sea of flames prompting a loud agonized scream from within.

Just as he was debating whether to abandon the NPC to it's fate and pondering the possible consequences, also seeing Grephiten's Generals now taking to the field on the far side of the combat zone, his attention was brought back when a blistering streak of dark red shot past him nearly missing but ultimately managing to hit the Brute's hand temporarily interrupting it's onslought.

The energy shell then fizzled out to reveal an arrow, digging in not more than a few centimeters deep into it's tough flesh before it promptly combusted into cinders mere instants later.

"Tsk. Barely even scratched it."

Hearing the familiar voice Abaddon glanced over his shoulder to discover Arctic Raven with a frown on her face, her hand hovering relaxed and loose behind the bow's minutely flunctuating string.

"Back for another round of war?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Are you not as well," she scoffed in response.

With how long the battle was going of course they weren't actively participating 24/7, Abaddon as much as he'd like to was physically unable to and he'd rather be in optimal condition at the expense of lost time instead of turning into another sleep deprived zombie.

Not to mention, he was still responsible for his sister, a duty he couldn't nor wouldn't neglect.

Then there were also a fairly large percentage of people who were unable to stomach all of the. . . well, the whole lot of everything really.

Taking stock of his equipment he went to speak up when Arctic Raven suddenly turned all shadowy, enveloped by a shroud of darkness billowing in the non-existant wind.

"Seeing as I am most likely more of a liability here than anything else, I'll leave this to you. Good luck." She said curtly, ghosting away like a wraith and disappearing from view shortly after.

"Huh. . .? O- kay?" He voiced slowly, confused by the abruptness before a loud roar shook him out of his stupor, quickly whirling to the source he spotted the Brute. Froth dropping down the side of it's mouth sizzling as it hit the ground glaring daggers at his general vicinity, sharp yellow eyes then honing onto him specifically.

"Oh, you fucking bi-"

...

As the waves of those abominable flames burning hotter than anything he'd ever encountered prior cut off, Alexander kneeled weakly on the verge of collapse as a burning torturous agony constantly plagued his being.

His form sizzling, charred black with scattered embers still persistantly clinging onto his form emitted boiling hot steam in droves.

Though his eyes were unfocused and cloudy, his mind equally so, he could still make out his armor drooping, the metal melting, colored a smoldering orange-red beneath the soot, searing and burning into skin and flesh if not completely melding the two together.

Try as he might he was unable to move, powerlessly urging his tempered body into action bearing no results other than light tragic creaks and clinks originating from his armor.

His teeth grit and ground harshly as he through a veil of water heard distant screams and yells of Crisa's brave soldiers fighting for their very lives and Kingdom.

He strained and struggled fiercely against his unwitting cage, a deep growl emerging from his burned raw throat as his body betrayed him in such incredibly dire straits.

That monster also could not be allowed to run rampant.

Luckily Alexander was somewhat sure he heard it stomping away after the little girl's friend who had come to his aid.

Suddenly hearing leathery wings cutting through the air in a dive he had no time to react before one of those small humanoids resembling airborne goblins crashed into him, sharp claws drawn, aimed to stab into the small spaces of his armor that were now almost completely welded shut.

A piercing shriek ripped out of it's mouth, instantly recoiling after being flash-singed on contact and fell down in front of him frantically rolling around emitting grating high-pitched screeches, Alexander just barely able to see it's blurry figure through his vent-like visor.

When it eventually recovered a bit it's tiny ugly face was contorted into an equally ugly crying grimace which quickly transformed into a frothing snarl as it stared up at him in unbridled wrath.

Suddenly, it's cheeks bulged out, tiny skeletal chest expanding slightly followed by a green sludge being spat at his helmet.

Alexander let out a thunderous bellow as the corrosive liquid splattered against his face and most prominently his left eye, his thrashing revitalized as the very carefully managed cup of agony currently only contained by surface tension promptly bubbled over.

An excrutiatingly painful itchy sensation as if millions of tiny, tiny insects ravenously digging into his very flesh robbed him of reason.

Blacking out, thoughts smothered and mind shut down in an attempt at preserving his continued sanity, he later woke up laid out on the ground with a Healer stood over him.

"W-What happened?" He rasped out, voice red and raw like sandpaper and drier than a desert, idly noting that he was no longer stuck in a kneel as his limbs twitched feebly.

"Quiet," the man ordered sternly. "You are in no condition to speak. As for your question, Grand-General Alexander, I am unsure on the details but you were delivered to us by Grand-General Clovis some minutes ago. Whatever did this to you I pray I do not meet."

"W-Where are w-"

"Did you not hear me? If you insist on speaking further your throat will most likely be damaged permanently." The Healer berated heatedly, pinching the bridge of his nose.

He had attended this stubborn mule of a man many times before and so he was well aware the man wouldn't settle down if he wasn't reassured of their safety.

"Though if you must know, we are currently in a dome of earth erected by the Guardian shielding us from the flying pests." He explained with a focused calm peeling off the cooled, courtesy of the Guardian, molten slag off of his patient. Ignoring the strong quakes which wracked the area, aftershocks of the battle still on-going.

Alexander's body relaxed, the memory of when Diana revealed the girl's absolutely monstrous attributes fresh in his tired, exhausted mind, allowing sleep to claim him.

...

Clovis immediately hurried back to the demonic giant Doxa had insisted he could take on even if already chased by another, his figure an argent bolt speeding ever faster as he maneuvered around any obstacles and combatants.

Though perhaps callous, stopping the monster was more important.

He knew it was stupid to endanger others in such a way and for debatably selfish reasons in his desire of wanting to save his old friend of many years but he really could not just watch on, having seen the man remain helplessly trapped waiting for death, blistering in his own armor.

He was delayed finding a way to safely transport Alexander without burning himself, it was something bordering on a miracle the man had managed to cling onto life as long as he had.

Hopefully the Healers would be able to stabilize his condition even if it somewhat grated on him to chuck the responsibility their way when they were already besieged by troubles of their own.

Unfortunately, it seems his vaunted swiftness had possibly failed him this time.

Clovis' eyes widened in alarm, arriving to the scene of a completely bloodied Doxa sporting spots of charred black flesh sailing through the air, smoke billowing from his strong shoulder. A wild smile on his face with a rumbling thunderous warcry ripping out of his throat, his two hammers poised high in the sky descending down to smash into the giant, mid-way met with it's massive axe in a fierce clash of sparks and metal grinding together.

That was not the source of his urgency however.

Clovis' heart hammered loudly in his ears, his body acting on instinct as he took off in a deperate lounge, his rapier flaring silver tugging him forward, the point aimed at the second giant with it's own axe rapidly Doxa from the side.

Icy dread filled his lungs as a damning reality settled in.

He wasn't fast enough.

He wouldn't make it in time.

It was too far.

As if time slowed, Clovis could do nothing but watch in despair, a hysterical shout of his own breaching past his throat.

"DOXAAAA!!!"

The next instant a blur flitted past.

A deafening dull clang resounded accompanied by a voluminous cloud of dust shooting up.

Emerging on the other side in a rough tumble Clovis quickly scrambled to get his feet back under him, darting upright whilst subconsciously clenching his blade in a death-grip, hand shaking and trembling as his gaze remained locked in front.

Blood pumping through him like galloping horses, he had no patience to wait around.

Swiftly performing some sharp swipes with his rapier he inwardly steeled himself fully expecting the worst-

"H-Ha ha ha. . . Oh thank the Divines. . ." Clovis whispered breathily, chest heaving up and down, his tense shoulders sagging as relief flooded his system.

Thumbing away a stray tear his wizened features lightened considerably, the ghost of a smile even gracing his lips despite everything happening.

"It was due time you arrived, wouldn't you say?"

"Hmm?"

The girl regarded him with a tilted head, stood in the remainders of one of the giant beasts as she almost absentmindedly lashed out with a side-swipe behind her without even looking pre-empting the axe cleaving towards her.

"RAAAGH-!!"

A moment later the weapon heavily clattered against the ground whilst the already slightly wounded monster exploded from the waist up into a rain of blood and bits, splattering, turning the dirt a deeper brown now sporting hints of burgundy.

[Items Acquired: x1 Demonic Brutus Horn, x1 Demonic Brutus Eye, x3 Demonic Brutus Flesh]

"How frightening." Clovis marvelled quietly as he swiftly went to check on Doxa who fortunately enough was still alive even if only barely, wryness then creeping into his voice as he gently poured a Health Potion over the most grievous wounds.

"And to think they were previously such a terrifying foe to face."

Kicking out in a sweeping arc to rid her leg of the worst of the worst in terms of monster residue Clovis then heard a tiny sniff as she looked around searchingly, turning back to him with a questioning chuff and blink.

"Ah." He let out in understanding moments later.

"Those beasts," he pointed, "were deemed too dangerous so combatants capable enough were saddled with the responsibility of luring them away from the main zone of conflict." He explained, gesturing at the isolated clearing around them.

"Though now that that's taken care of-" He began, suddenly registering movement in his peripherals. A scrutinizing glance was sent at the pulverized bodies before he then shook his head discarding it as an illusion caused by the high-intensity situation.

"There is no time to idle here, let us quickly return to aid the brave soldiers of Crisa and the Adventurers who answered our call to action." Clovis said as he gingerly lifted Doxa in a carry, trying his utmost not to jostle the unconscious man as he started running, swiftly accelerating towards the Healers' designated area.

The girl was able to surprisingly evenly keep up with his speed only slightly lagging behind when he really gave it his all, granted he wasn't using any spells in concern for Doxa, still, a very impressive feat indeed.

...

"The phhh-UCK-!?" GrimReap swore as he dove out of the way when another one of those big red fucks charged out of the swirling portal like a roided up bull seeing red.

"AREN'T WE ON THE SAME TEAM HERE!?" He screamed, accidentally kicking the back of his foot when he panickedly leaned away from a ray of green haze that otherwise would've hit him dead-on, staggering away into a run.

"This Quest sucks, what even is this shit man!? NPCs are TEAMKILLING!! HellooOOO!?!? DEVS!! FIX YOUR BROKEN ASS SHIT!!"

A couple dozen Players had already been killed, caught off-guard when mowed down or shot in the back by a spell courtesy of their 'reinforcements', thinking they wouldn't receive any damage.

They were wrong.

"Yo, chat! You guys seeing this shit!? Go spam the fucking forums, ain't no way in hell I'm losing out on contribution because of a freaking bug, bro. Nah!" Another curse was spat as he and every other Grephiten Player had no choice but to doggedly navigate the bullet hell avoiding a debilitating respawn far away from the actual battlefield, Crisa's resurrection point barred to their access for obvious reasons.

Getting some brief reprieve GrimReap squinted catching two blurs speeding towards Crisa's back-line the side then disappearing, stumbling when vibrations abruptly shook the ground prompted by an enormous dome of earth rising in the distance.

"What the hell," he gaped openly. "Which fucking Skill can do THAT!? That's like a small mountain, seriously!"

The surprises didn't end there however as another 4 big red fucks arrived periodically over the next few minutes debunking the theory that 5 of them active simultaneously was the spawn limit.

With that, the Grephiten Generals who had so far been fairly passive and slow, seemingly content with intermittently sending out sparse but still crippling blows at Crisa's defensive line kicked things into high-gear, surging forward in tandem and penetrating deeper, each attack cleaving through handfuls of soldiers at a time.

Eyes flashing at the opportunity presented GrimReap and like-minded Players quickly sprung into action, closely following the surge of army rushing into the holes created immediately met with a wall of Warriors and opposing Players which were unable to do much to stop them, merely dropping the first few arrivals before being overwhelmed.

Just as most thought the situation were finally tipping in one's favor, GrimReap included, a rapid ripple of jagged blades of stone shot out of the land accurately skewering only Grephiten combatants, both Players and not alongside a massive wall of earth which blocked the Hazard Mages' barrage and slammed into the Imps who promptly dropped like flies.

Anguished screams sounded as HP bars instantly dropped to 0, figures dissolving into light blue pixel-shards whilst the punctured, with chilling disregard, weakly struggled even as blood splashed and in some cases, entrails were exposed to the air.

Their corroded psyches ground down to the point they were unable to do anything other than mindlessly flailing without further thought.

The few exceptions to this were the five Brutes and the Generals, seemingly retaining some slivers of rational thinking they tried levereging their weights or pushing up and off to minimal effectiveness.

"Marshal-General! Grand-Generals! Guardian!"

The impaled were promptly surrounded after people shook off the scare, reassured upon seeing the familiar group approaching from the distance, weapons drawn constantly trembling in both rage and sorrow, exhaustion evident in their postures sporting ragged countenances and prominent dark eye-bags.

Others broke off to somberly retrieve whatever remained of their deceased comrades, a large majority of which were only armor and bones, unfortunate victims of the Hazard Mages' abhorrent spells.

...

A brief silence hung as the girl casually continued her relaxed stroll like nothing had happened, an imprint of her foot left at the astounding move's point of origin.

"I am once again reminded that our Guardian's prowess does not solely lay in the physical realm, despite how it may seem." Clovis commented, lightly kicking at a smaller spike of earth determining it to be incredibly sturdy.

"What are they. . ." Marcus downed another Health Potion as he approached, his chestplate partially melted and sporting a large gash cutting diagonally through it's middle, his narrowed eyes sweeping over the monsters. "I do not recall ever seeing such creatures in the bestiary, nor have I ever heard of such a race before."

Waves of heat radiated from the Brutes' bodies, gradually climbing in intensity forcing most in close proximinty to retreat further back.

"Demons," Abaddon supplied with due gravitas. His priorly hammering heart slowly settling down to a steady pace realizing he wasn't dancing on the knife's edge where a single hit would've taken him out anymore. "Beings of darkness thriving on chaos and destruction. Due to the joint efforts of many the whole race was eventually sealed into a separate dimension long, long ago."

"Demons, you say?" Diana clicked her jaw into place wearing an armored battle-dress with a mace and shield holstered on her side and back respectively, testing it briefly, then inspected the deeply growling giants evaluatingly. "Never heard of those either."

"Neither have I," Clovis lightly shook his head.

"You could think of them as demis but with a much broader variety in terms of build. Alot but not all are humanoid, many of which have traits such as wings, tails, horns, claws and such. They also have distinctly glowing yellow eyes and can grow to be very, very powerful. Though that is largely depending on species." Abaddon explained, "These are Demonic Brutus, or Brutes. The small flying creatures are Imps and the robed figures are Hazard Mages."

"Do you know how or why they have begun breaking out?" Marcus crossed his arms, face draining into a steely expression as his thoughts spun, "and how would you rank these Brutes in terms of strength when compared to other Demons on average?"

"I have no idea regarding the 'how' or 'why'." Abaddon was never that into lore nor did he ever have the leisure to indulge even if he was. "As for strength? That's a bit hard to say. Not all Demon races are overly notable, I also wouldn't really call myself an expert on this, but somewhere in the middle, maybe?

"It's hard to define properly because of their sheer variety pushing the top and bottom extremes into opposites so far apart from each other."

"I see, thank you for the information."

Just then a General walked up to them with heavy steps asking what they were to do with the still straining monsters, visibly tensing in almost anxious anticipation for the command to execute the abominations and avenge his fallen comrades, many of which served under him specifically.

Marcus grumbled briefly and traded glances with Diana and Clovis.

Before any of them could come to a decision however, a startled shout suddenly was heard bringing attention to one of the Brutes with it's own handdigging into it's eye socket, head-splitting roars of pain blasted for several long moments until it ultimately succumbed to the self-inflicted harm, going limp.

The other Brutes promptly followed suit, uncanny fearful whimpers escaping their throats as their bodies seemingly acted without their permission.

Subsequently, the yellow glow receded from the Grephiten Generals' eyes, their bodies slumping over like puppets with their strings cut.

Shortly after grumbles and groans sounded out, as if they were waking up from a deep sleep before their bodies suddenly registered being thoroughly run through with a n immense blade of earth, the groggy noises quickly replaced by confused screams of heart-rending agony as they started instinctively clawing at the offending object to no avail.

"What's happening?" Diana frowned warily, reaching to retrieve her mace and shield as a coat of light flared to life around the latter.

"I'm not sure. Remain vigilant." Marcus unsheated his long-sword with a metallic shing, barking orders at the soldiers to start retreating towards the Healer's Dome Clovis had briefed him of prior.

He had a bad feeling about this.

Abaddon and Clovis apparently shared his concerns, also quickly readying themselves for battle, scanning the surroundings with sharp eyes.

"Nana?"

It was only then that Abaddon spotted Nana crouched down poking at the ground for some reason-

No, it wasn't the ground, he then realized upon taking a closer look, it was the blood.

Blood which was currently flowing towards Nana's wall where it was promptly blocked, gathering, it then tried circumventing it.

Climbing about a meter up it's side before losing cohesiveness and falling back down again.

Despite persistantly failing in it's endeavors, it remained persistant nonetheless.

The next moment Abaddon had the sudden urge to strangle Nana as she casually lifted her hand and gestured in the air creating an opening, the now considerable amount of blood promptly escaping.

"AH-!?"

Nana let out an inquisitive noise as she rose and waddled after it.

"Wha-? NANA! HEY!" Abaddon's screams went unanswered, drowned out by the Hazard Mages' perpetual barrage, previously dull and muted, suddenly much louder in volume.

"Nana? As in, THAT Nana?"

"Holy shit, actually?"

"Someone go confirm!"

"You do it! I don't wanna get melted again! I swear I could feel my fucking bones sizzling!"

Abaddon stiffened hearing the noise from behind him, a crisp smack produced as he promptly facepalmed letting out an annoyed groan into his hands.

He had somehow forgotten about other Players being present and very likely just outed her appearance like an idiot.

Though to be fair, he had no doubts about who would receive the highest contribution in the quest and people had also seen her Skills not too long ago, so, maybe it was inevitable at this point?

That was what he inwardly consoled himself with at least.

It didn't lessen the disappointment in himself.

"Abaddon."

"Abaddon!"

Abaddon startled at the calls, peeking over his shoulder he gritted his teeth seeing Arctic Raven sporting a sadistic knowing smirk as she sauntered over alongside a grinning Sacred Saint who cheerfully waved at him cradling a staff taller than her.

Spiteful gremlin grumbles escaped him, wanting nothing more than to run over and give the two a good punch as he was dragged into the spotlight.

...

Abaddon carefully peeked around the corner in [Stealth] after the noise outside had suddenly quietened down to a worrying silence, having decided to leave dealing with the aftermath of recent revelations to Future Abaddon.

Determining the situation tentatively safe for now he turned visible and gestured behind him as he walked out soon followed by Crisa's Generals, Arctic Raven, Sacred Saint and their respective groups plus a few scattered Players who were most likely streaming, talking to themselves.

He heard gasps as the scene came into view, an expansive field of darkened soil upon which laid thousands, tens of thousands of corpses both human and demon in nature.

The cloying scent of iron with hints of fish suffused the air prompting retches, the spine-chilling sight of carnage not helping in the least.

Looking around he saw the Imps, dead, all of them with their own hands similarly buried in their hearts, wrinkly faces contorted with unwillingness.

There were also large groups of crumpled Hazard Mages, their fallen robes revealed to be hiding mere skeletons underneath which now laid in unmoving heaps strewn about.

In the middle of all of this was a growing pool of blood, countless spiderweb-crack like streams funneling into and adding to it's whole, the life liquid pulsing with a soft eeriee red light making the harrowing battlefield seem like the chest and beating heart of a colossal dark being.

With every passing second a feeling of oppression began forming making it harder and harder to breathe, dull booms rythmically and steadily sounded climbing in volume until it was just on the cusp of deafening, powerful quakes shaking the spectator's insides.

Mostly.

Everyone aside from Nana apparently, seeing as she was currently standing knee-deep in the blood with a curious look on her face.

Abaddon acted quickly and plugged his ears with his fingers which didn't help as much as he would've liked, noting in his peripherals Crisa's Generals doing the same, Arctic Raven and Sacred Saint looking like they were barking orders at their groups, mouths moving but voices consumed.

Gritting his teeth, his eyes tightly clenched shut as he focused solely on preservering through it, Abaddon was suddenly knocked to the ground by the sensation of an ice-pick savagely hacking into his brain, or rather, his mind.

Cold sweat rapidly dampened his clothes, involuntarily writhing and thrashing in blinding red hot agony.

A soundless scream escaped him as a second round slammed into him in sync with the 'heart's' pulsing.

Deep down, a still lucid spark of his consciousness cursed. He already knew what this was as he had experienced it before.

A mental attack.

Extremely troublesome to deal with as there was no conventional defense against it and often debilitating, especially in this case because he could be completely sure whatever was causing this was a mite bit more powerful compared to the lesser demonic species who happened to be capable of performing 'mental attacks' in the form of very minor illusions that he had encountered in the past.

No.

This, this was produced by a decidedly stronger phenomena, though he didn't know exactly what yet.

Another deviation from what he remembered.

After what felt like an eternity of suffering Abaddon was finally released from the torture, darting upright and positively dripping with sweat he took deep ragged breaths.

Weakly re-plugging his ears again, his eyes fluttered, having to fight against himself to cling onto concscious as he looked around seeing everyone else in roughly the same state, barring the streaming Players who had disappeared.

Abaddon's own heart skipped a beat as an additional separate heart seemingly began beating, although shaky initially it quickly rose in volume to match the first one in power unfortunately exacerbating the affects by a magnitude further.

Sensing the 'ice-pick' reappearing he tensed up but was soon confused when it. . . stopped? A few seconds later it retreated hastily, impressions of urgency leaking through their mind's proximity.

Abaddon's confusion only grew when a noise that very much resembled a deep growling purring was somehow directly streamed into his brain, able to hear it perfectly despite the thunderous booms still going strong.

The first heart beat suddenly sped up considerably creating a great discordance with the second which continued at an even, solid, almost soothing pace.

Managing to somewhat push himself up to balancing on his knees, mostly due to his actual ears now only transmitting white noise and distant ringing, supported by the purrs which oddly enough helped stabilize his thoughts slightly, he looked to the obvious source of all this to see the blood flowing through the veins at a much faster rate than previously.

Once everything had been collected a few drops rose into the air accumulating into a ball hovering above the lake of blood formed, thick threads of crimson then surged up, twisting and revolving as it was sucked into the core which grew bigger and bigger, the intermittent glowing seemingly transferred to it's center where a resplendent ruby materialized.

The blood continued building a shell around the gem which shortly after disappeared from view.

Abaddon, disoriented as he was, could only just make out a shape he was pretty sure was Nana and shouted at her to stop whatever was happening, unable to even hear his own voice.

His hopes that had flared to life when she seemingly heard him, glancing at him over her shoulder, were promptly dashed when she simply sent him a little wave before turning back, not moving from her spot.

He had never popped a blood vessel, but right now might be the closest he's ever gotten to doing so.

In a desperate move, really not wanting to find out what happens when that thing finishes forming fully Abaddon called on his incredibly brave, or rather, stubborn Familiar which had been completely spent earlier in the war.

It's efforts a large reason as to why he survived the Brute by constantly distracting it with pot-shots, squawks and aerial harrassment.

[Summon Familiar]

The exhausted Imperial Hell Hawk arrived in a swirl of hellfire and not even a second later fell down to the ground prone, shivering and shaking in terror upon percieving two overwhelming powers invisibly clashing extremely nearby, instinctively seeking to reduce it's presence as much as possible.

It was prideful, not arrogant nor stupid.

Seeing this Abaddon cursed as he was forced back down on all fours, the sense of oppression's intensity steadily climbing when finally, minutes later the now massive unnaturally perfectly spherical ball of blood had absorbed everything.

Abaddon's ears popped like airlocks, badly waterlogged and numb with an electric stickiness, as both the booming heart beats stopped in tandem, blood streaming from his ears, nose and the side of his mouth.

He ignored it, instead focusing on the orb that suddenly started buzzing, vibrating in place turning it's edges blurry before exploding in a shower of blood, the scattered drops then suspended mid-air as if stopped in time, the gem making a reappearance now shining brilliantly whilst the blood began forming a large globe of intricate patterns surrounding it.

When it was done, the whole structure flashed in a violent light and rapidly shrunk down inscribing itself on the gem's surface that slowly started spinning, faster and faster, emitting a black smoke.

The initially tiny swirl then rapidly ballooned in size to roughly 15 meters in diameter, it's bottom now gracing the ground, crackling with arcs of malevolent energy.

Accompanied by the sound of an angry lightning strike, the middle suddenly gained a bloody red color which went on to cover a majority of the spinning darkness.

A heavy atmosphere befell the area.

Then, a steel-clad leg appeared from the other side, shortly after followed by another as the being advanced at a steady pace.

The smoke clinging to it's upper body then receded gradually revealing a hulking humanoid covered in a set of nightmarish jet-black armor dragging two enormous swords, more colossal slabs of metal with a hilt than anything, behind it.

The creature's entrance was shortly followed by 3 more figures.

One of them a slender nimble looking man, his steps silent and his silhouette illusory.

Another one a ravagingly beautiful woman, fire-red locks and plump lips hooked into a foxy grin.

She was scantily clad in exclusively black leathers showing off her seductive curves, hypnotizing hips dancing as she sashayed through the portal.

A spade-tipped tail swayed teasingly behind her as her eyes, limpid and misty with pink heart-shaped pupils surveyed her surroundings with interest.

The last figure was also a woman though shorter, her chocolate skin from head to toe covered in sharp and fierce abyssal markings resembling infernal themed tribal tattooes.

A flame patterned robe hung on her shoulders, hood up, over a skimpy tube top and shorts most would call a bikini.

12 golden bangles, 3 on each limb, jingled as she walked, using a charred black wooden staff shot through with live ember veins as a walking stick, it's head three claws grasping an ethereally burning crystal.

"Hmnnn~" The voluptuous woman stretched with a moan, breathing in deeply. "So this is what the outside feels like? How refreshing, not stuffy at all~"

"Be quiet, Succubus." The slimmer woman snarled threateningly, "Your mere being taints my connection to the Holy One."

"Heeh~? That's so mean, I evolved long ago you know? Little Spit-Fire Imp."

"You dare not use the race the immortal flames bestowed upon my humble self!? HERESY!! Do not lump me in with such TRASH! I'm stronger now! Better with the Holy One's blessing!! Take it back!" Her tattooes flared a smoldering glow in response to her anger, a wave of heat dispersing around her.

"Hmph, how uncouth. You will never find a mate acting like a prickly animal." The Succubus pouted and turned her head away, crossing her arms not looking worried in the least, pink particles gracing the corners of her eyes.

"Don't go getting distracted now, it would be impolite not to greet our welcomer, no?" The slender man chuckled pleasantly, dipping in an elegant bow accompanied by a flourish of his arms, "After all-"

His sharp eyes locked onto Nana with a slight smile.

"It was she who necessitated our presence and allowed us priority in order of arrival."

"Oh, dear. You're right, Ekrah. I'm sorry for ignoring you sweetie, you see- Irit here has a tendency to seek attention and poor innocent me is rather weak to her cunning coquettish guiles." The buxom woman cupped her cheek, cooing, as she helplessly shook her head.

"Amaris. . ." Irit growled tightly gripping her staff. "Do you want to die an early death?"

"Oho, there she goes again. How precious~"

"That's it-!"

"Aharon?" Ekrah raised an eyebrow seeing the usually thunderous man silent, hearing creaking noises from the armor.

"You destroyed what was mine." Aharon uttered gutturally, two animalistic blazing yellow eyes glaring through the helmet's visor locked onto Nana.

"Ah, of course, you're still hung up about that aren't you?" Ekrah mused in artificial epiphany, a sardonic fanged smirk then stretched across his face, "I suppose that was inevitable, you were never one to forgive and forget. Well then-"

A deafening dull clang resounded as the taller demon suddenly shot off with a powerful leap producing blasting winds.

"Let us make our debut a special one."

...

"We need to leave. Now." Diana's face was the epitome of severity as she unsteadily pushed herself to her feet, almost stumbling due to dizziness and impaired balance, "the coming confrontation is not something we are qualified to interfere in."

Everyone's ears were still majorly out of commision, the Health Potions used only bringing back a muted sense of hearing.

"What did you see?" Marcus asked following her lead with a groan, Clovis having a bit more trouble orienting himself but eventually managing.

As Diana lifted off their stats, all of them depressingly high, Abaddon added them onto what his [Appraise] supplied.

---

[Wrathful Butcher - Aharon]

[Tier: Rank 8]

HP: 102 950/102 950

STR: 11 218

VIT: 10 295

AGI: 2963

---

[Infernatus Apostle - Irit]

[Tier: Rank 8]

HP: 4960/4960

STR: 543

VIT: 496

AGI: 3989

---

[Wicked Whisper - Ekrah]

[Tier: Rank 7]

HP: 9840/9840

STR: 871

VIT: 984

AGI: 9585

---

[Amorous Fiend - Amaris]

[Tier: Rank 7]

HP: 14 820/14 820

STR: 1398

VIT: 1482

AGI: 3718

---

The numbers really did nothing if crush any smidgen of confidence he had, especially because it was possible to roughly estimate the bare minimum of each stat still hidden from view.

Aharon had, at the very least, 724 points distributed between INT and PER which wasn't alot all things considered however it mattered less as he was obviously physical focused, Irit had an incredibly terrifying 20 972 concealed, Ekrah had an extra 3560 and finally there was Amaris with 8402.

Even the demon with the lowest AGI, Aharon, had more than double his own.

Again, these were the lowest possible amounts for each of them them to qualify for their respective Tiers.

It was quite likely that he would, literally, die before he could even react.

Recalling the Imperial Hell Hawk as it wouldn't be able to do much either way, not to mention needing rest to recover, Abaddon fought against his world trying to tilt on it's side as he turned to Arctic Raven.

"Let's retreat." He said decisively.

"No." The refusal was instant. "We are not leaving the girl to face them alone, she is also a part of this alliance is she not? An integral one at that. You would so easily disregard the second rule which you yourself came up with met with danger?"

A scowl lined her features as she hissed venemously, "Disappointing. Truly so."

"Really? You're really doing this now of all times? And in this situation specifically?" He asked incredulously, a slight irritation bubbling up as she immediately jumped to a conclusion painting him in a scummy light.

Again.

"I thought we were already past the phase where you suspected my every move to be that of a raging asshole just because one happened to fuck you over."

He ignored the cold glare his words prompted.

"You think I would abandon anyone-" He actually would, he cared very little for everyone that wasn't in his close circle, "-for no reason!? You were quick to dig into my faults but I think you need some humbling yourself. You're way past delusional if you think we can contribute anything at all in a fight on that level, not to mention, Nana probably doesn't even want our help to begin with!"

If he hadn't majorly misjudged her somewhere up to this point, there was actually a rather large chance she herself would take care of them before the demons even had the chance for butting into her fun.

. . .He really didn't know how to feel when realizing that that scenario turned increasingly likely to happen in his mind's eye the longer he thought about it.

The two stared at each other in heavy silence until Arctic Raven ultimately budged first.

"Tsk." She clicked her tongue, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "Fine, I suppose you're right. I got a bit heated and I apologize for applying that piece of trash's image onto you even if not on purpose, I recognize it is unfair but sometimes I cannot help myself." She said, still in her usual cold tone though now somewhat subdued.

". . .Just don't do it again." Abaddon eventually decided that, although extremely annoying, he wasn't upset to the point he wanted to tear down their relationship over it. "Now let's go, I have a feeling we don't have much time left before they start."

"No." She repeated, turning on her heel and started walking away, but not in the direction of Crisa, followed by her group, "I will still not just abandon her, we'll hide away and remain ready should she require assitance."

"What? But- Ah, whatever. Suit yourself, I guess." Abaddon sighed to himself and went to follow his original plan of retreating with Crisa's Generals who had already gone ahead, currently helping the Healers, Mages and wounded relocating to inside the Kingdom's walls in order to enter Crisa's Aegis.

He doubted it would hold for very long if any of the fighters really wanted to break through it but it was better than nothing.

They hadn't been utilizing it previously because, firstly, it only covered the Kingdom's perimeter and secondly, although nothing came in, similarly, nothing came out, which would've just made them sitting ducks until it ultimately fell.

Arctic Raven may have an albeit small chance at doing something relying on her range, but he was as close combat as you could get so there was no point even entertaining the idea.

Sacred Saint had also already left, though not before putting on a show of bitter reluctance for being too weak to help her 'idol'.

Startled by a bang, loud even to his damaged ears, Abaddon quickly took off in a run.

...

Nana watched dispassionately as the roaring demon's two massive buster swords rapidly smashed down towards her.

A resounding clang then rang out, the ground cracking in a circle around her.

Sparks flew as the heavy blades attempted to dig into her shoulders, stopped in place by an almost imperceptably faint film flickering into being, bright emerald in color consisting of segmented sections very distinctly resembling scutes of a turtle shell.

(90% Physical Damage Resisted)

"What?" Aharon's rage briefly receded in surprise, involuntarily exclaiming before he was suddenly blown away by a rattling kick to the chest, the shielding membrane fading once the offending objects disappeared.

Harshly crash landing back in his previous spot clouds of dust trailed after him, having rolled and skipped uncontrollably on his way over.

"Oop-" Ekrah quickly shifted to the side and flattened himself as one of Aharon's swords spun past uncomfortably close.

"Hey! Watch it!" Amaris similarly scrambled out of the second one's path, eyes wide in alarm.

"You-" Irit suddenly trembled in place in tandem with her tattooes letting out a hiss of steam as if they were flames promptly doused, almost collapsing on the spot if not for her staff's support as her shocked gaze snapped to Nana.

"W-What did you do? What- WHAT DID YOU DO!?!? J-Just for a second, my connection to the Holy one disappeared. . . E-Even n-now. . ." She muttered to herself, pupils wavering frenetically whilst her breath picked up, the woman soon beginning to hyperventilate looking increasingly panicked.

"Hoh?" Ekrah watched on, intruiged. "Right, right. If I recall correctly, which I am, she regarded her 'connection' with a rather disturbing amount of importance, no?"

"Ah- Irit, honey. How about we calm down a bit, alright?" Amaris voiced nervously, knowingly, as she started backing away.

Unfortunately, her attempt at persuasion fell on deaf ears.

"No. . . N-No. No, no, nononono- Y-You can't take it away. I-I was chosen by the Holy One. I'm special! I-I'm not a weakling anymore." Irit's face twisted in fury, an unhinged edge slowly creeping unto her features before she suddenly grit her teeth so hard they emitted dangerous cracks, her crazed eyes abruptly snapping back to Nana as a furious snarl escaped her.

"I'LL BURN YOU TO ASHES, HEATHEN!" She screamed hysterically, her markings quickly flaring back to life and her staff's veins lightning up with a smoldering blaze.

A small ember appeared in front of it's crown which was promptly fed into by the burning crystal the three claws grasped, rapidly expanding until it could rival a small car in size.

Then, with a gesture, Irit levelled her staff at Nana releasing it.

The sphere blasted off at blurring speeds flattening to a line impacting Nana just a moment later where it exploded into a massive roaring tornado of intensely burning black-red flames, the sheer heat radiated producing pops as the air itself caught on fire.

[Incineration Carol]

Any and all amusement instantly vanished from Ekrah's face, instinctively leaping back as a wave of sweltering heat slammed into him, a raw cough involuntarily escaping him feeling his breath taken away replaced with a burning sensation travelling through his airways.

"W-What the-" He whispered with eyes blown wide open in shock, his voice uncharacteristically shaken.

"Terrifying little shit, isn't she?"

Turning his head he saw Amaris stood next to him covered in a semi-solid looking pink bubble, a shaky smile on her face as sweat dripped down her temple.

[Love Guard]

"I'm not surprised you've never heard of her before 'Wicked Whisper', as much as you'd like to think youself infallible, there is much you do not know. Though I suppose your age, inborn strength and narrow experience has made you a bit complacent, not uncommon in young demonlings like you."

Ekrah stayed silent, shocked, just processing the sight before him.

"You see," Amaris continued regardless. "Outside of your cushy mountains where high-born demons are revered and praised like god-given gifts to demonkind, out on the barren volcanic wasteland there roams scattered beings far older than you can even imagine. I'm convinced some even predated the ancestors of the 'Demon King' who rules you.

"Irit is one such being though still fairly young in comparison to some, notorious for being able to output firepower far beyond what she should realistically be capable of due to, in her own words, her 'connection' fuelling her. I just think she's somehow able to overclock her spells and a little screwed in the head like most of us outcasts are." She shrugged nonchalantly.

". . .How?"

"Hmm?"

"How come I have never heard of any of this? How come I've remained ignorant to this information for so long!? All I've read-! All I've LEARNT-! Nothing in my education has even HINTED at there being more than weak mindless beasts outside of the walls!!"

"Well, the answer to that is pretty simple," a mocking smirk stretched across her face, "When the biggest and oldest Imp in a tiny cave tells all those born after it that it is the strongest, why would they question that statement? After all, it is not only the biggest and oldest, it also graciously blesses them with food and a comfortable home so it MUST know best."

". . .But there are migrants entering the mountains from outside all the time! There is no way words about their experiences wouldn't eventually spread, surely!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. The 'little Imp' also has a small group of trusted subordinates under it helping it keep things hush hush, they even have an official force dedicated to maintaining 'peace' and 'order' which just so conveniently happened to answer to them.

"Also, where do the migrants end up? Would they ever be allowed permission to wander anywhere near where your sensitive little ears could potentially pick up on this elaborate farce? The answer is a big fat no. Not to mention, anyone who does find out the truth always just so happened to also be revealed a 'traitor' for one reason or another."

"Y-You're lying," Ekrah murmured. "If everyone who posesses this knowledge gets silenced, how do you explain yourself being here? Alive?"

"I'll let you in on a little secret now that I'm finally free from HIS reach thanks to something making HIM wary all of a sudden." Amaris giggled, leaning closer conspiratorially.

"I was actually born outside the walls as a lowest grade Succubus a long, long time ago. I've fought, I've decieved and I've lain with countless men slowly climbing the ranks until I hit the jackpot with one of my many dalliances who held a rather high position in the mountains, 'tragically' passing away not long after taking me in as a mistress. Then I continued what I'd always done using glamor and disguises. All in preparation for a day like this, a day where I attain true freedom. Just a little bit of charm, a wink and viola! This priority spot landed on lil ol me.

"Now then, I bid you farewell and good luck. Little sheep." Amaris whispered softly, mirth palpable as she made to escape sending out a pulse of mental energy meant to dazzle and scramble the minds of everyone in a decent area around her, her fellow demons moments later dropping to the ground.

[Group Blackout]

As Irit's tornado cut off behind her Amaris' lips hiked up in a delighted smile of satisfaction.

That just so happened to take care of her last obstacle.

Her plans just seemed to line up perfectly lately, first the discovery of a person possessing considerable power very likely to interfere with the little Demon King's ambitions warranting some stronger entry forces meaning her, the unstable powder keg, a young uppity demon with more knowledge than brain and a meathead without one altogether, all of them conveniently enough rather susceptible to her hidden brand of magic evolved from her initial repertoire of merely boosting her own attraction.

More specifically, to influence the mind.

It was a pity she was stuck using it like brute force, bludgeoning others' minds without grace or precision, but that was inevitable. Succubi as a race wasn't built to do more than use it as such, blaringly sending out what was essentially weak suggestions of 'love me', 'look at me', 'pay attention to me', 'I'm beautiful', 'you wouldn't want to hurt me', etc etc.

Another giggle escaped her as she fantasized about how she'd spend her newfound freedom with access to many more targets available if the books were right, however, she hadn't even made it more than a few meters when she suddenly startled, freezing upon hearing a quiet sneeze coming from behind.

Hesitantly turning around, her eyes widened upon catching sight of the girl rising from the aftermath of Irit's crazed wrath.

Smoldering cinders and embers lingered on scorched earth still whilst ash drifted down from the sky, some of which had presumably entered the girl's nose and contrary to Amaris' expectations-

Nevermind annihilated, whatever burns visible granted some were fairly heavy, though in no way as heavy as she would've thought, were swiftly healed at a mind-blowing speed.

Mere seconds later the girl looked no worse for wear except now being covered in patches of soot and missing any form of clothing which had been burnt to a crisp.

-127 359

+83 542

+83 542

"She survived THAT. . .?"

Nana let out another kitten-like sneeze and briefly shook her head sending ash scattering around before she blinked, looking down at her completely bare body leading to an old memory replaying in her mind with perfect clarity.

---

A younger Nana who had just gotten done showering stood blankly trying to figure out her next course of actions.

Sam had previously told her not to put on dirty clothes after cleaning herself and seeing as she didn't have any other ones, she eventually decided to go ask her for a solution to the conundrum presented before her.

Properly hanging up her towel to dry as she was shown to do she then wandered out of the changing rooms into the gym.

Spotting the teenager sitting at her desk Nana began making her way over, she didn't get very far however as following a few alarmed shouts Sam immediately raised her head in a panicked manner and promptly choked upon seeing her, vaulting over the counter and rushing over, picking her up in an under-arm carry and running back to the showers slamming the door behind her closed.

She was then treated to an hour long lesson about how not wearing anything was only acceptable when you had to clean yourself or when Sam said it was.

---

With that thought in mind she used her [Water Magic] Skill to recreate her usual outfit which she was most comfortable wearing out of incredibly dense water, a sports top, knee-length spats that Vanessa had insisted she also wore, and a pair of large shorts loosely hanging over them allowing for maximum mobility.

Shaking out her limbs and testing range of motion she nodded to herself, this was better.

Though doing that revealed another problem which was quickly remedied when she simply made a small cord which she strung up her hair into a spiky high ponytail with.

That done she turned her attention to her opponents and tilted her head seeing three fourth's of them laying unconscious on the ground, the last one standing looking her way with a mixture of shock, wariness and a healthy dose of climbing fear.

Reading no intentions of moving from the woman herself Nana ignored her, instead walking over to lightly nudge the closest of the three, also the one she felt most excited to fight if the previous showing was any indication of strength.

Receiving no response even after a full minute of poking and prodding a slight frown appeared on her face, looking to the other two who also remained similarly unmoving, she rose from her crouch and brought her attention to the most likely culprit who suddenly stiffened up under her gaze.

...

Amaris inwardly cursed up a storm, mind spinning furiously as she debated the best course of action, a task bordering on impossible as she had next to no information to work with.

Adrenaline the likes of which she'd never experienced before rapidly pumped through her body almost like her instincts were warning her of the natural predator stood in front of her.

[Group Blackout]

Sending out another spell, holding onto a bit of hope that her previous one was merely too short of range, Amaris then promptly experienced an head-splitting pain leading to her briefly blacking out herself, a light migraine lingering feeling like she'd just tried metaphorically smashing her head into an immovable wall.

[Mental Attack Immunity]

Knocked on her ass with her brain scrambled, her eyes blurry and her ears ringing, Amaris was once again reminded of the double-edged sword performing mental attacks was.

As much as they were incredibly effective offensively that hinged on the premise that your target was either equal or inferior to you in mental strength, a large chunk of which relied on Intelligence but was also majorly impacted by general willpower.

Though in contrast to the previous times she'd accidentally tried tackling a stronger foe, this time, there was absolutely no give in the meta-physical shield what so ever which confused her as there had always been a level of pliability no matter who she'd targetted.

Unfortunately, she didn't have the luxury to delve deeper into her questions as she blearily registered the girl slowly moving towards her.

Scrambling to get up Amaris then swiftly took off in a run, her tail visciously lashing out with blades of pink energy behind her.

She was not failing when she was this close to liberation.

Hearing a loud impact ringing out she glanced over her shoulder, her eyes promptly widening when she saw the girl rapidly falling towards her, hurriedly throwing herself to the side as the girl touched down just in front of her previous position cracking the ground.

Conjuring up an array of spears, she instantly sent them flying with sharp gesture, a series of explosions sounding as dust obscured the area.

[Dark Barrage]

Amaris didn't wait around to see the results of her attack, instead taking to the skies carried by the small pair of glowing wings that suddenly materialized behind her and sped off.

Nana briefly shook her head as she emerged from the hole, blinking as she watched the figure of her opponent disappearing in the distance.

She couldn't have that though, after all, if the woman escaped who else would wake up the other three?

Bending her knees she shot off with a powerful lunge, water surging to envelop her figure pushing her to blindings speeds further boosted by her passive kicking in as she chased after the fleeing woman.

[Water Magic - Aqua Torrent]

[Monstrous Swimmer]

---

Some updates:

-I got down with a cold which kinda sucks.

-I'm tentatively moving websites because I want to be able to use bold and italic in writing.

-Also getting started on another story so either I'll alternate between these two or temporarily pause this one for a bit, haven't decided just yet.