Part 48

Eventually, after three minutes of fighting, she was forced to back away and rethink her plan of attack. Stuart, when he noticed this, immediately assumed Hazel was catching her breath.

"Now!" Stuart yelled. Suddenly, the warrior charged forward, moving between the tanks with a large dagger in his non-dominant hand. His actual dominant hand had been cut off and his sword was still on the ground. Hazel clenched her teeth in annoyance and dashed forward once more.

"Wha-" The fighter managed to say before Hazel's sword sliced through his jugular. He dropped to his knees, choking on his own blood. As Hazel made the cut, she began to smell a strong tinge of iron. Hazel smiled as the adventurer leaned forward and fell to his chest. He was still alive, choking and shaking in pain, for another thirty seconds before he eventually gave off a loud groan as he died.

Stuart and the others watched in fear as Hazel backed away once more. Her eyes were trained on the carcass in front of her, a pleasured smile upon her face as he eyes lit up with happiness. Stuart and the others felt a chill run down their spines as they looked at her sadistic expression.

"M-Monster!" Stuart yelled out. The circle underneath him faltered, but he quickly managed to get a grip of his composure as he looked at Hazel once more. The circle underneath him reappeared and continued to supply buffs to his teammates. As he paid attention to Hazel, he hadn't even noticed the changes happening around him.

Suddenly, he moved his foot and heard a 'clink' underneath him. He looked down at the ground, perplexed by the strange noise. It was like he had stepped on something metallic, so perhaps it was a weapon.

However, as soon as he looked down, he felt something heavy slam into his shoulder. He grunted in pain as he fell back. His hand shot up to his shoulder as he moved. He immediately felt something similar to a small stick, but it was too cylindrical and straight.

Then, the pain set in. Stuart began to groan as he held his shoulder in pain. He looked up, then found that the circle underneath him was no longer covering the tanks in front of him. The effect of the buffs no longer helped them, which gave Hazel a chance to attack.

She dashed forward as she brought her sword into the air. Then, as soon as she met up with one of the tanks, she slammed her sword into the shield at a specific angle. Her sword curved toward the ground, dragging the majority of the shield with it. The tank that held the shield grunted in pain as his body turned toward the ground. He didn't have time to stabilize himself before Hazel adjusted her arm and moved to thrust her sword into the tank's neck.\

"Shit!" the other tank yelled as he began to move, but he was too slow. He watched as the sword slid into his friend's neck, killing him within an instant. Even his spine was severed.

"Shit," Hazel grunted as she brought her sword away from the dead tank. She watched as his body fell to the ground and began to contribute to the puddle of blood below her. She felt disappointed that she had killed him so quickly. Something about the screams she had heard so far felt like music to her ears. It was exhilarating.

"Fuck! Fuck!" The other tank yelled in fear. Stuart, on the other hand, had finally managed to calm down. His hand still held onto his shoulder, where a crossbow bolt had been embedded into his body. Stuart dashed forward and quickly began to buff the remaining tank.

"Shit, shit, shit," Stuart mumbled over and over again. They had already lost two of their tanks, their only healer, and both of their warriors yet hadn't managed to defeat the opponent that killed them. Stuart looked to his side, where the others were standing.

He groaned in pain and stress as fear began to fog his mind. He was going to die here, he knew that. If only he had traveled with the Caldwell group, maybe he could've survived for a little while longer. Stuart returned his attention to the battle in front of him.

Hazel and the tank exchanged blows for a full minute, with Hazel providing most of the physical attacks. Out of desperation, the tank would occasionally send out an attack, but it was either quickly deflected or dodged with ease.

"This shield of yours is annoying," Hazel muttered with a cold voice. She felt like she was fighting against a bug that refused to die and it frustrated her. She quickly ran forward, then took the top of the shield with her free hand and began to pull it towards her.

The tank saw this, assumed her defenses would be down and struck. At the same time, Hazel attacked as well. Their strikes met at the same time, causing a flash of sparks to dance through the air. The tank's attack lost, but Hazel hadn't managed to finish the attack. The tank felt his strength wain underneath Hazel's dominance. He suddenly let go of the shield, then tried for one last attack.

Hazel smiled, then went to thrust her sword forward as well. Both of them found that Hazel's attack was far faster and reached the tank's chest with ease. The tank grimaced as he felt her sword pass right through his armor and into his chest, but he didn't slow down his own attack.

His sword went right through her elbow and quickly made its way out of her arm. Had the strength of the tank been more fierce, perhaps he would have been able to reach her chest as well? However, for now, he would be satisfied with her pained shouting.

Hazel screamed in anger and pain as she backed away from the tank. She looked toward the man in front of her, then quickly realized her sword was still embedded into the man's chest. She had lost her weapon and had her main arm injured.

'What a fool I am,' She thought to herself. The tank finally dropped to the ground, dead, which left only Stuart remaining. Stuart looked toward Hazel and quietly whimpered in fear. He was a vanguard, somebody who led parties and buffed them. He wasn't supposed to be on the front lines.

"Please, no," Stuart managed to get out. Hazel took a step forward, then groaned in pain as she held her arm. Stuart whimpered once more, then felt his body move on instinct as he jumped to the side. As he moved, he saw a blur of grey dash through the air and slam into the ground behind him.

He watched as Hazel's figure appeared, but she was different now. Her hood had been removed and something between a mix of human and black lizard revealed itself. Hazel's eyes were yellow, almost glowing in the dark, as small patches of black scales began to arise from her skin. They appeared on her eyes, her cheeks, a small bit of her forehead, and a few parts of her neck. However, what terrified Stuart the most were the curved black horns that came out of her head and pointed forward.

At first, Stuart thought she was a demon going through a transformation. The horns on her head looked similar to the horns of demons, just curvier and rougher in texture. He momentarily believed the idea, then he remembered where he was.

"No..." Stuart said. He looked to Hazel. Most of her expression was completely calm. Her lips weren't even twitching and her cheeks seemed to be motionless. However, her eyes, which were slowly growing even brighter, widened with rage. Stuart quickly stood up, then began to back away from Hazel, "Shit, shit, shit. What do I do?"

Of course, there was nothing he could do. He remembered the group Hazel had traveled with, then looked in their direction. As his eyes went away from Hazel, they met with Arthur's. Even though Arthur wore his armor, Stuart was able to recognize the emotion he carried.

Rage.