Chapter 23: Burning Cove [Fin]

Raven wasn't sure what parts of the silver serpent were most important, so he cleaved off its head and removed a few of the most radiant and beautiful scales from its underbelly and back that were undamaged.

With slow, steady steps, he began to walk towards the cave entrance where Colin and the others vanished, his heart becoming colder with each step, as the purple and black energy seemed to wrap his heart in a cocoon, the more the energy pulsated and surged, the more his skin began to seem different, like scales at times, like a beast others.

'They are still running...' He thought, listening to them clashing with what seemed to be grey goblins in the distance.

He didn't care if they were dead or alive, whether they were his friends or enemies; he wanted to end their miserable existences, to remove the pain and suffering their lives caused countless demihumans forever.

Raven entered the small archway, entering a large room, the walls filled with molten black rocks and magma, while on the opposite edge of the room, Marie was fighting a pair of grey goblins while Colin and Brin fought the main pack.

He pretended to walk with a limp from the arrow that pierced his leg; thanks to the skill [Manticore Heart], the poison was only temporary, as if the heart and cultivation technique extracted a part of the poison to empower the purple mist inside his body, which couldn't enhance his body, but improved his [Shadow Strike] and defences.

"Shit! it's the fucking orc!" Colin's rough voice sounded as the black-haired male stabbed one of the goblins through its eye, pushing back as he stumbled slightly; contrary to their previous well-oiled unit, it truly seemed they did lack a tank, maybe if Raven was a human or elf, they might have extended their racist hands to him in partnership.

'Hahaha, fucking orc? Nostalgic!!!'

"You fuckers!" Raven bellowed, a burst of shadows enveloping his body from below his feet like an aura, his stamina and willpower dropping further as the slutty witch crushed the skull of the second goblin, her first moment of using magic as she pointed her staff's tip towards Raven's body, a strange red glow filling her body, as she began to rapidly speak in what seemed like tongues to Raven, as billowing flames formed a small dance around her forming three orbs of flame above her head.

Marie turned around and grinned as she saw Raven, "Finally! It's a shame such a huge cock cannot be tried out~ if only you weren't freak! We were worried you got lost! Hahaha!"

"Stop playing, Marie! Colin, let's take this damn demihuman down!" Brin shouted, his dual swords gleaming as he flanked Raven's right side with light steps as a slight wind seemed to flow through his legs and arms.

"Yeah, yeah, let's get this over with!" Colin growled, charging towards Raven, his daggers flashing as he stabbed at the orc's torso, only for Raven to dodge the attack and slam his axe into Colin's stomach, sending him stumbling back.

Raven wouldn't let them die easily; the sickening crunch of Colin's chest, as the hammer edge of his axe crushed several ribs, but not enough to completely immobilise and drive him into a corner.

"Damn... my fucking ribs, you filthy pig!" Colin grunted, holding his stomach, reaching for his dagger, and stabbing it into his thigh as he stumbled forwards.

Raven charged forward and grabbed Colin by his hair, lifting him and slamming him against the wall, where he punched him in the gut, making him cough up blood and vomit as he punched him repeatedly.

"Get over yourself! You aren't anything special!" He spat, feeling his hands begin to burn with violet energy, his fists glowing with a dark purple aura as he punched Colin's face, his nose breaking and blood gushing from his mouth.

Raven could feel his grip on reality slipping as the purple energy around his body increased, his fingers turning black and his nails sharpening as he punched Colin again and again, feeling a burning hatred for these humans, wanting to crush them, devour them as he heard the soft steps of Brin behind him.

He grasped the collar of Colin, whose body was now bloodied and half-crippled, twisting his hips as his arms and abdominal muscles contracted before tossing Colin out towards Brin with a rapid explosion of speed and power, his body causing a loud boom of air, as Marie took this chance to bombard Raven with her three fireballs.

Raven dodged the first two, barely managing to avoid the third as he swung his axe at the bitch, who turned her head, dodging the blow with ease as she sent a blast of wind towards him, which caught him off guard and knocked him back.

Raven groaned as he landed on his ass, his vision blurring as he felt the world spin around him, his ears ringing as he clutched at his axe, trying to regain his senses, as he slowly rose to his feet, coughing up blood.

"Can't even beat a pathetic mutant like an orc..." Marie laughed, her red eyes glowing as she shot another fireball, which Raven dodged, before slamming his axe into the wall, creating a large hole.

Then lifting it above his head and smashing it down again, the sound of stone and metal being cracked echoed throughout the room as he kicked huge chunks of rock at the slut, several of them missing.

Still, the gravel and small rocks entered her mouth, causing her to gag, unable to cast and retreat with her hand holding her throat tightly.

"Ugh... fuck you!" Colin spat, grabbing his dagger and stabbing it into his thigh as he stumbled forwards, almost toppling over but catching himself with his hands against the wall.

"It's not over yet!" Brin yelled, stepping forwards and swinging his blades at Raven's torso, only for the orc to dodge it, before slamming his axe into Brin's midsection, making him stumble backwards.

But the damage was light, as Brin's second sword sliced a chunk of flesh from Raven's cheek, blood squirting and oozing rapidly as he stepped back, forced to use the black axe to block a flurry of slashes and stabs from Brin, who gained momentum.

The orc backed up as Brin rushed at him, his strength increasing as he swung his swords faster and harder than before, his eyes glowing brightly. Raven blocked Brin's attacks with his axe, grunting as he pushed Brin back,

"I can't hold on any longer!" Brin screamed, his eyes growing green as a spiral of wind began to twirl around his blades, now sending sharp blades of wind with each attack, but his face became pale, his eyes less focused.

"Fuck! Coming, wait!" Colin's bloody body and broken bones creaked as he forced himself to aid Brin in attacking Raven; brilliant green flashes of light followed Brin's blades as Raven's huge body slowly became covered in bloody wounds, despite blocking several attacks with the black axe, his eyes narrow as the purple and black energy seemed to pump harder around his heart, filling him with more adrenaline and focus as he narrowly dodged Colin's sneak attack, thrusting his dagger towards Raven's through by catching his hands.

Snap!

A loud crack rang out as the dagger broke into pieces, Colin staggering backwards, clutching his hand.

"Guhh... fuck!" Colin cried, gasping for air as he fell to his knees and dropped his weapons, his remaining hand gripping his wounded stump.

Raven roared, his rage building as he slammed his axe into the ground and created a crater; the blood he shed earlier, now like a beautiful display, sprayed around him like a fountain of blood spraying into Brin's eyes, forcing him to stop his attack, wiping the sticky blood that began to burn and sizzle his flesh.

"Arrrrrrrrrrgh!? It's burning my face!!! Fuck.... it's hot... help!!! Fuck!" Brin moaned, his body shaking as the tears continued to pour from his eyes as he stumbled away from the raging orc, tripping on a rock and falling onto the floor, rolling across the lava-like stones, with melted flesh and embedded into his body, causing a disgusting scent like roasted pork, until he finally managed to crawl out of danger and collapse upon the ground, sobbing loudly as his eyes burned and blistered.

But his mind collapsed as he lay on the ground close to Colin, as they trembled, unable to defend themselves.

"You bastard!?" Marie shouted, her hands no longer holding the staff, as her face looked exhausted, sweat oozing from her face as she began to talk in tongues, flames bursting from the nearby lava, each moment her face became even worse as more than a dozen fiery orbs swirled around her body, under her control.

"Killing my little dogs? How dare a mere livestock even dream of hurting my things!" She screeched angrily, her voice echoing throughout the cave as she levitated the flames higher and higher, raising their velocity as she watched him with distorted eyes.

"How about I kill all your pets?" Raven said coolly, his cheeks turning blue as he felt his lungs burning for breath and the mana drained from his body quickly, but he wouldn't give up so easily.

"You filthy PIG!!!" Her scream signalled her flaming orbs to shoot towards him like homing missiles, curving and twisting through the air, creating an impossible path Raven couldn't even understand where they might go next.

Instead, his body lowered, dashing directly towards Marie, his axe now swirling with a fierce purple shadowy energy as his willpower seemed to have dropped drastically, unable to check, as the throbbing pain in his head became more prevalent.

His body hit Marie's with incredible force, knocking her back and smashing her into the wall, cracking it open as she slid along the rock surface, landing on the ground. The impact caused her to lose consciousness immediately.

In contrast, Raven was left standing still, his body trembling slightly as he coughed up some blood and gasped for breath, his mind being beaten beyond sanity. His eyes fluttered as he looked at his surroundings, seeing the shattered remains of the walls, debris scattered everywhere and bodies littered around the room as the mass of fireballs began to cascade and bombard his body.