badum

Mallory grit her teeth as she kept dodging and being protected from harmful attacks. "These.. damnit!"

Her pouch and her pockets could only hold so much of her talismans so there was far less available to her the more time that had passed.

The talismans that were left to activate were the other type of protective talismans that created a small barrier coating around her body.

Those were being used up just as quickly since she was being hit a lot by the leader of the group who was relentless in his assault.

A protective layer formed around her body but that was not enough to protect her completely.

The protective layer was not stationary like the other barrier talismans so it only helped to absorb damage taken but not to disperse the force of an impact completely.

That was when more problems started to come up during the battle.

Mallory was being hit several times with the protective layer around her but was being pushed to the ground or towards another direction from the impact of the blows.

It was very disorienting and it was also very easy for Mallory to take another attack when she was still recovering from the first one.

If the protective layers did not hold up that well then her life may have been over many times over especially if she did not recover quickly at some of the times she stumbled.

Sweat was pouring down her head and she was panting a lot more than before.

Her state was not that good but she kept on fighting.

She was hoping for to seize more opportunities and to never give up until the very end.

So many lives rested on her shoulders so she could not fall.

It was what was keeping her standing. "Ha… ha.."

Another strong hit was taken from the metallic bow which could have hooked and rended her flesh if it was not for the protective layer on her. "Ha.. haa…"

She was forced to the ground and rolled several times. "Haa.. haa…"

Mallory weakly crawled back up as the enemy jumped towards her once again. "Haa."

Her fingers gripped into the dirt beneath her as she tried to claw her way back up using anything she could hold onto to keep herself stable and supported.

Her head was lowered like she was having a difficult time getting up and her concentration was not completely on the enemy anymore.

It all seemed like it was the end of Mallory when the enemy closed the distance again raising their weapons towards the thinning protective layer.

The bag had been stolen from the grasp of Mallory in the final attack by the leader of the group after he hooked it with his bow when Mallory was knocked away.

Out of all the times he tried to do so, he finally succeeded in taking the bag away from Mallory.

All that remained on Mallory were the remaining few talismans she had in her pockets.

The leader watched with a smug smile on his face as his men were breaking down the protective layer one at a time. "It is over."

He was waiting for the most opportune moment to strike just when all protection on Mallory would be lost.

However a thought came to his mind at that time as he took out a talisman from the bag looking at it. 'So this is what she was using. They killed so many of my men and it is just a small piece of paper.'

What came to his mind was that they were truly unique.

If he could gain such things to use in combat then he could make up for the losses.

Greed began to take hold of his mind as he was considering taking Mallory alive instead.

If he could find a way to confine Mallory and make her create such tools and weapons for him then any losses suffered would be made up for in a short time.

If he had weaker people armed with talismans then it was likely that they could go around on a killing spree to quickly raise more people up from level one to the next levels.

Just as he was considering such an option, there was a strange eerie silence that spread put among the clangs of weapons that hit Mallory who was being protected.

Mallory could not lift herself up with all the forces hitting her from above so she had to endure it and struggled with all her might to get back on her knees. "Ugh..argh!"

Her breathing was disordered, her energy seemed very low and it was like she had no strength left to use to do anything beyond what she was already doing.

Her body felt hot as her heartbeat was speeding up.

Within the few noises being created, another sound spread out within it that started out quiet and slow.

It gradually became faster and louder until it could be heard by those close by.

Badum..

Badum..

Badumm..

Her nails clawed deeper into the dirt as her figure remained in the same position and her sharp fangs were clenched together tightly.

Suddenly her body began to shift and contort strangely.

It started off small at first which was not very noticeable but then bigger changes started to happen.

Her body became bigger, the shape changed and fur started to grow over her body.

It was like a lot of the bone structure and other elements were beginning to change completely to allow for her to take on a form that was no longer human.

Her golden blonde hair stood out far less when the golden blonde fur grew out allowing them to blend together.

Spots appeared in different areas of her body where the fur grew, the clothes on her body began to rip and fall apart.

The armour attached to her body by straps had begun to come loose then fell off her body along with everything else.

Even the collar around her neck snapped as her neck grew thicker and larger.

Her nails became deadly claws attached to four paws that were a part of the four legs she walked on.

Mallory raised her head showing her eyes which had no reason within them and all that was left was a pair of emerald green predatory eyes that held a strong amount of killing intent.

Her body raised off the ground as her mouth opened showing her very sharp fangs and a loud noise was released. "Roooaaar!"

It was a very distinctive, deep, guttural rasping call that was similar to the sound of sawing wood.

The sudden transformation that took place within a short time followed by the strong display sent several people retreating in fright however that was when the leopard moved from where it was stood.

It was so fast compared to the previous speed that Mallory was using before.

Its leaping ability was further improved along so many other aspects.

It found its first prey very close by as it pounced right onto someone digging its claws into them and biting their neck pulling them down onto the ground.

A protective layer surrounded the body of the leopard as it quickly killed its prey moving onto the next victim.

As it moved, even the leader had difficulty keeping up with it and was unable to react to his first ally being killed so swiftly. "Damn it! Attack! Do not run! Kill it! Kill it!"