Meera quickly pulled off a chakram but still held on tight to the belt. She even thought of launching the chakram immediately, but the second Umbraclaw, Haez, stepped out from around the corner. She cursed herself for not activating Nimble Ears. She would have been alerted to their presence if she had.

"Would you like to know how that belt works?" Haez asked, taunting her as he stepped into the room.

Meera wasn't sure how to answer that, but she gave a slight nod.

"In return, you will tell me how you got out of your bonds so fast."

"You first," Meera said.

Haez shrugged. "That is a hoard belt," Haez explained, voice calm. "They are pretty common among adventurers of worth. It's good for storing all sorts of stuff in there. Food, armor, precious items, monies…"

"Is that where all this came from?" Meera asked, waving a hand to the contents of the room. "From dead adventurers."

Haez grinned, showing off his yellow teeth. "Now, your turn."

Her first instinct was to use Shadow Step, but she couldn't let go of such an excellent belt. She quickly put on the belt around her waist, which changed the monster's demeanor.

"No one said you could take it, bitch," growled Vath.

"He's right," added Haez.

Meera gulped as the two men got engulfed with shadows and turned into monsters of darkness. They lost all color as darkness swallowed them, and a wisp of smoke emanated from their bodies. Their mouths became sharp jagged fangs, and their hands extended into claws. This was different from last time. They didn't have the jaws and the claws.

"Now, hand over the belt." Haez extended a clawed hand.

"Don't you want to find out how I got out?" Meera asked, biding for time as she focused on a spot behind them.

"Don't care," Vath barked. "You're going to end up in our belly any—"

Meera used Shadow Step and ended up outside the room, at the tunnel's far wall. Light black smoke was coming off her, which dissipated almost instantly. The Umbraclaws looked around Haez's eyes fell on her just as the smoke disappeared. His eyes widened when he saw her. Vath was quick to follow.

She didn't waste any more time lingering there. She took off at a run, activated Nimble Ears, and used Shadow Step again, landing at the mouth of the lit room, right where the torch's light stopped. She frowned as she had picked a spot a little further in.

"How can she use that?" Vath sounded perplexed. "That's our technique."

The next thing she heard was a fsss, which told her that one of the monsters had also used Shadow Step. Not wasting another second, she jumped into the room and ran. This was their living quarter, it seemed. There were three beds, a table, and a chair, and on one of the beds lay the body of the Umbraclaw she had decapitated. His blood soaked the linens red.

She raced out of the room with them both behind her. She had to create some distraction, or they would have chased her down, as she was sure their Mana was greater than hers. Without even thinking about it, she used Fireplosion.

She hardly put any Mana behind it, but the effect was devastating. It blew the room apart and caused a cave-in behind her. She didn't wait to see if the monsters were entombed as she raced up the stair leading to a wooden door. She activated Primal Power and punched the door off its hinges. It flew off into the night and landed with a heavy thud.

Behind her, she heard a vicious roar, followed by another. She had to deactivate Nimble Ears, or her eardrums would have exploded. She ran off into the night, but she soon stopped.

What am I doing? Meera pondered. This is the perfect time for me to set a trap for them.

She backtracked, keeping her Nimble Ears on full blast. She heard the various animals moving about the woods, but she focused on the scratching sound. Once she was close enough to the stairs, she found a tree and climbed up the tree, where she had a good vantage point and waited.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

It didn't take long for the Umbraclaws to shift enough rock to emerge from the cave. But instead of running out, they teleported into the night, making Meera frown.

Does Shadow Step only work if you're watching your target area? I will have to test that out later.

The Umbraclaws looked around, almost sniffing for her. Her heartbeat fastened because if they could sniff her out, then she had signed off on her death by hiding this close to them.

"The bitch could have gone anyway?" said one of them, who sounded like Vath.

"She couldn't have gotten very far. I'll look this way." Haez pointed to his right. "And you go that way." The way she had gone before turning back. "And if you find her, don't attack. If she does have Shadow Step, we must be careful, or we could lose our heads like that idiot back there."

Vath grunted and took off at a run before making a few short jumps with Shadow Step. His brother Haez did the same. Now, she had the choice to go after the stronger Haez, whose level she did not know, or Vath, who was level 59, almost double her level.

She decided on Vath as she did not want to tangle with a monster who could be as strong as the alpha that killed Cossus. She followed Vath's trajectory, running at almost top speed, unlike his more level-headed brother, who stopped occasionally to check for her tracks. Too bad he had gone in the wrong direction.

She wasn't going to go after them without a plan. She closed her eyes and set all the variables before her, and after a few tense seconds, Ambush Tactics worked its magic. She opened her eyes and smiled. I know how I'm going to kill them.

She jumped down from the tree and ran after Vath without care of being spotted. The monster might as well have been a raging bull, for he only looked straight ahead. She didn't use Shadow Step, as she needed to conserve her Mana, and used Wolf Speed instead.

It was rather comical how obvious it was that she was behind him. They were far beyond the point that she had turned around from. It took her a little longer to get close. She whistled to get his attention. He stopped and snapped his head to her. His nostrils flared, red eyes burned with hate, and he rushed her. She took off all her chakrams and backed up to a tree. Then when he was within range, she launched her chakrams one at a time. They all missed, thanks to Vath's Shadow Step. He used the technique to dodge them all. The chakrams sailed on by to embed themselves into a tree.

Vath laughed. "You're dead, bitch, and those nice shiny circlets will make a nice addition to our treasury."

Meera backed up into the tree, looking scared. Her back hit the tree. She looked around as Vath used Shadow Step, and before she could make a run for it, he was on her. He gripped her by the throat and slammed her into the tree. Her head it with enough force to make her see double.

Vath barked a laugh. "Try to escape out of this."

Meera punched and kicked frantically as she tried to flee from his grip. He dug his claws into the back of her neck, and Meera stilled.

"Now, that's more like it." Vath licked his jagged fangs. "Any last words before I take a bite out of your face?"

"Y-Yes," Meera whimpered. "Can you please tell me your brother's level?"

Vath tilted his head and squinted his red eyes.

"I can see your level, but I cannot see his, and I'm the type of person who must know someone's level, even if I'm about to die."

The Umbraclaw howled with laughter, and he stopped digging his claws in. "You are one strange girl. Maybe that's why your blood tastes so sweet."

"Can you please fulfill this last wish of mine because I'm surely about to die after this?"

"Fine. He's level 70."

Meera smiled. "Thank you."

Then she activated Primal Power, and with her left hand, punched his hand away from her neck and, with her right, gripped the shadow monster's throat and squeezed. His eyes widened at the outburst of strength from her and probably also from being unable to breathe.

"Return," Meera said.

Vath didn't understand her meaning, but a moment later, he felt it as all chakrams began drilling into the back of his neck to reach her arm.

Vath shrieked, and she let him. After all, how else would his brother know of his demise? Blood flew everywhere, and Vath tried to pull himself away, but she didn't let go. He clawed at her arm, leaving bloody streaks up and down her arm, but she didn't let go. It didn't take long for him to lose all strength, and his shrieks died down, followed by her chakrams ripping through his backbone and the front of his throat to rest on her wrist.

Vath's body returned to normal and fell to the ground while his head was still in her hands. It, too, returned to normal, and Meera dropped it immediately. She would have thrown up if she hadn't seen the carnage in Ebonton.

She huffed and deactivated Primal Power. But she didn't have a moment's rest as she heard huffing along with poofs, which meant Haez was coming. She looked up and didn't have time to climb the tree conventionally. She focused on a branch and Stepped to the branch.

Three breaths later, Haez arrived.

It was hard to tell expressions, with their faces covered in shadow, but the monster fell to his knees before his brother's head. It wasn't hard to know that he would have been crying if he were in human form. Meera prepared the next attack and prayed to all the gods of this land and earth that it worked.

"Don't worry, brother, I will avenge you," Haez said. "The one who took you from this world will breathe her last soon."

He set Vath's head down and stood. "I know you're close, Varshan. Show yourself!"

Meera shrugged. This was about as good a time as any. She used Shadow step, and the next instant, she was on his back, with her arms around his neck. Please do not survive this.

She unleashed Fireplosion with almost all her Mana.