The guard returned to the room, forcefully pushing Malii inside. Malii appeared frail and could barely stand. His face was bruised, and his clothes were in tatters, dirty, and stained with blood.
"Sit down," Bawa commanded, using his foot to push the goblin's body aside and dragging a wooden chair.
Malii complied silently.
"For some reason," Bawa began, "Kage and Keres want you and the Gem. Gems hold great value, but it's unusual for him to collaborate with goblins. This doesn't feel right."
Bawa leaned on his desk and toyed with his axe before continuing.
"What do you know about this Keres? Who is she?"
Malii remained silent.
Bawa signaled to his guard, and the Watoo moved in front of Malii, delivering a brutal blow to his face with a metal pipe, causing blood to splatter on the ground.
"There is something going on here," Bawa continued. "It has to do with this Revival woman, Keres. Out of nowhere, Kage partners with goblins and treats me like shit. They seem particularly interested in this Enki priestess and the Gem, and to a lesser extent, you. Goblins have never set foot on our floor. What the hell is happening?"
CAROL : The Revival is not Cleo, but someone named Keres?
SIMON : It sounds like it. I don't know who she is.
"Now," Bawa pressed on, "you better align yourself with me. What do they know? What is the value of this Enki priestess and a low-level Gem like this?"
Bawa clutched the Gem in his hand and continued, "I understand that for you Enkis, it holds significant worth, but on our floor, it is not so important. I also know that Revivals are interested in Gems; they can unlock their power in ways different from us, is that why she wants it?"
Finally, Malii moved his head, fixing his gaze on Bawa.
"Oh, yes, I know a thing or two," the huge Watoo replied. "What I don't know is why the Priestess and why Kage is fine with following and serving a Revival."
The Enki remained silent once more. Bawa nodded at his guard.
The guard struck Malii once again, causing his face to bleed even more.
SIMON : Alright, enough of this. Are you ready?
CAROL : Yes.
"If you don't talk --"
Before Bawa could finish his sentence, a bolt struck his guard's head, and Carol burst into the room, swinging her war hammer at him. He attempted to evade the attack, but Carol's weapon had considerable reach, and it collided with his jaw, breaking teeth with force.
I entered the room, brandishing my sword, and together Carol and I launched our assault on Bawa. To our surprise, he deflected both the hammer and my blade with his axe and, with immense strength, pushed us away.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" Bawa shouted as he wiped blood from his mouth and spat on the ground.
Carol utilized the desk as a launching point, leaping into the air with her hammer aimed at Bawa. He dashed on the side to avoid her attack only to be met with my blade as it sliced straight into his chest, causing blood to sizzled through the air.
Forced into a corner of the room, Bawa growled, swinging his axe in a wide arc. I attempted to block the attack with my sword but was overpowered, falling to the ground. Fortunately, Carol, with her superior strength, managed to hold off the axe's assault with her hammer. As they engaged in a fierce struggle for dominance, I rose to my feet and shouted :
"Carol, back up!"
She quickly complied, leaping backward, and I unleashed Ceto's Wrath.
A wall of flame propelled Bawa through the wall, scorching his fur and skin. He screamed out in agony as he violently crashed onto the ground outside the house.
Without a moment's hesitation, Carol charged forward, aiming a powerful blow at Bawa's head. He narrowly avoided the strike, rolling to the side and swiftly regaining his footing. His face and armor were seared, his flesh reddened with blood.
Refusing to grant him respite, I retrieved my crossbow and fired two bolts in his direction. He instinctively covered his face, but one of the projectiles pierced his chest with force, causing him to drop to his knee.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" Bawa roared, blood dripping from his mouth and his chest.
"We're Malii's friends," Carol declared with a smile.
I gazed at her in disbelief. The balls on this woman.
Carol dashed forward, ready to deliver the finishing blow to Bawa.
BAM!
Just as she was about to strike, a bullet hit her chest armor, pushing her aside and causing her to crash onto the ground.
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Four Watoos approached, one armed with a pistol and the others wielding metal pipes.
I quickly reloaded my crossbow, but before I could take aim, an Oxane - coming out of the other side of the path - emerged through the debris, crashing through the pile of junk and seizing me. My crossbow fell to the ground as he effortlessly hoisted me into the air, hurling me against a nearby wall of an abandoned house. I soared through the air and collided violently with the wall, head-first, my health plummeting to 192.
Before I could regain my composure, the second Oxane charged towards me, crashing into my body and smashing me through the wall. My health now dwindled to 171.
Coming to my aid, Carol struck the monster on the head, causing him to stumble but he managed to retain his balance. He swiftly turned around and delivered a powerful punch to her, who quickly used her hammer as a shield, sending her flying away.
Seizing the opportunity, I swiftly rose to my feet and attempted to stab the Oxane. He blocked my blade with his right arm, but the weapon still cut through his flesh and muscle, becoming lodged in his forearm. He growled, blood dripping from the wound, seemingly unfazed. With great force, he pushed the blade back through his forearm, catching me off guard as the hilt of my sword struck my stomach. My health now stood at 164.
Overwhelmed by pain, I fell to my knees, but before I could react, two more Watoos arrived. One swung his metal pipe at my head, causing me to stagger and fall backward. My health diminished to 136.
Swiftly, I rolled away, rising to my feet, prepared to confront the imminent attack. As the second Watoo swung his weapon, I quickly crouched and delivered an upward strike, cleanly severing his hand at the wrist. He screamed in agony as blood spurted in all directions.
I immediately sought to finish him off, but before I could react, the Oxane seized the dismembered Watoo by one leg and used him as a weapon, smashing him against me and sending us both crashing against the ground. The sheer violence and force of the impact momentarily stole my breath as we both collapsed, causing the earth beneath us to give way. My health dropped to 112. Summoning all my strength, I pushed with my legs and quickly retreated, struggling to catch my breath.
The Oxane then seized the second Watoo, who stood in fear after witnessing his companion being utilized as a human club, and threw him in my direction.
I attempted to evade the incoming projectile, but I wasn't fast enough. We collided forcefully against the interior wall of the building, causing me to drop my sword. My health now plummeted to an even lower 91.
Reacting swiftly, I withdrew my knife and took advantage of the situation, stabbing the Watoo that had been thrown at me in the head before he could regain his footing.
As I rose to my feet, I noticed the Oxane standing before me, laughing.
Behind him, Carol had killed at least three Watoos and was currently engaged in a struggle to hold off the other Oxane. Unfortunately, an additional shooter had entered the scene. Just as I observed, he fired a shot at Carol, striking her in the chest. Although her armor absorbed most of the impact, she was sent flying from the force of the blow.
"I need to help her," I thought.
Before I could make a move to retrieve my sword, the Oxane lunged toward me, his muscular and powerful arm striking me violently in the chest. I was propelled against the inner wall of the house, crashing through it and landing outside on the ground. My health now dwindled to 63, and my chest throbbed with pain as I struggled to catch my breath. My body being cut and scratches everywhere.
Swiftly, I applied a healing patch, raising my health to 88 and momentarily alleviating the pain. However, I had neither my sword nor my crossbow and the Oxane was steadily approaching me.
Using the last of my Mana, I cast Ceto's Wrath once more, catching the Oxane by surprise. He was pushed backward with force as his forearms - which he had attempted to use as protection -, caught on fire.
Without hesitation, I dashed forward, quickly reclaiming my sword and following his trajectory. As he landed on the ground, his forearms still burning, I leaped on him, driving my blade into his chest with all my might. Blood splattered across my face as my sword pierced both his forearms and reached the surface of his chest. Creating a Oxane skewer.
He grunted, attempting to push me away, but my sword remained lodged, immobilizing both his arms as I exerted my full weight on it.
Yet, he proved to be stronger than me, much stronger. With a violent shove, he threw me in the air, screaming as my blade tore through the flesh on his arms. I landed heavily on my back unharmed. He stood up, my sword still embedded in one of his arms, both of them bleeding profusely. He was in a pretty bad shape, but he didn't seem to care as rage burned fiercely in his eyes.
The Oxane roared with anger, and behind him, the other one fighting Carol abruptly stopped and rushed towards us.
I had no weapon except for my rusted knife, and my Mana was depleted.
Carol moved towards me, but as she did, she was intercepted by two bandits armed with metal pipes. Suddenly, Malii, still with his hand attached, charged forward and forcefully knocked the two Watoos out of the way with his shoulder. All three of them fell to the ground. Without hesitation, the determined Frenchie crushed the head of one of the bandit in an explosion of brain, fur, and blood.
However, the second Oxane was already upon me. He raised his fist and swung it in my direction. With a swift dodge, I narrowly evaded the blow. Unfortunately, the other Oxane, with my sword still lodged in his arm, was waiting for it as he clamped his mouth around me, suspending me in the air, and squeezed violently. His sharp teeth pierced my chest, causing my health to plummet to 29 as I screamed in agony.
Desperately, I repeatedly stabbed his left eye with the rusty knife, forcing him to release his grip. I dropped to the floor, blood flowing from my wounds.
BAM!
Carol shot the mostly intact Oxane in the back of the head. He turned around, growling menacingly at her. She was now much farther away, standing atop a pile of metal debris, at least 70 or 80 feet distant. Dropping her pistol, she swiftly retrieved a second one stuck in her belt, aimed, and fired at the other Oxane, who also turned to face her.
"Come and get me, you fucking rats!" Carol shouted, taunting them.
They rushed her, as out of nowhere Malii came and picked me up, carrying me away.
"We need to help--"
Before I could finish, I realized the plan ; Carol was now levitating a few inches from the pile of metal she was standing on. Ethereal wisps of energy emanated from her glowing red body, and her right hand rose in the air. The Oxanes, realizing the imminent danger, increased their speed, but it was too late. Carol unleashed the power of her Gem. A colossal red fist materialized before her, obliterating everything in its path. The two Oxanes were propelled backward as their bodies disintegrated in flames.
We barely managed to evade the blast, thanks to Malii carrying me away and leaping as far as he could. We hit the ground with force, my health dropping even more to 17 as blood flew from my chest wounds.
Carol dropped to her knees, breathing heavily and spitting blood. It had been a grueling battle for both of us.
Out of nowhere, Bawa, burned and still bleeding, struck Carol's head with a metal pipe, screaming in agony as his chest wounds stretched.
"Carol!" I shouted.
She collapsed to the ground.
Still beside me, Malii seized my rusty knife and rushed towards them. However, they were far from our reach.
Bawa slowly raised his weapon again, one hand gripping it tightly while the other attempted to stem the bleeding from his chest. Carol, at his feet, her hair drenched with blood, was struggling to stand.
Once more, he viciously struck down on Carol's head as Malii finally reached him and stabbed him violently. Carried by the Enki momentum, the both of them collapsed on the ground.
Malii, stabbed once more, and then again, and again. His strikes fueled by vengeance.
"Malii!" I shouted. "Carol!"
The Enki turned to look at me, his face drenched in blood. He let go of the knife, which dropped to the ground, and hastily rushed toward Carol, who remained motionless.
As he glanced back at me, his expression was filled with grief and despair.