> Being blessed by the goddess isn't always a good thing. Ask Hjalmar.

>

> —Sigvard Frederiksen, "The Fate of the Eatuhean Colonies"

Israfel

Sofia appeared with Asteria in tow. I didn’t think it was possible, but Asteria looked even worse than before.

“Wait,” said Asteria.

She closed her eyes. After a minute or two, the glow of anima surrounded Sariel and Uriel. When it died out, anima pulsed around their prone forms once, then the two ELs were encased on crystallized anima.

“Thank the goddess,” said Sofia.

“Amazing,” whispered Ravn.

Ravn’s red eyes were bloodshot, and he was a little worse for wear. We all were. Our clothes were scorched from not being able to dodge Sariel’s fire spells fast enough. Sofia was unscathed since she’d kept well away from the fight, but Katja’s pretty sundress was in tatters. It’s a good thing she was wearing her swimsuit under it.

All of us had sustained minor burns which Sofia had healed, but healing spells took a toll on a person’s body. We all looked worn out.

Now that the danger was over, the rest became more chatty.

“She stabbed Seraph through the heart? I didn’t know she had it in her,” said Ravn.

“I’m so tired,” said Katja. “I can’t believe I had to use all of my special skills.”

Sofia checked on the three ELs encased in crystalized anima. “Seraph’s still alive. I’m sure Asteria can heal them.”

Asteria opened her eyes and stood up. Swaying on her feet slightly, she walked a few steps to the side and leaned on a palm tree.

“Please take Seraphiel, Uriel, and Sariel somewhere safe,” said Asteria to the island security staff. “I assume you have someone who can pilot the helicopter. It might be a good idea to evacuate the island.”

Alfred nodded. He ordered the staff to take the S-class ELs to the military headquarters in Kraej City. Then he left. No doubt he needed to report to Dierk Kraej.

The Kraej security staff carried the S-class ELs away. They were going to be fine, right? I’d gotten a closer look at Uriel. His mouth was twisted in a snarl and his complexion was so bloodless that even his lips were pale.

“I guess we have to do the cleanup, too,” I said. “That monster isn’t going to kill itself.”

“We’d better get started.” Oren grimaced. “Katja, Ravn, stay with Asteria.”

I had EL stamina, but I was exhausted. Ravn and Katja must be dead on their feet.

“Alright, I’ll take care of them,” said Ravn.

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“Sit down before you fall down,” said Katja to Asteria.

The three of them sat down on the remains of Ravn’s jacket that he’d spread down on the ground.

“Alright, let’s go,” said Oren. He was the only one who still looked fresh.

The black smear in the ocean was almost to shore. We ran back to the villa where I got a drink of water while we waited for the monster to emerge.

“I knew it,” said Oren. “It’s that slime monster again.”

He’d taken out an enormous mithril sword from his baggage inside the villa. The thing looked like something out of Uriel’s collection. I thought those were purely decorative! Oren wielded it two-handed but I had to admit he was fast enough with it. The rookie’s sword skills had improved by leaps and bounds in the last month. He’d put on a lot more muscle and was almost unrecognizable as the weak-looking shorty from the barracks.

I scanned the ocean for helicopter wreckage or survivors. Asteria didn’t seem like the ruthless type, so I reckoned that she’d been so focused on killing the monster that she hadn’t considered that the helicopter had to have at least one person inside piloting it.

Nothing. All I could see was the large black slime monster approaching.

I wondered how Asteria had known that this monster was inside the helicopter. I certainly hadn’t sensed it.

“By the goddess, look at those body parts!” said Sofia. She looked like she was going to be sick.

Oren gestured for her to stay back as we strode towards the monster. Like the others of the same kind that we’d encountered before, this slime had miscellaneous body parts protruding from its form. Unlike the other monsters that had monster parts sticking out from its body, this one had recognizably human parts. It looked like this one had been feeding on humans instead of other monsters.

“Damn,” whispered Oren. He didn’t like to cuss where the priestess could hear.

“At least it’s smaller than the last one,” I said.

I was in no mood for a long-drawn-out battle so I immediately activated my special skill before it could spawn monsters. Or maybe it could spawn humans. I really didn’t want to find out.

“Killing Field.”

I must have been inspired or just majorly annoyed because the area that my special skill covered was bigger than it normally was. I sliced that monster up again and again, releasing all my pent-up frustration. There was a pounding in my ears and someone was screaming, “Die. Die. Die.”

It wasn’t until Killing Field had deactivated that I realized I had been the one screaming until my throat was raw.

“Mercy Blade.”

Oren’s Mercy Blade special skill was a one-hit death blow. I didn’t think it would work on an S-class monster, and I was right. However, it did do quite a lot of damage.

I got in a few more attacks with my sword before Oren unleashed his next special skill.

“Fire Burst.”

The white-hot serrated discs of fire cut into the slime monster’s body until it stopped moving.

“Yes!” said Sofia. She walked up to us to see if we needed healing.

“We’re fine,” I said.

The monster was weaker than the other two. Neither one of us had been hit by any of its attacks.

“I hope Asteria has recovered,” said Sofia.

Suddenly, a golden light enveloped the monster’s corpse. It was the same as the one that had mysteriously appeared after we killed the underwater slime. My fatigued brain took a few minutes to put two and two together. The golden glow was the same color Asteria’s anima had taken when she used it today.

“It’s disappearing,” said Oren.

It was true. The black mass was dissolving inside the golden glow of anima. Soon, the entire monster’s body was gone without a trace.

Oren scratched his head. “She must be cleaning up after us.”

Whatever. It didn’t look like something harmful.

We made our way back to the part of the beach where Katja, Ravn, and Asteria were. The girls jumped up when they saw us coming.

“Is it done?” asked Katja.

“It must be dead,” said Asteria.

Sofia ran towards them and the girls embraced each other. That was when it happened.

I didn’t sense any danger. EL senses are enhanced, yes, but we need to pay attention to our surroundings to perceive oncoming threats. I was dead tired, and I’d relaxed my guard because I thought everything was over.

We heard a sharp cracking noise which I later realized was the sound of a sniper’s bullet whizzing by.

The bullet in Asteria’s head exploded, spattering Sofia and Katja with blood and bits of flesh, bone, and brain matter.