Ready Or Not (3)

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“Did we....win?” Myra huffed eagerly.

“Looks like it, I think you hit all of her vitals just now. Not even a healer should be able to pull through something like tha-”

“She’s not dead!”

“Eh? Li-Liam...what’s gotten into you all of a sudden? I know that was scary but-”

“Myra, Jytte, listen to me! There’s no time to explain but just trust me, this isn’t over yet. We have to leave right now!” I exclaimed vehemently, tugging on Jytte’s clothes in the process.

They exchanged a few startled glances with each other before Myra finally spoke up. My sudden declaration must have caught them by surprise but now wasn’t the time for games, this situation was only going to grow more dire by the second.

“Can’t do that kid. We’d just be leaving her here to go on a rampage.”

“As long as we have this she’ll come after us, the inn will be fine. Trust me.” I insisted, urgency thick in my tone.

The tiny looking crystal in my hands drew their attention for a brief instant. For just that one moment, it actually seemed as if they were both about to agree with me but a dark pressure once again filled the air. The sensation was heavy and suffocating, as if we had all been suddenly dragged to the depths of the ocean.

Then, a strange sound came from behind me — It was a snicker, one that sounded like it was coming from someone on the brink of insanity. The sound deepened into a steady, irregular rhythm— ha… ha… ha…— as if each burst of air pushed some unseen weight off her chest. The laughter swelled, spilling out in a ragged burst. It was shrill now, unsteady, as though her voice had split apart and she was laughing with the pieces.

"Ahaha… ahahaha… AHAHAHAHAHA! Ahahahahahahaha… AHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"”

It echoed off the walls, sharp and grating, a sound that didn’t belong in a place so quiet. At the same time, the countless ice-borne daggers stabbing into the ground shattered abruptly from the intense pressure, leaving a cloud of frost in its place that lazily began spreading across the floor.

There was a humanoid silhouette standing in the depths of that creeping fog. It belonged to something that was ever-so-slightly inhuman. The undead creature made a few gaudy steps across the wooden floor, creaking the structure with a palpable sense of unease.

I heard Myra dumbfoundedly mumble the words “How...is she even still alive?”

The realization that her previous attack was completely futile must have been a little too far-fetched for her to accept that easily. Jytte on the other hand somehow managed to shrug off her fear and dash in the direction of her bow and quiver.

“He’s right you know. You’re my primary targets now, just look what you’ve done to my clothes!” Nephthys griped as she casually cleared the icy veil separating us.

I was very familiar with her grotesque appearance and yet it still felt hard to describe for some reason. The easiest thing to compare her body to right now was a honeycomb.

Her body was now little more than a collection of holes. Aside from her core that was virtually untouched, puncture wounds appeared in just about every place you could think of, but the woman didn’t seem very bothered by it at all.

In fact, the smile on her face was saying quite the opposite.

Steady trails of ichor leaked from her wounds, staining the floor with a muddy color.

She flicked a finger, prompting a faint flash of light to quickly swirl around her body.

That one gesture somehow severed the excess fabric extending from the hem of her clothes. Then, she did a few light stretching motions and said - “All right enough playing around.”

As if bending to her will, the countless puncture wounds scattered all over her body immediately began healing at a frightening speed and within a few seconds all traces of her previous injuries had completely vanished.

I heard my guardians gasp in shock, much to the amusement of Nephthys. I highly doubt they could even put their feelings into words right now.

“Aww, don’t look so surprised. Did you really think that one little attack would be enough to get rid of me? I’ve never been stabbed to death before, so I simply decided to seize the opportunity just now. You were better than those other guys outside but, I do hope that’s not the best you can do, hmm....”

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My fists tightened reflexively.

Without mana at my disposal, there was only one other thing I could do here. If I resolved myself to the act, I could certainly kill her for good but the same fate would befall Myra, Jytte and everyone else in this building.

As dangerous as this woman was, the price for killing her like that was far too steep. No one else here deserved to die yet, especially not like that.

“Oh ho? Feeling a bit frightened my dear?” Nephthys inquired, with a smooth gesture from her hand she settled an accusing finger on me. “Don’t worry, I’m saving the best for last, okay? You smell delicious so I’ll take my time with you and everyone else here after I deal with your little friends.”

“That’s not it. I’m not afraid of you.” I responded boldly, barely managing to suppress the tension shooting up my spine. “I just want you to leave here and go back where you came from—Back where you belong.”

“W-what?” She mumbled

“Liam get back! Get away from her!”

Someone was shouting at me but I couldn’t even tell who it was. Unconsciously, and perhaps out of habit, my body refused to break eye contact with the woman standing across from me. She was staring directly into my eyes with a somewhat scornful look on her face. Something about my appearance was bothering her to the point where her usually pleasant smile started breaking apart along the edges.

“How unpleasant. If your eyes didn't have that repulsive color, your face would be a lot more adorable. What a waste, it brought up some bad memories, now the mood’s gone sour." She sighed a bit, then straightened the grimace on her face.

“I assume you’re all ready to die, yes? I’m about to start trying for real now.”

“Right back at you!”

The fierce declaration came from none other than Jytte, who had crouched to one knee on the opposite end of the room. The tip of her metal looking recurve bow was jammed into the ground, likely as a means of support to withstand the recoil from the three metal arrows gleaming viciously under the cascading moonlight.

“Myra get him clear!”

The order came swiftly, without even a hint of resistance Myra summoned a small shroud of water to pull me over to the right.

“Fine then, let’s start with you.” Nephthys remarked sarcastically. By the looks of things, she didn’t think very much of all the killing intent being thrown her way, it only served to fan her foes already fuming ire.

With little more than a grunt, Jytte hurriedly released her grip on the enchanted projectiles.

A crackling sound came.

It sounded like an offbeat thunderbolt, but instead of lightning, it was the result of three metal arrows tearing through the wooden floor. Splinters sprang up in their wake, trailing behind the bright glint of death that closed in on its target at a terrifying speed.

With inhuman movements, Nephthys flipped her body backwards and leapt off the nearest wall as soon as her feet made contact with the rigid structure. The thick wooden wall crumbled effortlessly from the first volley of arrows, yet the attack itself was meaningless. Nephthys was already airborne and diving towards Jytte with a casual smirk on her face.

Another volley of arrows had already been nocked and ready, aligned with her falling figure. Jytte fired off her rounds mercilessly, one after the other, but even though all her arrows were near perfect shots, the woman showed no signs of stopping.

Frantic breaths escaped the Faerie hovering beside me. By the looks of things, she probably wanted to intervene but the current situation wasn’t tuned to her style of combat at all. Myra’s spells could definitely deal a lot of damage but they took time to prepare. On top of that, we were in a somewhat enclosed space so unless Nephthys movements were somehow restricted, she would have a hard time hitting her.

A few orbs of water swirled around her, likely the catalyst for a half-done spell. As soon as said opening presented itself, she wouldn’t hesitate to strike.

Nephthys was twisting her body at unnatural angles, swirling and swaying in the air to avoid what she could before casually snatching the last arrow from its flight path –It was aiming for a spot near her core.

“She caught it!?”

“That one’s off-limits dear” she said snarkily

Her dull landing came quicker than one would expect. Soon after, she began her ruthless charge towards the archer almost maniacally. With a twirl, she spun the plundered arrow in her palm and tossed it back towards its owner, forcing Jytte to dodge to the side haphazardly.

She rolled across the floor a few times before stopping abruptly, then pulled another arrow from her quiver – or at least that was what she’d planned on doing.

Nephthys was already far too close for that.

Maintaining her smirk, she simply smiled and waved a finger, saying something along the lines of : “I think I’ve had enough arrows for one day.”

Her words bore fruit.

The effects were immediate too. With just a simple swipe of her finger, the arm Jytte was using to reach for her quiver promptly slipped out of place. It fell to the ground with a drab, unsettling sound.

Traces of a red splatter were beginning to spew out from her severed arm but she just stared at it cluelessly, making it seem as if the scene unfolding right now was completely alien to her.

Even Myra was stunned, I heard a sharp breath escape her lips.

Despite the uncertainty of it all, the bleak reality was starting to set in after a few seconds.

Then came the agony.