Seeing Nyx's terrifying countenance, the warrior's senses screamed that he was in mortal danger, causing him to lash out with his most potent, short ranged attack.

The movement was so fierce that it released a sharp, whistling sound as it cut through the air while a slight trace of dirty, brown essence converged at the weapon's edge.

Yet, just as the warrior believed his blade was about to connect with the soft flesh of what he thought to be a humanoid, primordial beast, Nyx's body seemed to distort as it twisted in an elegant, seemingly impossible manner, ending up behind the man's strike.

The warrior's pupils dilated, realising that not only had his most powerful strike been dodged effortlessly but at the same time, due to the power he had put behind it, he had destroyed his stance, blocked his left arm and left his right side vulnerable to a counter-attack.

Nyx's eyes twinkled, having already anticipated this and, before the man's swing had even halted, lept forward, appearing like a ghost at the man's right side.

Releasing his sword without hesitation, allowing it to fly into the distance, the dark-brown energy that had coated its edge reappeared as it covered the gaps in the man's plate armour on his right side. At the same time, the warrior bent his elbow as it moved back, intending to land a devastating blow after she had made her attack.

However, against the man's expectations, Nyx did not take the opportunity to strike but waited until the man's elbow had almost reached her before ducking under his arm and slashing out viciously with her dagger, targeting the warrior's neck.

Caught off guard, the man was barely able to manifest his essence in front of his neck before the blade smashed into it, reducing its speed and power significantly but still carrying enough force to cause him serious harm.

Once again surprising the warrior, instead of pushing forward and attempting to overpower the warrior's essence with her own, Nyx used the rebounding force to aid her in twisting in the opposite direction, turning on the spot and lowering her stance as she effortlessly reversed her grip on the dagger.

While this was happening, Nyx's smile continued to grow.

While the warrior was stronger than her and pretty talented, being able to react and block two lethal blows, he had still settled into her tempo and failed to see that he had fallen into Nyx's trap.

Due to his strike earlier, putting him off balance, and the fact he had hurridly manifested, even if it was in weakened form, most of his available essence in two locations to protect his life, all of his defences were focused on the right side of his body.

Unlike the right arm, that had retreated to his side in a defensive, boxing posture, the left was still raised, counterbalancing his sudden shift in his weight.

From this start, this is what Nyx had intended and utilising the increased power from her spin, she slammed the dagger deep into the warrior's ribs, just under his left armpit, which happened to be the most unarmoured area of his body.

Not only did the blade penetrate the man's lungs, but it was just long enough to pierce his heart, causing his body to go rigid.

Half a heartbeat later, the air that was trapped in the man's lungs fled his mouth, bring with it a fair amount of blood that covered Nyx, as his eyes displayed a confused, incredulous look.

Nearby, believing that his team leader had them covered for at least a few minutes as what they were facing a primordial beast who had only recently passed its tribulations, the leather-clad ranger had laid the elf on the ground and was trying to pin her arms so he could administer first aid.

After holding down one arm with his leg while his offhand held the other arm's wrist, getting covered in blood in the process, the ranger caught a glimpse of the elf's face and sucked in a lungful of cold air as a chill ran down his spine.

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Long, jagged gashes had shredded the elf's flesh from her face, almost destroying her nose and, without any doubt, blinding her in the process.

"Merth!"

Hearing his comrade's unmanly scream, the ranger was brought back to his senses as he turned to see what could be more important than tending to the elf's injuries yet, even as his head was moving, he realised that the sounds of combat that had erupted only moments ago, had stopped.

Praying that Merth had got carried away and killed the target instead of getting injured instead, the ranger decided to ignore the mage as his eyes locked onto the armour-plated back of his leader.

The large, well-armoured man stood like he had always done, towering like an unmovable mountain that would block all that would wish to pass, yet instantly the ranger realised that something was horribly wrong and broke out into a cold sweat.

Slowly, as if reluctant, Merth's right hand fell weakly to his side, his left doing the same yet it seemed that something was stopping it laying flush against his body.

Seeing this, even the screams coming from the elf seemed to fade into the distance as the ranger's heart lurched as he watched his team leader, one renowned throughout the Republic for his strength and bravery, slowly fall to his knees.

Merth's head, seemingly without strength gently tilted forward before, like a mighty oak that had lost its base, his body crashed into the ground with a dull thud.

While he felt like he should feel sad and angry at his leader's, who was also one of his best friends, death, the ranger could only feel a sense of rising terror as his eyes locked onto a somewhat enchanting, naked body that was covered in copious amounts of blood.

However, even though the woman looked like a frail, weak human that should be protected from the world, the ranger instinctively knew that what stood before him was actually a monster.

A bone-chilling aura erupted from the Nyx's body as her impassive, blue eyes locked onto the ranger before tilting her head slightly and revealing a small, somewhat self-satisfied smirk.

The screaming elf, sensing such a terrifying aura, instantly silenced, the pain she was suffering less than the terror the oppressive, tyrannical feeling generated.

"Fuck this," spat the man in robes but just as he was about to turn and flee, a black, blade-like object struck his throat causing him to stagger backwards.

Within moments, the projectile dissolved into a black mist and evaporated, yet the damage had been done.

Even though the robed man managed to turn and stumble a few steps in the opposite direction while clasping his neck, he soon fell against the stone wall and slid to the floor. Never to move under his own power again.

The ranger hadn't seen any of this, his instincts screaming that if he looked away from Nyx, even for a second, he would die.

Nyx's smirk slowly fell as she started walking towards the ranger, stepping over the warrior's body and through the growing pool of blood, her natural form causing her hips to slightly sway.

The ranger wanted to push himself away, his body shivering violently, but the commands he sent to his body seemed to be lost in transit, his limbs refusing to cooperate with him.

While it looked like Nyx was tormenting her prey, she was actually conserving as much energy as possible while cautiously moving into the most advantageous position.

Nyx had lost a lot of essence by using a long ranged attack, eliminating the unknown variable that was the mage yet, understood that a cornered being, like the ranger, was the most dangerous of foes.

As such, not only had she increased her vigilance, Nyx's gaze had intensified considerably giving it the perceived pressure of an apex predator staring at a wounded mouse.

This gaze descended upon the man's already shaken psyche, resulting in a pungent smell rising from the man's crotch as his bladder emptied.

However, even though the ranger was so terrified, he was at the point of losing consciousness, he still subconsciously managed to move in front of the shivering elf.

He had already given up any hope of escaping, let alone fighting such a monstrous existence, yet he still couldn't bear to abandon his last surviving comrade.

"Tell them~."

A sweet, feminine voice, as if a young girl was whispering to her lover, reached his ears.

"Tell...tell... tell them what?" The words, like a spark of light in the darkest night, ignited a small amount of hope in the man's heart. It was the hope to live, to be able to see another sunrise and hold his loved once close.

However, little did he know that the words weren't meant for him.

The only reason Nyx had released her aura earlier, not only potentially giving away her position to those nearby, but wasting a lot of energy, was to terrify the elf into silence and, a little to Nyx's surprise, it had worked.

As such, seeing that the elf was still conscious, Nyx no longer had any reason to keep the ranger alive.

In the darkness that would be her life from now on, the elf felt the chill of death, as if it had personally come to claim her soul, and while the pain emanating from her face was unbearable, she couldn't gather the courage to scream or move.

The words 'Tell them~.' resonated in her mind, the voice's tone becoming more warped and demonic each time it was repeated.

"That the darkness does not forgive, nor does it forget. I shall return to claim what is due."

Horrifying, blood-curdling screams resonated nearby and the elf, due to blood loss and fear, promptly passed out; however, the words that had just been spoken had been eternally burnt into her memory.