CHAPTER 86: IT’S A DELICACY
Aurora dodged a couple of tigers while the bait artifact was in her arms.
Her movements were very fast and agile.
Using the trees or the platforms she created at her feet, Aurora moved with quick movements in all directions.
The situation was complicated and Aurora knew that there were several seriously wounded among the major force, however, she also kept herself informed of deaths or life-threatening situations.
That was because the “hidden card” that was High Priestess Xaali could use once.
For the High Priestess Xaali to implore her god successively could cause a significant burden to her body, even though the God of Time and Space only absorbed magical energy as a sacrifice.
“Grrr...”
Dodging another tiger, Aurora’s expression became tense as she watched dozens of felines chasing her.
If she had the chance, she would keep people from dying, though she knew some situations were impossible to avoid.
Still... Even if she had to risk it herself, she would.
“GRrrr...”
Wild growls echoed through her surroundings, and Aurora realized that dozens of felines were chasing her.
There may not have been that many Ranks A, but the Ranks B numbered more than dozens.
This was all the remnants of the horde and the less intelligent creatures that were influenced by the artifact.
Running through the middle of the forest, when Aurora saw she had gotten far enough away, she turned around and kicked a jaguar that tried to bite her.
“Grrr...”
When it landed on the ground, she dropped the artifact and closed her eyes.
Even though she couldn’t see anything, she could still sense presences and hear grunts and footsteps that, before her ears, slowed down.
A sheathed sword appeared in her left hand and when Aurora grasped the handle of her sword, she trembled.
The hardships of her past appeared before her as if she did not have her eyes closed.
Blood, senseless death, pain, anger and bloodlust mingled in her mind.
She was once a girl with high ideals who was hit hard by reality to the point where she ended up falling to the bottom of a well, shattering all the values she had touted.
And it was through innocent lives lost that showed her that reality was cruel.
At the lowest point of her life, when she was stained with the blood of all those she thought once dead would change things, she rose.
Despite the nightmares, the shattered dreams, the constant anxiety, and the nightly crying, she re-emerged back.
The pains of the past were the reason she concentrated on work, as if she wanted to forget everything.
Although she had spent five years in Zerzura and had lived through multiple events, some more troubling than others, even at this moment, her hand trembled as she picked up her sword.
However, it was just that, a tremor that changed neither her past nor her present.
It was because of that, Aurora tightened her grip on her sword and did what she had to do, as she always did.
Swinging her sword with all her might, Aurora opened her eyes at the same time.
“...”
There were no explosions, thunderous sounds, or desperate grunts.
Like a painting cut in half, the trees slid away, revealing that she cut them in half, as were the creatures that covered her vision.
Then, as if the sounds came back to their ears, the beasts fell, sliding their halves across the ground, staining the earth with blood, and the trees fell as well, crushing the corpses.
In that scene of blood, entrails and corpses, Aurora, who was watching carefully, realized that the cut was inclined, more than she intended.
The beasts were in the correct position to be cut, even so, the scene showed she was rusty.
“Here ‘Protector’ has arrived! Sorry for the delay, guys.”
A soldier’s voice reached Aurora’s ears and she could watch as combat helicopters flew over their position.
From the transport helicopters, skill users descended and among them descended Colonel Makeba, throwing himself out of the helicopter, dropping like a meteorite near the camp.
Watching as a helicopter approached her direction to chase the fleeing magical beasts, Aurora observed the sword in her hand.
Now she could hold her sword and swing it, yet she was still having trouble, even when her opponents were creatures and beasts.
Such problems stemmed from her own psyche.
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“How pathetic,” Aurora muttered with a sneer.
She put her sword away and just stared at the mess in front of her as if the cause had not been her.
******
Inside the dome, where snow covered the place, the group moved.
“Ha, looks like you’re on your own, kitty.” Akira joked as the storm of ice and snow froze everything in its path.
Normally, the snow would have completely covered her sight, however, Akira could see all the way inside, as if the snow were invisible to her.
Raising her hand, she condensed an enormous boulder of ice and threw it with full force at the Smilodon Fatalis.
*BOOM*
The Smilodon Fatalis that were hidden behind a pillar of ice made a leap in the shadows and appeared near Akira as the darkness pushed the snow to observe the situation.
However, among the surrounding snow, revealed five drones that targeted the Smilodon Fatalis.
*BOOM*
A sonic wave hit the Smilodon Fatalis, causing blood to flow out of the beast’s ears, which were pushed by the tremendous force in a specific direction.
The disorientation that came with the sonic wave broke through the Smilodon Fatalis’ barrier, and as it tried to return to normal, it moved its body, following its instincts.
Dodging dozens of sharp black spears that flew through the sky, seeking to impale him.
“Tch. Annoying.”
A voice echoed and the next moment, those spears released hundreds of barbs that impaled everything around where the Smilodon Fatalis had found itself.
However, when the spears retracted, all that was left were traces of blood, with their target nowhere in sight.
The trio looked at each other and Akira looked back out to where the helicopters were sweeping over the entire area of enemies.
Firing their machine guns or rockets if necessary.
They could also hear terrifying explosions as the trees were felled, and Akira understood that a powerful S-rank fighter was likely causing such destructiveness.
“The cat is tougher than I had expected,” Akira commented with a sigh as she paid attention to the surroundings.
The snow couldn’t obstruct her vision, however, the huge ice boulders and frozen trees did.
Adding that the Smilodon Fatalis had strong concealment capabilities, it could hide in this place and even though it was enclosed; it was still a powerful enemy.
The only advantage in this situation was...
“There,” Alice calmly pointed and Liam, who had prepared his drones, made a powerful laser attack, which went through some frozen trees.
The Smilodon Fatalis moved again as the darkness twisted around it. However, another laser appeared in another area and hit the darkness barrier.
*BOOM*
There was an explosion and the Smilodon Fatalis rolled across the floor and when it barely regained its stability, it sent towards them dozens of spears of darkness magic.
Akira opened her hand, pointing at those black spears.
The spears of darkness slowed down and then froze, falling before it reached the group.
Alice could find the Smilodon Fatalis, perhaps because of its affinity for darkness, and although it was useful, their opponent was so elusive that they could not defeat it as easily as they would have liked.
Akira was maintaining her tempest and Liam was also controlling his barrier drones by using his strength to keep the barrier at its maximum capacity, which resulted in them having to concentrate less on their attacks.
As for Alice, the Smilodon Fatalis was too much of a dodger, escaping using Shadow Jump, making it difficult for her partner to land her blows.
Of course, it wasn’t as if they had no plan.
“Looks like you’ll be dead soon,” Akira commented as the barrier grew smaller.
It was now already half the size of what it had started out, as it had shrunk the drones to maintain it while getting stronger.
Akira’s Tempest also reduced the area of effect and by being smaller, the cold effects became more intense.
Alice was able for the first time to have her shadow descend at her feet, spreading the darkness to cover the entire ground and part of the barrier, covering the whole place.
Smilodon Fatalis’ expression turned crazed as he realized what was happening.
“You filthy humans! You killed my son!” the Smilodon Fatalis shouted, generating replicas of darkness of itself.
He created about ten copies of his body with darkness magic.
“Oh, yeah?” Alice asked disinterestedly as her shadow continued to spread with more speed as it contorted and shook as if something wanted to come out.
Liam released more drones from his special ring and ordered them to join in, preparing for a special attack.
The drones with magical light enchantments assembled into a satellite cannon about a meter long.
The cannon recharged, releasing a powerful amount of magical energy and, although it was slow, anyone could feel the power.
“I’ve killed too many in my whole life. And maybe I’ve even eaten them, but don’t worry.” Alice said and with a charming smile, she added. “I appreciate all the food.”
Cruel and heartless... That was the only way they could describe it, and such provocation was effective.
They were fighting to the death; it was useless to think about the reasons and the first team that hesitated or freaked out would lose.
Let him run away and go into a rage, that was what Alice was looking for and she succeeded.
*ROARING*
The Smilodon Fatalis roared with tremendous fury and as its fangs glowed with dark hue, it ran in the group’s direction.
Its clones of darkness were the same, but when they reached the area where Alice’s shadow had spread, everything changed.
Dozens of arms appeared as if countless hands wanted to pull their enemies into the abyss.
The Smilodon Fatalis, roaring madly, dodged several of those and creating platforms with its darkness magic, moved forward while the magical energy around it contorted, preparing its greatest attack.
Akira, without wasting time, reduced the area of her tempest and directed it all to freeze the surroundings of the Smilodon Fatalis.
The temperature dropped at a speed perceptible to the naked eye, freezing the air around it and as the black arms broke through the ice to move, the Smilodon Fatalis slowed down as the darkness that covered it froze.
It was for a moment, and that moment was enough for Alice’s black arms to catch the hind leg of the Smilodon Fatalis.
“You are mine,” Alice murmured, revealing a charming smile on her face.
Waving her hand, dozens of arms caught the Smilodon Fatalis and even though that beast cut off several arms, wanting to escape, those arms would come back together, trapping it tightly.
The hands of those arms caught the tail, legs, paws, ears, and mouth as they dragged the Smilodon Fatalis backwards as if they were about to swallow it in the darkness from where those arms came out.
The Smilodon Fatalis realized that it had let go of its anger and its expression became terrified.
The energy he had gathered shifted it to escape the situation and though the speed was commendable, to his lament, it was too late.
“Fire,” Liam commanded, who had already loaded and aimed his cannon.
He fired a powerful beam of light towards the Smilodon Fatalis.
The light destroyed the darkness and damaged the black arms, which regenerated at a high speed. However, the Smilodon Fatalis took the full impact directly.
Its darkness that protected it was dispelled and then it received a shot of the light attribute that burned its body.
When the beam of light disappeared, the Smilodon Fatalis continued to breathe faintly for a moment.
“...”
Then a black arm transformed into a knife and pierced its neck completely, giving it an immediate end.
Without even giving him time to say his last words or use magic to escape.
“Finally,” Alice muttered and as she retracted her shadow, she opened a bag of chips and, looking at the group, asked. “Would you like some?”
She was in such a good mood, she offered her ‘sacred chips’ to the two of them and the reason was not because they had defeated their enemy, but...
“Has anyone tried the meat of the Smilodon Fatalis? It has too much muscle, but if I find a chef, it may end up becoming a delicacy,” Alice commented with as she approached the carcass.
Alice had no sympathy for the cause that led to the Smilodon Fatalis attacking her.
To her, since it attacked them to fight to the death, it was an enemy and since it was edible, it would end up on her plate.
Akira and Liam looked at each other, but in the end, they sighed and said nothing.
It wasn’t as if they could.