'How...'
Both the white-scaled Monster and the Orcish Fiend winced as a long-forgotten ghost made its appearance.
'Didn't I see her??'
Simply feeling her presence was enough to make their bodies twitch and freeze temporarily.
The two were facing one another.
Yet all their fear was directed towards the Spirit-like presence at their side.
'She made her Aura disappear...?'
It only lasted for a second.
And for that one second, both were keenly aware that they were completely and utterly at her mercy.
Where would her blades strike, was something both worried about instinctively.
When, wasn't an issue. They knew it coming. And they knew that they couldn't do a thing about it.
'And her Mana-'
Her Timeworn Elven Daggers drew a dozen wounds on the Commander's arm before the latter could register them.
Argh-
Meanwhile, the white-scaled Monster was left frozen.
'What... Did she do?'
Mark's thoughts raced as he remained unmoving.
There was no doubt that both the white-scaled Monster and the Orcish Fiend feared the Spirit-like presence of Elisa.
Drops of blood left trails in the air as the Commander stepped back.
"You kept up..."
Elisa let go of her Daggers in mid-air to switch up her grip.
Lin hurriedly swung his Shortsword, and she deflected the swing with the reverse-gripped Dagger in her left hand.
"That was good, Mark."
Even thought she was on his side, he seemed to fear her blade more than the Commander.
Or perhaps, it wasn't exactly her blade that he feared.
'Where was she... This whole time? The creepy feeling I got from her following me faded once I used the Freezing Mist Magic Skill. I didn't see her. I didn't sense her. Not once. Was she behind me this whole time? Even when this guy caught my arm? Even when I was forced to circle around him? When I was thrown to the ground? That's... Impossible?!'
The Commander stepped back once more, and she stepped forward.
An exchange during which each moved much faster than the previous one started.
'Crafty Elf...' Lin thought as his Shortsword cut the air and collided with her Timeworn Elven Daggers repeatedly. 'You're the real Monster here, huh?'
With a large smile on her face, Elisa ducked under the Commander's blade and closed the distance.
'The Aura that seemed unwilling to answer her call, she cast it aside. Her Mana... Even now, it's...' Despite his eye shining powerfully, he could barely sense it. 'I see, that Necklace. Your Mana right now...'
Slash-
Block-
'Is all Wind.'
'How long has it been...' Elisa took a sidestep, jumped up to dodge the blade aiming for her leg, and stood on a stair of Condensed Wind. 'Since I've felt this light?'
The jumped off and back as the Commander swung his Shortsword vertically.
With a spin, her feet landed on her ground.
"Mark."
The white-scaled Monster twitched as its Name was called out.
Elisa rose her Timeworn Elven Daggers.
"You can still keep up, right?" She smirked.
Mark took a deep breath in.
His blade-like arm turned back to normal.
'Ominous, ominous...' She thought to herself.
The white-scaled Monster bent its knees.
'[A] Ranked...Yeah. It makes more sense now.' Mark thought as leaped forward. 'Her Stats and Skills are not what they used to be yet but... It's clear that she outclasses us.'
'Tsk.' The Commander clicked his tongue as Elisa let the Monster run past her. 'If she remains hidden behind him... I can't read her Mana. It's too similar to that of the Wind around. She was using the Wind to make my readings harder earlier but now... She's doing the opposite. I can't tell what she's doing behind him. And worse...'
The white-scaled Monster, despite being two steps away, swung its fist.
The Monster's arm turned into a sharp and long blade that the Commander had to dodge by bending his neck.
'That doesn't use Mana. If anything, it makes the Mana held in his arm more spread out. Less dense. Using Magic Skills condenses or amasses Mana together. This is...' Two Monsters stood in front of the Commander. Only the one hidden behind the other's back was smiling. 'Proving too troublesome.'
The Commander suddenly jumped back far and high.
'What now?' Mark asked himself as he stared.
Elisa peeked beyond his shoulder, a slight smile on her face.
The Commander took a deep breath.
Mark's leg twitched.
'Some kind of breath attack-'
"BORUUUS!!"
The ground shook from the Commander's voice.
"What's that about?" Elisa asked nonchalantly.
Even though he was far from the area, his whole body trembled.
How could it not, when his Commander was calling his Name?
"Something is coming." She whispered.
Thump-
Thump-
THUMP-
THUMP- THUMP- THUMP-
In the distance, a Boar-like Monster appeared.
It was quickly approaching. But strangely enough, didn't seem running towards the area.
"That looks tasty."
Mark sighed at her comment.
The next second, the Commander turned away.I think you should take a look at
"Running away?" Mark asked absent-mindedly.
"Call it a strategic retreat." Lin said as he started moving.
"Huh... Seriously?" Mark whispered to himself as he scratched his head.
Tap-
"Don't let him get away." Elisa said as she tapped his back.
He turned his gaze around as she reached for her bow.
"Mm." He nodded as he bent his knees.
Mark felt it was strange that she didn't want to let the Commander get away.
She usually reproached him for wanting to fight and kill unnecessarily after all.
Still, a strategic retreat. That meant trouble down the line.
Not that Mark minded trouble.
At least, that wasn't his reason for chasing after the Commander, no.
After fighting him, after experiencing his strength, after noticing how strong Elisa was too, he was, once more, made aware of just how much more powerful he needed to be.
If he wanted his fangs to reach the Vampire Lord, Raven, then he needed much more strength.
He needed to Devour much more.
And the Commander certainly looked like a heavenly meal laid out for him.
With his back turned towards him and blood dripping down his body, the Commander looked incredibly tasty.
Tasty enough for Mark's mind to shut down.
Tasty enough for his stomach to growl.
Tasty enough for,
[Your Title "Devourer" urges you!]
[Your Title "Evolving Monster" begs you!]
It was the first time his Titles had expressed themselves with such turns of phrase.
It was the first time his Titles craved something this much.
And so, he ran.
As fast as he could, he run towards the bleeding Commander.
The more the scent of blood danced, the hungrier of it he became.
The more he stared, the more he lost himself.
Mark extended an arm to the side.
A Dark Corrupting Spear appeared in his hand.
As if on cue, the Commander turned around to peek behind him.
With no time to dodge, the Shortsword in his hand became a hindrance as he swung it to block the thrown Dark Corrupting Spear.
The latter was shattered, and quickly turned back into the Dark Corrupting Liquid it was made of.
It hadn't pierced the Commander's body. But it didn't need to.
He was already covered by bleeding wounds after.
His body was splashed by the liquid darkness.
It only took a couple more seconds before,
"You did good, Borus." The Commander said as he leaped forward and grabbed the Boar-like Monster's coat.
The latter hadn't stopped or decreased its speed either.
The Commander hurriedly climbed onto Borus' body and turned around.
"Still following, huh?" Lin whispered to himself.
The Monster's movements were inelegant and rough as it ran.
Clumsy.
Animalistic.
The Commander stared for a bit longer, and only then did it notice the darkness that resided in the Monster's eyes.
"Dark eyes, huh? That's no good. You shouldn't have those. After all, they're..." The Commander pulled his arm back and prepared to throw his Shortsword as if it were a Javelin. "The same as my Lord's."
The Shortsword was coated by the Commander's deep and greenish Aura.
A second later, it pierced the air and flew.
The Monster couldn't do a thing, as the Shortsword pierced its body.
Right between its right shoulder and pectoral muscle.
"Huh..."
It didn't slow down one bit.
Its prey was so close.
It just couldn't let it get away.
[You have been charging for 30 seconds!]
[Your Passive Skill "Ferocious Charge[D]" is activating!]
[Charging Speed increases by 50%!]
"Tsk." The Commander clicked his tongue as the Monster reached the Borus' behind.
GROWLL-
Just like a Lioness, it growled while its claws pierced the Boar-like Monster's coat after taking a leap.
The white-scaled Monster did its best to hold onto it. And one the Commander moved his body towards it, the Monster roared powerfully.
"Don't... Rush me." She whispered.
Instantly, both the Commander and the white-scaled Monster twitched.
An explosion.
A tornado.
A gigantic amount of Mana was Condensed.
The Heart Of The Storm had been turned into an Arrow.
And the Arrow was let go of.
Once again, both the Commander and the white-scaled Monster were filled with fear.
