'Strange...' Elisa thought as she lay her fingertips on the bowstring.
Mana left her hands and turned into Wind.
The Wind was rapidly being Condensed.
'Minute control... That is affected by the Corruption. But on the other hand, it feels like...' Elisa let more Mana flow out, and a storm of Win appeared around her. 'My output is higher than it used to be. I can't control it as precisely, but I can let out much more at once!'
The storm grew more and more violent, while her hair fluttered erratically.
'At the same time, the bowstring feels easier to pull... That Vampiric Mutation. My Agility and Stealth are much lower than they used to be, but on the other hand...' With ease, she pulled on the bowstring until it reached its maximum capacity. 'My strength is higher too.'
The violent storm suddenly grew smaller.
The next second, it disappeared.
Elisa smiled nervously as she glanced at the ferocious arrow she held.
'It's fightin' back against me... I can't hold much longer...! I'll aim there. Any more power and it might end up touching him. Not that I'm scared. After all...' Her fingers twitched. 'You said you'd keep up.'
Elisa let go of her arrow and,
"Shit-"
With an explosion, the arrow flew ahead. The shockwave was enough to launch Elisa backwards.
Thump-
Her back slid on the ground for a bit.
"That was a bit too much..." She whispered.
Elisa stared at the bright sky above without moving.
'Good for you...' She thought.
Both the white-scaled Monster and the Commander's eyes widened as they felt it approaching.
'Go get your meal.'
Both instinctively let go of the Boar-like Monster's coat.
'Huh? Getting off now-'
Borus, who had been charging straight ahead for a while now, finally turned his head to the side.
"Ugwa?!"
The next second, the Boar-like Monster's body was pierced and,
"Bam." Elisa whispered as she clicked her fingers.
An explosion Wind from within tore the Boar-like Monster's body apart and blew away the two that had jumped off.
The violent explosion and winds tore the field for a couple of seconds before fading.
"Must be nice... Being able to heal that fast. To have..." The Commander's whispers were cut by a bloody cough. "A strong body."
"Is that because you're so slim?" The approaching white-scaled Monster asked. "Don't worry, I understand..." Mark cracked his neck, a wicked smile on his face. The kind of smile one has while staring down a well-laid meal. "I used to be pretty skinny too."
"Well, shit." The Commander cursed. His back was against the ground. His body was covered by wounds, and his left leg was missing. "I just wanted to take it easy for a while." He sighed.
The white-scaled Monster's nose twitched.
The blood that covered Lin's body, Borus' blood. It smelled sweet.
The blood that was exiting the Commander's wounds. The Commander's blood. Its smell was enough to drive him crazy, especially when it was so close.
The white-scaled Monster couldn't control itself as it jumped onto the Commander's body.
The former tried pushing him away and hitting him, but the white-scaled was persistent.
It truly wanted to Devour him. And it wouldn't take no for an answer.
Its fangs reached the Commander's thigh and,
"You're starting to eat me..." Stupefied and horrified, Lin stared. "Before even killing me?"
The white-scaled Monster raised his head and roared.
The Beast Devoured its Prey.
'In a way... I'll be able to take it easy this way too. Death, huh?'
***
Minutes passed and he entered her field of vision.
"Ever had boar meat?"
"It's the best." Elisa answered, a slight smile on her face. She remained on the ground.
"Got a leg." Mark said as he raised the Boar-like Monster's cutoff thigh.
"What about the rest of it?" Elisa asked jokingly before noticing that Mark was about to collapse.
She quickly stood up to assist him.
"What's up with your eye?"
"It stings." Mark answered.
"Mm. Need to rest?"
"Yeah. Just for a bit."
"Alright." Elisa rotated her body. "Get on."
"Huh?"
"What?"
"I'm not getting on your back."
"Sure you are. I'm paying you back for-"
Thump-
'Tsk. Again?' Elisa asked herself as she lowered her gaze towards the passed-out white-scaled Monster. She crouched down and stared at the unconscious Mark for a bit. 'Not so scary when you're out of it. Mmm... I guess there's a reason why I didn't stand up while you were eating him...'
Elisa reached and her hand took hold of the Monster's wrist.
"One... Two... Pull...! Damn you're heavy!" She groaned as she tried her best to lift Mark's body off the ground.
It was not without struggle, but Elisa managed to lift him up enough to place his arm over her shoulder.
"Your feet are getting dragged on the ground. Nothing I can do about that." She whispered as she took a step forward.
"I'm... Up..." The Monster muttered.
"Shut up."
Elisa took another step and the Monster's arm around her shoulders twitched.I think you should take a look at
She turned her gaze to the side and,
"Close your eyes."
"Huh?"
"Seeing that eye on that Fiend was one thing. Seeing it on you... Ew."
"I'm not closing my eye... For such a reason."
The Monster stared at the ground during the conversation.
"Why don't you look at Krista?"
"Mm?" Mark raised his gaze and searched for the Moonlit Feline.
It only took a second for his Eye to find it.
"ARGHH!!" He groaned as soon as that Eye found Krista.
"Well? How is it?"
"It hurts... Like hell!!" Mark uttered as he clenched his teeth.
It hurt like hell, yet he didn't close his eyes.
"What can you see..." Elisa stared into his right pupil. "With that Eye?"
"It feels like..." Mark could see beyond Krista's physical appearance. They resembled veins and arteries, and they were all over the Moonlit Feline's body. Parts of her body were richer in them than others. Mark wasn't sure how to call or refer to them. He thought of them as some kind of -Mana Circuits- but of course, he had no idea what they truly were. The Moonlit Feline's whole body was filled with them. "I can see everything."
There was even a thin colorful line linking the Moonlit Feline to-
"ARGHH!" Mark groaned and brought a hand to cover his eye.
"Must hurt, huh? Those Eyes have a pretty long history, you know?"
"Do... They?" Mark struggled to ask through the pain.
"Mm." Elisa slowly nodded. "They're Elven."
"Is that so...?" The white-scaled Monster asked absent-mindedly as it turned its gaze towards the floating words in front of it, one eye open.
[You have acquired a "High Elven Pupil[S]"!]
'High Elven... [S], huh?'
[Your "High Elven Pupil[S]" is influenced by your "Devourer" Title.]
'Tsk. And it begins...'
[Your "High Elven Pupil[S]" Devours your "Combative Eyes[D]" Passive Skill!]
'Oh, great-'
"So yeah. You won't be able to use them perfectly or pull everything out of them but-"
"I only got one." Mark interrupted.
"Huh? One?"
"Yeah... Maybe because his second Eye was injured."
Elisa slowly nodded.
For some reason, she felt kind of relieved.
"Well, anyways. You'll be able to use them better with time, so..."
"You seem... Uncharacteristically enthusiastic about it."
"I do? Uncharacteristically?"
"Yeah... Mm... I think so."
Elisa shrugged.
"Rude, but okay."
"I'll take a nap."
"Sure. I'll be dragging you."
Elisa lowered her body, and Mark's, losing his assistance, fell to the ground.
Thump-
"Sorry about that."
"Tsk." The Monster clicked its tongue as it pushed itself off the ground.
Tear-
"Here, let's go with this for now. Having a barrier in front of it might help."
Mark's body froze, as Elisa placed and tied a piece of cloth around his right eye.
"There you go."
"I doubt that'll help." Mark muttered as he brought a hand to that eye.
"It will..." Elisa said as she placed his arm around her shoulder. "Probably."
The Monster closed his eyes and Elisa started walking.
A couple of steps later, she turned her gaze towards him.
A slight smile was on his face.
'Mm... He-'
PUURRRR-
A wild Moonlit Feline ran as fast as it could towards them.
The white-furred cat jumped into the air with its paws extended.
And just when it was about to land on Elisa's chest,
"Stop right there." She said coldly as a straight palm was extended, halting the Moonlit Feline aerial approach.
Meow-
"What?"
Meowww-
"Oh, now that I took hits for him, you want to be friends again?"
The Moonlit Feline nodded enthusiastically.
"Tsk. You won't even deny it?" Elisa chuckled. "That's conditional love if I've ever seen it."
