Chapter 133 The Nightmare Demon III [The Crypt - Part VI]

-- POV Freya --

[Freyaaa !!]

My ears were ringing, I could feel the blood rushing through my body to allow me to move but it was so weak. My vision was almost blurred, my heartbeat and breathing echoed while all the sounds around me were inaudible. For the first time I was down on one knee, exhausted and in a state I never thought possible so quickly.

The wall of ice I had erected had stopped the axe dead in its tracks, and it had stuck in almost to the guard. All my soldiers were on their knees recovering from the fear while the Demon between us breathed out in disappointment. I was shaking, my arm, my stomach, my whole body was heavy and hurting but I had to move.

*OK, move Freya ! This... this is no time to be standing around...*

The Demon was missing his left arm, his tongue and his chest was lacerated making him lose even more blood. I had to finish this fight and I had no right to collapse now. My legs were shaking and even though I had more life left than he did, I seemed to be far more affected. In a living being, mana was as important as life and I only had 6,000 MP left at that moment, if the gauge had inadvertently reached 0, I would have died.

[HP: 45,000 / 100,000]

My opponent had lost a little over half of his life and it was slowly going down due to blood loss. As I looked at his status, I saw him turn his head in my direction with a green bloody grin to his ears. The Demon had figured out what was happening to me, seemed to hesitate between my soldiers and me as I heard my little sister screaming in my mind.

[Freya ! Don't just stand there ! I may have a solution, but I need you to trust me and get to safety !]

As her words echoed in my mind, I couldn't help but smile despite the situation.

*Of course I trust you, little sister !*

I had blind trust in Kira, she was the first one since my arrival to whom I had opened my heart and it was without hesitation that I entrusted my life to her. From the beginning we had been a team and then we had become a family. The words she had spoken to Gaya and Shiro earlier, telling them that together we were invincible, now resonated in my heart. So I had blind trust and the fact that she was in my body had nothing to do with it, she was simply...my little sister.

Her words had restored my strength and as I struggled to my feet, I held tightly to my katana with Shiro's lucky charm still dangling, miraculously pristine. The Demon had obviously chosen to target me and as he ran towards me, I also began to run as far away from my soldiers as I could. I was still fast but my head was spinning, I couldn't see as well as I used to with my blurred vision but it took more to get me.

[Find a place where you can stand still for a few seconds !]

*All right ! *

Behind me was this giant who was shaking the walls with a single step and making it difficult for me, but I had not said my last word. The strength I had felt at the beginning of my fight was still within me despite my exhausted and aching body so I drew on that strength to go even faster. I felt like I was tugging at a heartstrings because I didn't have much mana left but I didn't stop.

The Demon was still following me, but despite his speed, he was getting caught in the pillars and large chunks of the ceiling were starting to fall between us making it easier for me to get through. As a huge chunk came to obscure his vision, I decided to fork left discreetly to hide among the remaining pillars. They were quite large and even if the creature sensed my presence, with all the blood it would take longer.

[Perfec t! Now take a deep breath, this might hurt ! You have a nearly broken arm, cracked ribs, an open temple and a dislocated left shoulder. Last time you were in pain, so forgive me, this is the only solution I could come up with.]

I didn't know what she was talking about and as I was about to answer, a warm feeling began to permeate my body. That familiar feeling began to wash over me as the same black and white light came out of my chest, this time accompanied by a bright red color. It only took me a second to realize what was happening.

I could feel and hear my bones crack and reform as I gritted my teeth to keep from screaming. This was the first time I had ever been hurt this bad and this time the pain was hard but I could take it. During the fight, the adrenaline had seemingly cut off my pain perception and my resistance had even gone to level 5. This was different, this was an internal pain, feeling your bones knit together, feeling every fiber of your skin close up was a painful experience.

The Demon was still searching furiously, destroying each pillar one by one as it came dangerously close to me but I still had some time left. My hands, which were different for some reason, clawed at the ground as my body twitched and made me writhe in every direction. Suddenly, just like the last time, I took my original form and at that moment all the pain disappeared.

[It... it worked ? It worked!]

Kira had just allocated my 60 attribute points that I had earned by killing the minor Nightmares. After putting up the wall, I was no longer able to do it myself, my mind was fuzzy and I was struggling not to collapse unconscious. My little sister had come up with this idea to save my life and it had worked.

___

Strength : 500 > 510

Defense : 500 > 510

Agility : 506 > 516

Endurance: 503 > 513

Speed : 502 > 512

Intelligence: 500 > 510

___

[60 is not much, that's why everything is not complete, but I think you are out of danger now. Onee-san, you haven't regained all your HP and MP but you've recovered 15,000 mana and 15,000 HP. Your wounds aren't completely healed either but that should be enough to finish it off]

*Thank you, little sister*

My body was more fluid, less painful, and my vision was back to normal with no more dizziness. As I took a deep breath, I couldn't help but think that I felt in tune with this form. Most of the time I was in my humanoid form but in my wolf form I felt...myself. One thing was for sure: I was much more powerful in beast form.

*Kira...it's time to end it*

[Yes ! Make him regret what he did to you and please...let me slit his throat! ]

*Promise kufufu~*

I then stepped out from behind the pillar to face my enemy one last time. He was much smaller than in my humanoid form as I was now half his size. Seeing me, the incomprehension could be seen on the face of the Demon who could not understand what I really was. I didn't have much time because the room was starting to collapse and the only exit that didn't have stairs was in danger of disappearing under the rubble.

I lunged with my mouth open, my fangs ready to tear into his flesh at an even greater speed than before. My paws barely touched the ground as I leapt and the Demon charged towards me as well. This would be the last confrontation for sure, for in less than five minutes one of us would fall dead under the power of the other. With each step I took, I emptied my mind and focused solely on my target, whom I no longer saw as a future corpse.

And then it was done, our two bodies collided violently as we slammed our powerful, murderous jaws together. His claws sank into my side and my fangs tore into his green flesh. Our screams of pain and rage were barely audible, covered by the sound of the crumbling rock as I watched his HP as well as mine descend.

[HP: 34,720 / 100,000]

Our fight was no longer a multitude of calculations and strategies but had become a wild fight between two furious beasts. The first one to stay on his feet would win and after all that had happened I had no intention of going down. I had already put one knee on the ground earlier and that was good enough. I struggled on and on as our blood spurted out and mixed together to turn black.

[HP: 30,000 / 100,000]

Possessing great agility even in my wolf form, I then began to circle around the Demon's body to block him. In a leap, I landed on his back, the claws of my front paws firmly planted in his shoulders and my back paws on his spine.

[Go !]

The green monster tried to grab my paws but I acted quickly, tipping my head back for the momentum and with a bestial snarl, I plunged my mouth towards his neck. My sharp fangs then sank into his skin as deeply as I could. His blood invaded my mouth, his screams in my ears were deafening, his left arm struck my wounded paw but I didn't let go.

[HP: 22,070 / 100,000]

I held on and despite my aching body I scratched his shoulders creating new deep cuts. At that moment, my beautiful black fur was no longer black because it was soaked with fresh blood and dried green, red blood. Despite its large size, my jaw was big and powerful enough to break his bones and shred his skin. With a shake of my head, a large chunk of green flesh remained in my fangs as his collarbone popped out and dangled.

[HP: 9,000 / 100,000]

"AAAARRRGGGG !!"

The Nightmare Demon was dying from the severity of his wounds and as pieces of the ceiling fell on us, blood spurted everywhere. His screams nearly deafened me, and despite his condition, the creature continued to rattle his teeth ferociously as he struck me with his good arm. Still clinging to his back, in a last ditch effort, I propelled myself upwards, taking great care not to be hit by the rocks falling from the ceiling.

This time, I took care to land on the Demon's lacerated torso, throwing him backwards under my weight and strength. On impact, what was left of the slab shattered, driving pieces deep into the monster's back as I held him firmly down. It was time to deliver the fatal blow, but this time it wasn't up to me. As the Nightmare struggled under my weight, I screamed as loud as I could in my mind.

*KIRA, NOW !!!*

[With pleasure onee-san ! This...is for my big sister ! Burn in Hell, you big bag of slime !]

Suddenly, a huge ice spike formed above us, plunging straight towards us without taking notice of my presence. With a fluid movement, I pulled back at the last moment before I saw it pierce the Demon's skull with force. The blow had been so violent, the head had been torn off and planted in the ground at a disconcerting speed.

His brain had exploded in the back of his head and his white eyes were now revolted and popped out of their sockets. His severed tongue hung inert in his mouth, filled with saliva and blood both dried and fresh. The fight was finally over and I could feel my beastly body wavering as many notifications finally flooded my mind.

-- PING --

[ Congratulations ! The host killed a Nightmare Demon lvl 40 ]

[ You earn 160,400 EXP ]

[ Condition met to advance to next level (37) ]

[ Condition met to advance to next level (38) ]

[ Condition met to advance to next level (39) ]

[ Condition met to advance to next level (40) ]

[ Your HP and MP have increased ]

[ You have won the title : Empress of the three colors ]

[ You now have +300 attribute points ]

Numerous notifications were ringing in my mind, and even though my leveling up had healed me completely, I was exhausted. This battle had been by far the most complicated for me in this world, and something inside me told me that we were only at the beginning of our surprises.

[We...we did it ! Take that you filthy insect, learn to bow down to the Empress hahaha~]

Kira seemed to be relieving the pressure with humor, and as I smiled, I hurried as best I could to my Commanders and Lieutenants at the back of the room. The door we had to get through was on the other side and there was no time to lose. In a few minutes, the huge room would be buried under stone and we had to get to the other side as quickly as possible.

As I reached their heights, I could see their faces exhausted by all the events that must have terrified them. Despite all this, everyone was fine and that's what mattered most to me at that moment. They had all gone through different emotions and as I spoke, it was relief and fear that dominated them.

"Get on my back, quick ! I never do that but we don't have time !"

"Y-yes, your Highness !"

The soldiers looked confused and I knew that normally they would never have agreed to such an act but the moment was critical. Creating a small platform at my left flank with what little ambient mana there was, I even brought Inferno up. As everyone settled along the white hairline running from my ears to the tip of my tail I began to run.

The room shook, the pillars fell and behind me even the floor collapsed into a huge hole. Fortunately, I was fast and my powerful legs kept propelling us further and further while my soldiers on my back were busy breaking up the pieces that were falling on us. We were almost there and the exit was right in front of me.

I was healed but absolutely exhausted and with a last ditch effort I leapt into the next room just before huge rocks came crashing down in front of the entrance that was now last to us. The last thing I saw was a smaller, quiet room before I passed out from exhaustion.

____

FULL STATUS

Name : Freya

Age : 0 years old / Mentally : 25 years old

Sex : Female

Course : Ice Demon Wolf of chaos - Adult

Race : Imperial Demon

Titles : Blessed by Titania, Goddess of endless Chaos and eternal frozen Hell.

Dragon tamer

Ruthless slayer

Empress of the three colors

Level : 40/70

Exp needed for next level: 0 / 41 000

HP : 150 000 / 150 000 MP : 75 000 / 75 000

Strength : 510

Defense : 510

Agility : 516

Endurance: 513

Speed : 512

Intelligence: 510

Charisma: 500 (imperial she-wolf)

Attribute points to allocate : 300

Married to : Gaya

Daughter : Shiro

Empire (menu)

Subordinates: 1239

Humans killed: 153

Souls: 2/3

Elements: Ice / Chaos

Skills (all):

Attack - Demon Claws (Lvl 5)

- Bite of hell (Lvl 6)

- Infernal ice spikes (Lvl 6)

- Fighting techniques (Lvl max)

- Mastery of the katana (lvl max)

- Demonic Empress aura (lvl 6)

Defense - Ice demon wall (Lvl 6)

- Demonic Cloak (lvl 5)

Pain Resistance (lvl 5)

Attack/Defense - Domain of the Ice Empress "frozen wrath" (lvl 2) - (under condition)

Others - Humanoid form

- Ice creation (Lvl 6)

- Storage of chaos (Lvl 4)

- Devouring Chaos (Lvl 5)

- Analysis

- Second soul (Lvl max) - unique

- Telepathy

Detection and control of mana (lvl 6)

Master of souls (lvl 1)

Passives - Commander (lvl max)

- Natural Aura of the Ice Empress ]