Chapter 257: On the verge of death

Although to the best of her knowledge she had no special talent or active innate abilities like the others, Scarlet had enough experience under her belt to develop a sort of 'battle awareness, a skill that could not be taught but learned through one's own effort. 

This awareness, or in other words 'Battle Sense' allowed Scarlet to sense incoming threats, and to have a 'feel' to the enemy's strength, to be able to judge its power against her own. This was critical to her survival up till now. 

Right now, her senses were going overdrive, giving warnings about the grave danger this battered and bruised orc's new state represented. 

However, even without this skill, she was clearly aware that the monstrosity that was heavily heaving in front of her, was not your average opponent. He or to be more precise, IT, as it no longer had any sanity, was closer to a monstrous predator than anything else, grew almost a head taller, and at least a category wider. Its already robust body was now monstrously bulked, with large, wide veins visible under its dark brown skin. 

His dark red eyes that now had no visible sclera nor an iris glowed ominously at Scarlet, giving her chill run through her spine as she tried to withstand it. Its body had a faint, colorless glow to it, and an invisible pressure, an aura of killing intent emanated from it.

"What the… What happened?! What is this?!" Scarlet cried out, incredulous at the sight.

"I'm not sure…" Naybeah's voice came from behind the creature. Seeing the orc transform, she stopped her mindless charge. She calmed her raging, battle-crazed mind, forcing the clarity back in her mind. Although this, in turn, reactivated her suppressed sensors, causing her nervous system to immediately flare up and send multiple signals of the searing, burning pain of the several lacerations covering her body. 

Still, she withstood all the pain, the only visible sign of her being 'normal' was the scowl that replaced the wide grin on her face.

Sizing up the back of the still heaving creature, she spoke thoughtfully.

"I am not sure… but it looks like the orc evolved to something… else, whatever this thing now is…"

Her words shocked Scarlet. Flabbergasted, she sized up once more the much taller monster in front of her.

"Evolved?! H-how? That should be impossible!!" She cried out, unable to accept this strange, new reality.

"Not sure to be honest… In any case, we need to work together to be able to overcome this! Be carefu-" 

Before Naybeah could finish her words, suddenly the orc turned around and swung his large fist with incredible speed. His swing was simple and carried a monstrous power and momentum with it.

Thanks to her instincts, Naybeah managed to raise her arms in front of her, creating a shield with her forearms to block the blow. 

The sheer strength behind the creature's blow proved to be too much for the amazon's weary body. The tall amazon was flung back like a broken kite as both of her forearms snapped under the brutish power. 

With a painful cry, the blonde girl flew back several meters before violently crashing against the ground and tumbling further away helplessly. As the ground finally put a stop to her cruise, she tried to stand up, however, she was unable to. Although the brunt of the blow was blocked, both of her hands were now turned completely useless. Adding the constant pain she was under, she was now finally at her wit's end. The monstrous creature ignored the much weaker-looking red-haired woman and walked after its first prey laying on the ground. The only signs of her still being conscious was the pain-filled groans that could be heard from her direction.

With great difficulty, she looked at the slowly approaching monster, before turning her attention sideways. Seeing the shocked and fearful expressions of the crowd of slaves they were trying to protect, the image of a long, black-haired boy came to her mind, and with it, bringing a relaxing, soothing calm. 

Her expressions relaxed, she turned towards the sky. A faint smile returned to her face, she silently murmured, whispering to the wind.

"I'm sorry hubby, I can't go on any longer…" 

With that, she closed her eyes, as her mind finally gave in to the pain and pressure…

---

Sarah was rushing through the crowd herself, running to reach the back with a worried expression on her face. When she felt the sudden change in the air, she knew that something bad must have happened to the girls.

Boosted by the adrenaline, she forced herself back to her feet and after pulling the plunged dagger from the dead body of the orc, she bolted towards the source of the danger instantly. Before rescuing this large crowd, she had to keep her newly made friends safe.

"No, no, no… They can't be…" Closing towards the end, she spotted the large, robust silhouette of something that no longer resembled anything she could recognize, towering over a body sprawled out on the ground. Behind this creature, frozen in her spot was the red-haired princess with a horrified look smeared on her face.

"WAKE UP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! HELP HER!" She yelled out as she jumped out of the crowd, throwing the dagger with its hilt forward toward the rooted girl.

The sudden yell surprised not just Scarlet, but the monster as well. Halting its steps, it slowly turned to look at the newly emerged, third opponent with a vicious look on its face. As its glowering, blood-red eyes turned to look at Sarah, she felt a piercing cold wash over her, almost throwing her off her feet. The creature's mere presence was enough to overpower her, she couldn't even imagine what would happen to her if she would have to withstand even a single blow from this... Thing.

Catching the incoming weapon, Scarlet shook her head, frowning at her own weakness. She almost let one of her comrades die!

Seeing how the purple-haired girl grabbed the creature's attention, she silently inhaled some air, and exhaled a moment later, calming her raging nerves, slightly relaxing her tense muscles. 

Whilst the creature's attention was focused on the newly emerged opponent, Scarlet began to silently sneak towards the unconscious body of the amazon.

Meanwhile, the creature seemed to be done sizing up the newly emerged threat, and deciding it was best to deal with it instantly, he began to slowly walk towards Sarah.

Sarah, noticing that now she was the target of the creature's ire and that Scarlet was still on the move, trying to get closer to the beaten amazon, she steeled her resolve. Unsheathing her sword from its sheath, she looked at the monstrous behemoth with determination. Although she was spent and tired, she will give her everything if needed, so they could survive this encounter and overcome this foe.

Clearing her mind from all unnecessary thoughts, she huffed lightly and closed her eyes. Not even a second later, her eyelids sprung open. A weak, obscure purple glow suddenly lit up, showing that her innate mind-altering ability was forcibly activated again. Despite being tired and barely having any energy left, she forced whatever she could to put a halt to this brutish monster.

As she entered the creature's mind, she suddenly cried out in pain, reaching for her head with her free hand. This only served as fuel for her, gritting her teeth, she focused her ability once again and forced herself into the raging, clouded mind of the monster in front of her.

"QUICK! SCARLET SAVE HER! I CAN'T HOLD THIS THING MUCH LONGER!" She cried out in pain once again. 

Her second attempt, whilst giving her tremendous backlash, managed to finally put a stop to the creature's approach. His blood-red eyes slowly, gradually began to turn into the same shade of purple that was Sarah's. 

However, the resistance was too much for Scarlet to withstand for a prolonged period, especially in her current, weary state. Gripping her weapon tightly, she approached the creature while keeping her ability active.

As the seconds continued to pass, the creature's body began to wobble then shake as his mind slowly but surely pushed back against the psychic invader. The purple color in her eyes slowly, gradually began to turn darker, returning to his previous, dark red, ominous state.

---

While Sarah was busy holding off the monster, Scarlet arrived at Naybeah's unconscious body. Not sure what to do, she lightly began slapping her face while trying to reach out to her, calling for her without much success.

"What to do, what to do…" She muttered nervously, looking at the bloodied body of the amazon.

"Wake up! You can't die here, you have Aiden waiting for you! I thought you amazons are better than this!" She yelled various curses, shaking, slapping the woman, futilely.

Finally, seeing how she couldn't do anything to get her to wake up, she stood up and turned towards the still standing, but now shaking creature. The same purple glow seemed to glow from her eyes, but as she turned towards the weary, spent Sarah, she knew that her hold over the creature would only last at most a few more seconds.

Gritting her teeth, she gave one last look at the unconscious amazon, muttering under her breath a few words before she charged forward, launching herself in the air flying towards the creature.

"If you are not willing, then it's my turn to step up! I'm not going to watch as both of you die on me!" 

As she left the unconscious amazon, she failed to notice as her eyes slowly began to flutter. As her heavy eyelids slowly pulled open, her eyes were clear white devoid of any irises…

***

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