NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 18: Angel + Assassin VS Demon VS Gorilla Maniac. It’s Shounen Battle Time! Wait, I thought this was a Shoujo Novel?
Soril instantly tugs her backwards by the collar. Leaving the redhead and grim reaper to clash attacks instead. It’s a messy onslaught of whipping blades. The redhead doesn’t get overpowered and pushed around each time they collide, but his actions are stifled by the snake like chains wrapping around his claymore,
“Piss off big guy. You’re not who I’m interested in.” Though, as if a roid-raging gorilla, redhead just yanks on it,
“Then die and get out of the way!” Swinging the grim reaper into a tree. It isn’t enough to damage the grim reaper, but he’s effectively staggered.
She pushes her confusion aside for now. Focusing on the present task. This is good news. Their goal is to retrieve Bathory’s family crest. Redhead unknowingly helped them. Soril’s following up, binding the grim reaper there with wires. He’s instantly occupied again by the redhead,
“This your shitty doing, White Ghost of Astia? I’m going to fucking quarter you and feed your dead body to pigs.” cleaving into the log fences that Soril’s dodged from, splitting them like an axe to a tree bark,
“As much as I want to claim credit, he’s the one that killed all your comrades. I’m doing you a favor going after him.” Soril intentionally lures him aside, giving her the opportunity to quickly lunge for the crest when they clear.
She’s too fucking slow. The grim reaper’s already gotten himself free. Hacking at her as she stretches an arm out. She instinctively swipes a dagger out to block him overhead. The sheer force throws her to the ground,
“Yo, Heaven has really lowered their standards.”
“That’s so rude.” This wouldn’t be how she can beat him. He’s leagues stronger. She can’t fight the way she is used to. She needs to readjust her combat habits to align with Bathory’s capabilities,
“I’m just nerfed to shit by an adolescent girl with raging hormones.” She says sheathing the weapon away. Tossing herself forward in a blind tackle. Right now, there’s one thing she can best him at. She latches onto his mid-section with a bear hug. Halting his movements. He grimaces in pain,
“Fuck. You’re a fucking masochist.” The contact points start sizzling. It feels like someone’s shoved her against molten cast iron. Her skin’s melting like stringing cheese on a hot pan when she attempts to grab the crest. He compels her to release him with a slash towards her nape. She ducks to the ground. He leaps away from her, blood soaked. Revealing naked muscle tissues in the shape of her marks. His flesh is completely seared off.
They’re both left in grotesque shape, but the only difference is, she can out heal him.
So, she’s going on the assault. Recklessly pouncing for him like an untrained cub attempting to catch its first prey. Narrowly dodging his retaliating chains as she gracelessly encroaches. His weapon isn’t as lightning quick or as inconspicuous as Soril’s wires. She can see it coming. It doesn’t matter if the sickles hit her. She face tanks it. Ignores the jarring pain. As long as she doesn’t get her head severed or heart gouged out. She’ll instantly recover. Even with Bathory’s shitty body, she manages to force him into retreat. She tries once more,
“What are you doing in Astoran? Who’s your contractor? Why are you after Genocia’s emblem?” He’s putting distance,
“Why do I need to answer you? Why don’t you tell me first why you’re after it too?” diving, she grazes across his upper arm, he flinches, furrowing his brows into a hiss,
“You’re seriously exploiting the Divine Law like that? Play fair, Angel.”
“This is fair. It’s the only strategical advantage of what I have over you at the moment.” She abruptly stalls. Fuck.
“Yeah. Fuck this then. You may be a masochist, but I rather not associate burning inferno to every time a cute girl touches me.” he’s caught her with the chains mid jump, she couldn’t have dodged that,
“I’m tagging out. I don’t even need to be here anymore.” Rapidly flinging her aside as if a ball on a string,
“Hey, big Estelian dude. Present for you. Catch!” Soril receives her before she crashes into the redhead. But Redhead immediately looms behind them. Claymore raised like a guillotine overhead, rapidly descending,
“Watch out!” She pushes Soril aside,
“How noble of you, clever little missy.” The attack slashes her across the torso,
“Guess this is goodbye.” It caves her inwards. Coughing from the sudden unbearable twinge, seizing her like death’s embrace. Blood splashing to the soil. She holds her intestines from falling out as her wounds begin stitching close with wet sticky sloshes, sounding like a hand shoved in lukewarm spaghetti.
“Are you oka-” she interrupts Soril attempting to support her,
“Stop the Demon! He’s trying to get away!” It hurts like a bitch to speak. Soril immediately turns around to pursue. Before her, redhead looks completely stunned,
“What in the Seven Hells is this black magic...” he stares in disbelief as she gradually stabilizes. The turmoil fades away. Her ears stop ringing. God she still feels like throwing up. If only this ability comes with pain nullification too. She doesn’t have time to begrudge. Soril pushes against her back, whispering,
“Got him. Smoke them. Grab the crest and we’ll escape towards the river.” The redhead hasn’t rebooted from his shock yet.
She darts a quick glance over her shoulder. Forcing herself into focus with sheer near death adrenaline. Soril’s caught the grim reaper with the wires. Effortfully restraining him in place with both hands. The injuries she caused him has weakened him to an extent he isn’t completely overpowering Soril anymore. Grim reaper’s trying to untangle himself, begrudging,
“Why are all of you so annoying. Man, I just want to go home and have a nice bath.” This may be the best chance they got. She reaches into Soril’s pocket. Pulling the smoke bomb out. She eyes the jade crest one more time. Remembering the precise location before she screams,
“Okay now!” smacking the grenade to the ground. The surroundings explode with grey gas. It takes grim reaper by surprise,
“Wha-” She meanders around Soril. Swooping for the crest; she can still see the dim glow through the fog. She touches against the cold surface. With a hard tug she snaps it off his belt. Throwing her back as if she’s rooting a deeply buried carrot from the soil, she yells,
“I got it, Soril!” but the moment she does. She hears chains rustling. The grim reaper’s broken free! Something hits her wrist. Another startling twinge. It forces her fingers to loosen as she retracts it. She got cut by a sickle,
“You’re shitty for cucking my bath, Angel!” someone’s dashed past her. The grim reaper. Her hand’s dangling off. She dropped the crest somewhere. Fuck. Fuck,
“Never mind, I don’t have it!” She dives to the ground, searching for it with her eyes as she holds her wrist in place to heal. It’s getting hard to see. Where the fuck did it go? She sweeps through the leaf bed after it does. Metals begin clashing. They’re fighting in a mix of confused yells. Everything is completely disoriented. A shatter sounds. Then a wet slosh like flesh getting impaled, bones being cracked, followed by a pained grunt, resonates through the chaos,
“Soril?!” somebody just got hacked.
“I got it! Let’s retreat.” she hears his voice through the fog. He’s fine. Thank God. Okay. She picks herself back up on her feet, using her ears to guide her towards the swooshing of rushing water. She runs into a tree. It’s completely impossible to navigate with sight now. She bumps into something else. Then she’s abruptly picked up, swung over shoulder,
“Soril?” she feels armor. It isn’t him! This must be the redhead! And he’s taking her the opposite direction,
“Lumeria?” fuck,
“Lumeria, where are you?” She’s struggling against him,
“Let me go!” attempting to free herself. Reaching for her dagger. She tries to impale his nape. It deflects off the neck piece. She can’t fucking see! In the distance, she hears chains and wires. The grim reaper has located Soril from the direction of his voice and they’re now in combat.
“Lumeria!” He’s trying to call out to her,
“Fuck off. Don’t get in the way!”
“Afraid not. I’ll be needing that crest back.” A panic’s seizing her. The noises are getting further, she cries out in response,
“Soril! Soril! Just run! I won’t die easily anymore so focus on your own safety. I’ll be okay! I’ll meet you back in Kanra!”
Redhead bursts out of the smoke. She looks over her shoulders, he’s bringing her towards Estelian territories. She can’t break free! His grip is like a fucking bear trap against her waist. Is she seriously getting damsel-in-distressed? This is the worst fucking outcome,
“Why are you even kidnapping me?” she’s searching for any opening she’s able to stab her dagger into, but he’s entirely covered in armor. It won’t penetrate. She tries to twist herself free instead. He’s rapidly approaching a dead end,
“You’re a witch and you’re important to the White Ghost of Astia.” Why do people of this world just assume she’s a witch? She can’t even correct him. She’s feeling her heart drop. He’s leaping off the cliff like a fucking maniac. Gravity pulling them down. Crashing them through the branches as he takes them to the forest floors. The impact makes him release her. She slams her side against a hard rock. Rolling her away. Some ribs probably cracked. That fucking hurts. She forces herself back on her feet. They’re at the foot of an overhang, and she can’t hear them anymore.
“You’re a fucking prick!” She stares up at it. She needs to get back to Ryden fast. She doesn’t know if Soril’s able to beat grim reaper in a prolonged one-on-one. Starving or otherwise, Demons have fatigue and damage resilience much superior to a mortal. Their skins are nearly impervious to regular attacks. It’s numbing her to her fingertips just thinking about the possibility that he’s going to get hurt again.
Spinning around, she’s looking for a route back. They didn’t go all that far, but Bathory can’t climb this stupid cliff.
Then she spots the redhead slumped against a rock. Something’s wrong with him. His pallor is bleach white. Cold sweat beading his forehead. Breathing heavily, he’s holding his left side. Tearing off the armor piece to reveal a nasty cut, severing even his collarbones all the way to his lung. Bleeding out in a puddle. Desperately clinging onto consciousness. So, he was the one that got hacked by the grim reaper’s sickles just now. Serves him right for kidnapping her. She tries to walk away. But her feet wouldn’t budge. Seriously?
She should fucking go. He almost killed Soril once. And he is the man prophesized to behead Astia’s king. Let him die, Lumeria. She just needs to turn a blind eye and the crisis will be averted. Don’t feel sorry for the enemy! Move legs. Dammit. Move! Just leave! She doesn’t need this useless empathy now. Urg. Fuck it! She messes up her hair. This is so frustrating! She’ll make it quick,
“You better not let me regret this.” She approaches him, standing over him and prepares her dagger.
He flicks her an upwards glance and a bitter scoff,
“Guess I’m the pathetic one in the end to perish alone in a forest with no one to witness huh.”
“Shut it dumb gorilla. I’m going to fix you up. Appreciate my generosity.” She slits her wrist over his injury. Draining her blood onto him. He watches with labored breaths, flinching each time the fat droplets seep in his open wounds. It’s patching the massive laceration. He’s not in as much pain anymore. Instead, now he just looks in shock as his skin completely heals. She doesn’t wait for him to comprehend what’s going on. Brisk walking away,
“Thank me by retiring and go become a farmer or something. Stop attacking Astia.” She searches for an ascending path. She needs to go around. But before she can even pick her pace up into a jog. She’s again, abruptly picked up,
“I have a better idea.” Redhead’s wearing a malicious grin on his face,
“I’m bringing you back to Feror.” humming a joyful tune as he walks towards the sunrise.
“What the fuck?” really, “what the actual fuck?” she begins struggling. He’s not joking!
“Is this how you repay your benefactors?”
“Looks like you aren’t so clever after all. I just repaid you by not beheading you on the spot. Now you must repay me by being a good little hostage I can use against the White Ghost of Astia. He slayed my men. It’s fair payback.” What’s with this bullshit logic? He has a brick for a brain!
“He already told you. We have nothing to do with this. It’s the fucking Demon that killed all your comrades! So let me fucking go!” He isn’t listening to her; he’s conveniently choosing to not believe her,
“I also seem to recall; you are the one who blew up thousands of my troops before Kanra’s gates. You lost your chance little missy. Should’ve killed me just now.”
“You can’t be real.” or rather. She realizes as she watches the cliff depart her. She has a brick for a brain. Not everyone in this world is going to be nice to her just because she was nice to them.