"Everybody run!!"
The voice came from a woman sprinting toward the monsters, not away. For a second, my brain froze trying to process what I was seeing. She wasn't a slayer—that much was obvious. No weapons, no armor, just a bright pink dress that looked like it belonged at a fancy dinner, not in the middle of a monster attack.
She dressed to kill, sure—just not in the literal way.
Theo blinked. "Is she serious?"
I couldn't tell if she was brave, stupid, or just completely insane—but whatever it was, she was running straight into a massacre.
One of the ten Lesser Void Terrors lunged forward, its claws glinting under the park lights—each one the size of a toddler's arm.
The woman didn't even have time to scream. The creature swung with terrifying speed, and in a blink, she was shredded—her body scattering across the cracked pavement like torn petals.
It was brutal.
It was stupid.
And honestly… she kind of deserved it. Who the hell runs toward monsters?
But then—something was wrong.
The creatures froze mid-feast, their grotesque mouths dripping with blood and saliva. A surge of mana burst out from within them, like their bodies couldn't contain it. The air itself twisted, thick and heavy with energy that didn't belong to anything human.
"Theo," I said, my voice barely a whisper.
He looked at me, eyes wide. "That mana… it's not theirs."
What Theo said with a confused face.
"What?" Theo said, confusion clear on his face. "How do you even know that? I can't sense anything."
"I don't know how," I muttered, my eyes fixed on the monsters as their bodies began to twitch unnaturally, "but I can tell. That mana doesn't belong to them."
The atmosphere grew darker.
"Let's try to stop these things before everyone dies—including us."
Theo's grin faded. For once, he looked serious. He nodded, tightening his stance as his aura flared faintly red—Ares' mark shimmering behind him.
I clenched my fists, feeling that faint pulse of chaos again inside me.
Theo dashed toward the lesser voids, his movements sharp and confident. He swung his fist with all his might—a punch that could've broken a wall if it landed.
But the creature was faster. It tilted its grotesque head and dodged with unnatural speed, its claws already swinging in a wide, horizontal slash aimed straight at Theo's neck.
"Shit—!"
Before the blow could land, I moved on instinct. My body blurred forward, twin daggers drawn. The clash sent a shock up my arms as the monster's claws collided with my blades, sparks bursting from the impact.
The force pushed me back several steps, my shoes dragging through the cracked concrete. My arms screamed in pain, but Theo was safe—barely.
"Tch… these things are faster than they look," I muttered, tightening my grip.
Theo dashed forward again—this time twice as fast, twice as wild. The ground beneath his feet cracked from the pressure of his takeoff. His eyes had lost their calm gleam; they were now glowing faintly red, his expression twisted into something primal.
He looked less like a slayer and more like a beast let loose.
Theo roared and swung, fists coated in burning mana. Each punch carried enough power to crater the ground, but the lesser void terrors were no joke. They moved like shadows—dodging, striking, then vanishing again before the next blow could land.
Slash. Duck. Counter.
Every exchange sent shockwaves of mana rippling through the area. It was chaotic, brutal—Theo trading blows like an animal fighting for its life, while the terrors danced around him with predatory precision.
"Tch… he's losing it," I muttered, gripping my daggers tighter. "At this rate, they'll tear him apart."
Have I always been this useless in the face of danger?
The thought burned in my head like a curse.
How the hell do I expect to get stronger if I don't do something? If I just stand here and watch—he'll die. I'll lose the only friend I have in this damn world!
"Damnit!" I shouted inside my mind, my grip tightening around the daggers. My body moved before I could think—I dashed toward the lesser voids surrounding Theo, mana surging through my veins like fire.
"[Mutilation]!" I roared.
My blades slashed through the air, cutting in an X-pattern, the technique tearing the ground apart beneath us. For a split second, I thought it worked—their bodies split, steam erupting from the gashes.
But when the haze cleared…
They were still standing.
The steam wasn't blood—it was regeneration. The wounds I'd made sealed shut as if my attack had never happened.
"What the hell…" I muttered, stepping back, my heart pounding in disbelief. My strongest strike had done nothing.
Wait… I had other skills too.
I clenched my teeth, trying to recall them through the panic and noise. Then it hit me like lightning.
"[Demonic Heaven Splitter]!" I shouted.
A surge of mana exploded from my daggers—black and red energy swirling violently around the blades. I swung wildly, upward, downward, left, right—each slash faster than the last. The air split apart with each strike, the final blow cleaving skyward as if trying to tear open the heavens themselves.
The ground cracked. The air trembled. And yet…
Only one of the ten lesser void terrors fell.
Its upper body split cleanly in two before bursting into black mist.
The rest turned toward me instantly, their heads twitching, mouths stretching open with guttural screeches. Their movements blurred.
"Shit—" I barely got the word out before they lunged.
But Theo was still fighting. His eyes burned crimson, and his aura flared like fire. He roared, slamming his fist into the head of a lesser void terror.
BANG!
The impact echoed through the park. The creature's head exploded like a melon—dark blood and mist splattering the ground.
The head went splat!
Theo grinned like a man possessed, his voice hoarse and wild. "That's two down!"
And for the first time, I realized… we were actually surviving.
Until…
<[End of chapter 10]>
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