The battlefield grew still as the beasts stared the young girl down, neither making a move.
The fray may have halted for a moment, but the one that lay in the mind did not. Ira did not know how she would overcome a Strayed Demon accompanied by a Strayed Monster—the Demon may have been severely injured, but it was not done; a Monster was still a Monster, whether Ira had slain one in the past did not matter. These abominations possessed an unknown ability and were completely new to Ira.
Information was everything during a battle. A person could not overcome an opponent that could outwit them with only brute strength; 'And if you did, it was simply because of luck—unless the gap was that profound between the two.'
Glancing around the battlefield with purpose, her eyes landed on the Strayed Demon's hand. 'Well, I do need a weapon. It will do, I guess.'
Leisurely walking over towards the blood-stained hand, she reached downwards to pick it up.
Holding it in her hand, the weight surprised her. A smirk painted her face as she saw the Strayed Demon take a step back, "What? Are you two scared of a mere Dormant Beast? Pathetic…"
As if understanding her words, the Strayed Monster snarled at her.
Unlike the Strayed Demon, it was not bipedal and did not resemble that of a human; rather, it resembled something more akin to a bat without hair and wings. Its skin was a dark shade of ashy black that was plagued with nausea-inducing gashes. 'What a hideous abomination..' A tinge of nausea settled in her throat, making her want to vomit at the sight of the creature.
"Come forth," Ira said, a measured pause following suit; an eerie silence surrounded them all before she spoke again, "You, Abominations of the Gods. Your deaths are not for naught; you will not live to see as I crush the heart of your origin, but do know this: Your deaths will strengthen me far more than mine would to yours.."
Ira snapped one of the obsidian sharp claws off of the abomination's finger, "Now I possess a knife of sorts—I thank you for that."
With a powerful lunge of its body, the Strayed Monster attempted to tackle her. At the same time, the Strayed Demon was swiftly closing in on her, attempting to ambush her from the side while she dealt with the Strayed Monster.
'Sacrificing your thrall? That does not seem very intelligent for a Strayed Demon; if you had rushed me together I might have been overwhelmed and possibly even killed. I'll play along, I guess…'
Pushing her feet off the ground, she charged forward at the Monster—a burning passion scorched her heart, bringing strength to the young girl's mind and body.
When the two collided, the young girl easily overpowered the abomination, plunging the make-shift knife into where Ira assumed its heart was. Her reason behind this was because it would have been where her heart was.
Her guess was wrong. Perhaps if it had been the Strayed Demon, that would have been the case—but it was not. It did not stand upright, nor did it have anatomy that resembled a human.
'It was foolish of me to assume that it would…' A large grunt escaped her lips.
Ira attempted to yank the knife away to retreat before the Strayed Demon could strike her down, but the abomination wrapped its monstrous hands around her forearm to restrain her for a fraction of a second—enough time for the Strayed Demon to end her life.
'What is it with beings of the Monster class attempting to hold me back!?'
Ira did not care about being restrained—the abomination was far weaker than her current self: she only needed a moment to both free and kill the Strayed Monster, but she did not have a moment to waste.
A fraction of a second would decide the fate of this battle. She would either die, or slay the abominations contesting her power.
One solution—one path—one attempt—zero chances of redemption. Ira knew what she had to do; the real problem was whether she was capable of doing it. 'I must augment this makeshift knife of mine… and split this abomination's chest open.'
Her life could come to an end if she even hesitated for a moment; she needed to steel herself for what was to come. Time was of the essence.
Ira silently commanded her mist to enhance the makeshift knife, driving the buried claw upwards in a harsh, ripping drag, forcing it through muscle and bone as the monster's grip on her forearm pinned her in place. The upward yank split its chest just as intended, its body going limp and its grip on her releasing—black blood covered her nearly head-to-toe.
Resonance spoke, its voice mechanical and methodical without an ounce of emotion:
[You Have Slain Strayed Monster, Scavenger.]
Her heart was filled with joy at claiming her first two fragments. Her soul, too, felt something—it was the fragments trickling into it, as refreshing as an icy drink on a hot summer day, cold sweats spread throughout Ira's body at the revitalizing sensation.
As the corpse of the Monster dropped, the young girl did too. Transferring all of her mist back to her body, a powerful strike narrowly avoided her.
The Strayed Demon's plan had been ruined, and thus it had no way of sending Ira to her death—unless it commanded another thrall to aid it.
Leaping away, she stood up—a single glance she took at the battlefield around her. She saw the corpses of monstrosities of all kinds of classes, the remaining abominations had banded together in a futile attempt to overwhelm Bariealla and Cammie.
A smirk appeared on Ira's face—she knew the beast would receive no aid and thus would die, unless she grew cocky. "Arrogance has sent far more talented people than me to their graves—and I do not plan to die. Not now, and not ever—even if Fate itself wants it.' Her thought was momentarily paused, an awkward smile appearing on her face; 'Which it does…'
She had no objectively embarrassing dialogue to give the beast, so she did the only thing she could do—lunge forward in an attempt to slit her opponent's throat and watch as its blood gushed from the wound in sickening waves.
Her feet left the safety of the ground as she pushed forward.
The beast—injured and without aid, had no time to react.
The makeshift knife dug into its throat before slitting the muscles, major arteries, and finally—the spine; its head fell to the ground as black blood gushed from it.
'I had only planned to slit its throat—not chop the damn thing's head off!' She had struggled to even cut its arm off, yet at times it seemed she was capable. Had she gained the ability to occasionally deal more damage than she was supposed to be capable of? 'Would that make me a gambler..?'
That was most likely not the case. Perhaps something else was going on?
◇
Resonance spoke once more:
[You Have Slain Strayed Demon, Horrid Scavenger.]
The fragments trickled once more into her soul—only this time it was four, rather than two.
An audible gasp of excitement left her lips, she had slain a Strayed Demon—a being of incredible power.
Adrenaline stopped flowing through her veins. She was completely battered—bruises lining her forearm and knuckles.
Ira was exhausted, weakly stumbling over to Kaine. "C-can you… Heal me?" She gritted her teeth at her own stuttering, before quickly ignoring it out of drowsiness.
"Twice in one battle? You really are taking a lot out of me, you know? But since you asked nicely, your incredible healer will—well, heal you."
Suddenly, her battered body was revitalized—as if she had participated in no battles today.
Kaine yawned tiredly, his reserves of Realm Thread only capable of healing two other people—which just so happened to be Bariealla and Cammie. "You should rest, little girl. Maybe I will join you after I find something to eat; I am starving!"
Entering the armoured vehicle, Ira instantly fell unconscious.
She dreamed of flames and screams—people died left and right. A young girl was being confronted by their mother and father before they quickly ushered her away, intending to sacrifice themselves for her survival.
No one knew of the nightmare she was having, so no one could comfort her.
◇
Andrisson grunted in agitation as he watched Bariealla and Cammie clean up the last of the abominations. His gaze fell upon Kaine, "Why did you not allow me to step in? Ira could have died..!"
Kaine chuckled, "If you really wanted to help her, you would have done so. You are an Awakened, while I am a Dormant—there is just no way I would be able to stop you if you wished to do something. I'm not that cocky to the point that I believe I could take on an Awakened in battle. I'm just a healer, you know!?"
Andrisson's gaze fell, a look of uncertainty marked his face. The conversation died there—what else was there to say? Nothing, of course.