Of course, this didn't mean they were dangerous enough for Selene. In the past, they might have cast a red haze over her vision, but as her strength and resources increased, past threats became more accessible.
Since there were only three of these scorpions and the risk was bearable, she decided to attack. The meat of these creatures was quite good, and their hemolymph served as an excellent repellent for minor desert monsters.
Not to mention their stingers and venom! Both are relatively valuable. Selene stopped her flying motorcycle, leaving it running, and entered a meditative state as she walked toward the monsters.
After taking several steps, the blue LEDs on her gauntlets lit up, indicating that the Glyphworks were activated and ready for action. This caused her to smile confidently, revealing her white teeth.
The scorpions had initially been attracted by the explosion Selene had caused, but they waited some time before deciding to explore what had happened, believing any potential danger had passed.
However, they had already detected the woman before she exited her vehicle. They slowed their movements, acting cautiously and hissing and clicking among themselves as if communicating.
The cataclysm altered the world of Cancri and greatly affected all the species that lived there. This gave rise to the monsters and dangerous entities that now roam the world.
It also led to the appearance of strange, supernatural things. Luckily, Selene only encountered a trio of cunning monstrous scorpions.
When they saw how confidently Selene approached them, they hesitated, stopping completely before separating and attempting to surround her. She didn't care what these creatures were doing because she was confident in herself.
This confidence came from her own strength! She crouched slightly, adopting a fighting stance that allowed her to attack or dodge when necessary. She stood watching the scorpions, which began emitting two types of sounds: clicks and hisses. They even waved their tails threateningly as a warning.
Clearly, the scorpions did not want to fight. However, Selene had waited a long time for prey, driving her motorcycle to them the moment she spotted them. She was not going to let them go so easily.
Perhaps their purpose was to cause trouble! Since Selene had just killed people, a faint, dangerous, bloody atmosphere still lingered around her. This made the scorpions feel overwhelmed when they noticed her unmoved by their threats.
In fact, Selene began to emit her murderous intent, making the already cold night worse. This was the result of all the times she had killed her enemies in battles to the death.
Since Noeia is a power stemming from thought, concepts that others consider illusory, such as bloodlust and impulse, are quite real. In fact, they are tools that a good Noetarch must learn to use properly.
The scorpions could no longer bear the coldness brought on by her murderous intent, so they lunged at Selene, seeking to get rid of her, an entity they had categorized as dangerous.
The woman's eyes narrowed as her Noeia took effect, slowing down her enemies' movements in her vision. She couldn't sustain this state for long, but it was sufficient for her current needs: Dodge!
She moved to the left, dodging a large red claw that closed in on the spot where she had been standing. From her new position, Selene jumped and twisted in the air to dodge a pair of needles thrown at her with the intention of impaling her.
Her body fell to the ground, and she quickly slid backward, dodging green liquid that fell where she had been standing and produced a loud sizzling sound.
What a terrible poison! Even though she hadn't attacked yet and was only dodging, Selene had a big smile on her face as her Noeia spread across her body like a spider web, clinging to her muscles and getting ready.
The entire process took only a few seconds. However, battles between Noetarchs and monsters were carried out in these kinds of circumstances, so it was vital to adapt to this fast pace, regardless of whether you were human.
"You've attacked enough. Now it's my turn, don't you think?" Knowing these creatures would understand, Selene said that before clanging her fists together.
The muscles in her limbs bulged, and her veins became visible and protruded. Her heart began to beat rapidly, and her cheeks took on a soft reddish hue.
A faint impulse began to emerge from her body. However, Selene decided to contain it rather than release it because it was not the time to use it in battle. She let out a sigh before murmuring a few words.
"General muscle activation: 7%. Heart activation: 10%." The woman opened her hands slightly before choosing her target: the smallest of the three scorpions, the one farthest to the left.
She stomped on the ground, propelling herself forward at great speed, and her body became a blur. She slid toward the monster's body, avoiding its pincers, and, when close enough, jumped and landed on its back.
Selene brought her hands together, raised them above her head, and brought them down heavily on the creature's chitinous armor. The sound of metal striking chitin spread along with the small shockwave generated by the impact.
Cracks appeared in the impact zone. She managed to inflict significant damage on the monster beneath her, prompting it to reflexively attack her with its stinger. She stepped aside and grabbed the scorpion's tail.
With a sudden movement, she pulled the deadly weapon from the creature's body. A lot of corrosive fluid shot out, but she had already jumped off the scorpion's body. She avoided being stained by the fluid and responded to the other two enemies.
They had hesitated to attack because they might hurt their companion. However, seeing the human's actions and the pain she had caused the smallest of them convinced them to try to impale her with their stingers.
The wounded beast began to move erratically and jerkily, and its hisses perfectly conveyed its suffering despite its inability to speak. The other two scorpions did not pursue Selene. Instead, they approached the wounded beast, occasionally hissing and clicking as if trying to calm it.
Selene watched all this coldly, feeling no guilt or remorse. Out there, death was an immutable rule, and she would not hesitate to kill her enemies. These creatures hadn't even wanted to attack her in the first place, but that was life. She hadn't done anything to those men, yet they had decided to steal the fruits of her labor. Therefore, Selene had decided to seek revenge.
She didn't stop her actions. Taking advantage of the beast's distraction, she jumped and brought her hands together in midair, using her momentum to crush the monster's shell once more.
She struck the same area she had injured before and activated the ability of her right gauntlet. Along with the deployment of a blue shockwave, the scorpion's hard chitin shell shattered completely.
Green liquid, red pieces, and the monster's white flesh flew everywhere. With one last hiss, the beast staggered and collapsed to the ground. Although it appeared dead, its limbs occasionally moved, but it no longer had the same strength.
The other two scorpions became wilder and more aggressive, constantly attacking Selene with their stingers and pincers to kill her in revenge for their incapacitated companion.
Selene enjoyed the combat and being on the edge of danger. She used her enhanced state for longer fights because she had adapted to this state of overexertion. She constantly dodged enemy attacks but also closed in on them, striking the scorpions' shells with her metal fists and attacking the same points to undermine their defenses.
Due to her high body temperature caused by the strenuous physical effort, a white mist rose from the woman's mouth. Her sweat-covered skin glowed under the starlight, and her short hair fluttered wildly with each sudden movement.
She did not seem to be engaged in arduous combat, but rather in a dance in which she was the protagonist and the scorpions were mere accompaniments. It was just her and her powerful, metal-covered fists striking relentlessly without the sophisticated attacks and strategies of before.
With three enemies, she had to think hard and be more elaborate, even wasting one of her most powerful attacks. But with only two frenzied enemies left, she could simply let herself be carried away by the excitement of combat.
Thus, she gradually released her impulse, an ethereal sensation that condensed a person's mental and spiritual aspects, bringing them to reality. The Noeia had no offensive means of its own, but it could make these kinds of illusory concepts real.
This impulse represented her strength, presence, murderous intent, thirst for blood, and desire for battle. With it, she pressed and urged the monsters, who seemed to have lost the rationality they had previously shown.
"After all, even if they have some intelligence, they are just weak monsters that cannot escape their wildest instincts," Selene said before cutting off one of the scorpion's claws with her left hand.
She did so in the same place she had wounded it several times before, where the shell was full of cracks. This time, her blow was unusually heavy because she had momentarily increased the force with which she attacked.
"Muscle activation: 10%." With this added power, her metal hand shattered the limb holding the scorpion's claw. It was left connected by only a few strands of flesh that resisted the impact.
The largest of them hissed loudly, and suddenly its red shell turned an even deeper shade. Selene's pupils shrank because she did not expect a giant arthropod like this to be able to use an ability characteristic of high-level monsters.
Outrage! This is a state in which a being consumes their entire being to enter a temporary state in which all their characteristics are enhanced by a certain percentage. This percentage depends on various factors, such as potential, health status, and the nutrients available in their body to serve as fuel for their increase in strength.
"Don't tell me the power of love made you stronger? I suspected you were family when I saw the three of you walking through the desert. One of you was smaller than the rest. You were the biggest. Such a cliché!" Selene took several steps back, ignoring the green hemolymph that had recently stained her body.
She was no longer paying attention to her crippled enemy, but rather to the beast whose threatening mist had turned dark orange without a trace of red. This made her purse her lips in a gesture full of disdain.
"Trash like you should end up in my stomach!" the woman declared, before regaining control of her body with Noeia. Her limbs grew slightly larger, and her breath became longer as she absorbed all the oxygen she could.
"General muscle activation: 10%. Cardiac activation: 15%. Respiratory activation: 10%," Selene murmured. It was the most optimal combination she had developed for short, high-intensity battles.
She could endure more individually, but she had to balance things when combined if she wanted to perform adequately. Her face turned completely red, and her heart sounded like a drum, but she simply crouched down again in the same initial pose as before.
This time, when she lunged at the larger monster, it did not respond instinctively as before. Instead, it crossed its claws in front of its body and extended its tail above its head.
The beast clearly didn't want Selene to use her previous tricks again! However, she didn't rely solely on a simple strategy. She had faith in herself and her creations.
Despite everything, she punched it with her left hand and collided with the defense the scorpion had put up. This time, the dark-red shell held up better, even though she had increased her strength beforehand. However, the woman's goal was not simply to crush it as before.
A blue flash blossomed between Selene and the creature. A large amount of energy bypassed the monster's outer defenses and reached its flesh, spreading throughout its body. Selene had used the ability of her left gauntlet!
Perhaps because it had entered a state of temporary enhancement, the scorpion endured the internal devastation and did not die or become paralyzed. However, its movements were severely reduced.
Selene approached first, grabbed the beast's stinger with her right hand, and tore it out, repeating what she had done to the smaller one minutes earlier.
Then, she grabbed its pincers, pulled them apart abruptly, and began to twist its body, dragging the enormous monster with her. After twisting several times, she threw the monster toward the other giant beast, which had approached her in an attempt to hurt her.
The two creatures collided heavily and landed on their backs in the desert sand. At that moment, Selene's breathing became more agitated, and her body gradually returned to normal.
She had calmed the temporary enhancements she had induced, but her usual form was powerful due to constant refinement since she began generating and controlling her Noeia.
Selene saw the largest scorpion begin to cover itself in green liquid because, although it was not paralyzed, the energy deposited in its body had caused internal damage. The other scorpion had broken legs and was shaking them constantly, wanting to rest them on the ground.
"It's time to get some fresh meat." Selene licked her lips as she walked toward the monsters. Although she had eaten recently, the physical exertion had burned many calories, which she wanted to replenish.
She used her hands to remove the scorpion's stinger. Then, she crushed their vulnerable bodies, using the energy of her right gauntlet, which had recovered during this time.
She also made sure to finish off the smallest one, which was still clinging to life. No mercy! She soon got their poison sacs and covered them with a small towel from her backpack to make transporting them safer.
She gathered as much meat as she could carry on her motorcycle and filled the cooling compartment to the brim. Then she took out a metal bowl, a bottle of oil, a small jar of honey, salt, and the heater she had gotten from the men. She began to cook.
Surrounded by a circle of hemolymph to scare away other desert creatures and with the carcasses of giant scorpions cut up beside her, Selene enjoyed cold meat.
Her only complaints were that her body odor had worsened after the fight, and she didn't have a cold beer to accompany her delicious meal. The good news was that her journey was coming to an end, and it was time to go home.
It was time to return to Eclipse City.