Zoe's features tensed, and she raised
her trembling hand toward the beast. She shouted the spell
"El Sera Vil!"
A dense blue energy burst from her palm, heading toward the beast, while strands of her hair fluttered violently in the air.
"He noticed her, and in an instant he turned toward her.
He opened his mouth, and a terrifying scream erupted from it, followed by a massive wave of air that surged forward like a missile, sweeping away everything in its path. Zoe's energy was scattered into thin air
The wave struck Zoe's body directly. Her eyes widened as her hair danced in the air; blood spattered from her mouth.
Her body was violently hurled backward, slamming into a tree trunk behind her, then she fell motionless.
The beast then slowly turned toward Miro.
She was trembling from head to toe, sweat pouring down her forehead, as she clutched her sword in front of her with a shaky grip.
She raised the sword with difficulty and said in a broken voice:
"Stay away… I won't let you near the commander."
"The sword trembled in her hands."
Inside her, thoughts collided in a whirlwind; she said to herself:
Why am I here? Why am I putting myself in this situation for someone I just met?
I have to run… I have to run… but her body refused to respond,
and she stood firm despite everything, then muttered:
I don't know what made me stand there
Then she raised her head toward the beast and said, in a voice clearer than before:
"I won't let you kill the commander."
I felt as if I were drowning in an endless void… Pitch-black darkness swallowed everything; even the sound of my own breathing vanished.
[System]
Warning…
Health points are critically low…
Body in critical condition...
Severe damage detected...
Pulse is weak... and irregular...
Memories began to flood before my eyes like scattered shards of glass.
My mother's crying...
My father's screams...
Then a hard slap struck my face.
The images were blurry, overlapping and vanishing before I could process them, until a mysterious voice whispered in my ear:
"I love you… to death."
I opened my eyes gradually.
I sat up slowly, feeling immense pressure building inside my veins, as if blood were boiling in my body.
I felt as if someone else were waking up.
A black aura began to rise around me, interspersed with faint blue flashes. My clothes fluttered violently, and strands of my hair stood on end as the pressure erupted from my body.
The aura swept through the area in front of me like a tornado, uprooting the grass and scattering leaves and dust, until the ground around me became a clear, empty space.
[System]
Level up.
New skill acquired: Superhuman Physical Ability.
Strength: +2
Stamina: +5
I tightened my grip on the daggers, and a black aura mingled with a faint blue glow began to swirl around their blades, growing denser with every passing moment.
Miro was staring at me, her body trembling as she didn't even blink, while the beast turned its gaze toward me and began advancing in slow steps.
The glow of the aura enveloping my daggers intensified.
The veins in my arms stood out.
I looked at the beast heading toward me, and my chapped lips moved.
I
then hurled the dagger.
It shot through the air, cutting its path at tremendous speed, so much so that the air compressed around it, creating a sharp whistle and a shockwave that rippled through the area.
The trees bent until their branches nearly touched the ground.
I ducked quickly. Veins bulged in my legs as I exhaled slowly. The ground cracked beneath my feet, and the fissures spread like a shattered web before I sprinted away at tremendous speed.
The beast let out a thunderous roar, while a black vortex began to gather around its mouth, swirling and spinning wildly as it prepared to unleash it.
But in an instant…
I was right in front of it.
Miro froze in place, her eyes widening as she stared at me.
A dark aura wrapped around my fist, and I thrust it toward its stomach.
Its body jerked suddenly, its back arching for a moment before its limbs went rigid.
The black vortex suddenly faded and scattered like smoke torn apart by the wind.
The next moment, the dagger I had thrown arrived
I caught it in midair without slowing my momentum, then spun my body and aimed another strike at his neck, before violently pulling the blade downward.
Blood splattered across my face and clothes.
His scream tore through the air:
"Aaaaaaaah!"
I spun around quickly, then thrust my dagger toward his stomach.
The blade sank into his body; his features suddenly contorted, and his intestines spilled out before me.
[System]
Notification...
Level up.
Amid the commotion... a low whisper echoed inside my head.
"I love you... to death."
My eyes widened.
"…I love you to death."
The voice returned once more.
"…I love you to death."
I struck him again.
This time, I plunged the dagger into his chest, then yanked it downward violently. Warm droplets scattered before my eyes, and everything blurred for a moment.
[System]
Notification…
Level Up.
Notification...
Level Up.
That voice in my head
was growing louder. And repeating itself.
"I love you to death."
"I love you to death."
"I love you to death."
I gripped the dagger so tightly that the veins in my arm bulged.
I screamed:
"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!"
And my blows rained down one after another without stopping.
[System]
Target eliminated:
Mountain Leader
Class: D
But I didn't stop.
Another strike.
Then another.
Then another.
My body was moving on its own, as if I'd lost control of it.
"I love you to death."
"I love you to death."
"I love you to death."
The words echoed in my mind. Refaat Miro looked up at me.
Her features hardened.
The sword trembled in her shaking fingers, and her eyes slowly widened.
She wasn't looking at someone who had won a battle…
She was looking at someone who was beginning to lose themselves.