Vol. 2 Chapter 107: Burnt Flesh
"Now or never!"
Deedee, like a panther, lunges forward and follows him through the portal.
An unpleasant experience. Seasickness, airsickness, carsickness. All at once. The woman is severely nauseous and barely holds back vomit. She definitely would prefer not to go through it again.
Deedee Lang steps out of the portal. She is disoriented.
She finds herself on a large square paved with Silverdark metal. Unlike the previous setting, no expense has been spared here. It feels like being on the surface of the moon, as the silvery metal reflects the alien light coming from the bioluminescent plants and fungi present on the ceiling of the massive cavern upon which Arach’Che’el is built.
In the center of the square stand two huge spider statues, one for each team. Deedee notices that each statue has sockets for eight eyes, presumably where the gems are to be inserted. This must be the peak of the great temple dedicated to the Grand Mother of Spiders! The enemy has exploited his powers to get directly here. As she surveys her surroundings, she sees in front of her the silhouette of her prey, Sylthrenn, visibly surprised by her arrival.
Deedee raises her gaze to a balcony above them, where Strauss Wagner, her Master, and Queen Azherie, their opponent, are watching. Strauss is surprised by her sudden arrival. But the surprise lasts only a moment. The two exchange a knowing look. The dark elf queen, however, seems calm, amused as she watches the scene.
Both Deedee and Strauss have suspected that facing that elf-spider hybrid is incredibly dangerous with its space-time tricks, and being instantly transported to this place only confirms it. Sylthrenn must be killed at all costs, otherwise the hopes of winning this Demonic Game of Death will be reduced to zero.
She has definitely done a lot of damage to him. The Elfrider's torso is covered in holes from her arrows, and his face is scarred, having pierced his left eye. Despite this, he is still standing and strong. This leads the policewoman to suppose that he has a particular anatomy and that his vital points are in the spider part. "Fuck," she curses, thinking she should have realized it sooner. Before running out of arrows.
*HRIEK!*
Sylthrenn snarls at her, his split face curling back to reveal spider fangs. Deedee assumes a combat stance, with her bow ready for action. Even without arrows, her magical bow can be lethal. It is a legendary quality artifact, the [SAGITTA OF THE ETERNAL FOREST], obtained as a treasure in a dungeon. It grants access to various abilities. Among them…
[BLADE MODE]
By holding the bow centrally, it straightens to become a double-edged dagger with a total length similar to that of a long sword. It is not an easy weapon to master, and it is not suitable for an equal fencing duel against another sword, but that is not Deedee's intention. She needs a weapon to tear that damn spider apart. Once and for all.
"Good," she says, gripping the bow-blade with determination. "Let's finish this."
Her wounds are very painful, but her prey is still alive.
However, Sylthrenn keeps his distance. Obviously aware of the woman's presence, he instead retreats towards the statues while always maintaining eye contact with the ranger and defensively holding the silverdark poleaxe.
"Where the fuck do you think you're going, you fucking coward?" she insults him as she chases after him.
*CLANK**CREAAK*
The massive gate behind them opens with a heavy noise. The woman turns to see the source of the noise and is left speechless. From it emerges a menacing figure.
A towering figure over two meters tall. The Knight wears thick black armor, heavy equipment that he moves effortlessly. In various parts of it, semi-transparent black cloth rags are intertwined. The same material that composes the veil behind his helmet. Even the long cloak behind his back seems like a veil, the funeral veil in which dark elves are wrapped when they die.
Always evoking death, his armor is decorated with elven skulls. From him emanates a nauseating smell of decay, forcing Deedee to cover her nose. Around his neck, he carries the burdeaux gem of Queen Azherie. Clearly, he is a Servant.
Two against one? The ranger is at a clear disadvantage.
But it's not just that which troubles her. The aura of the knight is so oppressive that she feels almost suffocated. This is not an ordinary opponent. She can feel it.
The servant advances determinedly, in his hand a gigantic two-handed sword, wielded with only one hand. Black as his armor.
Wounded as she is, how can she confront him? She is sure she can finish off the spider-elf, already being injured, but this new adversary is an unexpected variable that changes the game.
[HEAL]
Wrapped in magical energy, suddenly she feels invigorated again. Her wounds close, her hit points rise.
She turns towards the source of this spell. It was her Master, Strauss Wagner, who healed her. Right! Now she is close enough to him to enter the range of his spells.
{ Kill Sylthrenn! } the order from her Master arrives directly in her brain through thought.
That is her mission. She has no time to waste with the black knight.
Meanwhile, Sylthrenn has reached the statue of the queen's team. The spider-elf inserts first one and then the other gems, which belonged to Bicrista and Gallo, into the respective eye sockets. The gems light up with magical energy, indicating they have been correctly placed. Queen Azherie is now at an advantage!
[HASTE]
Strauss casts an enhancing spell on the ranger. The policewoman feels this power coursing through her, making her incredibly fast. Her agility stats soar to incredible heights for a human being. Healed and empowered, it's now time to kill that fucking spider.
The dark Servant approaches her menacingly, but she decides to completely ignore him and run towards Sylthrenn. She is so fast that it almost seems like she is flying, her feet barely touching the Silverdark lunar floor.
Sylthrenn turns towards Deedee, shocked by the hunter's speed. He thought he was safe behind the statues and with the support of the Black Servant, but the ranger has a devilish look in her eyes. He is aware that this look means she is about to unleash utter chaos on him.
Without hesitation, Deedee lunges forward with incredible speed, her newly enhanced agility making her appear almost ethereal as she closes the distance between them.
Sylthrenn tries to block the incoming blade of the bow-sword with his own weapon, the poleaxe that seems to be an extension of his spider limbs, but the human's speed is too much for him.
*CLANG*
Only with a sheer effort of will, the spider blocks the deadly slash that would have split the upper part of his body in two.
The clash of their weapons echoes across the square, creating sparks that spray on the silver metal floor like small silver fireflies. Deedee continues to advance, her strikes becoming more frantic and unpredictable as she savors the victory within reach.
Sylthrenn fights with a wild and desperate flurry, twisting and contorting his body to keep out of reach of the human's deadly blade.
As the duel reaches its climax, Deedee feels the presence of the Knight Servant looming behind her. Despite her momentary increased speed, she knows she can't ignore him forever. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees him behind her. For someone so large, he is incredibly fast.
Her next move is bold, a calculated risk. Deedee forces the Elfrider into another sudden parry. Sylthrenn is totally focused on her and avoiding being sliced to pieces.
The black Servant raises his sword high.
With a thunderous slash, his massive sword comes down on her, the friction with the air generates a shower of incandescent sparks. An immense pressure and force. So much so that the ranger can feel the air displacement almost crushing her downwards. It's perfect.
With feline agility, Deedee leaps to the side at the last possible moment. The blade of the Servant meets the astonished Elfrider, who, being focused on Deedee's previous attack, did not expect an attack from the 'ally'. He doesn't have time to dodge.
Everything happens too quickly. The Silverdark poleaxe that he had used a moment before to defend against Deedee is sliced as if it were made of butter by the giant sword of the Black Servant. The blade continues its path unimpeded.
*CHOP* *SPLOUSH*
In a ghastly spectacle, the upper part of the Elfrider is cleaved in two, opening up in a grotesque flower of flesh and blood. It stops only when it meets the lower part of the spider, and there too it leaves a bloody gash.
"Fuck yeah!" she exclaims with a backward elbow.
The policewoman's plan worked, and she watches with satisfaction as the mutilated body of her prey lies before her.
The black knight violently pulls out the great two-handed sword lodged in the body of the Elfrider, kicking it away.
Mechanically, his head turns towards the green-haired woman.
A silent fury, and she is his target.
However, the spider-like body of Sylthrenn still moves. Its spasmodic legs jerk randomly, trying to regain balance.
The System message hasn't alerted her. The bastard isn't dead yet. "Do you want to fucking die, damn it?" she curses, knowing her job isn't finished yet.
The spider tries to get away, furiously scuttling across the floor. Deedee wants to end this and runs at full speed towards it.
The black servant steps in front of her, swirling his two-handed sword to intercept her, but she performs a superhuman jump as if taking flight. This way, she easily vaults over him.
Deedee lands on the Elfrider with both feet in a dropkick, further opening the two torn parts of the dark elf's upper body. The impact of the hit knocks the spider body to the ground, with its legs folded.
Caught in a frenzy, the policewoman begins to stab at the underside with her bow-sword. Relentlessly.
*STAB* *STAB* *STAB**STAB*
The sound of flesh tearing and blood spurting with each stab becomes the soundtrack of that moment.
[XUND’U XOLARINN]
Despite the inflicted damage and the fact that it no longer seems sentient, the spider-elf casts its unique spell. Thanks to it, like a ghost, it escapes Deedee's wild assault and distances itself from her.
"Not this time, son of a bitch." the ranger smiles, as she pulls out a particular bottle from her bag.
The special medicine prepared by Strauss for the spider. His trump card.
Having faced Wagner in the past, she knows what he's capable of and how diabolical he can be thanks to his numerous talents, including alchemy. "Remove the paper separator, shake and mix the two components. Once mixed, the reaction will start. Throw it immediately." he explained before entrusting it to her.
She begins to count in her head the time the enemy's magic lasts.
123
Sylthrenn tries to escape as far away as possible, exploiting the effect of his spell and momentary invulnerability. Naturally, the huntress is on his heels. He won't escape her.
4
5
6
7
Even the black knight is dangerously close. She doesn't have time to think about him right now.
8
9
[L'ELEND'ORBB]
The portal opens. The escape route for Sylthrenn. His salvation.
So close. But time is up.
10
He is no longer invulnerable. Deedee rips off the separator, shakes it, and throws. The bottle ends up inside the split of the Elfrider.
The enemy is one step away from the portal.
"Burn, motherfucker!"
*KAABOOOOOMMM*
Deedee throws herself backward to the ground to avoid the shockwave. The reaction occurs violently, in an explosion of fire. Pieces of flesh fly everywhere, hitting the precious floor of the grand temple's plaza.
The smell of burnt flesh and smoke spreads through the place.He's fucking dead.
[[ Azherie Loree'Nahil Team Player, SYLTHRENN was eliminated from the Demonic Game of Death! ]]