Chapter 43 - Regret Part 2
* Warriyo - Mortals (feat. Laura Brehm) (ELPORT remix) *
AN: Epic remix and wonderful song, legit.
***
Many system notifications flashed quickly through Raven's mind, yet she paid none of them an ounce of her focus.
The only thought that kept haunting her soul was 'it's all my fault...'
Activating five skills at once was no easy feat, especially in her current state and with so little mana to start with.
She wasn't in her prime condition when she exited the cave, nor had she taken any good rests to relieve the stress on her body.
However, she was the one who kicked Camilla out...
She was the one who endangered her...
She was the one who put her in harm's way...
She was the one the one who almost killed her...
She was the one who allowed that scythe to hit her once...
And there was no way in the seven hells she'd allow it to touch her again.
She didn't know since when did she start having these feelings towards Camilla.
When did she start thinking of her as family?
Was it because she's helped them before? But she was a stranger that allowed herself to unleash her killing intent towards the girls she cared about.
Or was it because of what Maria had said?
Or maybe because Raven was basically the reason why she ended up in this situation?
Was she regretting shutting her down, and kicking her out?
...
She didn't know. The only thing she was sure of, was that she had to protect her.
Just the sight of her bloodied body reminded Raven of the state the girls had been in before.
There was absolutely no one alive that would be allowed to repeat the events that took place in that soccer field.
"ABSOLUTELY NO ONE!" Raven yelled loudly as she let loose of her majestic golden aura.
Unlike any incident before where she's been either cold or sadistic, this time she was enraged, furious, and burning in wrath!
Sensing that, Camilla smiled weakly as she started to feel herself regaining consciousness slowly, but surely.
'I think it's the first time I saw her this mad, and for her to be mad for my sake... Aww that's so cute, she's the most adorable girl I've ever met...' she thought while fighting a head splitting dizziness.
Raven's killing intent struck the grim reaper so hard that it was hard for it to breath in an ounce of the world's energy, making it almost suffocate in place.
The moment the 2nd king felt the danger, and realising that the scythe is gone for good since it's unmovable in the little girl's grasp, it tried to make a run for dear life, even though deep down it could tell that the girl was way weaker than itself. Its senses didn't match with the reality in front of it.
However all of a sudden, it felt a shockwave run through its body, spreading through the air and forming a cyclone of dust and blood behind it without realising how, why, or what that the reason for that was.
Followed by the initial shockwave, a hole formed in its abdomen area. Through it, one could see the woods behind it. And in front of it, the girl's little armoured fist could be seen.
Not a split second after, a secondary shockwave sent the dark skeletal creature flying a couple of hundreds of meters, as the little girl dropped down to her knees breathing heavily.
*Huff* *Huff* *Huff* *Huff*
[Ruler's Touch Leveled Up +1
[Skill has already reached Max Level, commencing evolution...
[Ruler's Touch has evolved into Ruler's Domain (tier 2 skill).
[Mana Manipulation Leveled Up +1
[Skill has already reached Max Level, commencing evolution...
[Mana Manipulation has evolved into Advanced Mana Manipulation (tier 2 skill).]
She could barely stay conscious, let alone breath normally. As such, she couldn't care less about whatever Kayla was muttering in the background.
Kayla had informed her that the monster she has just sent flying was a rank A+. Meaning it's two ranks above hers.
And to make matters worse, even the difference in power between any division in the ranks, say A and A+, was usually quite high.
It wasn't as though the grim reaper was weak compared to its rank, but rather that Raven was exerting way more output that a normal C ranker would.
In addition, thanks to Camilla's previous efforts, it was weakened. Plus, unlike other people, Raven focuses on one hit kills, or basically causing as much damage as possible at the beginning of the fight.
That way she would instill fear into the enemies' hearts and if she's lucky, they'll either die or run away. That was her main fighting plan when standing against a higher ranker.
Seemingly tired from fighting fatigue, Raven almost hit the floor with a thud, but a rather soft arm held her before that happened.
Looking at Camilla who barely held her in her bloodied arm, she muttered the first thing that came into her mind.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't-"
"Shhh, please- *cough* I'd use my index to hush you but I don't want you to taste my blood, now would I?" she said with such a sweet and gentle smile that Raven's wound inside hurt even more.
Although partially healed, Camilla was still in a critical condition and even talking hurt like a b*tch, so she decided to give a soft smile to the little girl before sitting her up gently besides her.
Shifting her body closer to the girl slowly, she did a small mana check to make sure she's alright.
Although Raven was exhausted, she wasn't in any danger similar to the last time she pulled such a stunt.
Patting her head gently, Camilla stood up without making much of a pained expression, as not to alarm Raven.
Now it was her turn to pay back that monster for being a persistent f*cker, and the little girl for having such cute pinchable cheeks.
'Especially when she's worried about me...' Camilla thought to herself as she stood up, feeling a warm sensation spread throughout her body, other than blood.
'Oh damn I almost forgot,' Camilla thought to herself as she extracted four small vials out of her dimensional ring. Two vials were of blue liquid, while the other two was red in colour.
"Here take this, it's mana and health potion. Think of them as crazy expensive and effective energy drinks," she said extending her arm to the girl and offering her the two small potions.
Raven accepted the vials as she nodded silently, which made Camilla quite happy as she knew that the kid only accepted it because she trusts her to some extent now.
Smiling to herself, she drank the two potions after watching Raven gulping two down herself.
Feeling the instant effect of the potions, Raven stood up refreshed, somewhat.
"Alright, let me show y-"
"No."
"..."
Camilla was about to show off her skills to the little girl when she was stopped by a flat, yet very authoritive "no".
[Activating Invigoration] Kayla whispered in the background as she activated the newly acquired skill to boost Raven's mana.
"GOD YOU'RE A HYPOCRITE!" Camilla shouted out loud. 'Maybe I shouldn't have given her the potion...' she thought to herself in regret.
Looking at the frenzied grown woman pout like a baby made Raven rather confused, but she explained her thought process nonetheless.
"Your powers are basically unleashing Nuke grade attacks, no?"
"Aha..?"
"The group will be here shortly, I don't want them to end being collateral damage in a showoff attempt. Also, you might scare the monster and push it to their side, they're not as resilient as the two of us."
"Huh! You mean as resilient as me! You almost suffocated because of a little punch!" Even though Camilla complained, she was quite surprised by the girl's way of thinking, she hadn't even realised the punch she threw at the 2nd king had sent it flying to the opposite side of the cave.
Meaning the group is now behind them, if she accidentally missed her chance, the monster might dash through them as means of running away. Since it knows I can't use my powers in close quarters.
"AND IT'S MEANT TO BE A ONE SHOT ANNIHILATION!" Camilla continued with her useless complaint.
"First of all, I didn't die from first contact..." Raven said with a shrug, as Camilla turned a shade of red in embarrassment, the girl had inflected a deep wound into her pride.
"Second, I'm not doubting your strength or accuracy," Raven said making Camilla raise her eyebrows in surprise. She's expected the girl to think she's incompetent, with her needing a low ranker's help and all. But no, Raven's expression was sincere and her eyes serious.
"I doubt we'll be alone for long, all of this commotion was ought to alarm other monsters, smart or not, it'll be our disadvantage. That's why I need you to prepare your best spells. Not strongest, but the ones you have more control over, that way we'll be ready for a surprise counter attack."
'Note to self, never doubt the little girl- Holy- Damn she's smart, I gotta learn some of that...' Camilla looked deep in thoughts.
"You good? The monster is trying to run away," Raven said to the woman in trance.
"Err, yea don't worry, and ok I got it. I'll have my best attacks at the ready, buy me some time. Also, are you planning to let that pile of bones run away?"
"Absolutely not," Raven said with a grin. The potions, together with her new skill Invigoration had made it easier for her to regain about 70% of her overall energy. And she wanted to try Soul Weaving quite badly....