Man, I really want to go home.
I kept my eyes shut, but it didn’t help. The pain stabbed every part of me, but instead of falling into unconsciousness or finally dying, I saw it. The tiny plus symbol taunted me. My body felt like it was being ripped apart, then slowly being pierced by needles from the inside, like I was being undone as I scraped across the floor. Then the pain receded, and my body could move again. I knew what was doing that to me; I knew what was keeping me from dying under this heavy stone for good.
The Plus Menu’s red notification sign popped over the symbol, probably telling me that I got smacked really hard or something obvious. Thanks. I knew I had to open it, but I didn’t. I felt more like a puppet who could only die if it allowed it.. I wanted to give up. Suddenly, I laughed, burping out dust and bloody flakes. If a massive rock like that hit me in my previous life, I wouldn’t have the chance to feel sorry for myself. I thought of Leah and her pink eyes; the final moment of her turning into mist haunted me.
Something twisted inside of me; like a sickening taunt. I couldn’t just give up on her, right?
The ground shook the furrow I created by crashing even wider, waking the rest of my consciousness fully. I found myself gasping underneath the weight of a heavy stone. The sound of rocks and wind poured straight into my eardrums like I stuck my head out from a raging river, murky and wet to sickly sharp. Then I actually felt soaked, smelling a dizzying wave of copper. My blood.
An earth shaking thud shifted the rocky pile I was half-buried in, slow and deliberate. The Armoured One’s Emissary was slowly approaching through the mist, letting out sniveling and guttural growls. I understood now that the Plus Menu’s Rift Mutation warning was aimed squarely at me. The glint of teeth the size of tombstones rose above me while I lay helplessly, framed by grotesque grey lips twisting into a victorious grin.
“Do your worst, asshole,” I growled. “What are you going to do, smoosh me?”
I even managed to spurt out a mouthful of dust and blood, fully expecting it to smoosh me. The shadow of the minotaur’s massive bloody fist hovered above me, ready to pound me into nothingness. I’ve lost my only friend in this world, so what difference does death make? But something from the side of my eye flashed brightly. The hand instinctively went to shield its ugly eyes; its loud whine piercing my ears. A sharp ringing sound sliced through the air, followed by a sliver of golden energy piercing the beast’s wrist, cutting through it like a knife. The hand burst into a shower of grey blood, and the minotaur’s scream bellowed.
A woman’s voice, cold and detached, cut through its cries and the shaking of the cavern.
“I was wondering why the Rift exit was sealed off after I destroyed the boss. It seems that you are the culprit. Foul beast, I shall vanquish you.”
I knew that voice. It was the face slapper lady, Emily, entering with a strong monologue. She had a massive axe slung over her shoulder, gleaming in golden light vestiges of that Skill she used, lined up with skulls seemingly engraved in its surface. I was tempted to free myself out of the wreckage and make a run for it, but this deadly Main Liner was here to solve my problem. Even if I knew the minotaur was hunting me, I doubted it would care whether she was here. I peeked at Emily’s status and noticed several changes.
———————————————
Emily Ravenclast
Human Knight, level 13
Rift E|E|L|A|N1048AB Activity: Boss Slayer
Rift E|E|L|A|N1048AB Activity: Engaged with Mutation
———————————————
So that’s how it is. I am able to see her level now that my own is close to it. Even now, the rock covering my leg felt like a pile of heavy blankets that I could shrug off with effort. But what if she goes after me as well?
The minotaur, reeling from the loss of his hand, glared at the new challenger. The massive Boss gate sealed shut, but the quakes it caused rattled everything besides the minotaur and Emily. It shook the rocks beneath me, letting me crumple on the ground next to a familiar friend of mine. The Basic Healer’s staff was by my side, all along, though it was snapped shorter on the end.
Emily circled it slowly, wielding the axe effortlessly, her steps unfaltering. The shattered walls settled from crashing down, leaving the air thick with dust. Even so, her red eyes glowed in the darkness like two ominous spirits.
The minotaur swung with its stump without bellowing or warning, letting its body fall from the loss of support like an avalanche of sludge and battleship grey flesh. For a torso of twisted muscle and horns, it was fast. Too fast. I would be no use here. It pulverized the spot where Emily was with its wide swing. I blinked, then saw she was no longer there.
As expected of the great Mainline Family Sister of mine.
Through the eruption of shards and dust, I saw her high above it as I freed myself from the wreckage. She shouted a Skill name, or a spell, her axe swinging down at its extended reach like a comet. The streak of light from the magic filled the dark space, and she even let out a roar.
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But it wasn’t enough. The moment she got near its chopped forearm, the minotaur’s other limb snapped and backhanded her. The impact sent her golden light hurling across the chamber, a thin trail of blood sailing through the air after her.
Well, so much for the strong start and bad ass entrance. I scrambled to my feet, scooping up my staff. I’d better peek at my Plus Menu and see if there’s anything useful in it. Otherwise, I’m next.
Besides briefly glossing over the enormous amount of Status points beside my name, there was nothing. The beast was already swinging in the general vicinity of where Emily landed, pelting me with a shower of dust, dirt and debris. I only had that one Skill I used to save Leah, but what good did that do? I stopped thinking bitterly, and channeled a tendril like a whip from my magic core through my arm into the staff.
“[Light]!” I yelled at the big guy. The magic snapped my arm up straight like a thunderbolt hit it. The staff shot a ray of light like a needle in the boss’s eye.
The hand that was swinging at her flailed to shield its eyes again, and with a roar, it redirected its swing in a disoriented howl at me with a rising tide of dust. I easily jumped back, ignoring most of the shards of rocks pelting me. Emily’s tag was high above it in the air, lunging directly at the beast’s head. Her body was gleaming with the golden light of her Skill.
“[Ravenclast Slash]!” Emily screamed.
Her axe fell like a comet, dropping down directly onto its horn spiraling out of his brow and cracking it from the root. The sound of bone snapping crackled through the air like gunfire. It howled, swinging its arms around indiscriminately.
“What a hit,” I muttered.
But I was already working on getting out of the way, frantically putting points into Constitution and Movement speed. The two Stats seemed to have a correlation, though the Plus Menu was infuriatingly vague on its systems. The shadow of the beast’s arm came barreling down on me, giving me no choice but to trust it. I dodged backward as the minotaur’s fist came from above, able to clear a lot more distance from its strike within a couple bounds.
I watched the horn shatter, then the minotaur fell into a heap, flailing and howling. Emily leaped out of the smoke, landing next to me. Her red eyes were glowing from the skill, while a visible golden aura cloaked the rest of her disheveled uniform. A bloody stain was blooming from a wound on her shoulder. Emily scoffed. She scanned me up and down briefly, probably surprised that I made it this far and stayed alive. I was too.
“You…” She started to say something condescendingly, but whatever insult she had died in her throat. She winced in apparent pain. “Can you heal me?”
Do I even want to heal you? I retorted in my head, but the sight of her massive axe kept me from saying the question aloud. Emily looked at me with scorn, but the minotaur was getting back up.
“Focus,” Emily commanded me. “Show me the worth of the Ravenclast blood running in your blood and aid me. Let us send this nightmare back to where it came from.”
She whispered a skill’s name, and a massive glowing seal coated the ground beneath us. [Holy Ground], the Plus Menu’s tag read. How interesting. I guessed this was a step up from Fortress Ground. Emily wasted no more time, and launched straight at the minotaur again. She really wanted to die, huh?
However, when I focused inward and reached towards the massive sphere of magic and let it flow through me, I still did not see any glowing indicator on Emily’s shoulder I could use to heal. Even highlighting her with my Plus Menu’s [Basic Healing], it said target invalid. I felt useless, unable to heal her with my staff even as the notification of Emily Ravenclast enlisted as a temporary party member in my Plus Menu appeared.
What disturbed me more was the fact that this magical sight revealed the minotaur’s wounds as bright red glowing zones on its body. The magic inside of me threatened to pull towards the stumps of its missing horns and hands, leaving me with a chilling thought. Does this healing class only heal monsters? That couldn’t be right, since I healed that Invader. Unless—
The shout of another [Ravenclast Slash] brought me back to the battle. Emily was whittling the minotaur down with that fancy skill, like a true hunter. Her golden aura fell upon the struggling beast like a falling star, carving a trail of grey blood down its backside. Sure enough, after Emily landed a trail of glowing red magic burst from the rivers of its wound.
The minotaur, seeking revenge, recovered from the slash and immediately swung at Emily. Her back was turned from it, facing me as she traveled down towards the [Holy Ground] and me again. I signaled by covering my eyes briefly, and cast [Light] the second I saw her close her own eyes shut. My arm jolted, and the tip of my staff flared into an incandescent bulb, piercing the darkness and blinding the minotaur. Emily landed in the Holy Ground’s zone, whirling around. Seeing this, the golden face slapper hurled her axe straight at its exposed neck. The weapon sliced through its striking hand and sunk deeply into its neck. A thunderous roar exploded in the chamber, but it was rapidly reducing to a gurgling sound.
The mutation was dying, or close to it.
Before I could even utter a “nice,” I saw the massive shadow of the minotaur’s other stump a second too late as it slammed into me. My world became a spiral of crimson and darkness again, the crunching pain radiating through my entire body. I was weightless, blurring through smeared colors and then the world briefly went silent. The sound of ringing pierced my ears, screaming needles and pain through my skull.
“Sister?” Someone’s scream came through.
I found myself embedded into a pile of rubble, unable to pull myself out of it. To make things worse, my Healer’s Warped Staff was by my side again, snapped in half. Emily was running towards me. Was that worry on her face? Now, that’s cute. I tried to speak, but the taste of bile and blood flooded out my mouth. I hacked out more, but the pain and disorientation were gone.
“Sister!” Emily’s hand seized my body as I struggled to free myself. “Don’t move.”
I was pried out by Emily like a dead fish with a surprising amount of gentleness, but my limbs were slack and flopped to my sides. It seemed that my Plus Menu was taking its time, slowly repairing my body. She laid me down against the rocks, looking shocked over the sight of me.
“What?” I coughed, spewing the last of the blood out my throat. “Do I have something on my face?”
“Do not speak,” Emily commanded me again, knelt down to see me. “That beast…”
The minotaur behind her was flailing around in its final death throes, sending heaps of shattered rocks and dust everywhere. I couldn’t move. I could only watch as Emily looked at me with a strange emotion swirling in her eyes. She looked in better shape than I did, but the wound on her shoulder was bleeding deep and spreading. She paid it no mind.
“It is dead, Sister. Rest now, soon you will join the Bearer in blood,” she said, getting back up. “You will be remembered. Perhaps, you will be reborn in another Batch, and we will meet again, Sister.”
Was she writing me off as dead? My hand twitched, and I felt the magic circulating through my body. Emily stepped toward me with a solemn expression, but before my mind could process what was happening—or even be offended—she let out a scream. A bloody, dark metal sword stabbed right through her heart from behind.
“Brother… You…” Emily’s eyes widened in shock, then rolled back and she slid to the ground with a thud.
Standing behind her with a wicked grin on his face and the dying minotaur nearby, was the Main Family’s Hero, Ethan Ravenclast.