Surprise (3)
Support my main contracted novel and winner of Writing Prompts #26 - The Legendary Mage!
Desolate Mage: A Legend Reborn!
https://www.webnovel.com/book/12013957905760805/Desolate-Mage%3A-A-Legend-Reborn!
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[23 August - 4:31:11 AM - Somewhere in the Swiss Alps between Lyon and Turin]
[Sam's Point of View]
The berserk-state Sam was recovering – and immediately came under the assault of her formidable foes.
Before an elegant and deadly synergy of skills and teamwork, it seemed that she would be left dying if not dead. A flash of sword light; an indomitable shoulder charge; a great ball of ashen-grey flames sufficient to blanket the sky.
And even if she scraped through the situation; she faced not 3 but 4 enemies - her hated enemy was regenerating; reforming from the sundered flesh, bone and blood fragments – robed in layers of pulsating red and purple light; illuminating even the clouds.
Albert was about to trigger his divine-level talisman to save her – then he stopped; mouth agape.
A broken finger nail – a skin-wound.
The green-haired woman stumbling backwards waiting for her regeneration to kick in. She coughed blood; groggy from the collision with a counterpart over 5 times her weight – an adversary who remained standing unmoved; feet firmly planted on the slippery, slushy snow-covered ground.
And a completely missed fireball; detonating like sparkly red-grey inferno of death in the night sky - spanning nearly 1 square kilometre of the sky.
No, it was not just Albert who was left with jaw dropped agape – none of the 3 battle-maids could understand what had just happened – especially when they sensed her level.
(Level 2?!? This monster…!!!)[1]
(30 sssecondsss left until missstresss recovers – can we hold o--)
(H-how…) "Cough cough… Urgh…"
But the hunters in the night - usually the ones referred to as monsters - had no time to complete their thoughts or words.
A true apex predator, the primordial behemoth who lorded over the lands was fully roused from her stupor - Sam.
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Eyes clearing from the berserk-state; Sam looked up and saw the three maids who had assisted in killing the little girl's mother – and had tried to hurt her too. Two of them - the black and green haired ones - were standing in the front line followed by the red-head.
And behind them, the bizarre organ began to beat – drawing in the smashed cells and blood drops dispersed in the surroundings.
Goosebumps rising from the creepy scene, she rushed forward to crush the detestable group.
As she approached, she began to feel a different; *chilly* atmosphere – her instincts screaming that something was wrong.
The 3 maids smiled eerily.
*Swoosh!*
Sam executed slick moves far greater in efficiency and fluidity as compared to her battle against the demons; movements ingrained into her muscles and instincts from her earlier daily morning spars with the oriental combat butler.
She leaned her body backwards; curling her spine mid-run – a sword light barely grazed her neck at exactly the same spot as before. Only this time, it was several degrees faster.
The back of her scalp grew numb – she sensed that if that blow connected, it wouldn't end so easily as the earlier cut just seconds before.
So she spun and landed; and took a snake stance, left foot in front, then kicked off the snow to face the black-haired Xera and green-haired Tina.
She took a stance; preparing to strike in the unicorn form - but before she could; she was hit in the front of her left shin by a small compressed firebolt. Her leg was knocked back 10cm, forcing her to land heavily on her right foot to keep balance – nipping her charge in the bud.
Having lost the chance to counter-attack, she sweated as she dodged the strikes from the much faster nail-wielding psychopathic killer and the brute-like gorilla swinging fists and kicks at her. Nonetheless, she took serious cuts and received heavy bruises to her body – in stark contrast to the earlier skin-wound at her neck and coming out unscathed from a direct collision.
Sam backed off with quick counter-clockwise circular steps - then charged up for a blow.
Gasping, she reversed her decision and instead deftly stepped to her right; taking a large stride - she was forced to avoid two more compressed firebolts. Her attempt to turn around the flow of battle was denied once more. She resigned herself again to face her 2 melee opponents hurtling straight for her.
(Sh*t!) Somehow the previously slender green-haired Tina, already buff and ripped, was looking more and more robust; thicker and bulkier than just seconds before. Her charge bore a threatening aura – one that boded ill for Sam.
"Yaaahhh!!!" Tina leaped across the last 5m of distance; this time to grab hold and immobilise the 2m tall girl – then her face stiffened as Sam gracefully danced around her; leaving mirage-like after images in her wake.
It was not only the heavily-muscled Tina with a look of shock. The elusive Xera was behind Tina's back, concealed from sight and waiting for a chance to unleash a fatal ambush. But now she cried out in astonishment as their masterful opponent displayed beautiful footwork - and slammed a full-power thrusting knife hand into the nail-wielding assassin's chest.
The middle-child of the 3 maids desperately twisted her torso to avoid the blow; but she still took a clean blow to her shoulder – and screamed in agony; spitting a mouthful of blood and flying away. Her left arm flew off in the opposite direction - completely separated from her body - while all that remained of her left shoulder was a red mess.
At the same time, Tina hysterically tried to reverse the momentum of her missed charge; hitting the snowy floor 20m away; then pushed off the snow and pivoted immediately to give chase. She was horrified to see her sister crippled in one blow.
"Xera! You—Die!!!"
Sam turned to face the charging bull-like woman... But was engulfed from behind in a shroud of flames that manifested without warning. Despite being far weaker than the ash-grey blaze, the advantage – or disadvantage for Sam – were the instant effects; unerring accuracy; unavoidable once cast.
(Crap…!) The flames themselves could barely hinder her – the problem was that the snow under her feet turned to water; removing her footing and leaving her unable to escape the imminent onslaught.
That; and the 6 inch fingernail buried 2 inches/ 5cm deep in her left thigh; causing heavy bleeding and hindering her mobility – Xera's last-gasp retaliation.
(Can't avoid it!) Tina exerted a pressure sufficient to crush mountains with her charge and clasped her hands together to level an earth-smashing blow – a force that even the ogre-like girl could not take head-on.
"USE WHAT I TAUGHT YOU! SMASH THEM!"
Tara frowned in irritation at the uninvited guest; flinging two tongues of flame at him - flames morphing into homing-pigeons that flapped their wings to hunt him down.
"Sh*t!!" Albert frantically scrambled away; fleeing the scene in shame.
Then Tara pressed her palms together in front of her - aimed at Sam. An ominous dark wisp of flame manifested as the maid's face turned white and her palms trembled.
Something bad was coming; and Sam was in no position to avoid it... She couldn't even escape the howling assault of the green-haired gorilla!
(!!!)
Then inspiration flashed across Sam's thoughts; as she remembered the trump card she had learned.
Only; it wasn't what Albert had in mind.
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[23 August - 4:31:32 AM - 21 seconds into the battle]
[Celica's Point of View]
(Damn…. Dammit!!! Damn that muscle-for-brains nincompoop girl! I should have sucked her dry the moment she sat down with me!!)
Celica no longer put up any pretenses of refinement; so enraged was she about her 1st death.
(Only 6 lives left…) Her head, brain and upper body was nearly whole; her whole body roughly 60% regenerated. (Not long more… Once I have my powers back - just you wait; JUST YOU WAIT!)
The usually whimsical girl was dead-serious; assessing her servant's remaining battle strength - strength already drained from the anything-but-easy clash with the dragons.
(Xera... Completely out. Tina; maybe 30% of her strength left? Especially after she ignited her blood energy and life vitality to overclock her Vigour rune set...) She raised a hand to bite her fingernails; then was startled when she realised the keratinized portion of her fingers had not yet formed - her body was still but a network of blood vessels and nerve systems - devoid of skin and hair.
Based on the capabilities she had seen so far; if her team were at 100%... Even 4 Sam's would not even put a scratch on their bodies before perishing!
And even weakened as they were at the beginning of the battle; if it weren't for the unexpected ambush... She would have easily bundled up the wretched girl in purple restraints, then cut her apart slowly; piece by piece...
(Sh*t... I hate hate hate hate this ugly form!!! Little girl!~~~~~~ There's no way I'll let you die easily~!!!!) Despite her anger, she had regained her consciousness of her image; remembering to speak in her unique style.
(Tara... She's still at 50, 60%...? We should be able to do - No, wait!) A look of panic spread across the noble girl's face; before she once again nibbled at the exposed blood vessels on her thumb without a nail. She could feel Sam's atmosphere - her threat level - change...
(No choice... Guess I'll have to use *that*~~!...) Her eyes narrowed; a sinister look on her face; pleased with her decision.
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[Tina's Point of View]
(Die; wench!) Tina was merely 2m away from Sam; and observed that she would not be able to slip away this time.
The green-haired melee combatant Tina then squeezed out the last of her blood energy and vitality; pushing her Vigour runes into overdrive. She could feel her vital essence drain away; affecting even her life force.
(No matter... The mistress can just resurrect me...) She smiled as she raised her fists to bludgeon the stupid girl into oblivion.
The moment Tina's attack was to land; she felt a flash of disorientation - then the sense of impact - the satisfying crunch of flesh and the cracking of bones being turned to powder.
"Hahahaha!" She went mad with delight; her eyes blurring and bulging with battle-lust; she continuously slammed her temporarily brawny fists into the slim girl in front of her. Her muscles screamed in pain from the strain of the runesets power that exceed her body's limits; yet she unremittingly rained down strikes onto the girl's body - rewarded by the girl's own screams of pain; which shortly turned to silence.
As her battle-fury subsided; her vision cleared and she began to tremble from weariness - her body deflating like a balloon and turning to spaghetti.
She laughed triumphantly as she stood over the corpse of the red-haired girl befor--
(Red... R-Re; Red hair...?)
Tina screamed in chagrin and bitterness. It was over. They had lost.
She had just pummeled her sister, Tara, to mush.
There was no one left to protect the mistress.
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[23 August - 4:31:36 AM - 25 seconds into the battle - 5 seconds until Celica is fully recovered]
[Sam's point of view]
She had successfully saved her trump cards; the world-shaking fists she had learned from Albert.
Instead, she had used a split-second epiphany of Spatial laws - something that felt like it was always at the tip of her fingers; but she couldn't seem to replicate again at will. She had used her sudden inspiration to exchange positions with the mage-maid Tara; who in her berserk state only noticed too late that her target had turned into her own sister.
Sam gave the fallen maids a final glance, before turning to the matter at hand.
She stood before the cruel witch, monster, abomination of a creature... Someone she felt the word "demon" suited more than even the demons themselves.
The dragon-girl was safely on the sidelines; her injuries serious but her dragon's potent life-force enough to see her through this tragedy. Though it was a different matter when it came to her heart, emotions and psychological trauma... That would depend on her will to live.
Ptui!
Celica spat at Sam; then shouted shrilly. "Just kill me! B*tch! Hahahahahaah! The Eternal Night Mother will--"
Sam looked her in the eye; then slammed a palm into her sternum - once more turning the physically weak girl into a mass of blood and flesh.
In the next 3 minutes; Sam stood there; patiently waiting for the vampire princess to regenerate; time and time again.
And killed her each time.
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[1] Concepts such as power levels, ranks and adventurer ranks have been posted! Please see auxiliary chapter: Strength, Ranks & Levels System!
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BONUS CHAPTERS
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Desolate Mage: A Legend Reborn!
https://www.webnovel.com/book/12013957905760805
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