Chapter 27: A Dance With the Blood Moon
"I hope you've rested enough! Because you're GOING to need stamina!"
She looks at her status screen, seeing that she only recovered 50 stamina, "Hardly enough! I didn't expect her to have a second stage!"
[Alice's stamina: 60/190]
Bea wastes no time and charges with surprising speed. Her shadows extend like sharp claws, trying to reach Alice and Sophie. The two, aware that they couldn't face this new form directly, focus on defending and dodging the attacks.
"WHISPER: RAGE!" Bea slashes the ground with her claws and raises her arm, launching a cut of black flames towards the two, who narrowly dodge by jumping to the sides, consequently separating them with a wall of fire. Bea then leaps at Sophie—who was aiming an arrow—forcing her to point it at her own head. "C'mon, hotstuff! Are you going to chicken out now?"
Her hands tremble, her mana is low enough that she can't afford to waste it now; if she's going to use a skill, it has to be the last one.
Smiling at Sophie's hesitation and fear, Bea taunts, "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?"
[Sonic Boom]
The elf falls to the ground, clutching her ears, and Bea keeps screaming, increasing the volume each time until blood trickles from Sophie's ears. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"
Alice can hear and already assumes what is happening, trying to reach her friend by circumventing the long wall of flames. Sophie sees an arrow next to the weapon she dropped.
In the heat of desperation, she grabs the arrow and stabs it into Bea's throat. Bea's screams stop instantly, and she pulls the object out of her throat. "Cough AAAAaaa— COUGH!"
After a brief stagger backward, Sophie shoots another arrow aiming at Bea's forehead—easily anticipated by Bea with a mere slap. But at that moment, while distracted by the first arrow, the elf shoots two more at her knees.
Crack Crack
Both arrows break upon contact with her dark armor. "Cough Nic— Cough Try, you— Cough," her throat partially regenerates, "Phew, way better. Now, where were we?" she takes a deep breath, anticipating another scream.
Sophie looks forward—behind Bea—with a malicious smile, "NOW ALICE!"
Her vampiric reflexes kick in, Bea spins with a roundhouse kick and hits nothing but air—there was no sign of the swordswoman. At the moment she turns, she gets shot in the back of the neck with an arrow.
Realizing she's been tricked again, she turns with a furious downward punch. "OH YOU LITTLE—"
"Miss me?" Suddenly, Alice was between them, blocking the blow with her sword.
[Perfect Block]
[Alice's Stamina: 50/190]
The impact destroys the left arm of Bea's armor, revealing her skin, "Shit…!" she recoils, complaining to her attire, "Hey, Whisper! What the hell is this? I want a refund!"
(Low… Essence…)
"Already?! Geez, am I not worthy of a more competent Whisper?" she snaps her fingers, "Whatever, I just need to get this over with. Quickly."
[Limit Extender: Speed]
Bea moves at an inhumanly fast speed. Alice can barely keep up with her movements. She tries to predict Bea's attacks, but every time she does, Bea is in another place, ready to strike from a new angle.
Alice grits her teeth, feeling the pressure increase every moment. Bea was like a shadow, always a step ahead, always out of reach. "Why are you doing this?! We need to stick together!" Alice shouted, trying to distract Bea enough to create an opening.
Bea laughed, a sound that resembled a beast's roar. "Together, you say?" Her words echoed as she landed a blow that Alice barely dodged.
STAB
Like a bullet, the vampire pierced Alice's stomach with her five fingers, infecting her with the venom of [Cursed Nails]. With the other hand, she follows with a punch to Alice's nose, pushing her away from Sophie.
[Alice's HP: 90/195]
The elf barely has time to react and is grabbed by the neck. "Don't worry, darling," Bea strokes Sophie's hair, "You're too cute to be poisoned."
Sophie spits in Bea's face.
"Hm…" she holds up her middle finger in front of Sophie's face, "I'm dealing with you later." She flicks Sophie's forehead, which not only sends her flying but also knocks her unconscious.
[Sophie's HP: 74/170]
Bea slashes the ground with her claws and raises her arm, launching another cut of black flames towards the swordswoman. Alice, even feeling the effects of the poison, dodges nimbly, rolling on the ground and avoiding the attack. The black flames pass by her, burning the ground where she was just a second before.
She quickly gets up, gripping her sword tightly, eyes fixed on Bea, advancing with all the strength she still had.
[Alice's HP: 85/195]
The two engage in a fierce duel, Alice's sword against Beatrix's sharp claws. Alice tries to stay focused, dodging Bea's fast strikes and looking for an opening to counterattack.
[Alice's HP: 80/195]
Bea, with a sadistic smile on her face, keeps pressing, her claws attacking relentlessly. "You're persistent, I'll give you that!" She laughs, her words full of contempt.
Alice manages to land a blow on Bea's arm, but the impact is minimal, and Bea only growls in frustration. In a quick move, Bea grabs Alice's sword with one hand, preventing her from moving. "My turn, bitch."
Bea uses her other hand to deliver a powerful punch to Alice's stomach, making her double over in pain. She tries to defend herself, but Bea is relentless, continuing with a series of blows that leave Alice increasingly weakened.
[Alice's HP: 50/195]
"GG Ez!" Bea shouts, preparing her claws to pierce Alice's body again. However, at the last moment, a figure appears between them.
[Sophie's HP: 7/170]
The elf steps in front, having her torso impaled by Beatrix's strike. Surprising both of them and taking all the poison in place of her friend. "You're welcome… MissBlade…" she loses consciousness, blood dripping from her mouth.
"Shit…" the vampire isn't satisfied with the mortal blow; she actually becomes desperate, "No, no, no! We need you intact! Fuck!"
"Sophie…!" Alice grips the sword's hilt so tightly her fingers crack. She asks in a silent fury, "What have you done…?"
"Shut up!" Bea grows wings on her back—using the last of her remaining stamina—and takes off with Sophie.
[Web Swing]
[Alice's mana: 0/50]
The web hits Bea's foot, and Alice tries to pull her down with all her strength. "Are you kidding me?! Let go! She will die!" Bea increases the power of her flight.
[Limit Extender: Strength]
[Alice's stamina: 40/190]
She screams furiously, "LEAVE US ALONE!" her feet sinking into the ground from the sheer force. The vampire can no longer lift her from the ground. Her muscles pulse, her aura grows denser, she starts pulling Bea down easily.
"AND I SAID LET GO!"
…
"Serp Luny."
…
Suddenly, a shadow slash cuts the web—Alice falls to the ground in disbelief, watching Bea fly away, "No…"
"No, no, no!"
Even losing sight of them, Alice still desperately tries to create a web, holding back her tears. Until finally, her mind accepts that it was too late…
"I'm really sorry, Alice. Truly." a serene voice is heard behind her.
She turns, in tears, and sees a familiar face. She doesn't know what emotion she should feel at that moment, only saying in a cold tone, "… Kenneth?"
"You're the last person I wanted to meet in this prison." The young man—formerly very expressive, now showed nothing. His eyes were so empty they didn't even have pupils.
"You… are behind this?" murmurs the swordswoman, holding back her urge to rip his head off right now.
"I told you. I want to go to Aerion."
Feeling her spirit burst into flames, Alice screams and charges at Kenneth, performing a vertical slash above him.
Clang!
Kenneth summons a scythe and easily blocks the attack with the handle. The two stare into each other's eyes, while Alice burns with rage, the reaper remains with the same calm expression.
"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK! I'M GOING TO RIP YOUR HEAD OFF WITH MY BARE HANDS!!"
He steps back, spinning the scythe in one of his hands, "Unfortunately, that would be inevitable. Even if it wasn't us, someone else would come after the elf. But let's forget her for a moment and talk—"
Alice continued to advance with a flurry of slashes toward Kenneth. "SHE'S HUMAN, YOU… YOU MONSTER!"
He easily dodged all her attacks as if he could read her mind. "Not in this world. We have to play the cards we've been dealt, Bladie Ladie."
The swordswoman froze upon hearing that nickname, as there was only one player she knew who called her that. But that second of distraction was enough for Kenneth to disarm her with his scythe.
"… ShadowMaker."
"It's an honor to meet you in person, too. Alice, right?" he casually extended his hand as if he had met an old friend on the street. "Now that your rage has been satisfied, let's talk."
Even disarmed, she tried to punch him several times. Kenneth just sidestepped and put his foot in front of her to make her trip. Alice started to get up to continue her attacks, but while on the ground, she noticed the Purgatory sword 20 meters away.
"What do you want?"
"The same thing you do: to get out of this game. I'm forming an elite guild with the best players in this world, dedicated to completing all 100 achievements, no matter the cost. And I want you in it."
Alice, even exhausted, quickly got up and ran toward the sword, ignoring Kenneth's protests. She lunged toward the sword, using all her remaining strength to grab it.
[Serp Luny]
The shadow slash hit Alice, sending her rolling to the ground, almost out of strength—a few meters from the sword.
[Alice's HP: 40/195]
[Alice's HP: 35/195]
He sighed genuinely sad, "Look, MissBlade, I really, really hope you reconsider. You're one of the few people I admire. After MrBlade was gone, you not only kept the guild standing but made it the top one." He approached her and extended his hand. "We can get out of here. Together."
…
"GLOOB! GLOOB!" Fedora—who had been stealthily waiting for the right moment—jumped on Kenneth's head and yelled for Alice to run.
The player jumped with all her might and grabbed the sword's hilt, making a message appear before her.
['Trial of Purgatory' Dungeon]
[Would you like to enter?]
[Yes] [No]
Without hesitation, Alice selected 'Yes'. In an instant, she was enveloped by a golden and reddish cyclone. Fedora jumped from Kenneth's head and followed his companion. Kenneth noticed her intention and ran to try to stop her.
However… he gave up, as if respecting her decision. Just advising her: "The invitation won't stand forever. When you change your mind, I will find you. Good luck, and in the meantime, Bea and I will prepare the ground… For the New Vantablack."
Hidden by the cyclone, Alice was startled by what she heard. The slime growled at that guy, as if saying he would finish him off next time they dueled.
WHOOSH!
Alice, Fedora, and the sword disappeared. Kenneth walked away, whistling a heavy melody.