Chapter 11: And now its just us two

"Don't worry, Kyoko, I'll help you! Just remember to go find Kyle," Selene shouted to her struggling sworn sister.

Kyoko, hearing her words, became genuinely confused before something clicked in her mind. She snapped her head toward Selene and was about to say something, but she didn't get enough time.

"SELE, YO—" Kyoko vanished from the pit. The beasts chasing her were momentarily confused but recovered within seconds, turning their focus toward us.

Before things got hectic, I asked, "These were the last of the beasts, right?"

"Hmm... probably! If anything, there isn't enough left up there to cause her too much trouble." Selene's response wasn't very reassuring, but what could I do but trust her decision—even if last time it landed us in this pit.

"So, our bet?"

Selene giggled. "Hehe, whoever kills the most is the winner!"

"Haha, you really aren't taking this whole thing seriously."

"Mean! I am! I just have to focus on surviving, which isn't that hard, wouldn't you agree?"

"Uh. I guess with mana and magic, it isn't that hard to survive as long as you're smart enough. Questionable for you, though!" I threw a slight jab, teasing her.

Her blue eyes peered into me, and she once again...

"OW?!" She jabbed me in my side. Seeing that she was successful, a smug look filled her face, which not only motivated me to beat her but also brought a sharp wave of pain. These emotions were completely opposite of each other, but they helped get rid of any lingering fear or doubt I had. She helped clear any doubts or fears I had lingering which made me realize that she is a great people person! 

"I just hope no one takes advantage of that."

Selene was to my right, and she was already aiming for the beasts on that side, so I would be taking the left. I took a big breath in and exhaled, calming my mind and entering my own world with only the beasts and me in it. The variety of beasts was truly massive, and to think they could somewhat coordinate with each other meant they had higher intelligence than most.

'Selene has my spear, so I'll have to rely on magic while only engaging in close combat when necessary. As for magic, I'll just hold nothing back and try everything.' I raised my right finger and pointed it at the group of beasts in my line of sight. I pictured and put together my intended spell, and with everything finished, I executed it!

"Pierce!" A beam of light shot out of my finger and struck down one beast. I didn't stop there, though. I recast the spell while changing the direction of my finger, taking out 10 more before they started moving, making it harder to hit them. Seeing them change tactics and making things difficult, I switched things up myself!

"Wind Pull! Water Bind! Freeze!" A three-part execution. I used wind to pull those with weak footing in, water to bind them, and the same wind to cool the water rapidly. The snakes and spiders were completely caught off guard. I wasn't done yet, though.

"Flames, dance with the wind, incinerate!" I used a short, proper chant to solidify the image. It wasn't anything too dramatic, as all I did was increase the oxygen concentration in the flames, turning them blue—oh, and it was hotter, obviously!

The blue flame shot from my palm, and instead of the flamethrower-esque release I was hoping for, it literally shot out like a missile!

Boom~!

A small explosion occurred, and blue flames riddled the area. All of the beasts encased in ice were dealt with, and the others managed to retreat. The last of my beasts numbered 100, and I was feeling quite good!

"HUH?!" A white outline of mana appeared to my left, and for the first time, I witnessed one of the outlines cast magic at the same time.

"GRAHH!" The bird-like beast appeared and instantly shot out white lightning that struck me in an instant. I couldn't even think about dodging! My body felt numb, and I was moving slower physically. My mind was, fine, minus the initial shock.

Swoosh~!

A sharp sound echoed behind me, but I didn't even get a chance to see what it was.

"UGH?!"

Something clawed at my back, and I felt the warm, wet sensation of blood starting to flow. The pain was horrible, but it wasn't as bad as the feeling of being burned from the inside out. I quickly came up with a counter!

'Geo-Kaleidoscope.'

I took the concept of a kaleidoscope and tried to manifest it from the ground. Or at least, I tried but nothing happened! Then, Selene's earlier words hit me like a hammer.

"It's weird that the ground didn't break or distort at all, but whatever."

"Shit! Repulse!"

I had to switch it up fast, so I used mana to replicate a push-force, releasing an omni-directional force to protect myself. The bird-like beast—which I could now see resembled more of a hawk—got sent flying.

Whatever was behind me got crushed! I glanced back and saw the remains of another bird that struck me. The force had turned it into paste, so I couldn't even compare it to anything recognizable.

I cut the spell quickly because it had drained 3/10ths of my total mana reserve, leaving me with only half left.

'I wish I had more knowledge. It's really annoying that I'm running off nothing but theories and random stuff from Earth!' I complained internally, though most of my frustration came from the sharp pain of the open wound on my back.

'Imagine stitching... closing the wound... and maybe icing it would help. I just need enough to make sure I don't bleed out to death!'

I used another massive portion of my mana reserve to close the wound, but I didn't need to stitch it or ice it. I could feel my body working to regenerate itself.

'Did my spell get auto-corrected again? This is so much more efficient!'

Even though it felt like a million ants crawling and biting me, the wound closed in seconds, filling me with relief. The downside was that I only had 3/10ths of my total mana left. Worse yet, there were still just under a hundred beasts on my end. Things were quite shitty.

"x10!"

BANG!!!

Selene's shout was followed by a deafening bang. What astounded me was that I felt the ground beneath me shift. I couldn't affect it at all earlier, but whatever she did actually caused it to crack and fracture!

I snapped my head toward her and saw her surrounded by beasts. She was much worse off than me!

"Pull!"

I switched tactics and used the rest of my mana to pull her toward me. Her body shot past the beasts, crashing straight into me! I managed to catch her, but the force sent us both backward into the sidewall.

"Gah!"

The impact made me cough up a little blood, which stained Selene's left shoulder and part of her front. She didn't have any noticeable injuries, and she seemed safe! That was all that mattered.

"A-Are you okay?" I asked, my voice weak from the strain.

"Haha, no, I feel awful... my body feels like it's tearing itself apart. Thanks for saving me, by the way!"

She still offered thanks, even through the pain, which brought a slight smile to my face.

"It seems you won-?!"

I stopped mid-sentence, my eyes widening in shock. The ground beneath us shifted from black to white, and that same white light didn't stop at the ground. It surged upward, engulfing both me and Selene. The sudden shift hit me like a truck, and the next thing I knew, darkness took over.