War

Light spread through the poorly illuminated trees above me, the moon peaking over the dark clouds surrounding it letting slivers of white light bounce off the leaves above us. 

Akari, Lian, and I silently rushed through the forest we were in, our footsteps making soft crunching noises as the leaves beneath us were broken under our shoes. The Jade Serpent Sect's camp was just ahead, the obvious tell of someone residing in this area being the flickering of the campfires around the area.

Akari signaled for us to stop, her tails spread out behind us to accentuate her intent. 

"This is it," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Remember the plan. We hit them hard and fast. No hesitation. No survivors."

I nodded, my heart pounding hard against my chest. This was the point of no return. We had been pushed up against a wall and forced to attack. I felt no sorrow for their choices; it was either them or us.

As we crept closer to the camp, I could make out the shady silhouette of the cultivators that were sitting around the fire in front of us. They were laughing and joking in a light tone as they spent their final hours with the people surrounding them. Not that any of the people here knew they would be dying soon.

Akari moved first. The flicker she left behind a testament to her speed. Her claws' metallic composition flashed in the firelight, and before they could even react, two of them were down, their throats slit pouring blood on themselves in a gruesome mess. Lian followed close behind, her movements fluid and precise as she brandished her slick daggers rushing toward another group of cultivators.

I stayed back, and pulled on one of the skills I was given when I first came to this world. I could feel the beastly figures of the creatures I was calling upon from the woods. My talent of beast taming once again showing its true power. I commanded the animals to surround the camp in swarms. The fierce thumps of animal limbs filling the forest around me as a confirmation that it had worked. 

Those who were smart enough to run after witnessing the slaughter fled into the woods to escape. Unfortunately the only escape they found was death..

I stood behind Lian and Akari not because I was a coward but because I was the one who would keep them alive if things went south. To be honest with myself I was fearful of taking a life with my bare hands, but to choose between killing and letting the people I love die was a simple choice for me.

The camp had turned chaotic as the battle grew in intensity. The element of surprise was all but lost for us due to the screams of the enemies that ran into Akari and Lian. 

The battle had become more difficult for sure but my allies seemed barely affected,

Akari and Lian moved like a well-oiled machine, their movements fluid and deadly. Working together as if they had fought each other their whole lives..

If it was as easy as this to end a sect they wouldn't exist…..

 and it seemed our adversary thought so as well.

A dust cloud caked the center of the camp as a loud boom echoed from the crater caused by the man standing in it.

"Did I train cowards?"

The jade talisman that hung from the man berating the dead cultivator who was running from the battle told me exactly who had arrived.

The dead would be fleeing cultivator a crumpled mess under him.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE MY EYES!" he roared, his voice assaulting my ears. The fighting halted to a standstill as the cultivators turned to him, their expressions a mix of fear and relief.

Akari and Lian stepped back, their eyes locked on Elder Xu as he approached. His golden eyes glowed with an otherworldly light, the air around him filled with killing intent.

"You've made a grave mistake… ," he said, his voice cold and menacing. "You think you can challenge the Jade Serpent Sect…? You're nothing but disgusting insects beneath our feet."

He turned to the members of the sect that were still alive "And you pathetic bastards lost to a demi-human, a she-devil and a peasant. You are all useless!"

Akari's lips curled into a smirk, not responding but by the way her tails flickered behind her I could tell she was excited.

The tension in the air was palpable as silence filled the space between us and the sect.

Elder Xu raised his hand quickly, a surge of qi gathering in his palm. But before he could go for a kill shot, Akari moved quickly, her form blurring as she blitzed toward Elder Xu clearing the distance. Her claws slashed through the air, but Elder Xu was faster, his hand snapping up parrying her initial attack.

The two of them clashed, their movements too fast for me to follow. Lian joined the fray, her daggers flashing as she struggled to find an opening in their opponent, but Elder Xu was a formidable opponent. His control over Qi was unmatched, and as the battle continued Akari seemed to be struggling.

I knew I had to do something. I couldn't just stand by and watch and possibly be responsible for my friends' deaths. Taking a deep breath, I focused on my Flesh Regeneration ability, channeling it into my hands. If I could disrupt Elder Xu's Qi, even for a moment, it might give Akari and Lian the opening they needed.

As Elder Xu prepared to unleash another attack, rushed forward running toward the battle determined, my hands glowing with a faint green light. "Hey!" I shouted, my voice cutting through the chaos. "Over here bit–!"

Elder Xu's eyes flicked to me, and in that moment a smile spread to his face…. The only reason was probably the satisfaction he was getting from crushing my wind pipe with his hand as he attempted to choke the life out of me.

Tears filled my face as the pain was so immense I couldn't think of anything else. However this move wasn't a elaborate attempt at suicide, I had a plan and it seemed it was about to work.

Normally this would be more death but with my ability to heal flesh I was able to constantly regenerate my flesh stopping him from breaking my spinal cord with his strength.

I raised my hands to his arm as I channeled my flesh regeneration ability from my neck into my arms and allowed it to run rampant as It directed it to his diaphragm.

"Tell me how does it feel to die?" His smug voice whispering into my ears as I gripped the hand that was choking me. 

The intense qi he was releasing around us was preventing Akari from getting to me. Not that I had the chance to look over and check with me barely keeping myself alive but by the desperate cries that were coming from the camp I could only hypothesize.

However, my desperate gamble had allowed me to disrupt his constant flow of Qi by treating his golden core inside his body as a tumor which allowed my flesh regeneration ability was able to disrupt his internal cultivation for at least a few moments.

That was all the opening Akari and Lian needed. The sharp noise of air being sliced as Akari's claws slashed through his neck, and Lian's daggers followed behind, piercing his inner core.

Elder Xu staggered back, his golden eyes wide with shock. A gurgling sound coming from his throat due to him possessing sliced vocal cords

Thankfully for all of us, before any gurgled speech could be made, Akari delivered the final blow, Her hand flashing out turning his head to red mist.

Elder Xu collapsed to the ground with a thud at least what was left of him, his body lifeless as the qi around him dissipated.

The camp fell silent as the remaining cultivators realized their leader was dead. Without a word, they turned and fled into the night, leaving the beast in the forest to clean up the rest of them.

Akari and Lian stood over Elder Xu's body, their chests heaving as they caught their breath. I approached them, tired and I didn't feel great…

"Are you two okay?" I asked my throat in pain.

Akari turned to me, her amethyst eyes gleaming with worry. "We're fine, Al. but why did you do that?"

"I did what I thought would allow us to win"

Lian nodded, her expression grim but satisfied. "We did. But this isn't over. The Jade Serpent Sect won't take this lightly."

I knew she was right. This was just the beginning.

But as I looked at Akari and Lian, Fatigue filled my body. I tried moving toward Akari to celebrate with something silly but pain spread through my throat. The blood that spread into my hands from me coughing was also very alarming.

"Al are you okay?" A worried Akari walked toward me

"Ye–" but my response was cut short as an intense sickly filling ran through my body..

I fell to the ground barely conscious enough to catch myself with my hands before I hit the earth.

I tried channeling my regeneration ability to make myself feel better all I was met was with pain filling my body.

I felt like I was dying… and maybe I was but I wouldn't die here I still had things to do.

My strengthless body was carried back to the clinic....

I was determined to end the Jade Serpent sect.

 I could protect Akari from the mess I had dragged her into. I just needed a little bit more time.