Chapter 20 - Mantra Blood Arts: Blood Frenzy!
The instant the last word left her mouth, Shia appeared right next to Nel'Vess's left thigh, hunching akin to a blood demon. Then, she sliced the femoral artery, which was the main artery of the thigh.
This time, neither Nel'Vess reacted in time nor did his tough skin survive the slash.
Splash!
Blood sprayed akin to water coming out of a hose and Shia didn't waste a single drop of it as she swiftly placed herself in its direction, drinking it with a look of pure euphoria.
Smack!!
"You little demon!"
Nel'Vess kicked Shia away with a look of great disturbance and tightened his muscles, sealing the wound shut in an instant.
"Your blood tastes horrid." Shia commentated while wiping her mouth, "But, it will do the trick."
Not giving him any time to react, Shia pounced in his direction akin to a panther, always keeping her body and head low.
When Nel'Vess saw that she was aiming for his left thigh this time, he swiftly lifted his knee to block the attack. But, Shia switched her target at the last second, twisting her body in midair to strike his right waist, leaving behind a deep trench!
This time, she didn't stop her assault at all as the moment Nel'Vess placed his hand on the wound, she swung from below at the back of his elbow, cutting off another major artery.
Splash!
"You!!"
Nel'Vess got pissed and tried to predict her next movement by preemptively striking where she would land, alas, Shia was like a serpentine: boneless and beyond flexible.
His punch went past her face, missing her completely. When he tried to pull it back, Shia placed the sharp blade on its path, making him gush the bottom of his entire right arm!
Then, she opened her mouth below like a crazed freak, gulping down the blood nonstop. With each gulp, her crimson eyes blazed like she was recharging herself in the process.
'What the f*ck is this creep!'
Nel'Vess immediately tried to distance himself from Shia to heal his wounds and get a sense of what he was dealing with, but Shia refused to let him go.
"Who told you I am done?"
She chased after him with blood spilling from her lips and eyes gleaming red in the darkness, creating a harrowing scene for Arthur and the others.
"Ultimate innate ability, Blood frenzy...This is the second time I saw her use it." Jamal gulped a mouthful in dread, recalling some old memories.
"Will she be okay?" Arthur asked nervously.
"Okay? You should worry about the other. She won't stop until he either dies or she exhausts Blee'der's blood pool."
Jamal refocused on helping Sergio with his arrows, fully trusting that Shia wouldn't lose against Nel'Vess even if he was a Tier 3 nightcrawler.
He wasn't confident for no reason. He knew that Tier 3 nightcrawlers could range from insanely powerful to meh. All due to their evolutionary paths differing greatly from one to another.
For example, Nel'Vess could be a nightcrawler who lucked out and ate a natural treasure that helped him evolve remarkably and obtain powerful abilities; or a nightcrawler who ate something that was just enough to evolve him, limiting his strength and potential greatly.
In other words, just because a nightcrawler was higher-tiered, it didn't automatically give him a win...The same applied to Daywalkers.
In the case of Shia, while she might be still a Junior Daywalker, her true strength could rival that of a Pathfinder Daywalker, which was the next breakthrough. All due to her choosing remarkable evolution for her first breakthrough!
Right now, she was teaching a grave lesson to Nel'Vess for daring to target her as she made sure to not leave him even a moment of breather.
The moment he tried to defend a spot, she sliced another. Her speed, flexibility, and reaction speed were simply too much for him.
After a few moments of her demonic bombardment, Nel'Vess was left completely bloodied, spilling everywhere and tainting his fur red...Now, he truly looked like a devil.
'He is bleeding, but all of my cuts are external.' Shia narrowed her eyes coldly, 'I have yet to strike his vitals.'
'Just leave him be, he should bleed to dea...'
Before Blee'der could finish his sentence, Nel'Vess cracked his neck with an indifferent expression.
"I guess it's my fault for taking you lightly. I should have known Queen Dra'Webra wouldn't place a kill hit on a nobody."
Nel'Vess lifted his head until his bone-chilling gaze landed on Shia.
"But, fun times are over."
Immediately after, Nel'Vess' muscles started to inflate while his flesh wounds were healing at a noticeable speed simultaneously.
In less than a few seconds, his body was almost double the size with muscles so overpumped, they threatened to blow the veins on their own!
Nel'Vess breathed ruggedly, his nostrils letting out heated steam, seemingly having difficulty maintaining this form.
'Shit, the f*cker is an enhancement type Nightcrawler!' Blee'der shouted, 'Make a run for it, Shia!'
Blee'der could tell that Nel'Vess was already a strong entity after he suffered from so many attacks from Shia and still hadn't fallen.
Now that he knew Nel'Vess specialized in enhancement, he realized Shia stood no chance against him in his current empowered state.
Shia heard her partner but she didn't move an inch. She merely glanced behind at the Larson Brothers and then refocused on Nel'Vess, who was walking towards her.
'I am their guardian and I promised to get them back home safely.' Shia said coldly, 'They ain't dying under my watch.'
Not waiting until Nel'Vess made his move, Shia disappeared out of sight, sprinting in his direction while staying low.
This time, she threw her crescent blade at a great speed toward him while keeping a respectful distance.
Ting!
Alas, the crescent blade bounced off Nel'Vess's shoulder blade, making a clinging noise akin to hitting a solid metal.
The crescent blade curved back like a boomerang, and Shia caught it with a grim expression.
"Time to die."
Nel'Vess smiled once and then, he smashed his fist on the ground, sending out a powerful seismic shockwave!
Shia knew that her legs would be gone if she ate the shockwave directly, forcing her to jump away.
But the moment she did this, Nel'Vess was already lying in wait. He entered a kicking position and launched a giant rock in her direction at a blistering speed!
When Shia saw the size of the rock, she knew that it was nearly impossible to twist her body and evade it.
She lifted her arms and braced for impact, using her crystalized blood shield to protect her. Alas, the rock was just too much...
BOOOOOOOM!!
The crystallized blood shattered upon impact, slowing the rock's momentum for a bit, but it was not enough.
It smashed Shia's forearm bones to pieces and hurled her flying in the direction of Jamal, Levi, and Arthur.
"Come on Shia, we can't hold on much lon..."
Before Jamal could finish his sentence, his eyes captured the sight of a bloodied body rolling at great speed in front of them. After a few bounces, it stopped against a tree, lying motionless.
Arthur, Jamal, and even Levi turned their heads to gaze at the motionless body. Though Levi couldn't see her, her spiritual aura was so faint it felt like she could die at any moment.
"S...Shiaaa!!!"
Jamal stuttered for a moment and then shouted her name with a petrified expression. Seeing no response, his heart dropped to the bottom of his stomach.
"Follow me!"
He shouted at the Larson Brothers while he rushed in her direction. When he arrived, he reached out to his backpack and pulled out a wooden pink totem in the shape of a small bottle.
He smacked it on Arthur's chest while yelling at him to feed it to her. Then, he aimed his bow in the direction of Nel'Vess, who was seen knocking down trees with a single arm swing as he headed to finish the job.
"I...I..."
Arthur looked at the pink totem with parted lips, looking like he had no idea what to do with it.
Knowing that his brother never interacted with Recovery totems or was attentive enough to listen in his classes, Levi reached out with his hand randomly until he touched the totem in his brother's hand.
He swiftly snatched it and opened the bottle. Then, he ordered him sternly, "Open her mouth and help me pour it!"
Still shaken, Arthur did as he was told. As Levi was pouring a pink liquid into Shia's mouth, he was mumbling the incantation to activate it.
"By the golden rays of dawn's light, awaken now, restore and ignite. With the warmth of the sun and the strength of the day, heal all wounds and mend dismay..."
The moment he finished, the pink liquid illuminated brightly within Shia's body, making her muddled eyes gain some focus.
Although it hadn't healed her wounds yet, the pink liquid numbed the agonizing pain and focused on dealing with the grave internal injuries first.
The first thing she saw was Nel'Vess's shadow looming closer behind Levi and Arthur. She knew that Jamal wasn't going to stand up against him, not in his current exhausted state.
"G..o..to..Ser..gio." She whispered with great difficulty, coughing out blood in the process.
Through the noise of falling trees and Sergio's constant chaotic battle, no one would have heard her...But, Levi did.
His sensitive ears picked up on everything and he swiftly relayed the news to Jamal and Arthur.
Although the order sounded ludicrous and suicidal, Jamal knew that it wasn't time to question if Levi heard wrong or not.
On the other hand, Arthur didn't even waste a split second questioning his brother. He picked Levi and Shia in both arms and sprinted towards the army of spiders!
A mere mortal, a mere civilian, running to his damnation!
"Shockdart!!"
Jamal cleared the path towards Sergio with a single arrow while chasing after Arthur. Still, a few spiders were on his way.
Arthur immediately placed Shia and Levi above his shoulders and charged through spiders with his head lowered and roaring at the top of his lungs!
He kneed some spiders, hurling them away, but a few others managed to sink their fangs deeply into his thighs, waist, and even his glutes.
AAAAAAAAAAA !!
All Arthur could do was continue roaring, his bloodshot eyes affixed on no one but Sergio, who was watching them with buckled knees.
He was already drop-dead tired, holding on through pure will and hope; hope that Shia was going to save their asses.
But, as he looked at her dangling from Arthur's shoulder, that hope was extinguished and was replaced with a despairing laugh.
'We are f*cked, aren't we O'thnir?'