With a rough cry, the blonde woman hurled herself at the one who had split Stefan's body in two, not thinking in the slightest about the consequences.
She only thought of one thing.
Tearing these horrors apart with her bare hands.
The other three did not remain inactive, following the woman's charge.
The mission no longer had any importance.
The only thing that mattered now was avenging the atrocious death of their friend and companion.
No matter the price.
The bearded man grabbed his massive axe, steadied himself, and threw it like a tomahawk toward the wounded mantis.
The insect reacted immediately, raising its two chitinous blades to block the impact.
A sharp sound rang out, a metallic vibration spreading through the air.
The strike was not meant to wound, only to hold it in place.
And that was enough.
One of the sisters seized the other's hand, spun her, and propelled her forward.
The insect didn't even have time to properly close its guard before the woman's fist struck the crack already present in its abdominal exoskeleton.
A crack resounded.
Then another.
And another still.
The fissure widened before fragments of greenish chitin separated from the carapace, exposing the soft flesh beneath.
Yellow-green blood burst forth, releasing an acidic smell.
The mantis let out a shrill, piercing scream, stepping back several paces.
However, the very next instant, the insect vanished once more, only to reappear a second later behind the blonde who was still facing the other oversized insect.
The bearded man shouted, panic clearly audible in his voice, as rough as it was trembling.
« Mary! »
That cry was enough to pull the blonde out of her rage-trance. She reacted instantly, narrowly avoiding a fate similar to Stefan's.
But the mantises did not stop; the one whose wound was still fresh disappeared again, leaving only emptiness where it had stood, while the other rushed once more at the blonde, who found herself again facing this born hunter.
The man's instincts suddenly screamed at him, telling him to dodge the invisible strike aimed mercilessly at him.
He had just enough time to step aside when a throbbing pain tore across his torso from side to side.
A long wound now stretched from his right pectoral to his left hip.
He let out a cry of pain, to the great delight of the insect, which continued to click its long, threatening mandibles.
However, its small celebration was short-lived, for the two sisters who had reacted immediately after its attack were already upon it, their small daggers plunging toward the newly exposed skin of its abdomen.
The blades sank several centimeters into the pink flesh before the mantis made a spectacular leap backward, thus avoiding a wound that would certainly have been fatal.
The man, now unable to continue fighting, could only watch the three women struggling desperately to get them out of this mess while doing his best to press his wound and limit his loss of blood.
Mary slowly began to gain the upper hand, her superior strength allowing her to wound the insect several times, cracking various points of its green chitin.
The two sisters assisted her, covering her back while trying to inflict as much damage as possible on the other insect, which assaulted the two brunettes without giving them the slightest moment of reprieve.
This stalemate lasted for several long seconds.
The women were beginning to tire, their movements slowing little by little as the fight dragged on.
If this continued, the creatures would exhaust them before finishing them off with ease.
Mary's vision grew increasingly blurry; she could no longer avoid her opponent's vicious attacks as effectively, several cuts now crossing her body from side to side.
The two sisters were in no better condition, their breathing labored, the worry for each other clearly visible in their eyes.
Finally Mary made a decision.
In a rare moment of respite, she grabbed the two brunettes by the arms and threw them tens of meters to the side.
« Take Daniel and leave! I'll hold them off as long as I can! »
The eyes of the two women widened; they wanted to protest, but their instinct for survival was far stronger.
They might have refused to flee if they were alone, but they could not accept staying if it meant the other would die.
Living one without the other was unacceptable.
They bit their lips, hesitation replaced by determination as they nodded, recognizing it as the only solution.
But before they could make the slightest movement, everything changed.
The mantis facing Mary suddenly stopped mid-motion, as if its body had been placed on pause.
Then, under the stunned gazes of the four present, the insect's head fell to the ground, petrifying its companion.
A calm voice suddenly sounded next to the blonde, making her jump with surprise.
« Its carapace is much harder than that of those ants… »
The woman turned sharply, finding herself face-to-face with a black-haired, black-eyed adolescent, his left arm hanging limply at his side while his right hand — composed of only three fingers — held the blade that formerly belonged to Stefan.
But that was not the most shocking thing about the boy.
It was the long wound stretching from one end of his jaw to the other, passing through his mouth.
Honestly, he looked more like a monster than a human being.
The woman opened her mouth, but she did not have time to utter a single word before the boy had already disappeared.
She turned to find him in front of the second mantis, already wounded, Stefan's knife buried in the creature's abdomen, which had not had the slightest chance to react to his phenomenal speed.
It collapsed to the ground, yellowish-green blood seeping from the wound and forming a small puddle on the asphalt.
« What… »
All were left speechless at how easily this boy, who didn't even seem to be of age, had eliminated two monsters that, though weakened, were still of formidable power and speed.
*
Victor had waited for what he judged to be the perfect moment to intervene.
The loss of their comrade.
The appearance of a second enemy.
The growing fatigue due to prolonged combat.
Despair in the face of inevitable defeat.
The sacrifice of one member to save the others.
All of these factors strengthened the sense of gratitude these people would feel when he saved them.
After all, if he had stood out from the beginning, the impact would have been far smaller, perhaps even non-existent.
It was simple psychology.
The stronger the despair, the stronger the hope that follows.
Victor had simply made sure to become that hope — which, in truth, was nothing but an illusion he had crafted.
But how could they have known?
Even if the fact that he had triggered the car alarm earlier crossed their minds, the feeling of gratitude toward him would be so strong that it would instantly crush that thought.
Such was the extent to which understanding human psychology made manipulating anyone easy — unless that person, too, was a master of psychology.
Victor turned his attention to the three women who were still staring at him with wide eyes, seemingly struggling to properly process what had just happened.
But that was perfectly normal — an overflow of overwhelming emotion often caused such reactions in humans.
At least, in those who were not sociopaths or psychopaths.
Victor cast a glance toward the bearded man — Daniel — who had propped himself against the side of an SUV, his face growing paler by the second.
« You should probably take care of him. He'll die soon. »
His voice was still calm, as if he were simply commenting on the weather — but to the women, it sounded like thunder.
The two brown-haired sisters moved to Daniel, helping to dress his wound.
Mary, having regained her senses, ignored Victor and instead headed toward Stefan's bisected corpse lying nearby.
She knelt before him, tears in her eyes as she gently lowered his eyelids in a gesture of respect.
Once done, she clasped her hands in prayer, murmuring a few unintelligible words before turning her attention to Victor, who watched her with a raised eyebrow.
It was a completely foreign practice to him.
Did this woman think a prayer would help that man in any way?
He was nothing more than an inanimate mass of flesh.
A puppet whose strings had been cut.
An empty shell.
In short — just meat.
Why bother?
He did not understand it.
However, he had to show at least a minimum of compassion — it was necessary, even if it scraped his tongue to do so.
« Sorry for your… friend. »
Mary nodded, her expression of sadness already replaced by calm.
« This is the harsh reality in which we live now. I think you know that even better than I do. »
She said this while observing Victor's wounded body.
Though she had already seen the boy's injuries, it still sent chills down her spine.
After all, though she had fought for her life many times, never had she faced consequences as disastrous as losing a limb.
« But anyway, may I know where you come from, my child? »
Child?
Had she not realized Victor could eliminate her at any moment?
He stifled a laugh.
The foolishness of humans would always fascinate him.
« Let's talk inside. Who knows if more creatures will show up. »