Drawing their swords, the knights moved in perfect unison and rushed at Damin, leaving him no choice but to accept the fight. Despite their clear advantage in rank and numbers, the battle quickly turned even.
To avoid accidentally killing their valuable hostage, the giant pulled his opponents to the side, skillfully deflecting their steel strikes. Several times his indestructible fists sent the knights flying back, leaving dents in their armor.
Watching the battle, Delia had no intention of just lying still. But she truly had no strength to get up — several bones were clearly broken.
{No matter who wins, it won't make things any better for me.}
With effort, she found a healing pill and placed it in her mouth. Closing eyes, she focused on absorbing the energy and directed it toward the fractures.
To surprise, the healing progressed faster than she expected — the pain dulled, and muscles began to respond. Full recovery was far away, but she would soon be able to stand and attempt to escape.
Just needed a little more time.
She continued treating herself when something heavy suddenly fell onto her face.
The stone under which she lay began to change: the blood covering its surface vanished, and its top layer peeled away in thin sheets, revealing a translucent reddish structure.
Neither the knights, who were gradually losing ground, nor Damin, who was beginning to dominate the fight, noticed anything.
{What the…}
Only Delia sensed the powerful, crushing presence awakening somewhere inside the stone.Stunned, she watched as a human finger silently pierced the red shell.
Then a figure slowly crawled out — a tall, black-haired girl.
She was completely naked, displaying a flawless figure to the world, yet the most striking thing about her were the four curved appendages growing from her back, holding her just above the ground.
{Did I hit my head that hard?.. Why does she look like me?!}
One of the appendages secreted a viscous, web-like substance and covered the girl's nudity. After a brief glance at the battlefield, her attention immediately shifted to Delia.
{F***ing great, who would've doubted it!!!}
— What do you want? — Delia had recovered enough to speak without effort.
The stranger silently descended beside her, leaned in, and brought her face close to hers. From the side it looked as if two twins were staring at each other: one face clean, with pink eyes, the other scratched and smeared with dirt, with blue eyes.
The pink-eyed girl gently wiped the dirt from Delia's face and softly said:
— Don't be afraid. Everything will be alright.
Then she leaned in and, baring her long fangs, sank them into her neck. A frightened gasp burst from Delia's throat.
{Your words and actions don't match at all!}
Resisting was impossible — her body relaxed in an instant, thoughts turned sluggish, a light dizziness clouded her mind. The pain vanished completely.
When the girl finished drinking, she carefully lifted Delia and placed her inside the red cocoon. Then she sealed the entrance with webbing and turned toward the trio.
A few moments earlier
— Who is that?! — one of the knights finally noticed the appearance of another figure.
Distracted, he immediately received a crushing punch to the chest. His armor caved inward, and the knight was sent flying, slamming into the cave wall
— Ninth! — shouted the second one.
He dashed toward his companion.
Damin, standing with his back to the girls, didn't waste time figuring things out — he rushed after the fleeing knight.
— Strange… — he muttered between blows. — Why aren't you using any of the Silver Legion techniques?
His fists crashed down on the knight one strike after another.
— And the armor… isn't it a bit too flimsy? — he continued, pushing the enemy back. — My hits are strong, but not that strong.
His thoughts were interrupted by a powerful surge of aura, signaling the presence of an Earth-ranked being.
He turned — and dodged the attack at the last moment. A spear-like appendage only slashed his side.
The girl swept past him and pinned the Eighth to the wall, piercing his heart instantly. With her next motion, she finished off the Ninth by impaling his head.
Looking closely, Damin realized the attacker was the half-naked girl he had defeated earlier.
But much about her had changed.
— You… what are you?
Only after killing the two knights did she finally turn to Damin. He would not receive an answer.
— How very kind of you — beating up injured girls, — she smiled, baring her fangs. — It would be wrong not to return the favor.
Without waiting for his response, she dashed toward him. Her fingers became covered in black chitin, transforming into sharp claws. With them, she met the man's fists.
Damin had no chance to escape. All he could do was defend.
After several exchanges he understood: she was toying with him. Even without using her appendages, she completely dominated the fight.
"If I don't come up with something, I'm done."
Sweat ran down his temples. His confidence evaporated. When he was distracted for a moment, one of the appendages pierced his leg.
Pain struck like a flash, blood poured onto the stones.The wound wasn't fatal — but he lost his rhythm. The girl wasn't in a hurry to finish.
She leisurely slashed at him with her claws, leaving shallow cuts all over his body; the appendages occasionally stabbed into his flesh, turning him into a bloody sieve.
After a hundred strikes, a mutilated body lay on the ground — not a single intact patch of skin remained.
And yet he was still alive. Not for long, but alive.
She lifted him by the neck and dragged him to the knights' corpses. Then her spider legs pierced both bodies.
Before Damin's eyes the corpses shriveled, turning into mummies in a matter of breaths.Cold fear shot through his soul.
He knew — he was next.
— I wanted her to kill you, — the girl said gently. — But you'll die before she wakes up. So… no hard feelings, alright?
Her voice sounded like that of the kindest girl in the world — yet the meaning behind it was monstrous.
— Wh… Khhaa-khhha.
With his last strength he tried to speak, but immediately coughed blood.
There was no need to rush. Allowing him to recover from the coughing fit, she removed her hand from his neck,which made him collapse to the ground.
No one intended to lay him down gently.
Groaning in pain, he still managed to ask:
— Who… are you?
— That's what concerns you now? — she tilted her head with interest. — Beg for mercy. Maybe it'll work?
She tormented him with blissful cruelty. No pity, no respect for a defeated opponent.
— You… are not… her. — he reached a horrifying conclusion.
— And what makes you think that? — realizing he no longer had the strength for many words, the girl relented. — Fine, you're right. My sister is a kind soul, that's obvious. She'd have killed you instantly.
— The boss… will avenge… me… — he forced out, choking on his own blood. His voice was hoarse, no longer human — the curse of a living corpse.
A finger ran across his cheek, leaving a bloody streak.
— Let him try. — The appendages rose above them like shadows. — I'm even curious who this boss of yours is.
Damin tried to laugh, but instead a crimson stream dripped from his lips.
— You… don't understand… what wrath you've brought… upon yourself…
Two appendages pierced his chest, lifting him to her eye level.
— I'll be waiting.
A few seconds later he became the third mummy. And was tossed aside like trash.
The girl slowly looked around, wondering what to do next.