Shina stood there breathing heavily, clearly exhausted from rushing over.
Shina: Let… him go.
Meji's eyes widened slightly.
Meji: Hey, Shina! Leave this place! This girl is dangerous!
Reika (being choked): Shi… Shina…
Laura slowly turned toward her while still holding Reika by the neck.
Then She smiled.
Laura: Ohhh… another human came to play?
Her grin widened darkly.
Laura: I think I'm really going to enjoy playing with you, girl.
She suddenly threw Reika away violently.
BAAAAM!!!
His body smashed hard into the ground, creating another massive crater from the impact
Reika (unable to stand): Damn it i can't feel my body anymore…did she paralyze me?!…Oh no this is bad i swore to protect Shina but now i can't damn it Well i do have poison resistance and pain nullification but i don't have enough energy to fight her now, even standing is barely possible for me but that can't be my excuse now i need to protect Shina at all cost captain Meji is occupied by that giant scorpion of hers and i don't think Shina is strong enough to face her
Reika gently forced himself back onto his feet and called out to Laura
Reika: Hey…
Laura stopped and turned toward Reika
Laura: Huh…you're still standing? Oh i see you have poison resistance enh? That's good however i wanna see how long you can endure
Suddenly above Reika countless sharp poisonous stingers manifested hovering above him before raining down simultaneously upon him striking the ground violently around him…Laura already knew it wouldn't kill him but she was using it to torture him and see how long he could continue holding on
Laura: Let's see how far your resistance can carry you boy
Shina (sad expression): Reika…please stop this don't torture him anymore please…
Laura turned toward her coldly
Laura: Quiet you disgusting human,that's exactly how you mortals are…weak pathetic and useless whenever situations like this happens you start begging for your life simply because you're weak…what a naive race
Her eyes were filled with pure disgust as she looked down on them
Laura: I would never become pathetic and weak like you mortals
Reika gritted his teeth tightly as the poisonous stingers continued raining down upon him repeatedly piercing through his body and pinning him to the ground…blood slowly dripped beneath him while his entire body trembled violently from exhaustion
Laura (smiling faintly): What's wrong boy? I thought you said you were going to purify me…don't tell me this is all you can do
Reika tried forcing himself back up again but his arms instantly gave out beneath him
Reika (thinking): Damn it…my body isn't responding anymore
Meanwhile Shina stood there watching helplessly as tears slowly formed in her eyes
Shina: Please stop this already…he can't fight anymore
Laura looked toward her and laughed softly
Laura: And why should i stop? You mortals are entertaining when you struggle like this…especially when hope slowly disappears from your faces
Suddenly another stinger dropped toward Reika at terrifying speed
SHIIIK!!!
It pierced directly through his shoulder forcing him further into the ground
Reika: GHHH…!!
Shina's eyes widened in horror
Shina: REIKA!!
Laura smiled watching his suffering
Laura: Beautiful…simply beautiful
Far away Meji was still struggling against the giant fire scorpion as flames exploded across the battlefield repeatedly
Meji (thinking): Damn it…i can't get past this thing fast enough
The giant scorpion roared loudly and swung its massive tail toward him again
BAAAAM!!!
Meji blocked the attack but the impact still sent him sliding backward violently across the ground
Meanwhile Laura slowly walked toward Reika while her venomous tail dragged across the battlefield behind her
Laura: Honestly i'm impressed…most humans would've died already from this amount of poison
She crouched slightly in front of him smiling faintly
Laura: But eventually your resistance will fail…and when it does your body will decay slowly while you're still alive
Reika's breathing became heavier as blood continued pouring from his wounds
Yet even then
He still forced himself to glare at her
Reika: Tch…you talk too much for someone hiding behind poison and cheap tricks
Laura's smile slowly disappeared again
Laura: Huh…?
Despite barely being able to move Reika still smirked faintly through the pain
Reika: Guess i hit a nerve again huh…you oversized reptile
The entire battlefield suddenly became silent
Laura's eyes twitched violently from rage… then she gripped him again by the neck, this time deciding to end it by strangling him.
Shina couldn't allow that.
The fear alone made her scream across the battlefield.
Shina (terrified): No…..No, I won't let you kill himmmmmmmmmmm!!
Her voice echoed violently across the entire battlefield.
Then something happened.
Shina's power began to awaken.
She was blessed with the same Grandmaster that blessed Reika.
Her magic wasn't destructive.
It was support.
Healing. Restoration. Amplification. Elemental support.
Not a top-tier offensive ability…
But an extremely high-tier support ability on the battlefield.
Shina (breathing heavily): I won't let you kill him… not on my watch.
She stretched forth her arms.
Shina: "Ultra Speed Healing"
A massive wave of energy erupted from her body, spreading across the entire battlefield.
Wounds across allies began closing instantly.
Even Meji's poisoned state started stabilizing.
Reika's broken body slowly began to recover as the venom was forced out.
Then
Shina: "Mana Restoration"
A second wave followed immediately after.
Lost energy was rapidly restored across all allies, their breathing stabilizing as strength returned to their bodies.
Meji slowly pushed himself up.
Meji (thinking): I can move again?
Reika's fingers twitched as he slowly regained awareness.
Laura's expression shifted slightly.
Laura (thinking to herself): She's healing all of them and at this speed…
Her eyes narrowed.
Laura (thinking to herself): What an amusing technique…
A faint killing intent leaked from her aura.
Laura: I must kill her
She charged in immediately to Shina
BOOOOM!!!
Shina barely had time to react as Laura appeared in front of her with a twisted expression
Laura: You will die here
SHIIIK!!!
Her venomous stinger shot forward aiming straight for Shina's chest
But
CLANG!!!
Reika intercepted it at the last second, grabbing the stinger with his bare hand while blood instantly spilled from his palm
Reika (gritting teeth): Not… this time
Laura's eyes widened slightly
Laura: Oh?
Reika forced her arm upward and kicked her back with everything he had
BAAAAM!!!
Laura slid back across the ground but quickly stabilized herself smiling again
Laura: Still standing after all that poison… impressive
Reika: Thanks to you Shina, I'm back on my feet. I promise I won't let her hurt you, and I'm really sorry for putting you through this… I'll end this fight as fast as I can.
Shina grabbed his hand tightly.
Shina: No you idiot… we will finish her off, get that.
Reika: Ouch but you're—
Shina: No buts. Let me help, Reika. Please. We are in this together, okay… and I won't take no for an answer. For once… let me protect you.
Reika stared at her, speechless for a moment… then he smiled faintly.
Reika (calmly): Alright then… lend me your aid, Shina.
Shina nodded firmly.
Laura: Ahhhh disgusting… you humans are weird. Anyways, it would be fun fighting the two of you… no problem at all.
Shina: I don't know why you hate us humans so much… but I promise I'll clear that hate in your mind.
Reika: Do monsters even need a reason to hate humans? They're monsters… what do you expect?!
Shina: NO!! Reika that's just wrong! I can feel it… there's something in her heart… something happened to her and that's the reason she carries this much hate!
Laura: What are you talking about girl? You better watch your mouth.
Shina: I promise… I will clear the hate in your heart.
Reika: Alright then… let's work together and drag her out of whatever complex situation she's trapped in.
Laura gritted her teeth,For the first time
Her expression wasn't playful.
It was sharp Angry
Because deep down… their words weren't wrong.
There was something inside her.
Something buried.
Something that happened years ago.
And it was exactly the reason she hated humans this much
Laura's aura darkened even further as the pressure around her began to distort the battlefield
Laura: You know nothing about me… nothing at all
Her voice dropped lower, colder
Laura: Don't stand there pretending you can "save" me
BOOOOM!!!
The ground beneath her cracked violently as she vanished instantly
Shina's eyes widened
Shina: Reika!!
CLANG!!!
Reika reacted just in time blocking Laura's claw strike but the force still sent him skidding backward
Reika (gritting teeth): Tch… she's faster now
Laura appeared again instantly behind Shina
Laura: You talk too much
SHIIK!
Reika and Laura clashed heavily, it seemed Reika's stamina was slowly returning little by little and that was all thanks to Shina's support.
Laura (thinking): His stamina is coming back… he's keeping up with me now and she's the reason… tch no matter, I will handle them. I am the Third Strongest for a reason.
Reika (thinking): Wow… my stamina increased vastly and I'm actually keeping up with her thanks to Shina… no way, I underestimated her too much.
CLANG!!!
Reika continued clashing against Laura repeatedly until suddenly—
FWOOOSH!!!
Fire erupted from his blade causing Laura to instantly jump backward.
Reika: Wait… fire?! But how? I never had a fire ability?!
Shina: It's me Reika, I infused your weapon with it so you can fight with offense.
Reika (thinking): Shina did this…? Whoa… I underestimated her too much. Isn't this like an elemental infusion ability?
Laura narrowed her eyes toward Shina.
Laura: That girl is trouble… you know that?
Reika smirked faintly.