[Fifteen minutes earlier.]
Rebecca was currently inside one of the shelters provided to the Band of Giants. She was looking at the city through the drones' cameras but was not having a pleasant time.
The number of people she saw dying was astronomical; the worst thing was that at least 95% of them were kids her age.
She saw it all, from Allan's father killing the thaids outside the shelter to Aaron and his father running away and the subsequent massacre of the people fleeing from the shelter when the thaids arrived.
However, she was now observing the Blirdoth, who had just arrived before the Yellow Palace. Initially, she assumed nothing would happen here, but after seeing how confident the beast was and seeing the kids coming out of the building, she started fearing for their lives.
It was weird caring for people she didn't even know and who, besides, belonged to a foreign nation. However, her human side and compassion surged through her, which was why she felt that way. It wasn't about patriotism or anything like that; it had more to do with what she thought was right.
She knew she was going to be part of a mercenary organization sooner or later, but she wanted to do it because she really wanted to wipe out all thaids from the face of the planet. She sincerely believed humanity had to band together and kill all the monsters.
"Are you alright?" Rebecca heard someone behind her say. Turning around, she found herself face-to-face with another member of the band of giants: Mika. "You seem very upset."
"Yes," said Rebecca. "It's just that looking at all this isn't simple..." the woman added.
Mika smiled gently. "I know, but these are your mother's orders. Better do as she says," the woman replied.
Rebecca sighed and then turned to look at the drone. She observed the Eganesus attacking the students, and then she noticed Erik. He saw him juggle amidst the thaids and kill them with precision and brutality, leaving a deep impression on her. Mika was with her.
"Who is that guy?" Rebecca asked.
"Him?" she said while pointing at the screen. "I don't know," she said, "but I can do a quick <><><>... ..." She then sent Erik's face image to a nearby computer, and after a facial scan, the device came out with a result.
"Erik Romano: Frant's only awakener... Whoa, this guy is a big shot!" Mika said.
"An awakener? I didn't know Frant had one... How many are there in the world?" Rebecca asked.
Mika already knew the answer and replied, "Less than 10 in the whole world, of course, without considering the ones who have already died... They are very rare..."
"He looks strong..." Rebecca replied, observing how Erik killed the beasts in front of the Yellow Palace.
"Well, that's a given, considering he is an awakener, but unfortunately, I do not think that he will be that much in the future," Mika said.
"Why?"
"Because, apparently, his awakened power is not that strong, and besides, his brain crystal didn't improve that much... However, our spies observed how his body reacted weirdly to his awakening; he is much stronger than he should be. To be honest, it is bizarre; some people in Etrium even want to get their hands on him to study his body."
"That's awful," Rebecca said.
"Yeah, but it could be important. If they somehow manage to understand how his body was able to increase so much in terms of strength, they could use it on our soldiers." At that moment, they turned to look at the screen again. Erik was now running away from the Blirdoth.
She saw how it started tearing the flesh of the students who did not pass the man's barrier on time, and she also saw the beast almost dying due to Principal Van Dyke's attack.
"They are screwed..." Mika said. "That beast is insanely powerful," she added.
However, it was at that moment that Principal Van Dyke arrived, and he started battling against the beast. They observed him fight against the Blirdoth for several minutes.
However, it was clear that nothing worked. From her point of view, the young man she was so interested in was doomed. However, there was something inside of her that told her otherwise. Despite not knowing him, she hoped he and the others would survive when she saw Principal Van Dyke join the fight.
"This guy is not half bad, but he is nothing compared to the boss..." Mika said. Rebecca observed him with attention but kept glancing at Erik occasionally.
Then, after a desperate fight, the students, Erik included, ran away and started heading toward the streets. Things seemed to have gone better once the students started running away from the beast, and now she was looking at Erik going toward the empty streets; he, apparently, didn't notice the drones hovering around.
"It looks like the awakener managed to flee from the beast, uh? Lucky guy..."
"Where is he going? Doesn't he know there are thaids everywhere?" Rebecca said.
"He should, but maybe he is confident in his ability enough to try to face them..."
The young girl quickly sent one of her drones to scout ahead and saw a small number of thaids heading toward Erik's position. It was another bunch of Eganesus, the ones that the young man had already killed in front of the Yellow Palace.
After a short while, while they observed Erik run, the connection to that drone suddenly came off.
"What the...? Philip, what happened?" Mika asked the guy--the one responsible for keeping the drones up.
"I don't know; it is not my fault..." the man replied.
"Bring those damn drones up again!"
"I'm trying!" Philip replied. However, there was nothing he could do about it.
***
[Present time]
Erik was still engaged in the fight against the Ferele. The beast didn't want to go down; however, it was clear that the poison had debilitated it, and the thaid was now having problems fighting. Erik was surprised by the fact that the beast wasn't backing away; it was like there was nothing in its mind regarding self-preservation, and the only thing that mattered was to kill.
Despite this, Erik was not afraid. He was a warrior, someone who fought against thaids countless times, and it was clear that, in a moment like this, where his life depended on his focus, he couldn't let emotions get the best of him.
The beast was in front of him, panting desperately while locking its eyes on Erik. The creature, despite being weakened, still had a lot of mana in its reserves and kept shooting fire blasts at the young man. However, the fire on its tail was waning, which meant the beast was slowly losing vigor and dying.
The beast shot again at the young man. Erik sidestepped and dodged the attack with ease. However, he then shot forward like a bullet and swung his sword at the creature, making a nasty gash on its front leg. It screamed as blood spurted from the wound.
But instead of stopping or retreating, the Ferele continued attacking relentlessly, sending firebolts after firebolts at Erik in a vain attempt to kill him. The young man avoided the attacks several times, and every time he counterattacked. His blade cut deeply through the monster's skin, causing more pain and slowly making the beast bleed.
The Ferele knew it had to do something to change the tide of the battle, so it charged, its jaws snapping. Erik waited until the last possible moment, then moved aside. He felt the rush of air as Ferele passed by, and then he was behind the monster.
Erik swung his flyssa with all his might. The blade sliced through the Ferele's tough hide, and blood sprayed in a fine mist. The thaid howled in pain again and turned to face Erik.
Erik knew that he couldn't let the Ferele get close to him since it was still dangerous despite being severely weakened. While turning to look at Erik, the beast swung its paw again and almost wounded him; however, the young man's reflexes allowed him to jump back, and he skillfully avoided the move.
He had to keep the monster at a distance, but his flyssa was too short compared to the thaid's attack range, so it wasn't that easy.
The young man circled around the beast, keeping his eyes on the creature's movements. The thaid did the same, and once it was ready, it charged again, and Erik dodged to the side. He struck with his flyssa, but this time Ferele was ready.
The monster twisted, and Erik's blade glanced off its claws. Erik stumbled, and Ferele seized the opportunity to strike again. The thaid's claws raked across Erik's chest, but they could do nothing since the young man used his powers to protect himself by creating a partial mana exoskeleton that he further reinforced by turning into metal.
Erik gritted his teeth and swung his flyssa in a wide arc. The blade found its mark, slicing into the Ferele's side. The beast roared in fury and pain again and attempted to strike Erik again, but he conjured up the Astral wolf again, and the Ferele was forced to jump away to avoid the bite of the giant wolf's head.
However, the beast spun around, its tail lashing out. Erik managed to roll to the side, but the tail caught him with a glancing blow, leaving a deep mark on his back. Though, he managed to stand up again, and a staring contest ensued.
The thaid was still coming, its eyes fixed on Erik with a deadly intensity. The awakener knew that he had to end the fight quickly before Ferele landed another blow. He was currently feeling a lot of pain, but luckily, he managed to stop the most dangerous attacks.
It was at that moment that, from the Ferele's mouth, bile started coming out. That was the right moment to strike; the poison almost killed it. Erik charged forward; his flyssa held high.
The feline-like thaid lunged, its jaws gaping. Erik leaped aside and swung his weapon with all his strength. The blade connected with Ferele's neck, slicing through its thick hide and severing its spine.
The beast's body crashed to the ground, twitching and writhing like a chicken for a couple of seconds, and Erik stood over it, his chest heaving with exertion.
He had done it: he had killed the monster. Erik took a moment to catch his breath; then, a sudden notification appeared in front of his eyes.
[HOSTILE FERELE KILLED: MANA ABSORBING PROCESS STARTING.]
[0%...1%....5%...30%...70%...100%]
[MANA SUCCESSFULLY ABSORBED, STARTING CONVERTING PROCEDURE.]
[3...2...1...0]
[MANA SUCCESSFULLY CONVERTED INTO EXPERIENCE. 977 EXPERIENCE POINTS AWARDED TO THE HOST. EXCESS MANA STORED SUCCESSFULLY.]
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