The dust of the battlefield began to settle, a heavy silence enveloping the vicinity. Where the colossal Shadowfang once dominated, only its lifeless body now lay.
Mira, panting heavily, dropped to her knees, her grip on the scythe loosening. Sweat and blood mingled on her face, her body screaming in pain from the wounds inflicted by the beast. But amidst the agony, a smile formed on her lips.
They had done it.
Not only had they done it, but she had also succeeded in keeping the mass of energy under control. However, signs of instability were beginning to emerge, and as her strength waned, the situation deteriorated further.
This was, by far, the most difficult battle she's faced to date. She's had some close calls before, but nothing like this. She really thought she might die today.
'It seems I've underestimated this world too much.' Mira thought. 'It wasn't that the inhabitants of this world were weak. It's just that the strong haven't shown themselves yet.'
The battlefield was a mess. Trees were uprooted, boulders shattered, large craters everywhere, and the ground scarred from the intense battle.
One by one, her comrades began to stir. Eden pushed herself up, wincing as she clutched a side wound, her once bright eyes now dull with exhaustion. Rayna and Everly sat up, grimacing in pain but relieved. Nova, supported by Celaine, stood up, both of them scanning the battlefield.
In the eerie quietness, Asami limped over to Seraphina's unconscious form. Her face was pale, and her body was covered in injuries. Despite the intense battle, it was the sight of their fallen comrade that sobered them all.
Mira stored the Shadowfang's body, planning to deal with it later. However, she didn't stand up, taking this time to try and recover some of her strength, but the healing process was moving at a snail's speed, the beast's lingering Qi still rampaging in her body.
Her body naturally absorbed the energy and vitality leftover in the Shadowfang's body, but it was just a drop in the bucket compared to what she needed to heal. The [Blood Burst] technique had sucked her dry.
Asami's anxious voice broke the quietness, "Mira, I need help. I can't wake Seraphina."
Mira's heart clenched at Asami's words. Pushing past the pain, she forced herself to stand and quickly rushed to Seraphina's side. She didn't have the luxury of resting or waiting for her body to heal. There was an immediate threat to be dealt with, and she couldn't afford to be weakened.
As she neared Seraphina, she felt a faint pulse of energy coming from her. It was weak, barely perceptible, but it was there. A glimmer of hope sparked within Mira, driving away the exhaustion and pain momentarily.
Crouching down next to Seraphina, Mira reached out a trembling hand to place it over the fallen warrior's chest. She closed her eyes, focusing all her senses on the faint pulse of energy, channeling the little Qi she had left into Seraphina, hoping that it would stabilize her until they returned to the Sect.
Time seemed to slow as Mira concentrated on the threadbare life energy of Seraphina. The once vibrant warrior lay pale and quiet, her energy reduced to a mere flutter. Mira's own energy was dangerously low, yet she continued to pour what she could into her companion, her teeth gritted against the strain.
Nova approached, her eyes filled with worry. "Mira, you can't drain yourself too much. We don't know what else might lurk in these parts. You'll need to retain some strength for yourself."
Mira nodded but didn't break her concentration. She knew Nova was right, but she wouldn't let Seraphina die here. Not when she basically carried most of this fight, allowing them to win.
As the energy flowed, she felt the faint pulse within Seraphina begin to steady.
An audible sigh of relief escaped Mira's lips as she felt the life force within Seraphina strengthen. It was far from being healthy, but at least she wouldn't die at any second. For now, that was all that mattered.
"We need to get her back to the Sect," Mira finally said, her voice raspy from the effort. Her face was as pale as Seraphina's, and she swayed slightly where she crouched. Eden quickly moved to her side, steadying her.
"I'll carry her," Nova offered, the worry in her eyes not reducing as she gently lifted Seraphina in her arms.
Asami moved next to Mira, offering her a shoulder to lean on. "You've done enough, Mira. Let's get back and let the healers do their work."
Mira gave a weak nod, her strength at its limit.
However, as she glanced back at the battlefield one last time, she felt a strange sense of dread.
She didn't have the energy to use her Soul Sense, but she didn't need to.
She understood that shit was about to go from bad to really fucking bad.
Suddenly, everyone felt the ground temple, and their hearts couldn't help but clench, their already pale faces becoming a shade whiter.
"...Fuck me," Mira muttered, cursing her horrible luck.
"...W-Why now?"
"Shit..." Eden echoed Mira's sentiment as the trembling ground grew more violent.
The atmosphere around them took on an oppressive weight. What was once a scene of victory was turning into a precursor to another battle, a battle they were ill-prepared for.
"Everyone, on your feet…" Mira ordered, forcing strength into her voice. The others could hear the exhaustion that tainted each word, but they followed her instructions nonetheless, each of them wincing as they moved their wounded bodies.
Nova adjusted Seraphina's unconscious form in her arms, her eyes scanning the treeline surrounding the battlefield. The others followed suit, their senses on high alert, their bodies tense.
"...And run like hell!" Mira wrapped Asami around her tail before running to the other six and wrapping them up.
Her bones creaked in pain, threatening to snap, and her organs felt like they were being squeezed like a rag, but she pushed through it.
In the group, her regeneration rate was the highest, so even though she was broken, she had the most energy making her the best candidate to carry everyone.
Although they knew that what Mira was doing was damaging her, they didn't bother saying anything. While it sucked, they knew she was their best option right now.
"...I-I'm g-going to discharge this gravity ball…" Mira said through gritted teeth.
Everyone turned to look at the mass of energy following them and couldn't help but shudder. That thing was nothing more than a ball of death in their minds.
"D-Do you think we can handle the aftermath?" Nova asked.
"Do we have a choice?" Mira rebutted.
"..."
No, they didn't.
"Haaa…" Nova sighed before she nodded, "Our lives are in your hands, Mira."
"Don't miss," Eden chimed in.
Nodding, Mira closed her eyes as she ran, concentrating her senses on the vibrations she felt through the ground. She quickly found the general direction of whatever was coming toward them.
"Everyone, brace yourselves," she instructed, her voice tense.
Everyone tightened their hold on each other. No words were exchanged. No assurances were given. In the face of imminent danger, their lives hung by a thread, and they knew it.
Mira could feel her remaining Qi dwindling, the struggle of maintaining the gravity ball while carrying her companions was pushing her beyond her limits. But they were running out of time.
"Here goes nothing!" she muttered under her breath.
With a massive effort, she let go of the gravity ball, discharging it toward the direction of the upcoming threat. The gravitational force that she had been trying to control exploded forth in a monstrous wave, crashing into the environment around them before the ball shot forth with the power none of them could've created.
Trees were uprooted, rocks shattered, and the ground was ripped from the land as the gravity ball took off with extraordinary speed.
Then the world suddenly fell silent, the calm before the storm. The trembling stopped, and all was still.
However, tension grew, and Mira quickened her pace, trying to make it as close to the Sect as possible in case things went south.
"..."
*BOOOOOOM!*
A deafening explosion roared through the quiet landscape, shaking the earth violently. The force from the detonation was beyond anything they had experienced before, and the wave of energy that followed was relentless.
Mira's heart pounded in her chest as she used the last of her strength to push forward, maintaining a shield around them with a thin layer of her Qi.
The shockwave hit them hard. Their bodies were thrown into the air, the momentum of the blast tossing them like leaves in a storm. But Mira, despite her weakened state, managed to retain her hold on her friends, her tail acting like a shield to absorb most of the impact.
Nova held onto Seraphina tightly, her face contorted with strain. Asami, Eden, and Everly clung to each other, their faces pale and their eyes closed tight against the fierce energy. Celaine, Rayna, and Mira gritted their teeth against the force, doing their best to maintain the protective layer of Qi around them.
The shield wavered, flickered, and then shattered, the blast sweeping them up and tossing them around like leaves in a storm.
Mira's vision blurred, and her breath hitched in her throat. She could barely hold on to consciousness, the pain in her body threatening to take over. She was reaching her limit, and she knew she couldn't hold on much longer.
But she had to. For her companions. For Seraphina.
…For herself.
The world spun around them in a terrifying whirl of destruction. Mira gritted her teeth and focused, concentrating on the sensation of her companions in her arms and the distant presence of the Sect. She couldn't afford to lose consciousness now, not when they were so close.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they landed, crashing into the ground with a dull thud. Mira grunted as pain shot through her body, her vision going black for a moment. She felt Nova's grip on Seraphina tighten, her fingers digging into Mira's arm. She could hear Asami and Eden's sharp intakes of breath, the sound mixed with a groan from Rayna and a whimper from Everly and Celaine.
She heard several cracks within her body. Her chest was caved in, her legs were pointing in different directions, and severe injuries covered her body, but she couldn't be bothered by that right now.
Mira blinked her eyes open, her vision clearing after a few seconds. She found herself lying on the ground, her body feeling like it had been crushed by a mountain. She could barely move, her body was aching, and her breaths were ragged.
But she forced herself to sit up, using her remaining strength to push against the ground.
Without even asking if they were okay, she got on her hands and feet and began running like an animal, using more of her upper body strength since her lower body was useless.
Mira didn't even notice that the ground had stopped shaking. Whatever was charging at them seemed to stop after taking that blast head-on.
Fortunately, the explosion was big enough that it alerted someone from the Sect, as not a few seconds later, they heard a familiar voice.
"Damn. You girls sure look like shit."
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