The quaking lands coupled with the incoming apocalypse did not sit well with me.
Apparently, neither was Miss Smith because she immediately shot up and took a defensive stance.
I, on the other hand, knew that whatever was coming wasn't something we would be able to handle.
Rather than fighting back, it would be more beneficial for us to try and escape.
Pushing myself up I rose to my feet still extremely tired.
"Miss Smith, I think we should dive deeper into the forest. That way we can look for better cover and take some time to relax. We would be able to make it through in our current state."
She looked back at me before looking up at the giant shadow.
We didn't have much time left because whatever it was kept getting closer and closer.
"Miss Smith, you need to make a decision; run for it or retreat."
She stayed silent and with each passing second the monster got closer and closer.
"Miss Smith!"
Shouting her name I finally got some response from her as lowered her head before dashing passed me down the hill.
'Fuck!'
Not wanting to be left behind I kicked it into overdrive and raced as fast as I could after her.
The problem though was that under no circumstances could an E-ranker catch up to an A-ranker.
As she vanished from my line of sight, I knew I was on my own.
I didn't know if it was intentional or not but I had to somehow make my way down dodging all the terrain while staying out of the presence of the enormous creature coming my way.
I didn't know what the shadow was but it was getting closer by the second and by this point I started hearing screeching sounds.
When the shadow covered and passed me blocking out any chance I had at getting away free I stopped my advancement and buckled down inside a nearby bush.
I didn't trust hiding behind or on the branches of a tree so I looked for the closest bush and got inside.
I gathered more cuts but ignored them as I had a more pressing matter and there were already so many that it didn't make much of a difference.
While hiding I curled up into a ball and hoped that nothing bad would happen.
As I waited for something to happen the sounds got louder and closer until it was right on top of me.
Looking up through a crack in the leaves, I wanted to gaze at the monster, but I was utterly shocked at what I saw.
Rather than a gigantic monster that was big enough to block out the sun, what I saw was far, far worse.
It was thousands or maybe even millions of small birds flying so close together that it looked like it was one massive entity.
The scream that shook the mountain was actually hundreds of screams all at once that were built on top of each other.
The flock that flew through the sky came down from over the top of the mountain and got lower and lower as it made its way to the tree line.
Once they got into the forest the group began to swarm all around in search of food.
As if a tsunami crashed into the land the birds moved through it devouring everything that breathed.
I heard the sounds of wolves howling in pain, bears growling in fear, beast whimpering in fear, and monsters being torn apart.
It didn't matter what level of strength the enemies were to the birds as their numbers made up for it and when thousands attacked no one had a chance.
While the swarm got closer to me a stampede of beasts and monsters ran past where I was hiding as they tried to escape in incoming death.
It wasn't until I could actually see the birds in the lead making their way toward me that I began to give up hope. I was far weaker than the monsters in the mountain, and they couldn't last a minute so how could someone like me manage to survive?
Bracing myself for the end I summoned Nightfall and called upon all the Aether I had built up.
Calling upon the first rune to activate the sword appeared to get even sharper as if it could cut through anything.
But that still didn't reassure me as although I might be able to take out a hundred at most the rest would quickly deal with me.
Being as prepared as I could in the face of a catastrophe I clenched onto Nightfall and raised the blade in front of my body while making myself take up as little space as possible.
The blade glowed and hummed while releasing glorious white energy.
Wanting to calm myself, I waited for the horde to finally make its way to me.
When the first bird moved past me I got a good look at its figure and the way it looked caused me to shudder.
In a way, it looked like a prehistoric bird-like dinosaur. It was only 1 to 2 feet big but its wingspan was nearly double that.
Although it was around the size of a crow it was still terrifying.
It had a long, bony tail with spikes protruding out and its wings were covered in feathers.
The monster was a dark gray color that had sharp, curved claws, and a beak that was long and slender, with sharp teeth in its jaws.
It had large eyes that seemed to be able to lock onto anything even at an extreme height.
It was not something I would be interested in fighting by itself but I was sure I would easily be able to defeat it.
However, when there were as many as I saw in front of me I had to accept reality.
As the first bird passed me so hundreds followed and it didn't take long for them to find where I was hiding.
A screech came from one who spotted me and then tens more dived right at the bush.
Ready for the fight I waited for the impact and soon after the first bird slammed into Nightfall causing it to split open and cover me in blood.
Yet that was just the start and afterward, I didn't have a single second of peace as hundreds more swooped down trying to take a bite of me.
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