'Is… is this the end?'
A fleeting thought crossed Renita's mind, the world seeming to decelerate as Hamang's descending sword drew near.
Time momentarily stretched, allowing her to come to terms with her own vulnerability in this dire situation. The tapestry of her achievements danced before her eyes, an ephemeral montage as the sword's lethal trajectory hung suspended.
The sword was a vessel of formidable mana, its impending strike poised to cleave her body in two. Even her premium-grade armor, a bastion against many dangers, wouldn't fend off this specialized summoned blade.
The defensive barrier she hastily conjured crumbled as the sword's edge met it. Her secondary defense, the Natural Mana Defense Layer, proved powerless in the face of this onslaught. At this moment, Renita stood defenseless, neither evading nor resisting, all thoughts evaporating.
Altashia's anguished cry pierced the air as she strained to close the distance between herself, Renita, and the looming threat of Hamang. She couldn't even employ her movement spell anymore.
Altashia's efforts were undeniable, yet her mana reserves had been thoroughly depleted by the preceding battles. The wellspring of her stamina and power seemed almost dried up. Despite her desperate sprint, the chasm between them persisted. She was racing against the inexorable tide of fate, and it seemed she might falter just short of preventing Renita's potential demise.
The cruel truth was clear – Altashia's valiant pursuit was unlikely to outpace the tragic fate that appeared imminent for Renita. Even if she did arrive in time, she knew her own power was insufficient to thwart Hamang's sinister designs.
Hamang's focus had been riveted on Renita for a reason, a calculated strategy to eliminate the Ranger before turning his attention to Altashia herself. In his scheme, Renita was the priority target, and the Scythe Queen's waning strength had made her a secondary concern, a pawn to be dealt with afterward. After all, in her current condition, Altashia couldn't run away from him.
In her most vulnerable moment, a memory surged within Renita, a scene painted with emotions, a conversation that she had once shared with Eren. It swept before her like a vivid tableau, a testament to the intimacy they shared.
"Eren," she had spoken with conviction, her words etched in the annals of her mind. "Remember when you had told us that the pursuit of power doesn't need a reason? It is indeed true. But the same can be said about love. The pursuit of love doesn't need a reason either."
In the haze of uncertainty, that moment crystallized, a heart-to-heart dialogue where she had bared her thoughts. The flavors of life, as they had shared, became her touchstone now.
"What good is a long life obtained by higher-ranking status if we don't have the crayons of emotions to color it up?" she had continued, her voice echoing across the chasm of time.
"Shouldn't we try to gain everything that this life has to offer?
I don't want to have any regrets, Eren. If I can obtain everything this life has to offer, then when my time comes, I won't fear the Reaper."
Renita's mind, suspended in a surreal realm, traversed these thoughts. Was this the famed clarity that often enveloped one before the precipice of demise? Her words, her own words, cascaded in her consciousness – 'Don't fear the Reaper.'
These words she had once spoken to Eren rippled through her like a rising tide of courage.
In this suspended moment, Renita found an unexpected resilience, her determination fanned by the memory of those words. The embrace of emotions, the pursuit of life's kaleidoscope, they converged to lend her strength. Amidst the swirling maelstrom of danger, her conviction shone as a beacon, dispelling fear and kindling the fire of resolve.
With her very being poised on the precipice, Renita made a critical choice. Rather than succumbing to despair, she embraced her fate with newfound determination. If her demise was imminent, she would meet it with fierce resistance. Regrets for unrealized potential and lost connections condensed into a single, blinding resolve. Her soul, like a tempest surging forth, shook her core.
Amidst the impending strike, a shift occurred within her, stirring her dormant Spiritual Force from its slumber. Her Soul Sense awoke, unfurling with a force that surpassed her mortal constraints.
"Stop fucking underestimating me!"
She roared, unleashing her awakened Spiritual Force in a torrential deluge. Her Soul Sense surged, crashing against Hamang's psyche like an unstoppable wave.
In an instant, his actions faltered, as if caught in the grip of an unseen force. His impending strike was arrested, his body locked in its motion. The blade did find its mark, slicing into Renita's soft and supple flesh and drawing blood, the injury heavy. But her surge of Soul Sense had achieved its goal, preventing the blade's fatal embrace.
Amid the pain and chaos, Renita stood resolute. The clash had exposed her to a latent realm within herself, one she had yet to fathom. As the encounter unfolded, the echoes of her scream and Hamang's surprise hung in the air, the battle balanced on a razor's edge.
Renita wasn't sure what was happening to her. She felt as if she had awakened something very primal within her. The connection she shared with her surroundings was strengthened to the next level. She started seeing more without using her eyes. She started hearing more without using her ears. However, she isolated herself from the stray thoughts and decided to focus on the task at hand.
Driven by her unyielding intent to eliminate the foe before her, a foe momentarily ensnared by the unexpected intrusion of Renita's formidable Soul Sense, she clutched the transcendent-grade artifact gifted by Eren – Nira Nightshade's bow.
Her very essence seemed to seep into the bow, stirring the latent Weapon Spirit that rested within it. In the blink of an eye, the bow underwent a wondrous metamorphosis, its form shifting into an entirely new incarnation – that of a double-barrel Mana Gun.
In this swift, heart-pounding moment, Renita's newly roused Spiritual Force surged forth, fueling the weapon's transformation, its power channeled into crafting an ammunition unseen till now.
Spirit Bullets!
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AN: The conversation between Eren and Renita mentioned in this chapter took place in chapter 264: Don't Fear the Reaper.
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