Chapter 19: Hopelessness
1012 Words
In her non-demon form, Zeya hurried back to her group, who are still in a never-ending clash with the undying rezogs. She surveyed the clearing area to find another ifer in hiding while simultaneously helping her team slay the beasts.
They can’t just retreat. They have to finish them right there and then, or else these beasts could follow them back to the camp. She has to stop the ifer reviving these beasts. Seeing how he repeatedly resurrects the beasts, he could be draining his energy by now. It would be easy for her to hunt him. Additionally, Nissa could find an opening. The whole squad could successfully return to camp without the fear of being followed once she had successfully diverted the ifer’s attention to her— alone.
“Listen! Once these things stopped resurrecting, go back to camp immediately! And, don’t you dare find me, or I’ll kill you all myself!” she commanded and warned her team before she transformed back into her demon self.
She dashed towards the other side of the clearing picking up scents that could lead her to the sneaky ifer. What she picked up, though, are trails of Ada’s scent. That Ada lady could be in danger right now. Suddenly, she heard a low hissing sound coming from the tree above her, and she knew instantly that the sound didn’t come from a serpent.
She wasted no time as she sprang up the colossal tree and found a pair of snake-like, yellow eyes leering at her, and she reverted to her non-demon form as soon as she alighted on a soft bough. She saw the ifer’s entirety, and he looks no different from that bandaged-ifer she dealt with a while ago. In fact, they looked totally the same as if they are the same person. Only, this one seems to be more silent, serious, and probably… more deadly.
She instantly hacked her ax to his position, but he quickly avoided her as he leaped through succeeding branches like an acrobat until he could completely jump down the tree.
I see. He’s not as agile as the other one.
But seeing how he got down from the tree, it looks like he’s challenging her to a duel, to which she wholeheartedly obliged. She transformed back to her demon form and quickly pounced on him. She slashed him with her ax but instead, she sliced a rezog that was swiftly molded in his place, and she saw him hopping with quick, distant steps away from her.
He's definitely the resurrecting one.
Three unarmed rezogs were formed instantly around her, and she finished those off in one sweep. However, another three quickly appeared from mid-air. She was caught off-guard as they simultaneously pounced on her and the sneaky ifer suddenly appeared from behind her, grazing her waist with a knife before he pranced backward away from her. The rezogs also managed to scratch her before she could kill them.
She sprang toward his direction, but another batch of rezogs appeared in place of him to which she hacked in one go. She looked above and saw another three pouncing down on her, but that technique won’t work on her anymore, as she spun and threw her ax towards the three and she quickly turned around and stabbed the side of the ifer’s abdomen, which appeared again behind her, using her sharp claws. She was surprised when she heard the ifer’s pained grunt, for he’s a she, after all.
A smile formed on the ifer’s lips as she hopped to the left away from Zeya, but Zeya was quick to leap towards the ifer, but a forceful kick that came from nowhere tossed Zeya to a large and firm oak. She saw the ifer’s new creation of what looks like a stone ogre.
So she can create whatever the h*ll she wants, eh?
A horn in her hip pierced through the trunk, and it’s taking her time to get up as she lost a bit of her energy from the fall. The ogre then trudged heavily towards her, and she could see the ifer riding on its shoulder. The ogre then slammed the tree behind her several times before completely knocking it down. Luckily, it didn’t fall on her, plus, her horn that was stuck to it was removed. However, the ogre struck its hard-rock fist into her, and fortunately, she managed to roll on her side that he didn’t hit her.
She squirmed away rapidly while the ogre was heaving his arm up, but the ifer was quick to slide down on the ogre’s arm, plunging on her before she was aggressively kicked from behind that she almost got buried into the ground. She thought she had bought enough time for her team to fall back.
The ifer stomped on her continuously, and she just had no energy left to evade her infuriated kicks. The ogre then threw a punch on her to which she didn’t manage to avoid as she was engrossed at the thought of her team getting away. She’s close to being knocked out when she felt a rush of strong wind interrupted her executioners. The ifer held on to her stone creation firmly as the roaring wind blew harshly.
Really? Another one of them?
She was relieved when the ogre dissipated and the ifer dashed away before the wind storm grew more intense. She held firmly on the ground using her claws and horns, afraid that she'd be sent flying again to somewhere. She gathered her remaining energy and grunted as she tried so hard to look up to see who's responsible for shaking the entire place. Her eyes and mouth widened as she finally sighted the perpetrator.
She realized that it doesn't hurt to listen to Nissa's prattling sometimes.
- Writer
