CHAPTER 388: FALL OF AN ALPHA? [6]

As commotion erupted on the surface, Lillian was currently listening in on quite a commotion of her own. To be exact, the sounds of battle around her as she continued to lie inside the crater she was bashed into.

To the outside, it would seem that Lillian was either dead or completely unconscious—mainly due to the amount of blood that was painted around her.

But... That wasn’t the truth.

Rather, it wasn’t yet.

As Lillian continued to lie in the dent in the wall, both her mind and eyes flickered between unconsciousness and consciousness. It was truly a miracle she was still in a state of mild thinking after having the back of her head brutally slammed into the wall.

And she had to thank Marionette for increasing her tolerance to inflictions like these...

Currently, what she was experiencing was a severe migraine that she could only describe as a stomachache of the mind. And an awful one at that.

"Haa... Haa..." Lillian breathed harshly through her mind before feeling her throat clog up as a clot of blood shot out of her mouth.

Now, with the taste and smell of both iron in her mouth, Lillian muttered silently in her mind:

’What... Happened...?’

It was going perfectly. Their teamwork was in sync, as tightly woven and intertwined as a ball of strings, so why...

Why was she currently lying in a crater within the wall, with blood streaming out of the corners of her mouth? How had everything gone so wrong...?

"Ha-... Haa..." Lillian’s breath hitched for a moment before eventually going stable. And once drawing in another breath, she managed to clear her foggy mind a bit.

’... Ah... I remember now...’

Lillian’s mind slowly drifted back when she first caught sight of the monster’s sudden shift in behaviour. It felt smarter and had begun to anticipate her attack and the period in between them.

Not only that, but it had even solely shifted its focus from her to Viesta.

And because of that, they had to quickly improvise their entire strategy, which they had only just gotten used to.

Lillian tried to raise her arms and found them both sore and numb beyond belief, a contradiction, but proof that she was still inexperienced in combat with large monsters.

The reason for this reflection? It was due to the period when Lillian, who was about to pull Viesta out of the way, was then struck with a sneak attack that she hadn’t yet anticipated.

Especially one she wrapped in mana, which disrupted her fluid transformation.

Fortunately, she had managed to raise her guard in time; otherwise, her injuries would’ve been even more severe. From what she could feel, Lillian only felt a minor fracture in her arms, which would’ve been worse without her gauntlets.

’Bastard... To think it managed to grasp the next level in mana sensitivity because of our attacks...’

In a monster’s pathway, you had two ways to increase in tiers.

It was either to somehow survive long enough for the passive corruption in the air to awaken the mana within you, or... To be able to grasp the feeling of mana through continuous exposure.

And unfortunately...

BOOM!

... The Alpha managed to grasp this knowledge of control on the verge of being backed into a corner.

Lillian slowly gritted her teeth and pressed her jaws together as she tried to sit up. But then, her vision blurred and her mind suddenly dazed as the world spun rapidly; vertigo.

Coughing out another small load of blood, Lillian’s voice spilt out:

"I-I..."

But, as if hoping someone could read her mind, she finished her sentence in her head:

’I need a health potion...’

And as she muttered that inside her head, her eyes grew slightly tired and closed, along with her attention to the world around her that still continued to tremble as Millis and Viesta continued to fight.

She then felt a tremor contact with her, which grew stronger over time.

"LILLIAN! GET UP!" x2

***

"Tch." Brexten clicked his tongue and stood over everyone, taller than the surrounding people, as he gazed at the screen of the drone with a smug look, "Superior, my ass... To think she got done in that fast, I only just left."

Zeke snapped his head backwards and found Brexten shaking his head in mocking disappointment at Lillian’s current situation. He then heard the man say:

"She and those other two will die any moment now... From what I’ve heard, we’re talking about them now facing a monster in the Dire rank! Or one that is about to approach that rank."

Zeke watched as the Brexten continued to shake his head and felt a deep rage within his heart. However, he didn’t speak or argue with the man’s words, for he knew he was correct.

With one person already taken out of the variable, how could two others take on a monster of that level? Unless they had the gear purely prepared for it, he doubted that they would manage.

His sentiments quickly spread throughout the faces of those watching, causing a horde of crestfallen faces to appear.

As much as some of the mages wanted to help, with what they had seen and the confirmation that the Alpha had gotten even stronger, what could they do?

It was even worse, as some of the group didn’t even manage to break through the sea of Barrel Moles that protected the Alpha.

And soon enough...

One by one...

People began to leave. It was best if the town called in the authorities specialised to deal with this.

Zeke, who remained rooted to his spot, felt an arm wrap around his shoulder with a scolding grip. Glancing back, he stared into Brexten’s eyes and keenly listened as:

"So, since my group came back alive without wasting any of your resources, could we get back the money you robbed from us?"

Zeke’s eyes flashed with anger.

Three people were just about to die at the hands of a horrific fiend, and all this man could think about was the fee needed to take on the dangerous task.

How shameless and insensitive can this man be!?

"You’re truly a scum..." Shrugging off the man’s arm with a click of his tongue, he turned around and left.

After a few steps, he briefly recalled the scene of the white-haired girl asking him to join in this battle. And because of that...

An insatiable amount of guilt appeared inside his chest...

Could he have made a difference?

"..." Zeke stopped his slow walk and fell into deep thought as the sun rose over his head. With a dark shadow cast over his face by his military cap, he took a curious glance at the shed off to the side.

This was the storage shed for equipment.

With his gaze settling on the shed, he drifted his eyes to the crates inside through the window and then the guards situated outside with rifles tightly held in their hands.

He then raised his eyepatch and glanced towards the spatial mages, who were prepared to leave. And using his eyes to check their mana levels, he found that they...

Had all equally restored enough for one last spell, something he had gauged using his years of experience.

Zeke then took a cold look at the twins standing around Brexten with a calculating light in his eyes.

...

He had an idea.