My left hand fell freely as the only vein holding it together had busted due to the forceful movement, and my upper body had turned crimson from the continuous blood leak.
"Hey—huff... huff—have you located her?" I asked, barely standing with the support of my sword.
Vyaghra's eyes slowly opened, their golden hue burning brighter.
He raised one of his daggers forward, pointing at a tree.
Black-colored vapors began emitting from the blade of the dagger as he whispered,
"Shadow Needle."
A thin, thread-sized black laser shot from the dagger, piercing through the tree and striking something behind it.
A loud howl followed, and the tree turned into smoke before vanishing into the air.
And behind it stood Gumiho, the laser piercing the cursed leech at her forehead.
"Raj! I can only hold her still for five seconds," Vyaghra shouted, his usual firm voice carrying urgency.
I drew a deep breath and took trembling steps towards Gumiho.
"Blink"
The moment I closed the distance, I swung my sword horizontally,
"Lightning Slash"
The blade sliced the cursed leech below her navel, embedding the Lightning Slash at zero distance directly into her body.
"Cursed beast detected..."
"Activating All-devouring breathing technique"
"Moderate amount of Soulforce absorbed"
Her steps fumbled, and she began to fall.
But she immediately balanced herself and clutched my throat.
"Gawk," I gasped for oxygen as she tightened her hand around my neck, lifting me into the air.
My legs trembled, and I loosened my grip on the sword. My vision started to darken, and my hearing went dull.
She thrust her other hand forward, her claws pointing at my eyes.
Before her rippers could reach my face, a cold but soft breeze passed by me.
"Sword of the Snowbane, Chapter 1, Verse 2"
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Gumiho's grasp on my throat weakened, and I collapsed to the ground as my vision slowly returned.
The vertical half of Gumiho's body was covered in ice, and behind her stood Nymeria holding Frostbite in her hands.
It didn't end there. Another wind brushed against my skin—this time strong and violent.
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Jambavan descended from the sky, his joined hands wreathed in a wild red aura, crashing down upon Gumiho's head.
The moment he landed, the ground shattered with a bomb-exploding boom, sending me flying along with all the debris of the land.
As my back was about to hit the ground, Vyaghra suddenly appeared from my shadow, grabbed me, and we both vanished into the darkness again, before reappearing behind a tree, taking cover from the flying debris.
"That—huff...huff—was fucking dope," I muttered, holding my mouth, awestruck.
Ding...
"Monarch's Authority has completely lifted."
"Your Soulforce consumption is returning to normal."
As soon as the dust subsided, we got up and moved again.
The place where the impact landed had a huge crater about the size of a truck, and at the center of it stood Jambavan and Nymeria, staring at the unconscious body of Gumiho.
I asked, coming towards them,
"How—how did you—huff... huff—avoid the aftermath of Jambavan's skill, pretty lady?"
"Is that really important right now?"
She replied, her voice tinged with disbelief. She turned to look at me and suddenly gasped, her hand flying to her chest,
"Oh dear god of six, how did you get so injured?"
"Don't worry about it—huff... huff—let me take a look at her first."
With trembling steps, I slid down the crater and sat beside Gumiho.
Her body still had remnants of ice attached, and the land beneath her had turned crimson from the blood coming out of her head.
I stared at Jambavan as I asked, "Oy Jambavan, are you sure you didn't kill her?"
"She wouldn't be our Queen if she went down from just that."
"I hope you are right," I replied, then shifting my focus to Gumiho, I raised my only movable arm and touched her forehead.
"Cursed beast detected...
Absorbing the Soulforce of cursed beast..."
"So this is how he cured us," Vyaghra said, staring at the cursed veins appearing on my arms.
After a few seconds, something unexpected happened.
The veins covering my hand began returning to her forehead, and a notification popped up:
"Error! Unable to absorb more Soulforce.
The gap between the Host and the target's strength is too immense."
"Damn it—not again," I muttered, lifting my hand and touching her again.
"Error! Unable to absorb more Soulforce.
The gap between the Host and the target's strength is too immense."
"Hey, is there something wrong?" Vyaghra asked, a hint of anger in his voice.
I didn't reply. I was also becoming restless.
"Maybe it will work if I try the different leech," I thought, touching the leech on her chest.
"Error! Unable to absorb more Soulforce.
The gap between the Host and the target's strength is too immense."
I raised my arm, my eyebrows twitching with frustration as I lowered my hand again to touch the leech.
This time, a hand suddenly gripped my wrist.
It was Gumiho's hand. She had come back to consciousness. Her eyes gazed at me menacingly, and one of her pink tails began to glow.
Before I could react, the glow turned into an intense, blinding light that covered the entire forest.
My eyes shut from the brightness, my ears rang with a high-pitched sound, and the next moment, everything turned silent. After a brief pause, my ears filled with the soft voice of Nymeria.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
I opened my eyes and found myself, along with Nymeria, Jambavan, and Vyaghra, inside a diamond-shaped ice barrier.
I grabbed my head as I spoke,
"Aghhh, what just happened?"
"The thing I was most afraid of," Vyaghra said. "The Queen has sacrificed one of her tails."
Cracks began to appear on the barrier, and particles of ice fell from it.
"The barrier won't hold for long. As soon as it breaks, her Soulforce is going to overwhelm us. Brace for the impact," Nymeria said, and the very next moment, the ice went down with a terrifying howl.
The three of them immediately covered themselves with their Soulforce. However, I, who didn't have the slightest idea how to do that, suffered the impact.
"Warning!!! Gumiho has activated Monarch's Authority.
Monarch's Authority partially applied.
Your Soulforce consumption will be increased by 500%."
I muttered, gasping heavily and holding my chest,
"You—you gotta be kidding me."