"Monarch's Authority has partially applied.
Your stats will no longer be affected due to skill: Unshakable Mind.
Your fighting spirit is returning to normal due to skill: Unshakable Mind."
I gritted my teeth and rose to my feet. I wasn't the only one affected by her skill—Vyaghra and Jambavan were also on their knees, breathing heavily.
Only Nymeria stood unaffected, covered in an icy aura, staring directly at the figure approaching us.
"Wrap your body with Soulforce," she shouted, drawing her sword.
"I was going to do that," Vyaghra muttered, as black vapor began emitting from his body.
Jambavan also got up, covered in crimson energy.
"Raj, do it quickly. She will reach us soon," Nymeria snapped, as the figure's vertical-slit pink eyes glowed through the fog.
"That's unnecessary. Her ability doesn't affect me," I boasted, drawing my sword.
"I expect no less from my savior," Vyaghra declared.
Well, in reality, I was just bluffing. The truth was, I had no idea how to cover myself in Soulforce.
Vyaghra, holding daggers in his hands, took a step forward and disappeared into the shadows.
At the same time, Jambavan clenched his fist and launched it forward, blowing away all the mist.
Gumiho's appearance cleared as the haze faded.
She had the face of a fox and the body of a woman. Her entire skin was covered in purple fur. Three tails swayed behind her as she moved forward, tearing the air with her horrifying claws.
Her cheeks were streaked with bloody tears flowing from her pink eyes.
And unlike the other cursed beasts, she bore not one but three leeches—one at her forehead, another at her chest, and the last just below her navel—each beating like a heart.
Ding...
"You have found the cursed God Gumiho
A new subquest has been triggered!!
Subquest:
→ Free Gumiho from her agony by absorbing the cursed Soulforce
Reward upon completion: ???
Penalty upon failure:???"
Jambavan was the first to attack. He leapt from the ground, landing in front of Gumiho.
"Forgive me, Yer Grace," he whispered before blasting his fist at her.
The blow landed with a deafening sonic boom, tearing apart the trees and ground alike behind Gumiho.
The force was strong enough to take down a tank, but still…
It was stopped.
Gumiho was completely unscathed, her clawed hands locked around Jambavan's fist.
"Yer as strong as ever, Yer Grace," Jambavan shouted before hurling another punch aimed at her face.
Gumiho's hair fluttered, and the land beneath her split from the air pressure.
Yet it was blocked again.
"I knew yer gonna stop that. But now that yer hands are full, how ya gonna block him?" Jambavan smirked and instantly ducked low.
In the blink of an eye, Gumiho moved her tail, coiling it around the wrists of her hands, pointing daggers just inches away from her eyes.
It was Vyaghra's hands.
His body became visible as he stood on Jambavan's shoulders.
"How the hell did she sense him coming?" I gasped, tightening my grip on the sword.
"Quit spacing out and join them!" Nymeria shouted, sprinting towards Gumiho.
I also ran, following her closely.
Seeing us coming at her, Gumiho moved her tail that held Vyaghra's wrists in a circular motion over the top of her head and slammed him to the ground behind her.
At the same time, she jerked her hands upward and brought them down together, smashing Jambavan into the dirt.
Jambavan was taller than 7 feet, yet she manhandled him that easily.
I had to be careful of her grasp.
"At her feet," Nymeria ordered as we reached closer.
I bent low and swung my sword, aiming for her legs, while Nymeria went for the throat.
However, the only thing we slashed was air.
She had already vanished, dodging our attack the moment it was about to reach her.
"When did she get up there?" I muttered, staring at the top of a half-broken tree.
She stood there, purple plum blossoms flowing around her body.
"Don't let the plums touch yer body!" Jambavan shouted, rising from the ground.
The flowers moved, following the swing of her hands towards us.
Jambavan slammed his fist at the bolting plums and shouted,
"Galactic Punch!"
Half of them were hurled back by the blast of wind.
As the remaining ones reached closer, Nymeria passed by me, leapt into the air, and swung her sword.
"Glacial Diamond!"
A diamond-shaped ice wall appeared with the motion of her sword, trapping the flowers inside it.
However, a dozen of them still escaped, coming directly at me.
"I'll take care of the rest," I said, swinging my sword at them.
"Idiot, don't slice them," Nymeria shouted, but it was too late—my blade had already grazed one.
"Oh shit," I muttered.
The moment the petal came into contact, it glowed violently and then—
BOOM
Purple smoke erupted around me, shattering the ground beneath my feet.
"Cough-cough, what the hell was that?" I gasped, sitting on the ground.
Vyaghra stood in front of me, taking the blast head-on.
"Hey, are you alright?" I asked, pushing myself to my feet.
"I am fine. Don't let your guard down," he whispered, blood dripping from his head. "You are the only one who can save her."
"I apologise for being a liability," I mumbled, gritting my teeth.
"Don't be sorry. Be better," Vyaghra responded, vanishing into the shadows again.
I walked out of the smoke to get better visibility.
However, the scene I witnessed past the dust was completely bizarre.
Jambavan was on his knees, his hands touching the ground, whispering and sobbing heavily,
"Vani... don't leave me. Varena... please... stay with me."
"Hey, pull yourself together," I said, touching his shoulder.
He kept crying, ignoring me. His eye had turned pink, and he had no awareness of his surroundings.
Meanwhile, Nymeria was just standing a few feet ahead of him, looking at the sky.
"Nymeria, what happened to him?" I asked as I reached closer to her.
"Everyone... died," she muttered, her voice trembling.
"It was all my fault. Raj was killed because of me."
Tears rolled down her cheeks, and the sword fell from her hands, ringing a metallic sound as it hit the ground.
"Nymeria, snap out of it. I'm not dead," I begged, pulling her by the shoulders.
Like Jambavan, she remained unresponsive.
"What the actual hell is going on?" I mumbled.
The air was filled with an eerie silence. Gumiho was nowhere to be found. I was about to move when suddenly Vyaghra slammed me forcefully to the ground as he shouted, "Look out."
"Aghhh," I growled, looking upward.
Gumiho had clutched Vyaghra's face between her hands.
She moved closer to his face and gazed into his eyes.
Vyaghra's eyes also started to turn pink.