Chapter 689: Getting Darker

Mina had only one job to do: kill the creatures. That was what Clyde needed her to do and she intended to fulfill her duty no matter what came her way. Anything that approached Clyde, threatened to interrupt his ritual, or even seemed intent on getting close to him would have to die.

She tightened her grip on her twin daggers and faced the monster again.

The creature lunged, jaws snapping toward her head.

Mina dropped low, letting its teeth pass overhead before driving her dagger into the side of its neck.

The blade sank between the thick fur and muscle, but the monster didn’t slow. It twisted, throwing its massive forelimb toward her.

Mina pulled her weapon free and leaped backward. The claws swept past her chest, tearing through the fabric of her clothes and leaving shallow scratches against her skin.

She barely glanced at the wounds. Before the beast could attack again, she activated Crimson Step.

Her figure blurred, reappeared beside the monster’s rear leg and slashed across the joint.

The monster stumbled, its weight shifting unevenly as its injured limb buckled.

She used the opening to rush around its flank, cutting into its hind legs before darting away from its furious counterattack.

The creature roared and rose onto its hind legs. Its enormous shadow swallowed Mina as both forelimbs came crashing down toward her.

She rolled aside at the last moment.

The impact shook the ground, sending loose stones and dirt flying into the air.

Mina came out of the roll with one dagger held backward in her grip, then sprang toward the monster’s belly.

She drove the blade there, forcing it deep into the flesh beneath its ribs.

The beast howled and staggered away. She followed, ducking beneath another wild swipe before climbing onto its lowered shoulder. Her left dagger stabbed into the thick muscle near its neck, anchoring her briefly against its violent movements, while her right blade hacked repeatedly at the same wound.

Blood sprayed across her face.

The monster thrashed, trying to throw her off. Mina tore her dagger free and kicked away from its body, landing several meters from the beast. She immediately turned and charged again.

This time, she went for its head.

The monster snapped its jaws at her, but Mina twisted sideways and slid beneath its muzzle.

Her right dagger cut across its lower jaw while her left struck the tendons along its throat. The creature’s head jerked back, its roar breaking into a wet, choking growl.

She drove both daggers into the sides of its neck, wrenched them apart, and ripped open the wounds before jumping clear of its collapsing body.

The monster stumbled forward, its legs failing to support its weight. It tried to turn toward her one last time, but she was already moving.

Crimson Step carried her forward in a sudden red burst.

Mina appeared beside its head and plunged both blades into its skull.

The creature convulsed violently before collapsing onto the ground. Its enormous body twitched for several seconds, claws scraping uselessly against the dirt, then finally fell still.

Mina turned toward the second creature. There was no time to rest.

The second monster had already closed much of the distance. It moved with the same unnatural speed as the first. Its eyes fixed on Mina, and its jaws opened in a furious snarl.

Mina bared her teeth and rushed toward it.

The monster swung its right forelimb in a sweeping arc, attempting to catch her before she could reach its body.

Mina ducked beneath the attack and cut across its wrist, opening a deep gash along the tendons.

She pivoted on one foot and struck its other forelimb before the creature could bring it down.

The monster staggered, but it quickly retaliated with a vicious bite.

Mina twisted away. Its teeth snapped shut inches from her shoulder, and the momentum carried its head past her.

She seized the opportunity, planted one foot against its lower jaw, and kicked herself backward while slashing across its muzzle.

The creature recoiled with a howl.

Mina landed lightly and immediately pressed forward. Her daggers flashed in rapid succession, cutting across its chest, ribs, and shoulders.

She moved in tight circles around its body, never staying in one place for long for its claws to catch her. Whenever it turned to face her, she slipped to its blind side and attacked again.

The fight grew increasingly brutal.

The monster caught her with a glancing blow from its hind leg, sending her skidding across the ground. A little bit of pain flared through her side.

She clenched her teeth, forced herself upright, and spat out a curse.

The monster charged at her.

Mina waited until the last moment before activating Crimson Step again. Her body blurred out of its path, and the wolf rushed past her, its claws gouging deep furrows into the ground.

She reappeared behind it and drove both daggers into the back of its knee.

The joint gave way with a sickening crack.

The creature crashed onto one side, roaring in pain.

Mina pulled her blades free and climbed onto its back before it could roll over.

She stabbed into the base of its neck, then dragged one dagger sideways through the thick flesh while holding on with the other hand.

The wolf bucked violently, trying to throw her off.

Mina was nearly tossed into the air, but she dug her dagger deeper and held on long enough to reach its shoulder.

When the monster rolled, she released her grip and sprang clear, landing beside its head.

It tried to rise. But Mina stepped in and slashed across its face, blinding one eye.

The creature recoiled, snapping blindly at air.

She used the opening to drive a dagger through its remaining forelimb. Its weight shifted, and its body collapsed again.

She didn’t give it another chance. Mina seized the moment, thrusting one blade into the wound beneath its jaw and the other into its throat.

She leaned forward, forcing both weapons deeper as the monster struggled beneath her.

Its claws scraped against the ground, tearing up dirt and stone, but its movements weakened with every passing second.

Finally, it was dead.

Mina pulled her daggers free and stepped away from the corpse.

Two monsters were dead. Yet the unease in her chest only grew stronger.

The sky had become almost completely black now. The thick clouds above churned in great, spiraling masses, swallowing the last traces of light. Lightning flashed within them, illuminating the land before plunging everything back into darkness.

The wind became a furious gale.

She looked toward the horizon.

More shadows seemed to move within the darkness. The entire Ruin felt as though something had begun stirring beneath its surface.

Mina turned toward Clyde.

He remained at the center of the ritual, standing motionless among the scattered materials and blood-drawn symbols.

His lips continued forming the strange incantation, and his eyes remained fixed on the ritual ground.

He had not reacted to the battle, the thunder, or the creatures that had nearly reached him.

"Clyde..." Mina muttered under her breath. She took a step toward him, intending to check whether he was all right, but stopped when she noticed something strange surrounding his body.

A faint darkness clung to the air around him.

At first, Mina mistook it for a trick of the storm.

But as she watched, the darkness began to gather into thin, wavering strands. They drifted around Clyde like wisps of smoke, twisting and curling without being affected by the wind.

Mina frowned as the strange energy expanded into a curved boundary around the ritual ground. It rose from the earth and arched overhead, gradually forming a dome that enclosed Clyde within its limits.

The surface remained almost invisible, discernible only through the faint distortions it created in the darkness.

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