Chapter 76: Death.

It hurts… It hurts… It hurts…! My stomach… It feels like they're melting… I can't breathe… My chest… It feels like it's going to burst… Is this, a side effect from stopping time? The ringing in my ears won't fade.

"ARGH-!! AAAAARGHH!" I groaned out.

My eyes started to grow moist as I slam my head on the pool of blood beneath me. I had done so in an attempt to misdirect the internal pain, but there was no avail as my vision grew blurrier and blurrier.

Bleurgh

Out of nowhere, I suddenly get the intense urge to puke, vomiting out even more blood. Just now, things grew colder and even more blurrier… I was starting to see a faint flow of energy, floating around before entering me.

[You have assisted in slaying a mid-ranked horned one!]

[You have earned 20 XP]

[XP required to level up: 408/400]

[Congratulations, You have levelled up!]

Huh… Was that flow XP…? So that's how the system works… But how? I didn't kill any other horned ones… Unless… One of them that I had attacked were killed?

"GRAY!!!"

"DO SOMETHING!! HELP HIM!!!"

Voices call out to me, as I find myself collapsed motionless on the floor. Looking up, I find Aurora and Violet crying as they desperately try to get the horned one focused on healing my sister to help me.

"D… Don't… I'll be fine… J-Just… K- *Cough* Keep healing… Her…"

After saying so, my vision grew even more blurrier to the point where I could no longer see.

[You have attained Level 5!]

[Evolution Option available!]

[Evolution Option: Chronos Halfling -> Chronos]

[Would you like evolve?]

[Warning… Changes Will be irreversible.]

[Even so, in order to survive, do you choose to evolve?]

What…? Those last words, they sounded didn't from the system's usual tone…

"Y…Yea…"

Those were my last words before everything turned black.

[Affirmative]

[Evolution Commencing]

-

-

-

Gray's body laid motionless on the ground. He was no longer breathing, nor reacting to any movement she made.

"Gray…? Gray… Oi Gray… Stop joking around…" Aurora muttered as she shook constantly shook his motionless figure. "You… Gray… Gray please…! Don't die!! You promised!! GRAY!!!" She cried out.

Violet who had been watching from a far dropped to her knees. Her figure could be seen trembling, she had completely lost calm and collected nature as tears streamed down her eyes. "Gray…"

She couldn't hold it back. No matter how hard she tried, it wouldn't stop flowing out.

*Throb*

The air around Violet suddenly burst away, her purple hair slowly levitated as the tears, which had been released from her could be seen floating around.

Within seconds, the sadness she was feeling was all transfered to anger. Anger and hatred. All directed to herself.

Her eyes glowed a bright dark purple as she turned towards the horned female who was healing Gray's sister.

"Heal him… Before he dies…" Violet murmured, the pressure in the air instantly increasing as she did so.

The horned female looked at Violet before letting out a sigh. "It's too late now… Can't you tell? His life essence is gone."

"He's-"

Aurora's eyes widened, she quickly interrupted Violet as she yelled out. "He's not dead… Gray wouldn't die here…!"

The female horned one, looked down at the wound on Gray's sisters stomach. It was just about closed. The light on the red gem had also started to dim down from having overexerted it's abilities. Seeing this, she placed his sister on the ground before making her way towards him.

Ignoring the stares from both Aurora and Violet, she crouched down beside him, her black twin tails looming over him, before she placed the gem above him.

For a few short seconds, there was no reaction.

"No reaction, He's dead. He sacrificed himself to save his sister." She muttered before standing back up. "Damn it… And I thought I finally had a way to end this war-"

Without finishing what she had to say, she suddenly appeared before Aurora, with her stretched out.

*Clang!*

A metal spear which had been thrown at Aurora who had been seated beside Gray, crashed into her hand, shattering into pieces in the process.

Following that, the sound of clapping resounded throughout the room.

*Clap* *Clap*

She was interrupted by the sound of clapping which came from over the bridge, on the entrance of the boss room. Turning to the source, they could see a group of three horned ones, each of them had orange horns. The second highest of the ranks.

"Not bad, not bad at all… Princess. I thought you had betrayed us but it seems you've dealt with the matter through your own hands." The orange haired man in the lead spoke.

The two girls stared daggers at him as they inspected his figure. A middle aged horned man wearing a uniform with a craft resembling something made from another world. Injuries resultant from heavy blows could be seen on his face as he cracked his knuckles.

Beside him were two brown haired young men, they seemed to be twins as they resembled each other greatly, not just in terms of looks but also the expression. Blank and emotionless, such were the qualities of their expression as they stared back.

"Where's everyone else? Are you deaf? Did I not tell you to stand down?" She asked.

"You see princess… They ended up experiencing a little accident and unfortunately perished. From the way things are, the same thing just might happen to you."

"Try it." She spoke, sending a deathly stare at him.

A grin widened on his face, as he suddenly appeared beside her, ahead of Gray and his body.

"I know you've exhausted your Evolution Energy to heal that girl on the ground. There's no need to put on a tough act, right now you're no stronger than third rank. Princess."

*BAM!!!*

A sharp fist, slammed on the side of the horned female's stomach, before she was sent flying away. The punch was inflicted by one of the twins.

Her figure was seemingly caught in the air by a telekinetic wave before coming to a halt, levitating on the border of the arena.

A trail of ice, slowly expanded from beneath Aurora's legs as she got up. The color of the ice, was bizarrely, red. Part of an ice spike emerged from the ground, before it proceeded to rise up, freezing the brown haired horned man who was still airborne from his attack.

"So it was you…" Violet muttered, as she stretched out her hands towards him. Her purple eyes grew darker and colder as her blood lust was let out.

*Crack*

At that instant, the man's pupils dilated as his entire arm, snapped in half.

"Die."

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