Cassy pulled her dagger, slashing it on empty air to shake off the blood. Her fingers trembled at the new sensation, something she hadn't experienced before. Just like Aster, it was her first time taking someone's life!
The sensation of her dagger digging through flesh, hitting bones, and cracking them. Everything was vivid in her senses, making her hyperventilate as she panted hard. Just as she was having tunnel vision, a hand patted her shoulder, bringing her back to reality.
"Well done, Stup—Cassy... Now, just one more!"
Of course, the man's death wasn't just Cassy's achievement. It was a joint effort!
What happened was no accident. The "smokescreen," followed by the two enemies facing back to back with each other, and Cassy's "missed" lunge. Everything was planned right when the two were in the middle of Cassy's Minor Area Heal Spell!
Of course, it wasn't a specific plan, more like a suggestion. But the two managed to pull it off regardless!
Cassy closed her eyes, nodding, before turning to the big guy with the hammer.
"Now, only you are left!"
She smiled fiercely, putting off the thought of having taken someone's life.
With the two of them regrouping and standing side by side, they should be more of a threat now than before with coordinated attacks! However, the man with the hammer grinned from ear to ear, slapping the hammer over his shoulder before speaking confidently.
"Hah! Even if you teamed up, there's no way you can pierce through my defense!"
"..."
Cassy's frown returned. After all, she knew how tough the enemy's skin was after fighting him for a while. Even when she landed slashes, not even a scratch remained on him! This, of course, was definitely due to a skill's effect, if not a spell.
Without warning, as if not even bothering to listen to him, Kali moved. The big man gasped in surprise, moving his hammer to cover his vitals, unable to catch Kali's figure from her lightning-flash speed.
*SLASH!* *PLOP!*
"What an arrogant bear." Kali stopped a few meters behind the bearman, spinning her two daggers around her fingers.
"We can't injure you? If that's true, then how did you get your ears clipped off, huh?" She sneered. "You're just full of air; there's not much to write home about."
"Urk!"
She chucked the dagger at the orange rabbit, who just sat down on the ground, panting hard. Her legs gave out as soon as the fight ended, relieving the tension from her nerves.
Kali watched her carefully before closing her eyes. "We'll move once you're rested enough. Take your time."
"That... I will..." Cassy responded with a wry smile before lying down on the ground.
Both of them were tired, and their bodies were hurting from all the injuries they suffered. Kali's wounds, for example, only closed up on the surface. Inside, it was still a mess, making her brain feel nothing but pain at the moment.
Cassy was better off, with only the right side of her body feeling off, as if numb, after receiving a direct hit from the hammer earlier.
She could still move by forcing herself, though.
As the two were resting, feeling the heat coming from the burning forest a short distance away, they suddenly started to hear "anomalous" noises.
"D-Don't come here...! AAAARGH!"
"H-HELP!"
"GYAAAA!!!"
"N-No... way..."
Voices, tinged with panic and despair, echoed from a short distance away.
As the two heard this, they quickly became alert and tried to rouse their tired bodies, looking toward the direction the voice came from. There, they could see shadows lit by flames in the background, running in panic toward their direction.
"More enemies?" Kali frowned.
Those running toward them were those who were heavily damaged by the initial explosion earlier. After they were healed with potions and such, they were left there by the now-dead kidnappers, waiting for the potion to work and fix them up.
"...!"
The problem, however, was that the shadows consisted not only of humanlike figures; among the shadows, a big figure could be seen, moving around and killing those who tried to run first, as if playing.
Cassy was familiar with what that figure was, as she saw it just a few days ago.
"... The Dire Wolf!"