Chapter 152: A final cry.

Chapter 152: A final cry.

Though I was confident that we could slay the beast, I had killed a peak tier 4 classer before, after all, I still felt somewhat apprehensive.

Are you sure we cant just sneak in and take the liana? I can apparate up there with a skill of mine, you know?

Emeri shook her head. No chance. Extracting the lianas medicinal parts requires time and skill. Time and skill you wouldnt have in that situation. Leave the liana to me. First, lets kill the paradise bird. Then, if its partner shows up while Im in the middle of harvesting the plant, you need to hold it off until I finish. Emeri proposed.

It sounded like a solid plan, if only the very basics of one. Actually killing the creature could prove to be more complicated than she made it out to be. Furthermore, Emeris sudden shift in attitude still confused me. Maybe her affinity was affecting her somehow? Either way, we didnt have time to plan or argue further, since the birds partner would arrive in a few dozen minutes. Before then, we would have to whittle down the colossal creature roosting before us.

Ready? I asked. Instead of replying, Emeri readied her spear and lifted it behind her back, intent on throwing it at the paradise bird.

I jolted into action and, as quietly as I could, approached the creature. Light gathered behind me, coalescing on Emeris spear. The white flash illuminated the dark forest as if it were a second sun, stirring our prey awake. The paradise bird blinked lazily, its massive eyes not used to the sudden brightness. By the time it realized what was going on, it was already too late. Emeris spear screeched as it flew, waking up the forests inhabitants, before reaching the birds torso and sinking in with a wet squelch. The light-affinity mana dissipated, and the spear quickly lost its luster, but the damage had been done. The beast cried out in pain and beat its wings angrily, which unleashed a scorching gust that tore up the nearby roots and singed my skin.

The creature had a fire and wind affinity. It used this to devastating effect when, suddenly, the gust escalated into a full-blown twister that reached the canopy of the forest and shook the liana at the roots.

Shit! I cried out. We have to get it away from the liana!

Emeri ran past me and grabbed onto her spear, which was still lodged in the creatures flesh, before pulling it free by using some kind of skill that made her arms light up with golden light.

Frantically, I looked around the forest in search of a better spot to fight. Who knew the creature would be willing to damage the liana to defend itself? Did it not understand the plants worth?

Finding no area large and wide enough, I came to a conclusion. I charged past Emeri and took flight using [Aura step]. We have to go up and into the sky! Its the only way!

Are you crazy? Emeri asked incredulously. You want to fight a wind-affinity monster in the sky?

While we were talking, the liana continued to shake violently because of the tempestuous wind. Seeing this, Emeri quickly relented. Fuck! she cursed, before turning into a white flash and tearing off into the sky above the canopy.

Did she learn to swear from me? I mumbled, momentarily taken aback. I chuckled and shot off after her using Aura step. A few seconds later, the dense canopy of the forest gave way to clear blue skies. The sun bore down on us and illuminated the forest. A myriad of colorful trees spread out before us, making for an entrancing sight. We had never realized that the dark forests trees had multiple colors until now, and it became clear that we had been missing out. Never before had I seen such a beautiful sight

Our moment of appreciation was quickly interrupted by the sound of a pair of colossal wings beating. The trees near the clearing were torn apart as a multi-colored bird shot out of the forest, a gust of wind propelling it upwards at an unimaginable speed. The birds momentum suddenly changed, launching it towards us instead.

Is it dead? I wondered aloud.

Ding! Combat finished. Congratulations on reaching [Hollow essence Knight] level 63!

The system notification answered us.

It gave its life for that final skill Emeri noted sadly.

I sighed. Why dont you go harvest that liana. Ill see about harvesting this corpse for anything valuable. I proposed, to which Emeri nodded mutely. Neither of us wanted to kill the creatures mate after a sacrifice like this. Wounded like it had been, it could still have run away if it wanted to. Yet, it refused. Maybe it wanted to protect its territory, maybe it wanted to kill us to stop us from ever harming its mate, who knew

I turned around and noticed that Emeri had left, so I got to work myself.

None of the daggers I kept to skin creatures could pierce the birds hide, so I had to use my tier 4 sword to dig into its charred flesh. Much like burned meat, the creature broke apart like dry charcoal. I tore apart chunk after chunk, until I eventually reached the center of its chest, where I expected to find its core. Sure enough, it was there. What was left of it, anyway. The bird had shattered its core to use its last skill, so only broken pieces were left. Strangely, those broken pieces still shone with the colors of the rainbow, as if there was still life in them. Curious as to why, I pocketed the shards.

Unfortunately, I found nothing else of interest in the corpse, so I headed over to Emeri. I found her back at the clearing, hunched over the top of the lianas flower. She was carefully digging a knife into its stem, bleeding the golden blood of the plant into a glass vial. I watched her work silently for a few minutes, until the plant was bled dry. She closed the vial and stored it in a spatial bracelet, at which point I made my presence known.

Hey there. Did you manage okay? I asked, trying to feel her out. I wasnt sure how she was taking the creatures death, after all.

Sure. She replied quietly. Did you find the birds core? she asked without looking up.

Yeah, though only its shards. They still seem to have mana in them, though.

This fact made Emeri curious, too. Really? How? I didnt think dead cores could store mana

Thats what I was wondering. We should get it appraised at the border city. For now, lets get out of here. I dont want to be here when the other bird arrives.

Emeri nodded, and that was that.

About an hour later, when we were already far away from the scorched crater, mournful birdsong resounded throughout the inner reaches of the dark forest. Emeri hung her head low and listened, while I tried to drown out the noise.