As Selena looked around, she had lost Cain’s scent.
“Selena!” Sofia flew in with a worried face, “Where is Cain? We sensed that he was in danger.”
“You followed us-nya? I seem to have gotten out of the dungeon, Cain is inside-nya.” Selena turned toward the dungeon gate.
“I see, the reinforcement is coming. Let’s head to the camp to prepare a rescue party!”
As Sofia turned around, Selena leaped and bite her head. “I can’t smell Cain on you, didn’t you two spend the last night together-GAW.”
As Sofia’s body twitched turning into a black worm, the entire area around Selena shifted back into a cave lighted by blue-glowing mushrooms.
GROWAAA! As Selena growled, a massive worm slithered from the wall with a creepy noise.
“What a strong nose, we should work on our smell mimicking as well.” The worm said with the voice of a woman.
Selena’s eyes followed her movements carefully, slowly dropping the corpse in her mouth and taking a low stance.
“Ready to fight? At least say something?” The worm shifted into the shape of Elena, Selena’s mother.
Selena turned into her Jaguar form and started slowly approaching, using her black fur to blend in with the darkness to the point that only her golden glowing eyes were visible.
“Not a single moment of hesitation, just pure concentration. Don’t you care even if it was me?” Elena smiled, the worm was trying to play on Selena’s emotion but failing. Selena didn’t seem to care at all, she only saw prey ahead.
‘I can tell, this thing is far stronger than me. I have to finish it with a single bite or I will be in trouble.’ Selena thought.
The moment Elena blinked. CRACK! Selena used all of the strength in her hind legs to leap forward.
Elena smiled, she could see Selena’s movements so she dodged to the side. CRACK! She immediately retaliated with a straight punch.
Selena landed on the wall with her claws, her right shoulder stinging with sharp pain. The worm’s hits were fast and heavy, fighting with such a massive body can be a disadvantage.
“So you decided to fight me in your human form? I see it’s not a smell you know but a magic item.” Elena smiled as she saw the faint glow coming from Selena’s collar.
‘She reminds me of a certain rooster-nya, I was never able to have him at dinner-nya’ Selena looked calm as she took a stance.
“A fighting stance? Aren’t you just a wild monster?” Elena laughed.
Selena knew this wasn’t her mother. The being in front of her was the real monster. But a worm that can only mimic other people. ‘Mother isn’t that strong, that must be the worm’s strength. She far outclasses me.’ Selena then thought about what Reith told her before.
[it’s indeed faster to break stones with brute force, but some mountains were only carved with slow-moving water] To be all honest, she didn’t get a word from what he meant but she knew one thing for sure. Reith could beat her so he was stronger; if she used what he taught her, she would be stronger.
Thud! Selena leaped at Elena again but this time with a fast punch.
“Slow!” Elena dodged again but she found her shoulder scratched.
At the last moment, before Elena could dodge, Selena extended her claws and used her tail to push her body forward. That small change was enough for her claws to reach the worm.
Thud! Selena didn’t slow down at all and followed in with another claw strike.
“Not when I know it’s coming!” BAM! Elena uppercuts Selena toward the ceiling.
HP: 456/483 è HP: 396/483
Selena landed on the ceiling with her legs, instantly bouncing back toward Elena.
GRWAAA! Selena growled as she slicked a strand from Elena’s hair.
‘What was that stance for? This is still just raw strength and speed.’ The worm couldn’t believe what the cat in front of her was doing.
Before she could take a step back, Elena was surprised by Selena’s tail grabbing her knee. “Let’s go of me!” Elena punched Selena in the face as hard as she could.
HP: 396/483 è HP: 310/483
Selena’s body was sent away as her tail was still holding onto Elena and instead bounced immediately with a kick.
The kick landed on Elena’s face lifting her from the ground, CLING! Selena’s foot claws extended and grabbed Elena’s face. “GAW!!” CRACK! She then smacked her on the ground with a single powerful stomp causing the stones to crack.
“Look at my eyes!” Elena smiled as a ghastly white glimmer appeared in her eyes. ‘Let’s end this, till this day no living creature survived looking in my eyes’ the worm thought with an evil mile.
There was a legend about Dream Larva, it says that anyone who sees them dies. But that wasn’t quite the case, that ability was linked to the larva’s vision. Just like how the basilisk can petrify, the dream larva’s gaze causes the target to fall into a deep slumber and die a minute later. That was because it’s the way the worm feed on dreams and intellect, the sages speculated.
Yet, as the worm expected Selena to fall, she instead received a second stomp on the stomach. Selena wasn’t looking at the larva’s eyes, she didn’t even see her mother’s face. The only things she could see were the skull, the neck, the arteries, and the vital organs.
The worm got enraged. Selena neither listened nor looked at her. She only saw her a thing to be killed and that’s it.
“Die then!” The worm snapped, quickly losing Elena’s voice and turning it into a horrid screech. BANG! She kicked Selena back smacking her through the ceiling and onto a larger room.
HP: 310/483 è HP: 251/483
The attack was so heavy it blew the air from Selena’s lungs and knocked her out for a second.
As Selena opened her eyes after taking the shock, she saw the worm leaping at her with a two-handed downward punch. CRACK!
Selena could feel her ribs cracking, this worm wasn’t playing around anymore. Like a cat who got sick from tormenting a mouse, she was going for the kill.
HP: 251/483 è HP: 146/483
Selena crashed into the stones bleeding from her mouth and ears.
BAM! The worm landed in front of Selena, her shape barely resembles a disfigured Elena at this point. She lifted Selena from the collar and glared at her.
“This is the magic item you were using?” BANG! The worm immediately kicked Selena away causing the collar she was gripping in place to shatter.
As Selena crashed through the walls she ended up stopping with severe wounds, her body has taken so much damage that her mind was slowly slipping away.
HP: 146/483 è HP: 25/483 è HP: 21/483 è HP: 17/483 è HP: 13/483.
Selena’s wounds were bleeding and slowly chipping at her life, the only thought crossing her mind was an image of Cain gripping his sword.
The worm stared at the dying Selena and snorted, “Such a problem that even seeing you makes my stomach turn, die, and rot there. Children, she is yours.” Multiple small worms swarmed at Selena, she was their meal.
[Agrallala, monsters are most dangerous when wounded] The worm suddenly remembered her husband’s words. Screech. She then heard one of her children get crushed.
As she turned around, Selena squashed one of them in her claws while still lying on the ground.
This worm was mere prey, one that is too dangerous to let wander around Cain. Selena imaged the worm killing Cain which only made her almost dried up blood boil.
Exp: 522000/530000 è Exp: 0/600000 that worm was all she needed.
CRACKLE! Golden Sparks of lightning flashed from her hair.