Nova threw her lightning at Achiloq. The beast licked its fangs that were still stained with the blood of its last victim and brought out more bony spikes from its body and directed them at Nova. She dodged and used her lightning to fly over the beast's head in an attempt to attack it again, this time from above. The beast used its tail to knock Nova down, making her slam hard against the ground. The air in her lungs left her for a momentary second, and she quickly associated with it came a sharp pain in her ankle that was now twisted.
"We need to help her." Luna tugged at Lucian's shirt in an attempt to make him move, but like her, he couldn't move.
Lucian was trying to figure out why the beast was only focused on Nova and not them; he had a feeling that if he could figure this out, then they had a chance of defeating the beast.
Nova yelled in pain and tried getting up with her broken ankle.
Reluctantly, Lucian forces his joint to move and helps Nova to her feet. The beast was approaching and moving fast with dangerous fangs that were eager to bite down on another meal.
The beast raised its tail again. Nova caught sight of it from the side of her eyes; she was in Lucian's arms, jumping with one leg. She held Lucian tightly before her in an attempt to use him as a human shield, knowing fully well that one hit from the beast's magic tail at close range was enough to kill Lucian.
Out of pure instinct, at the last minute. Lucian was able to push himself and Nova out of the way.
The beast growls in rage for missing its targets.
"Get me to Luna now!" Nova ordered Lucian in fearful desperation; she needed both of her legs to work, and for that to happen, Luna needed to heal her.
Lucian was filled with a certain emotion; the one he risked his life to save almost tried to sacrifice him. He was angry with what Nova did, and the tone of her voice that sounded as though she was ordering him around as though he were her lackey pissed him off even more. He hated it, but this wasn't the time for him to show his emotions.
"What you did isn't the teamwork you promised us." Luna glared at Nova as she healed her ankle; she was mortified by what she saw when Nova almost killed Lucian.
"Shut up and do your damn job!" Nova yelled while hissing in pain. She was angry that she had been busting her ass for losers who deserve to die. She won't even be with them if not for the mission that had been given to her by her system. Her mission would have long been completed if not for Lucian, who had been acting indifferent around her lately.
"You little bitch, you have no right to talk to me like that." Luna pulled her hands away from Nova's ankle in rage, making her healing incomplete.
With her life on the line, Nova couldn't pretend anymore. Her ankle was partially healed and still in pain; she wasn't going to pretend to be the nice girl anymore.
When the beast approaches them again, she pushes Lucian once again towards the beast, desperate to give it another meal for it to focus on so that she can figure out how to escape.
"You crazy bitch." Luna left Nova's side and carefully approached the beast, but Lucian rolled over on his back, to the side of the wall, far away from the beast.
Lucian and Luna were both at the side of the beast from different angles, while Nova remained at the beast's front.
"I should have followed Thorin to escape when I had the chance." Nova thought out loud, her eyes regrettably moving to the blocked path Thorin and his teammate had used to escape. A surprised look formed on her face as she caught sight of a small opening between the broken rock; her body could squeeze in because of her small figure. A smile pulled on Nova's lip as she directed her lightning to the beast again while carefully moving to her escape route.
'If I leave these two losers, that means I'm going to have to search for another loser again to complete the quest my system gave me.' Nova thought. 'I have won over Luna's affection, but with what just happened between us, I'm not sure anymore. But between her and Lucian, she's more gullible, stupid, and useful. Unlike Lucian, who keeps being difficult in his pathetic state, the bastard still thinks he's something, even though he's nothing.'
"Come with me, Luna." Nova stretches her hands towards Luna from a long distance while keeping her eyes on the beast. "Look, I'm sorry for what just happened, this beast, my broken ankle—I'm scared, and I don't know what I'm doing except for this. We can't beat this thing; we need to escape. There is an opening left in this rock that we can both use to escape." Nova strikes at the beast again. The beast moves in a circle, keeping everyone on guard; they could be the next one it attacks.
"What about Lucian?" Luna asked, her bang-covered gaze moving to who was in rage but didn't know how to use his powerless rage in the situation they were in.
"I'm sorry, Lucian." Nova fakes her regret and sentiment, "You are dead weight; there is no way we can keep you in our team. Saving your ass continuously is only going to make us die."
"Our team?" Luna questioned, making Nova drop the act, "I always thought of you as a bitch back in school, but after being on the same team with you, I thought that maybe I was wrong, but it seems like I was right all along."
"You were the one who chose to stay after Thorin gave you the opportunity to leave. Don't blame your choices on us!" Lucian shouted.
Nova fired her lightning in full blast, pouring out as much magic energy she could gather on the beast so that she could escape without being followed.
"I'm not going to let you run away." Luna ran after Nova; she laughed crazily. "We are a team, so we are all going to die together."
The beast swung its sharp claws in the air; Luna was in front of Nova and ended up taking a hit that was meant for Nova.
Blood poured out of Luna's torso; she cried out in pain and tried healing herself. Lucian ran over to her side when he noticed the beast sniffing the air for the scent of blood.
"You two are the only ones dying from this." Nova had made her escape to the other side of the fallen rock. She used her lightning to strike at the entrance, making more rocks fall down and block the last escape route that was available.