"Die, bitch, die!"
I scream as I cut down another Lava Spitter. These creatures are weak and pitiful, really, but I am thankful for them. Mainly they're XP... so many levels! I am not foolish enough to open my runes in the middle of a battle, though, so spending my Spirit points will have to wait.
Instead, I fly above the burning village and look around. Lava spews in every direction, while more and more villagers mutate into Lava Spitters. By my estimation, there are at least 100 Spitters roaming the streets like zombies.
ROAR!
" Atta boy Tiger, you keep those hordes busy girl," you're making my life a little easier... That's a lot of blood, though, eh, he will probably be okay.
I feel it in the twitch of my pinky, the bones of my feet, I feel it everywhere. That speed and strength boost really is something else! However, the best part of leveling up is by far that my mana returns to full.
I mean, shit, if it didn't, I would be so dead right now.
Thank you, Book, for this design...
However, unlike before, the levels are becoming increasingly spaced out. One level used to be a few Lava Spitters, but now I'm on twenty Spitters and no level up.
So, Tiger will have to stand firm, because my mana is running way too low for comfort.
How about that... I bet it is the perfect time to swipe a Hades relic.
I fly through the sky to the Scummy Chief's home and land at the front door. Why is everything so calm! I don't like it. Despite the Spitter apocalypse going on, the Scummy home hasn't changed a bit.
HMMMM.
Hesitantly, I push open the door, and it creaks so ominously.
"Anyone home?" I unsummon my wings and step inside.
Same hallway, same dusty tables, same comfortable couch, and no sign of lava. Did this guy go on a neighborhood stroll before mutating?
I shrug.
Probably, mortals love their walks.
My hand hovers over the Hades relic hanging on the wall. It's radiating that same energy my father is so proud of—death.
What a tool, probably made this to shove up his ass.
I take a deep breath and grab the key... Nothing? I was sure my bones would melt, or at the very least, my father would grace me with his ever-so-annoying voice. But nothing? I got a Hades relic for free? The swindler of Purgatory strikes again...
SCREECH!
Dumbass, haven't you learned not to jinx yourself?
I turn to my right and sigh. The Scummy Chief, or what was once the Scummy Chief, is standing in the kitchen across from the living room.
He doesn't look like the other Spitters.
He is at least a meter taller and broader. His black skin ends in jagged spikes, and the molten lava underneath shines brighter and definitely burns hotter.
Are those claws for fingertips?
Suddenly, a blur.
I somehow react in time to catch Scummy Spitter's claw with my katana. Sparks fly, and my arms tremble.
Shit this power, he's much stronger than the rest. Don't you dare spit at me! His head shakes violently, while lava slowly travels from his stomach to his mouth.
I'm trapped!
I can't fend off this claw and dodge the Spitter's spit without a miracle happening. Is this dickhead really going to kill me? For crying out loud, Baldy would be so disappointed in me.
My heart beats like a madman's, and I know I have to do something or meet Baldy's wrath, so in a gamble, I open my runes. I don't even look around, but I pour one Spirit point into [Heavenly Quills] and immediately call on my wings for assistance.
They burst from my back in all of their glory.
I flap.
Twenty quills pierce the air and hit the Scummy Spitter. Some disintegrate as they touch his skin, but most fall to the ground.
Still, it pushes him back a few meters, giving me room to breathe.
Spit...
So gross! I roll out of the way from a lava ball that otherwise would have burned a hole right through my pretty face. It charges at me again, but I flap, and flap, and flap, and flap.
The combined effort of my little babies pushes Scummy Spitter through the back wall. I don't waste a second and take off to the sky, tearing a hole through the roof.
Why is everything so blurry? I pause in the sky a moment before realizing, fuck! My mana, I just used so much mana!
I don't open my runes to check; instead, I use my amazing skills to feel inside myself.
10%.
After looking to the forest for an escape route, I notice the light is dimming.
In a situation where I am faced with a Giant who can crush me with one finger, or a fucking Lava Spitter, the choice is pretty obvious.
Screech!
Scummy Spitter calls out to me from the rubble of his old home.
"Yes, yes, I want to kill you too. But let's make it quick, I don't have much mana, you see."
***
HAHAHAHA!
We trade blow for blow.
Like the smart cookie I am, I unsummoned my wings to preserve what little mana I have left. I can't escape its slashes, I can't escape its lava, this is so much fun!
When was the last time I fought fairly? The academy probably... In Purgatory, we had to make use of ambushes or hiding so we didn't find ourselves in the stomach of our worst nightmares.
SO this... This is exciting!
His meter-long claw slashes the flesh off my cheek, but I laugh through the pain. Take this! I slice for his midsection, only for my blade to be stopped. Clank! That damn skin! The gaps in his skin like armor are lava, so I can't attack there, and his armor is armor.
I need another skill.
No time.
You won't kill me that easily... I parry Scummy Chief's outstretched claw, and slash, slash, slash, and slash! My blade doesn't leave a scratch on its skin.
Fuck, the ground is spinning, wait no, the ground can't spin, silly. Spin, spin, spin, spin, spin, spin, I'm losing it! Death breathes down my neck, and I'm losing it!
"Hey, there, you need a helping hand, oh so great Demi God?"
That voice... I frown and jump backward.
Squirt?
"Why the fuck are you a tiger?"