I didn't even get a final glimpse of Yao Ya's face before the portal engulfed me and the woman.
'Ah Shit! Why did I do that?! Why did I go with her?! That was so stupid of me! There was so many other ways to deal with that situation.
*Sigh* Well, the deed is already done. I just hope I'll be able to last long enough for them to arrive from the other side. As long as I don't get stabbed too much or deeply I'll be fine.'
*Swoosh*
A familiar sound echoes through my ears. My vision blurred again just like last time, but this time the effects were lessened. The numbness covering my body and dizziness appeared similarly as well. They were by no means ignorable, but at least I could control myself this time.
Maybe because of repetition or possibly because it was a different portal it was easier, but whatever the case was I couldn't think too deeply about it now.
All of this happening as both the woman and I crashed onto the ground. As we exited the portal we flew out of the portal and separated by a distance of a couple of meters.
A couple of audible thuds occurred as our bodies hit the ground. Having a quick glance at our surroundings, we're on a mound, yet in the distance I saw a dirt road which looked well used. As I picked myself up on my clothing I saw the fresh stains of green and brown covering parts of my robe.
*RRRuuggghhh*
Before I could completely stand up I heard retching nearby and instantly knew it was the woman from before.
Looking at her I saw as she was on all fours, looking like she had an urge to vomit. As I stepped towards her an audible thump was heard from my shaky step forward.
Instantly, as if her retching before was nothing but a act, she got up and stared at my eyes. Looking into her eyes it seemed her clarity had only just returned as I made my presence clear.
With a vicious expression on her face she lunged toward me quickly closing the 2 meter gap. It was only now did I notice the dagger she held before wasn't within her hands.
She pounced on me knocking me off my feet and sending us slowly tumbling down the side of the mound. She positioned her hands around my neck and started tightening her grip.
Quickly I thought about whether to also go on the offensive or defensive. It wasn't long until I reached a conclusion though as I already began to fell my airways restricting. There was no way I could split my attention between both options as that would only result neither being achieved, so in the end I decided I show first gain a bit of distance.
I grabbed onto her left wrist with both hands just as we reached the bottom of the mound. With two hands against one I pull the arm off without too much effort. With the left arm still in my grasp I slammed it into her right arm, shifting her weight over for her to roll over.
Taking advantage of the opportunity I rolled with her and mounted her. Having the advantage I tried drawing the sword on my waist, but the moment I touched the hilt she punched the bottom of my elbow, forcing my bicep into my chin.
The hit stunned me if only for a second, and a hand appeared prying the my fingers off my hilt. With her other hand she reached for the handle herself, but of course I couldn't let that happen. The hand she was prying off suddenly griped onto her fingers, all the while my free hand gripped onto sword handle with her.
If I wasn't getting the sword she definitely wasn't so instead I pushed the sword back down into the scabbard. We stared into each other's eyes for a few moments as we reached a stalemate. Her piercing amber eyes stared at me with a conviction and at that moment it was like I had just noticed her beauty.
But that was only a thought in the back of my head I wasn't going to let this woman have a chance to kill me just because she's beautiful. It's not like I'm some kind of harem protagonist who can instantly charm every woman they come across, even if they were an enemy.
Pressing my bodyweight down the sword resheathed itself while my forearm pressed down closer and closer to her throat. Out of nowhere she seemed to have gained a sudden burst of strength and pushed me off of her.
I fell on my back and she quickly got up while trying to mount me, but with a swift kick to her stomach she staggered back.
I looked back at her and incredulously she had somehow managed to take my sword. It was my sword and I knew it was, but I still took a peek down at my scabbard which was now empty. She was 2 meters away and from experience that was almost negligible to her. Quickly glancing around nothing around me, no rocks nor sticks only grass within 10 or so meters.
The only advantage I could give myself now was the minor height of the mound. Turning I rushed up the mound.
'Where the fuck are they?! Yao Ya! Zheng Da! It's been like two minutes how long could it take?! I mean time is supposed to flow slower in there right? Well I can't do anything about it, as long as they get here I won't complain.'
Reaching the top in a few seconds I spotted a shiny item on the ground; The dagger! I dove over grasping the dagger and turned on the floor only the barely deflect the sword from striking my back.
*Shinn*
I angled the dagger so the sword slid off the blade and hit the ground on my side. Not knowing any dagger techniques I slashed and stabbed almost wildly while trying think of how people use this weapon.
We were once again at a stalemate as neither of us really knew how to use the other's weapon, but we both knew how our own weapons worked. We stared at each other once again, but suddenly a purple mass landed in front of her, instantly clinging to her legs.
She looked down and her expression instantly changed into one of panic, the first change of hers since before the portal. She tried moving her legs and nothing happened.
"W-wha! Ahh!" In her panic she started stabbing the purple mass with the sword, yet it only passed through and back out with seemingly no damaged dealt.
Abruptly, she fell over on her back and my sword fell out of her hands. The moment she did so I relaxed. Taking a look at the dagger she had I looked over her body to see if she had a cover for it.
The moment I did though I tensed once again though as I thought of the prospect of Zheng Da consuming a human. What does Zheng Da inherit from what is absorbs exactly? Does it include memories or personality? From the last transformation it seems able to take the exact appearance of those before and even a bit of behavior.
Will Zheng Da gain the ability to speak after transforming? I guess I'll find out soon.
The purple mass crawled up her legs and had started reaching her legs inching toward her hips.
"Ahh!!" Once Zheng Da reach her hips the woman immediately started reaching out and trying to pull Zheng Da apart. She grabbed handfuls of the purple mass and tossed it to the side with reckless abandon.
But it was futile as the pieces she tossed out seemed to have sentience as well and came back on their own rejoining with the main mass. Only when the mass reach the base of her chest did she change tactics.
She tried pushing the mass down with her forearms, but on the first try her arms became stuck within. She was petrified at her own body's lack of response with the only things she could move left being her shoulders and everything about her neck.
Suddenly she had a new tactic and turned her head towards me.
"P-please help me! I-I beg of you! I don't want to die like this! Help me and I'll remember this act of gratitude for the rest of my life! Please find a way to kill this creature or at least get it off me!!"
Hearing the woman scream and beg me, the purple mass without warning increased it's speed like it thought I might truly side with this woman. I had no good will towards her so I naturally wasn't going to side with her and seeing Zheng Da increase it's speed, I wasn't going to do a damn thing about it.
I took one look at her face and immediately looked away. She looked pitiful, so pitiful that even my previous thought was shaken a bit. She had teary eyes as she stared directly into my eyes, I felt that perhaps looking at her too long would change my judgment. After all I knew for a fact that if we weren't enemies I would have at least tried to save her.
"Why?! Why!?! Look at me! Yo- ..." Her angry shouts were cut off midsentence
Looking back now I saw the woman encapsulated by Zheng Da with and under the slime I saw as her final bubbles of air escaped from her lungs and became filled with slime. I was about to turn away since I didn't want to witness a dissolving human, but then Zheng Da became opaque.
I felt like Zheng Da did so just for me. That was nice of it especially since it really didn't have to.
In barely anytime the purple slime started to recced and began to form the body of the woman from before. But as Zheng Da formed I noticed that the green robe she wore wasn't being formed as well, but it was instead just beneath the forming body.
'So Zheng Da only ingests organic matter? It can only become animals or plants then, but I doubt it'll want to be a plant. Should I call Zheng Da a she now? After all it does have a female body, two of them in fact. Actually it's only bodies are female aren't they?'
Soon Zheng Da fully formed and her body gained colors. The woman' body from before was on full display for me. The curves of her hips and mountainous mounds on her chest was a sight to behold. Suddenly she opened her eyes slowly picked herself up and looked at me.
The amber eyes of the woman from before hand had changed into a bright purple; It being a clear sign this was Zheng Da in control. She walked toward me and abruptly embraced me in a hug.
"Master, I can finally be beside you!" Her tone was filled with emotion unlike with the telepathic way communication we used before hand
At this moment Yao Ya finally appeared, staring wide eyed at the naked woman which she probably still thought was the one trying to kill me before.