((Warning: This chapter contains some excessively coarse language))
"Uagh!" The incoherent gurgled holler was all that could be heard as every muscle in Vargof's body tensed to unnatural extremes, so much so that his eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fell backwards unconscious. The faintest electrical current repelled itself into the air between Marcie's quivering hand and his body.
Moodro gawked at what she just witnessed with astounding disbelief before she cackled wildly. "So THIS is how you survived that dungeon! The bitch awakened!" Her cackle morphed into a sadistic grin as she lunged towards Marcie as though she was given permission to take off the metaphorical shackles that bound her to the rules of humanity. This woman became nothing but a beast hungry for the hunt just like the Vorpals she first encountered only weeks prior.
Her movement was too fast for Marcie to follow and before she could finish her breath, Marcie found herself violently tumbling over the lounge furniture and onto the floor on the other side. All she could recall was a painful impact to her side that launched her from her chair.
~Ding!
Extreme impact to the body. Shock Absorption F increased to level 5
~Ding!
Damage taken to the Central Nervous System. Pain Tolerance C increased to level 7
~Ding
An unnatural presence in your body was affected by the impact. Some of your organs have been damaged as a result.
An overwhelming pressure swelled up in Marcie's throat until it released in the form of a large amount of blood that spilled from her mouth. Marcie clutched her torso and tried to summon her mana to heal her organs. But the feeling of it was strange. It had felt as though most of the mana was being sucked away into a void. Still, she kept trying to stop the internal bleeding that was happening.
Moodro gazed down with a look of intense dissatisfaction. She was yearning for a good fight but it clearly wasn't so in her eyes. Marcie let out another painful holler when Moodro violently stamped her foot down onto her back. "I overestimated you girlie. You're too weak to even really be called awakened." Moodro grabbed Marcie by the hair and pulled her up from the floor. "Tch, what a waste."
Marcie could see it. The look of a tense stand relaxing, a gaze turning away. This Moodro person may have grabbed her by the hair and started dragging her back towards the hallway, but she hadn't given up. Moodro paused when she felt a grip on her wrist. When she turned back to see the woman she was dragging smirked a feeling of immediate panic overcame her.
Despite letting go of her grip on Marcie to get away, it was already too late. Marcie's grasp was far stronger than she thought and despite how fast Moodro was, she wasn't fast or strong enough to pry her wrist from her. Static rose up around them and Moodro tried to land a punch at Marcie. "Fuckin bitc…" Electricity was faster however, and Moodro now suffered the same infliction that took down Vargof.
'Shit she's way tougher…' Marcie clenched down tighter as she increased the voltage that came from her retaliation. Eventually, both women found themselves on the floor in the lounge, only one was questionably unconscious. Marcie could care less in that moment if either of the assailants were alive. She was more focused on getting back to her chair and escaping.
Sure, she could have used her shield, but Marcie knew that she was still on the same floor that she started on and there was a long way to go. She fully expected to have to fight her way out and since there was a one hour cooldown on that skill, she couldn't just use it freely.
As Marcie dragged herself across the room, trying her best to maneuver her way around the messed up furniture, the door to the stairwell nearby opened up. Marcie froze in a panic and braced herself for another fight.
"Captain! We found her!" One man dressed up in armor that looked just like the ones that rescued her from the dungeon put his weapon away and approached Marcie, holding his hands up to show that he was friendly. "Miss Bromley, it's going to be okay now. We are here to rescue you."
Marcie felt a little confused and was reluctant to let them get close to her until a familiar voice called out to her. "Marcie!" A large burly man rushed between the soldier-like unit and he pulled off his helmet. Marcie's heart soared and tears welled up in her eyes.
"R-richard!" Marcie called back, reaching towards him. Without even a moment's hesitation, Richard kneeled down and pulled Marcie up into his arms. Marcie finally lost her composure and broke down crying. She was safe. She was finally safe.