As the now lifeless body slowly slid off the creature's claws, Yoel's brain spun frantically.
If the others had questions, he had double the amount.
What was that vision? That pain along with it? Those.. feelings?
More importantly, what is going on right now?
As those thoughts circled in Yoel's mind, the body that had been mercilessly impaled slowly fell to the ground.
The body fell to the ground with a thud, and the sound it made was the cue for everyone.
Up til now, everyone had been quiet, their breaths stuck in their throats.
As the body rolled over, the face of it came into view.
It had been a girl, and the attack had been so sudden that she didn't even have time to process what had happened..
She had died smiling.
Unaware of how her end came to be.
A stray scream sounded when the face of the girl came into view.
The moment itself had been so horrific, that Yoel's blood froze multiple times during this entire exchange..
The abomination's large eyes were staring at the huge group of humans, as if debating which human had been the weakest.
Its ape-like body towered over even the makeshift walls they had made.
Two jet-black horns protruded through its skull and twisted into themselves.
It was as if it was wearing a crown made of its own bone.
It easily walked over the three-meter wall the teenagers had painfully tried to make, picking up some of it and even biting on it, trying to taste it.
Behind it, followed an entire troop of monsters.
Some had had their faces smeared with blood, and some still had chunks of flesh on their teeth.
It seems that this encampment was not their first stop.
As if pouring cold water of the heads of the teenagers, Silenus who had also been stunned for words, decided to speak up.
"G..Get into formation! What are you doing!? We're under attack!"
He screamed to the point where his voice had started failing him.
Immediately, several figures sprung to action.
The more experienced of the group took the shortest to properly gear up, as for the teenagers that weren't used to hard and dangerous battles, the trance-like daze they had been caught in was much harder to overcome.
As for Yoel and his group, all of them had moved except Yoel.
However, he had moved for a different reason.
The gigantic ape-like abomination had locked eyes with him.
Its eyes were a clear blood-red color and they were almost shaped like a cat's.
Yoel however was enticed by what was found atop of the creature's horns.
Within the center of said horns, which resembled a twisted crown made of vine, the space itself seemed to shift and crush into itself.. creating a weird lightning effect of purplish color that didn't seem as if it quite belonged to the world.
For some reason, he felt like it was important not only to him, but to every teenager present right now.
He might have been able to connect the dots, if not for its sudden change in stance– it had been preparing to launch itself onto him.
Cole quickly shook his shoulder and threw over his spear with minimum force.
"Get your head out of the clouds, Yoel."
That was all that he said. Despite that, it had been a reality check for Yoel.
I can think about those visions later. If I get out alive, that is.
Yoel took the one stance we has familiar with, and steeled his resolve as much as he could.
It seems that the rest of the Alliance wasn't slacking, either.
Lilith had already begun firing her light projectiles, which seemed to not only pierce through bodies but also melt through many thick and hard surfaces.
It had been hard to use against the human-parasites, but it can shine in situations like these, where one side is completely outnumbered, and the numbers of the enemy are vast.
The secret to this army's strength was their numbers, or at least that was how it seemed so far.
Many of the abominations couldn't take more than two hits of Lilith's projectiles before collapsing to the ground.
Strangely enough, the projectiles made of pure light couldn't even phase the gigantic ape monster.
The projectiles either brushed off the fur of the creature or simply fuzzed out of existence before even reaching the thing.
Lilith, in all her attempts to steer the attention of the creature away from Yoel, had failed.
As the rest of the teenagers ran off to fight against the abominations pouring in, Yoel faced a different kind of threat.
The ape monster, which hadn't even changed its stance since being attacked, finally sprung into the air.
As it leaped, it truly resembled an ape.
While still gliding in the air, it managed to pump its chest, and release a horrifying scream.
It took Yoel all it had to not kneel before it, but the fear he felt right now.. it couldn't even compare to the fear he felt in the previous vision.
With that in mind, he shook off the intrusive thoughts and pointed his spear upwards.
He was going to put his all into this exchange.
There was no room left for leniency, no room left for mistakes.
I'll have to hold it off here until the rest of them can get their shit together.
Yoel believed firmly that there was no chance in winning against this monstrosity.
He instead steeled himself to at least delay its massacre, seeing that it was focused on him.
As the ape dived into the ground, Yoel leaped out of the way. However, a scratch managed to reach his face due to the debris that came after the ape's powerful landing.
It was not something Yoel could care about, of course.
He dashed at the creature without holding back, squeezing out all the strength his muscles had to offer.
For a novice, his speed could be considered incredible, but that was all that he was.
A novice.
The creature hadn't even moved an inch.
However, the moment Yoel arrived at its weak spot, it simply slammed him down into the ground with one of its fists.
How could a novice compare to such a terrifying being?
As Yoel felt the impact of the hard and cold ground, he couldn't help but spit blood.
His body hadn't been tempered enough to withstand such pain.
As he lay motionless on the ground, in the periphery of his vision, he could see his comrades fighting.
"Slip!" "Injury!"
Brandon was frantically shouting at each monster he saw, trying to create openings for the others.
It was working for now, but the amount of abominations had been so overwhelming that it barely made an impact in their current predicament.
Somewhere near him, Silenus fought against many abominations with ease.
His beastly claws waved around in the air with elegance, as if he was used to fighting with them.
Vasil, Cole, Loki, and Lilith had still been fighting as a team against a large group of abominations..
Many of them gave Yoel worried looks.
Stop looking at me with those eyes, damn it.
Yoel had finally stood up, and opted to dash away from the creature immediately.
As he did, he noticed that it had tilted its head, as if it were confused.
That action bewildered Yoel, or rather..
It infuriated him.
This huge ape had been looking at him as if he was its plaything.
It wasn't even going at him in full strength.
Yoel began to realize the harsh truth of his, and his comrades' situation.
He didn't want to believe it, but it was all too obvious..
This thing could kill them all in less than a few minutes if it wanted to.
But it didn't, only because these small and fragile humans had been so amusing to it.
'Quite the scary monkey, isn't it?'
Yoel sighed deeply. He was originally preparing himself to fight until he died, or at least until his comrades dealt with the small fry..
But the situation has matured in a way that is a lot darker than it should have been.
Now, buying enough time for the rest to escape was good enough.
Yoel had taken a crouching stance, readying himself for the next exchange.
In a matter of seconds, he sprung in the direction of the ape creature, his calves experiencing a burning sensation on a magnitude he has never felt before.
For this attack, I'll use the Silhouette Arts.
Even though he would be using his trump card, Yoel wasn't hopeful.
As he closed the distance, he aimed to pierce the ape's heart with his spear, so he focused his muscles and prepared to thrust it before he touched the ground.
Just as Yoel expected, the ape moved its gigantic hand infront of its chest, covering for its weak spot.
Even such a strong adversary can make mistakes, huh?
The moment the tip of the spear appeared within thrusting distance, Yoel made a sudden movement that propelled the spear higher into the air, aiming to instead slash at the ape's head.
Yoel believed that he masked his movements well.
And in all honestly, he did..
But that wasn't enough.
The satisfying feeling of his spear hitting the target calmed Yoel's heart.
..That was until a shattering sound made its way into Yoel's ears.