Ever since she was a child, Nara was at the top. She had never been at the bottom of the mountain; she was always better than everyone else around her in combat. Her body was aching all over, a feeling she was not familiar with. She always had the upper hand on her enemies, mostly because she had the element of surprise and her foes died without knowing her power. But this time, the enemy came from within the house and knew about her.
It was clear that Cyprian had countermeasures against her and had planned it out with the demon. Now that she thought about it, there was a third figure in the group, and he must have been the one who fired the shot before the dynamite. She realized she had been relying on her powers too much and had become arrogant. That was why she lost; she never had to do things without the help of her eyes.
Even as an orphan taken in by the Citadel, she was outstanding and was given special treatment because of her powers. Nara never lacked; she never knew hunger or pain. She was indulged, and her mistakes were overlooked just because she was evolved. She took advantage of that and indulged in many acts of profanity. As the army of abominations descended, she was self-reflecting and seeing things more clearly. She didn't earn the position she held.
She couldn't help but shake; she was hurting and tired. This was the first time she had to try hard. The shield in her hand was heavy and a few hits away from breaking. The wake-up call she'd been waiting for was here: a real battle with her life on the line, with a chance to overcome her mortal body and transcend. Nara couldn't help but smile. This was it; this was what she had always wanted, and she didn't know it: true achievement.
She gripped her shield firmly in her hand, ignoring the pain. She couldn't help but smile.
"Is this what living truly feels like?"
Her heart beat like a war drum, adrenaline coursing through her veins. Excitement surged within her, sharpening her senses. Suddenly, the darkness receded, and she saw with crystal clarity. The monstrosities came into focus: hulking, grey-scaled crocodiles with immense wings stretching from their sides. Their eyes glowed with a predatory hunger, and their teeth, jagged and gleaming like white knives, protruded menacingly from their gaping mouths. Each step they took was accompanied by a low, rumbling growl that reverberated through the ground. Their wings, leathery and bat-like, rustled ominously as they prepared to launch into the air. The creatures moved with a terrifying grace, their powerful tails swishing back and forth, ready to strike. Nara's breath hitched, but she steeled herself, gripping her weapon tighter as she prepared to face the oncoming nightmare.
Her whip sizzled with the remnants of her previous victims' flesh, its teeth glowing red like the scales of a serpent poised to strike. In front of her stood three of the monstrosities, their eyes glowing with a malevolent hunger.
One of the creatures took to the sky, planning an aerial assault, while another charged at her with alarming speed on the ground. But Nara was a step ahead. She braced herself, raising her shield to meet the land-bound beast, and with a fluid motion, she lashed her whip skyward. The airborne crocodile met the searing red steel teeth, which wrapped around its neck like a python, while the one on land slammed into the unyielding barrier of her shield.
With a powerful yank, Nara pulled the whip back, decapitating the flying crocodile in a gruesome spray of blood. The severed head plummeted to the ground, followed by a rain of crimson droplets. But the fight was far from over. Abandoning her shield, she stepped back and lashed out at the closest grounded croc, the whip striking three times across its armored back. The creature roared in fury, its scales cracking under the relentless assault.
Enraged, the croc took flight, exposing its vulnerable underbelly. Nara seized the opportunity and whipped her weapon across its belly, the sharp teeth of her whip shredding through flesh and spilling its entrails. The wounded beast thrashed wildly in the sky, its flight path erratic and desperate, until it finally crashed to the ground, its life force ebbing away.
Only one remained. It hadn't moved; everything had happened too fast for it to react. The creature stood frozen, its eyes flicking between Nara and the fallen bodies of its companions. Nara's whip crackled with energy, and she stared down the final monstrosity with unwavering determination, ready to deliver the final blow.
Nara struck its wings, making sure the croc couldn't escape. With her whip, she ripped its wings apart and proceeded with a relentless assault, leaving the beast in a bloody mess.
On the other side, Sizwe and Cyprian had joined up with Mandla, but their escape route was blocked by the beasts. They watched as Nara dispatched three abominations with just a few moves.
"Fuck, I'm never fighting her again. We were lucky last time because we planned ahead, but no amount of money would be enough for me to fight her again."
"For a great fighter, you are a coward," Cyprian mocked Sizwe, eyeing the two monsters in front of them.
"How do you think I stayed alive in this crazy world? I am shameless, and being shameless will save your life. Another rule of violence is: 'Only fight when necessary.' We are not savages."
The crocs took to the sky, their wings flapping furiously.
Bang! Bang!
They came down as fast as they had risen.
"It's true, Sizwe is shameless. Being shameless was the first thing he taught me," Mandla chimed in after taking two shots, killing the two crocs with his double-barrel shotgun.
"I taught you well. You shot them down as soon as they showed weakness. That's how you survive. It's Survival of the Shameless."
They immediately continued running after taking down the crocs.
Nara heard the shots behind her and saw two crocs drop from the sky. She watched the three men run away right after they shot the beasts. Nara sighed and turned towards the hall. Her little brother had told her to come back, but she was stubborn, and now she realized she had almost died because of it.
The situation was bad; the winged crocodiles had breached the defenses of the city. Although this stronghold was very sturdy, it was not well adapted for aerial strikes. It could easily defend against land abominations, but flying abominations were a problem. All guardians were mobilized, fighting these beasts, but the casualties were increasing.
"Where the fuck is Nara, and where the fuck is God's Punishment?"
No one could answer Yara. He was really upset; two of the strongest people in the city were MIA. The situation was under control for now, but Yara heard that there were two Winged Crocodile Kings.
There were five classes of evolved monsters.
Class I: Lesser Beasts
Lesser beasts we normal evolved beast that are a little different from the original creature before evolution, for example,dire hyena is an evolved species of hyena, but their individual strength is not that strong, even a warrior can fight with decent weapons and armor, but the alpha was different.
Class II: Feral Predators
These mutant creatures begin to show much difference forms from their original species with passive evolved characteristics, like tough skin or enhanced strength like the Alpha Dire Hyena. The Alpha had tough fur, a big body and enhanced strength, but the Alpha Hyena was a pseudo Class III since it had developed intellect and was a step away from gaining an active ability.
Class III: Alpha Predators
Alpha Predators were mutated beasts with a bit of intellect and an active ability. In this case the Winged Crocodile Kings were such beasts. These beasts were dangerous and having abilities was a problem, and not a lot of Guardians could deal with such beast. Only Guardians with powerful weapons can take these monsters on and even then they are not guaranteed to win.
Class IV: Apex Predators
Apex Predators were a code black in the human world. They are usually very large in size, have advanced intelligence, and extraordinary abilities. These are the creatures that the church monitored at all times to make sure that they have prior notification of a possible attack since these beasts are hard to handle and require the Citadel to use their trump cards to take down. For example, Fire-Breathing Drakes; these Apex Predators are the kings of the evolved beasts. They have near-human intelligence, can strategize, and possess devastating abilities like elemental attacks. Fire-Breathing Drakes, for example, can incinerate entire battalions with their fiery breath, making them a nightmare to face in combat.
Class V: Monstrous Titans
These abominations are only myth, no human has ever seen them in real life, and those that have may have not survived the encounter, hence the myth they are. They would have to have massive sizes, superior intelligence, and multiple extraordinary abilities. That would be a nightmare to even think about.
Yara knew that they might be screwed and was fuming at his sister and that bastard God's Punishment.