"Hey," Viri called, Sho's attention snapping to her.
"Dog," Sho sneered.
"Get off of him," Viri ordered, pulling out her shotgun.
Sho smirked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Remember the last time we met?" She laughed.
Viri glanced at Eli, who was visibly shaken. Eli had remained calm during the fight with the Spider Queen, but this situation unsettled her. I looked around. Where was Seraphina? Was she planning to attack?
"That's enough," Reyna commanded, her hand resting on her katana.
"Enough?" Sho laughed. "We're just getting started." She flicked her hair back, her eyes gleaming with arrogance. "Rank 11."
Reyna's brow furrowed. Rank 11? I thought.
"Oh, you're rank 10 now," Sho interrupted, her tone cold. "After Darius died."
A flicker of recognition crossed Tenshi's face. Her eyes darkened.
"How long have you been watching?" she whispered.
"I watched the whole pitiful fight," Sho said, her voice cruel. "Every death, every injury, every pathetic move you made."
Tenshi clenched her fists, she wasn't finished.
"Were you the one that healed it?" Tenshi yelled, his voice sharp with accusation.
"I was not," Sho replied coolly, her expression unchanging. "But I know who did."
"Who was it?" I demanded.
"A member of the Ten Slayers," Sho said, her tone dripping with disdain. "They must have a grudge against you."
Reyna's eyes flickered with the same recognition as Tenshi's. She looked at Eli and Viri and It was clear—she knew who had done this, who had healed the boss.
"Honestly, you're not cut out for this. He's not cut out for this."
Reyna's gaze hardened as she stepped forward. "Stop it, Sho. He's earned his place. We fought our best."
Sho's grin widened. "Maybe your best isn't good enough if this is the display of rank 10."
"Then the other players will be just as weak as you are," she sneered.
Tenshi interjected, her voice calm yet firm. "Not everyone needs to be strong. Some will be blacksmiths, others will be tailors, alchemists, or merchants. Some will be scholars, builders, or even cooks. All are necessary."
Sho leaned back, her laugh cold and unsettling. "Why should players degrade themselves to fill the roles of NPCs? Our purpose is to be strong, to rise above, not to grovel in mediocrity."
She chuckled, sitting comfortably as if she owned the room.
Reyna stepped forward, her voice hard and commanding. "Stop, Sho. That's enough."
Sho's laugh grew louder, her confidence unwavering. "Oh, Reyna, what are you going to do? Stop me? You don't get to decide who stays and who goes."
She took a step closer, her arrogance radiating from every word. "No one can stop me."
"We'll see about that," Reyna muttered, turning her back on Sho and walking away.
Eli, picking me up from the ground, shot a solemn smile toward me.
"It doesn't matter. His death wouldn't prove anything," Sho continued. "However, this insolence from you will not be tolerated."
Reyna's eyes widened, her hand shaking. Viri stood still, unnervingly calm.
Sho's eyes locked on Reyna, her voice lowering dangerously. "If you bow before me, I'll forgive you."
Reyna didn't flinch. "Not all of us are as weak as Arden," she shot back.
"Sorry," Viri said, smiling towards me.
Sho didn't seem at all amused. Her eyes darkened, and she drew her long sword.
The sword was as dark as her armor, made of a black jagged material, it radiated with a dangerous red energy, pulsating with an eerie glow.
"You know," Sho said with a sneer, "There's a bounty on your heads. Five platinum for killing bugs. Doesn't seem so bad."
Reyna yanked Viri away from Sho and shoved her head into the rocky cavern floor. Blood poured from the wound.
"We're sorry, Sho," Reyna muttered under her breath.
Sho let out a chilling laugh, one that echoed through the cavern. It was an eerie, demonic laugh—strangely similar to the Spider Queen's.
"How pathetic … the bug speaks."
Sho raised her hand, and in an instant, her mana surged outward. It was pure and thick, a crimson energy swirling around her as if it had a life of its own. The air grew heavy, charged with power.
The red energy crackled around her, making the air hum as it swirled tighter, more focused. The others could feel the weight of her words.
"Bow,"
For a moment, I lost consciousness. The energy was so pure, so thick, it overwhelmed me . It overwhelmed my senses. I was the first to fall to it, my knees buckling. I had the least mana, and it drained from me faster than I could react.
At that moment, a cold realization washed over me. It wasn't humanity against the Tower, as we had all convinced ourselves. No. It was humanity against humanity. Humanity against itself. The Tower was just a backdrop, a silent observer to the true battle unfolding—our struggle against our own kind. The very people we fought alongside, the ones who shared our pain and our hopes, were the ones who would ultimately determine our fate.
It was not the Tower that would break us, but each other.
I felt sick.
Her mana—it was overwhelming. So much, too much. The sheer pressure bore down on me like I was being crushed beneath a crimson weight. I tried to stand, but my legs refused to obey.
Desperately, I looked to G2. They were stronger, far better than I was, but even they looked shaken, their worry etched on their faces. And yet, no one moved.
I had heard the rumors. Sho possessed the second most mana ever recorded.
The onslaught of mana ceased, and I gasped for air, blood spilling from my lips as I doubled over. Tenshi dropped beside me, her hands glowing softly as she worked to heal my wounds.
Reyna smiled. "How about this? We fight to show how strong our guild is."
"Are you sure?" Sho replied.
"Is the infamous Sho scared?" Viri laughed.
"Not scared, but…"
"Fine," Sho sighed. "If you can touch me, you win."
Sho sheathed her sword with a deliberate motion, then tossed it aside, the blade clattering loudly on the stone floor.
"As of now, there are four known methods to use magic," Sho begins, her tone dripping with mockery.
"The first is manipulating mana directly to shape it as you wish. The second is chanting, where spoken incantations guide the flow of mana. The third involves pre-coded skills, commands that are crafted and executed with precision. And lastly, there's the use of runes."
Sho leans forward, her smirk sharp. She pauses for dramatic effect.
"Why are you telling us this?" Reyna asked, placing her hand on her katana and dropping into a ready stance.
"The weakest, the slowest, the least flashy, Runic—exactly why I'll only use it. Because if I can take down every last one of you with that, what does it say about you?"
Viri stepped forward. "It says you're underestimating us, and that's your first mistake."
"We don't care how you fight," Eli said, her voice dripping with confidence, as if she had already made up her mind.
"We'll still win."
"You're lucky I made the rules so that you only have to touch me," she said with a smirk.
"Every single one of you bugs. Come at me. Show me what you're worth—if there's even anything to be shown."