Chapter 4: Secrets Make A Woman A Woman

A giant crow monster dove toward them with full force. Its sharp beak aimed straight at Ephraim but he twisted aside and blasted it with a fireball.

"Nice shot," Lydia said as the monster tumbled through the air.

"It’s still alive."

"Then stop showing off and let me finish it."

Lydia tapped her bracelet, and a sleek rapier materialized in her hand. She rushed forward and drove the blade through the crow-like bird.

With a heavy crash, the monster shattered into green crystals. The crystals dissolved to green rays of light and shot straight into Lydia’s bracelet.

[Crystal shards collected.]

"Nice."

Ephraim glanced at her. "What are you going to do with those?"

"I don’t know. But hoarding them feels right. They might be useful later." Lydia shrugged. "I could sell them."

"You’re collecting monster remains because you think they might be valuable? Is it like some kind of hoarding disorder?"

"When you put it like that, you make me sound weird."

"You are."

Lydia ignored Ephraim and rubbed her bracelet fondly.

"They’re all mine now!"

"Go ahead. You can have all of the crystals we get from Dimensional Rifts from now on."

Lydia’s eyes practically turned green at his promise.

"Really? Thank you!"

She threw her arms around Ephraim in delight. His lips twitched with a hint of a smile as he settled his hand gently on Lydia’s head, giving her hair a soft pat.

"Here. You can have mine too."

He raised his bracelet and tapped its surface to bring up a blue transfer panel. A blue light flashed across the device as the crystals he had collected transferred into her bracelet.

Lydia’s eyes widened at the huge amount of them.

S-Rank Sentinel sure was impressive!

"Thank you, Ephraim!" She hugged him even tighter. He didn’t bother to say anything and just let her enjoy her little victory.

"Try to remember we’re still in a battlefield," Ephraim warned dryly.

Loud howls filled the Rift Battlefield as a pack of wolf monsters charged toward Lydia and Ephraim from both sides.

Each wolf was as large as a car, with thick purple fur, muscular bodies, and three glowing yellow eyes. Their jaws opened wide, revealing rows of jagged fangs.

Lydia jumped as one wolf lunged at her, twisting past its jaws before landing behind it. She drove her rapier into its flank, but the blade only left a shallow wound.

Another wolf crashed to the ground as Ephraim struck it down, finishing it with a burst of flame.

Lydia pulled her rapier free.

Damn. This body is weaker than my old one.

A second wolf lunged at her. Lydia dodged, but its fangs caught her forearm, tearing through her sleeve and leaving a bloody gash.

She gritted her teeth and drove her rapier into its eye.

The monster howled and staggered backward, giving her enough time to retreat.

It was still alive.

Lydia tightened her grip on the rapier. If she couldn’t overpower these monsters, she’d have to outmaneuver them.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" Ephraim grabbed her arm and yanked Lydia behind him. "An F-Rank Guide won’t be able to stand against A-Rank monsters!"

A heavy wave of Resonance swept across the battlefield. The sheer pressure was overwhelming.

So this was the power of an S-Rank Sentinel.

Intense Resonance flared around Ephraim as his Spirit Animal manifested. Golden lion ears emerged from his blond hair, while a long golden tail swept behind him. His crimson eyes burned brighter as sharp claws extended from his fingers.

He lunged at the injured wolf and tore through its defenses with a single slash, sending it crashing to the ground, where its body shattered into crystals.

Another enormous monster charged toward them.

The blue-scaled lizard spat black slime that melted the ground. Ephraim twisted aside, then pounced on it and tore into its hind leg with his claws but the lizard quickly recovered.

Its wounds closed in seconds as it thrashed violently and forced Ephraim to let go.

That wouldn’t do. Even Ephraim in his Spirit Animal form couldn’t bring it down.

Lydia narrowed her eyes and studied the monster. A faint pulse caught her attention beneath the scales between its front legs.

Without hesitation, she rushed in. The horned lizard swung its massive head toward her, but Lydia ducked beneath its jaws and drove her rapier between the scales.

"Eat this!"

The blade slipped between the scales as easily as a knife through butter, piercing straight into its heart.

A deafening screech ripped across the battlefield as the monster thrashed, black blood spilling from its mouth before it collapsed.

Ephraim’s gaze lingered on the fallen horned lizard as its body shattered into glowing green crystals.

"Since when could you fight like that?" Ephraim frowned. "Your body is still weak as ever, but you move like someone with years of combat experience. That doesn’t make sense."

Lydia calmly wiped the blood from her rapier with a lace handkerchief.

"Secrets make a woman a woman."

"I’ve seen all of you, Lydia. Surely you don’t think you have any secrets left."

"Ephraim! Language! Geez. I’ll have to charge that to the compensation as another case of emotional damage from you."

"Hey!"

Before Lydia could scold Ephraim further, a piercing screech rang across the battlefield as the griffon dove at Ephraim.

Ephraim charged at the griffon and ripped through one of its wings with his claws. The griffon fought back desperately, its talons raking across his chest and leaving deep bloody gashes before it broke free.

"Ephraim!" Lydia’s eyes widened at the blood running down his chest.

With one wing badly damaged, it staggered into the air, beating the injured limb desperately as it struggled to climb higher.

"Wait." Ephraim raised his head. "The miasma is gathering."

Lydia followed his gaze. Dark miasma was spreading through the Rift, twisting through the air before converging on the wounded griffon.

"It’s going straight for its wounds."

"And it’s getting stronger," Ephraim replied.

The miasma wrapped around the griffon, sinking into its wounds.

A red notification flashed before Lydia’s eye.

[Warning!]

[Mutation detected!]

[A-Rank Griffon has successfully mutated into SS-Rank Chimera!]

[Rank Level Increasing!]

"What?!" Lydia’s face paled.

A loud, sickening crunch echoed through the Rift Battlefield as the cocoon began to writhe.

"An SS-Rank?" Lydia tightened her grip on her rapier. "You’ve got to be kidding me."

The creature screeched in agony. Black blood splattered across the ground as its skull suddenly split apart.

Lydia had to look away to keep herself from vomiting.

"That’s disgusting."

Ephraim winced down at the bloody gashes across his chest. Without wasting a second, he reached into his coat and pulled out a small vial filled with glowing red liquid.

He uncorked it with his teeth and swallowed the High Potion in one gulp.

The wounds across his chest began to close, the bleeding slowing almost immediately.

"Stay back," Ephraim warned.

Two new heads pushed through the cracked skull. One was a snarling goat, while the other resembled a disgusting lion.

Bones twisted and tore as its body swelled, growing larger and larger until it towered over them like an elephant.

Dark energy surged from its massive frame.

Something slithered behind it.

A red snake emerged from its rear, twisting like a living tail. Its forked tongue flicked through the air as its narrow eyes locked onto Ephraim.

The Chimera roared and lunged at him.

Ephraim’s expression hardened. "An SS-Rank monster. This won’t be easy."

How were they supposed to defeat an SS-Rank monster? She was only an F-Rank Guide, while Ephraim was an S-Rank Sentinel.

Why did this have to happen now, out of all places?

Wonderful. Lydia had somehow gone from dealing with an annulment to fighting an SS-Rank monster.

Things sure were getting out of hand really fast.

What a lovely day.