Chapter 25: The Price of Hope (2)

She didn’t need to walk out of this dimension alongside them. She only needed to ensure they made it back to the real world to live normal lives—even if she was destined to stay behind forever.

The massive, Two-legged brute snapped. Closing the space in a heartbeat, its elongated arms blurred through the air, jagged talons whistling as they sheared through the empty atmosphere.

Liora didn’t flinch. Pivoting on her heels, she pushed off the gravel in a clean, sidestepping leap. The beast’s razor claw passed inches from her face, driving into the earth behind her and exposing its unguarded flank.

Seizing the opening, Liora brought her hands together, channeling the condensed crimson mana into a brutal horizontal arc.

SLASH!

A radiant crimson energy wave erupted from the tip of her blade, biting deep into the monster’s armored hide. Thick, acrid violet blood erupted from the fissure, spraying across the dirt.

The brute roared in sheer fury, its yellow eyes bloodshot with rage. Abandoning all defense, it launched a frantic, relentless volley of heavy claw swipes. Each swing carried enough kinetic force to crush boulder-sized rocks, sending lethal shockwaves whipping through the air.

Liora was forced back, her boots kicking up dust as she parried and dodged the onslaught. Claws scraped against her red energy blade, throwing sparks in all directions. When a crushing overhead blow threatened to shatter her guard, Liora angled her blade, letting the momentum slide off her weapon before deflecting the massive arm aside.

Recognizing the danger of staying within the beast’s raw reach, Liora leaped backward, attempting to widen the gap.

The beast surged forward, driven by pure instinct, and threw a wild, desperate right hook to flatten her.

Liora dropped beneath the swing. The monster’s heavy fist plunged straight into the rocky slope, sinking deep into the earth. Dust and debris exploded outward, burying its forearm in shattered rock.

Liora didn’t hesitate for a microsecond.

Diving under the trapped limb, she swung her energy sword in a ruthless upward slash—from the ground straight toward the sky.

SWISH!

A beam of crimson light severed the beast’s giant arm at the shoulder.

THUD!

The massive limb collapsed to the ground, trailing streams of bubbling, dark purple blood. The creature stumbled back, screeching in agony as it clutched its oozing shoulder stump.

A few dozen paces away, Vora’s smug expression flickered. Her eyes narrowed into cold, dangerous slits. She clearly hadn’t expected Liora to dismantle a heavy-class beast with such calculated efficiency.

Liora didn’t give her opponent time to breathe.

The moment the beast tottered off-balance, Liora vanished into a crimson blur. Her silhouette split into sharp, zigzagging flashes of red light across the clearing, blindingly fast and impossible to track with the naked eye.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Gleaming red lines crisscrossed the beast’s massive torso in a split second.

SHING—!

Liora reappeared behind the monster, her energy sword pointed downward, motionless.

For a moment, the world stood still. Then, deep red fissures opened across the creature’s entire body. Head, arms, legs, and torso split along crisscrossing fault lines, collapsing into a heap of severed flesh. A fountain of dark purple blood burst outward, splattering against the hem of Liora’s red dress.

"Hah... Hah..."

Chest heaving slightly, Liora turned her cold, unwavering gaze toward Vora, who stood thirty paces away.

Vora folded her arms across her chest, a sinister smirk gradually returning to her lips. She began to clap, the sound echoing hollowly across the silent peak.

"Impressive, Liora. Truly impressive," Vora said, her steps slow and graceful as she closed the distance.

"You really remind me of our fight back then..." Vora paused, her smile twisting into a mocking curl as her eyes locked onto Liora’s tired frame. "And do you remember what caused your pathetic defeat back then?"

Liora’s posture remained rigid, her fingers tightening around the pulsing hilt of her crimson blade.

"It was numbers," Vora sneered, her eyes widening with sadistic delight.

She spread her arms wide. Dark, suffocating purple mana burst from her body, swirling like a spiraling storm. Pulse after pulse of violent energy radiated from her palms, sinking straight into the earth beneath her feet.

"Rise, my Aberrants...!"

BOOM—!

The entire mountain ridge trembled violently.

Liora’s heart gave a heavy thud against her ribs, but her expression remained stony. She remembered that exact gesture—the signal Vora used to summon her endless legion.

Back then, she had been terrified by the sheer force of the horde. But today was different. She wasn’t fighting to survive anymore; she was fighting to burn every last drop of her life force to end this nightmare once and for all.

The tremor intensified until the cliffside began to fracture. Liora lost her footing momentarily, dropping to one knee and bracing herself against the shaking stone.

WOOSH!

Dozens... hundreds of blinding purple summoning circles materialized out of thin air, painting the mountain plateau in a sickly violet hue.

From the spatial rifts emerged a horrific wave of monsters—grotesque, twisted abominations standing over two meters tall. C-rank Aberrants of every imaginable shape and size surged into existence, their glowing crimson eyes fixing on Liora like hungry predators cornering a helpless prey. Their dripping jaws twisted into sickening, unnatural grins as they surrounded the ridge in a tight, suffocating ring, blocking off every escape route.

Liora slowly stood back up, adjusting her wide-brimmed hat as she stared down the surrounding sea of monstrosities.

"Hahahahaha!" Vora’s shrill, unhinged laughter echoed across the plateau, sending a cold shiver down the back of anyone listening.

"My precious beasts, look!" Vora pointed a slender finger at Liora, whose dress fluttered against the howling mountain gales.

"There’s your meal... tear her apart if you’re hungry!"

Liora’s eyes remained completely hollow.

The horde unleashed a collective, bone-chilling roar. Driven by bloodlust, the wave of monsters surged forward, their heavy footfalls shaking the ground as they closed in from all sides.

Liora closed her eyes.

In the brief silence before the collision, flashes of memory swept through her mind—the warm, tired faces of the refugees from Zephyrion. She remembered the young kids clinging to her dress, the old villagers sharing their meager rations, and the quiet nights where they spoke of their simple dreams of returning home to see the real sky again. They had treated her not as a living battery, but as family.

A single tear slid down Liora’s pale cheek, evaporating instantly as a violent, blinding crimson aura erupted from her body.

"I’ll destroy every last one of you..."

Liora snapped her eyes open, stepping straight into the oncoming storm.