Chapter 53: Teamwork Makes the Scream Work

While Ethan was embracing the sweet release of unconsciousness, the scene on the other side of the block was far less peaceful.

The air was filled with the scent of ozone and iron as Lindis moved through the fray. With a sudden, violent descent of her massive axe, a goblin was split cleanly in two, the creature divided with such surgical precision that it didn't even have time to scream before it ceased to be a whole entity.

But the monsters were relentless. From the wreckage of a destroyed vegetable stall, two more goblins leaped, their shrieks piercing the air as they lunged simultaneously at her flanks.

Lindis didn't panic. In one fluid, explosive motion, she pivoted on her heel, rotating her body into a tight spiral. She brought the thick wooden handle of her axe up in a flashing arc, the reinforced wood clashing against a serrated blade and a clawing hand in a shower of sparks.

CLANG!

"Hah!" she grunted, her teeth grit in determination.

Her chest heaved, her breath coming in sharp, rhythmic bursts—huff, huff—as she braced her core. With a surge of raw, physical power, she shoved outward, a shockwave of strength that sent both goblins flying backward, their bodies slamming into the pavement with a pair of heavy thuds.

However, the goblins fought with a hive-mind desperation. As Lindis recovered her balance, a third creature leaped from behind, slamming its forehead into the back of her head with a sickening crack.

"Ngh!"

The blow staggered her, her vision blurring for a split second. Before she could reset her footing, another goblin seized the opportunity, lunging forward and slamming its shoulder into her face, using her head as a literal platform to drive her backward.

"Gah!"

Lindis stumbled, her boots skidding across the grit. The goblins sensed the shift in momentum. Seeing their prey staggered and vulnerable, the entire pack let out a collective, blood-curdling roar and lunged forward in a tidal wave of green skin and rusted iron.

But they had made a fatal mistake: they had given Lindis a moment to breathe.

As the monsters closed in, Lindis’ grip tightened on the shaft of her axe, her knuckles turning white. Suddenly, the air around her began to vibrate. A whirlwind of thick, brownish energy erupted from the center of the blade, coating the steel in a swirling vortex of power. The energy didn't just glow; it smoked intensely, hissing like a furnace as it churned into a violent, rotating storm.

Then, she became the center of the cyclone.

Lindis launched herself into a devastating, high-speed spin. She wasn't just turning; she was a living centrifuge of destruction. The brownish energy expanded into a shimmering, lethal disc that carved through everything in its path.

SHLICK! SHLICK! SHLICK!

The goblins didn't even have time to recoil. As she spun through their ranks, the blade moved faster than the eye could track, slicing through armor, bone, and flesh in a continuous, seamless loop of carnage. Goblins were diced into a dozen pieces in a single rotation, their bodies falling away in symmetrical halves as the vortex passed through them.

She came to a sudden, abrupt halt in front of the remaining monsters, the brownish energy dissipating into the air with a final, low hum.

[Unique Ability: Cleaving Arc]

Lindis exhaled a long, slow cloud of breath, her eyes cold and focused. The path behind her was a graveyard of perfectly sliced remnants, a testament to the terrifying efficiency of her craft.

The aftermath of the Cleaving Arc had left a path of devastation, but the gate was far from empty. From the shadows of a collapsed storefront, a lone survivor emerged. It was a particularly hideous specimen, snarling with a primal rage, charging toward Lindis on all fours.

It looked less like a warrior and more like a very angry, very green, and very diseased Golden Retriever—if that retriever had serrated teeth and a penchant for murder.

Lindis instinctively stepped forward to meet the assault, but as she shifted her weight to swing, her body betrayed her. A sharp, sudden tremor shot through her legs.

"Ngh...!"

Her knees buckled, giving way under the weight of her own exhaustion. She collapsed forward, the blunt butt of her axe slamming into the concrete with a heavy clunk.

Huff... huff...

She leaned on the weapon, her breath coming in ragged, desperate gasps. "Damn it," she hissed through gritted teeth, a bead of sweat rolling down her forehead. "My strength... I’m running on fumes. I don't even have a drop of mana left..."

The goblin, seeing his opening, let out a triumphant shriek and launched itself into the air. It was a blur of green skin and desperation, its claws outstretched, poised to tear into the exhausted warrior.

THWIP!

A silver streak cut through the air, faster than any eye could follow. A dagger buried itself with a wet thud directly into the center of the goblin's forehead.

The creature didn't even have time to blink before a rain of steel descended. Six more daggers followed in a blurred, rhythmic succession—thwip-thwip-thwip-thwip-thwip-thwip!—pinning the goblin in mid-air like a grotesque insect being collected for a museum display.

Lindis instinctively tilted her torso to the side, and the lifeless, perforated body of the goblin sailed past her, crashing onto the pavement with a dull, heavy thud.

"I ran here as soon as I could!" a voice called out, laced with genuine anxiety. "Are you okay, Lindis? You look like you've been through a meat grinder!"

Kaela stepped forward, her eyes scanning Lindis for injuries. However, as her gaze shifted to the dead goblin lying at her feet, her expression of concern instantly morphed into one of profound disgust. She leaned over the corpse, staring at its distorted, cross-eyed face with an expression of utter mockery.

"Ugh, look at this thing," Kaela muttered, her lip curling in a sneer. "I've seen moldy bread with more dignity than this creature. Does it always look this hideous, or is it just trying to impress me with its ugliness?"

Lindis let out a weak, appreciative huff, leaning on her axe to pull herself upright. "I'm... a little rough around the edges. But what about Ethan? Is he still alive, or did he find a way to accidentally defeat himself?"

Kaela laughed softly, the worry returning to her voice but softened by the thought of Ethan's antics. "Zane already reached him. He's safe—probably unconscious and dreaming of something ridiculous. Don't worry about that idiot."

Kaela reached into her pouch and produced two shimmering vials—one a vibrant, healing green and the other a deep, mana-restoring blue. She pressed them into Lindis’s trembling hand.

"Here, drink these. Now," Kaela commanded, her voice firm. "Recover whatever strength you can. We aren't out of the woods yet, and we need to buy a little more time before the cleanup crew actually arrives."

Lindis didn't argue. She uncorked the vials and downed them in one go, the cool, tingling liquid surging through her veins and knitting together her frayed nerves. But as she wiped her mouth, the atmosphere changed.

A low, guttural sound began to echo through the alleyway. It started as a few snickers, then grew into a chorus of manic, high-pitched cackles. High above, perched on the roofs of leaning houses, the wreckage of flipped cars, and the shattered remains of market stalls, dozens of goblins had gathered. They looked down at the two women, their eyes gleaming with predatory hunger, their laughter sounding like a thousand rusty hinges swinging in the wind.

Kaela sighed, her gaze dropping to the goblin she had pinned earlier. With a fluid motion, she gripped the hilt of the last dagger and ripped it clean out of the creature's skull.

She didn't just hold her weapons; she wore them. In a display of terrifying dexterity, Kaela slotted daggers between each of her fingers, her grip tight and practiced, while her arms crossed in a disciplined, defensive posture. She looked like a living weapon, her eyes scanning the rooftops.

"Oh, look at you all," Kaela called out, her voice dripping with a casual, effortless disdain. "Gathered together like a little green family reunion. Tell me, do you all share the same tailor? Because those loincloths are a crime against fashion, and your skin tone is giving me 'rotten avocado' vibes. Honestly, I’ve seen more intimidating things in a bowl of lukewarm porridge."

The silence that followed was deafening. The goblins stopped laughing. They looked at one another, their expressions shifting from amusement to pure, unadulterated outrage. One goblin let out a roar directly into the face of its comrade, as if agreeing that this insult could not stand.

As one, the horde lunged. They leaped from the walls and cars, a simultaneous, circular descent of claws and blades, closing in on the two women from every direction.