Chapter 346: Dead?

A few minutes earlier...

A burst of blue rippled through the plain, ice sheets crackling over the earth in its wake, a cold stream of death essence snaking through the wind, the halo of frozen death spiraling around the human soldiers.

Both soldiers and the dead fought against the swarm of four-eyed monkeys led by two defiled. Fortunately for the soldiers, both Brandon and Elaine had taken action to engage the defiled, leaving the soldiers to deal with the small fry.

A wave of flames flared through the wind, cascading down upon a defiled, the flames barely able to singe off the hair of the monster.

Brandon hacked a mouthful of blood, taking the chance to retreat far away from his opponent; the savage beast hissed in the face of the flames, its frame flickering and struggling to fade due to the displacing light from the dancing embers of flame.

The monkey let out a roar, reverberating with a burst of wind that fanned the flames, making them combust even more, the heat building up to dangerous levels.

Even Brandon had to resume a retreat, unable to believe his opponent was stupid enough to try to use wind to quench his flames.

The defiled was stressed, letting out panicked screeches as the flames raged around its frame, the earth beneath beginning to go soft, its soles letting out barbecued steam.

Cornered and pushed to its limit, the defiled let out a savage roar as the hair over its hide began to smoke and char completely black, the monster bursting into a sprint, barreling its way through the furious flames.

All four of its eyes flashed red as endless streams of corrupt essence flowed, reconfiguring the beast’s body faster than the dwindling flames could damage it.

Brandon didn’t fret; he had already predicted that his foe would make it out. Cleaning off the trail of blood at the edge of his lips, he rose, flame essence roiling around him, his flame mage class showing its effect, reducing the essence-unit cost needed to maintain the intensity.

And on his shoulder was a cute, glowing flame fox, casting a divine radiance upon Brandon, buffing his flame-related abilities a bit.

Around him, flame balls spiraled into being, condensing to a dangerously dense mass — a skill from his class which had a simple name, but whose damage capability was anything but simple.

Fireball.

The moment these mnemonics flowed out of Brandon’s mouth, the myriad condensed fireballs blitzed through the air, streaking like dazzling shooting stars.

Each tore straight into the defiled’s frame the moment it broke out of the flames, each fireball erupting on impact — the first, straight up, blasting the defiled off its heels, its abdomen curved to the limit its spine could handle, saliva splattering out of its mouth, all the air escaping its lungs.

And Brandon continued his assault, showing no mercy, as one fireball after the other struck the defiled, each dealing critical hits — a dangerous skill indeed.

The defiled was sent flying, spiraling through the air, its body in shambles, but the eternal flow of corrupt essence streamed through its shell, fixing any damage and restoring the beast back to its peak.

It was just like others had concluded: the only way to deal with these defiled was by destroying them completely in one shot.

But such a feat was far from Brandon’s current capabilities. His battle suit was too damaged, and he still didn’t have much high-grade equipment; despite the inheritance store being active, Brandon couldn’t purchase anything — he was currently too poor.

His frame burst backward, placing distance between himself and the defiled so as to refresh his essence flow.

But beasts knew no courtesy — in a desperate burst of violence, the monkey lashed out at Brandon, all four limbs catapulting the beast towards him, its teeth glistening as it flowed like an ivory streak through the air.

Brandon didn’t fret; the frame around him condensed into a heavy shield while flaming streaks struck around the beast to impede the monster — unfortunately, they did little to no harm.

As the monster landed on the flame shield, tearing into the flames with its bare claws, clawing its way towards Brandon, its eyes wild with madness induced by endless hunger, drool flowing from the gaps of its jaws like streams from a waterfall.

But fortunately, Brandon’s flame construct held up, his essence cycle complete, and flow renewed.

The mechanism was akin to a martial artist drawing in a deep pool of breath, delivering a series of predetermined strikes, now needing to dispel the carbon monoxide pent up in his lungs and renewing his oxygen supply with another deep inhale.

His veins thrummed with a fresh flow of essence, jet flames bursting out from the soles of his feet, an angled burst from his hands allowing him to perform a mid-air drift, curving around the shield and appearing behind the crazed beast.

His hands drew backwards as he charged for an attack, flames spiraling around his fist. Brandon’s gaze glistened; there was no worry in his eyes, no hesitation.

No sign of the goofy loudmouth facade he loved to wear — no, this was a pure, cold calculation machine, bred to access the most efficient route to clear objectives.

His fist soared through the wind, and the defiled sensed the danger, but it was too late; the fist, sparking with dazzling embers, carried a force that shook and distorted space as it passed.

But just as it was about to make impact, time seemed to slow to a halt as Brandon’s pupils constricted to pinpricks, a cold presence settling over him.

Another predator was around, and worse, it was close!

How come he didn’t sense it coming? This question surfaced in his mind, but he had no time to ponder, as a dark shadow fell over him like a thick, cold carpet.

A hot flow of breath washed around his head as a ferocious maw clamped down, tearing into Brandon’s neck.

Brandon’s eyes widened in horror, thousands of emotions flaring through his mind at that exact moment; he realized he was dead.

It happened all so fast; Brandon didn’t detect the beast coming — if he had, he might have resisted or evaded — and just like that, his eyes dimmed dark, the very light of consciousness flickering out.

In the distance, casting several rounds of cryo chains upon her foe, Elaine sensed something wrong and turned Brandon’s way.

Her eyes widened as she shielded her cry with her hands, her body coming slack as she watched the dark behemoth feast on the remains of Brandon.

Her legs shook as the reality hit her hard — this wasn’t a nightmare, this wasn’t an illusion, Brandon was dead just like that... her first love was gone.

Elaine’s fingers clenched her chest so tight they sank into her skin, drawing blood, as a rage and fury brewed in her heart like none before.

The pain of loss, the pang of revenge, the embers of fury — it all raged in chaos in her heart. The flood of pain and intense emotions broke something in her, something that wasn’t meant to be broken.

"There you go, girl..." A voice whispered through the cold wind raging around Elaine, but her expression remained lost in her pain of loss, paying the voice no heed.

"Let me out, and I shall serve you the retribution you desire..." A soul-chilling cold came upon her as a shade flickered at the edge of her vision.

Elaine did not know what was happening, nor did she care — nothing mattered to her at the moment. Brandon’s death hit her with a sudden loss, so much that she couldn’t resist... no, she didn’t want to resist.

A force, dark and cold, bringing a primal chill almost as though it had escaped from the gates of frozen hell — her sclera turned dark, and her lips twisted into an unnaturally wide smile, her bones popping and cracking as something ancient, something not of this world, manifested unto earth through her body.