Reincarnated With The Van Helsing System - Chapter 712 - 712: Challenges, Little Tiger girl version (part 5)

Though the lioness visibly hesitated meaning that she was actually considering to answer the little tiger girl’s doubts, she ultimately shook her head as if trying to shoo away what was lingering in her mind to then say.

“You are quite cunning, but I won’t fall for such an obvious…”, the lioness’s words stopped midway when against her judgement of her enemy, she saw Dana flash away to then land a few dozens of meters from her previous position.

It might sound simple, but those two were in a battle for “supremacy” a second ago, and yet Dana not only broke the stalemate and took the initiative to retreat, she even dispelled her thunder gauntlets, which could be considered akin to admitting defeat for the first round.

“What the hell are you doing, are you looking down on me!!!”, roared the lioness, her lineage was feeling incensed, because it seemed like Dana wasn’t taking her seriously.

And like previously stated, these two’s fight is different than the previous ones, they are enemies and they will do their utmost to defeat the other, yes, however they respected each other as enemies, for their own respective reasons they had to triumph over the other but hatred or enmity wasn’t included in said reasons.

Which is an incredibly rare thing to happen, something that not even an irregularity among system users like Daimon has experienced so far, well, he can’t be blamed though, considering he’s had to deal with a whole bunch of fools who believe themselves to be the center of all the existence, during this “Introductory course” centered in the system and the existence of other users.

Anyway, the point is that Dana had met a worthy opponent, not because of her strength, and she had to know why someone like that was following a piece of trash like Marcus.

“Quite the opposite, in fact I’m even willing to be scolded by both masked big brother and sister Arianna for breaking the rule about exchanging words with an enemy without the intention of destabilizing it, that’s how much I want to listen to your answer of the previous”, said the little tiger girl as she… sat down cross-legged on the ground.

Yep, you heard right, Dana sat down in the middle of the battlefield, sure she might have confidence in her speed, but a sit-down position is a vulnerable one, not to mention that the little tiger girl had even dispelled her enhancement technique

“Y-You!”, the lioness gritted her teeth, seeing the calm and composed expression on Dana’s pretty face, made the lioness’s body explode in black mana, which would make one believe that she was going to attack, but after seeing not even the slightest reaction coming from the little tiger girl despite the previous, all that fierce mana revolving around the lioness, disappeared without a trace.

“Damn it… fine, I lose this time”, mumbled the lioness as she sat down on her hind legs, a position that would allow her to get up without much trouble, similar to Dana, that being said she actually dispelled the armor around her body, her pride didn’t allow her to “admit defeat twice” in a row, so she wouldn’t keep her enhancing spell while the enemy had taken the initiative of dispelling hers.

And now, we face the interesting sight of a little tiger girl and a lioness sitting facing each other with a few dozens of meters of distance between them, amusingly enough even though Dana was the one that sat first, it was the lioness the one that looked the most thrown out of balance.

“Phew…”, it took the lioness a couple of seconds to regain her composure, after taking a deep breath she started the conversation, with a question no less.

“Do you know what “we” blood specters are?”, she said, to which the little tiger girl nodded in response.

“Mm, there was no explanation from this “challenge” from either the emblems nor anyone guarding this place, but some of the people sealed here could proportionate information so, I know that the blood specters are remnants of magic beasts that died”.

“That’s probably why the power granted to participants of the challenge comes in the form of an energy related to one’s lineage”, said Dana, that was the conclusion which Daimon had reached with Lyn’s testimony and the fact that some blood specters looked like those dead corpses of magic beasts falling from the sky in the dreams that the black sea emblem showed him some time ago.

“Well, that’s a very simplified way to put it, but yes, we, blood specters were born out of the remaining lineages of magic beasts that died a really long time ago, however… it would be more accurate to say that we were forced to die by those bastards”, said the lioness as she gritted her teeth to then add.

“Not only were we used as cannon fodder, but they wouldn’t even leave us rest in peace after our death, time and time again, we are brought back until we are nothing but mindless lumps of energy that they can use for their advantage!”, and here the little tiger girl interrupted.

“Wait a second, when a blood specter is defeated, I could tell that they “leave”, it doesn’t return, because the thing tying them to the Blood Prison realm is that red strand”, said Dana, which made the lioness calm down again.

“That’s only the first of the necessary two deaths a blood specter has to go through, you have seen those that have black strands in them right, when you “participants” defeat a blood specter, it is sent back into that hell to be brought back by those nethereal bastards, and unlike the red strand you mentioned, participants can’t do a thing about the black one given by those guys, therefore even if they are killed, they will return, time after time”.

“Even the noblest and proudest among all the lineages, can only endure so much, so after a few dozens of rounds of that, you will start to lose your sense of self and eventually, you’ll become an empty husk and for what reason… a measly amount of power to be used by someone else”, she said.

“So, you joined that guy to take revenge on the nethereals… no, it’s not that simple, right?”, mumbled the little tiger girl as she sharply gazed at the lioness, who softly snorted in response.

“Of course not, be it those nethereal bastards or the guys who opposed them, they are both guilty, one side used us and the other I chose to give up everything, my own name included in order to not forget that all this happened because they brought their damn war to our home”, she said.

‘I see, so the black lioness “projection” which she used for the altar thing, must have been what she pieced together of her original self’, thought the little tiger whose attention was drawn back to the real world when the lioness added.

“That being said and while I loathe them for that, the truth is that we as magic beasts live in a world where you submit to the strong, so I can still accept that our defeat was a result of our own weakness, but I can’t accept how they treated us after that… specially from that bastard with pink eyes”.

“Because while the other two sent us to fight and kill each other, something normal for magic beasts, that guy tried to shape us to his liking and failed every time, which resulted in a lot of us being deteriorated just because he wanted to satisfy his damn desires!”, exclaimed the lioness.

Apparently, though obviously angered by it, the lioness could still accept Byron and Aslan’s schemes of obtaining violence and death nether through making the blood specters fight and kill each other, though under coercion they still lived and died the way magic beasts would.

But Reed on the other hand, insulted their pride by trying to turn them into dolls for his use, needless to say but every try to do so, miserably failed and he killed the blood specter in turn, he repeated the process until the blood specter ended as nothing but a mindless lump of energy, which was useless for him the way he needed.

Because to begin with blood specters have no gender, the fragments of everything they used to be are sealed into the deepest part of the remains that formed them, once said fragments are gone there is no chance for them to become anything but energy agglomerations in a shape related to the magic beast from which they originated, which means that Reed can’t gain nether.

“Eventually it was my turn and for good or bad, I actually had a higher chance than all the ones that came before me and that’s how I recovered my voice… can you imagine, having the pieces of yourself to which you have clung, slipping away like sand between your fingers while someone tries to change you into something of their liking, I would have ended my life at the slightest chance if I could have”.

“And then, a few days ago, the restrictions on the cage where I was kept faltered, so I charged at it with the intention of escaping or dying in the process, imagine my surprise when I actually managed to leave, only to find myself persecuted by empty husks of what used to be blood specters which I knew, all the “failed products” of that bastard’s experiments were kept around as guard dogs”, the lioness stopped there for a second, before a wild light flashed through her eyes.

“As a final sign of respect, I killed them all and it was then when Marcus found me and offered me a deal, he only wanted my strength and my loyalty and in exchange, I’ll be free to live and die the way I wanted to, as a warrior and I don’t need anything more than that”.

“Thanks to that, though I’m using mana, I’m a “participant” of this place, because as a blood specter I already had and was proficient in the kind of energy you guys received and luckily I rejected any try from that bastard to make me use nether, though the pain ended up making me compatible with devil mana”, said the lioness.

All of the previous make sense if you think about it, Marcus isn’t or more accurately can’t be interested in women, and even then, unlike Adam who put much more focus to outer appearances, what moves Marcus is power, any weakling among his subordinates ends up a sacrifice after all.

So, the lioness found a “perfect” environment to grow the way she wanted, not to mention that Marcus is openly against the Lords, perhaps because his missions unlike Adam doesn’t allow him to make concessions, he is to ultimately kill and destroy everything in his path.

“I see so that’s why you are following him, it’s not that you are being used without knowing, you are just… dumb”, said Dana which made the lioness at her, but before she could demand an explanation from the little tiger girl, Dana continued.

“Your loyalty doesn’t make sense, because a piece of trash like him won’t keep his word, if something like that was possible, then he could be at least respected as an enemy, but we both know that’s not the case and that’s why you are trying to hurry back to that guy, because if he realize just in how much danger he is, you are afraid that you will return to be like before, a powerless prisoner to someone else’s whims”.

The lioness gritted her teeth in response, but her pride didn’t allow her to deny the little tiger girl’s words, so long as things remained in Marcus favor, she was sure he would keep his side of the deal, but it was also true that the very moment things went awry for him, he’ll use any method to tilt the scale on his favor, including turning those following him into sacrifices, regardless of their utility, strength or loyalty.

In other words, while on the surface the lioness was rushing back to Marcus side out of loyalty, the truth is that she didn’t want to lose the freedom she had gained after going through so much suffering, or at least that’s what she believed.

“Be it Marcus or anyone else, you can’t obtain anything without paying for it, there is no such a thing as a free meal in this world, considering that gaze in your eyes you should know that already”, said the lioness as she stood up, meaning that she had nothing else to say, the black armor from earlier also started, covering her body once again.

“Humph, that might be true but an exchange of benefits with someone that’s not a piece of trash can be turned into something better with a bit of effort, and someone worthy of loyalty be it as a teammate, friend or whatever you want to call it, won’t free you from the chains of others just to put theirs on you”, said the little tiger girl as she also got up from her sitting position, bright yellow lightning arcs crackled around her as the thunder gauntlets covered her arms again.

Now she understood why the lioness’s words bothered her so much, though obviously not the same, their situations were similar, for the Jolbaris Dana was a tool to gain control over Leena, and because of that, they would go to any lengths in order to get her, that’s how she lived until not too long ago, afraid that one day she’ll be taken away while her aunt or brother blinked for even a second.

But now, she had obtained “freedom”, one that though does still depend on someone else’s promise, doesn’t limit her in any other way, she can train, learn and even laugh in the open, not to mention that she can trust with all her heart that it’s not caused by neither a trap nor empty words.

For Dana, that’s what she was thankful for, the most, she now had the opportunity to grow and obtain freedom with her own “claws”, Daimon’s deal with Leena, has given her that.

“You better start fighting me for real, forget about saving up mana in order to get back to that guy, if you don’t put your priorities in order… you’ll die”, mumbled Dana.

The lioness’s eyes contracted like needles as the little tiger girl vanished from her sight, just to appear above her the next second, Dana wasn’t “alone” as well, the lightning currents which were crackling around her body had taken the shape of a tiger which was floating behind of her.

“Roaaarrrr!”, the little tiger girl hadn’t made her move yet but the lightning tiger behind of her roaring, forced the lioness back a couple of steps due to the sheer pressure it released and that was before Dana released the punch she was preparing.

“Boooom!”, the moment the little tiger girl’s fist charged forward, the area where the lioness was standing was blasted away into oblivion, had the lioness not retreated, she would have been sent flying on the spot.

‘That wasn’t a technique, she created enough force to shoot a current of wind and a shockwave of that level with just a punch infused with her energy!’, thought the lioness as she shot the shadow paths to get in Dana’s way before she caught up with her.

“I told you to start fighting me seriously!”, without moving from her current spot, the little tiger girl raised her voice, which made the lightning tiger behind of her to roar like before.

“Crack!”, the lioness was in disbelief for a second, with just her voice, Dana released lightning energy strong enough to damage the shadow paths which were moving in her direction.

“Black Shadow Devil Heavy Charge!”, not waiting for Dana to make her next move, the lioness directly charged towards the little tiger girl, with each step she took, the ground below her cracked under the pressure produced by her body which was cladded from head to tail with armor.

“Black Shadow Breaking Devil Claws!”, appearing in front of Dana, the lioness slashed her right paw at the little tiger girl, what’s more the shadow paths opened, allowing five clawed paws to appear from different directions around Dana.

“Lightning Tiger Tail Thunder Breaking Axe”, of course the little tiger girl answered with a new technique of her own, both her tail and the one of the lightning tiger behind of her exploded in bright yellow before they both were slashed in opposite directions.

“Clang!”, first the sound of metals colliding echoed through the sky as the lightning energy concentrated on the tails of those two clashed against the armored claws of the lionesses, yes in plural because the paws of the copies also had armor on them.

“Boooom!”, the physical impact produced by Dana’s technique, tied with the lioness’s claws, however… the moment it was time for their energy and mana to clash, respectively, the lioness was taken by surprise as the little tiger girl’s lightning grew fiercer in a fraction of a second.

‘Ugh!’, the lioness was ultimately forced to retreat, when she landed on the ground, she couldn’t help but raise her right paw from the ground for a moment, after a close look, she saw that there was a breach in her armor, and a burn on her paw.

And that wasn’t everything, the paws of her copies were directly destroyed, so now the five lionesses hiding in her shadow were missing a paw.

“Last warning, use your everything or I’ll make you sure you won’t die a warrior’s death”, said the little tiger girl whose lightning energy was growing stronger with each fraction of a second that passed.

“Hsssssss!”, the electricity around Dana grew to the point that it started raising high into the sky, creating sparks and small lightning flashes from time to time, her energy had gotten to the point where it was starting to affect the surroundings, which is Arch rank territory by the way.

The princesses whose fights we have seen before could have done it, if they wanted to, the difference is that they had a better control of their energies when compared to Dana, a difference which originates in their fighting experience of course.

So, in a sense you could say that the little tiger girl had started to go wild, so, after a moment of hesitation the lioness decided to answer in kind, because she realized that no matter what she did, she was not going to be able to get past Dana in her current state.

‘She is growing stronger through the fight and I’m against time here, damn it’, thought the lioness as black mana of different aspects poured out of her body, it was both the devil mana she had obtained from Marcus and her own shadow mana.

“Fine, if you want to see it that much, here, this is a power that not even the one I pledged my loyalty to, knows about”, mumbled the lioness to then roar.

“Perfect, Beast Ruler Altar!”, in response to that, a “primitive” looking altar made out of black stone with a perfectly carved lioness at its front appeared behind of the lioness.

As if the obviously way different appearance than normal of the altar was not enough to caught Dana’s attention, the process for the altar spell’s activation was strange as well.

The lioness herself and by her own will, flew towards the altar, landing on top of it the next second.

“Dream Sacrifice”, with those words, black mana poured out of the altar, weaving a black cocoon around the lioness.