Rosie's Games

Chapter 384: A Human Monster

"Are you not going to see what is going to happen to those creatures?" the sorcerer asked.

Ena's expression hardened as she met his gaze. "Is there a need for me to witness the devastation that they will create?" she retorted.

In her mind, the creatures were mere pawns in a larger game, tools to be used and discarded in pursuit of her ultimate goals.

The man's silence conveyed his understanding.

"Very well... shall we leave now?" he asked.

..

A few tens of kilometers away from them.

"For the umpteenth time, I think we are lost," the woman complained, her frustration evident in her voice. She glanced at the man, who appeared surprisingly calm as he rotated the cooking meat over the fire. "Don't you agree?"

Lachlan sighed. "Yes, I believe we are lost too," he admitted.

"So what do we do now?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Lachlan responded. "You've been adamant about avoiding towns, so we haven't been able to ask for directions."

"Shouldn't we at least try to navigate using the map?"

Lachlan's expression darkened at the mention of the map. "Ah, the map that you accidentally destroyed," he said, his frustration seeping through. "You really are something. Do you want me to look into the remnant of the map that you destroyed in your sleep?"

"I didn't mean to do that. I have a habit of sleepwalking," she defended herself.

"You almost killed me when you were sleeping." It had been days since they started this journey and Lachlan soon regretted coming with the woman. This strange sorceress had a strange habit of sleepwalking.

Sadly, it did not end there.

Her peculiar sleepwalking episodes were accompanied by unpredictable displays of power as if she was engaged in a battle with unseen foes.

During their first night together, Lachlan genuinely believed she was trying to harm him and use his already weak strength to defend himself. It wasn't until he noticed her closed eyes and heard her snoring that he realized it was all happening in her sleep.

It seemed that his luck had run out.

After being betrayed by those he once trusted, he found himself entangled with a woman whose peculiarities were beyond his comprehension.

Why?

He always thought he was a good man well not exactly good decent. Yes, he always thought he was decent. He could not exactly remember offending the Goddess!

So, why was he punished like that?

As if to add to his mounting troubles, a monstrous creature emerged from the shadows, interrupting their conversation. Lachlan's eyes widened in alarm, realizing they were now faced with a more immediate threat.

The woman, on the other hand, remained calm. She blinked and stared at the creature as if she had not realized that they were in front of grave danger.

"Get up, " Lachlan hissed.

"But that is not a beast," the woman said while staring at the creature's grotesque form that loomed before them. Its snarling jaws and razor-sharp claws bared in a menacing display.

Lachlan frowned in irritation.

It seemed that his string of unfortunate circumstances was far from over. First, he had been betrayed by those he once trusted, and now he found himself entangled with a woman whose peculiarities seemed to defy explanation.

Why had fate chosen this path for him? What had he done to deserve such trials and tribulations?

However, driven by a potent mixture of irritation and survival instincts, Lachlan's immediate reaction was to conjure a large ball of fire, which he hurled toward the menacing creature.

"What are you doing!?" the woman exclaimed, her voice filled with alarm. "You're going to kill him!"

"Him?" Lachlan hissed in frustration, his temper flaring. "That is a beast! Why are you calling it him!?" Just what is this woman's problem!??

Lachlan was already at his wit's end!

Their argument, however, was interrupted when the creature lunged forward with a guttural roar, its massive claws swiping through the air. Lachlan swiftly sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the vicious strike. With a quick motion, he thrust his palm forward, releasing a torrent of scorching flames toward the beast.

The fiery onslaught engulfed the creature, causing it to bellow in pain. However, Lachlan soon realized that his flames were merely charring the creature's outer layer, barely scratching its formidable resilience. It seemed impervious to his fire attacks.

As frustration gnawed at him, Lachlan's attention shifted momentarily to the woman who had accompanied him. She had watched the battle unfold without intervening, her eyes keenly observing the creature's movements.

Suddenly, a flicker of realization crossed her face.

"That is no longer human," the woman said before she drew a black sword made of her black mist. She narrowed her eyes then with an expert swing, she lunged towards the beast, her strikes precise and deadly.

The woman's sword cut through the air with otherworldly grace, meeting the creature's onslaught head-on. Each strike delivered by the black sword was imbued with a dark energy that sapped the creature's strength. It groaned in agony as the woman's relentless assault took its toll.

Lachlan's initial surprise at the woman's sudden intervention soon turned into admiration.

He had never seen her fight like this before, but he could not deny the fact that she was indeed a skilled sorceress and a swordmaster.

He smiled.

Flames erupted once again from his outstretched hands, this time with increased intensity and precision. He directed the searing flames toward the weakened creature, strategically aiming for its vulnerable spots.

The combination of Lachlan's scorching fire and the woman's relentless swordplay proved to be the creature's undoing. With a final, desperate howl, it collapsed to the ground, its monstrous form disintegrating into ash and dissipating into the wind.

"That- " Lachlan did not know what to say. The creature simply turned into ash. Even beasts from the North leave a corpse! This one, however, was different.

"It was in pain," the woman said, her usually childlike way of talking was no longer there. She stared at the creature, her expression morose. "That was no beast. It was a human who had no choice but to become a monster."

.....

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