“Ugh…”
“Ah…”
In the thick fog, magicians who had lost their magic and adventurers without information or means to respond were no different from snakes with their fangs pulled out.
Without even seeing the face of their assailant, members of the party fell one after another, each dying in different ways.
Some with their skulls smashed open, others with chilling deaths, and the more unfortunate even torn into five pieces.
But without exception, each was killed instantly, and within moments of death, their blood was drained, leaving behind a mummy that looked as if it had been dried by wind for hundreds of years.
The Blood Mist also grew thicker with each death, the visibility shrinking to less than half a meter.
In such conditions, it was as good as being blind.
Krexia made up her mind to run.
But just as she was about to move, a strong sense of danger surged up inside her.
That uneasy feeling made her scalp tingle, goosebumps breaking out all over her body.
Without hesitation, she activated the [Substitute Straw Doll] she had long since prepared.
The next instant, amid a wave of dizziness in her mind, her vision appeared atop a large tree in the distance.
At the same time, the status feedback from the [Substitute Straw Doll], her magic creation, synced back to her mind.
Shattered.
The straw doll was smashed to pieces.
It looked like someone had tossed it into a meat grinder.
At this moment, she was at the edge of the Blood Mist.
Without the fog blocking her, her field of vision widened considerably.
But she could still smell the strong, pungent scent of blood.
Looking downward, she saw that the Mine District was now completely covered by a dense Blood Mist, which also enveloped a large area of the surrounding forest.
The mist was so thick that even sunlight couldn’t penetrate, its unique nature cutting off all senses except sound.
There were no more screams within the Blood Mist now, only faint flashes of golden light could be seen.
Most likely, Anna was trying to use Divine Art to disperse the fog.
But it was barely effective.
To make matters worse, Krexia heard a familiar roar.
She had heard that roar just over ten minutes ago.
There was no mistake.
It was the Minotauros.
No matter how they had tried to lure it out before, it never appeared—yet now, of all times!
Krexia gritted her teeth, hesitated no longer, and turned to sprint down the path she had come from.
Since the Blood Clan dared to attack the White Sanctuary and had been targeting the party from the start, it meant they were clearly prepared.
They had even waited until after the squad had fought a battle before making their move.
Obviously, they had confirmed that even with both Isaac and Anna, the strongest in the group, the party could not pose enough of a threat, and only then did they strike.
The Blood Clan’s purpose in attacking was still unclear, but it was highly likely they were after the two from the White Sanctuary.
It couldn’t possibly be just to kill a nobody like her, an irrelevant outsider, right?
Given the situation, it was best to return to the city immediately, report the emergency to the Association and Cathedral, and have them dispatch stronger forces to the rescue.
If she moved quickly enough, Anna and Isaac might still survive.
[Universal Third-Tier Support: Oath of Focus]
[Universal Third-Tier Support: Blessing of Wind]
[Universal Third-Tier Support: Divine Traversal]
[Universal Third-Tier Support: …]
At this moment, Krexia wished she could stack every speed-type support magic she had ever learned on herself, just to make it back to the city faster.
She had fought so hard in the revival round for a new life, and hadn’t even enjoyed it for two days yet—she couldn’t die here!
Damn it, if she’d known it would be this dangerous, she never would have gotten involved!
Following the route from her memory, Krexia dashed along the path to the outskirts of the Mageling Forest, legs pumping as she ran with all her might.
The wind roared past her ears, and the scenery flashed by in her vision.
She swore she had never run this fast in her life.
Occasionally, she encountered monsters along the way, but if she could ignore them, she did.
If she couldn’t avoid those blocking her path, she pulled out her Gunblade and shot them—not aiming for a kill, just breaking a leg to stop them from chasing her was enough.
She had to escape.
That thing was too terrifying.
Recalling the gruesome deaths of her comrades, Krexia, who had rarely seen death in either of her lives, felt her heart tremble.
Although she had seen corpses a couple of days ago—even her own—it was nothing like watching someone die right in front of her.
“What happened, little one? Why are you running so frantically?”
Suddenly, Coutia’s voice sounded in her mind.
But Krexia, desperate to escape, paid her no attention.
She didn’t think Coutia could save her now.
She’d be grateful if Coutia didn’t strip her clothes off for fun.
“Ah, a vampire…”
“Good luck.”
With that, she vanished again.
So you showed up just to watch the chaos, you jerk!
Krexia fired the Gunblade again, clearing an annoying monster from her path.
As the magic in the Gunblade depleted, she took out a Second-tier Magic Crystal from her Storage Ring and replaced it.
Looking ahead, she was nearly at the forest’s edge.
At this pace, she could escape the Mageling Forest in less than ten minutes.
Thinking this, Krexia ran even harder, using magic to dispel her fatigue and stacking every buff she could think of.
Suddenly, a familiar scent hit her nose.
Blood.
No, that couldn’t be.
She had run this far—the Blood Mist was far behind.
Where was this blood scent coming from?
Before she could finish thinking, a sharp sound of air being sliced pierced her ears.
With the speed and enhanced senses granted by [Oath of Focus]
And [Blessing of Wind], plus a touch of diluted divine power Coutia had infused into her soul the previous night, Krexia instantly sensed danger.
She came to a sudden stop and twisted aside, narrowly dodging the attack.
Though she avoided a direct hit, the unknown attack grazed her body.
The resulting wind sliced through her arm’s clothing and skin like a high-speed blade.
Blood gushed out.
She staggered back a few steps, glanced briefly at the wound on her arm, and, finding it not too serious, immediately looked toward the source of the attack.
That glance chilled her heart.
In her field of vision, a tall, mature woman in a pure black robe stood barefoot on the ground, walking toward her step by step.
Scarlet slit pupils locked onto her, dark silver hair floating slightly, and her right hand was raised, with seven inch-long, thumb-thick diamond-shaped blood spikes hovering in the air.
Her pale, bloodless skin was crisscrossed with glowing red lines like a spiderweb.
This was exactly as described in books—the combat form of the Blood Clan.