Chapter 76: B ranked boss is coming!
Chapter 76
"Is that all?" Jace was heard asking while huffing and panting, his chest rising and falling heavily. His head dripped with blood that rolled down his face as he scanned the whole battlefield for any remaining beasts.
The Dredfang Lycan could all be seen lying dead and sprawled across the entire area. Their corpses littered the place like trash, a grim reminder of the chaos that had just unfolded. Yet despite the overwhelming number of foes, not a single Reaver had fallen.
Everybody was safe and sound, though they hadn’t come out without injuries. They each bore at least one or two wounds, some shallow cuts streaked across their faces and arms while others had deeper gashes still oozing blood. But compared to the worst-case scenario, they were all alive, and so they rallied together, supporting each other through exhaustion.
"Ah mehn! That was fun, right guys?" Vynn asked with a wide grin, but everybody turned their heads toward him like he was out of his mind.
"Guys!" a feminine voice suddenly called from the steps that led to the clan base. Instantly, heads spun in her direction to see Aria walking down gracefully, a bow strapped to her back along with a quiver brimming with arrows.
Rina could also be seen rushing down the steps, her pace quickening until she dashed across the ground and hurried straight to the injured. She wasted no time, beginning to heal those with the most severe injuries first, her hands glowing faintly as she worked.
"Are you all okay?" Aria asked, her sharp eyes scanning the scene in front of her. The portal still swirled a few metres away, its ominous pull humming in the background, while the young Reavers either sat down or forced themselves to stand upright, each one trying to steady their breaths and recover their exhausted essence.
"Yeah. I guess you can say that we are fine." Kael replied, causing Aria to whip her head toward him with a sudden frown.
"Damn it, Kael! Where are your clothes?!" Aria shouted, her voice filled with equal parts shock and irritation.
Kael looked down at himself only to notice he was left in nothing but his underwear. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "No idea how that happened."
Aria dragged her palm down her face in exasperation, muttering under her breath.
"By the way, thank you for helping me earlier, Aria," Erin said gently, breaking the moment.
Aria simply smiled warmly at her. "It’s nothing. We ought to look out for each other. That’s what being part of the same clan is all about."
Her smile widened even further, a light glow in her eyes that softened the tense air.
"Zen... where is he?" Jace asked suddenly, his gaze sweeping across the area as if expecting him to appear from the dust.
"You forgot? He went out on a mission alone. Tch! That weakling." Erin scoffed, crossing her arms with a sharp tone. Jace only sighed after the reminder, his shoulders sinking slightly.
"Why did you have to jump straight in front of the claws? What if you had died?!" a voice scolded from nearby, snapping their attention.
They turned their heads and saw Rina striking Renzo’s shoulder repeatedly, her expression fierce, though her hands trembled as she hit him.
"Ouch! How couldn’t I jump in when I saw a clan member about to be killed? I couldn’t just stand there." Renzo replied with a cheeky yet nervous smile, trying to downplay the moment.
"I was scared." Rina said softly, her eyes moist, her lips quivering as her control slipped.
"I know, dearie. And I’m sorry I put my life in danger, causing you to feel that way." Renzo’s tone softened. He tugged lightly at her cheeks in an attempt to ease her, his thumb brushing away the tears that streamed down her face.
"Promise me you won’t do something like that again," Rina whispered, her voice breaking as more tears fell freely. "Yes, we are all clan members and we need to look out for each other, but not at the expense of your life. What will I do if something happens to you?"
Her words carried the weight of fear and sincerity, piercing through the noisy aftermath of battle. For a brief moment, it felt like the world around them stilled, leaving only her trembling voice echoing against the silence.
"Yikes! I don’t think I can promise that. I can’t help it if someone’s in danger and I have the ability to protect them. But I promise I won’t die doing such." Renzo said, flashing a wide smile at Rina, who just scoffed before proceeding to heal his injuries.
"If you die, I swear I’ll come down to the afterlife and kill you again myself. Tsk!" Rina scoffed, turning away.
"Hey lo... yawn! Lovebirds. Quit yapping and disturbing our ears." Ryker scolded with a lazy yawn in between his words. "Damn, this B-ranked boss should just come out already so I can go back to sleep."
"Ar... aren’t you scared of how powerful it’ll be? It’s a freaking B-rank, and none of the elite Reavers are around. How do we even handle it if it does appear?" Zarin asked nervously, shakily clutching his weapon while glancing around.
"I don’t know." Ryker shrugged. "We try our best to defeat it or die trying. Either way, we’ll know we gave it our all."
"I’m scared as hell here, and we don’t even know why it hasn’t shown itself yet." Zarin sighed, his eyes glued to the ominous portal swirling a few meters away.
At first, there had been two portals, but once the C-ranked beasts were killed, one snapped shut, leaving only a single one. That was where everyone anticipated the B-ranked boss would emerge from.
"Whatever reason it has for delaying is still worrying. I have an idea... yawn!" Ryker said suddenly, his lazy grin brightening. "How about we nominate someone to step into the portal and check why the beast isn’t coming out?"
"Are you crazy?! Who’d be foolish enough to go in there?!" Zarin barked, his voice cracking with fright.
"Oh, you want to go? Thanks, Zarin, for volunteering to check the portal." Ryker replied with a wide grin.
"The fuck you mean I volunteered?! Are you mad?!" Zarin roared, drawing everyone’s attention. The others shook their heads helplessly.
"Where’s Thorne, by the way?" Jace whispered as he scanned the area. The oldest D-ranked Reaver was nowhere to be seen.
"I don’t know. I think he went on a mission or something," Erin muttered.
"Actually, he was chosen by a group of A-ranked Reavers to serve as their porter while they explored a dungeon," Aria cut in, and Jace nodded.
"Shut the fuck up, man! You’re so annoying!" Zarin’s raised voice cut into their conversation again.
"These two won’t stop bickering, and it’s getting on my nerves," Erin mumbled, glaring at them.
"We should be formulating a plan in case th..." Jace trailed off. His eyes widened in horror as his heartbeat spiked. Beads of sweat formed across his face.
It wasn’t just him. Every single Reaver outside and on the battlefield reacted the same way, some more violently than others, as if their hearts were about to burst out of their chests.
"Crap... the B-ranked boss is coming." Jace gulped hard, his entire body trembling.