Chapter 64: 63: Blood

Meanwhile, however, as a couple of other S-Ranked adventurers began to get carried off the battlefield due to injury, Kaitlyn was embroiled in a battle with three of the chimeras, leaping back and trying to make as much distance with them as possible as she tried to catch her breath while fighting the tireless monsters. 

Each of their spasms and weapon swings leading to a chunk of land being carved up, Kaitlyn looked around, trying to find an area where she could line them up and fight less of them at once, she was stronger than she was in the beginning of the fight, but her fatigue from the nature elemental was no joke. 

Kiting the chimeras behind her, Kaitlyn found a secluded area near where Jayce, Sasha, along with the otherworlders were fighting, an area with fewer monsters than the other areas around it, a place next to the treeline that was elevated just a touch.

Slice. 

Duck. 

Inhale... 

Exhale. 

...

Blood. 

The chimera in front of her ejecting half of its body parts at random, sacrificing most of itself to deal some damage, Kaitlyn gasped in pain as she felt a few bone shards fly by her, one in particular driving a deep gash in her leg. 

Her breathing becoming more ragged, her face being drenched in sweat as her leg felt like it was on fire, Kaitlyn made eye contact with the adventurers near her, communicating that she’d really prefer some help. She would be able to survive without it but help would definitely... help.  

Following her signal for help, Josephine, Damien, Oliver, and, to everyone’s surprise, Fergus, all called out saying that they’d cover the entirety of the area, allowing Sasha, Jayce, and Rachel to all begin to fight their way towards where Kaitlyn was tangled in battle. 

Plowing through the monsters, his spear sweeping like a historical general blazing through a battlefield, Jayce focused on carving a path through the monsters. However, from behind the trees, a lone monster began to creep its way out: a spindler. 

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Quiet, the leaves not even rustling, its mandibles still, the spindler creeped its way forward, watching as Kaitlyn felled the first human chimera before her before turning towards the second chimera before her. 

At that moment, it lifted one of its legs, slamming it forward ready to crush its unsuspecting victim. 

“FORWARD!” Jayce shouted as he saw the monster at the last moment, being the only one who had spotted the tall spider obscured by the trees. 

Slam. 

A spatter of blood. 

Having jumped forward the moment Jayce shouted towards her, Kaitlyn dodged a grievous injury, falling to her knees with only a long, deep slash to her back, feeling as if a sword made of fire had lashed her. 

‘Fuck, fuckfuckfuck shit, why?! There’s... there’s so much blood...’ Rachel shouted to herself, trying to make her way through the impenetrable wall of monsters in front of her just a bit faster to try and save the now blood-covered Kaitlyn, ‘... just... w-why...’

However, with a similar line of thinking to Rachel, having watched one of his closest friends just graze death, Jayce summoned all the energy he had left in his body into his spear, launching it forward towards where Kaitlyn was kneeling. 

Her eyes heavy, Kaitlyn propped herself upright, trying not to blackout while wondering, ‘...Is this how it ends? From a surprise attack? I wanted to at least say I love you to Rachel before I go...’ 

And so, feeling the snow begin to fall onto her blood-soaked hair, the wind blowing it, Kaitlyn’s eyes closed as she watched a bright flash of light injure and stop the chimera in front of her before blowing the head clean off the monster behind her. 

‘Everything hurts...’