đźź Chapter 21:
It seemed this was the end for me in this world. Surviving eight months was an achievement in itself, yet I wasn't qualified to face this thing. I had never developed myself, never tried to become stronger. All I ever wanted was to survive as long as possible.
Then I heard Savra's voice:
"What's wrong, little one? Why aren't you scared? Why do your features look so calm?"
Calm features, huh… Do I really look like that? Well, I guess that's strange—even at my end, I don't look like a normal human. Nothing but total emptiness. No family, no companions—all because of that father who failed to raise me. I had never seen a purpose in my life.
Even though I had been terrified moments ago, now it was over. My consciousness started to fade little by little.
"What's the matter with you, boy? You'll die without even a moment of panic. Come on -wake up! Don't die in such a dull way. Whatever. Even if you don't show any fear, I'll make you feel it !"
The lizard threw me up to place me in her mouth. At the moment I was about to fall with my eyes closed, something snatched me from her jaws at the last second.
"Haaah… what just happened? Who took my prey? Ohhh, what do we have here—two new prey? It seems you two are witches."
Witches?! That word caught my attention. Even though I barely understood what was happening around me, I could hear that one word. When I turned to see who had grabbed me, it was a girl in a witch's outfit with red hair. Her face looked like the little girl's sister from the carriage. Suddenly, I started regaining full consciousness.
"That's good… you're starting to improve," she said.
Suddenly, the lizard spat out a sticky black substance from her mouth, but the girl caught me and moved me away from the attack. I began to realize she was healing my injury.
"You annoying witches! How dare you take my prey?"
"Witches?" Where's the other one? I looked in the opposite direction and saw another witch healing the other participants. Her hair color matched the first girl—it was the same girl from the carriage. It was Flora. Now I realized the girl beside me was Flora's sister.
The sticky black substance melted the surrounding area—this lizard clearly wanted to dissolve us.
"Good, I've removed the ropes from you. You're free now."
She healed my injuries and untangled the bindings. This witch was strong, it seemed. From her side, the lizard was between Flora and her sister. Flora had already healed the injured male participant and freed him from his ropes, and did the same for the other female participant.
"Well, no one will escape here. I'll wipe you all out!"
Flora stepped forward to confront the lizard. Could she really defeat it? I only had one question for her sister:
"Can your sister handle this lizard?"
"Huh? How did you know she's my sister?"
"Oh, looks like you forgot my face. I was with you both in the carriage when we headed into the forest."
"Wait… let me remember… oh right! I remember you, the boy Flora described as mistakenly participating in the test."
"That's a bit frustrating… but true."
"Sorry to disappoint you. As for your previous question, you can see for yourself. Flora is extremely talented. She's even stronger than me."
This little girl… could she really be that strong? The other participants moved toward us, and now I could see what this girl was about to do.
🟧 Narrator's POV :
Savra bent toward Flora, mocking her for daring to challenge her.
"You little one, where do you get the confidence to stand in front of me like that? I'll show you."
Flora replied confidently:
"Those who talk too much are always pathetic."
Savra, enraged, swung her spiked tail directly at Flora. She dodged quickly. Savra then tried to use her scents to put Flora to sleep, but Flora countered with a gust of wind to disperse the smell.
Savra disappeared using her stealth ability, then leaped at Flora, attacking with her sticky black poison. Flora dodged effortlessly using instantaneous movement. Although Savra was invisible to the naked eye, Flora managed to land a single punch, knocking her to the ground.
"What is this, girl? Where did you get such strength? How did you see me?"
"You're an ignorant lizard, after all. Even if you can hide, you can't hide your aura. Anyone who senses aura can hit you. And my punch's power isn't from my physical strength—I concentrated my magical energy in my fist. You wouldn't understand such things, foolish lizard."
Savra then jumped between the trees, preparing a final, devastating attack meant to destroy everything around her. Takeru and the other participants tried to avoid it, but Flora's sister reassured them about her little sister's ability to handle the situation.
Savra began growing, surpassing thirty meters in size, with huge spikes erupting all over her body, not just her tail. She formed a spiked ball to launch her attack on Flora. She darted between the trees, moving left and right to confuse Flora with her speed.
The impact of Savra's attack reached the ground, creating destruction across a fifty-meter radius. Trees were torn apart, leaving nothing but a huge crater. She returned to her original form, assuming she had defeated everyone, but…
"How disappointing, lizard. Your attack was useless in the end," a voice came from above.
Savra looked up. Flora, her sister, Takeru, and the other participants were all flying high above her.
"You dodged my attack?"
"A simple matter. While you were preparing your confident strike, I saw this as the best option to break your pride."
It was instantaneous movement. Just as Savra neared the ground, Flora and her sister used the ability to make Takeru and the others capable of flying. Shock was written on their faces as they realized the monster that nearly killed them was now being humiliated by a little girl.
"Now it's my turn, lizard."
Flora extended her hand toward Savra. Green energy gathered around it, forming a sphere the size of Savra herself.
"I think this color suits you, lizard. Let's finish this—green!"
The attack shot toward Savra. She tried to escape, but she wasn't faster than the strike. The green attack hit her directly, causing an explosion far more destructive than Savra's attack, annihilating everything in a sixty-meter radius. Flora had sensed any aura in the area—there was no one else, meaning only Savra was hit.
Savra was completely destroyed, leaving nothing but ashes.