Chương 59: Empty sleeves

To Alyn's credit, she didn't scream as she stood up from the Giant's chest, her arm amputated. For a moment she just stared at Grim, aghast. Despite the fact that she'd been about to get her head chewed off, she might have argued about it being the only option. She stared at Grim's missing arm for another second, as if thinking she'd done this just so they would be similar. As if she would ever willingly make someone like her. The fantasy must have lasted only a second as she focused back on the Giant.

It was hurt for sure, small gouges and cuts littered its body, with the biggest being wherever Maya hit it. Alyn had also done a lot of damage comparatively, and besides the missing arm, her injuries were all healed. The concrete dust had cleared, and she got a good look at Solomon, Natalie, and Carrion, who were making their way over to them fast.

The number of Petals in the area had increased drastically but to Grim's surprise, she also noticed that some of the other applicants who had been watching had joined the fight, they were still on the outskirts so they wouldn't be any help to them. SongJae still using his powers, stood alone. He was walking towards them, a single, powerful step at a time. He would be the last one to catch up with them. Until then?

Alyn jumped off its body, getting as far away from its mouth as she could while Grim stood on its stomach and stabbed down into it. The tip of her blade went into it but was soon stopped by its body. It was too tough to get any farther. The Giant bucked, getting its lower back off the ground and forcing Grim to jump off as well, "Alyn! Use your power on it right before I hit it."

By the look she gave her, Grim could tell Alyn was thinking about not listening to another word she said, but she slashed the side of its body. Grim cut into the same spot right after Alyn's claws left it, and her blade drew a deeper cut than it had before, but it was still stopped all the same.

"I can't get through," Grim said. Alyn slammed her palm down on the side of its abdomen.

"It's aura is too quick, try now."

"But your hand."

"You already took one." Grim couldn't argue with that, and her blade stabbed through her hand, splitting the skin easily as it sunk into the Giant's body. It roared as it bucked again, trying to get them off it. They both backed off as it pushed its elbow behind it and strained with everything it had to flip itself over. Grim jumped back at the same time as Alyn but the Giant's hand slithered over Alyn's ankle until it locked up tight, crushing the bone.

"Alyn! I'm coming!" Solomon yelled. There was no hesitation as Grim slashed at the Giant's fingertips, aiming to take them all off. Her blade hit its skin as it tilted onto its side but couldn't cleave through any of its fingers. Alyn had fallen to the ground as the Giant prepared to crack its hand like a whip. I— She wound up for another slash, aiming to put everything she had into this one, but she knew she'd be too slow. Its body tensed, the muscles coiling.

Am— There was a bright flash of light as something erupted behind her. A blazing yellow light shot like a star as it slammed into the creature's hand, shredding off several fingers but not enough. The— A B-rank round. One— The Giant cracked its arm like a whip, the windup was slow as it used pure strength to pick it up behind it, but momentum carried it the rest of the way as it finished rolling onto its stomach and slammed its hand down on the ground.

Grim couldn't hear what happened after the concrete exploded from the attack. Her brain could only fill in the blanks on what Alyn's body had sounded like hitting the ground. Her authority dropped as she no longer had the headspace for holding it. She had been too slow, and now the only thing she could look at was the Giant's severed fingers on the ground. A petal rushed her, aiming to destroy her concentration before she could finish activating her Authority.

It hesitated slightly when she'd dropped it herself but still rushed her now that its attention was focused on her. This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. She didn't move as it bored down on her, too stunned by what had just happened. She was still processing how she'd failed again to save someone when the creature reached her. It thrust a rusted knife right at her face, only for SongJae to land a punch on its face instead.

The force of his blow crushed its head and flatlined it into the ground, the force reversing its momentum entirely as it was decimated. SongJae was slow in righting himself, to her, it was very clear he was being very careful about where he put his weight. Physically, he looked exhausted, with his hair clinging to his body from sweat. His face was pale, and she was sure he was just about out of Aura. He opened his mouth to speak, but only a small grunt came out.

Grim didn't have a chance to ask him what he meant as the Giant tried to push itself to its knees. She thought about trying to activate her Authority again, but knew there was no point. SongJae was already holding it down and she wouldn't be able to do much more than that. She was already exhausted, and she needed to save her strength to try to kill this thing or something. If she used her Authority, she doubted she would be conscious afterwards.

"Thank you," Grim said.

"…Go." SongJae said.

"I… take care of it." Grim went to say something else, but SongJae had already turned and started his unstoppable walk towards the Giant.

"Remember the money! We'll get matching penthouses," Grim shouted. He didn't look behind him as he threw up a hand in a wave. Grim turned and intercepted Solomon before he could get to Alyn.

"Leave her! You need to kill it, or we're all dead. I'll help her."

"No, I won't…" Solomon said before growling.

"If she dies, you die."

"I won't let her die, just worry about yourself," Grim said, but in truth she didn't know if Alyn was even still alive. She felt his aura wake up with a wash of energy. Compared to all of them, he was still fresh as he'd been using his weapon this whole time. I am enough. His Authority blazed as the underdog, the lone ranger, the bulwark against the horde. His aura wasn't depleting like the rest of them she'd seen. Every bit that expanded out from his body returned to it, recycling every bit of unused Aura.

He rocketed forward as he dropped his weapons, his speed increasing from the baseline it had been before. If she had to guess, she'd put him in the middle of C to B rank. She turned and raced towards Alyn but found several Petals in her way. The wound in her side was still bothering her, but she wouldn't let it stop her. If she could get to Alyn in time, she could stabilize her with shadow, and if that didn't work? Well, she still had Orion's boon.

The first petal she raised the sword high for a slash but transitioned at the last moment into a thrust, but the Petal was deceptively fast as it turned to the side and grabbed onto her wrist. Her arm was yanked back painfully as her muscle fibers stretched and pulled farther than they were supposed to. She twisted, ripping her arm free as three more Petals rushed her. Solid chains of purple energy wrapped around her wrist and stopped her from moving, the other end attached to the Petal that had grabbed her.

A Petal with its "flower" split in two came forward with a hatchet held high, ready to bury it into her skull, but she pulled her arm forward and let his strike cleave through the chain. She slashed wildly with the back of the blade, scoring a gash in its side. The cut wasn't fatal, but it was enough for her to push forward. Alyn wasn't moving, and if she was still alive, then every second counted. The next two came at her, but thankfully both seemed to be unarmed.

They were within striking distance when her legs gave out beneath her, surprising both her and her enemies. The first tumbled over her as it tripped, flailing at whatever it could get at as she felt a lock of hair rip from her skull. Arms wrapped around her neck as pressure mounted from the other one trying to choke the life out of her. Her hand reached for her knives instinctively before she remembered she'd lost both of them.

From the angle they were at, there was no way she could stab it with her sword, so she let it go and grabbed at the arms around her throat. The world blurred around the edges, but she pulled at its grip, keeping it at bay. It was a tug of war she was going to lose. She was already exhausted and it's position was too strong. It was only because of her increased strength that she was even still conscious, if she were still an E, she'd already be dead.

She struggled back to her feet with the added weight, thankful at least this Petal was smaller, when one of the other ones went to rush her. The one on her back roared at it, nearly deafening her as it kept the rest of them away from her. She wasn't sure why, but she would take it. It clamped its arms tighter on her neck, and she stumbled forward, not ready to give up. She had a plan, the chances of it succeeding were slim, but it was all she could do.

If she could get to Alyn fast enough and heal her, she could rip this thing off her. The next steps were hard, harder than almost anything she'd done before, and she was so, so tired. Every part of her body ached from exhaustion, and the cut in her side bled freely. She didn't have the shadow left to spare on sealing it, she'd need every scrap she had left. They were close now, just another heft of effort and she'd be there. Everything was so cold, the blood loss seeing to that.

Powers exploded in the distance, followed by the sound of screams, both human and not. Her world darkened until everything was quiet, the only sound being her own body trying to pump blood through her constricted throat. A different insidious thought filled her head, the part of her that survived. The one that feared pain and connection, it whispered in the back of her mind that there was a different option. One where she would live, where she'd pass the trial.

She just needed to get to Alyn and take the only thing that might be keeping her alive. If she had that, she could beat this trial all on her own. She would kill the Petal on her back, then track down Sam and take her Boon. They'd both die, but they were probably going to die anyway, but Grim didn't have to. Even if she healed Alyn, what were the odds that she would wake up fast enough to save her? Not high. Phil told her not to trust anyone, to do whatever it takes to survive.

Her life was bigger than all of theirs, and she wouldn't let him down. Not after everything he'd done for her. The edges of her vision blackened as the walls closed in on her. She stumbled and fell, outstretching her fingertips just far enough to rest on Alyn's body. The pressure increased as her eyes closed, but she still tried to speak through her now ruined throat.

"… CEDE."