Chương 277: Typical Girl Group Activities

"Crap…" The beastfolk cursed under his breath, letting his back hit the trunk of a tree as he tried to collect his breath. He hadn't been expecting his first field mission to turn out so poorly. He was only here to help reload a heavy crossbow, and he certainly hadn't expected that someone would rush at them through the forest and messy terrain in such little time. He wasn't equipped to fight the Silent Knightess. All he had to his name was a sword and a dagger, both of cheap craftsmanship…

Well, he could count on his slightly superior physical capabilities thanks to being a beastfolk, but he didn't get much out of it. Only slightly enhanced speed and agility, as well as nifty ears and a tail that he needed to groom all the time. He didn't even have claws or fangs.

"Damnit… This hurts like hell" The terrain that was supposed to impede enemies from reaching him and his allies had turned on him, as in his rush, he had ended up giving a good and sudden twist to his ankle–He was fine, but it was nonetheless painful, leading him to make this stop. The air was heavy and warm, burning his lungs, partly due to the subpar manner in which he had been inhaling and exhaling while running. He moved his ankle to test if it still hurt.

"Seems good…" The beastfolk marked a pause as his eyes caught sight of something nonsensical. The air was warm, and the sun heavy, yet he was seeing his own breath as though it were winter. He felt a sudden urge to leave immediately, but right as he pushed himself off the tree he was leaning his back against, a sharp pain rang out from his left calf, making him stumble and fall forward.

The beastfolk snapped his head back to see a small, blonde girl dressed in what looked to be a nightgown with a little dark bow tied around the neck area. She looked at him straight in the eye without any particular emotions on her face at first, until she gave a small smile that was wholly unfitting for the situation, considering that she was holding a sort of wooden stake driven into his calf. She tore the piece of wood out and seemed to fall through the ground, disappearing from view.

The man felt the urge to curse out loud, but focused on scrambling up to his feet instead–Oddly enough, despite the strike having seemingly stabbed quite deeply, he wasn't bleeding this much and wasn't having trouble standing. His movement speed would definitely be impacted, but he just needed to grit his teeth and hope that adrenaline would bury the pain for him… As long as he could get back to his allies, he would be able to have his wounds healed up. To a competent healer, such an injury was nothing.

The first thing his eyes landed upon when he rose was a blue-skinned girl peeking from behind a protruding rock in the ground. For reasons he could not understand, a deep, profound sense of unsettlement took root inside his heart, and he froze in place staring at her. She seemed… Like a rather normal demon girl. Two small horns poking out from her forehead, red eyes, and a cheeky smile with noticeable canines.

If anything, she seemed like a pampered young lady, not exactly someone who should cause a strong wave of unsettlement or fear with just a glance. They stared at one another for several long seconds that felt like minutes, until the demon girl slowly retreated behind the rock, emitting an oddly echoey giggle that led the beastfolk to frantically look around.

"What is happening…? I need to leave" He spoke his thoughts, but his body resisted his will. The unsettlement within was strong, too strong. It was keeping his legs from moving. The fright he was experiencing was preventing him from going away. There was fear in his bones that something was waiting behind a tree he would pass by and grab him. The man sharply exhaled.

"Get a grip… Get a grip… I just… I just saw two little girls. Why would anyone be afraid of little girls?" They hadn't even looked off. They had genuinely looked like a normal girl, with well-kept hair and clean clothes of good manufacture. For all he could tell, he wasn't dealing with anything other than actual little girls. Surely, he had just run into some home in the woods, and these girls were just messing with him.

"Yes, surely…" He knew well that this was nonsense. He and his fellows had scoured this place a bunch beforehand. It was nothing but a place with nests for goblins and canine-like creatures. No one lived here, and if they did, no one sane would let two small girls just wander around in this forest like this. However, the beastfolk lied to himself to get going, but it seemed like he was only allowed to take a single step forward before he started hearing the sound of someone choking directly behind him.

He froze once more. The unsettlement still dwelling within was joined by a surge of paranoia, but this time, he did not stay still. He swiftly unleashed his sword and spun around whilst swinging. There was nothing… And the sound resumed directly behind his back once more. The same scene played out several more times, with the man growing more and more restless. At one point, he stopped swinging and simply kept spinning around, convinced that the source of the noise somehow constantly managed to stay behind him.

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"Show yourself!" One should be wary of what they wish for. Just as he said this, he turned around to see someone standing just a few meters away from him. He didn't know if it was they who had been producing the sound, but his guts told him that it was the case. It was a girl clearly older than the previous two. An older girl, or perhaps even a young woman. He wasn't certain. Her impressively long hair covered most of her face except for one eye, and she was giving him a spine-chilling stare with it.

It was like his existence was a stain on her. She was wearing a white coat. Seemingly a raincoat, the beastfolk had seen a few of those before. The hood was down, and the sleeves were long enough to hide her hands fully. They only stared at one another for a brief moment before words came out of her–Or rather, whispers.

'Do Not Move' 'Perish' 'Fall''Stay Here' 'Do Not Think' 'Be Afraid' The beastfolk grabbed his own head. These whispers simultaneously felt like they came from her and that they were directly inside of his own head, and inexplicably, he felt like these words had power over him. He felt compelled to listen to the commands, but even as he resisted their hold over him, he couldn't help but listen attentively.

"This… This""GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HEAD!" He screamed loudly enough for his throat to hurt. He fell backwards on the ground, and when he looked again, the girl was gone.

"I need to get out of here… I need to get out of here… By the gods… By the Universal System's grace, please…" His limbs felt weak as he pushed himself to his feet, his vision blurred for a moment as he tried to take off running, and he found himself gasping for air and coughing up blood. Looking down at his bloodied hands, he gritted his teeth and looked over his shoulder to see a fourth girl, but she was hovering in the air. With the dress she wore and the way her hair was done, she looked like a young noblewoman.

She looked down at him with a distinct lack of emotion. She simply seemed… Focused. He raised his sword at her. The blade was covered with his own blood.

"Don't get close! Just let me be, goddamnit!" She didn't respond and instead slowly raised one hand. Her small hand closed into a fist, and as it did, the man felt a pressure surround his neck. He reached for it, but there was nothing to grab. He was being suffocated by something he couldn't see or touch. His feet left the ground as he lifted into the air. The girl floated down slightly to meet eye-to-eye with him. She slightly tilted her head, as her eyes took on a slightly saddened expression.

"Fight back… If you don't fight back… How are we supposed to learn and… Make big sister proud?" With a wave of her hand, she threw him to the ground, casually floating down into the ground and disappearing just like the first girl had done. The beastfolk choked and coughed, ending up puking on the ground before forcing himself to rise despite his shaky legs. He barely even moved for several minutes, but eventually, he recovered from the near-death experience.

"Hey""Please… For the love of the system almighty! Please stop appearing!" It was once again a different girl, this one was tall and much more tomboyish than the previous ones. She was dressed in a much different manner, looking like some sort of foreign martial artist dressed in a red garment that was clearly intended to allow for as much freedom of movement as possible. She scratched her nose and cracked the fingers of her right hand one after the other.

"Did you not… Hear her just now? You need to… Fight back!" She suddenly surged forward, hitting the beastfolk right in the chest with a palm strike, knocking the wind out of him. The redhead crossed her arms.

"Girls… I think this is a… Waste of time" The man raised one hand in defence, but the attack did not come from the tomboy. She stepped aside, suddenly revealing a sixth girl pouncing out of nowhere. His vision went white as he was overwhelmed with fear to the point that he thought his heart had stopped beating for a few moments. He was left on the ground, unwilling to even move as the ghostly gals all came out of hiding and looked down at him. The noble-looking young woman spoke first.

"Should we… Just leave this guy to Faelan?"

"Good… Idea" The last one to appear agreed, for some reason, she was hopping in place, shifting from foot to foot with each hop. It was like she was preparing to go for a run.

"Hold on, I think Ana developed her power" The small blonde interjected, and just as she said this, a seventh figure rose out of the ground, some sort of living shadow with very expressive crimson coloured circles that served as her eyes. The others moved back to let the shadow do her thing, and she uncovered a painting, shoving it in front of the beastfolk's eyes.

"This represents the triumph of good over evil in the form of an unnamed soldier standing alive at the end of a bloody battle, being one of the few still alive, but even though many of them should be enemies, they remain in place. I was trying to imply that the evil was their willingness to fight strangers in a war where they are all nothing but disposable pawns""I don't really agree with the message myself, but I thought the painting would look quite swell like this, do you agree?" She smiled with her eyes.

Her speech was much more fluid than that of the others, but the beastfolk barely even heard her as his body overflowed with something foreign.

"Anyway, looking at this painting will ignite you with the will to fight and triumph. Fight! Fight! Fight! Show what you can do, champion! It doesn't matter if you are a nobody! The notable figures of history are vastly outnumbered by the silent and unknown heroes!" She jumped up and down whilst moving backwards until she ended up next to the tomboy.

"He should fight properly now. He wasn't actually empowered or anything, but he should at least take hits like a real man, now""Nice! That is a great… Ability you have, Ana. Also… You are a great painter""Heheheh! Thank you!" The tomboy cracked her knuckles. Now, it was time to have some real fun.