BXBX NOVEL Chapter 67 Mana Deprivation
"Aim for the demons!" Leon yelled to Tricksie, "But first, Caitlyn, get in close and show them Greg's might close up before they die! Circle around once!"
"You got it, babe!" Caitlyn yelled after a deep breath.
"Kaaaaaaay!" The bunny woman replied with sweat rolling down her determined face.
Whoooooosh!
The demons saw the wrath of God flicking in Caitlyn's eyes as she flew overhead. They had never seen such fury, backed up by the certainty that accompanies raw power.
It caused them to freeze in fear without noticing the playful bunny girl that caused the damage they had seen moments before.
Whoooooosh!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
An earthquake rocked the ground in the distance as the titan slammed into the earth and slid across the ground at full force.
It instantly killed the demons, who worked as an organized unit, and had just navigated around the river and debris toward the trench.
The earthquake shook all candidates except Kern, Fritz, and the airborne dragons. However, it didn't kill any candidates, as the first earthquake compacted the wreckage and the second was minor.
Whooooooooosh!
"RHHHAAAAAAAAHRRR!"
A crimson line of fire shot through the sky.
Whooooooooosh!
A blue line followed.
Whooooooooosh!
The dragons, Filo, Pan, Feris, Like, and Toga, navigated through the sky, weaving in and out of flying creatures.
The green dragon, Feris, caught a large bird with red and black wings in her jaws and bit down.
CRRUUNNCH!
A sickening snap followed, and blood gushed to the earth. It was a brutal demonstration, but it wasn't anything to get excited about.
All of the dragons were riddled with wounds. They couldn't maneuver back to the sanctuary at top speed because people were riding them.
They had haremite volunteers who had created harnesses to hold them after their first trip. Two haremites rode each dragon, strapped to their backs, and held survivors in place.
Emboldened by the wild survival rate and the influx of over 130 candidates, teams of haremites joined the fray.
"Squad one, we've identified a survivor moving on the west side of the iron support column."
"Understood. Squad one, move out! Squad two, back them up with ranged attacks. Take out those ravens!"
Led by the returning retrieval team members, teams journeyed out in a magical phalanx to retrieve the candidates and survivors the scouts identified from above.
It dropped the mortality rate of those that made it close by 75% and improved efficiency. So far, 93 candidates that weren't in the [useful non-combat] classes had made it back, and it was growing.
It was a grim statistic to the candidates, who stood at a force over 300 strong before leaving, but it was a miracle in general.
Everything looked like it was going well on the surface. Both titans were dead, and countless potential haremites had made it through.
However, things weren't looking great for the leaders.
"KYYYYYAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Kern's beast took a massive blow from a magical arrow while weaving through the air.
A group of men hiding in the wreckage was attacking her from a distance. They understood the woman was a barrier, so they banded together, seeking to assassinate her while a group of twenty protected them from the rear.
"AWHOOOOOOOOO!"
A new sound came from her mouth as her gryphon-esque creature fell to the earth. Two-headed wolves flew to her rescue, creating a bed she jumped on.
BOOOOM!
Her flying creature hit the ground, exciting the men. They flew out of hiding to attack her.
Unfortunately, they overestimated their situation.
BOOM! Boom! BOOOM! Boom, boom, boom!
"W-Where did she come from!?" A man screamed as he stared down the vicious eyes of a tiger.
"GgRrRrRrRrRr!RrRrRr!"
The tiger growled with an unnatural falsetto as she faced down her prey.
"G-Get away!" He yelled, "We wouldn't be doing this if you just—"
BOOM!
The man hit a wall and exploded, terrifying the men who shot at her simultaneously. While she adeptly avoided shots, she couldn't avoid tracers and weak machine gun fire.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.
"GgRrRrRr RHHHAAAAAAAAHRRR!"
BOOOOOM! Boom! BOOM! Boom, boom, boom! BOOM!
The tiger roared with pain as she continued a merciless onslaught against the men. Within moments, she decimated the group by weaving between the wreckage and sending it crashing into them.
During a landslide, she managed to wipe them out.
"Are you okay?" Kern called out while riding a massive two-headed wolf.
"Yeah. I'm fine." Kazz replied, downplaying her current condition.
"Why'd you come to save me when I'm in the back?" Kern asked sternly, "Are you an idiot or something?"
"Hah. I'm a mercenary. We're idiots that made a profession of it." Kazz laughed.
"Hah. That's stupid." Kern laughed.
"Not as stupid as killing people for the love of battle." The tiger gruffed.
The two shared a moment of silence before bursting into laughter.
"Come on. Get back in your human form; you're just a big target now." Kern suggested, "I'll take you to the group. So get on this things back."
"Hah. I fuckin' hate canines." Kazz replied with a bitter smile, "But I ain't dyin', so let's do it."
Kern helped the woman on her back and began moving toward the barrier.
"So, what's the real reason?" She asked Kazz, panting and wincing from her wounds, "If you're a mercenary, you don't save people for free."
"Heh. You're valuable, and Mr. Paycheck asked to support you after completing the primary objective." Kazz replied.
"Fair enough. Well, let's get back and pick off the survivors." Kern said.
"Heh. And they call cats monsters." Kazz laughed.
The two burst into laughter and continued on their path.
They didn't know they were walking into the death trap. Otherwise, they would've dropped the side work.
Now that the living candidates had passed the center and Kern released control of her flying creatures, all the beasts assembled at the barrier.
"KYYYYYAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Toga suffered a major gash from a large lizard creature. The dragon tried maneuvering in a way that wouldn't kill the four candidates on her back.
It succeeded, but it proved to be a poor decision. She was now bleeding heavily and increasingly surrounded.
"Caitlyn! Let's aid support to the dragons and tell them to fall back!" Leon yelled, "They're far too valuable to trade for other candidates. The strong already made it!"
"Gotcha, sweetheart!" She replied before hitting and reaching the area at top speed.
Leon was tiny and couldn't see her face or hear her breathing over the sounds of screaming, howls, and roaring in the distance.
She was sweating heavily and panting, skillfully hiding her exhaustion. If Leon knew her condition, he would have told her to retreat and called off the mission.
However, that wasn't the case.
Toga was chomping at the reptile creature, trying to pass it to cross the barrier, only 150 meters away.
CRRRAAAACK!
"KEIIIIIIRRRRRK!"
The lizard wailed in pain as Toga bit off its wing, sending it spiraling toward the ground. Her path was clear temporarily, but the 100 meters instantly became insurmountable again.
A wall of flying creatures began attacking her, and a massive raven swooped from above, diving toward her neck.
"AaGghHhHhHhHhHhHh!"
The haremites and candidates on her back screamed at the development, and Toga braced for impact.
Whooooooooosh!
In a surreal development, the creature split in half. The two halves peeled apart unnaturally as a black corrosive substance ate through its flesh.
Boom, boom.
The two halves fell to the earth, hitting a bus and a street lamp before landing.
Everyone was shocked. However, they screamed for joy when they saw the angel flapping her wings with a bunny girl on her back and a tired brunette strapped to her front.
Caitlyn looked like an angry, overworked mom. However, to the haremites and candidates, she was a god.
She remained motionless for a moment before she disappeared from their eyes.
"CAAAAWWWW—"
Boom, boom.
"KIIIAAAAMII—"
Boom, boom.
"KYA—"
BOOM, Boom!
The blonde went on a rampage, slicing through everything in sight.
"What are you doing!? MOVE!" Leon yelled in a cute voice.
"What are you fucking doing you worthless animals!? MOVE!" Tricksie roared in a vicious voice to the dragon in a terrifying voice.
Toga and the candidates didn't think the bunny woman could get angry, so they reflexively started moving again and flew into the barrier.
Tricksie looked down.
"Did I do it right?" She giggled at Leon.
"Let's talk about this later!" He snapped in annoyance.
"Oh... kay." Tricksie pouted.
While Caitlyn slaughtered dozens of creatures mercilessly, Lindy didn't let herself be outdone.
"Cyclone!" She yelled.
"SHEEEEERK!" A beast squealed as a water bullet crashed into its head.
It was a massive creature, but it still got disoriented and fell to the ground.
BOOM!
Leon was so proud of the two. Unfortunately, he didn't notice how worn they bot were until Caitlyn's wings gave out, and they fell to the earth.