Extra's Abyss-Chapter 33: Rift[3]

Ericka shook her head at Noctis. "No, while we were o--- wait, not the time for a chat, for now we need to handle this issue." She paused midway as another tremble occurred across the ground and continued.

"You're right, Ms...?" The silver-haired woman agreed with her; Noctis stayed silent.

"Just Ericka is fine, if I am right? You're S rank right?"

Staring into the distance, the silver-haired woman spoke, "Yes, and just call me Catherine."

"A Primal Rank monster is the master of this rift. I can sense it over there, lying in wait underneath the ground."

Ericka's eyes widened as her voice cracked, "What is a primal rank monster doing out here inside the empire, unl—" She shut her mouth, taking a quick glance at Noctis before her eyes turned serious.

Catherine had noticed that quick glance; her eyes squinted before they returned to normal.

"Okay, here's the plan: I will go straight for the boss while Ericka stalls the ten fallen-rank monsters along with the other rankers." Her voice was low and steady as she spoke confidently.

Noctis agreed with her plan; plain and simple, it was a common strategy to use in this kind of situation.

Ericka crossed her arms, reviewing the approach, and before accepting, she added, "How about I stall all ten fallen ranks and let the other rankers along with the A ranker deal with the defiled rank monsters?"

She paused for a second before proceeding.

"After the rankers are done with defiled monsters, I can hand them the fallen rank monsters to deal with while I can head over to support you to deal with the primal rank monster."

Catherine nodded, agreeing to her revised plan. 'That seems plausible.'

"Are you sure? Can you hold off all ten of them?" Catherine asked.

Ericka smiled confidently, "Yeah."

"Alright then, I will go over and group them up while you can...," she glanced at Noctis before walking away.

Ericka turned to look at Noctis as she said sternly. "Nox, you should head back inside the train and wait there till this is over."

Noctis didn't argue with her; he knew his limits, and he didn't want to jump to his own death while he could just sit in the train and wait for it to be over.

'Catherine and Aunt should be more than enough to deal with his rift.' Noctis nodded while walking back to the train, acknowledging Ericka's instructions.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," his grumbling voice reached her ears, making her chuckle.

He passed through the barrier easily and entered through the hole, taking a seat near the hole.

Ericka smiled, glad that Noctis had listened to her and had not made a fuss about joining the battle.

She walked towards a group of people standing a few meters away as they listened to Catherine's plan.

Catherine had just finished explaining the details of the plan when Ericka joined them, and surprisingly all of the rankers agreed to join in.

The ground beneath them had begun trembling, signaling the impending arrival of the monsters. Catherine looked at Ericka and the rankers before looking back at the monsters as everyone got ready.

Purple mana began spreading across Catherine's whole body, sparks spreading through her body as she looked in a particular direction. With a burst of speed, her body shot through the sky, flying towards the Primal rank monster that had just appeared behind the monsters.

Following behind her was a golden trail as Ericka launched herself towards the fallen-rank monsters, brandishing her greatsword.

Catherine observed the primal rank monster; it was a large white centipede easily over thirty meters. It had numerous legs with sharp claws and, along with 4 massive human-like hands coming out of its body.

The centipede roared towards the humans as it spoke arrogantly, "You insignificant creatures, bow down to your god, me the Primal rank monster, Moss!".

He lifted his tail high, which had several small spikes on it, and swiped it across the snow as a way to intimidate.

Catherine felt a shiver run down her spine as she watched the terrifying creature speak; she was utterly disgusted at this thing's appearance.

'This thing needs to be purged,' she thought.

A silver-black rapier appeared in her right hand with a layer of purple and blue mana coated over it, and an icy aura began to form along the blade.

The centipede, Moss, sensing a high rank let out a shrill laugh, advancing towards the ranker as its own chaotic white mana began to surge around him.

Catherine sped through the air, rapidly approaching moss; she thrusted her rapier several times in a second before flashing to the opposite side, as the centipede cried out loud due to small cuts.

Before the centipede could react again, Catherine flew a little further; in her hand, a mix of ice blue and green magic circles formed and instantly turned into several ice cones with a gust of winds swirling around them.

Shooting the ice cones, Catherine dodged to the side as a large amount of ice spikes burst out of the ground, heading towards her.

As the centipede destroyed the ice cones, Catherine had used a stealth spell to appear above the monster. Steadying her rapier, she used both lightning and wind spells to increase her speed as she pierced an eye of the centipede.

''Aughh! My eye, my eye, damn you!" A loud shriek echoed through the white wasteland; Catherine distanced herself a little, knowing the monster would be very aggressive the next second.

Using its large hands, Moss immediately spun around rapidly, forming a small tornado around him as a distraction while trying to recover.

Catherine immediately sensed the huge spike of mana bursting from inside the tornado, thinking that it was preparing to release its domain. Her mana instantly burst out of her, spreading rapidly as it covered the entire area around her and the centipede.

"Tempest Glacier," she mumbled, steadying her rapier in front of her chest.

---------------------------------------------

Noctis sat near the hole in the train, his eyes fixed on the chaotic battlefield outside.

The ground trembled beneath him, the air thick with mana and the roars of monsters as he leaned forward, watching his aunt Ericka and Catherine take on the monsters.

In the distance, Ericka was constantly sending out golden slashes from her greatsword as she faced the ten fallen-rank monsters.

These creatures, hulking snow bear beasts with jagged claws and glowing red eyes, and its head was off a caterpillar, moved with unnatural speed despite their massive size.

Each one was a towering mass of muscle and scale, their roars shaking the snow-covered ground.

Erika maneuvered skillfully between them, her movements precise and calculating. Her blade carved through the air, leaving trails of golden mana that sliced into the monsters' hides.

One beast lunged at her, aiming for her face, but Ericka spun, her greatsword cleaving through its arm in a single stroke. The creature howled, stumbling back as green liquid sprayed across the snow.

He knew Ericka was an A rank, but facing ten fallen-rank monsters alone was no small feat. Still, her confidence from earlier lingered in his mind, reassuring him.

Nearby, the other rankers- a mix of B and C ranks along with An A rank- battled the swarm of defiled-rank monsters. There were at least a hundred of them, smaller than the fallen ranks but no less deadly.

These creatures resembled twisted, humanoid wolves with jagged teeth and claws, along with a few additional limbs, their bodies pulsing with chaotic mana.

The rankers fought in coordinated groups, their weapons glowing with various colors of mana—red, blue, and green, as they unleashed spells and strikes.

A B-rank mage conjured a wall of fire, incinerating a dozen defiled monsters, while another ranker, wielding a spear, darted through the fray, piercing multiple enemies in quick succession. Despite their numbers, the defiled monsters were being steadily decreased in numbers, their bodies piling up in the snow.

The guy who was A rank mage had finished conjuring his large AoE spell, unleashing it instantly as a large amount of metal spikes began to form above the monsters and rain down on them.

Noctis's gaze shifted back to Catherine, who was locked in combat with the primal-rank centipede, Moss.

The massive creature thrashed within the swirling tornado it had created, its chaotic white mana clashing with Catherine's purple and blue aura.

Her domain, Tempest Glacier, had transformed the battlefield around her as a large Azure domain covered them, inside the air grew frigid, and sharp gusts of wind carried shards of ice that glittered like daggers.

The ground beneath cracked as ice shards began to form to trap Moss, while Catherine darted around the centipede, her silver-black rapier a blur.

Moss roared, its remaining eyes glowing with fury. "You dare to hurt me, you disgusting vermin!" it bellowed, its voice echoing across the wasteland.

It struck the ground with its enormous hands, generating a shockwave of ice debris heading toward Catherine. She sprang into the sky, her form surrounded by a flash of lightning that sparked beneath her feet.

The ice shard containing moss broke apart, and she countered with a flurry of ice cones, every one infused with sharp wind blades. The projectiles hit Moss's armored form, eroding its exoskeleton.

Noctis's eyes widened. "Compared to the game, this is...," he whispered.

Catherine's movements were a blur, her rapier striking with precision too swift to track. But Moss was no ordinary monster.

Its chaotic mana surged, and the tornado around it intensified as it unleashed its domain, pulling in snow and debris.

Catherine's domain clashed with the monster's Domain, creating a violent storm of ice and wind that made it hard for Noctis to see clearly.

Noctis observed the domain carefully. "So, this is what a domain looks like."

Back with Ericka, the fallen-rank monsters were proving relentless. Two charged at her simultaneously, their claws slashing from opposite directions.

Ericka ducked, her greatsword spinning in a wide arc that caught both beasts in the chest. Golden mana erupted from the blade, sending them staggering back. Behind her, five light swords manifested and shot towards one with the most injuries, killing it instantly.

"One down, nine more to go," she murmured.

Another monster tried to flank her, but Ericka sensed it, pivoting and slamming her sword into the ground. A shockwave of golden light rippled outward, knocking the creature off its feet.

As if sensing something, Ericka narrowed her eyes, catching sight of one fallen rank monster feasting on the dead one.

She gripped her greatsword tighter. "Not on my watch," she muttered.

She lifted her sword, and a wave of golden mana surrounded her, creating a luminous aura that throbbed with energy.

The sword high above her head, she drove it into the ground as soon as all of her mana enveloped the blade.

A wave of golden flames erupted, engulfing the fallen-rank monsters. They screeched, their scales charring as they stumbled back, but they didn't fall.

Instead, they regrouped while retreating back, their wounds slowly regenerating.

Noctis glanced at the other rankers, who were almost done with the defiled monsters. The pile of defeated creatures was growing, and the A-rank leader of the group, a black-haired man with a staff, was barking orders, keeping the team focused.

Soon, they'd be free to assist Ericka, just as she'd planned.

Back in Catherine's battle, Moss was growing more desperate. Its domain had weakened under the pressure of the Tempest Glacier Domain, and Catherine's relentless attacks were taking their toll.

She appeared behind the centipede, her rapier glowing with a mix of purple lightning and blue ice. "One hand down," she called, thrusting her blade into one of Moss's massive hands.

A burst of lightning and ice exploded from the point of impact, freezing the hand solid before shattering it into pieces.

Moss shrieked, its body thrashing wildly. "Insolent worm!" it roared, its tail whipping toward Catherine.

She evaded, but the tail's spikes scraped her arm, leaving a narrow line of blood.

Catherine appeared unfazed as she lifted her rapier, and her mana flowed, creating a large magic circle overhead.

A storm of ice and thunder struck, surrounding Moss in a flurry of sharp fragments and electric bolts.

Moss's roars grew weaker, but it wasn't done yet. Its chaotic mana flared, and the ground beneath it split open, unveiling an orb containing lingering spirits and tormented souls trying to break free from the cage.

The centipede lunged at the orb, swallowing it whole as its body cracked with dark energy ravaging all over. Moss's mana began to increase while he thrashed his head around.

Catherine's eyes widened. "Why is that in the hands of Monster? Damn it!" She tightened her grip on her rapier.