The following the girls departed to the next floor.
''So this time it's a ghost town, huh?!'' Kuina observed their surrounding while Alice was frowning. The girls didn't wait too long before entering the city.
The main road that led to and from Shepshed was barely detectable beneath layers of dust, sand, shrubs, and leaves. Gardens are bustling with insect life who've made their home in the now tall grasses and overgrown bushes.
Many doors had collapsed as rot ate away their edges. The open doorways that were once perhaps very welcoming were now an eerie and unwelcoming sight.
Many roofs had collapsed and in some cases had taken the entire building with them. Others looked in decent shape and were simply dirty and filled with bird nests.
Shepshed, once a peaceful and growing community had all but faded away from history. An eerie silence had taken over and was only interrupted by the cracking of wood in the wind and the occasional bird that had made its home in one of the many collapsed roofs.
The art gallery was once the cultural pride and joy of this town and tourists flocked to see the art displayed here. Now it was home to a flock of doves who've destroyed most art pieces in their ignorance of what it once meant to so many people.
The more time would pass the more the traces of those who lived here will disappear. Even now there were only remnants left, it'd be only a short while until there was nothing left. But even when all the buildings are finally taken by nature there was at least the knowledge that the animals wouldn't have to leave and could continue their lives in peace.
Suddenly, the animals escaped and many monsters appeared, goblins, hobgoblins, orcs, and even some high orcs but to the two girls these monsters could only serve as a warm-up.
The fight didn't last one hour as the two women slaughtered the monsters.
BOOM!
Right after the fight ended a huge fireball was launched at the girls from somewhere but they easily avoided it while turning to face the enemy that sneaks attacked them.
''I thought you'd never show up.'' Kuina declared while preparing to fight when suddenly she felt sick as if she could throw up at any moment.
Alice who noticed this frowned and decided to face the enemy while Kuina would rest.
''You should rest, I will take care of the enemy.''
''Thank you and be prudent.'' Kuina was grateful for this offer and retreated.
Alice nodded before observing the man who appeared, with white hair and red eyes just like her.
''You are from the Chaos Organization aren't you?" She inquired and the white-haired man smiled.
''Indeed I am. I'm Number 5 and I came to clean up the defective product while kidnapping the Fox princess.'' The man responded and he even had the leisure to share his goal, one could see how much confidence he had in himself.
Alice simply tilted her head to the side.
''Is that so?''
Number 5 was pissed by Alice's behavior, he misinterpreted this as Alice looking down on him, something he couldn't stomach. Unlike her, he was a finished product.
'Let's calm down. I must take care of her asap.'
''Purgatory!"
He shouted and his body expanded, turning into a horror monster, the dark mist surrounding his body. His hands were covered in black scales. His index, middle, ring, and pinkie fingers grew into grotesque 20cm-long claws. His thumb was transmogrified into a wiggling tentacle-like extension. The back of his hand's hand spiny thorns and his palm had what appeared to be pulsating tumors.
Number 5 was covered in disgusting black scales, he had jaws like that of a bear trap. His nose was gone, replaced by an unsightly twitching meaty growth. Meanwhile, his eyes fused into one, it was like a goggle that was rotated vertically. His eye was also shifted to his forehead. Inside his eye, there were more bestial eyes that kept darting about like pinwheels. He had at least eight mini-eyes in that place.
Alice could feel pressure coming from the abomination standing a few meters away after he used purgatory.
''To think your purgatory's form will be a lizardman, no calling you a lizardman is an insult to the lizardmen, you're an abomination.'' She said with an impassive face.
''Grrrr!'' Number 5 felt insulted and he decided to slowly kill this bitch.
BOOM!
Alice suddenly kicked a boulder beside her at Number 5.
That was the starting shot that signaled the start of this duel.
He moved forward and spun around, drawing a beautiful and deadly arc that sliced the boulder sent toward him into neat pieces.
Boom
The pieces of the boulders exploded into dust leaving only shiny stone slabs behind. The sharp and shiny remnants were standing there, pointing at the sky in defiance of nature.
Number 5 exhibited his newfound strength. He felt truly powerful in this form.
He wasn't celebrating because he saw Alice looking down at him emotionlessly on another boulder nearby. Then Alice's body started shining with a shocking amount of magic power.
"Not bad for a failed Lizard.''
She talked to him like he was the weaker fighter. Number snorted with anger and he jumped at Alice. In a black blur, he covered more than 30 meters in an instant, covering half the distance between him and Alice.
He attacked with his claws but Alice easily dodged.
''What is it? You can only dodge? You are a failed product indeed.''
Alice did not respond and dodged but putting some distance between them Number 5 was about to pursue her but stopped when a powerful aura burst out from Alice's body. She was surrounded by a white halo, at the moment she appeared like a Saint descending into the mortal realm. The soil and dust around her vanished.
A bunch of ribbons made of light sprouted behind Alice and she grew wings of light that looked very elegant.
''Beautiful!'' Kuina mumbled in awe, she made herself comfortable in her seat, and she erected a shield around her body while not forgetting to take out some popcorn, she wouldn't enjoy the fight without anyway.
''Ah! I'm missing a good wine.'' She then took out a bottle of wine.
Meanwhile back on the battlefield,
Number 5 flinched at first as if he was afraid but quickly shook his head to throw away the growing fear, he snickered as he licked his eyes with his long tongue.
"Not bad for a failed product but whatever! I will just rip you to pieces already!"
He pointed his claws at Alice and shot out black lasers at her.
Without any intent to dodge, the wings behind Alice stirred into action, blocking the laser.
Sizzle.
The laser touched the wings of light. The moment the laser made contact, it started moving like the wings of light were made with extremely dense material, and the speed of his lasers slowed down tremendously.
Then, the lasers dimmed down while Alice's surrounding lit up, when the lasers were fully absorbed, her environment dimmed down too. Number 5 lasers got devoured without any trouble.
Meanwhile, he heaved in shock. It was obvious he didn't think his attacks would be thwarted in such a manner. Not so easily and effortlessly at least.
His attacks were infused with a bit of chaos energy. It isn't just incredibly powerful, it carries negative ailments like corruption, corrosion, and decay, compared to normal elements.
''What was that?" He inquired, afraid of Alice's current form overwhelming him, this wasn't a normal Light element, he had to know but Alice would entertain him, she simply ignored him.
''A mutated element? This cannot be, you're nothing but a failed product.'' Number 5 declared with a voice filled with malice.
His malice manifested in his voice and expression. Like someone out of his mind, he leaned forward and used his tail to spring him up into Alice who was floating above the ground.
"I will kill you!"
In response, Alice looked down at him with cold eyes. Then, her wings made of light started dancing like sharp whips, lashing out at him.
"Die die die die die!"
He couldn't fight with a rational mind, he only focused on one thing, killing Alice to get rid of the feeling that he was the one who was a failure. Alice didn't remember him but he did, they were created together but Alice was chosen and thus awakened first but she failed her mission, he was later activated but he resented her, if weren't because of her he would have been activated a long time ago. Using this chance he would get his revenge.
Number 5's claws extended outwards like spears, his claw spears met the whips of light.
The whips dimmed down and turned translucent when his claws made contact, his claws went through the whips like a mirage.
His attack hit nothing, that's what it felt like when the dim whips lit up again. This time, he could hear something slicing through the wind, the new attack expanded in his vision.
A sense of danger rang within him and he instinctively used the momentum generated by flailing his tail to weave down, dodging the incoming wings of light.
The sourc𝗲 of this content is free(w)ebnov(𝒆)l